Chapter 16: Cured bacon. Split the family?
In the yard, the grandmother was tired of scolding and was drinking water from a bowl.
It was such a good marriage, she asked people again and again, and it was obviously in sight, but this boy was just too stubborn and didn't want to do it.
The mother-in-law was so angry that she drank a bowl of water in one breath and then put the bowl heavily on the table.
"Go back to your room and think about it. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again. The daughter of Liu the butcher is beautiful and in good shape, and her family has nothing to say." The grandmother still felt sorry for this marriage.
"Mom, don't say anymore." Zong Anji smiled bitterly. How could he not know that the little girl of Liu the Butcher was a good person? He knew everything.
But the demands from the other side were really high. He secretly went to ask for the last time yesterday, but the Liu family still had the same intention and refused to give in.
Zong Anjitian likes the girl from the Liu family, but he can't do that against his will.
He looked at the clan mother, as if wanting to interrupt her last thoughts, "Mom, forget about the Liu family. Our two families are not a good match. It would be unfair for her to marry into the family."
After saying this, Zong Anji turned around and went back into the house.
The grandmother was so angry that she took off her shoes and threw them at him, but unfortunately it was too late and didn't hit him.
Qiu Xuan overheard the conversation from outside the courtyard. She looked down at Huai Xue and said, "Go in later and tell her what we just encountered."
The little girl was very sensible. She put a finger to her lips and shushed, "Don't say it!"
Qiu Xuan smiled and then led the person into the yard.
"Mom, where is my uncle?" Qiu Xuan came in and asked when she didn't see anyone.
The mother-in-law was so angry that she had a headache. Only when she saw that it was the two of them coming back did she regain her composure.
"Come in. He was out all day yesterday and must be tired." The clan mother was too embarrassed to tell Qiu Yun what had just happened.
Qiu Xuan sat opposite the clan mother, took a small bowl, and poured water for herself and Huai Xue.
She had a keen eye, so if the clan mother hadn't mentioned it, she naturally wouldn't have mentioned it. However, she was curious about something, so now was the perfect time to ask, "Mom, Huaixue and I were strolling around the village today, and we saw a lot of people buying meat. Are there any customs in our village?"
Upon hearing this, the clan mother cried out in pain.
"It's my fault. I was so busy today that I forgot about the important things." The grandmother hurried back to the house to get some silver and said to her, "Here's the pickled meat. You guys wait at home. I'll go see if there's any good meat left."
Qiu Xuan was not in a hurry either. She sat on a stool and drank bowl of water at a time.
After about a quarter of an hour, the grandmother came back.
She was holding a large piece of leg meat in her hand and smiled when she saw Qiu Xuan. "What a coincidence today! I thought there was no good meat left, but I didn't know that the Wang family just slaughtered their second pig. Look, it's the best leg meat."
"Mom, how do we pickle meat in the summer? Can it be kept?" Qiu Xuan stood up and followed her grandmother into the kitchen.
The grandmother divided the leg meat into three strips, washed them with clean water until there was no dirt, and then applied a layer of white wine on them.
"You don't know this, right? Our village is deep in the mountains, and there's no good land for growing crops. We have to prepare winter food this summer, otherwise we won't be able to buy it in winter."
Hearing what Zong Mu said, Qiu Xuan suddenly remembered what Zong Xiao said last night. He said that his elder brother went into the mountains to hunt in winter...
There is nothing to eat in winter, and everything is right.
"It's a bit troublesome to make bacon now, but the price of meat is cheap now, so it's cost-effective." The grandmother put salt and pepper into the basin and kept rubbing them on the leg meat. When she saw that it was almost done, she went to the well to fetch a few buckets of water.
"It's hot in the summer, so you have to be careful not to spoil the meat when marinating it. So you have to keep the meat in a cool place for the two days." The grandmother filled a lot of water into the jar in the corner of the kitchen, and then put the wooden basin containing the meat into it.
