Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 11894

Changping Village, Wanghai County.

While the Yang family and their relatives and friends gathered in the small room to eat roasted mutton and chat in a joyful atmosphere, the Sixi family in the village also had a 'reunion'.

Because Sixi's father, along with Daxi and Erxi, went back to the village!

We're finally back in the village!
Actually, the father and his two sons had already arrived near the village entrance when it was just getting dark, but at that time, there were still people walking around the pond at the village entrance and under the old maple tree.

The father and his two sons were too embarrassed to enter the village, fearing they would be surrounded and bombarded with questions. So they hid under a field ridge not far from the village entrance. Although they were shivering from the cold, they huddled together, counting the hours until the night was truly deep and the pond area near the village entrance was deserted. Everyone had gone home. This time, the father and his two sons quietly emerged from under the ridge and silently entered the village, making their way home in the dark…

"Dad, Daddy, Erxi, we've been waiting for you to come back! Waaaaah..."

When Sixi Niang opened the courtyard gate and saw the three men standing there looking like beggars, she covered her mouth and tears streamed down her face.

However, the father and his two sons had no time to comfort Sixi's mother's tears. Instead, they pushed her aside, who was blocking the courtyard gate, and rushed into the courtyard, heading straight for the main room.

Before the person even entered the main room, an impatient voice came from inside: "Quick, get some good food, I'm starving!"

"Make the fire in the brazier burn brighter, it's freezing, freezing..."

"I need to get some hot water to soak my feet, it's so cold, so cold..."

"..."

Sixi's mother, the eldest daughter-in-law, and the second daughter-in-law all got busy, spinning like tops, with everything focused on serving the three of them.

Sanxi and Sixi were also disturbed from their respective rooms and came to the main room.

Sanxi talked to them, asking about their journey, while Sixi stood aside, watching coldly without saying a word.

After a while, the father and his two sons ate something, drank hot water, and put their feet in the fire to warm them. Only then did they feel like they had come back to life.

When the eldest and second daughters-in-law saw the chilblains on their husbands' hands, feet, and faces, they both turned away to wipe their tears.

Si Xi's mother's tears never stopped the whole time. She subconsciously wanted to curse the Yang family and the Luo family for being ruthless, but she only said two words before she was slapped across the face by Si Xi's father.

Sparks flew from Sixi's father's eyes as he glared menacingly at the woman before him. "If you don't want us father and sons to go back in, you'd better shut your stinking mouth!"

Da Xi and Er Xi both cast resentful glances at their mother.

Even the two most obedient daughters-in-law, or those who loved to flatter the emperor the most, were somewhat dissatisfied at this moment.

This made Sixi's mother feel very wronged. She covered her burning face, buried her head, and let her tears fall into Sixi's father's foot bath basin...

Sixi's father looked up and saw the whole family in front of him, all standing together neatly.

Then, he saw Sixi standing the furthest away from his family.

Sixi's father frowned subconsciously, looking at his son who was causing him so much trouble...

He sighed and said to Sixi, "Your mother should have everything prepared. Tomorrow, I'll go to the second son's house to propose marriage for you!"

Si Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his father say those words with his own ears.

To be honest, although his mother has stopped objecting these past two days and even had Sixi write out a gift list, of course, it's just a verbal list, since Sixi's family of about ten people can't even read more than 20 characters combined.

Of these 20 characters, Si Xi was the only one who recognized them, and the teacher who taught him these characters was none other than Xiu Hong…

Although he was illiterate, Sixi could clearly tell his mother and Sanxi what he wanted to buy.

Basically, these were the same items prepared when the first three older brothers proposed marriage.

At this moment, Sixi nodded and said to his father, "Mother has already bought the things. I will go with her tomorrow morning."

After saying that, Sixi turned and left the main room, going back to his own room to sleep.

Inside the main room, Sixi's mother watched Sixi's departing figure with great anger.

But she didn't dare say much. Instead, she said to Sixi's father, "That little beast also said he wants to build a new house, separate the family, and not live with us anymore!"

"Where would we get the money to build him a new house? We couldn't afford to build even a little bit!"

Both Da Xi and Er Xi remained silent, listening intently, as did their two wives.

Sixi's father glanced at his sons and wives, then waved his hand: "Go back to your rooms and rest. We're going to the second son's house to propose marriage tomorrow. Go back and get a good night's sleep!"

