Luo Fengtang was silent for a moment and said: "Okay, let's not talk about childhood, let's talk about now."
He looked into her eyes: "Now, what do you want most?"
Yang Ruoqing curled her lips and thought while immersed in cutting vegetables.
"When I don't have enough to eat, I want to have three meals without worries, with fish and meat." She said to herself.
“When you don’t have warm clothes, I want to make two sets of clothes for all seasons, wash them and change them once.”
"When I don't have connections or backers, I want to get to know some big shots, or have one or two officials in my family so that I can take care of my family's business..."
"I met you and wanted to marry you."
"I married you. I want to give you a child. I hope you have both children. I also hope that the child is safe, that the elders are well, and that you can come back safely from leading troops to fight outside."
"I want too many things, and I seem a little greedy and can't give up any of them."
"But if I could sum it up in one sentence, I just wish: peaceful times and family reunion!" she said.
After talking for a while, I found that there was no movement at the mouth of the stove.
Could it be that my somewhat literate words confused him?
She couldn't help but look up at him, only to see him sitting there, looking at him with burning eyes.
"Why...why are you looking at me like that?" she asked subconsciously.
It was like a hungry wolf staring at a piece of fat meat, which made her panic and short of breath.
Luo Fengtang grinned: "My Qinger is so nice to talk to, and she told me all the things I want most in my life."
Yang Ruoqing smiled happily and said: "Although we have no worries about food and clothing now, and you are also in a high position, our old Luo family can be regarded as a new noble family in Daqi, and we are the most low-key but the most powerful among the new noble families."
"However, I still restrain and remind each other,"
"No matter it was in the past or now, we must never forget our original intention!"
Luo Fengtang nodded seriously: "You will always have to stay true to your original intention. Don't worry, Qing'er, I am still the same person I was back then, your Tang Yazi!"
"If one day, I am discharged and return to the fields, and then return to the village to be an idle hunter, what do you think?" He joked.
Yang Ruoqing raised her eyebrows: "That's great. Then I won't be too lazy to take care of the restaurant, so I'll go sightseeing with you and return to nature!"
…
In the afternoon, Yang Ruoqing found a free time and came to visit Xiaoduo in her parents' yard next door, and communicated with her.
Xiaoduo had taken a nap and was sitting on the bed quietly embroidering, but her hands were not idle either. There was a dustpan with needlework and a piece of pattern stretched out with a stretcher, and she was immersed in embroidery.
"I'm sorry, I'm injured. Why are you busy with embroidery work?" Yang Ruoqing asked with a smile, and she immediately came to the bedside.
Seeing that the person coming was Yang Ruoqing, Xiaoduo smiled and said, "Xiaojie is getting married in a few days. I plan to embroider a pillowcase for her to add makeup, but there is a mandarin duck that I haven't finished embroidering yet. I have to hurry up."
"Sister, sit down, there are stools over there." Xiaoduo raised her chin towards the table behind Yang Ruoqing.
Yang Ruoqing said: "Don't worry, I'll see how your foot is recovering first, and then I'll change the medicine for you."
Xiaoduo put the sewing dustpan aside and opened a corner of the quilt so that Yang Ruoqing could check it easily.
After a lot of work, Yang Ruoqing covered Xiaoduo with the quilt again.
"It's not bad. If you continue to rest like this, you'll be fine after the swelling subsides in three to five days." Yang Ruoqing said.
"However, you have to avoid eating anything spicy these days." She added.
Xiaoduo nodded seriously: "I remember it all. Sister, there is clean water in the washbasin. Please wash the handle. You just scratched my foot!"
Yang Ruoqing smiled, turned around and washed her hands with soap, then took a stool and sat by the bed, getting ready to talk to Xiaoduo. "Duo'er, don't rush to embroider this mandarin duck right now. I have a few words to say to you." Yang Ruoqing raised her hand and held Xiaoduo's hand, saying softly.
Xiaoduo stopped what he was doing and looked up at Yang Ruoqing in surprise.
"Sister, what are you talking about? You say it and I listen." Xiaoduo said.
Yang Ruoqing said: "You are already sixteen, and now is the best age to propose marriage. In the past two years, your parents have been busy working on your marriage."
"Xiao Hua should have gotten over it with you. Our father is friends with the cattle dealer in Xiangjiazhuang. Uncle Xiang's family has a nephew named Xiang Shengnan. Our father has met the young man twice and thinks he is not bad. I want to bring you two together."
Hearing this, Xiaoduo lowered his head in embarrassment.
Although I was embarrassed, there was a bit of reluctance on my face.
"Xiaohua told me that you don't want to go on a blind date with him and want to postpone tomorrow's dinner to a later date? Is this the case?" she asked again.
Xiao Duo nodded, "Well, that's what I told Xiao Hua. I sprained my ankle. There are people at home, and I can't help. I feel a little uncomfortable."
"Well," Yang Ruoqing nodded, "Of course what you said is reasonable, but I don't think this is your real reason."
"Let's not talk secretly. You actually don't want to go on a blind date with Xiang Shengnan, right?" She asked again.
Xiaoduo's eyes averted for a few times, "No, I will naturally follow my parents' arrangements. They are also doing it for my own good. I just don't want to be so quick..."
Yang Ruoqing said: "This is not the first time you have gone on a blind date. Every time I asked you to go on a blind date, you were willing to go and take a look without saying a word. Take a look and you will definitely be concerned about your life-long event..."
"Duo'er, just tell me directly, why don't you want to go on a blind date with Xiang Shengnan? It's just a matter of having a meal. If you are right, we will find another opportunity to get in touch with you next time and get to know each other better. "
"If we don't like each other, let's just treat it as a friend of dad's coming over for a meal. Anyway, no one in the village knows about it. Only a few people in our family know about it. What are you afraid of?" Yang Ruoqing asked.
Xiaoduo raised her head: "Sister, I'm not afraid..."
"Aren't you afraid of what that is?" Yang Ruoqing asked.
Xiaoduo said: "When I heard that Xiang Shengnan killed cattle, I was not happy. I felt that he probably had the smell of blood on him, and he was too murderous."
Is this an excuse?
Yang Ruoqing couldn't help but rolled her eyes.
"What's wrong with those who kill cows? Then look at my uncle and aunt who are still killing pigs. Huang Mao still married into the Sun family. Now look at the Sun family. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Killing pigs and cattle are all different errands, including pouring night fragrance. We don't think people should look down on people just because these errands are different, don't you think so?"
"Besides, killing cattle is not a bad job. At least it shows that Xiang Sheng's family is a prosperous family in Xiangjiazhuang."
Today is an agricultural society without mechanization, so these cattle are very valuable.
Farmers do not have the conditions to have one cow per household. Those who can independently own a cow are rich farmers.
Generally, four or five families share an ox. Some families even do not have the conditions to share oxen with others, so they can only rely on manpower to plow and harrow the fields.
