Li Dashan hummed absentmindedly.
Matchmaker Wang praised Zhou Rushuang so much that she looked like a fish out of water, but she always made herself dirty every time she came out. Her hair covered most of her face, and her appearance could not be seen clearly. Li Dashan saw it all. , anxious in my heart.
So he contacted Hu Laoliu, hoping to find a way to see Zhou Rushuang's true appearance.
At the beginning, Hu Laoliu lived up to his expectations and successfully lured the little girl into the trap.
Li Dashan hid in the dark and watched. He felt that Hu Laoliu had done a good job. Seeing that the little girl had to obey, he was secretly happy.
Who would have thought that after Zhao Cheng arrived, the situation would take a turn for the worse, and with just a few words he would force Hu Laoliu to bow his head and admit his mistake.
Li Dashan felt that Zhao Cheng was difficult to handle, and seeing that Zhou Rushuang was so dependent on Zhao Cheng, he began to back down.
"Otherwise... forget it!"
He touched the short mustache on his lips and said to Matchmaker Wang: "This Zhao Cheng is not someone to be trifled with. He has already married this little girl. Why should I compete with him?"
"Can't you find a beautiful girl in the nearby villages?"
"Why don't we just forget about this matter now, and don't leave the mutton uneaten and get all messed up."
Matchmaker Wang clapped her hands and said, "Oh, it's a little late for the good man to say this. I went to the county yesterday and found Mr. Bai who came to Beijing. As the saying goes, a man must kill to pay for his life and a debt to pay for his money."
"Then if Zhao Cheng can't get the money, won't he have to go to jail? At that time, this little girl wasn't in the hands of a good man?"
Li Dashan hesitated for a moment, not wanting to conflict with Zhao Cheng, but also reluctant to let go of Zhou Rushuang. After hesitating for a long time, he sighed and said, "Let's just wait for Mr. Bai and see how he handles it."
Zhao Cheng led Zhou Rushuang and slowly walked back to the ruined temple. Along the way, Zhou Rushuang's mood had completely calmed down. She was talking and laughing with Zhao Chengyou. It was obvious that she was very happy.
Zhao Cheng saw a clump of old bamboo next to the ruined temple, so he broke off a section to make a flute.
The craftsmanship of bamboo flute making can be either broad or strict.
If you want to make an exquisite bamboo flute with excellent sound and color, it not only requires excellent workmanship, but also requires lengthy and time-consuming steps.
If you don't care about these, it's much simpler. In about half a day, you can make a bamboo flute with a loud sound.
Cut the branches and remove the leaves. The bent bamboo branches can be corrected by roasting them with fire. Then drill a few holes, go to the reed swamps in the wasteland, fold a few reeds, and peel out the inner membrane, which is the flute membrane.
Soon a simple bamboo flute was ready. Zhao Cheng put it to his mouth and tried to play it. The sound of the flute was melodious and loud, which made him feel cheerful.
"Rushuang, you see how easy it is to play the flute. Just blow your lips towards the small round hole and you will get the tone."
Zhou Rushuang took it over and tried it, but it didn't sound. It was obvious that she had not yet mastered the skill of playing the flute.
But since Zhao Cheng liked to listen to the flute, Zhou Rushuang naturally studied hard and practiced hard, so he spent the whole morning in a whimpering state.
Zhao Cheng leaned on the straw mat and listened with a smile for a while, then fell asleep.
Now his body has recovered, but he has been tortured by illness for a long time and is a little weak. He slept all day at noon, and when he woke up in the afternoon, he was full of energy.
Zhao Cheng looked around and saw that Zhou Rushuang was not in the temple, so he opened the door and went out, where he saw Zhou Rushuang pounding rice with a stone hammer under the window.
Seeing Zhao Cheng coming out, Zhou Rushuang immediately put down what she was doing: "My husband is awake. Are you hungry? I'm going to cook right now."
Zhao Cheng waved his hand and said, "I'm not busy. I feel more energetic after a good sleep. I'm about to go shopping in the county. Do you have money there?"
Zhou Rushuang spent most of her savings to buy Zhao Cheng. In addition, buying medicine for Zhao Cheng's illness almost all the money was spent.
Now that Zhao Cheng was asking for money, Zhou Rushuang was also very embarrassed, but she readily agreed.
"Husband, please wait a moment. I'll go get it right now."
Under the straw mat where she slept, there was a handkerchief wrapped with dozens of copper coins. This is her last savings.
Looking at the few copper coins, Zhou Rushuang was a little reluctant to part with them. After all, every copper coin here was saved by her hard work.
"Husband, I only have this money left at home, and I don't know if it will be enough for my husband."
Zhao Cheng took the handkerchief and saw dozens of copper coins wrapped in it. He frowned and thought for a while and said, "Maybe it's not enough, but it doesn't matter. You can make some food for yourself first. I'll go to the county town and come back."
Watching Zhao Cheng's figure go away, Zhou Rushuang raised his arms to wipe the sweat from his forehead, then picked up the stone and pounded the rice. After only a few poundings, his arms were already too sore to lift them up.
She sat down against the temple wall, took out the flute made of old yellow bamboo from her waist, rubbed it gently, put it to her mouth and blew a few times.
Although the sound from the bamboo flute is still hoarse and unpleasant, I can finally hear some tunes.
Zhou Rushuang was secretly happy, holding the flute in her arms, her thoughts slowly drifting with the white clouds outside.
"Hey, little girl, what are you doing sitting here alone and having fun?"
Zhou Rushuang looked up and saw that it was Matchmaker Wang, so she politely called "Aunt Wang" and got up to go back to the temple.
Matchmaker Wang waved her hands repeatedly: "Oh, don't be afraid, girl, I won't go over, I will just stand here and say a few words to you."
Zhou Rushuang looked around and didn't see Li Dashan from Liuxi Village, so he was a little relieved.
"Aunt Wang, Rushuang is now married to her husband. If you have anything to do, wait until your husband comes back to discuss anything."
Matchmaker Wang smiled, pretended to sigh deeply, and said, "You girl, after all, I have watched you grow up. We have been village neighbors for so many years. Can you still not trust me?"
Zhou Rushuang lowered his head and said nothing.
Matchmaker Wang then said, "I'm not saying bad things about your husband behind your back. Girl, you can go to Liuxi Village and find out what kind of person Zhao Cheng is?"
"He is from Liuxi Village. Neighbors near and far know that he is addicted to gambling. Less than three years after his parents died, he lost all his huge family fortune."
"Girl, go and find out. If I say anything wrong, tear my mouth apart."
Matchmaker Wang turned her head and watched the wind blowing the leaves. She was silent for a while, and then continued: "Their family originally had more than a dozen large tile-roofed houses in Liuxi Village, but they were all sold to others. Now they live in a ruined temple with you."
"Can such a person give you happiness?"
"I also heard that Zhao Cheng owes someone a large sum of money, and now the creditor has come to the county to chase him. You are such a stupid little girl. Be careful that he sells you without paying back the money!"
Zhou Rushuang stood up and said to Matchmaker Wang: "Aunt Wang, I don't want to hear you talk about my husband anymore. I'm sorry."
With that said, he entered the ruined temple without looking back and closed the two doors tightly.
Matchmaker Wang curled her lips secretly and walked away.
