Zheng Xiu stood at the door for a moment, then put away the thin steel wire and turned back to the house.
A small figure flashed by behind a big tree not far from the main door of the Zheng family.
Zhu had a big fall at the Zheng family, and she went back to complain to her husband.
Zheng Quan was lying lazily on the kang. After hearing this, he just said indifferently, "It's okay that I didn't get hurt, but it's annoying to keep nagging about me."
Zhu became even more angry and shouted, "If there was no income at home, would I rush to be a matchmaker for that unlucky girl? I'm free!"
Zheng Quan became interested after hearing this and said, "What benefits did Mr. Feng promise?"
Zhu raised her hand and gestured, "Fifty taels of silver!" And this was only the apparent benefit. The Feng family also said that as long as Zheng Xiu was willing to marry, they would not ask for any dowry. The land under Zheng Ren's name is ancestral property and cannot be sold. When Zheng Ren and his family move to the town, all the land in the countryside will be under the name of old man Zheng, and thus in their own hands.
Zheng Quan clicked his tongue: "So much! What does it matter if you fall? Just go again tomorrow!"
Zhu was still sulking. On the one hand, she was worried about the fifty taels of silver, and on the other hand, she was very dissatisfied with the attitude of Zheng Xiu and her brother! A few years ago, Zheng Xiu was still a gentle and timid person who dared not say a word to her, her aunt. Who knew that she would become a different person after she had a serious illness. Although there was nothing disrespectful about it, Zhu felt suffocated when she met Zheng Xiu's half-smile.
Zhu was throwing things around in the house and was sulking for a long time before she went to her parents-in-law's room.
Old man Zheng and old lady Zheng had heard the noises after their daughter-in-law entered the house, and they didn't know why she was unhappy. They knew their daughter-in-law's character very well. She was very stubborn and couldn't stand the slightest bit of anger.
Zhu came into the house and started to cry: "I was kind enough to think about Xiu's marriage, but she didn't appreciate my kindness and even tripped me at the door."
Old Mrs. Zheng hesitated and said, "Xiu is not that kind of person."
Zhu snorted, "Could it be that I would wrongly accuse her? I just feel sorry for her. She is already sixteen years old after the New Year, and her marriage is still not settled. Although we have separated from our uncle's family, we are still a family with the same surname. How will my daughter-in-law get married in the future when she has such a sister?"
Zhu's rapid-fire words forced Old Mrs. Zheng into silence. Old man Zheng was always a taciturn person, so he had nothing to say.
Zhu said again: "Mother-in-law doesn't know. Today, when I went to my uncle's house, I saw Xiu's girl feeding the dog with white steamed buns and vegetables. Our family is still eating mixed noodles, which is not as good as the dog food they picked up. You say, no matter how much money you have, you can't waste it like this."
Old Mrs. Zheng looked at Zheng Rong playing on the kang. He was the youngest child in the family, half a year younger than Zheng Yu. Because of long-term malnutrition, he was pale and thin, small in stature, and looked much younger than Zheng Yu. This time, she agreed with Zhu's opinion and nodded, "I'll go talk to her later."
Seeing that she was persuaded, Zhu began to talk about the good things of Mr. Feng's family in the town, hoping that Old Mrs. Zheng could join her as a lobbyist. In fact, if it were an ordinary family, Old Lady Zheng could have been the mistress of her granddaughter, but Zheng Ren was too successful, and the two families had separated, so no one dared to force Zheng Xiu.
Old Lady Zheng had never seen the salary of Mr. Feng's family, but she had heard of the reputation of Mr. Feng's family. Seeing that Zhu had gone there and failed to persuade Zheng Xiu, she thought about waiting for Zheng Ren to come back in a few days, and then she would go and talk to him in person.
In the afternoon, Mrs. Li Zheng came to the Zheng family and brought news from Xue Shao's family.
It turned out that a month ago, Xue Shao's father and several tiger hunters from the neighboring village went up to Hukou Mountain to hunt. It happened that it snowed heavily that night, and the mountain was closed, and they have not come out yet.
Hukou Mountain is not far from Huaishu Village. It got its name because of its dangerous terrain and a peak that looks like a lying tiger with its mouth wide open. Usually, only hunters who are not afraid of danger and have skills go to Hukou Mountain to hunt.
Because Xue Shao's father did not go with the people in the village, and his family was simple, with only Xue Shao as the only child, no one told the story, and Li Zheng never knew that Xue the hunter was missing.
Heavy snow blocking the mountain can be a big deal or a small deal. If you are lucky, you may be able to escape, but if you are unlucky, it is possible that you will lose your life on the mountain.
However, Li Zheng's wife also said that Xue Shao's father was a martial artist, so he would be fine. The weather has warmed up in the past two days, and several villages have gathered people to search and rescue when the snow is almost melted.
Zheng Xiu hoped that the Xue hunter, whom she had never met, would be safe and sound, otherwise it would be too pitiful to leave a child like Xue Shao behind. In this era, there is a place like an orphanage, called the Charity Bureau, but let alone this era, even in modern times, the children in the orphanage have a very bad life, not to mention such a difficult year.
Mrs. Li Zheng was also a kind-hearted person. She said that she would send some food to the Xue family later, and then told Zheng Xiu that if she saw Xue Shao again, she should bring him to her house. Nothing else would be said, just make sure he had enough food for a few days, and then make further arrangements after receiving news from his father.
