After washing the clothes, Zheng Xiu went to the stove to wash the dishes for breakfast, and then prepared lunch.
Zheng Yu stealthily pulled Xue Shao aside to whisper.
"Have you learned Kung Fu? So powerful, just one punch, Daniu fell to the ground and couldn't get up."
Xue Shao nodded and said, "My father taught me a little boxing."
Zheng Yu looked admiring: "Then when your father comes back, let him teach me, okay?"
Xue Shao pursed his lips and thought about it. His father was not willing to associate with others, let alone teach others boxing. However, the Zheng family had done him a favor first, and his father also taught him to be grateful.
"When my father comes back, I will discuss it with him and try my best to talk."
Zheng Yu hurriedly said, "Then you must try very hard to talk."
Xue Shao nodded seriously in agreement.
The two of them kept whispering to each other for the whole morning, until Zheng Xiu finished making lunch and asked Zheng Yu to go to his grandparents' house to ask if Zheng Ren would come back for lunch.
Zheng Yu trotted over.
After breakfast, Zheng Ren went out and went to the old man and the old woman.
The two elders were very happy to see their eldest son come back, and pulled him aside to ask if he had been doing well in the academy these days.
Zheng Ren patiently told him about the recent trivial matters and showed concern for their diet and daily life.
Old man Zheng was a man of few words and loved to laugh, so he just smiled and nodded. Old lady Zheng said, "Everything is fine, your brother and sister-in-law are here. Even if anything happens, they will take care of you."
Zheng Ren thought that it was because such a family lived with his parents that he was particularly worried, but he couldn't show it on his face.
Zhu returned to her parents' home early in the morning. Zheng Ren wanted to talk to her about her meddling in Zheng Xiu's marriage, but she didn't come back for a long time.
Mrs. Zheng was also puzzled: "Normally, she would only be gone for half a day, and she should be back before lunch. I don't know if something delayed her today." The two elders were kind people, so they let Zhu go back to her parents' home. If it were another family, they would be unhappy if their daughter-in-law didn't come back to prepare lunch at this time.
Zheng Ren didn't say anything, just patiently waited. In fact, he guessed in his heart that Zhu probably felt guilty, so she avoided him on purpose.
Until Zheng Yu came to call him back for dinner, Zhu was still nowhere to be seen.
Old Lady Zheng said, "It's rare for you to come back, so have a bite here before you leave." She even wanted to invite Zheng Yu to come with her.
Zheng Ren agreed, but Zheng Yu was not very happy. The food at his grandparents' house was too different from his own. He couldn't even eat white rice, and all he had was bean rice that was hard to digest, not to mention meat. So he made excuses, saying, "My sister is still waiting for my news at home."
Zheng Ren guessed his little thoughts, so he said, "Well, go back and eat with your sister, she's lonely at home too."
Zheng Yu agreed and ran home happily.
Zhu was not at home, so the food at Old Lady Zheng's house was even simpler. The staple food was bean rice. Because Zheng Ren rarely came, Old Lady Zheng also cut a piece of bacon and fried cabbage with pork shreds. There were quite a few people in the family, so they cooked a big pot of this dish and put it on the table in a rice bowl.
Zheng Ren didn't complain about anything, but said to his parents, "Bean rice is not easy to digest. Your parents have bad teeth and stomachs, so they should eat less. Have you finished the polished rice and white flour I sent last time? I'll send some more later."
Mrs. Zheng said, "No, no, we have them at home. It's just that they are expensive, so we adults don't need to eat such good food. Just leave the polished rice and white flour for Arong."
Zheng Rong was the youngest boy in the family and grew up under Mrs. Zheng's lap, so he was naturally her favorite.
Zheng Ren didn't know what to say, because he was afraid that no matter how much he sent, his parents would still be reluctant to eat it. He had no choice.
