Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Favor
The couple walked straight in, only to find the house was bustling with activity.
The matchmaker is here to visit.
Tian Ge was familiar with the matchmaker, but this time she came to arrange a marriage for Tian Er.
There was a young man from the neighboring Dongshui Village who fell in love with Tian Er. The young man came from a well-off family with dozens of acres of fertile land and his family was harmonious.
No matter how you look at it, this is a good marriage.
But Tian Er refused without even thinking about it.
Today, the matchmaker came to mention this matter, but she didn't expect to be rejected so directly. According to her own experience, compared with the young man from Dongshui Village, Tian Er is marrying above his station.
Tian Ge and Qin Xiong sat aside, eating melon seeds, and listened to their second brother's polite refusal.
The second brother seemed to be polite and well-mannered, but in fact he did not leave the matchmaker any room to negotiate. In the end, the matchmaker was so angry that she left without even drinking a sip of tea.
The young couple looked at each other. Qin Xiong spread a handful of peeled melon seeds in his palm and gave them to him to eat. There was no emotion in his eyes. Tian Ge blinked and quietly wrote something in his palm, saying that she would tell him in detail when she got home.
"Okay, stop watching your brother having fun." Tian Er smiled, and his face showed nothing. He hadn't seen his younger brother for nearly a month. He walked up and touched Tian Ge's head twice. Tian Ge tilted his head to avoid it.
He is a married man now, you can no longer touch him like a child.
The eldest and second brothers were both tall, but he was only as tall as Qin Xiong's shoulders. Tian Ge had reason to suspect that it was because his second brother often touched his head when he was a child that prevented him from growing taller.
Qin Xiong also couldn't help but touch Tian Ge from her forehead to the back of her head, just like touching a kitten. This time Tian Ge didn't dodge.
"Little guy, not to mention that you are just getting married, even if you are in your seventies and become a grandfather, I will still touch your head. You are so heartless, have you forgotten who washed your diapers when you were a child?" Tian Er raised his eyebrows. This child only lets her husband touch her head and not her brother, but he insists on touching it. He touched it a few times and messed up Tian Ge's hair. It was completely different from Qin Xiong's gentle touch.
Oh, Tian Ge hugged his second brother's arm and shook it ingratiatingly. When he was a child, he did something wrong and asked his second brother to take the blame. Now he has admitted his mistake and admitted his mistake. It's all the same.
Tian Er just smiled. He was six years older than Tian Ge. When they were young, the adults were busy with farming. His elder brother got married and had a son, Zhuangzhuang, so his attention was on his own family. Naturally, the task of taking care of Tian Ge fell on him.
In addition to Tian Ge, there was another poor child who was not liked by his family and was also raised by him.
That person is the real ungrateful and heartless person. He just left and has not been heard from since. It has been three years.
Everyone was very happy because Tian Ge and Qin Xiong came home to play. At noon, Tian Da and Jinguihua came back from the fields and decided to take half a day off in the afternoon and not go to the fields.
We cut some cured pig's trotters and stewed potatoes. Today, it was rare that Tian Er cooked the meal, and it tasted surprisingly good.
Dad was also in a good mood. Although his face still looked a little yellow, he was in good spirits.
The family was discussing an important matter, so when they arrived, they talked about it all.
Tian Da and Tian Er discussed it and decided to clear out the land behind their house to plant bayberries.
The income from farming is really limited. After paying taxes, the remaining amount is only enough for the family's basic expenses, not to mention the need to buy medicine for my father on a long-term basis.
A tree that moves will die, and a person who moves will live. You have to be flexible to survive.
Tian Da also wanted to send Zhuangzhuang to study for two years, and also wanted to buy better and more nourishing medicinal herbs for his father.
The two brothers gritted their teeth and made the decision after investigating everywhere for the past few months, taking the risk of spending half of their belongings to buy the saplings.
But this is a trial and error process. There is basically no output in the first two years. We have to wait until the third year when bayberry starts to be mass-produced before we start making money.
Bayberry is not a very expensive fruit, costing about twenty cents per pound. People with better conditions will buy two pounds to try when bayberry is in season.
Tian Er did some research and found that there were basically no bayberry trees planted around their county. All the trees were brought in from other counties by merchants. Although the wild bayberries in their county tasted better, they were less in quantity and were brought out from the mountains by hunters to sell.
When the bayberry is ripe, it can be made into other foods.
Bayberry wine, bayberry preserved fruit, bayberry candied fruit, bayberry jam...these things are worth several times more than selling bayberries alone, and have a longer shelf life.
The two brothers Tian Datian and Tian Er are both illiterate. In recent months, in order to learn how to grow bayberry, they could not understand what was written in the books, so they had to find someone with experience to explain it to them verbally.
One only regrets not having learned enough when one needs it. For the sake of long-term future considerations, Tian Er had an idea and told Qin Xiong that he wanted to learn to recognize words from him, or at least some numbers.
Qin Xiong naturally agreed.
Tian Er had been trying to learn calligraphy from Tian Ge a long time ago, but he was impatient, while Tian Ge was slow and could not speak. The two brothers learned by gestures, and Tian Er gave up later and could only write a few names.
"Now that we have cows at home, the work in the fields is much easier, and we have more time to think about other things. This is all thanks to you, Brother Qin." Tian Erdao.
The cow was the betrothal gift Qin Xiong bought for Tian Ge.
Qin Xiong just shook his head slightly, sat side by side with Tian Ge, and said, "I am lucky to be able to marry Tian Ge. If we didn't live in the same village, I would have a hard time finding such a good husband even if I searched with a lantern."
