It was getting late.
The members of the second branch of the Lin family who were away from home also returned one after another.
After Lin Musheng was brought back by his nephew, he did not drag her to the kang (a heated brick bed) to continue teaching her. It is unknown whether the old man Lin said something to him later or felt that even if he wanted to discipline her, there was no need to rush.
Xu, who returned home late, acted as if she hadn't seen her. She supported her back and moved into the main room, then went to rest on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Lin Zhiqiang, who only returned at dusk, met her in the courtyard and sneered twice: "Hmph, you brat, you finally know to come back. This time, don't even think about running away again."
He then went into his room.
In short, the questioning and reprimand that Lin Momo expected did not occur.
She was still thinking about it before going to sleep.
What did Lin Zhiqiang mean by those two sentences?
And then there's Xu Shi, who usually loves to cause trouble for no reason. This time she committed such a serious crime, yet she didn't utter a single word.
This strange feeling made Lin Momo inexplicably uneasy, like the calm before a storm.
But I can't figure out what bad things they're up to.
Finally, she simply stopped thinking about it and decided to face whatever came her way. She was fearless.
With that thought in mind, Lin Momo quickly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
*
The next morning, Shi Xiucai happily took Shiguang in a carriage and left Linjia Village for the town.
After seeing the grandfather and grandson off, Old Man Lin went directly to his second son's house.
Little did they know, the second wife's family was having a lively time.
Around 8 a.m., a matchmaker with a face painted like a monkey's butt suddenly showed up at the door.
Lin Momo thought it was someone Xu had found to arrange a marriage for Lin Zhiqiang, so she ignored them and went about brewing medicine for Lin Musheng in the kitchen.
If she doesn't do this job, then Lin Sanya has to do it.
Now that she's back, let's help Lin Sanya with her burdens and give her a break.
"Oh, Matchmaker Liu is here! Come in and tell me!" In the courtyard, Madam Xu was greeting the brightly dressed matchmaker with a big smile.
Although Lin Momo didn't pay attention to the conversation outside, the two people were quite loud, and she heard almost every word.
"Where's your daughter? The good marriage I arranged for you last time has been arranged, but they want to meet her first. They asked me to bring her over today. Hurry up and call your daughter out!" Matchmaker Liu urged cheerfully.
What is it?
It turns out he was arranging a marriage for his daughter!
Lin Momo couldn't help but sneer.
She just got back yesterday, and the matchmaker came knocking on her door first thing this morning. That's quick!
Before she could think any further, Madam Xu started yelling in her hoarse voice, "Er Ya! Er Ya, come out here!"
Lin Momo ignored him and continued to add firewood to the makeshift stove propped up by stones on the ground.
"Er Ya, is your mother calling you? Are you deaf?" Lin Musheng, who was weaving bamboo strips on the kang (a heated brick bed), frowned.
This daughter is becoming more and more outrageous. Keeping her at home is just a disaster. It would be better to marry her off as soon as possible.
As for Xu inviting the matchmaker to the door without informing him, it wasn't a big deal in his eyes. A mother should be the one to worry about her daughter's marriage.
"Okay," Lin replied silently, and dawdled out of the kitchen.
Xu glared at her first, then put on a smiling face: "Er Ya, you're not young anymore, it's time to talk about marriage."
Then, pointing to the matchmaker sitting beside her, she said, "This is Matchmaker Liu from Lizhuang. She arranged a good marriage for you before. She found out you were back yesterday, so she came to your door first thing this morning. You heard it just now, the young man's family wants to meet you. You should go with Aunt Liu now. This marriage is one of the best in the surrounding area. If it goes through, you'll be living the dream."
"If we're going to talk about marriage, shouldn't we talk to the eldest brother? Aren't you the one he loves the most, Mother? He's the only one in the village his age who's still single. Don't you see how ashamed he is now? He stays cooped up at home all day..."
The smile on Xu's face immediately vanished, and she impatiently waved her hand to stop her from speaking: "What do you know? Your marriage can only be arranged after your brother's marriage is settled. Stop spouting nonsense. If you're filial, hurry up and go with your Aunt Liu!"
As he spoke, he gave Aunt Liu a wink.
She was secretly overjoyed.
The matchmaker, Liu, had already hinted to her that her daughter's looks were worth twenty-five taels of silver. If she sold this wretched girl today, she would have enough for her son's dowry and still have five taels left over for the wedding banquet.
After Liu the matchmaker took the man away, she asked another matchmaker to propose marriage to the Zhang family for her son. Within half a month, she married Zhang Erni, whom her son liked.
From now on, she'll have a daughter-in-law to serve her, and she can properly show off her mother-in-law status to her daughter-in-law.
"Come on, girl, let's go. I've found you a wonderful marriage this time." Matchmaker Liu immediately stood up, trying to grab Lin Momo's wrist and pull her out.
At this moment, Lin Zhiqiang, who was hiding in the main room, was laughing like a fool as he saw things were going so smoothly.
Finally, I sold that debt-collecting sister! That's great!
Now he can finally marry Zhang Erni, whom he loves, and let's see who in the village dares to laugh at him for being a poor bastard who can't find a wife.
He, Lin Zhiqiang, not only wants to marry, but also wants to marry a good girl that young men from all around can only dream of marrying, to make them furious.
This time, he's determined to make himself look good.
In the small courtyard.
Lin Momo knew that there was definitely something fishy going on here.
Naturally, she refused to let her touch her, quickly taking a step back to avoid the hand that tried to restrain her, and then decisively retreating several steps away from the two of them.
"Zhiqiang, come out here and grab this brat!" Seeing that she couldn't control her, Madam Xu became anxious and shouted towards the west room of the main house.
Almost in the blink of an eye, a person rushed out of the house and pounced on Lin Momo.
Hearing the sound, Lin Sanya, who came out of the side room, burst into tears, "Second Sister!"
Just as the person was about to get close to Lin Momo, she dodged and stretched out a foot at the same time.
With a "thump," Lin Zhiqiang, who had rushed out like a cannonball, couldn't stop in time and fell flat on his face. Blood immediately seeped from his mouth, and he could barely speak: "Ouch, ah—, it hurts, my forehead is bleeding, waah waah waah."
Bleeding is nothing; if the ground weren't yellow soil, I would have knocked out two of his front teeth.
However, he was still quite unlucky. He didn't knock out any teeth, but his mouth hit a small stone, and he got a mouthful of blood, which looked quite gruesome.
It's unbearable to see a grown man crying so miserably.
Seeing her beloved son in this terrible state, Madam Xu flew into a rage and blurted out her true feelings: "You brat, you dare to throw your brother? Believe me, I'll sell you today!"
"Xu, who do you want to sell?" Suddenly, a majestic voice boomed in the courtyard like a muffled thunderclap.
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