Jinniu confessed with a red face that he and Bao Dongmei had actually started to develop special feelings for each other after the Chinese New Year. They liked each other secretly but had never said it out loud. They also had a tacit understanding at ordinary times. It was the kind of feeling that no one else knew but the two of them, and they were secretly happy and sweet.

Jinniu felt that Bao Dongmei was still young, only seventeen years old. He wanted to wait until Bao Dongmei turned eighteen before telling Meng Tao, and then ask a matchmaker to arrange the marriage. The day when Geng Liuju and Geng Caiyue came to make trouble was indeed an unexpected opportunity.

Dongmei expressed her true feelings in public to protect him. He definitely couldn't let Dongmei take the lead, he had to stand with her.

Bao Dongmei hasn't come these days, and Jinniu is very anxious. He musters up the courage to go to Bao's house. Dongmei's mother is not angry at all, and treats him politely and kindly. Captain Bao has punished Dongmei, but he didn't say anything to Jinniu. Jinniu wants to ask a matchmaker to propose marriage, but Captain Bao asks Jinniu to ask Taohua first. After all, Bao Dongmei is a few years younger than Taohua, and she calls Taohua "Sister Taohua" all day long, but suddenly one day she wants to be her sister-in-law. He doesn't know if Taohua is happy about it.

"Age doesn't matter, as long as you two really like each other."

Meng Tao said: "Dongmei is really good, hardworking, capable, lively and straightforward. She looks festive and cute despite her chubby figure. I like her very much. She is currently the fattest girl in our village. She will slowly lose weight after she turns 20. Brother Jinniu has good taste."

When Jinniu heard Meng Tao say that she also liked Dongmei, his mouth was so full of laughter that it stretched to his ears. He and his sister were the only ones in the Meng family. He wanted to marry a wife not only to satisfy himself, but also to hope that his sister would accept and like her. "I don't know what kind of taste you have, but I think it's good for this girl to be white and plump. I don't want her to be thin, because this is the way she looks."

Meng Tao: “…”

Well, whether it’s fat or thin, everyone has their own aesthetic taste. As long as Brother Taurus likes it, she won’t say anything more.

However, Taurus' fate is also quite interesting. His marriage line has moved at this point in his past and present lives, confirming that he is destined to marry early.

The brother and sister sat and talked for a while. Meng Tao planned to go to Captain Bao's house later. Now that the matter had been made public, they would become in-laws in the future if nothing unexpected happened. Meng Tao had to go to meet them. She would not stay at home for long and would have to go out again in the next two days.

The two of them were discussing what gifts to bring. Jinniu suddenly remembered something and walked into the house. After a while, he came out with a bunch of straw. He put it on the table and opened it for Meng Tao to see. It turned out to be a dozen bananas that were cooked with straw. The skin was yellow-green, and each one was fat and plump. They looked fleshy and seemed to be delicious.

Jinniu smiled and said, "This is from the backyard of Wang Ergou's house. I've eaten it before. It's very sweet. I saved it for you. Try it."

Meng Tao just remembered Jinniu's sick friend and asked, "You went to Liuzhuang to see Wang Ergou last month. How is he now?"

"He's recovered! His family didn't have money to hospitalize him, so they listened to the local doctor's prescriptions and took herbs at home. He recovered. Now Ergou can eat and drink, and can even get out of bed and walk slowly... A few days ago, his parents and sister came to our house in a bullock cart and gave us these bananas, saying that they were here to visit relatives and to get to know each other, so that I could go back and play with Ergou when I had some free time."

"Really? That's great. Let me try a banana. It's really sweet, and it's a white banana. Brother Jinniu, you can try one too. Take a few to Dongmei's house tonight. Grandma Bao is old and has bad teeth, so this is soft and tender. I also bought some meat, fish, eggs, and sugar and put them in the car. I'll take some with me as well."

"Not too much, as long as we are polite."

On the first day Meng Tao returned to the village, she naturally had dinner with the educated youth. Jinniu helped out and Meng Tao was the chef. As the weather was hot, she didn't cook too many dishes, only four: braised fish with stewed tofu skin, pork stewed with vermicelli, stir-fried water spinach and a melon flower soup. The portions were large and served in large ceramic bowls. The combination of meat and vegetables was fresh and delicious, and everyone enjoyed the meal very much.

After dinner, Qian Xiaoyun and Jiang Limei washed the pots and pans, while Meng Tao and Jinniu packed up a bamboo basket and went to Bao Dongmei's house with flashlights.

The Bao family had just finished their meal, and the house was a little noisy and chaotic. The main reason was that there were too many children, seven in total, three boys and four girls. The youngest boy was only two or three years old. The older ones took care of the younger ones, pulling them to take a bath and go to bed. The parents and grandmother were also busy, and would yell at them if they couldn't sleep. The whole house was so noisy that the roof was about to fly off.

The brother and sister first looked inside the courtyard gate. Meng Tao joked with Jin Niu: "In the future, you should have so many children. It will be lively at home."

Taurus scratched his head and chuckled: "Of course it would be great if we could have it."

Ouch, this guy took it seriously.

However, it is impossible to have seven children because family planning was implemented in the 1980s. Bao Dongmei is not yet 18 years old this year, so they can only get engaged first and get married next year in 1976. If they hurry, they can have up to four children.

Bao Dongmei was helping her younger brother and sister-in-law take a bath in the yard. She felt the light of a flashlight outside the gate, looked over and saw two people. Perhaps she felt embarrassed to see Meng Tao, so she asked her older sister to take over and she hid in the house.

Soon, Captain Bao, Dongmei's mother, and Dongmei's grandmother came out and invited Jinniu and Meng Tao into the house.

After talking for a while, Meng Tao said that since Jinniu and Dongmei liked each other, they should be allowed to fall in love and marry freely. However, the adults had to help make decisions on some things. The Meng family only had two siblings, who were young and didn't understand much, so Uncle Bao and Aunt Bao would have to take care of them in the future.

Captain Bao and Dongmei's mother both understood Taohua and Jinniu, and they knew each other well. They knew that she was speaking from the heart, so there was no need to be polite or beat around the bush. Everyone spoke frankly and it was quite refreshing.

The Bao family believes that Jinniu and Dongmei should first settle down in a romantic relationship, that is, start dating, hold an engagement party early next year, and get married by the end of the year.

They were not concerned about Bao Dongmei being under 18 years old, but because of local customs, brothers and sisters cannot get married in the same year. This year is the year of marriage, and Jinniu, as the elder brother, cannot get married.

Meng Tao and Jin Niu of course listened to the woman and had no objections.

After finishing the discussion, it was late at night. Meng Tao and Jinniu said goodbye and went home. Bao Dongmei got permission from Grandma Bao and walked out of the room. She was usually lively and cheerful, but at this moment she looked a little timid.

Meng Tao smiled and held her, talked to her and asked her to come to her house to play tomorrow. Only then did Bao Dongmei calm down a little and smile. She liked Brother Jinniu, but she said it out loud without telling Sister Meng Tao first. She was really afraid that Sister Meng Tao would be unhappy.

(End of this chapter)