Yo yo yo~
The whole family looked at the young couple jokingly. Even Qin Xiong felt a little embarrassed. Tian Ge turned into a ripe peach with a red face.
But the couple has a good relationship and everyone is happy to see it.
After discussing some specific details, they agreed to go to the county together tomorrow.
Tian Er went to inquire further about the purchasing channels and prices of the seedlings, while Tian Ge and Qin Xiong went to buy some seasonings that the family was short of, as well as things they needed to prepare for going to the mountains.
After dinner, they said goodbye reluctantly.
The cold white moonlight illuminated the path clearly, and occasionally the barking of dogs could be heard.
Tian Ge was happy. She had eaten too much for dinner and her stomach was bloated. She held Qin Xiong's hand and walked home together, which was a good way to digest the food.
The palms of our hands held together were warm, and when they became sticky with sweat, we switched hands. The cool breeze blew over us, and it was very comfortable.
"I'd like to discuss this with Tian Da and Tian Er, and we'll contribute some money too," Qin Xiong said. He looked at Tian Ge's bright, round eyes in the moonlight and explained, "We'll just pay, and they'll do the planting. If there's a profit, they'll give us a symbolic share. If there's no profit, forget it. What do you think?"
This hit the nail on the head for Tian Ge.
Tian Ge knew the family situation best. Because his father needed to take medicine for a long time, the family usually had no spare money, just enough to cover expenses.
My eldest and second brothers want to buy fruit seedlings, which is a considerable expense.
The brothers would definitely not reduce the money for Dad’s medicine, and Tian Ge was afraid that they would save on food.
Working in the fields is tiring enough, and you can't even fill your stomach, and then you have to bear the pressure of planting fruit trees. How can people handle it?
Tian Ge plans to give some of her betrothal money to her brothers.
Normally, when a family marries a boy, the betrothal money is usually kept by the parents. It is because the father loves the boy that he gives him the betrothal money without touching a cent.
Of course he would not touch the household money Qin Xiong gave him.
"They feel sorry for you and would rather borrow money from others than ask us." Qin Xiong thought about it and told Tian Ge.
The two older brothers were afraid of dragging down their younger brother. After their younger brother got married and finally had a few days of no worries about food and clothing, they didn't want to drag Tian Ge into the vortex of struggling for a living anymore.
After hearing this, Tian Ge felt a sore nose. Sometimes he even thought that he should not have been born into such a good family. It was because he gave up his voice and insisted on coming here that he received so much love.
"Don't cry." Qin Xiong instead put his arm around Tian Ge's shoulders and wiped his tears with his other hand. He said gently, "The last thing Tian Da and Tian Er want is for you to pity and compromise with them. The bayberry planting plan can make money, so we'll pay to join them, don't you agree?"
Tian Ge thought about it and got out of his dilemma. Yes, his brothers were smart and hardworking. They would think twice before doing anything. He should trust his brothers.
"She's crying like a cat." Qin Xiong said, then changed his tone to something else, "She looks pretty even when she cries."
His eyes were filled with tears and he looked pitiful, but those who knew Tian Ge knew that he was not soft at heart but rather flexible, and they wanted to bully him even more.
Improper.
Tian Ge finally put her mind at ease and stopped arguing with Qin Xiong.
"Do you want me to carry you home?" Qin Xiong suddenly suggested.
-----What are you doing?
Tian Ge felt a little embarrassed, but stopped again.
Qin Xiong squatted down with understanding, tilted his head and said, "Come up."
-----You are so clingy.
Tian Ge hugged Qin Xiong's neck and gestured, her buttocks were held firmly, and her calves swayed leisurely.
Qin Xiong agreed and didn't answer.
If Tian Ge was not a mute, he must be a chatterbox. His hands never stopped gesturing in front of his chest. Qin Xiong already understood most of the gestures and could understand them even by guessing.
They were all talking about small, trivial things, like remembering to buy vegetable seeds tomorrow, the rhubarb and erhuang plants starting to molt, the clothes hanging out to dry still not drying, and wondering if it will rain tomorrow...
Qin Xiong walked steadily, responding from time to time. After a while, the gestures stopped and the breathing of the person on his back gradually became calmer.
A certain young man had a nightmare and woke up in the middle of the night. After finishing his work, he was busy in the vegetable garden so early in the morning. He did another thing while taking a shower. In addition, there were surprises and joys at his father's house. The son should be tired by now. Tian Ge fell asleep with her hot body pressed against his back.
Pushing open the gate and returning home, Qin Xiong gently put the person on the bed. He put the back of his hand on Tian Ge's forehead and neck and touched it. It was hotter than usual.
Qin Xiong frowned, fearing that Tian Ge had caught a cold from the wind and had a fever, but when he recalled Tian Ge's spirited appearance during the day, he didn't look like he was sick.
After lighting the candle and looking carefully, his face was a normal pink color, with a little saliva shining at the corner of his mouth, which Qin Xiong wiped away with his hand.
Tian Ge was woken up in a daze and found herself lying on the bed in the bedroom with her outer clothes and trousers taken off.
-----Are you home?
Tian Ge was so sleepy that she didn't even want to raise her hands. She squinted her eyes and spoke to Qin Xiong with her mind.
"We're home. Are you thirsty? Are you feeling unwell?" Qin Xiong asked, leaning over the head of the bed.
Tian Ge closed his eyes and licked his lips. He had eaten too much meat at his father's house, so the meat was a bit dry.
Soon water was brought to his mouth. Qin Xiong held his back with one hand, allowing him to stand up slightly and drink a bowl of boiled water.
Sweet.
Tian Ge lay down contentedly and continued to sleep, and before falling asleep, she did not forget to turn her head and kiss Qin Xiong's hand.
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