Erzhuzi remembered it clearly; it seemed like it happened just yesterday.
He was incredibly lucky that day, catching three pheasants and even digging up a he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum). By the time he got from the village to the city, it was already evening.
Fortunately, the item was in good condition, and it sold quickly.
Erzhuzi ate a bowl of vegetarian noodles at a street stall, a rare treat for him. It was then that he first met Xu Lanzhi.
She wore a plain dress and no makeup, yet she possessed an ethereal beauty.
At that time, she followed an old woman with a blank look in her eyes, looking tired and uneasy. Even so, her beauty could not be hidden, and the eyes of passersby were attracted.
That one glance lasted an eternity, becoming an indelible memory in Erzhuzi's heart.
Erzhuzi didn't dare to stare at the girl, so he kept his head down and ate his noodles. He ate that bowl of noodles for who knows how long, and when he looked up again, the girl was nowhere to be seen.
Erzhuzi was lost and absent-minded, but after thinking about it carefully, he cursed himself in his heart for being a toad trying to eat swan meat.
That girl was stunningly beautiful, while he was just a penniless nobody. He slapped himself and muttered to himself, "Fool, stop dreaming!"
The slap woke him up, and he realized that it was already dark, and if he didn't leave the city soon, the city gates would be locked.
He hurriedly left the city gate and rushed home without stopping.
As he walked, he noticed the backs of two women not far away. Just by looking at the pattern of their clothes, he knew they were the two people he had met on the street earlier that day.
Erzhuzi's chest pounded. What a coincidence! To run into them in this desolate wilderness. He remembered the stories of fox spirits told by the village elders and figured these two women must be fox spirits in disguise.
Erzhuzi wanted to run away, but he was also reluctant to leave, so he just followed them from a distance.
The two women kept looking around, as if they were looking for something, and Erzhuzi followed them silently.
Suddenly, several people darted out from a distance, approaching the two women step by step, and some of them had already started to grope them.
The woman shouted, "Our messengers will be here soon, so please don't be rude!"
A gruff voice laughed loudly and said, "We've been following you guys all this way, and there's not a ghost on the road, let alone a human. Just relax and let us enjoy ourselves."
The woman screamed in terror, "Aunt Liu, help me! Help me!"
The woman tried to save the man, but was kicked by a burly man and couldn't get up for a long time.
Those three or four men then viciously assaulted the girl.
Seeing that things were going badly, Erzhuzi quickly pulled out the sickle from his waist and ran over.
He didn't care about anything else and raised his sickle to chop at those people like he was chopping watermelons.
The sudden arrival of Erzhuzi caught the thugs off guard. He was ruthless, and several of them were injured. They fought Erzhuzi for a while, and although Erzhuzi was injured, he still fought desperately and had no choice but to escape.
As for the girl, her clothes were torn to shreds, and she cried with her head down the whole time. The woman held her in her arms and comforted her gently.
After the bad guys left, the woman settled her by a tree and came over to thank her.
It was already dark, with only a dim, faint light. The woman looked Erzhuzi up and down, curtsied, and said, "Thank you for saving my life, brave man. May I ask your age, where you live, and whether you are married?"
Erzhuzi was bewildered. Was this a thank you or a background check? He didn't know how to answer, so he just asked with concern, "Is that girl alright? Is she seriously injured?"
The woman said, "Our girl was just frightened. It was thanks to the brave man's timely appearance that our girl's innocence was preserved."
Erzhuzi looked at the girl's back in the distance with heartache. He really wanted to go over and check on her to make sure she was alright before he could feel at ease, but he didn't dare to do anything rash.
The woman asked again, "May I ask how old you are, where you live, and whether you are married?"
Erzhuzi had no choice but to honestly reply, "I am sixteen years old now, from Tangjiagou in Qingyan County. I am an orphan, and no one cares about my marriage. I am still single."
The woman was actually pleased to hear this: "The brave man is unmarried, an orphan, and lives in a remote village. That's wonderful."
After saying that, he jogged over to the girl, and the two whispered to each other for a long time. Then the woman ran over again and asked, "Would the brave man be willing to do us another favor?"
Erzhuzi is so fond of that girl, he'd give her his life if you asked, let alone help her!
Erzhuzi nodded quickly in agreement: "Madam, please speak!"
The woman explained to Erzhuzi that the girl was from a good family, but her family had suffered a misfortune and she had to go through great lengths to escape. Her relatives and friends dared not help her, and now she was destitute and had no choice but to find a place to live under an assumed name.
Seeing that Erzhuzi was willing to help those in need and that there was no one else in the family, the woman thought she would simply marry her daughter to him.
Erzhuzi thought it was all a hallucination, so he pinched himself hard, and it hurt terribly. This was too surreal; how could such a good thing happen?
Erzhu couldn't believe the woman's words and kept asking her to confirm. The woman only said that her family had suffered a great disaster and that she only wanted to save the girl's life.
Erzhuzi also considered that they might be lying to him, but upon closer reflection, he realized that he was penniless and only had a dilapidated house with drafts coming from all sides. What could they possibly be lying to him about?
But the girl didn't know this. Erzhuzi honestly explained his situation, saying that he was penniless and was afraid of making the girl feel wronged.
The woman turned to the girl and asked, "Lanzhi, this strong man says he's penniless. Are you willing to marry him?"
The girl, still shaken, said with a sob in her voice, "Aunt Liu, it's already a miracle that I'm still alive. How could I possibly look down on someone else? I'm leaving everything to you!"
Erzhuzi was overjoyed; he was having a really lucky day, having gotten a wife for free.
Although her origins are unknown, just from the first glance he saw her today, Erzhuzi was convinced that she was a good girl.
Even if she isn't, what does it matter? She's the person I like anyway.
The woman then asked, "Our young lady has already expressed her opinion, are you willing?"
Erzhuzi was so happy he couldn't stop grinning. He quickly said, "I'm willing. As long as the girl doesn't mind, I'll take her home right now!"
Just then, a muffled sound came from afar, and a small but dazzling red firework flashed across the sky.
The girl said with some delight, "Our people have arrived."
The woman murmured, "Amitabha, we've finally arrived."
He looked at Erzhuzi again and said, “Brave man, our people have arrived. The girl won’t be going with you for now, and it’s not convenient for you to see our people. How about this, in three days, you wait at the village entrance, and someone will definitely bring the girl to you.”
Erzhuzi felt a chill in his heart; the matter was already off. He didn't bother arguing with the woman; there was no such thing as a free lunch.
He mumbled a reply in a daze and turned to leave, but then he heard the girl say, "I am not dressed properly today, so it is inconvenient for us to meet. I will give this silver hairpin to you, sir. We can recognize each other by this hairpin in three days!"
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