"Okay, okay, I'll have someone pick a date to pick up Meixiang."
Fang Damiao stood up and walked to the door. Then he turned back to Meixiang and said, "Meixiang, I'll come to pick you up in a few days."
The room fell silent.
Fang Meixiang's parents' brows remained furrowed.
"So you just married Meixiang off to him like that?" Fang Meixiang's mother's voice was filled with sorrow.
"What else can we do? Meixiang won't be able to marry into a good family even if she does. If she marries him, we'll see it all happening right next door."
"Sigh, that's all we can do." Fang Meixiang's mother wiped her face. "Be a little harsher with him, make him work, and plant the land so they can have food to eat."
“Meixiang used to have enough to eat and raise the child. That was enough. Go and get Meixiang some cloth so she can have a new outfit.”
"Yes, the bride price we were talking about earlier..."
“We all know his family’s situation; they can’t afford that. They received a bride price and a dowry when they married into the family, so Meixiang wouldn’t need those things.”
Fang Meixiang's mother looked at Fang Meixiang with concern.
In the fields, it got even hotter as the sun got stronger near noon.
Fang Meili wiped her sweat, looked in the direction she had come from from home, and still couldn't see her mother and father. So she simply packed her things and went home.
As we passed the village entrance, several men squatting against the wall started making a fuss, "Hey, Da Miao's second sister-in-law is here."
Fang Meili looked around but didn't see anyone else.
"Second sister-in-law of Da Miao, why are you walking so fast? Go back and tell your mother that Da Miao has gone to find someone to choose an auspicious date."
Fang Meili felt that they were talking about her, and she couldn't wait to leave, but with so many things in her hands, she couldn't run, so she could only keep her head down and walk quickly.
As she approached her house, she bumped into her father heading to the fields. "Dad, what's going on? I passed the village entrance, and they said..."
What did they say?
"They're saying something about Da Miao's second sister-in-law, that Da Miao went to choose a date."
Fang Meixiang and her father walked home together, carrying farm tools.
Seeing Fang Meixiang next to her mother, she wondered, "Is she going to marry Fang Damiao?"
Fang Meixiang's mother nodded.
"Why did she suddenly say she wanted to marry him? She didn't say anything when we went to the fields this morning, and now... what's going on?"
"My sister is pregnant with Da Miao's child."
"Huh?" Fang Meili opened her eyes wide and looked at Fang Meixiang, then looked down at her stomach.
Fang Meili pursed her lips, turning her head to the side in thought, "Was it Fang Damiao who was at the village entrance, and when he saw we had all gone to the fields, he... he..."
Fang Meili walked over to her, smoothed her hair on both sides, and picked off a piece of straw from the back of her head. "How will you fare at his house?"
Fang Meixiang's mother's eyes were also full of worry, "With her like this, she won't be able to find a good husband. If she marries Fang Damiao, we'll take care of her if anything happens."
"Yeah, if Fang Damiao bullies her, I'll chop him up."
They ate lunch absentmindedly.
Only Fang Meixiang ate with relish.
Fang Damiao has already chosen a date.
Time was a bit rushed, but Fang Meixiang's family wanted to hurry. The weather was getting hotter and they were wearing thinner clothes, and they didn't want others to notice too early.
That day, Fang Meixiang wore a red plaid dacron shirt, navy blue khaki trousers with wide legs and a cloth belt sewn at the waist, and dark cloth shoes that exposed her instep.
Fang Meili braided her hair into two pigtails, with the ends tied with red ribbons.
Fang Damiao had no parents, so several of his cousins and uncles came together to take Fang Meixiang back home.
This couldn't really be called a wedding procession; it was just a group of people walking together from Fang Meixiang's house to Fang Damiao's house.
The road wasn't long, and several children followed along, laughing and playing.
Fang Meixiang looked at so many people and felt it was lively. She lowered her head, feeling embarrassed, while her eyes kept glancing to both sides.
Neighbors stood on both sides discussing it.
The news that Fang Meixiang was going to marry Fang Damiao was known to everyone in the village that morning, so it wasn't anything new. Today, everyone just came to watch the excitement.
When Fang Meixiang was a child, everyone said she was stupid. After she grew up, people started saying she was crazy.
Actually, she's very well-behaved at home. Her parents love her, and she never runs off to cause trouble.
Therefore, her family members felt comfortable leaving her home alone when they went out to work.
In the crowd, a woman stared at them with a stiff face and gritted teeth.
She was Fang Shugen's mother. "I wondered who this crazy woman could marry? Marrying this lazy, good-for-nothing orphan, let's see what kind of good life she can have."
Fang Meili sent Fang Meixiang to Fang Damiao's house.
Fang Meili glanced around the room. The earthen walls were covered with old newspapers, the edges of which were curled up. The portraits of Yue Opera actors printed on them were yellowed from smoke. A bamboo basket leaned against the corner of the wall.
A traditional Chinese square table stood by the window, worn smooth and shiny with a few crooked cracks, and a long bench was tucked under it.
The exposed part of the straw mattress on the bed had a pale yellow sheen, and a patched mat was laid on top of it.
