Marrying Wives and Attaining Immortality in a Chaotic World

Chapter 8: This world is interesting

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Xu Lian sat under a big tree, his hands in his sleeves, watching Zhang Yuan move stones to load the truck, "Brother Yuan, when moving stones, you must keep your back straight and make sure your waist and horse are in harmony, so that you don't sprain your spine or hit your feet."

Out of "concern" for his childhood brother, he passed on his experience in moving stones to Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan was so tired that he was panting, his forehead was covered with sweat, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. He remained silent and didn't want to talk to him.

"Brother Yuan, that's enough. Don't fill it too full. My little black donkey is still small and can't pull too heavy."

Seeing that it was almost time, Xu Lian walked over, drove away, and headed towards the town’s pier.

I have to say that being a stone carrier is indeed more comfortable than being a stone mover. It is different to have someone helping you with the work. Not only is it easier, but you can also earn more food.

In this way, after several trips back and forth, it was noon.

Lunch at the mine was the same as usual, two black steamed buns and a bowl of porridge.

Zhang Yuan wolfed down the food and looked eagerly at the black steamed bun in Xu Lian's hand, "Brother Lian, can you please..."

"No! I'm still growing."

Xu Lian hurriedly stuffed the black steamed bun into his mouth and ate it, and drank up the porridge in the bowl.

Zhang Yuan was dissatisfied and said, "Why are you guarding against me like a thief? We grew up together as childhood friends. You are a stone carrier now and earn a lot of money. Can't you take care of me, your brother?"

Xu Lian said, "Life in this world is not easy for anyone. You didn't take care of me when you were a stone carrier, did you?"

Zhang Yuan lay down to rest in a huff and stopped talking to him.

Xu Lian didn't care. He looked around and when no one was paying attention, he stuffed some beef he brought from home into his mouth to supplement his nutrition.

After a short rest, more than a dozen supervisors holding rattan sticks urged people to work again.

The miners had no choice but to get up from the ground.

Xu Lian sat under a tree with his hands in his sleeves, watching Zhang Yuan move stones and load them onto a truck while chatting. Zhang Yuan ignored him, so he just talked to himself, just to kill time.

Once the truck was loaded, he drove off and transported the goods to the town's dock.

After going back and forth several times, it was getting dark, and the manager Handu announced the end of work, and the miners lined up to receive food.

Xu Lian received double the amount of food, which was three pounds.

Seeing that Zhang Yuan was always looking at his grain bag, he held the bag in his arms.

Zhang Yuan climbed onto his donkey cart weakly, carrying a pound and a half of grain in his hands.

Xu Lian was driving the donkey cart home. Halfway through the journey, he stopped and said, "Brother Yuan, come down and help me cut the grass. I'll take it back to feed the donkey."

Zhang Yuan was already angry, and now he was annoyed, "Why should I help you cut the grass?"

Xu Lian said confidently, "If you don't help me cut grass, I won't let you ride in my donkey cart."

Zhang Yuan's face darkened and he had to come down to help cut the grass.

Seeing how slow he was, Xu Lian said, "Brother Yuan, hurry up! It will be dark soon. If we run into robbers, we will both be dead."

Zhang Yuan had no choice but to speed up, complaining non-stop, "I'm exhausted after a whole day, can't you be understanding? You're really getting smarter and smarter, and you won't take any loss at all!"

As the saying goes, suffering a loss is a blessing, but Xu Lian doesn't want such a blessing, so he decided to give it to others.

The two men mowed half a truckload of grass and as it was getting dark, they drove away in a hurry.

They passed by Zhang Yuan's house and stopped for a while. Zhang Yuan jumped out and Xu Lian continued driving home.

"Brother Lian, do you want a woman?"

Suddenly, a dark shadow rushed over and stopped the donkey cart.

Xu Lian hurriedly stopped the donkey cart and took a closer look. He found that it was a stone mover working in the mine. His name was Yang Ye, a strong middle-aged man.

Xu Lian subconsciously shook his head and refused, "Get out of the way, I don't want it!"

"You are a stone carrier now, earning a lot of food. There are only two women in your family, and they can't eat so much food. You can support another woman."

Yang Ye came to the donkey cart and said, "My little daughter is so pretty. My house is right next to me. Come with me to see her. I guarantee you'll like her."

Xu Lian was puzzled. "I'm not the only stone carrier in the mine, why did you give your daughter to me?"

Yang Ye explained, "My little daughter is just old enough to find a man. I can't bear to give her to the older stone carrier. Your age is just right for her. Besides, the older stone carrier has several women in his family. It would be unfair for my little daughter to go with him. There are few women in your family. You are a perfect match."

Xu Lian understood.

If I say I'm not moved, I'd be lying...

According to his needs for the golden finger, Sister Xiya alone is definitely not enough, he will need her sooner or later.

But in his current situation, he earns three kilograms of food a day, which is barely enough to support a family of three. It would be a bit tight to support one more person.

Moreover, he had to discuss things like bringing a woman home with Sister Xiya, otherwise Sister Xiya's favorability towards him would decrease, which would be counterproductive.

"You won't give your daughter to me for nothing, right?"

Xu Lian asked tentatively.

Yang Ye looked unhappy and frowned, "What are you talking about? How can there be a free gift in this world? I worked hard to earn food and raise my daughter. I don't expect to get my money back, but you should at least give me some psychological comfort, right?"

