When seven-year-old Chu Qing saw that it was his second grandfather who was asking the question, he quickly stood up, wiped his nose and answered, "My father has gone to the fields. What's up, second grandfather?"
The second elder did not answer. He looked at this distant nephew and asked, "Where is your sister?"
"Sister and brother are going to fetch some water, they'll be back soon." Chu Qing said as he wiped his nose again.
The second clan elder frowned, turned around and asked the fourth cousin: "Do you want to stay and take a look?"
"Of course!" The four clan elders looked around and found a smooth big tree root to sit down.
He wanted to see with his own eyes whether this girl was really suitable.
Chu Qing was smart. Seeing that the two elders were not leaving, he quickly went back to the house and brought a long bench for them to sit on.
The four elders nodded and asked, "Your name is Qing'er, right? What's your sister's name?"
Chu Qing: "My sister's name is Chu Chu."
"Chu Chu, that's a good name. Has your father found a husband for her?" the elder of the fourth clan continued to ask.
Chu Qing blinked and shook his head blankly, "I don't know."
The fourth elder: "How old is your sister this year?"
Chu Qing knew: "My sister is fifteen years old. Daddy said that after her birthday, we will go to town to buy a piece of cloth to make new clothes for her."
The elder of the four clans stroked his beard and thought for a while before asking, "Qing'er is seven years old this year, right? Do you want to go to school?"
Chu Qing blinked and looked at Fourth Grandpa blankly.
Just then, Chuchu and Dadi came back carrying a large bucket of water.
Seeing the two elders of the clan sitting at the door of his house, he was stunned.
"Sister, you're back. Second Grandpa is looking for you." Chu Qing happily ran over to help hold the bucket.
Chuchu nodded to the two elders, and with his eldest brother, he carried the bucket into the kitchen. Then he came out to greet the two elders, "Second Grandpa, Fourth Grandpa."
The four clan elders nodded in approval when they saw that the little girl behaved in a well-mannered and graceful manner.
Then I saw the red spot on her forehead. It was only the size of a fingertip. As long as her bangs covered it slightly, it would not be noticeable at all.
And this little girl had a beautiful face and clear eyes. She looked like a sensible and reasonable child, which made the four clan elders even more satisfied.
He stood up and said to Chu Chu, "Chu Chu, wait for your father to come back and ask him to go to Chu Village. The clan leader wants to discuss something with him."
Chu Chu was surprised, but did not ask anything. She just said softly, "Okay, I'll tell him when Dad comes back."
The fourth elder walked back with his hands behind his back, and asked the second elder as he walked, "Second brother, how many years has Chu Laoshi been dead?"
The second elder thought for a while and said, "It's been about four or five years. That's when the young boy left. It was the girl who took care of him while he was working."
"What's the matter with that kid named Brother Yan in his family?" The four elders of the clan were more concerned about this.
Everyone in the village knew that Chu Laoshi’s eldest son was not his biological son, but a burden brought by his second wife.
Speaking of it, the situation in Chu Laoshi's family is indeed a bit complicated, so even though Chuchu is such a good girl and she is already fifteen years old, there is still no matchmaker to come to her door.
"Since Chu Yan can take Chu Laoshi's surname, he must have acknowledged Chu Laoshi as his father. He is not a child husband to Chu Chu as the rumors say."
The second clan elder naturally knew what the fourth cousin wanted to say, so he explained it to him all at once.
Chuchu was born to Chu Laoshi’s first wife. When Chuchu was three years old, his ex-wife died of illness.
Three years later, Chu Laoshi brought back a refugee woman when he went to work. The woman also brought a five-year-old boy named Yan Ge.
Later, the woman gave birth to a son for Chu Laoshi and named him Chu Qing. Unfortunately, the woman fell ill and died when Chu Qing was about two years old.
From then on, Chu Laoshi became even more taciturn and refused to remarry.
Everyone in the village said that Chu Laoshi was a widower who was unlucky in marriage, and they didn't like his children very much.
The four clan elders nodded: "It's good that it's not as rumored."
