strictlysupreme Chapter 482: Proposing a Marriage for Zhao Nan
Chapter 482: Proposing a Marriage for Zhao Nan
On the twenty-third day of the lunar year, all of the Wen family's workshops were closed. Today, only the braised meat shop and the flower and herbal shop in the town were still open, and it was also the last day.
Gu Qingqing's belly has been pregnant for more than nine months, but she can't stand the hassle of riding in the mule cart to the town. Her stomach would hurt before reaching the town or while already in the town.
Then she would be miserable.
So, today, only she, Wen Xin, and Old Yang were at home taking care of Xiao Nuan Nuan and Gu Qi.
During the trip, Yang Xing came to visit the house and took back the clothes that Gu Qingqing had asked her to make. After she came, she didn't rush back. She helped take care of the child for a long time before going back.
Zhao Dong and Zhao Xi also did not go to town today. They went to the mountain to cut a lot of pine, cypress branches and bamboo. The cypress branches will be used to make smoked meat after they kill the last pig in the family on the 26th day of the lunar year.
Bamboo is naturally used to make firecrackers for children at home during the Chinese New Year.
At noon, when she heard the bell of the mule cart ringing at home, she wondered why Wu Yan came back so early when he had gone to the market to buy a lot of things.
When she went to the door, she saw the servant of the Shen family driving a mule cart.
"Hello, Madam Wen. Steward Shen sent us to deliver New Year's goods to your family. Knowing that your family will not be short of chickens and ducks this year, he asked me to deliver half a pork loin, some fruits and vegetables, and some snacks."
She knew the servant, and he had helped her family harvest wheat before. Gu Qingqing welcomed the man home, and after asking, she found out that he came directly from the farm and had never met Wen Wuyan.
Zhao Dong helped to move the things out of the car. The servant drank some hot tea, and after Gu Qingqing forced him to eat a dozen preserved eggs, he left in a hurry.
The sun was setting in the west, and the mule and donkey carts that had gone out early in the morning finally appeared at the intersection. They seemed to know that they would not have to go out again, and they were pulling their carts full of goods and moving happily.
After arriving home, everyone unloaded their belongings from the car. Lu Xiaocao and Gu Zhuangzhuang were eager to return home, so they quickly packed a few clothes, took the New Year's goods they had prepared and the ones that Gu Qingqing asked them to take back, and carried their baby son in their arms, and drove the donkey cart back to Shuangxi Village before it got dark.
I ate half of the pig-killing dish yesterday and left the other half in a basin. Today I poured the frozen pig-killing dish into the pot, added some water, meat and vegetables, and ate it while it was hot.
After dark and locking the door, Wen Wuyan offered a sugar melon to the Kitchen God.
After finishing the work, Gu Qingqing sent Shengxi and her three daughters to bed.
When the weather got cold, because there was no kang in the backyard, Gu Qingqing asked Wen Shengxi to sleep in the east wing with her three daughters. After all, no matter how hot the charcoal basin was, it was not as warm as the kang, and she could also take care of Xiao Nuannuan at the same time.
Seeing that they all returned to their houses, Wen Wuyan and Gu Qingqing returned to their own rooms. Then Wen Wuyan told Gu Qingqing about what he had talked about with Zhao Nan today.
"He said that he felt sorry for Wang Chunxiang, a woman with two children, working day and night, and rushing to do all the work. At first, he couldn't explain why, but every time he saw her, he wanted to take a closer look. Today, I asked him if he was interested in her, and he was stunned for a long time before he confided in me. He told me that he wanted to take care of them, but he didn't know if the Wang family was willing. Qingqing, what do you think?"
"I think the Wang family should be willing. The Zhao brothers have settled in Niutoushan Village. If Wang Chunxiang follows Brother Nan, she doesn't have to run around with her husband like Yang Xing and the others do, with nowhere to stay. As long as Brother Nan is ready to become a father, we can go directly to the Wang family to ask. However, it's not appropriate for me to go. It's too late today. I will go to Aunt Niu tomorrow and ask her to be the matchmaker."
