Ever since seeing that woman coming to find Qin Zhao, Jing Li's interest has been low. He didn't even take a nap with Qin Zhao, but went back to the small wooden barrel quietly.
The little koi sank itself into the water and huddled at the bottom of the barrel. Unhappiness was written all over every scale from head to tail.
Qin Zhao looked at the little koi carp that was autistic in the water and sighed helplessly.
He reached his hand into the water, rubbed the fish's head, and said, "I'm going out for a while. You stay at home and take care of yourself. Don't let anyone see you."
The little koi gently wiggled its tail and rubbed its head against Qin Zhao's fingers.
Qin Zhao inexplicably sensed aggrievedness in this action.
This little guy is probably still angry about the woman who came at noon.
Qin Zhao guessed this in his mind, so he planned to go to Aunt He's house.
Qin Zhao never cared about the opinions of the villagers, nor was he willing to waste time on interpersonal relationships. Therefore, although he understood many things in his heart, he rarely intervened.
For example, what happened today.
At noon, the woman came to his house, and the implication was obvious. According to his personality, he originally just wanted to send her away and not pay too much attention to her.
But now he has changed his mind.
If you simply send someone away without explaining the situation clearly, there will be more such incidents in the future.
He didn't want to see Xiaoyu unhappy every time because of these things.
The door of the courtyard was not closed. Aunt He was standing in the yard drying clothes. Qin Zhao knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Aunt He poked her head out. Seeing him coming, her face darkened a little. But she didn't show it too obviously. She walked over and forced a smile. "It's Qin Zhao. What's wrong? Do you need to alter your clothes?"
Qin Zhao said gently, "No, the aunt's craftsmanship is excellent, and my husband is wearing it very well."
Call him "husband" all the time.
Aunt He was a little upset with Qin Zhao, but she couldn't show it, so she asked patiently, "Then why did you come to see me?"
Qin Zhao said: "It's for the girl who sent me clothes at noon."
The woman who went to deliver clothes to Qin Zhao today was nicknamed A Xiu and was the niece of Aunt He.
Little girls always like good-looking men, and Ah Xiu is no exception. She has always liked Qin Zhao, but the elders in her family thought that Qin Zhao was too poor and bedridden, so if they married their daughter to him, she would only be a servant.
Therefore, A Xiu was not allowed to have any contact with Qin Zhao.
But now it's different.
Qin Zhao's life was getting better, and his complexion was much better than before. It was said that the annotations he made for the eldest grandson of the Chen family were highly praised by the teachers in the town.
People in their small mountain village admire scholars the most. If they can really pass the imperial examinations in the future, they will have a bright future and great success.
Because of this, many farmers in the village who had unmarried daughters began to target Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao was handsome, and almost no woman was unwilling to marry him. As for the husband in Qin Zhao's family...
Not to mention that having three wives and four concubines was common in this era, Shuang'er's status in the family was not even as good as that of a concubine, so naturally no one would consider the feelings of that husband.
And they naturally thought that Qin Zhao would not care about these things.
After all, isn't it better to marry a young and beautiful wife than to raise a woman who can't work and is difficult to give birth to
Aunt He knew that many people in the village had the same idea, so she discussed it with Ah Xiu's mother and decided to take the initiative. Today, while Qin Zhao's husband was away, she asked Ah Xiu to meet Qin Zhao first in the name of sending clothes.
A Xiu's family has several houses in the village and four or five acres of land. Although they are not rich, they are considered to be in a good financial situation.
In her opinion, Qin Zhao would not refuse.
But she didn't expect that this person would not give her any face at all and directly drove her back.
If this gets out, what will happen to the girl's reputation in the village
Therefore, Aunt He was actually somewhat dissatisfied with Qin Zhao.
When Aunt He heard Qin Zhao mention A Xiu again, a glimmer of hope rose in her heart.
Could it be that you regret it
Or maybe he was afraid of being seen by others, so he didn't let A Xiu stay a little longer
Just as she was thinking this in her heart, she heard Qin Zhao say again: "I hope Aunt He will not act like this again in the future. If this matter gets out, it will be bad for the reputation of the girl, and... if my husband sees it, he will misunderstand it."
Aunt He: “…”
Why do you still call me "husband" all the time
Aunt He felt a little embarrassed, so she simply stopped beating around the bush and said, "Qin Zhao, I'm doing this for your own good. You're not young anymore. There are many people in the village whose sons can help water the crops at your age. If you marry a man now, when will he give birth to a son for you?"
This mountain village is secluded, and the villagers have always thought this way. Qin Zhao did not argue with her, but just shook his head: "I'm not doing this for these reasons."
