Chapter 163: 163. Chapter 163: The Age for Marriage

163. Chapter 163: The Age for Marriage

Jiang family courtyard.

Everyone watched the departing Li family, unable to recover for a long time.

"Jiang Shi, I'm afraid your food wasn't clean; how could someone get diarrhea after eating it?!" Li Dayong's wife came to her senses and immediately questioned her.

Jiang Wei glanced at her coldly: "I'll say it again, everyone ate the same food. Others are fine, so if someone has a problem, it can only mean it's their own issue."

"I say, Dayong's wife, this food was made by me and Chunmiao's mother, working early and late with our own hands. Where was it not clean?" Qiulian Niang laughed in anger. Li Dayong's wife questioning the cleanliness of the food was questioning their work ethic; how could she endure that?

"Exactly, Chunmiao washed this cabbage all morning, her fingers were washed white, how could it not be clean?" Even the usually honest Zhao Dasao spoke up, "And this pork, Xiaoxiao's mother went to the butcher in town before dawn to buy it. When she brought it back, the blood hadn't even dried yet; it was fresh."

Listening to the two defending her mother, Jiang Xiaoxiao lowered her head, feeling somewhat guilty.

Although there was certainly no problem with her family's food, Zhao Dasao was exaggerating too much. Her mother hadn't worked early and late to go to town; she had just taken the pork out of the space...

"Oh, alright, alright." Zhang Family Sister-in-law came out to smooth things over, "Why are you arguing on such a good, joyous day? Everyone, eat with peace of mind. The food at Xiaoxiao's mother's house is absolutely fine. Everyone has eaten so much; if there were a problem, it would have appeared long ago."

Everyone listened to these words and felt they made a lot of sense.

Everyone had been eating for so long and was fine, so Li Family Old Woman's problem was likely that she had no fortune to enjoy the Jiang family's food.

"Can't you say a few words less? You're losing face for me all day long!" Li Dayong glared at his wife.

"I was just saying a few words." Li Dayong's wife pursed her lips, still muttering under her breath, but her hand didn't stop picking up meat at all.

Jiang Wei cast a grateful look at Qiulian Niang and the others: "Qiulian, Zhao Sister-in-law, you've really worked hard these past few days. Come to me to settle your wages after the banquet ends."

"What are you saying? We're all fellow villagers; a small matter like a banquet is only right." Qiulian Niang said with a smile, "The soap Xiaoxiao sent a few days ago is enough to cover our wages for dozens of days; how could we collect extra money from you?"

"Xiaoxiao's mother, I don't have anything good to give for your house moving. Liuer's father went to the mountain a few days ago and found some reeds. I thought they looked pretty good, so I wove a few mats." Zhang Family Sister-in-law took out the prepared gift, "These reed mats are so cool to lay on the bed in the summer. I'm giving you two for your house; lay them out for Xiaoxiao when summer comes."

"Zhang Sister-in-law, you're too kind." Jiang Wei smiled and accepted the mats.

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked closely; they were purely handmade reed mats, cleaned very well, and felt very soft to the touch, not prickly at all. When summer comes and they are laid on the kang, it will become a couch, and it will surely be very comfortable to lie on.

"Thank you, Auntie Zhang. These reed mats feel so smooth and soft; it must have taken a long time to weave them well, right?"

Reeds generally grow in wetlands and marshes. There has been a drought these years, and reeds are not easy to find. Zhang Family Sister-in-law must have spent a lot of effort for these two cooling mats.

"It didn't take long; these were all woven with the help of my Liuer." Zhang Family Sister-in-law said with a smile.

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoxiao subconsciously looked at Zhang Liuer, who was sitting next to Zhang Family Sister-in-law.

She was a girl with a rare round face.

Most people in the village favor boys over girls, and daughters often don't get enough to eat. Over the years, they become sallow and thin from malnutrition.

It can be seen that the Zhang family loves their daughter; Zhang Liuer is well-fed and doesn't have the thin, frail look of a typical family's girl, though she is probably used to doing farm work, making her look a bit sturdy.

