Chapter 5 Are you willing?
Qiu Yu stood aside and took a look at the slingshot in Hu Zi's hand.
The slingshot was exquisite, with patterns carved on it. It was obvious that it was not made by the village children themselves.
Thinking of Hu Zi stealing money, Qiu Xuan suddenly understood.
But she didn't say anything and just pretended not to know.
"Mom, I'm hungry. Is the meal ready?" Seeing that he had been fooled, Hu Zi quickly changed the subject.
"It's ready now. Put down your things and wash your hands. Daya, you..." Lin Cuihua originally wanted to ask Qiu Xuan to go to work, but at the last moment she remembered what Qiu Shitou had told her.
She changed the subject and said, "Daya, go into the house and call your grandparents out."
Qiu Xiu should be good.
The kitchen was stuffy and hot. As soon as Lin Cuihua opened the door, a wave of heat hit her in the face.
She endured the heat and hurriedly served the rice porridge from the pot.
There were six people in the family, and usually they only had five bowls, with no room for Qiu Xuan. Today, Lin Cuihua, for the first time ever, served her a bowl as well.
Hu Zi put down his things and sat at the table. When he saw the extra bowls and chopsticks, he shouted towards the kitchen, "Mom, you've served too much."
"What's too much? There are six of us in the family, so we can't have one bowl each." Hu Zi didn't know that Qiu Xuan was about to get married, so he was slightly stunned when he heard this.
Lin Cuihua brought the last dish to the table and called out to Qiu Yu, "Daya, sit down and eat."
Qiu Xuan knew what Lin Cuihua was planning, but she could have a bowl of hot rice just by listening to a few more words, which was very valuable.
She carefully sat down half a stool away from Hu Zi, looking timid, and Hu Zi couldn't find any way to complain.
Qiu Xuan prepared all the meals today. Although there are not many dishes, including one meat dish and one vegetable dish, the good thing is that the quantity is large.
It’s more than enough food for the six members of the Qiu family.
Qiu Xuan didn't dare to show it too obviously. She just drank the porridge in small sips and sometimes picked up a small pickle.
Qiu Shitou, who was standing by, saw this and directly picked up a piece of vegetable with chopsticks and put it into her bowl.
Qiu Xuan pretended to be surprised.
"Eat more, otherwise you won't be able to eat our food in a few days." Qiu Shitou said with a smile.
Qiu Xuan rolled her eyes in her heart. All the food on the table was cooked by her. How could she not eat it if she wanted to?
Hu Zi paused while eating, looked up and asked Qiu Shitou, "Dad, what do you mean by that? Is she leaving?"
"What's 'she-she-she'? This is your sister." Qiu Shitou knocked Hu Zi on the forehead with a bamboo chopstick and corrected him, "Your sister is engaged and will be getting married in a few days."
Qiu Shitou told his parents about marrying off to pay off the debt as soon as the matter was decided, so the two elders at the dinner table did not have any other reaction.
In their eyes, using a cheap girl to pay off the five taels of foreign debt was really a good deal.
"Whose family are you going to marry? Do I know them? How much is the betrothal gift?" Hu Zi didn't even eat his meal and asked several questions in a row.
Lin Cuihua put a piece of meat and vegetable into his bowl with her chopsticks, scolding him with a smile: "Eating can't stop your mouth. The man your sister is engaged to is not from our village, how can you know him?"
Hu Zi swallowed the meat, but he still wanted to ask, "What about the betrothal gift? I heard that Sandan's sister gave a betrothal gift of three taels of silver."
"Your sister's betrothal gift is about the same." Lin Cuihua didn't want outsiders to know about marrying off her daughter to pay off debts, so she simply hid it from her son. She looked at Qiu Xuan and said with a smile, "Daya, look at your brother. He cares about you so much. If you are wronged in your in-laws' family in the future, your brother will definitely support you."
Hu Zi backs her up? What a joke.
"Your brother is the root of our Qiu family. Even though you are getting married, you must not forget your brother."
While they were talking, Qiu Xuan picked up two pieces of meat for herself.
Everyone at the table saw it, but out of consideration, no one said anything to her directly.
"Dad, I know."
Although someone kept nagging Qiu Xuan during the meal, it was the best meal she had ever had in those days.
There were meat, vegetables and porridge, and she was so full in the end.
After everyone finished eating, Qiu Xuan hurriedly stood up from the stool and cleared all the dishes and chopsticks on the table before Lin Cuihua could do anything.
For Qiu Xuan, washing dishes is just like eating.
But in Lin Cuihua's eyes, this is just knowing the rules.
Although Qiu Yun was allowed to eat at the table today, she did not forget her identity and knew that her role in this family was to do the work.
