Chapter 6: Getting married. Something is wrong with this road!
The wedding date was approaching, and Lin Cuihua let Qiu Xuan take a hot bath for the first time.
Farmers don’t care about summer, and usually they just wash with a basin of cold water. But today, soaking in hot water, Qiuxiu just feels comfortable.
Lin Cuihua naturally wouldn't help her scrub. She stood aside holding a cheap storybook and talked to her like an experienced person.
"It's just a small matter in bed. Just remember what your mother said. The most important thing after getting married is to have children. Only if you give birth to a son will you be secure in their family." Lin Cuihua glanced at Qiu Xuan's small body and felt disgusted.
If her son Hu Zi gets married, she will definitely choose someone who is easy to give birth to. She wouldn't even want a wilted eggplant like Qiu Xuan even if she was given it for free.
"No matter how good the Zong family is, you can't forget our family after you marry into it. Come back often when you have time. Your father is a good cook. If the Zong family hunts a rabbit or something, don't be reluctant to take it home."
Lin Cuihua kept talking, not realizing that she had said anything wrong.
They seemed to have completely forgotten how this family treated Qiu Yun in the past, and even delusionally hoped that a person who was married off to pay off a debt could take back all the family's belongings.
It's really stupid.
Seeing that she was almost done washing, Lin Cuihua clapped her hands and was about to leave. Before leaving, she reminded her again: "You are going to get married tomorrow. Look at this book again for yourself. Remember everything your mother tells you, understand?"
Qiu Xuan lowered her eyes: "Mother, I understand."
After everyone left, Qiu Xuan came out of the water.
She put on her clothes quickly and bolted the door, then went to the rat hole in the corner and took out seven taels of silver wrapped in cloth.
She had dug out the silver coins from the chicken coop early this morning. Although the cloth was a little dirty, the silver coins were clean.
Originally, she didn't know how to transport the money out, until today when Lin Cuihua showed her the dowry. She looked at the box of needle and thread and instantly had an idea in her mind.
She took out the inner garment she was going to wear tomorrow, folded the hem upwards, placed the silver coins on top, arranged them at intervals, and then sewed them up one by one with needle and thread.
Although this method seems unsafe, it is the best way for Qiu Xuan.
The Qiu family would not help her put on her wedding dress, so she only needed to put it on before everyone entered the house tomorrow, and no one would be able to see the secret hidden in her inner clothes.
Originally, she wanted to sew it into her bedding, but she definitely couldn't take the bedding with her when she ran away, so she simply gave up and just carried the silver and money close to her body.
She had it all planned out. As long as she saw the official road tomorrow, she would find an excuse to escape. However, she felt sorry for the eggs and rice she had hidden in the cave. If it were not inconvenient, she would really like to take them with her.
As the night deepened, the only sounds in the yard were the chirping of cicadas. Feeling sleepy, Qiu Xuan yawned and then got on the kang.
Perhaps because hope was right before her eyes, she slept particularly soundly that night.
The next day, there was movement in the yard before dawn.
Qiu Xuan did not sleep in. To be on the safe side, she wrapped a layer of coarse cloth around her inner clothes so that even if someone put their hands on her waist, they would not be offended by the silver and money.
"Daya, are you awake?" Qiu Shitou called out from the door. "Your Aunt Liu is here. Open the door and let her clean up for you."
What Qiu Shitou meant by "cleaning up" was combing hair and putting on makeup. There were special people in the village to do this, but they charged five copper coins per time.
Lin Cuihua was reluctant to leave, so she invited Aunt Liu from the village. She didn't have to pay, just had to have a bowl of rice with her in the morning.
"Dad, I'll be there soon." Qiu Xuan put on her wedding dress and checked it carefully. When she saw that there was really nothing wrong, she opened the door.
Aunt Liu moved quickly and had her cleaned up in less than a quarter of an hour. Although she looked no prettier than before, she looked very neat and tidy.