"What else could it be?" Aunt He was confused. "Could it be that you just like him?"
Qin Zhao's heart trembled slightly.
There is certainly no doubt about this.
If he didn't like it, why would he dream about that face again and again? If he didn't like it, why would he know that the little fish might be a little monster, but still pretend to know nothing and raise him for so long
If he didn't like her, why would he go through so much trouble to make that little girl pretend to be his husband
Of course I like it.
Qin Zhao suppressed the throbbing in his heart, smiled gently, and nodded frankly: "Yes, I like him."
"So I don't want anyone to displease him, and I don't want anything to hurt him. I won't accept anyone else except him."
"That's all I have to say. I hope Aunt He will understand."
After he said that, he turned around and left without caring about Aunt He's reaction.
He had said everything he needed to say. News spread quickly in the village, and soon everyone would know that Qin Zhao had no intention of getting married and would not bother him anymore.
Now... it's time for Xiaoyu to calm down.
But Qin Zhao didn't know that Jing Li was not worried about this at all.
Ever since Qin Zhao made it clear at noon that he didn't like women, Jing Li never took that matter to heart. The only thing he was worried about was... how could he find a man for Qin Zhao
Even if it wasn't for the purpose of staying, he felt that he should help Qin Zhao realize his wish.
This so-called lucky fish has been eating and drinking freely beside Qin Zhao for several months, but has not shown any effect at all.
This is not good.
But Jingli thought about it for half a day and still couldn't figure out what to do.
The little koi sighed heavily in the water and spit out a string of bubbles.
He was a little sleepy from thinking so he wanted to go back to bed for a nap. The little koi jumped out of the barrel and turned back into a human. Just as he put on his clothes, he heard someone knocking on the door.
"Qin Zhao, are you home? It's me!" The person came in with a strong voice. Jing Li paused as he walked towards the door, not really wanting to open it.
It’s Chen Yanan.
Whenever this little fat guy comes, something bad happens.
But the fat boy kept knocking on the door persistently, which was very disturbing. Jing Li had no choice but to go forward and open the door.
"Qin Zhao is not here. Do you have something to do with him?" he asked unhappily.
Chen Yanan obviously didn't expect that he would be the one to open the door. When he saw him, he was stunned for a moment, and then his ears turned red.
“I, I, I…” Chen Yan’an blushed from his ears to his neck, and stammered, “I… I have something to ask Qin Zhao, I…”
Jing Li: “…”
What's wrong with this person
He leaned forward and looked at Chen Yanan's face carefully: "Your face is so red, are you sick?"
“No, no!”
Chen Yanan couldn't speak a single word clearly.
Of course he also knew that a new man had come to Qin Zhao's house, but he had been busy with his own family affairs these days and had no chance to come over.
I came to see Qin Zhao today with a little selfish motive in my mind. I wanted to see what Qin Zhao's legendary handsome young husband looked like.
The young man in front of him looked very young, with slightly wrinkled brows and delicate and beautiful features. He had long hair that he hadn't even had time to tie up, and it was cascading down behind him like a waterfall. His clothes were a little messy, and Chen Yan'an almost stopped breathing when he saw it.
Jing Li asked impatiently: "Are you okay? If not, I'm going to close the door."
"Yes, yes!" Chen Yan'an suddenly came to his senses and said, "I have something important to discuss with Qin Zhao. When will he be back?"
"I don't know either. Why don't you tell me later..."
Jing Li wanted to send the man away first, but suddenly he remembered something and stopped talking. He tilted his head and smiled at Chen Yanan, then opened the door and said, "Why don't you come in and sit for a while?"
Chen Yanan: “!”
“I, I, I… This is inappropriate. Qin Zhao is not here. I, I, I…” Chen Yanan spoke incoherently and was pulled into the house by Jing Li.
"Sit down." Jing Li pushed Chen Yan'an to sit down at the table, and politely poured him a glass of water before sitting down in front of him.
The little fat boy was so embarrassed that he didn't know where to put his hands. Jing Li propped up his chin and smiled gently: "Drink some water."
"Oh, drink water, drink water..." Chen Yanan took a sip of water, but choked because he drank too fast. He coughed for a long time before he recovered.
"Pfft." Jing Li burst out laughing.
Was this little fat boy so cute before
Chen Yanan's face flushed, and he said, "Why don't I go back first..."
"Don't worry." Jing Li stopped him, looked in the direction of the door, and then lowered his voice and said, "I asked you to come in because I need your help with something."
Chen Yanan was startled and turned around to look him up and down.