Although Zheng Quan was lazy, he still respected his eldest brother. His parents and the second branch of the family also relied on his eldest brother for financial support, so he smiled and said, "As long as there is enough food at home, you don't have to worry. We sold a lot before winter."
Zheng Ren didn't want to waste his words with this useless brother. He had said and persuaded him for so many years, but this brother just didn't listen, so he didn't say anything else.
Although this dish of stir-fried pork with cabbage was not a good thing in Zheng Ren's eyes, the others ate it with relish. Even the youngest Zheng Rong finished a bowl of rice and added another half bowl.
After dinner, Zhu didn't come back for a long time, which made it clear that she was avoiding him. Zheng Ren did not stay long and prepared to go home.
Old Lady Zheng personally sent him to the door, and said hesitantly as she walked: "Big brother, I am not nagging you, but I heard from your sister-in-law that your family feeds the dogs with glutinous rice and flour. This is a waste of food." Especially when she thought about the fact that their family could not afford to eat those, her tone of voice could not help but carry some complaints.
Zheng Ren said: "On weekdays, when I am not at home, only Axiu and Ayu are here. I am worried about a girl taking care of children. It is good to have more dogs to guard the house. Axiu is also sensible. I think she feeds the dogs with leftovers. Those little things are not worth much."
"Well, that's what you say, but Xiu is grown up, and it's time for her to get married. How can others like such a daughter-in-law when they know how wasteful she is?"
Zheng Ren frowned and said unhappily, "Mom, don't worry about that. I have my own ideas about Xiu's marriage. If she meets a good one, I will naturally be concerned about it. If she doesn't meet a good one and doesn't want to marry, my daughter doesn't need to rely on any in-laws, and she will naturally live a good life." Old
Lady Zheng always knew that Zheng Ren loved his daughter, but she didn't expect that he would protect Zheng Xiu to such an extent that he would let her decide even such a lifelong event as marriage. It was too much of a pampering for her, and no wonder Zhu said earlier that Xiu didn't care about her elders. However, she was somewhat in awe of her promising eldest son, and was glad that she did not tell him everything that Zhu had told her, but only asked him indirectly.
Zheng Ren's words about Zheng Xiu's marriage were naturally meant for her to hear. He was afraid that Zhu would hear too much and even her mother would be confused. With his statement, his mother would probably not rush to make trouble. Zhu alone could not reach her own family.
Zheng Ren went home and talked to Zheng Xiu for a while, and returned to the academy before dark. Qingzhu Academy would not be closed until the Little New Year, and classes would not resume until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month after the Lantern Festival.
Zheng Xiu prepared some dry food and snacks for her father to take to the academy.
The snacks were spicy pork jerky that she had thought about for several days. Although the taste was not as good as modern ones and could not be stored for a long time, it was very good for filling the stomach and satisfying cravings.
Although there was a cafeteria in the academy, it was not open all day. Zheng Xiu was afraid that her father would be hungry, so she would prepare some food for him to take over every time.
Zheng Ren was not a greedy person, but in view of his daughter's kindness, he happily took it.
Zheng Yu was very afraid of his father. As soon as his father left, he felt relieved and pulled Xue Shao to go out to play. In the afternoon, he did not go out because his father was there. He and Xue Shao had some conflicts, but because of Xue Shao's "help" in the morning, the two chatted all day and had already played together.
Seeing that it was about to get dark, Zheng Xiu was afraid that they would play without knowing the time, so he hurriedly shouted inside: "Dinner will be ready soon!"
Zheng Yu also shouted outside: "I know, I know, we will just walk around nearby!"
Zheng Xiu really didn't understand what fun there was outside these days, but thinking that children of this era only had this little fun, and Zheng Yu had to go to school again at the beginning of the new year, he didn't say much and let him go.
When it was getting dark, the two finally returned home,
with Zheng Yu still holding a gray old kite.
Zheng Xiu felt it looked familiar, but couldn't remember it for a moment, so she asked, "Where did you get this from?"