Lin Cuihua had just finished her meal and came in to take a look. The faded wedding dress that had been washed out was a perfect fit for Qiu Xuan.
Lin Cuihua stared at her slender waist, thought for a moment and said, "Daya, don't eat breakfast. I think your wedding dress will stretch out after you eat a bowl of rice, and it won't look good when you eat it."
Although this sounded like it was for Qiu Yu's sake, anyone with a discerning eye knew that Lin Cuihua was reluctant to give up that meal.
Qiu Xuan cursed her in her heart, but could only agree with her.
She told herself to hold on a little longer, and everything would be fine as long as she got on the official road.
After breakfast, several groups of people came to the Qiu family courtyard. They were all relatives and came to chat.
It was not until the sun came out that the Qiu family saw the wedding procession at the entrance of the alley.
They saw Zong Xiao wearing a red wedding dress, holding a donkey in his hand, striding towards them.
"This... this must be the Second Son of the Zong family." After the people gathered in front of the door saw Zong Xiao clearly, they began to talk.
"This is really not my biological child, so I don't love him. I thought Lin Cuihua said something very nice to Daya, but I didn't expect that."
"Yes, look at this appearance..."
Zong Xiao had heard these words thousands of times before. He strode into the courtyard, not taking those people's words to heart at all.
"You're my brother-in-law?" Hu Zi appeared out of nowhere and blocked Zong Xiao's way. He raised his head and said dissatisfiedly, "Why did you come empty-handed? Don't you know that you need to prepare things for the wedding?"
The sudden change made everyone look over here.
Without waiting for Zong Xiao to speak, Lin Cuihua ran over.
"Why are you making such trouble, kid?" Lin Cuihua didn't want to lose face in front of outsiders. If the villagers knew that the Qiu family used their daughter to pay off debts, how would she find a wife for Hu Zi in the future?
She dragged Hu Zi towards Zong Xiao, smiling and saying, "Look how much this kid misses his sister. Daya is in the house, Erlang, go get her."
Zong Xiao didn't think that this kid was reluctant to leave his elder sister, but welcoming the bride was the most important thing right now.
He glanced at the courtyard and saw that the small house in the north was full of people. He was sure that was the house where the bride was.
In the house, Qiu Xuan was already feeling dizzy from hunger. It was such a hot day, and not only was she wearing such thick clothes, she was also covering herself with a veil.
If I don't go out now, I'll faint from the heat.
Fortunately, the wedding party came into the house quickly, took her hand and led her out of the yard.
Qiu Xuan's dowry was not much, so the Qiu family simply wrapped it in coarse cloth and carried it all onto the donkey outside the yard.
"Hold on tight." Seeing that she was sitting firmly, Zong Xiao put the reins in her hands.
The two walked in silence for about half an hour before Qiu Xuan felt they were almost at the official road. She tilted her head slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of the groom through the slit in his veil, but he was so tall and strong that she could only catch a glimpse of half his body.
"Are you tired? Why don't you take a break before going on?" Zong Xiao saw that she was sitting restlessly on the donkey and thought she wanted to go to the toilet.
Take a break!
Qiu Xuan didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly. She nodded and raised her hand to signal him to help her down.
"That's the forest over there. I'll wait for you here." Zong Xiao said.
Qiu Xuan was ecstatic, this was the moment she had been waiting for.
She moved a few steps to the side and lifted her veil slightly, but the scene before her made her gasp.
Where's the official road? How come after walking for so long, there's still mountains and forests all around!
Seeing her standing there motionless, Zong Xiao was puzzled: "You don't dare to go alone?"
Of course Qiu Xuan dares! But this is not the right place!
She pretended to be calm and asked, "Is there an official road around here? Will anyone see us?"
"Official road?"
"Um."
"The official road is at the foot of the mountain. We're heading deep into the mountains. There's woods all around us, so no one will see us. If you're scared, I'll accompany you."
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