Chapter 18: Rabbit Skin. Division of the Family.
The sun was scorching, and Qiu Xuan came into the house carrying a pot of cold tea.
She had rarely been in this room. Zong Xiao said that this was the room his eldest brother lived in. After his eldest brother and his wife passed away, the room was empty. However, Zong's mother would come in to clean it on weekdays.
"Second brother." Zong Anji lowered his head, not daring to look at Zong Xiao.
Today in the house, his grandmother asked him if he was unwilling to marry because the Liu family proposed to split up the family.
Zong Anji was shocked and wanted to cover it up, but his mother told him directly that it was his second brother Zong Xiao who said it.
At that time, his eyes widened. He never thought that his family would know about this...
"Why are you two standing there like idiots? Sit down." Qiu Yu patted the empty stool next to her, motioning Zong Xiao to come over and sit down.
"Sit down." Zong Xiao patted his younger brother's shoulder and said to him.
Qiu Xuan noticed that Zong Anji wanted to say something to Zong Xiao, but she refused to leave. She poured them some tea and pretended nothing had happened.
Zong Anji held the bowl of water and took a sip. After an unknown amount of time, he seemed to have figured it out and said, "Second brother, I'm sorry for you regarding the division of the family."
"What's wrong with that? I can be honest with you." Zong Xiao smiled. "That day, you said you didn't want to do it against your will. If my mother and I didn't know the reason, what are your plans going forward?"
Zong Anji looked at his reflection in the water bowl and gave a wry smile, "Then I won't marry her. Anyway... I'm still young, and mother won't say anything."
Zong Anji is young after all, and he can't hide things, and all the sadness is written on his face.
Qiu Xuan looked at him and suddenly understood why Zong Xiao loved his younger brother so much.
"There's nothing to hide about this kind of thing in the future. We're a family, even if we each get married, we're still a family." Zong Xiao consoled him with a few words before admonishing him, "Don't go out for the next two days. Let mother take care of your marriage."
"Okay. I'll listen to my second brother."
During the conversation, the clan mother came in with a purse.
She arrived early and heard everything they just said.
As a mother, it is natural to hope that every child is well, after all, they are all flesh and blood.
But after all, Sanlang is young and has no special ability to make money. He is not as good as Zong Xiao. Even if the family splits up and he leaves, he can still make a living alone.
"You all know what mother is going to say, right?" The clan mother sat down and put the purse on the table.
She looked at Zong Xiao and then at Zong Anji. "The money in this purse is all the money I have. I know you two brothers have some too, but they are your own. I don't care."
As she said this, the clan mother poured all the money in her purse onto the table, which only had ten taels in it.
The clan mother continued, "You two brothers know how our family has been doing in recent years. We only have so much money. When your eldest brother left, he left less than one or two taels of silver. I wanted to give that money to Huaixue."
"There are nine taels left, five for Zong Xiao and four for An Ji." Zong's mother pushed the silver to the two of them respectively.
Zong Xiao frowned and didn't take the money. "Mother, my third brother's wedding gifts and banquet all require money."
The clan mother pushed the money back to him and shook her head. "The third family still owes our family three taels, which is just enough to make up the difference. This is enough for your third brother's betrothal gift."
Seeing this, Zong Xiao didn't know what to say.
After talking about the money, the only thing left is the house.
The clan's family only has this one courtyard, and there is nothing around it. The clan mother thought of building a wall in the middle of the courtyard, and then opening a door in each courtyard. This way, it can be considered a separate courtyard, and outsiders will know that the family has been divided.
However, the division of this courtyard was not so fair. The clan mother wanted to give the side with Dalang Zong Zhan to Zong Anji. After all, she and Huaixue would follow him after the separation.
Qiu Xuan understood. This matter actually seemed unfair, but after thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
She nodded at Zong Xiao, signaling him not to refute her mother.
"Just do as mother wishes." Zong Xiao had no other opinion on this matter. Seeing that Qiu Yun agreed, he also agreed.