Zheng Yu pushed the kite in front of her eyes, "Sister, you don't recognize it? You made it for me in the fall."
Zheng Xiu took a look and found that the crooked kite was indeed her own work, "I remember that this kite got hung on the tree two days after you flew it. How did you find it back?" Then she thought of something and raised her eyebrows, "Did you climb a tree?"
Zheng Yu hurriedly said, "The old locust tree at the entrance of the village is so tall, I can't climb up."
Zheng Xiu just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard him pointing at Xue Shao and said, "He climbed up and helped me get it down! He climbed up in no time, so neatly!" His tone was full of praise and admiration.
Zheng Xiu was almost furious.
This bastard! Not only did he do something dangerous himself, but he even dragged others into it!
Zheng Xiu didn't know what to say to him. She pointed at him and cursed, "You are really..." Then she went to find a cane under the wall.
Zheng Yu hurriedly howled, "Sister, my dear sister! The wound on my butt hasn't healed yet! If you hit me again, I won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow!"
Zheng Xiu didn't care about him at all. She took the cane and beat him. When Zheng Ren was beaten with the cane, Zheng Yu didn't dare to hide. When he came to his sister, he didn't care about anything. He just ran away screaming, and she chased him from behind. The two of them chased each other around the hall.
Xue Shao pursed his lips and didn't say anything beside him. He found that he was actually a little envious. It was really strange, he would be envied and beaten? When he did something wrong, his father would punish him, but mostly he would punish him by making him do horse stance or boxing in the yard, he had never beaten him.
Zheng Xiu's frail body could never outrun Zheng Yu who was having fun outside every day. After running around the hall a few times, she stopped panting, "Stinky, stinky boy...if I catch you, I will beat you so hard that you can't get out of bed!"
Zheng Yu pretended to be a good boy and said pitifully, "Good sister, it's nothing, Xue Shao said that the height is nothing. I won't do this next time, can you forgive me this time?"
Such a promise was given every time, and Zheng Xiu's ears were full of irritation! She was panting heavily, and when she turned around, she saw Xue Shao staring at her. So she stepped forward and grabbed him, "You are not a good boy! What if you break your legs if you fall from such a high tree? You just do whatever he asks you to do, are you stupid?"
Xue Shao wanted to say that it was not Zheng Yu who asked him to go, but when they were chatting in the afternoon, Zheng Yu just mentioned it, saying that if he also knew kung fu, he could go to the locust tree at the entrance of the village and take down the kite his sister made for him. So he volunteered to go. And the tree was not very high, so it didn't take much effort to climb up. In the end, he moved his lips, but still didn't argue.
Zheng Xiu pulled him and spanked him with a cane through his cotton pants, saying, "This is to teach you a lesson. Remember, never do such dangerous things next time!"
Xue Shao stood obediently and let him spank him.
Zheng Xiu's strength was not great, and it was through his pants, so it didn't hurt at all.
But this made Zheng Yu, who was watching, very anxious. Xue Shao was beaten for helping him, but he escaped. This was too disloyal! Thinking of this, when Zheng Xiu spanked him for the fifth time, Zheng Yu also took it, "Sister, hit me! It's all my fault!"
Zheng Xiu snorted and spanked him five times through his pants. Then they were punished to stand facing the wall for a quarter of an hour.
Dinner was ready, and Zheng Xiu put the food on the table. The aroma of the food was wafting in the warm hall.
Zheng Yu's stomach growled with hunger, and he wailed, "Sister, let's eat first, and then we can stand after the meal, okay?"
Zheng Xiu glanced at him and ignored him.
Zheng Yu pursed his lips, and then secretly glanced at Xue Shao standing beside him, but saw Xue Shao smiling at the wall with his mouth bent, and shouted again, "Sister, sister, come and see! You hit Xue Shao silly, he is smiling silly!"
Zheng Xiu had a headache, and waved her hand, "Come and eat, you are making so much noise."
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