Chapter 242 A story beyond the main character
Matchmaker Zhao originally fled from the mountains further north more than 20 years ago.
Because it has been so long, she can't remember where her hometown is, nor can she figure out the exact year she escaped.
She doesn't know her parents' original surnames, and she doesn't have a name of her own.
I only know that I am the second girl in the family, and my parents call her Erya.
That year, Erya had just turned twelve years old. She was wearing tattered clothes and was so dark and thin that she looked like a skeleton.
She fell on the side of the official road, unable to move. Half a day had passed without attracting any human traffickers. When she was starving and had only one breath left, she met a kind-hearted young man.
Let’s call this young man Lao Zhao.
The girl was too thin and too weak. Lao Zhao carried her on his back several times, but she slipped off his back every time.
There was no other choice but for Lao Zhao to pick her up.
Old Zhao's posture of hugging people was strange. He refused to hold the little girl in his arms, but held her up with both hands, as if he was lifting a table.
This was of course more strenuous, and made Lao Zhao walk strangely stiffly.
Seeing Erya open her eyes, Lao Zhao smiled and said, "How long have you been hungry? You feel so light when I hold you. I'm not tired at all."
Old Zhao doesn't look handsome, and even looks a little silly when he smiles.
But at that moment, that smile was imprinted into Erya's eyes.
Arya looked at the stranger and was not afraid.
She didn't know whether he was a good or bad person, and where he was going to take her.
For her, what could be more terrifying than starving to death?
At least for now she knew she was saved and maybe she would be able to eat soon.
Old Zhao comforted Erya, "Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person. My name is Zhao Lei, I live in Zhaojiaopo Village in front, and I have a mother at home, she's a very nice person."
Erya glanced at Lao Zhao and thought, he must be disgusted by her dirty appearance and was afraid that she would dirty his clean clothes?
When I entered the village, I met someone.
When people learned that Zhao Lei had saved a little girl who was almost starving to death, they were also surprised by the way he held the girl.
"Leizi, aren't you tired of carrying it all the way like this?"
Zhao Lei smiled innocently, "After all, she is a girl, so we should avoid suspicion, so as not to ruin her reputation."
Erya was stunned. Didn’t he dislike her?
The man looked at Erya and said with disdain, "She is so dirty and smelly, and so thin that she doesn't even look like a human being. Who can tell that she is a woman? You are just being picky!"
Zhao Lei just smiled foolishly.
Zhao Lei's family has only an old mother who has been widowed for many years. The mother and son have been living on two acres of thin land for many years.
Zhao's mother had been in poor health for many years, but Zhao Lei was a well-known filial son in the village. He had to seek medical treatment and medicine for his mother, making their already tight life even tighter.
Fortunately, Zhao Lei had a skill in mountain running, and occasionally he would find some wild honey, bee pollen and the like, which he could sell to supplement the family income.
When Zhao's mother saw Erya, she asked her son to put her on her kang without saying much.
I quickly cooked half a bowl of thin batter and added a spoonful of honey.
Mother Zhao sat on the edge of the kang and fed Erya herself.
The long-lost food tasted so sweet that Erya couldn't stop swallowing it mouthful after mouthful, her eyes full of impatience.
Mother Zhao smiled and said, "Eat slowly. You've been hungry for too long. You can't eat too fast or too much in the first few times."
Erya was very well-behaved. She glanced at Zhao's mother and slowed down her swallowing.
Mother Zhao asked, "Girl, what's your name?"
Arya shook her head. At that time she didn't know that people should have names.
Mother Zhao showed a look of compassion, "Hey, poor girl, eat."
After eating the batter, Zhao's mother asked Zhao Lei to go out. She washed Erya's body and changed her own clothes.
Erya lay on the kang and fell asleep with the smell of soapberry on her body.
A few days later, as soon as Erya had the strength to stand up, she got off the kang and helped Zhao's mother with the work.
She desperately rushes to do the work, but never takes the initiative to have a second bowl of rice.
Finally, Zhao's mother softened her heart, sighed, and took the initiative to tell Erya that she could stay in this house in the future and no one would drive her away.
So this girl whose name and origin were unknown became Zhao Lei's sister.
Naturally, she had to take the surname Zhao Lei, as it happened to be the season when the buckwheat planted at home was in bloom.
Zhao Lei looked at the snow-white buckwheat flowers and said with a smile, "Just call yourself Qiaohua, Zhao Qiaohua."
Zhao Lei was twenty-two years old at the time, exactly ten years older than Qiaohua.
Three years passed in a flash, and Qiaohua had grown into a young girl with a slim figure and pretty face.
She is much more lively and sweet-spoken than when she first arrived, and everyone in the village likes her.
When he was fifteen years old, a man came to propose marriage to Zhao's mother.
But Qiaohua refused firmly, saying that her brother had not yet married and she had to stay at home for two more years to take care of her mother.
It was because she had overheard Zhao's mother saying to Zhao Lei, "You are 25 years old and still haven't married. In my opinion, Qiaohua can be your wife."
Qiaohua's heart skipped a beat, and a vague sense of anticipation arose.
But Zhao Lei said sternly, "Mother, what nonsense are you talking about? Qiaohua is my sister. Even though she is not my biological daughter, I raise her as if she were my own."
"How can I marry her? No, don't even think about it, and don't tell Qiaohua, lest she be scared!"
Mother Zhao was sad for a moment, "I feel sorry for Qiaohua too."
"In the final analysis, it is Mom who has dragged you down. She has saved all the money for my medical treatment and cannot even afford your betrothal gift..."
Zhao Lei carefully comforted his mother, and their conversation gradually faded.
Qiaohua stood there in a daze for a moment.
The inner loss made the girl suddenly fall in love.
When she heard her mother asked her brother to marry her, she seemed very happy.
That winter, Zhao's mother fell ill and died on a snowy day.
As soon as Zhao Lei got over his grief, he started arranging a marriage for his sister.
But he found several matchmakers, and they all shook their heads when they heard the conditions proposed by Qiaohua.
"With your family's financial situation, you still want to find a scholar who is young and single?"
"Want to be an official's wife? You're dreaming!"
Later, Zhao Lei also advised his sister, asking if she could lower the bar a bit.
Qiaohua pretended to be willful and said that she would not marry anyone else but a man like that.
Zhao Lei just thought that his sister had high standards and couldn't bear to push her too far.
It dragged on and on, and another two years passed.
Qiaohua was seventeen years old. She was content with her current life and thought she could accompany Zhao Lei until old age.
Zhao Lei was carried back by a group of people.
While he was collecting honey, he fell from a high rock wall and died that night when he returned home.
Zhao Lei's eyes were dazed, and he didn't know what he saw. He smiled and said, "Qiaohua, I can't take advantage of someone's misfortune and delay your life."
"I've saved some money in the past two years. It's at the bottom of mom's box. It's for you."
"Now that my brother is gone, you should find someone to marry."
Qiaohua felt as if her heart was hit by a heavy hammer and tears welled up in her eyes.
He knows.
It turns out that my brother knows everything.
Zhao Lei seemed to be more awake, breathing weakly, "Qiaohua, I want to eat the buckwheat noodles you made."
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