The mountain village covered with falling snow is a poetic painting without any ink.
The naughty child who used to love the bed could not wait to put on his cotton-padded clothes and go out to play in the snow without his parents calling him. The white snow was covered with small footprints. For a moment, the red-faced naughty child made the white snow look like a dog chewing a pig.
Some naughty kids would shake the tree violently when their friends were under it, and then run away with a roar, laughing happily as they watched their friends being smashed into old men by the falling snow. Then, they would be thrown to the ground in revenge by their friends, rolling into a ball, with laughter everywhere.
When the smoke from the cooking stove rose, the naughty children were dragged back home by their ears by their angry mothers...
"Dad, why don't you not go today?" Mother Chen said to Zhu's father who was concentrating on eating while she was having breakfast, looking at the snowflakes falling outside the door.
Upon hearing this, Father Zhu raised his head from his bowl and glanced outside the door. He smacked his lips, swallowed the rice porridge, wiped his mouth nonchalantly and said, "How can that be possible? Yesterday I promised Aunt Zhao from Shanghe Village that I would drive her to visit relatives in town. It's snowing now, and I wonder how many people will be counting on our ox cart."
"You don't know how to enjoy your blessings!" said mother Chen unhappily.
After a while, mother Chen put down her chopsticks and looked outside for a long time. "The snow is getting heavier. The eldest son took two cakes and went to sweep the snow for Juan'er's house. He didn't even think of drinking a bowl of hot soup before leaving."
While eating, Zhu's father said, "Juan'er's family will heat up soup for the eldest son. Don't worry about it. Juan'er's family loves the eldest son now."
"What do you know? Her family wouldn't be as willing to cook such delicious porridge as ours. They must be very stingy with firewood." Mother Chen retorted to Zhu's father. She was a little upset that her eldest son went out with pancakes early in the morning to sweep snow for his future father-in-law's house.
"I don't understand you, you're just jealous. Okay, the eldest brother cleared the snow for our house before going out." Father Zhu said, picked up another cake and started eating.
"Who is jealous? I just feel sorry for the eldest brother." Chen blushed slightly when she heard this. But she was very firm and changed the subject, "Speaking of the eldest brother, I miss the second child again. It's been such a long time. Why haven't you sent any letter yet?"
"Come back soon. This is not the first or second time that Zhi'er has gone on a long journey. You can rest assured that he can take care of himself." Father Zhu put down the cake in his hand and comforted Chen.
"I will be worried until Erxiao comes back. Oh, I almost forgot, but I remembered it when you mentioned Zhu'er. Didn't I go to the town with the eldest brother yesterday? Guess who I met." Chen nudged Zhu's father with her arm and asked with shining eyes.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhu almost choked on the biscuit in his mouth. How could he have guessed this? !
"Ergouzi's mother?" Zhu's father said a name tentatively.
"Qi. I knew you wouldn't guess. I met the daughter of the rich man Li from Shanghe Village, the little girl who came to play with Zhuer a few times when she was a child. She was likable when she was a child, and now she looks like a fairy in the sky. She is so beautiful, no girl in the village can compare to her. She recognized me from a long distance, calling me aunt. She is well-educated and kind. She went to the town to burn incense and pray for her father. She is filial. While I was selling things, many people praised me. I saw that many people wanted to marry her home as a daughter-in-law. What do you think, if we marry a daughter-in-law for Erxiao?"
Chen looked at Zhu's father with a warm expression. Ever since she met Li Shu yesterday, this idea seemed to have taken root in her heart.
Upon hearing this, Zhu's father shook his head.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this girl?" Chen asked with a look of regret.
"What are you talking about?" Father Zhu put down the cake in his hand and said to Chen, "The girl is very nice."
"Okay, then why are you shaking your head? Even though Erxiao and Shu'er are still young, they have to be settled early. Many people are eyeing them. If you're late, they will be snatched away by others." Chen was a little anxious.
"The girl from the Li family is good, but I guess they look down on our family. I heard that the Li family is not simple and they have a great background. I guess they look down on our small family." Father Zhu shook his head and said.
"How big of a family can he be?" Chen was a little skeptical. She was very proud of her son. "My son is a scholar. How can he not be worthy of their family? Even a princess would marry my son."
"I don't know how powerful the Li family is, but it's not small. I heard that the county magistrate is very polite when he meets her. She has seen many scholars, so it would be nice for us to marry a farm girl." Zhu's father shook his head. He couldn't explain how powerful the Li family was. However, he had heard people say that the Li family was very powerful during his years of driving the coach.
"Farmer family? That won't do. Yesterday I met the girl from the Li family and I felt that the girl from a farmer family couldn't compare to them." Chen shook her head. "Besides, I guess Erxiao wouldn't look down on her either."
"It would be great if Zhuer passed the imperial examination. Then the Li family would have nothing to say." Chen asked with some expectation.
"Passing the imperial examination is not like farming. You can't just pass it by saying it." Zhu's father curled his lips.
"Oh, by the way, I talked about Zhuer with Miss Li yesterday. Miss Li even called Zhuer "Brother Ping'an". I think there's a chance. Oh, by the way, Miss Li also said that maybe Zhuer will pass the imperial examination this time." Chen took two mouthfuls of rice and started talking again.
"I was just trying to coax you." Father Zhu curled his lips.
At this moment, I heard a burst of firecrackers outside. The sound was very loud, and it seemed that the firecrackers were the thick kind that the villagers were reluctant to buy.
"Whose family is having a wedding? Why haven't I heard about it? Is it a daughter-in-law or a daughter-in-law?" Chen stretched her neck to look outside the door, curious and puzzled. "I talked to his aunts about it the day before yesterday when they were sewing shoe soles, but I didn't hear them say anyone had a wedding."
Zhu's father was also a little confused. According to the custom in the village, no matter whether it was a wedding or a funeral, all the neighbors in the village had to help out and give money. But no one told him about it, and there was no one in the village who he didn't talk to.
Then, I heard a lot of noise outside the village, like a boiling pot of boiling water. There was a lot of clanging sound, and there were voices of many people talking, and the footsteps were getting closer and closer.
curious
Zhu's father and Chen were very curious.
Soon, I heard footsteps outside the door, and someone banged on the door, and there was a lot of voices talking.
"His eldest brother, please open the door. It's a great event. There is a great event."
"Second aunt, please open the door quickly. There is a happy event."
"Hurry up and get ready. People from the county have arrived at the village entrance."
Before Chen and Zhu's father could react, the door was pushed open, and then a large group of people came in, including neighbors, uncles and aunts. There were so many people, it was very lively. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m. to read.)