Zhao Bao felt that the incident was not big enough, so he stood up unsteadily and pointed at me with a beer bottle.
Everyone in the room heard it clearly and stopped eating all of a sudden. They all looked at me and Xiaolian.
In fact, these two brothers also have good intentions.
Xiaolian is just the opposite of me in their old Zhao family. There are four Zhao Zhiguo brothers, and the two of them are out of town.
The next generation of their four families are all bald boys. There is only one girl, Xiaolian, who is the apple of the family's eye.
Zhao Jin and Zhao Bao were very kind to Xiaolian. After knowing about my relationship with Xiaolian, they were afraid that she would be wronged in the future.
Today Xiaolian even threw herself into my arms in front of everyone, making it look like a girl who was taking the initiative.
The two of them wanted to force me to express my position quickly and finalize my identity.
Xiaolian's face turned red with anger. Like me, she was not mentally prepared at all. Besides, what does this look like? It seems that she can't get married, so her brother is forcing her to get married here.
"Brother, what are you two talking nonsense about? Who is your brother-in-law? He came to our place to join the queue in the countryside. Let me tell you, if you dare to talk nonsense again, I will tell my mother tomorrow!"
"Sister, what are you embarrassed about? How many times have my father and uncle told me that I will ask Dr. Zhou to come into our house and be our son-in-law?"
"Hey, my mother said that before she left, my aunt even gave you the engagement gift and asked you to hand it over to Xiao Dao. So isn't this settled?"
"You?" Xiaolian opened her mouth without speaking. She glanced at me and sat down with her back to me.
An engagement token?
It can't be that mask, right? Only then did I understand that no wonder Xiaolian looked shy just now, and she lost her temper when I said I didn’t want a mask.
After a long time of fuss, it was a gift the Zhao family prepared for me for Xiaolian.
Aunt Gu asked Xiaolian to take this opportunity to let me express my opinion, but it was a pity that this girl was too shy to say anything.
"Ah? Two eldest brothers, if you don't tell me, I'm actually ready. The matter between Xiaolian and I is pretty much a done deal.
"I originally planned to go back to Zhaojiawan tomorrow to mention it to Uncle Zhao and Aunt Gu in person, but today it has ended here, so I will say hello to you all in advance."
I stood up and took the wine glass in front of Du Jun.
"I'd like to propose a toast to you. I will graduate soon, and I probably won't be able to stay long if I jump in line here, but no matter where I am, I will always be a family with you.
"I plan to take Xiaolian back to Fengtian to meet my parents during the Chinese New Year this year."
I held my wine glass and motioned to Aunt Zhao at the other table.
"Uncle Zhiguo and Aunt Gu are not here. Second uncle, you are Xiaolian's elder. Xiaolian and I toast you."
I took Xiaolian's hand.
Xiaolian was no longer angry, and stood next to me with a red face like a bird.
The people around him applauded in unison, especially Du Junle who slapped his thigh directly.
If you take a beautiful girl like Xiaolian back home, how happy will the old people in your family be?
Lan Yue, who was at the other table, poured herself a glass of wine and drank it in one gulp, frowning because it was so spicy.
I made it clear about my relationship with Xiaolian, and the atmosphere became more lively. Everyone enjoyed the meal. After more than an hour of tossing, everyone else went back to rest.
The Zhao family were so excited that they couldn't sleep, so they left Du Jun, Liu Qingshan, Zhao Dadan and I in the house and started drinking tea again.
"My eldest nephew, I am so happy for your uncle today.
"What did you say? My niece's life-long event has been settled. Don't you know? Everyone in our old Zhao family attaches great importance to this matter. You can remember it in the future.
"Don't bully Xiaolian, otherwise you will be the Jade Emperor's brother-in-law, and we won't be able to spare you."
Zhao Zhijia obviously drank too much, so he took out his son's phone call and fiddled with it again.
He also didn't think about it. If I were the Jade Emperor's brother-in-law, then his son would become the Jade Emperor, and the old man wouldn't be afraid of losing his life.
Zhao Zhijia was still talking.
"Don't take the gift my sister-in-law gave you seriously. It's a treasure. I heard it came from some temple. At least it's an antique. I guess it's going to be sold in the provincial capital. Why? You cannot change your house.
"How is it? Our old Zhao family has a lot of dowry, right?"
Zhao Zhijia’s tongue is a bit big.
From the temple?
"Second uncle, you didn't drink too much, did you? Which temple?" My ears stood up.
Du Jun next to me heard clearly. We both looked at each other and put down our teacups.
"Ah? Is it like some kind of ghost or demon? Don't ask me about this. Ask Liu Qingshan, ask Qingshan! He and my sister-in-law came from the same place, and he knows those things best."
Liu Qingshan?
Du Jun and I both looked at him, but we didn't expect that he still had such a relationship with Aunt Gu.
Liu Qingshan nodded.
"Yes, Aunt Zhao and I can be considered real villagers. Otherwise, how could I treat Xiaolian as my biological sister?
“Actually, Aunt Zhao and I are not residents of Zhaojiawan.
"Fundamentally speaking, we all belong to Oroqen, a nation that relies on nomadic hunting for a living. This deep mountain and old forest is our hometown.
"We in Oroqen work alone or as a family unit. Only a few families with very good relationships can form a small group. If the number of people is larger, it may become a small tribe. Aunt Zhao's and mine are both from a small tribe...
Liu Qingshan talked about the past.
…
The Oroqen people are a famous ethnic minority in China, also called Oroqen people.
The earliest records are from the Yuan Dynasty, when they were called "the common people in the woods and the savages of the North Mountains."
It was not until the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty that Oroqen became a unified nation.
They are natural hunters, and they used to live in the deep mountains and old forests. From the Qing Dynasty to the founding of New China, the population of Oroqen dropped sharply.
It is mainly caused by frequent wars in modern times and the turbulent lifestyle of nomadic peoples.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to the implementation of correct ethnic policies, many Oroqen people ended their nomadic life, walked out of the forest and received modern education. The quality of the population was greatly improved, and their number increased.
Later, there were very few authentic Oroqen people, and more of them integrated into society as a minority.
This was the case for Aunt Gu and Liu Qingshan's ancestors.
They originally lived in the deep mountains and old forests of the Northeast. It is said that they were once a large tribe, and there is also a magical legend.
It is said that their tribe was established around a piece of pure land, which is called the Kingdom of Heaven.
The ground is full of gold, and the trees are full of pearls, agates, and emeralds... similar to the Western Paradise.
There is a temple in the middle of heaven, where the Great Demon God is enshrined.
Almost all the Oroqen people believe in shamanism. From a certain perspective, they may be the origin of a branch of Tiao Da Shen.
Later, the people in the tribe offended God, so the great devil issued a curse. All the people in the tribe got a strange disease. In the end, almost everyone died, and the tribe became a ghost town.
On a night of lightning and thunder, the kingdom of heaven also collapsed and sank into the Nine Netherworld.
Some of the survivors fled the tribe, left the mountains and forests, and integrated into other Han villages.
Among them were Aunt Gu's family and Liu Qingshan's family. They settled in Zhaojiawan and Dajin Village, and after several generations they all became Han Chinese.
But before leaving, some people brought some treasures from the Kingdom of Heaven. Aunt Gu and her ancestors took away the bronze mask.