After seeing off their sons and daughters-in-law, only the couple remained in the main room. Sixi's mother brewed a bowl of tea for Sixi's father and then brought over a bag of tobacco to light for him herself.

The handprint on her face was still there, but the woman didn't care about it at all. She picked up a small stool, sat down next to Sixi's father, and looked up to talk to him.

I don't want to relive my time in prison; it makes me furious and leaves me with lingering trauma.

Even if we were to look back, we'd do it in a few days, once we've calmed down.

The immediate priority is to finalize the marriage with the second wife's family as soon as possible, lest things get complicated and they are framed again!

Sixi's mother said, "I've prepared all the gifts for the marriage proposal tomorrow, just like the previous suitors did. It won't cause any gossip!"

Si Xi's father said, "Is it four catties each for the meat and the fish?"

"Yes."

"Two pounds of brown sugar? Eight pounds of flour?"

"Yes, Dad, you have a great memory!"

"Eight catties of meat and fish, four catties of brown sugar, and sixteen catties of flour!"

"Why? Why have they all doubled? Aren't you afraid your three sons and three daughters-in-law will be unhappy?"

"You have to keep your displeasure to yourself. Don't you realize that this group of marriage proposals comes from ordinary families? The Yang family has so many relatives and relatives. Our little bit of stuff won't even get them to look us in the eye!"

"Sigh... well! Marrying such a thing is such a pain and a waste of money!"

……

In the east wing room, the eldest daughter-in-law was using Harry Oil, which had been sent by her family, to wipe the large and small chilblains on Da Xi's hands and feet.

A small oil lamp was left by the bed, casting the shadows of the two people onto the mottled mud wall.

The eldest daughter-in-law's thoughts were entirely focused on her husband's hands and feet, which were riddled with wounds. Her tears of heartache fell like beads from a broken string.

However, Da Xi's mind was not on this. He stared at everything in the low house, at the half-worn dowry his wife had brought when she married him, and at the corner of the wall... Da Xi's brows were tightly furrowed, and he was preoccupied with his thoughts.

"Daxi, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?" His wife finally noticed that her husband had been acting strangely and remained silent ever since he came back into the house. "We're back. Don't be afraid. No one will dare to come and arrest you anymore. Our family will soon be betrothed to the Yang family. We'll live a good life from now on, so don't be afraid..."

“That’s not what I’m thinking about right now,” Da Xi said.

"What's that?"

Da Xi glanced warily at the doorway to make sure no one was passing by before lowering her voice and saying, "From what my parents said earlier, I'm worried they might make an exception for my fourth brother's wedding and even build him a new house!"

"Build a new house?" The eldest daughter-in-law was also surprised. "That can't be right! Where would we get the money for that?"

“We still have enough money to build two or three new houses,” Da Xi said. “Not to mention the few taels of silver that my parents saved up in the past few years, we can also use the few taels of silver we earned from selling peanuts recently to build two new houses for their wedding.”

The eldest daughter-in-law understood, and her face immediately darkened. "Father and Mother can't be so biased, can they? Shouldn't you four brothers be treated equally? Besides, even if we really build a new house, we should be given priority first. You are the eldest son, and I am Mother's own niece. We should be the ones who get the best treatment!"

Da Xi frowned, then sighed, "That makes sense, but while they're on our side, they can't withstand the domineering attitude of Si Xi's in-laws!"

The eldest daughter-in-law immediately fell silent.

……

The young couple weren't the only ones with similar concerns; Erxi and his wife, who lived in the west wing opposite them, also couldn't sleep.

The two nestled together on the bed. Erxi stroked his wife's large belly, feeling the baby's movements, and sighed for a long time.

"Is this a dream? I never thought I'd come back alive and end up lying in this bed."

"You have no idea what I've been like these past few days in the county jail. I've been treated worse than a pig or a dog. That place... even my pigsty is worse than that!"

The second daughter-in-law stroked Erxi's back tenderly, sharing her feelings as well.

“You suffer in prison, and I live in constant fear at home, unable to sleep soundly at night.”

"I have nightmares every night and wake up several times a night. If you don't come back soon, I'm afraid I'll get sick from worrying so much..."

"Sigh, I'm back, I'm back. It feels like a nightmare, I don't dare to think about it anymore," Erxi said, turning over and lying flat in the quilt, staring at the canopy, but talking about something else.

"It's obvious that the Yang family and the Luo family dragged us into this mess."