With the well water kept cold, the meat in the wooden basin wouldn't spoil in a short time.
Qiu Xuan learned that this is how you can make bacon in summer.
There are only four of them at home today.
The grandmother didn't cook any food, she just made some rice soup and heated up some dry buns.
It was hot and no one could eat anything. Everyone drank a bowl of rice and went back to their rooms.
Qiu Xuan lay on the kang, thinking about what had happened in the past few days.
She completely severed her relationship with the Qiu family, but because of this, she became the daughter-in-law of the Zong family.
There are not many members of the Zong family. Apart from the Zong mother, Huaixue and brother-in-law, there is only Zong Xiao.
Zong Xiao...
Qiu Xuan repeated his name several times.
Zong Xiao is a very good person, a really good person. Qiu Xuan could see it just from the time he protected her at the Qiu family.
It’s a pity that he is so young but suffers from a hidden illness and cannot stay in bed.
However, this also saved Qiu Xuan a lot of trouble. Now she only needed to be a good daughter-in-law of the clan. She didn't have to carry on the family line nor did she have to work hard every day. Her life was quite comfortable.
As for the escape plan she had planned before getting married, she put it aside for the time being. As her life became more comfortable, she became less anxious about escaping.
In the evening, Zong Xiao returned home carrying a bamboo basket and a wooden pitchfork.
As soon as he entered the yard, he called Zong Anji out. They caught a lot of fish today, and Zong Xiao wanted to ask Zong Anji to take a few to the Liu family.
The two families discussed the marriage some time ago, and seeing that Zong's mother and Zong Anji were happy, Zong Xiao always thought that the matter would be settled soon.
"Second brother, there's no need to send me off. This matter is over." Zong Anji squatted on the ground and helped Zong Xiao process the fish.
He was distracted and almost cut his hand with the knife.
"Isn't it just a matter of asking the matchmaker to set the date?" Zong Xiao asked him with a frown.
"I've thought about it and still feel that our two families aren't a good match." Zong Anji didn't want to talk about it anymore. He forced a smile and changed the subject: "What are we having for dinner tonight? Grilled fish?"
"Fried fish hair." Zong Xiao cooked all these fish just to fry more fish hair. As for the grilled fish, they had been eating it for two days, and eating too much would easily cause a sore throat.
Zong Anji responded, turned around and started processing the fish again.
Qiu Xuan didn't dare to kill the fish. She stood far away and watched. After she saw that they had finished processing, she brought a basin over to help clean it.
She sat next to Zong Xiao, touched him with her arm, and motioned Zong Xiao to look at Zong Anji.
I saw that the person who was fine just now now had red eyes.
There is something hidden at a glance.
Afraid that Zong Xiao would ask him directly, Qiu Yu whispered, "I'll tell you tonight."
At night, Qiu Xuan told Zong Xiao about the betrothal gift she had heard during the day.
She asked, "Is there not enough money at home? I heard that the Liu family wants seven taels of silver as a betrothal gift."
Zong Xiao knew about the betrothal gift. He shook his head and said, "The whole family knows about this. My wife can afford the seven taels betrothal gift."
Qiu Xuan thought about it, and the word "family division" suddenly popped up in her mind. She said, "Since it has nothing to do with the betrothal gift, then is it related to the family division?"
"Separate the family?" Zong Xiao frowned.
Qiu Xuan nodded, "I think I heard correctly today. Those women did mention that the Liu family requires that daughters with many brothers set up separate households when marrying off."
People in the village generally do not separate their families and live in one courtyard unless they can no longer make ends meet or the elders in the family pass away.
Zong Xiao was stunned for a moment, then stood up and wanted to go over to ask for clarification.
"I'll go ask my younger brother if this is really the reason why he's unwilling."
Qiu Xuan stopped him: "If this is the reason, then what are you going to do?"
"Then we'll split up."
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