Beside the bed stood a wooden cabinet with peeling paint; the brass lock on the cabinet door was long rusted and was haphazardly tied with a red rope.
The compacted earthen surface shows that it has been swept.
Fang Meili looked at Fang Meixiang; this would be the home of her silly older sister from now on.
Several children were peering through the doorway, clinging to the frame. "Da Miao got a wife! Da Miao has a wife!"
Fang Meili glared at them.
The children scattered in all directions.
"Sister, you'll be living here from now on." Fang Meili rarely called her "sister."
As soon as she shouted it out, Fang Meili's eyes also reddened. "You need to eat well and dress warmly. You have a baby in your belly."
Fang Meixiang looked at her belly, tugged at the front of her dress and shook it a few times, indicating that she should wear new clothes.
"Hmm, new clothes, they look good." Fang Meili stroked Fang Meixiang's braid.
Fang Damiao did not prepare a banquet.
Several relatives took Fang Meixiang to their home, told her to "live a good life," and then left.
Fang Meili looked at Fang Meixiang again.
Fang Meixiang looked around the room curiously, looking up and down and all around.
"You have to treat my sister well," Fang Meili said through gritted teeth. Fang Meixiang's mother had told Fang Meili to speak to her nicely when she sent Meixiang over there, but she just couldn't bring herself to soften her tone.
"Yes, yes, as long as I have something to eat, Meixiang won't go hungry." Fang Damiao said with a playful yet earnest smile.
That evening, Fang Meixiang's parents and Fang Meili sat quietly at the dinner table.
"I wonder if Meixiang has had dinner yet?" Fang Meixiang's mother couldn't stop crying as she spoke.
“Da Miao isn’t stupid, he can cook.” Fang Meixiang’s father’s voice also lowered.
"It's really a bit strange not having her at home all of a sudden," Fang Meili said, picking at the rice in her bowl.
"Should I go down and take a look later?" Fang Meixiang's mother wanted to get up right then and there.
"Don't go on the first day, go again in a few days."
"Oh!" Fang Meixiang's mother continued eating.
At night, Fang Damiao lay down next to Fang Meixiang in the dark and reached out to her, saying, "Meixiang, you don't have to sneak around in the pigsty anymore." He then pinched her upper body.
Fang Meixiang didn't hide. She had been with Fang Damiao many times before. In the unfamiliar environment but with familiar people, Fang Meixiang lay quietly, her fingers unconsciously picking at the mat.
Fang Meili looked at Fang Meixiang's empty bed.
There are two beds in this room. When Fang Meihao comes back, she will share a bed with Fang Meili.
Fang Meili always wanted to have her own room.
Now, Fang Meixiang is married, and Fang Meihao is at school.
Being all alone, I feel a little empty inside.
The next day, they all got up very early.
After having breakfast, the three of them went to work in the fields and passed by the village entrance. They all looked in the direction of the small shop.
Fang Damiao did not sit there.
There has been no sign of Fang Damiao for the past few days.
It was time for Fang Meixiang to return to her parents' home. Fang Meixiang's mother took out the cured meat she had prepared for the New Year.
I cooked a few more dishes than usual.
Fang Meixiang knew she was going back to her parents' home, and she happily followed behind Fang Damiao like a child.
The villagers couldn't help but make a few teasing remarks when they saw this.
"The groom should be sweet-talking when he gets to his mother-in-law's house, or he might be left there to do chores."
"Da Miao, ask your mother-in-law to cook a couple more hearty dishes to nourish your new son-in-law! He's been working hard these past few days."
Fang Meixiang's mother was busy at the stove, while Fang Meili added firewood to the firebox.
Seeing them come in, she said, "Meixiang, Damiao, you're here!"
Fang Meixiang's eyes lit up when she looked at the bowl of oily cured meat on the stove.
Fang Meixiang's mother picked up a piece of meat and put it in Fang Meixiang's bowl.
Da Miao said, "Meixiang needs to eat well at this time, let me give her a piece first."
“I always save the best food for her, so she’s eating for two people now.”
When Fang Meixiang's mother turned around, Fang Meixiang had already finished eating the meat and was wiping her lips with her sleeve.
Fang Meixiang's father instructed Fang Damiao about the fields, "It's the rainy season now, so you need to check on the fields frequently to make sure they don't get flooded. I checked last time, and the water was too full, so I drained some for you."
"Oh, okay, okay," Fang Damiao replied.
“Yes, Da Miao, and don’t blame me for being nosy,” Fang Meixiang’s mother continued, “Take more care of things at home and in the fields, and don’t gossip at the village entrance. Now you have a wife and children, and if you do a good job in farming, your family will have enough to eat in the second half of the year.”
“I haven’t gone there. You didn’t see me sitting there, did you?” Fang Damiao quickly said.
"Hmm, I didn't see it. As long as you work hard, life will get better and better."
Fang Damiao nodded heavily, his eyes filled with anticipation for the days to come.
"Come on, dinner's ready." Fang Meixiang's mother put the dishes on the table.
Fang Damiao and Fang Meixiang looked as if they hadn't eaten for days, and they picked up their bowls and began to wolf down their food.
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