Chapter 35: The Gaze Was Too Strong
Once her father spoke, even the slow-witted Chen Baoyue understood.
She's not young anymore.
A few years ago, my mother wanted to arrange a marriage for her, but several marriage proposals were made because my father didn't want her to marry far away.
Father looked back and forth at the boys in the village, but in Mother's eyes, not many of them were good.
There was one that both of them thought was pretty good, so they decided to ask Chen Baoyue for her opinion.
But when Chen Baoyue heard it was Er Gou from the village, he shook his head like a rattle drum.
"No, no, no!!!"
Although she is still young, she doesn't understand what it means to like or dislike.
She still knew Er Gou Ge. Although he had grown up in the past two years and his appearance had matured, he looked quite reliable and decent.
But she couldn't forget that the boy was cunning and wicked.
When he was little, this guy actually tried to blow up the latrine at the end of the village with firecrackers when no one was around.
But when the firecracker was thrown in, the two children following behind him were the ones who got caught.
Those two weren't very bright; they didn't throw the firecrackers themselves, and they ended up covered in the 'golden sparks' from the explosion.
His eyes and nose were completely obscured, yet his parents still recognized him.
When he was finally caught by the adults, he still insisted on talking about "brotherly loyalty".
He reeked of foul odor, his buttocks were swollen from being beaten, but he stubbornly refused to confess. It was actually Er Gou Ge who suggested this.
If Er Gou is truly loyal, he'll step forward and take responsibility for everything himself.
Chen Baoyue might even think more highly of him.
But when this kid heard his two lackeys being beaten so badly, he didn't dare utter a single word.
He pretended not to know anything, which made Chen Baoyue, who happened to be perched on a treetop and had seen the whole thing, furious.
One bad guy and two idiots.
It was too dirty; she didn't have a good impression of the three boys who set off firecrackers.
But the village is only so big, and after counting them, she still has to choose one of these people to marry.
The thought of this made Chen Baoyue feel dizzy.
That's terrifying.
It's not that she has high standards, but in just a few steps, with just a few people growing up so close, she can still tell them a lot of dark history that even their own parents don't know.
I can't say whether I like it or not, but I feel awkward all over when I hear about the engagement.
Chen Baoyue described the matter in great detail, and knowing what kind of person their daughter was, her parents could only give up on the idea.
After a while, I decided to keep her for another two years.
We eat at home anyway, so it's not like we're missing an extra pair of chopsticks.
No matter how much she tried to stay, she was getting older every day.
In the village, girls her age were already married and had children at a young age.
She still had that long braid, and she followed her father and second uncle, carrying whips and bows and arrows, as they ventured into the mountains and forests.
The village is only so big, with only a few households.
Naturally, some unpleasant things started to spread.
The implication was either that her birth chart was unlucky, or that her family was considering having someone marry into their family.
Otherwise, why would they keep their daughter at this age and delay letting her get married?
Hearing such words from one's own mother would naturally infuriate her.
My mother herself wasn't from a mountain family. My father told me that she used to live near the county town, but her family fell on hard times and she married into this mountain family.
In her eyes, no matter how capable the hunters in the mountains are, how can they compare to the joy of being city dwellers?
Her daughter is beautiful, healthy, quick and capable. Many hunters' sons don't have her skills, so how come she can't get married?
It's precisely because there are few people and many things to do in the mountains that everyone is watching closely.
She didn't want Chen Baoyue to end up like her, living deep in the mountains, so she always tried to arrange marriages outside the mountains.
Chen Youtian was originally unwilling for Baoyue to marry far away, but after years of persuasion, especially because of the chronic illness caused by hunting, his mind gradually softened.
While I'm still healthy these years, I'll go hunting a few more times, and once I've saved up enough money, I'll move out of the mountains.
Thinking that at worst, when they got engaged, he would move to a place near his daughter's house.
This will not only make it easier for her to recuperate, but also provide support for Baoyue.
"My Wenzai will be sixteen after the New Year," Grandma Guo said cheerfully, unaware of Chen Youtian's ulterior motives. "Your Baoyue should be about the same age as Wenzai, right?"
