When Erhua reacted, he was already on the train.
Yesterday, the middleman Lao Zhang was also at Wang Lao Hu's table. He immediately patted his chest and promised that he could find a mistress for her. As long as he bought two chickens for her, she could take them home immediately without worrying about the crossbeam.
Give Lao Zhang twenty yuan after the wedding.
Erhua figured it out, this was a great deal. After all, for under thirty yuan, he could bring home a satisfactory housewife. After the wedding banquet, Mom and Dad would have to fix up their own house first. Then, he could get married and make money. That would be like starting a family and establishing a career, far better than Dahua and Xu Guoqing.
Thinking about this, Erhua's mood became better and better. He was a little nervous and hesitant at first, but now looking at the scenery outside the window, the distant mountains were clean and fresh after being washed by rain, the white clouds were light and misty woven by the breeze, and the road was flat where the train passed, just like his expectations for the future.
Lao Zhang was too familiar with this section of the journey. He seemed very bored and soon fell asleep on the backrest. He didn't know what he was eating in his dream. He kept smacking his lips, and saliva flowed down from the corner of his mouth, slowly flowing down to his shoulder and seeping into his clothes.
The sister next to me moved her butt to the other side.
After dozing off for a while, perhaps because he was really hungry, Lao Zhang woke up, rubbed his eyes, and took out a big pancake from his arms.
He divided the pancake into two and gave half to Erhua. Erhua was not polite as he was indeed hungry.
"Brother, how long will it take?"
Erhua took two big bites of the biscuit and chewed it hastily, and the food got stuck in his throat without him noticing.
"Slow down!" Lao Zhang took out the kettle. Erhua quickly took a big gulp of water and pounded his chest twice before he felt better.
Seeing that he was fine, Lao Zhang took back the kettle and took a big gulp of water.
"We've only been walking for half a day. There's still a day and a half to go. Don't worry."
Erhua nodded, thinking that there was no need to rush.
"Brother, how many have you introduced?"
I thought I would always find some topics to talk about, but the content of Erhua's chat at this moment was definitely inseparable from this general direction.
Lao Zhang was not shy about it, but rather very proud of it. The more introductions he made, the better he was at being a middleman, and the more people trusted him. This was also something worth showing off.
He stroked the newly grown stubble on his chin, held out his hands and said, "Not much, just this much."
"Ten!"
Erhua secretly exclaimed in his heart, the train journey of the past two days was not very comfortable. He had to sit the whole time, eat dry food and drink cold water. But then he thought, introducing one person would only make twenty yuan, which is better than working in the fields under the scorching sun. Besides, he couldn't earn that much working in the fields.
"Really just two chickens?"
This was the fifth time Erhua had asked. Lao Zhang said impatiently, "They wouldn't mind giving you more!" He licked the crumbs between his teeth and mumbled, "I, Lao Zhang, am a matchmaker and I'm not talking nonsense. If you don't believe me, get off at the next stop and get back on the bus!"
Erhua smiled awkwardly and kept his mouth shut. No wonder he asked again and again along the way. The money in his pocket was borrowed from his second uncle Liang Genquan.
Liang Genquan lived at the bottom of the village. The Liang family was doing well at ordinary times. The main reason was that his second uncle's family had no children, so they only adopted a little girl named Niangyu who was about the same age as Qiuhua from outside. She was already eight years old when she was brought home. The little Niangyu always said that her mother beat her and always secretly ran back to her original home.
After a few rounds of this, the uncle and aunt began to have a grudge against their adopted daughter, feeling they couldn't keep her well. They also thought that the five brothers and sisters in Erhua's family might be able to take care of the old couple in their old age. So after Erhua had some intimate words, Liang Genquan took thirty yuan from his pocket and gave it to him.
Of course, this money was borrowed and would have to be repaid after they got married. Erhua also promised to take good care of them when they were old.
After deducting the twenty yuan he gave to Lao Zhang, there were only ten yuan left. Erhua couldn't help feeling a little uneasy and hoped that the other party's family would not make any other demands.
He ate half a pancake and managed to hold on until the evening. It was dark and the train whirred out of the station. Lao Zhang got off the train at this station and bought three big steamed buns. They were steaming hot, which made Erhua feel uneasy. Fortunately, the train was noisy, otherwise everyone around him could hear the singing in his stomach.
Old Zhang blew air on the steamed bun while eating. The fragrance came towards Erhua with the air flow, almost hooking his nose.
After eating a steamed bun, Lao Zhang felt a burning sensation on his chest. He put the bun down and took a deep breath. At this moment, he noticed that Erhua was staring at the bun in his hand.
"You haven't prepared anything?" Lao Zhang subconsciously moved the steamed buns towards him and said, "You're not going to ask me to provide you with food for the whole journey, are you?"
"No, no, brother, please don't worry about me. I'm not hungry!"
Erhua withdrew his gaze. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell whether he was really not hungry or just pretending. People around him started to take out food to eat in groups of three or four, so he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
Once he closed his eyes, his nose became more sensitive. Erhua could smell clearly who was eating steamed buns and who was gnawing on beef.
"Okay, eat it." Erhua felt his hands getting warm, and what caught his eyes was a big snow-white steamed bun. He looked at Lao Zhang with gratitude.
"Don't thank me." Lao Zhang took another bite of his steamed bun and said, "I'm trying to make money from you. I can't let you starve to death on the train."
At this moment, Erhua felt that Lao Zhang was a thousand times better than his family members. He introduced him to the landlady and gave him food. Then he thought about his own family, where his father chopped off his fingers, and everyone else only cared about Dahua, and no one considered him. He was even worse than an outsider!
The train entered the cave, and the already dark carriage became even darker, so dark that one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. Erhua took this opportunity to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes. When they got out of the cave, everything returned to normal.
Another day passed, and the two finally got off the train. Erhua and Lao Zhang boarded a long-distance bus, which took about half a day before they got off. After walking a few miles, they met a cattle herder, and Lao Zhang persuaded them to get on.
"When we get to their house, don't say anything. Let me tell you, I noticed this family the last time I came here. They have three little mermaids."
Erhua was excited when he heard this and asked hurriedly, "I don't mind whichever one I like."
"You wish!" Old Zhang spat at the roadside. "That only works if the mermaids like you! Those three mermaids are so pretty, and their skin is so white! You're such a lucky bastard!"
Erhua smiled and felt very happy. Since all three were good-looking, it would be worthwhile to take any one of them home!
As soon as he thought of the pretty mermaid, Luo Zhen's face appeared in his mind at an inappropriate time. He quickly drove her out of his mind. The journey had been going smoothly, but when he was almost at the end, his brain started to not work well.
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