“Of course,” the woman next to him nodded. “You released Fourth Brother the moment he returned to the village. The authorities just said it was a misunderstanding and that they arrested the wrong person. Even a fool knows that the Yang family and the Luo family were behind this!”

Erxi clenched her fists under the covers, but then helplessly let them loosen.

"There's nothing we can do. We can only assume it's been done by evil spirits. After all, we're just ordinary people, and we don't have any powerful relatives to back us up."

"Hey, Fourth Brother and Xiu Hong are married now, so our family will have some powerful relatives from now on." The woman's tone was clearly teasing.

"Hmph!" Erxi just snorted coldly.

"When we talked about Sixi's wedding earlier, my parents deliberately sent us away... I have a feeling that my parents will definitely spend a lot more on Sixi's wedding this time than on our wedding!"

Upon hearing this, the second daughter-in-law gritted her teeth inwardly, feeling a hundred different emotions swirling within her.

They were all sons and daughters-in-law. When they married, they were given some gifts and that was it. But when it came to the fourth daughter-in-law, it was a grand and special affair. No one could feel comfortable about it.

"What can we do? We can't fight city hall, so we can only bear it," she said softly.

Erxi, however, did not want to endure it. "I was thinking, if it really doesn't work out, let's split up the family. It's better for everyone to live their own lives."

The second daughter-in-law said, "I also want to separate the family, but if we separate, where will we live? They haven't built us a new house, and we'll continue to live in this big courtyard. It's no different from not separating the family at all."

Before the family split up, she could still slack off and benefit from the hard work of her other sisters-in-law. But now that they've split up, and she's pregnant, things won't be so easy...

……

The morning after everyone had eaten roasted mutton in the small room, a commotion came from the door of the small room across the street after breakfast.

Immediately afterwards, Linglan ran into the backyard and said to Yang Ruoqing, "Madam, Madam..."

"What is it? Tell me slowly."

“Madam, the people who came to propose marriage have arrived at the second house across the street. I just saw the old lady next door and the others go to the second house.”

The old lady Linglan mentioned was obviously referring to Madam Sun...

"Okay, I understand. You can go ahead with your work."

Yang Ruoqing continued her work, pruning plum blossoms. This year, the plum blossoms bloomed earlier than usual, and there were many in the yard. Yang Ruoqing liked to pick a few branches every few days to put in a vase, decorate the house, and place them on her desk, windowsill, and dresser...

Occasionally, I would look up and see the plum blossoms in full bloom, a sight that was pleasing to the eye and lifted my spirits...

As for the marriage proposal from the other side, Yang Ruoqing had no interest in getting involved, because at this point, it was now a matter of communication between the second wife's family and the Sixi family.

When it comes time to hold a banquet or something, we'll need to ask relatives and friends from Old Yang's side to come and offer their congratulations and help out. We'll just go over and join in the fun then.

About half an hour later.

Sun and Xiaoduo came to the backyard of the Luo family to find Yang Ruoqing.

"Duo'er, what brings you here? This is such a pleasant surprise!"

Yang Ruoqing was truly happy to see her younger sister.

But when Yang Ruoqing looked behind Xiaoduo, she didn't see the three sisters, Jiaojiao, Rourou, and Lingling, and she became unhappy again.

"Where are the girls? Did you bring them?"

"No, I just took some time to come over. They don't even know I'm here," Xiaoduo said with a smile.

This time, Yang Ruoqing glared at Xiao Duo.

"What are you doing? Why don't you bring them over so I can take a look?"

"No rush, no rush," Xiaoduo said. She glanced at Sun Shi beside her, then said to Yang Ruoqing, "Sister, I heard from Mother that someone from above will come down to our house tomorrow to post a list of good news?"

"Yes, it is."

"Sis, we all have to come tomorrow!"

“You can come over for dinner tomorrow,” Yang Ruoqing said. “However, tomorrow you should focus all your energy on receiving the people who sent out the congratulatory notice. After they leave and Dazhi himself arrives home, we will hold a banquet to entertain our relatives and friends.”

Xiao Duo immediately understood, "Okay, then we won't come over for dinner tomorrow. We'll come over to congratulate Da Zhi when he gets back!"

"Anything is fine!" Yang Ruoqing said. She really didn't have the energy to entertain relatives and friends tomorrow. All the branches of the Yang family would come to help tomorrow. The cooks for tomorrow's meal were arranged in advance by two chefs from the restaurant in town. They would arrive at the Luo family this afternoon to prepare for the lunch feast tomorrow...