As a result, guests came to the Sheng family every day, subtly inquiring whether Sheng Xi'an had a boyfriend.
Stirred up by these people, Zhang Shuzhen also had her own ideas. During a casual chat after dinner, she brought it up.
"Last year I said, let's save up some money and renovate the old house this year."
"Now that the second and third sons are growing up, and who knows when they'll be getting married, we can't all cram into these three rooms, can we?"
Zhang Shuzhen mentally calculated the family's savings and felt that building a house and holding a wedding for her second son would be no problem at all.
My son is of marriageable age, so we should get him married. If we delay, it will be harder for him to find a partner as he gets older.
"Mom, you're in such a hurry. The second son is only twenty years old, why are you in such a rush to find him a wife?" Sheng Xiping laughed when he heard this.
"You should ask the second son if he has that intention."
"You know our second son, he's still too young to understand things. Isn't it a bit too early for you to expect him to get married now?"
Deep down, Sheng Xiping didn't want his second son to get married right now. The college entrance exam was going to be reinstated this winter, and his second son was a good student, so he had to give it a try.
Finding a partner now will only bring more trouble later.
If Sheng Xi'an really gets into university, what will happen to her boyfriend? Will they continue dating or break up?
It's better not to mention these things now and wait until after the college entrance exam. If Sheng Xi'an gets in, there are all sorts of people in university.
If I don't pass the exam, I can still find a partner and get married.
"Furthermore, policies have changed quite rapidly in the past two years. Look, another batch of workers were recruited this spring."
Who knows when they'll be hiring on a large scale? If the second son meets the requirements, he'll be hired.
"If the second son gets a job as a factory worker, what kind of wife wouldn't he be able to find? Mom, why are you in such a hurry?"
Others may not know what the future holds, but how could Sheng Xiping not know?
The Songjianghe Forestry Bureau has been established for many years, and people like Sheng Liancheng are basically getting old and will have to retire in another two years.
On the other hand, so many educated youths are waiting to be recruited back to the city; how could the higher-ups not consider it? Talking about marriage at this time is really unwise.
If Sheng Xi'an had found someone, there would be nothing I could do, but that blockhead is so dense, there's really no need to overthink it right now.
"Mom, my older brother is right. I don't want to find a partner and get married right now," Sheng Xi'an said, stammering out the words.
Zhang Shuzhen was originally overjoyed and wanted to find a wife for her second son so that she could get rid of this important matter as soon as possible.
But her eldest son disagreed, and her second son also said he didn't want to find a partner, which made Zhang Shuzhen somewhat disappointed.
"If you don't want to look now, when are you going to look? I'm always worrying about you guys."
Sheng Xi'an scratched his head and glanced at his older brother.
"Let's talk about it in a couple of years. Like my older brother said, what if we get a job someday? Let's focus on our careers first, then settle down. Why rush into marriage?"
After Sheng Xi'an said that, Zhang Shuzhen had no choice but to stare blankly at her sons for a few moments before turning around and going to make the bed.
"Do whatever you want, I don't care anymore."
The two brothers exchanged a glance and couldn't help but smile wryly. Mom was angry. Oh well, they'd have to coax her later.
"Second brother, read more books when you have free time. No matter when, you can't neglect your studies."
"Knowledge you acquire is yours to keep, and it will be useful sooner or later. Trust me, brother." Sheng Xiping leaned closer to his younger brother and whispered these words of advice.
"Yes, big brother, I know. I read the set of books you bought whenever I have time, and I've done almost all the exercises in them."
Sheng Xi'an was already a good student, and with her older brother constantly nagging her, she certainly didn't neglect her studies.
After working during the day, Sheng Xi'an would always read a book or do some exercises when he came home at night.
Because Sheng Xi'an himself was unwilling, and Sheng Xiping objected, the marriage proposal for Sheng Xi'an was temporarily put on hold.
When others came to the Sheng family to propose marriage later, Zhang Shuzhen could only say that the children were too young and their marriages were not yet settled, and she did not want to arrange a marriage for her second son too early, so she turned them all down.
As a result, many rumors circulated about the forest farm.
Many people say that the Sheng family is now living a good life and has become more discerning, so they've become spoiled for choice.
"Picking flowers, picking raccoons, picking and picking, and you end up with a skinless one. I want to see what kind of wife the second son of the Sheng family will find in the future?" someone said behind his back.
Of course, Sheng Xiping couldn't control what people said outside.
Let them spread the word however they want. If the second child actually gets into university, let's see what these people have to say then.
"Big brother, second brother, has anything been up lately?"
One day in early July, Sheng Xiping found the brothers Liu Yujiang and Liu Yuhe and asked them if they were free recently.
"Xiping, what's wrong? Is there any work to do at home? Just tell me what it is."
"We're both free lately, so we'll help you with the work," Liu Yujiang said, patting his chest.
"No, brother, there's nothing to do at home." Sheng Xiping laughed when he heard that. What could possibly be going on at his house?
"Is that so? Didn't you accumulate quite a lot of hides, bear bile, deer antlers, and the like before? I remember you said you had some at home too."
"How about we team up, brothers, and go sell them in the county together?"
After being robbed on his last trip to the county, Sheng Xiping hadn't gone back. He had accumulated quite a lot of things at home, but he couldn't bear to sell them to the Songjianghe purchasing station, so he came to find Liu Yujiang and his brother.
"Going to sell mountain produce? Oh dear, I thought you were building a house."
My aunt mentioned before that she wanted to renovate the old house this year, and the other day I heard people saying that your second son is getting married.
There was a hint of disappointment in Liu Yujiang's words.
The main reason is that the Liu family and the Sheng family have a good relationship. Liu Yujiang is much older than Sheng Xi'an and has watched him grow up, treating him like his own younger brother. Liu Yujiang also hopes that Sheng Xi'an will get married soon.
“Alright, it just so happens that your second brother and I haven’t gone to sell mountain products in a long time. We’ve saved up quite a bit at home, so let’s go together. When do we leave?”
Liu Yujiang didn't think much of it. Since there wasn't much work to do in the fields at that time, he sold the things he had saved up at home and took the opportunity to visit the county town to buy some things he needed.
"Tomorrow is the 3rd, and there's a little train running, so let's do it tomorrow." Sheng Xiping had already planned it out.
"Oh, right, big brother, don't forget to bring your gun."
The conversation between the two seemed normal, and Liu Yujiang didn't think much of it. But when Sheng Xiping mentioned that he had a gun, Liu Yujiang immediately sensed something was wrong.
"What's up, bro? Is something wrong? Why are you carrying a gun when we're going to sell goods?"
Sheng Xiping smiled wryly and recounted how he had encountered robbers in the county last time and stabbed one of them.
"I was thinking that if we have more people this time and don't run into those bastards, we can just treat it as a trip to the county to shop and have some fun."
If I run into those bastards, I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget, and I'll make sure they get their revenge.
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