Zheng Xiu agreed, sent Mrs. Li Zheng away.
After Mrs. Li Zheng left, Zheng Xiu took out the thin steel wire and looked at it for a while. She had a vague feeling that this rare thing belonged to Xue Shao, and she felt that the child would definitely come to find her.
Zheng Xiu was right. After breakfast that night, the joyful barking of a black dog could be heard outside.
Zheng Xiu immediately left the house after hearing it.
Under the bright moonlight, Xue Shao stood outside the fence, tiptoeing to look inside. He was still wearing the dirty animal skin jacket, and his cheeks were red from the cold.
Zheng Xiu took out two steamed buns and said, "You haven't had dinner yet? Put them down first."
Xue Shao put his hands behind his back and refused to take them, saying, "I don't want them. I just want my things back."
Zheng Xiu went back into the house, wrapped the steamed buns with gauze, and stuffed them into his arms after coming out, "If you don't want them, I won't give them back to you." Xue Shao didn't insist. Zheng Xiu
tentatively took out a thin steel wire and handed it to him.
Xue Shao quickly snatched it and carefully put it in his arms.
Zheng Xiu said, "You are such a treasure, don't take it out and put it around casually in the future." However, Xue Shao had no grudges with her second aunt in the past or in the present, so he did it naturally to help her vent her anger. Zheng Xiu appreciated this.
Xue Shao pouted and said, "What's it got to do with you." Then he turned around and was about to leave.
Zheng Xiu wanted to take him to Li Zheng's wife's house, so she was not willing to let him go like this. When she saw him turn around, she hurried to pull him. But Xue Shao seemed to have eyes behind his head, and he twisted his body to avoid her hand.
Zheng Xiu missed, slipped and fell to the ground.
She cried out "ouch", and Zheng Yu quickly rushed out.
"Sister, are you okay?" Zheng Yu looked worried.
Zheng Xiu was helped up by him. She rubbed her chin and said incoherently, "It's okay, it's okay. I was not careful."
Zheng Yu turned around and shouted at Xue Shao, "You wild child, my sister was kind enough to help you, but you made her fall! Go away! Get out of my house!"
Xue Shao was also frightened by her fall. He instinctively took two steps forward to help her. After hearing what Zheng Yu said, he stopped, pursed his lips, turned around with a wooden face and ran away without looking back. When Zheng Xiu wanted to stop him, he had already disappeared.
"Why do you say that to others?" Zheng Xiu stared at Zheng Yu.
Zheng Yu curled his lips and said, "Originally, it's all his fault."
Zheng Xiu sighed and said patiently, "Second Aunt also scolded us as 'wild kids' during the day. How did you feel when you heard that? Why did you still say that to others?"
Zheng Yu lowered his head and said nothing. When Second Aunt said that during the day, he really felt very upset. It's just that Xue Shao caused his sister to fall just now. It's really hateful!
Zheng Xiu was helped back to the house by him, and he had to scold him.
Zheng Yu didn't argue and accepted the reprimand obediently.
The next morning, Zheng Xiu got up early. Although she fell hard yesterday, she didn't feel any pain after a night. She kneaded the dough neatly and made noodles. There was some bone soup left over, so it was convenient to use it as the soup base. Add some cabbage and tofu as ingredients.
After the noodles were put into the pot, the bone soup started to bubble with fragrance. Zheng Yu got up when he smelled the smell.
"Sister, let's have noodles today!" Zheng Yu, who had eaten a lot of porridge, happily circled around the stove.
Zheng Xiu looked at the fire and said to him, "Let's go to Xue's house later and see Xue Shao."
"Why are we going to see him?" Xue Shao muttered in dissatisfaction, then met Zheng Xiu's glare and shut up obediently.
Soon the noodles were cooked, and Zheng Xiu scooped a full bowl with a large bowl, and also scooped a lot of cabbage and tofu.
Zheng Yu's stomach growled with hunger, and his mouth was watering at the sight.
Zheng Xiu didn't care about him, she took the basket, carefully laid the large bowl flat, and then covered it with the bowl, then took two steamed buns from the steamer and put them in the basket.
Zheng Yu reluctantly followed her out the door and went to Xue Shao's house at the west end of the village.
The house where Xue Shao's family lived now was originally an abandoned house in the village. It can be seen that it has been simply cleaned up, but it also looks very shabby, with only two earthen houses with rotten walls. There is a yard, but it looks like no one has cleaned it for a long time, and the snow inside has not been swept away.
Zheng Xiu knocked on the door for a while, but no one answered. Seeing that the front door was not locked, she simply pushed it open and walked in. The door to the main room was also wide open, with only a table and a few benches inside.
As soon as Zheng Xiu walked in, she smelled a strange smell, a bit like mold mixed with sour smell. She put the basket on the table, looked around, and found a lot of bacon tied to the beam. But it was just bacon, and there was really nothing else decent in the room.
"Sister, we have delivered all the things, let's go back." Zheng Yu kept urging from the side.
Zheng Xiu shouted into the room twice again without giving up, and seeing that no one came out, she walked through the main room and entered the room. The earthen kang in the room was empty, and there was no one at all.
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