Xu Lian said, "Then tell me how much food you want, and I'll think about it."

Yang Ye seemed to have thought it through long ago. "You are pretty, my daughter will definitely like you. I don't ask for much, just wait for the weight. My daughter has been weighed, she is 85 kilograms, you just need to give me 85 kilograms of food."

Eighty-five kilograms of grain, quite a bargain... Xu Lian said in embarrassment, "I can't afford so much grain right now, can I buy it on credit?"

Yang Ye pointed to his arms and said, "I've thought about it for you. Liang Yan gave you fifteen taels of silver to buy a donkey. Your little black donkey must not cost fifteen taels, so there should be some left, right? Give me the remaining silver as a deposit. Take my daughter home to live with you first, and then you can give me the grain you earn in the future. Anyway, you have a donkey, so I'm not afraid of you defaulting on your debt. If you dare to default on your debt, I'll fight you with a knife."

What a good father-in-law You Chao is... Xu Lian was very "touched" and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Of the fifteen taels of silver Liang Yan gave him, he spent twelve and a half taels on buying a donkey and half a tael on the cart frame, leaving him with two taels. He also took more than five taels of silver from the corpses of three strong men. His current net worth was more than seven taels.

For ordinary people, this is indeed a considerable sum of money.

Xu Lian said, "I'll go to your house first to see if your daughter is as pretty as you said. If I like her, I can pay you a deposit."

"Let's go, then."

Yang Ye led the way in front.

Xu Lian drove after him.

After walking a short distance, they arrived at Yang Ye's house.

Like most of the civilians in Green Bamboo Town, Yang Ye's house is also an old mud house.

"Chan'er, come out for a moment."

Yang Ye took Xu Lian in and shouted towards the inner room.

Xu Lian saw two old and thin middle-aged women doing needlework. They must be aging fast because of years of bloodletting and not having enough to eat. A girl about sixteen years old trotted out from the inner room. Although she was wearing patched coarse cloth clothes, she couldn't hide her pretty face.

As soon as Xu Lian saw the pretty face of this young girl, his heart warmed and he immediately fell in love with her.

Yang Ye said, "How is it? I didn't lie to you."

Yang Chaner's face turned red, and she looked at the young man in front of her shyly. Obviously, she also knew why her father brought the young man home, and her family must have discussed it before.

"Will you come home with me and be my woman?"

Xu Lian looked at Yang Chaner's pretty face and spoke directly.

As a "quality person" in modern civilized society, he really doesn't want to be so direct, but this is the way the world is. There is no need for any twists and turns, and there is no need for any hesitation. It is better to be direct.

Yang Chan'er's face turned even redder, and she became even more shy, but she was unwilling to miss such a good match, "Lian'er, I am willing to be with you."

"That's great..."

Xu Lian felt satisfied. He took out two taels of silver from his bosom with a painful heart and put them on the table. Of course, he would not use all seven taels as a deposit. Two taels were enough.

One of the two old and thin middle-aged women had tears in her eyes and hugged Yang Chaner reluctantly.

She told Xu Lian, "You are Chan'er's first man, you have to treat my Chan'er well! Give her more food every day! And you have to take turns bleeding her with other women, you can't let my Chan'er do it every day!"

The first man, what he said... is not wrong. In such troubled times, accidents often happen to men, and changing men is also common.

Xu Lian spoke very honestly, "Please rest assured, you gave birth to such a beautiful girl, I am very happy in my heart, I will not treat her badly, and I will make sure she has enough to eat every day."

Yang Ye picked up the two taels of silver on the table, put it in his mouth and took a bite, to make sure it was real, then waved his hand and said, "Take it home, it's getting dark."

Xu Lian said, "I won't rush to take her back. I need to discuss it with the woman at home."

Yang Ye was confused. "What is there to discuss? If you can afford to raise another woman, the women in your family will have less bloodletting and less burden on their bodies. This is a blessing for them."

This... Xu Lian was surprised to find that modern scumbags are definitely good men in this world. As long as they are able to earn food, the more women they bring home, the happier the women at home will be, because the number of bloodletting times will be reduced. Who wouldn't want that

However, he and Sister Xiya have feelings for each other, which is a little different from the situation of other families. He has to consider Sister Xiya's favorability. "It's better for me to discuss it."

Yang Ye frowned, "You have already paid the deposit, Chan'er is already your woman, and you still keep Chan'er in my house to feed her. How can this be justified!"

"..." Xu Lian was almost choked. Father-in-law, you are too good at calculating, just like Wang Cuiyun.

It makes me feel relieved when I think about it. Every household in this world is basically the same, and the primary consideration is food.

Xu Lian thought for a moment and said, "How about this? Chan'er will still be raised at your house. I will give you half a pound of food every day. I will give you the same amount of food as the number of days you raise her. Is that ok?"

Yang Ye nodded, "Okay."

Xu Lian walked up to Yang Chan'er and hugged her. She was indeed light and soft. He had already paid the deposit, so it was not too much to take advantage of her. "Chan'er, you stay at home first. I will go back and discuss it and will come to pick you up soon."

Yang Chaner blushed and said "hmm" softly.

Xu Lian reluctantly let her go, walked out the door and drove away.

The evening breeze blew on his face, he was in a good mood, this world was interesting... He had begun to like this world.