"Liuer is fifteen this year, right?" Qiulian Niang said with a smile, "Has a marriage been arranged?"

"She'll be sixteen after the New Year."

Zhang Family Sister-in-law looked at her daughter with doting eyes and smiled: "I only have this one daughter, and I can't bear to marry her off early. However, as she gets older, people in the village will gossip. Fortunately, not long ago, the Cheng family at the head of the village came to propose marriage..."

"The Cheng family?" Several people were stunned in unison.

"It's Cheng Yougui, who came to our village to escape the famine a few years ago. It's just the mother and son in their family." Zhang Family Sister-in-law smiled, "The Cheng family has saved up some family foundation over the years and bought a few mu of land in the village. This year, Cheng Yougui has also reached the age for marriage, so he specifically found a matchmaker to ask at my house a few days ago."

"So, Zhang Sister-in-law, you are very satisfied with this Cheng family?" Seeing Zhang Family Sister-in-law's face full of joy when talking about this, Qiulian Niang had an idea.

There are only two people in the Cheng family, meaning the population is simple and there are no other clansmen. The daughter can be the master of the house after marrying over, without having to worry about serving parents-in-law or being bullied by sisters-in-law.

Zhang Family Sister-in-law has always loved her daughter and must be quite satisfied with this marriage.

"Marriage is not something to be careless about. It's best to go to the Cheng family and take a good look to see if the Cheng family's son is easy to get along with." Zhao Dasao is a woman who has experienced a failed marriage and cares very much about the man's character.

"Rest assured, I've seen him." Zhang Family Sister-in-law smiled, "The Cheng family's son just turned sixteen this year. I think he's an honest one. Although he doesn't talk much, the few mu of land at home are managed in perfect order by him alone."

"That's good, so Liuer won't be wronged after marrying over." Zhao Dasao smiled. She sincerely hopes that Zhang Liuer can marry into a good family and not end up with a miserable fate like her.

"Has the date been set?" Jiang Wei also chimed in to ask.

Zhang Family Sister-in-law nodded: "The date has been looked at by someone; it's set for the twelfth day of the first lunar month next year. This day is just right for marriage."

The twelfth day of the first lunar month, just in time for the spring season after the New Year.

Jiang Wei congratulated her with a smile: "This date is set well, a new atmosphere for the New Year. When your family holds the joyous event, I'll also go to beg for a piece of wedding cake to eat."

When people in the village hold a wedding, they distribute wedding cakes to those who come to congratulate them, intending to share the joy.

Listening to the table of people discussing her marriage, Zhang Liuer was already blushing from shyness.

She looked at Qiulian Niang and said shyly: "Auntie Qiulian, after the autumn planting is over, can I come to you to learn embroidery? I, I want to embroider my own wedding dress..."

Qiulian Niang's embroidery skills are famous in the village, and many girls about to be married go to her for advice.

"Sure." Qiulian Niang agreed happily, "It just so happens that I have nothing to do after the autumn planting is over. You can just bring your needle and thread to my house."

"Thank you, Qiulian Niang!" Zhang Liuer smiled happily, two shallow dimples appearing on her round face.

"Look at how happy this girl is." Zhang Family Sister-in-law looked at her daughter with a sense of pride in having a daughter who has just grown up, and then looked at Jiang Xiaoxiao on the side, saying: "Speaking of which, Xiaoxiao will also be... after the New Year?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao, who was pretending to be a child and silently eavesdropping on the adults' conversation, was caught off guard by being mentioned by name. She immediately smiled and nodded: "Yes, Auntie, I'll be six after the spring next year."

She has been in this world for almost half a year; she didn't expect time to pass so quickly...

Zhang Family Sister-in-law scanned the Jiang family's large courtyard and said as if inadvertently: "Six years old, it's also the age to arrange a childhood engagement..."

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "???"

No, can this kind of thing be dragged onto her head? (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 164 =====