Chen Baoyue's ears turned red, and she nervously tapped them together. "Grandma Guo, I'll be eighteen after the New Year..."
Grandma Guo exclaimed "Ah!" and seeing Chen Youtian sigh softly, she tried to smooth things over, saying, "...Eighteen years old is still young."
“It’s not small at all—” Chen Youtian wanted to say something more, but after glancing at Guo Baiwen, he silently stopped talking.
"I have to thank your son Wenzai for what happened yesterday."
"She's so young, yet she's more sensible than my Baoyue."
Hearing her father speak of her like that, Chen Baoyue couldn't help but purse her lips, but her eyes unconsciously scrutinized Guo Baiwen from head to toe.
Guo Baiwen originally wanted to pretend that he hadn't noticed anything, but he couldn't resist Chen Baoyue's gaze being too noticeable.
Even though he tried his best to relax, his back became increasingly stiff under such gazes.
When the gaze finally turned back, Guo Baiwen breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that his ears had turned red without him noticing.
They need to hurry back to the mountains today, and the journey will take a lot of time. They've already wasted a lot of time chatting.
Chen Baoyue gave two boxes of face cream to Grandma Guo and Guo Xiaohua, not wanting to be biased, but she didn't have any extra face cream on her.
So she thought about it and gave the half bag of roasted chestnuts she bought last night to Guo Baiwen.
Seeing that he didn't reach out to take it, Chen Baoyue added, "This bag is new; I haven't eaten from it before."
Guo Baiwen was unsure whether to explain that he didn't mind that it wasn't new, or that he actually didn't like roasted chestnuts.
But seeing the girl handing him the food, and with those eyes fixed on him, he inexplicably took the roasted chestnuts without saying a word.
The same jet-black braid he remembered swayed past him, but this time, he was much closer to it.
He couldn't quite articulate his own thoughts, so before the person left, he took something out of his pocket and handed it over.
When Chen Baoyue turned to look at him, he stood there for a long time, and could only utter two pale words, "Return the gift."
He even doubted that she had heard what he said.
Fortunately, she accepted it.
It's a hair oil I won in a lucky draw when I checked in before; it's jasmine scented.
Its appearance and smell are quite similar to the hair oils people use nowadays.
He had also seen the bottle of osmanthus oil that Grandma Guo had given to Guo Xiaohua before.
It's basically a blend of sesame oil and osmanthus flowers. The ingredients are simple, but it nourishes the hair while also providing a pleasant fragrance.
He didn't know why, but the moment he pulled this thing out, the first thing that came to mind was Chen Baoyue's long braid that she had swung around back then.
I just thought I'd never have a chance to send it out.
After seeing off the Chen family father and daughter, Yang Qiaomai, who was coming to work today, also arrived with her washed basket.
With someone helping to prepare the food, Guo Baiwen wasn't in a hurry to rush over and help.
Although she didn't know why he suddenly asked about her age during the conversation, she noticed the somewhat regretful look on Chen Youtian's face as he left.
Although Guo Baiwen had some unfounded guesses in his mind, he was not sure.
He only learned during a casual conversation today that Chen Baoyue, who looked about the same age as him, was actually two years older than him.
Actually, while no one was paying attention and he was helping everyone pour tea, he took the opportunity to stand behind and secretly compare them.
Fortunately, he's been getting better nutrition from his daily meals these days, and he's grown a bit taller than before.
Even standing behind Chen Baoyue, he was barely the same height as her.
Adding meat, eggs, and dairy to your diet halfway through life is definitely not as good as having a sufficient intake of meat, eggs, and dairy from childhood.
However, if he works harder, he should be able to grow even taller in the next two years.
She should at least be a bit taller than Chen Baoyue.
Grandma Guo was unaware of his little scheme. Seeing him still standing there staring at the teapot he had just finished drinking from, she assumed he still wanted more tea. "You've finished the hot water? Grandma will go boil another pot for you."
"Ah? Ah, yes, okay, thank you, Grandma."
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Author's Note: I don't know why I've had diarrhea all day; I've already made four trips to the bathroom [crying emoji]. Tomorrow's word count will be higher.
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