"You fucking bastard!" Li Rongxi had tears in her eyes, covering the bridge of her nose and jumping on her feet while yelling. It was so painful that it felt like the entire bridge of her nose had been smashed.
"If you dare to steal my things, I will skin you!"
"Hey, Brother Xizi, you should keep your eyes open and watch." Zhang Xiaozu stood ten steps away, waving the paper lot in his hand at Li Rongxi in a showy manner, and then stuffed the paper lot while Li Rongxi yelled angrily. Put it in your mouth, chew it and swallow it.
"Little bastard!" Li Rongxi looked at Zhang Xiaopou's winking and proud look, and felt as if smoke was coming out of his orifices, and his whole body was about to be on fire. He cursed angrily: "Your fucking head was kicked by a donkey, and you didn't If you meet the conditions for entering the mountain, if you rob it, it will be in vain, and I will get punched in vain."
"Hey, the village chief has already agreed to let me go into the mountain. So, it's not for nothing." Zhang Xiaozu winked at Li Rongxi proudly.
Li Rongxi turned to look at the old village chief eagerly.
The old village chief coughed twice, not making eye contact with him at all, and shouted to the crowd: "Those who get the quota will go to Uncle Liu to sign up, and then go home and get ready, and we will set off early tomorrow morning."
Li Rongxi was furious, rolled up his sleeves and shouted: "No one can stop me, I'm going to peel off Zhang Xiaopeng's skin!"
"That's right, peel off his skin!"
"Fight, fight, whoever wins will go to the mountain!"
"Get out of the way and let the land come out!"
Li Rongxi thought too much. Not only did no one pull him away, but a group of gentlemen watched the fun and didn't mind the trouble. They clamored for him to have a fight with Zhang Xiaopou, and the venue was given up.
Li Rongxi didn't give up, and rushed towards Zhang Xiaopou, grabbing Zhang Xiaopou's collar and throwing him. The pain made Zhang Xiaopou jump and curse, and he fought back.
The two of them were wrestling together. You punched me and I kicked you. The fight was so lively that the onlookers kept clapping and applauding.
In the end, the winner was determined amidst Zhang Xiaozu's begging for mercy, but Zhang Xiaozu refused to give up the spot to enter the mountain. Li Rongxi had no choice but to kick Zhang Xiaozu hard on the buttocks, and then angrily took his mother-in-law home. went.
On the way home, Li Rongxi's mother-in-law looked at the dust all over his body and his miserable appearance with a bruised nose and swollen face. She felt very distressed and couldn't help complaining: "Young pawn, you don't know the severity of your attacks. I'll beat you so hard." , when it becomes swollen, I won’t be able to see anyone.”
"Humph, he's not much better." Li Rongxi said bitterly. He glanced at his mother-in-law and saw that her face was dark and she seemed to have a grudge against Zhang Xiaopeng. She sighed and said, "Do you know why Xiaopeng snatched mine? And you fought with me so unreasonably?"
The mother-in-law shook her head.
"It's not because our baby is sick. He knows that I will miss my baby after I go to the mountain. But if I make it clear in front of the big guys, I will definitely not agree to give up my place to him out of face, so he He figured out a way to not lose face but make me have to give up my place in the mountain. Look at the wimpy look on his face when he begged for mercy. He was obviously just pretending. If he rolled up his sleeves and did it for real, both of me would be It’s not enough for him to beat.”
"Really? Is he so good at fighting?" The mother-in-law didn't believe it. You must know that her man was three years older than Zhang Xiaopou, who had just grown up today.
"Haha, this brat is born with great strength. He can throw a millstone more than two feet with one swing of his arms. He is very capable. If not for this, how could the old village chief allow him to enter the mountain. Without further ado, this love between us Keep it and pay it back slowly in the future.”