The division of the family was thus concluded, and the grandmother spoke a few words of advice to the two brothers separately.
Anyway, they are brothers, and they should not hurt their relationship because of the separation.
Zong Xiao doted on his younger brother and didn't think it was a big deal. As for Zong Anji, he was still grateful to Zong Xiao in his heart. After all, if his second brother hadn't asked him personally, he would never have said the word "separation".
After noon, the grandmother went straight to the house of Liu the butcher in the next village without delay.
This marriage has been discussed for a long time, so this time I just went to briefly talk about the situation of the clan family, which is also a statement of my opinion.
If the Liu family is willing, the clan mother can ask a matchmaker to propose marriage after she returns.
Butcher Liu was reluctant to give up his little daughter, but he really didn't expect that the Zong family would agree to his high demands.
If he hadn't known that the eldest branch of the Zong family were all down-to-earth people, he would have doubted their motives for getting married.
"Sister-in-law, you also know that my family only has one yard. If we build the wall, it will take at least three to five days." The grandmother told the truth without hiding anything.
Upon seeing this, Liu the Butcher and his wife said nothing more and agreed to the marriage after they had negotiated it.
At the same time, the betrothal gift was reduced from seven taels to five taels. The additional taels were also given so that the clan could marry their daughter home in a dignified manner.
When the clan mother heard this, she was very reluctant and immediately said that the wedding must be held in a dignified manner.
-
In the mountains.
Zong Xiao was holding a bow and aiming at a hare.
Qiu Xuan squatted in the grass nearby, not daring to breathe, for fear that the noise would make the hare run away.
With a whoosh, the arrow pierced the hare and pinned it to the tree behind.
"I really won!" Qiu Yu stood up and looked at the gray-haired hare in surprise.
This hare was similar to the one that scared her that day, except that it was a little fatter.
Zong Xiao had no expression on his face, but he was happy in his heart. He walked forward and pulled the arrow from the tree, tied up the hare that was still breathing a little and threw it into the backpack.
"How do you want to eat this wild rabbit? Roast it or fry it?" Zong Xiao asked her.
Qiu Xuan thought about the grilled fish she had a few days ago and felt that grilled fish still tasted better. "Why not just grill it?"
"Okay." Zong Xiao didn't take her further into the mountains. The hares in their backpacks had blood spots on their bodies. If they went deeper, they would easily attract wild beasts.
The two returned along the same route, and on the way down the mountain, Zong Xiao took Qiu Xuan to visit several hunting pits.
Unlike the one Qiu Xuan fell into last time, there were sharpened bamboos underneath all these hunting pits.
Qiu Xuan slightly shifted her gaze and asked him, "There are these things under the hunting pit. Have they ever hurt anyone?"
"Yes." Zong Xiao pointed to the three claw marks on the tree. "Look at the knife marks on the tree. They are all markings. If you see a three-claw pattern, there must be a hunting pit within two meters."
This is the hunters' rule. Of course, the villagers also know about it. They are afraid that they will fall into a pit if they go into the mountains alone.
But there are always those who don't listen. Zong Xiao seemed to have thought of something. He looked up at Qiu Xuan and said with a smile, "Didn't you fall down that day?"
Qiu Yan:...
Zong Xiao didn't mean to tease her. After saying this, he took her to a nearby pit.
The two did not delay in the woods for long. Seeing that there was no prey in the hunting pit, they went straight home.
They came back early, so only Huaixue and Zong Anji were at home.
As soon as Zong Xiao entered the house, he started to deal with the wild rabbit. The rabbit was full of treasures, especially the rabbit fur, which could be used to make a collar.
He had given those to his mother and Huaixue before, and today he planned to leave this to Qiuyun.
The weather will get colder in two months, and it will be just right for her to use then.
As Zong Xiao thought this, his hands moved more swiftly, and soon a complete rabbit skin appeared in his hands.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