"I will go with you tomorrow. I am worried about you going out alone."
"No, I'll take my eldest daughter with me tomorrow, and I'll bring Dahei with me. If anything happens, Dahei will come back. Besides, it's only a few steps away, I'm not that squeamish."
Wen Wuyan looked at Qingqing without saying anything, but he murmured in his heart: I am not spoiled, but I hope you are spoiled. But he couldn't say this out loud, otherwise Qingqing would scold him for being indecent.
Then, the couple talked for a while and then fell asleep hand in hand.
......
The next morning, Gu Qingqing got up but was unable to see the rising sun as she had wished. While having breakfast, she heard a few men talking about how there was going to be a heavy snow.
When Gu Qingqing's eyes accidentally met Zhao Nan's, the other party gave her a pleading look, and Gu Qingqing gave him a reassuring expression in return.
After dinner, Wen Wuyan and Gu Qingqing sent all the children away, talked with Zhao Dong and Zhao Nan for a while, and discussed the details. Then, before the snow fell, she took Wen Xin and Dahei to Niu Yuzhu's house.
On the twenty-fourth day of the lunar year, every household dusts and sweeps the house, which is a traditional prayer for getting rid of the old and starting the new, and bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.
When Gu Qingqing arrived, she saw Uncle Zhang He and Niu Yuzhu with cloth wrapped around their heads, sweeping the house with brooms tied with wooden sticks of appropriate height.
Before Gu Qingqing entered the house, she could see the dust stirring in the air at the door.
"Uncle, you started cleaning so early? Where's aunt?" Gu Qingqing asked while standing at the door. Seeing the father and son there, she naturally guessed that Niu Lan should be in the west hall.
So her questions were directed at Niu Zhanghe, but her eyes and voice drifted towards the west hall.
"Hey, Qingqing is here, come quickly..." Niu Zhanghe originally wanted to say come and sit in the house, but suddenly he realized that the house was too dirty.
"Hurry, go..." Niu Zhanghe paused again. It was not convenient to go to the west hall. Niu Zhanghe was distressed. Where should people go in such a cold day?
Gu Qingqing turned her gaze away and came to his rescue, saying, "Uncle, when I came here just now, I saw that your room was still smoking. I'll go over there and wait for my aunt and say a few words to her."
As soon as Niu Li stepped on Gu Qingqing's words, she squeezed out from behind the heavy door curtain of the west hall. It was called squeezing because she was afraid that the cold air would enter the room, so she didn't dare to open the door curtain too much, leaving it only wide enough for her to come out sideways.
"Qingqing, why are you here? If you have something to do, just ask your kids to call me and I'll come over. Why are you running out in such a cold weather?"
Gu Qingqing was talking to the other person, and the two of them walked towards the kitchen in tacit understanding. "I'm hot-tempered, and I'm not that cold because I'm wearing a down vest. Where are Meihua and the child?"
When talking about the children, Niu Li's face was full of smiles. She said happily, "The two little monkeys fell asleep again after feeding in the morning. Meihua didn't get a good rest all night because she was watching over them. I just cooked four sugar-water eggs for her, and she is resting now."
"What? Are they difficult to lead?" Gu Qingqing asked.
"They are not as easy to take care of as Xiaoyang and Xiaoguang. Xiaoyang and Xiaoguang were also fierce when drinking milk when they were young, but they didn't make a fuss. When the elder sister was eating, the younger brother would wait. When the younger brother was eating, the elder sister would watch him. As soon as these two brats open their eyes, we have to let them eat. If they are slower, they will cry and make everyone sad. The two brothers won't give in to each other and both want to eat first. They are the same as Yuzhu when he was a child. Meihua suffered a lot because of him." Niu Li said that the two children were difficult to take care of, and she also scolded her own son, but the expression on her face and the doting in her eyes were almost realized.
The other party is very happy.
Gu Qingqing saw that the other person had a haggard face and dark circles under his eyes, and knew that she had been sleeping in the west hall these days, and she probably worried about him a lot.