"Yeah." The mother-in-law nodded vigorously and said, "Don't you still have half a bottle of wine? I'll think of a way to cook some dishes tonight, and you can go have a drink with Brother Xiaopeng. Today is his coming-of-age ceremony, so he should drink to celebrate. "
The people of Liujia Village are like this. If you treat me well, I will treat you better. Everyone gets together, digs into each other's hearts, and naturally lives a harmonious and beautiful life.
There is a drought, and every household has little food in stock. In order to save money, they can only eat one meal a day or even two days. They are tightening their belts and just hope to survive. But today is different. At noon, the pots and stoves in every household are lit. White smoke rises from the chimney, and the aroma of rice floats in the air. Tomorrow the men will go into the mountains to hunt, so enough dry food must be prepared for them. Needless to say, those families who did not meet the conditions and failed to get a quota to enter the mountain took out the best in their families.
Zhang Xiaozhu's home is in the west end of the village. It has three houses with mud walls and thatched roofs, which were built for him by uncles and uncles in the village.
In the yard, Zhang Xiaozu took out the only half bag of wheat left at home and prepared to grind it into flour to make cakes to eat on the road.
He planted the wheat himself, and the land where the wheat was grown was wasteland he cultivated himself. He was alone, with nothing else, even if he had endless strength, it would be no big deal to clear wasteland. It's a pity that there is a drought and the land cannot be planted. Otherwise, he would have planned to open another three acres of wasteland this year.
Zhang Xiaozu poured the wheat into the wooden basin, then poured in water to soak it. If you only have this little wheat, you don't dare to peel it and grind it into white flour. Instead, you have to grind the wheat hulls in together. Although the cake made in this way has a bad taste and is sore in the throat, it will fill your stomach and keep you hungry.
The wheat needed to soak for a while, so Zhang Xiaozu pulled a wooden stool and sat aside to wait. He looked at the tiny bubbles that kept rising in the wooden basin, and felt a little dazed without realizing it.
Although today's coming-of-age ceremony was not lively and grand, it went smoothly. From today on, he, Zhang Xiaopeng, oh no, it should be, from today on, he, Zhang Dayong, is a real man and an adult. What's even more gratifying is that the village chief and the village elders allowed him to take root in Liujia Village. In this way, he will no longer be a rootless duckweed, and he can marry a wife and have children in a legitimate, upright and clear conscience. Thinking of marrying a wife and having children, Zhang Xiaopou couldn't help but blush slightly, and the face of a girl appeared in his mind.
The girl's name is Liu Que'er, she is from this village and lives at the east end of the village. The girl had a hard life. Her father Liu Dayou died of illness four years ago, leaving her, her mother and a younger brother. The three mothers depended on each other and lived a tight life. Zhang Xiaopeng went to help with the work when he had free time, which pleased Que'erniang very much.
Que'er's wife was an open-minded mother-in-law. She had already said in front of the whole village that she would be Zhang Xiaozu's mother-in-law when Que'er came of age. If anyone dared to take advantage of Zhang Xiaozu, don't blame her, a widow, for blocking the door and cursing. The people in the village felt pity for the three mothers and thought that this marriage was indeed a good one. Zhang Xiaozu was a hard-working and hard-working man. If he married Que'er, Zhang Xiaozu's energy would be enough to support the two families. So they all smiled and reassured Que'erniang that no one would compete with her for her son-in-law, and they were all waiting for the wedding banquet. Zhang Xiaozu and Que'er have been getting along day and night, and they have already developed feelings for each other, but they just haven't broken the window.
Although there was a birthmark the size of a thumbnail on Que'er's left cheek, which ruined her appearance, Zhang Xiaozu didn't care at all. What he liked was Que'er's kindness and ability.
Before today, Zhang Xiaozhu had always felt guilty and felt that he was not worthy of Que'er because he was a rootless person and could not give Que'er a stable home. But today, his troubles were gone. It was as if he had let out a breath of sullenness that had been pent up for a long time, and he felt more comfortable than ever before.