He was also worried that Chu Laoshi had already decided to marry Chu Chu to Chu Yan. If that happened, it would seem like bullying if he brought it up again.
…
Jiang family in Dongchen Village.
After seeing off all the relatives, everyone in the Jiang family looked tired.
It was such a frustrating wedding to hold my own.
The son was injured and the bride was taken away, but the bride's family still refused to cancel the engagement and insisted on choosing a new girl.
What kind of thing is this? It has never happened before in history and it is simply beyond description.
Jiang Dalang and Zhou would definitely not agree to such a weird suggestion.
Dani has cleaned out all the items in her eldest brother's new house. They were brought by the girl's family and moved into the side room without leaving anything behind, and will be returned to the Chu family when she has time.
These included the woman's dowry: two red lacquered wooden boxes, two quilts, a dressing box, a toilet, a washbasin, a foot basin and a bathtub.
Dani collected all the things in her house and gave them to her eldest brother for inventory when he woke up.
But before Jiang Cheng woke up, someone else from the Chu family came.
This time, there were more than a dozen members of the Chu family, including several female relatives.
What made the Jiang family speechless the most was that they actually brought a bridal sedan.
The sedan chair stopped directly at the gate of Jiang Dalang's new house, and two unfamiliar matchmakers helped a petite bride out of the sedan chair.
Jiang Dalang was so angry that he almost laughed, "Chief Chu, what do you mean by this?"
The head of the Chu clan laughed and said, "Father-in-law, this is the most outstanding child in our Chu family. He is the same age as your son, and his appearance and character are definitely worthy of your son."
He turned to the girl with the veil on her head and called out, "Chu Chu, come and meet your father-in-law and mother-in-law."
The two matchmakers quickly helped the girl forward and bowed.
The little girl was obedient and bowed: "Chu Chu greets mom and dad."
Zhou was so angry that she turned around and went back to the house.
Of course, she was not angry at the girl, but at the shamelessness of the head of the Chu family.
Their family had already clearly stated that they wanted to cancel the engagement and did not want to change the bride, but Patriarch Chu still sent her over.
Jiang Dalang also gritted his teeth secretly and said in a deep voice: "Chief Chu, are you taking advantage of your seniority to bully the Jiang family because there is no one there?"
Chief Chu: "What are you talking about, my in-laws? I just wanted to make peace between our two families, so I chose a suitable child to come here."
Without waiting for Jiang Dalang to speak, the head of the Chu clan continued, "Alas, if your family really doesn't want to, you might as well let the child stay to take care of your son first, and when your son recovers, you can send her home. This is an apology from our Chu family, and you don't have to refuse, father-in-law."
Jiang Dalang refused outright: "What nonsense! My son will be taken care of by others, so you don't have to worry about it, Chief Chu. If you really feel sorry, please return my son's marriage certificate and betrothal gifts."
He didn't want to play along with the Chu family anymore, so he asked for the marriage certificate and betrothal gifts directly.
This time, Chief Chu said nothing more. He asked the younger generation beside him to bring the betrothal gifts and marriage certificate, and presented them with both hands.
"Here is a total of 150 taels of silver. Thirty taels for the engagement, eighty taels for the betrothal gift, and some miscellaneous items, which I have privately converted into ten taels and added. The remaining thirty taels are for your son's medical expenses. Please take a look, father-in-law."
Chief Chu was very humble, which made Jiang Dalang feel a little guilty.
After taking the silver and the marriage certificate and confirming that everything was correct, he asked Jiang Quan to move into the house.
Jiang Quan and Dani took out Chu Man's dowry items one by one and handed them over to the leader of the Chu clan.
Chief Chu did not say anything. He told his clansmen to pick it up, put it in the car, and prepare to take it back.
Then the leader of the Chu clan said goodbye, and Jiang Dalang did not try to keep him.
After the sedan chair and the mule and horse carriage drove away, the Jiang family finally breathed a sigh of relief and went home one after another.
Suddenly, they saw a petite girl in a bright red dress standing at the gate of their house. It must be the substitute bride brought by Chief Chu.
"Why didn't you go back with them?" Dani couldn't help asking.