"Are you busy, sis?"
"Hey, no, I'm almost done, come in."
Yang Donghu walked to the west room and took out some loose change from his purse and handed it to Yang Chunxiao: "This is your wages for the past few days. I have been delaying giving it to you. When you get to town, you will have to spend a lot more money than at home. Although the shopkeeper will pay you, it will take more than a month. You can't do without money."
A day had passed since the night of the Qiqiao Festival. Yang Chunxiao found a job and did not stay at the Zhao family. He packed his things and planned to go to the town today.
According to the agreed wages, this money was enough for her to make dozens of trips to the town. It was obvious that Yang Donghu gave her too much.
She waved her hands repeatedly: "This is too much, and I'm not much help. Half of it is enough."
Yang Donghu knew Yang Chunxiao would refuse, so he picked up the bundle she had packed on the bed and stuffed the money into it, then covered it with his clothes. "Put it away so no one can see it and miss it. You always refuse everything I give you. I called you 'big sister' and you accepted it, and you still treat yourself like an outsider. You know the shopkeeper, he's a good man, but this town is not like home. You should be a little tougher out there as a girl, don't let people think you're easy to bully, do you understand?"
"Yeah, I know."
Yang Chunxiao hadn't heard such advice for a long time. She had lived there for so long and no one at home had ever made her angry, and she didn't feel uneasy. She didn't feel sad at first, but after hearing Yang Donghu's advice, she suddenly felt sad about leaving home.
"Now that you have an errand, it's inconvenient to deliver cakes back and forth. Otherwise, the master will easily get resentful. It's not a big deal to go to town every three days. I can go there by myself, and I can also visit you by the way."
Yang Chunxiao didn't have much luggage, and when it was packed up, it was almost the same as the small bag that Yang Donghu had when he was kicked out.
"Are you done packing? You two are quick." Zhu Cuilan came in from outside with a piece of clothing in her hand.
Yang Chunxiao has lived at home for so long. He is diligent and sensible. Zhu Cuilan disliked him at the beginning, but now she is reluctant to let him go.
"I dug out an old dress from my box. It's only been worn a few times. Feel the material and it's as good as new. I've altered the size to suit your measurements. You can take it to town and have an extra set of clothes, and it'll save you some money on fabric."
"Thank you, auntie."
Yang Chunxiao took the clothes and stroked the fabric with his hands. Zhu Cuilan's clothes were all washed and pressed flat in the box, and they were preserved as if they were new.
Although the distance from Zhaojiazhuang to the town is not far, it is always cooler if you get up early. If you wait any longer, you will have to walk under the sun.
Yang Chunxiao packed her things and said goodbye to her grandmother. Yang Donghu and Zhu Cuilan sent her to the village entrance and said before leaving that they would visit her when they had time.
The house actually felt a little empty with one person missing. Since that night, Zhao Fangchu has been smiling at everyone he sees, with his smile never falling.
I don’t know what good things he bought from the fair. He lay in bed all day, looking at them over and over again. He learned from Yang Anjin to stay in the house all day.
Yang Donghu couldn't bear it anymore and found a reason to call him out. He also wanted to ask Zhao Fangchu what he was thinking now.
"What are you doing? I'm going to Old Lady Ju's house to exchange duck eggs. Do you want to come?"
"Why are you exchanging duck eggs for something other than a festival?"
"I made delicious food for you to eat or not. Come on, you're getting lazier and lazier."
Yang Donghu pulled him out of bed, found a basket to put the eggs in, and took him out.
Zhao Fangchu wasn't as excited about the delicious food as he used to be. The sun was glaring outside, so he shielded his eyes with his hands. While Zhu Cuilan was away, he leaned close to Yang Donghu's ear and said, "Brother Dong, I want to ask you something."
"What?"
"That's right... I feel happy when I think of that person, and I feel delighted when I see him. If I can think about him for several days after saying a word, is that what you call love?"
The words were spoken in a subtle way. Yang Donghu hadn't expected him to bring it up first. He couldn't help but glance sideways at Zhao Fangchu, who was walking with his head lowered. "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
"I'm just asking." Zhao Fangchu kicked a stone under his feet.
"Are you still hiding it from me? Even if you don't tell me, I know that you like An Jin's brother?"
"Huh?" Zhao Fangchu looked up in surprise: "How did you know?"
"Your little tricks are too obvious. If I hadn't been so focused on the carpenter's son and wanted to arrange a marriage for you two, I might have seen through it a long time ago. You really thought you could fool me yesterday. Chen Ran went to find Li Zihong without saying a word to you, and even used him as a shield. I don't know if the plum ginger under the Mingyue Bridge is delicious. I left in such a hurry that I haven't tasted it yet. Did you eat it? Is it delicious?"
Zhao Fangchu scratched his head embarrassedly: "So you saw everything? I thought I hid it well. I didn't mean to hide it from you, I just feel a little embarrassed."
"What's there to be embarrassed about? We've been together for such a long time, and you're still hiding it from me."
"Oh, let's not talk about this for now. I want to ask you, is that what you call love?"
"Well, sort of."
Zhao Fangchu recalled the taste of the plum ginger that night in his mind again, and felt that the feeling of liking it was just like that plum ginger, sweet and reaching deep into his heart.
It felt so good, the more he thought about it, the bigger the smile on his face became.
Seeing his worthless appearance, Yang Donghu couldn't help but say, "I say, can't we be more reserved? You're laughing too happily. But, Auntie, when are you going to tell me? If it's any later, the carpenter's family will come to visit."
Although Zhao Fangchu is usually carefree, he can be very thoughtful sometimes. The smile on his face faded a little, and he said with some worry: "I dare not say that I like her, but she may not necessarily like me. Besides, my brother and An Jin have such a relationship. Will my mother disagree?"
"Your worries are completely unnecessary. If Brother Anchen didn't like you, why would he accompany you for so long on a day like that? Besides, my aunt is open-minded. Her greatest wish is that you live a good life. Nothing else matters."
"Really?"
Yang Donghu paused for a moment and was about to tell Zhang Lanzhen about her worries, but then he thought that this was not something Zhao Fangchu should worry about, so he decided to wait until he got news from Yang Anchen.
As they were talking, they arrived at Old Lady Ju's yard. This time it was much more lively than last time. Through the gaps in the fence, they could see a few short-legged puppies running around in the yard.
They still remembered that last time Grandma Ju said she wanted to leave the puppies for them. Newborn puppies cannot live without an adult dog, and they have to wait until they are weaned after three months before they can be taken away by others.
Old Mrs. Ju was feeding the geese in the yard. Although her eyesight was not very good due to her old age, she recognized the two young men at a glance and enthusiastically opened the fence gate to welcome them in.
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