Lin Cuihua was satisfied and felt that her suppression of Qiu Yun over the years was very effective. With Qiu Yun's obedient appearance, even if she got married in the future, she would not dare to say no if asked to bring meat home.
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The clan's side is busy preparing for the wedding. Although the daughter-in-law is coming to pay off a debt, the feast is still indispensable for the clan mother.
If she doesn't hold a wedding ceremony for Erlang's marriage, outsiders might see it and say something about her behind her back.
She had prepared the meals for these tables according to village standards. Chicken, duck, and fish were essential, but there was no need to put a lot on each table; one plate would suffice.
The mother was fully prepared and took out a tael of silver to give to Zong Xiao.
"Go to town today and buy some melon seeds and candies. They're essential for your wedding."
Zong Xiao pushed it back, "Mom, I have it on hand, I don't need yours."
The clan mother knew that he had money in his pocket, but that was all earned from hunting. How could she use a child's money for such a big event as marriage?
She stuffed the silver into Zong Xiao's hand and said earnestly, "Just take it if your mother tells you to. Don't forget to buy some when you go down the mountain."
Zong Xiao refused but had no choice but to accept it.
He was indeed going down the mountain today, but his purpose was not to buy things, but to visit the Qiu family.
He had to ask Miss Qiu's opinion on this marriage. If she didn't want to, he wouldn't force her to marry him.
The Qiu family's home was on the way down the mountain. He walked for half an hour and arrived at Datun Village. After asking around, he found out where the Qiu family lived.
Near the entrance of the alley, a woman stopped him and asked, "You are not from our village, are you?"
Zong Xiao hummed and was about to leave.
Lin Cuihua gossiped, "I live in this area, whose house are you going to?"
"Qiu Shitou's house." he said.
Lin Cuihua's face turned pale instantly. She was still asking around here, but she didn't expect that the visitor would actually go to her house.
"You...are you okay?" Lin Cuihua lost her momentum.
"Um."
"What's the matter? I'm from Qiu Shitou's family. How come I don't know you?"
There were outsiders around, so Zong Xiao didn't say much. He only replied with two words, "Zong family."
Lin Cuihua's heart was filled with alarm, and she was afraid that he would continue talking, so she quickly stood up and said goodbye to the people around her.
When they were alone, Lin Cuihua finally plucked up the courage to ask him, "Why didn't Zong's sister-in-law come? Does Zong Zhong Erlang no longer want this marriage?"
After hearing her say this, Zong Xiao became even more certain that the Qiu family didn't know that it was him who was going to marry their daughter.
Thinking of the scar on his face, he decided to explain it clearly.
He said, "I am the Second Son of the Zong family. I came here today to ask Miss Qiu a few questions."
Lin Cuihua choked and looked at him in shock.
The tall and strong man with a hideous scar on his face and who looked like he could kill three of her with one punch was actually the second son of the Zong family...the man Qiu Xuan was going to marry.
No, no, if Qiu Xuan sees this man, what will she do and refuse to marry him?
Lin Cuihua's eyes rolled and she quickly came up with an idea.
She said, "I can talk, but my daughter is still unmarried, so it's really inappropriate for her to meet a man from another family. Why don't you two just talk to each other through the door?"
Zong Xiao nodded, as if to agree, "Please tell her about me."
Zong Xiao raised his finger and pointed at the scar on his face.
"become."
Lin Cuihua asked him to stand outside the door and hurried into the yard.
Seeing Qiu Xuan, she came up and said, "Oh, what great joy!"
Qiu Xuan was washing her wedding dress and looked up when she heard the sound.
"The second son of the Zong family is here. He's so handsome. He said he wanted to talk to you. See, your mother didn't lie to you. The Zong family is a good family. You must cherish it. No matter what the second son of the Zong family asks outside the door, you must say yes."
Qiu Xuan's eyebrows jumped. She didn't expect that the man would come to her door. Was he going to cancel the engagement? But from what Lin Cuihua said, it didn't seem like that.
She nodded, and followed Lin Cuihua to the gate of the courtyard without even wiping her hands.
The two of them couldn't see each other because of the door.
Lin Cuihua said something to the people outside, and they arrived.
Zong Xiao then approached her and asked, "I wonder if Miss Qiu knows anything about me."
Qiu Xuan had no idea about his affairs. She turned her head to look at Lin Cuihua, only to see Lin Cuihua nodding at her frantically.
She could only say, "I know."
Seeing that she understood, Zong Xiao continued to ask, "Is the girl still willing to marry you?"
Qiu Xuan looked at Lin Cuihua again, only to see Lin Cuihua open her mouth, and the shape of her mouth showed her willingness.
She said helplessly: "Yes."
Outside the door, Zong Xiao's heart finally settled down. Seeing that the girl from the Qiu family was really willing, he replied sincerely, "Okay, I'll come to marry you the day after tomorrow."
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