Li Yang was like a clumsy duck today. He was blushing when he left, feeling nervous and shy. It took him a long time to come to his senses after the boat left. He grabbed Li Ji's hand and said, "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, did I perform badly today? What if that Miss Lu doesn't like me? Oh, why did I have a brain fart? My walking posture was also awkward, and my movements were stiff."
Seeing his brother-in-law like this, Li Ji couldn't help but laugh out loud. His brother-in-law was the dream lover of many girls in Lijiaba. He had a good reputation, good looks, a good family, and was a well-known filial son. Many families wanted to marry him. How come he was as impetuous as those young men who were just beginning to experience love?
He patted Li Yang on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, you're a good catch, the Lu family won't look down on you."
With an oxcart and an older brother who passed the imperial examination at the county level, Li Yang's family was a large clan in Lijiaba, with half the villagers being relatives. Their large and prosperous family meant that no one in the village dared to bully them.
Lu Yu was very satisfied with Li Yang after this meeting. The next step was to inquire about him. Lu Yunfeng had his own plans. Everyone in Lijiaba was surnamed Li, and they did not accept people with different surnames settling in Lijiaba, except for wives married from outside the village.
However, this person surnamed Li has three large families. Li Yang was born into the largest Li family. If he were to inquire, he would have to be careful. So he quickly had someone in mind. After closing the shop in the evening, Lu Yunfeng specially took a cake, two towels and a box of peach blossom pastries from the shop and went to the East Wharf of the county town.
The dock has no shortage of workers from various villages.
A few years ago, when Lu Yunfeng was still a carefree teenager, he also liked to climb trees to steal bird eggs and go down to the river to catch fish and shrimp. He got along well with boys of similar age in the surrounding villages, and there were a few he played with well in Lijiaba, one of whom was Li Shaoming.
Li Shaoming was tall and strong with dark skin. He was a generous and hardworking man who worked like a buffalo. He was strong and good at fighting. He was already a small foreman at the dock. Because he married a woman from the outskirts of the county town, he received help from his father-in-law's family and built a small courtyard house on the outskirts of the town to live in.
Lu Yunfeng waited for Li Shaoming to finish work at the dock. Li Shaoming was surprised to see him and asked, "Why did you come to see me?"
We used to play together occasionally when we were thirteen or fourteen. But in the last two years, the Lu family has experienced some changes, Lu Yunfeng has a heavy burden on his shoulders, and Li Shaoyang has also gotten married and had children. We haven't seen each other for more than a year.
Lu Yunfeng laughed, "I'm here to have a drink with you."
"Alright!" Li Shaoyang knew there was something to say, so he said, "Your sister-in-law is a good cook. She can prepare some dishes and drinks for us to enjoy."
The two went to the outskirts of the city together. The courtyard was not big, with two main rooms and two side rooms on each side. The side rooms on the south side were the children's rooms, and the north side was the kitchen and storage area. The family of five lived a comfortable life. Li Shaoming asked someone to cook in the main room and said to his wife, "Go to the city to buy two catties of braised pig ears."
These days, the two most impressive things in the county are the desserts from Yifanfengshun and the braised meat from this braised meat shop. Having these on the table makes you feel very proud.
Li Shaoming's wife, Zhang Qingzhu, nodded and then tried to shoo the children out of the main room, saying, "Don't disturb your father's conversation."
Li Shaoming hugged his youngest son and said, "Don't worry, these are the Lu brothers I played with when I was a kid. We even fought together with the people from Zhao Family Terrace. They're not outsiders."
Zhang Qingzhu's smile widened. Li Shaoyang was a capable man who managed things at the docks. People often came to his house asking him for favors or jobs. Every month, several people would come looking for him. It was only natural to offer them a meal when they came to you, so Zhang Qingzhu was usually not happy to see them come. But hearing Li Shaoyang say this made her happy.
Lu Yunfeng handed over what he had brought, saying, "I'm sorry to have bothered you, sister-in-law. This is what my wife prepared for the children to eat as snacks."
Zhang Qingzhu was surprised when she saw the cake roll. "Why did the Lu brothers bring such expensive things? I'll go buy some braised meat. Da Niu, go to Grandma's house and get some eggs."
When Da Niu heard that there would be meat and eggs to eat, she happily ran out.
Li Shaoyang was surprised, "I heard that the owner of the Yifanfengshun shop in the west of the city is surnamed Lu, and is from Wangjia Village. Could it really be you, brother?"
There's no need to hide this; "It's my wife's shop."
Even with some suspicions, hearing it with one's own ears was still shocking. The Lu family had fallen on hard times, but unexpectedly, they had made a comeback so quickly after marrying a wife. The two talked about their situation in recent years. Zhang Qingzhu also bought meat and cooked in the kitchen. Soon, the dishes were served. The two men ate in the main room, while she ate in the kitchen with her three children.
Erniu touched the cake box and said, "Mom, I want to eat it."
Zhang Qingzhu picked up an egg for her and said, "Erniu, be good. There's no reason to open gifts when guests are here. You can eat it in a little while."
It was getting late, and Lu Yunfeng didn't want to disturb him too much. Having also found out what he wanted to hear, he returned to the shop. As soon as she saw him come back, Lu Yan excitedly pulled him into the house, "Big brother, how did it go?"
Zhao Fang sat to the side with the child in her arms, also very anxious. A woman's marriage is a big deal, and she hoped that her sister-in-law would marry into a good family. Lu Yu, however, was shy. Although she wanted to listen, she held back and did not speak. She could not hold the needle and thread steady in her hand, so she simply put down the fabric.
Lu Yunfeng sat down. "The person I've found today is named Li Shaoyang. He's not from the same clan as Li Yang, but he's an upright man who doesn't gossip. He only praises Li Yang. He said Li Yang has two older brothers and one older sister. His second sister is Li Shaoyang's wife. Li Yang and his two brothers are all educated. His eldest brother is a scholar, and he himself is literate, so they can be considered a semi-educated family. Moreover, Li Yang is a well-known filial son in the village, respectful to his parents and elders, and respectful to his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. He's upright and has a very good reputation. Li Yang's family is also well-off. They have a large courtyard, an oxcart, and more than thirty acres of land. They're a wealthy family."
Lu Yan's eyes lit up. "Wow, Auntie, did you hear that? So much land, a big yard, and an oxcart. Life will be so good. You'll live a life of luxury after you marry into this family."
Zhao Fang poked her head and scolded with a laugh, "You, shut up quickly, your aunt's face is burning red, you're so young and don't know shame." Then she said to Lu Yu, "A woman only wants to find a filial and kind man when she gets married. Besides, the Li family is well-off, you won't suffer if you marry into it."
Lu Yu blushed and lowered her head. She knew that if it were before, she would never have been able to find such a good marriage after being jilted. It was only because the Lu family had risen in status in the past few months that this marriage had come to them. She was extremely grateful to Qin Xiaozhou.
At this moment, Qin Xiaozhou frowned, "If he's so good, why isn't he married at this age?"
In this world, eighteen or nineteen years old is considered late for marriage. Many families start arranging marriages at thirteen or fourteen and the couple gets married around sixteen.
Lu Yunfeng continued, "When Li Yang was sixteen, he was engaged to a woman. He was supposed to get married at seventeen, but he had to take the provincial examination that year, so he was delayed. Then last summer, the woman he was engaged to was washing clothes by the river and disrespected her elders by talking back to Li Yang's mother. Li Yang immediately broke off the engagement with the woman, and that's how he got to this age."
Qin Xiaozhou pressed further: "How did you talk back?"
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