Jing Li said: "I just want to ask you, do you have..."
"No!" Chen Yan'an jumped up and said righteously, "If you marry Brother Qin, you will be my brother Qin's person, and my sister-in-law. I am a bit muddle-headed and have no ambitions, but I am a scholar after all. I will never take away someone's favorite, and I will not have an ambiguous relationship with my sister-in-law. I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible!"
Jing Li: “…”
Jing Li: “???”
What is the fat boy talking about
Jing Li was angry and annoyed: "Who do you think I am? I am -"
"That's it. You dressed like this, dragged me into the house, and closed the door. Don't I know what you want to do?" Chen Yan'an said, "My elder brother Qin may have had some unclear things in the past, but that's all in the past. Since you've married me, you have to be a good husband and stop thinking about these nonsense all day long."
"I really didn't..." Jing Li paused and asked, "What do you mean Qin Zhao's past is a little unclear? What happened to him in the past?"
Chen Yanan was stunned and turned his head away: "Forget it if you don't know. I won't tell you."
Jing Li frowned.
Is it related to Qin Zhao’s illness
Or is it related to his background
Qin Zhao was rescued by the Chen family in the first place, and the Chen family must know many things that others don't know.
Jing Li asked, "Do you know what his illness is?"
Chen Yanan replied: "How could I not know? I know it very well! When he first came to the village, he was so sick that he couldn't even get up. I was the one who got him the medicine!"
"What's wrong with him?"
"Why should I tell you?"
Jing Li wanted to ask more, but Chen Yan'an refused to say a word, so he had to give up for the time being.
He sighed and sat down at the table: "Let's not talk about this for now. I have something I want to ask you, don't be nervous."
Chen Yanan didn't dare to sit down. He stood by the door and looked at him warily: "You say."
"I want to ask, how many unmarried men are there in the village?"
Chen Yanan was shocked: "It's not enough for you to attack me, but you are also thinking of finding someone else?!"
Jing Li: “…”
The two looked at each other, and Chen Yanan looked away: "Okay, tell me why you ask these questions first, and then I will consider whether to believe you or not."
"I'm asking on behalf of someone else." Jing Li took out the excuse he had prepared early in the morning and explained, "To be honest, I have a brother who wants to find a partner in Linxi Village, and I'm looking for one for him."
Chen Yanan asked: "Is your brother also Shuang'er?"
"No." Jing Li said truthfully, "But he likes men."
"So that's how it is..."
Chen Yanan had no doubts. He walked over to sit opposite Jing Li and said, "That's difficult. Everyone in the village is looking forward to getting married and having a few big fat boys. Who would be willing to marry a man?"
“That’s right…” Jing Li lowered his eyes.
Chen Yanan glanced at him and asked tentatively, "Is your brother...as good-looking as you?"
"Me?" Jing Li blinked. "He is much more handsome than me. I have never seen anyone more handsome than him."
"Prettier than you?" Chen Yan'an's eyes lit up. He moved closer and whispered, "If you say so, I have a candidate."
Jing Li's eyes lit up: "Who?"
Chen Yanan: "Me."
Jing Li: “… … …”
There was a brief silence in the room, and Chen Yanan got angry and said, "What are you looking at me with? I will pass the imperial examination and become a scholar in the future, okay? Don't look down on me!"
Jing Li looked at him silently.
This is really not something to be looked down upon.
Let’s not talk about whether Chen Yan’an, the scholar, can pass the exam, just his figure and his appearance…
Jing Li was sure that if he dared to mention it to Qin Zhao, Qin Zhao would peel off the scales and put him directly into the pot.
Chen Yanan also knew what kind of person he was, so he stopped struggling and sighed in frustration: "Okay, let's think about it again. What other candidates are there? How about the son of Uncle Tiezhu who lives at the entrance of the village?"
"That one is as black as coal, don't do it."
"Then it's Li Ergou who lives at the end of the village."
"Isn't it a bit too short? No."
"The Wang family to the west of the village?"
"Ah? Isn't he born with intellectual disability and can't even speak?"
"Yes..."
…
Chen Yanan talked for a long time with a dry mouth, but Jing Li didn't like any of them. He raised his head and took a big gulp of water, and asked: "You have disliked everyone in our village, what kind of person do you want?"
"I..." Jing Li lay on the table, distressed, "I don't know either."
He had never done such a thing before. After trying to look around, he felt that no one was worthy of his Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao is so outstanding, he doesn't want to just find someone to deal with him.
Those people are not as good as him.
Jing Li sighed heavily in his heart.
The fish are so worried.