Que'er will be an adult next year and can get married. I don't know if there are any wild boys in the village who are interested in Que'er. No, I have to find time to warn them one by one.
Thinking that there might be a love rival secretly coveting Que'er and possibly snatching away his prospective wife at any time, Zhang Xiaozu couldn't help but become nervous and clenched his fists, preparing to give a warning to all the unmarried boys in the village.
Zhang Xiaozhu thought about it and kept wandering until mid-afternoon before he came back to his senses. The wheat has been soaked, taken out, put into the prepared bucket, and ground before the stone mill. The gray batter with white pulp spits out from the grinding mouth and falls into the bucket under the grinding mouth.
Zhang Xiaozu was very strong and worked quickly, and he was finished in two quarters of an hour. Just as he was about to bring the ground batter to the kitchen to bake pancakes, the courtyard door was pushed open. Zhang Xiaozu hurriedly put down what he was doing and went to greet him. He said with a smile: "Auntie, Que'er, you came just in time. I just came." I've ground the batter and prepared to make cakes, and I'm about to call you over to help. Where's Xiaoci, why didn't you come with me?"
Xiao Ci is Que'er's younger brother. He is twelve years old this year and is half a grown man.
"Leave the cooking to me, and you go and do other things. Clothes, insect repellent, hunting tools, etc. There are many dangers in the deep mountains and old forests, so these preparations cannot be careless. Que'er, go and help the pawn clean up."
Que Er Niang was just in her early thirties, but after the death of the man in the family, the burden fell entirely on her. The dual pressures of spirit and life made her much older than women of the same age. Fortunately, Zhang Xiaozu had helped her a lot in the past three years, which greatly lightened the burden on her shoulders.
Que'er seemed a little reserved today and had been shyly hiding behind her mother. When her mother asked her to help Zhang Xiaopou pack his things, she walked forward in response.
Zhang Xiaozu looked at Que'er and was a little dazed for a moment.
In the past, Que'er was dressed in patched gray cloth clothes and trousers, with two ponytails hanging on her shoulders, but today's Que'er is different. Her hair is tied up with a hosta, and her body is covered with red flowers. He wears a jacket, red-flowered trousers, hard-soled shoes with red cloth uppers, and a slight blush on his face. It was as if this budding flower suddenly bloomed overnight, dazzlingly beautiful.
When Que'er Niang saw Zhang Xiaozu looking at her daughter in a daze, she let out a laugh, stretched out her hand to push Que'er, and urged: "Why are you still standing there in a daze? Go and help your little soldier clean up."
"Hey" Que'er agreed hurriedly.
"Pawn, you go along with me. Just let Que'er take care of whatever you need to bring."
"Oh. Okay." Zhang Xiaozhu's cheeks turned red. He knew that he had lost his composure. He avoided looking at Que'er Niang and hurriedly followed Que'er as if he was running away.
Queer Niang happily entered the kitchen and started working alone.
Liu Que'er and Zhang Xiaozu entered the room one after another. Liu Que'er had already let go and was no longer reserved. She turned around and asked Zhang Xiaozu: "Brother Xiao Zu, just tell me what you need to prepare and I'll help you clean it up."
Zhang Xiaozu scratched the back of his head and said, "I have packed everything. Que'er, you - you look really good today."
"Yes - yes?" Que'er's cheeks suddenly turned red. She lowered her head and pinched the corners of her clothes with both hands, her palms filled with sweat.
"It looks good, it looks really good." Zhang Xiaozu nodded vigorously.
"That - that - that -" Que'er opened her mouth, thinking about her mother's instructions before she arrived, but she couldn't say the words when she came to her. She was so embarrassed. The red glow on her face became more and more prosperous, like a big red peony in full bloom.
"What's that?" Zhang Xiaozu couldn't help but asked, feeling like he was scratching his head when Que'er hesitated "that".
Que'er gritted her silver teeth, closed her eyes, and said as if she was willing to die generously, "How about I marry you and be my mother-in-law?"
