The Little Widower (farming)

11

"That's a good thing, Zhou Yuan." The flower matchmaker didn't care about his scorn, "Do you really don't know or are you pretending not to know?"

She looked at the blue brick house and kept praising: "Look at this house, how beautiful it is. It's really grand. Wouldn't it be more beautiful if it could have more than one owner?"

Zhou Yuan said with an unconcerned expression: "Why do I need multiple unrelated people to be the owners of the house I built myself?"

Aunt Hua said. Zhou Yuan's smile froze, but she was doing this job, and quickly adjusted: "Are you joking with aunt? You are quite interesting."

Zhou Yuan looked like he didn't know what you were talking about . She looked like: "Auntie, if nothing happens, I won't let you eat."

Looking at the bowl of rice that Zhou Yuan put in the yard, Aunt Hua had another reason: "Look, there is no one in the room." , I can only deal with it while eating. In this case, my aunt will introduce one to you. You can listen to the situation first."

"There is also a family with a blue brick house in the west end of the village. The Li family has an ancestral blacksmithing skill. Life is very easy for his family in the village. The brother of the Li family has a good-looking life and a great temperament. I think he is a good match for you. If you think it is okay, my aunt will help you tomorrow. Propose marriage."

Zhou Yuan shook his head: "Aunt, thank you for your kindness. I have no idea of ​​getting married yet."

Aunt Hua thought that he was just refusing as a matter of routine, so she quickly said: "Nonsense, you are at the right age now, and you have the right age. With such good conditions, you can choose me, brother or sister."

Zhou Yuan said sincerely, "Auntie, if I really want to get married, I will definitely ask auntie for help, but it's really not necessary now."

Auntie Hua said for a long time . , it's just that Zhou Yuan was not able to get in. Aunt Hua came to the door confidently, but then left dejectedly.

Chen Qing went to the village to fetch water. When he passed by Zhou Yuan's house, he happened to meet Aunt Hua coming out of his house. Aunt Hua saw Chen Qing and smiled at him: "Are you going to fetch water?"

Chen Qing nodded and nodded. He left without looking back, as if something was chasing him.

Zhou Yuan looked at Chen Qing's small stature. Because Aunt Hua came to visit, he had dinner later than usual. He was supposed to go to fetch water for their family, but Chen Qing went there by himself.

Zhou Yuan frowned and went to fetch water as soon as he recovered.

The weather was hot and dry, so Zhou Yuan ate a haphazard meal of vegetables or rice, and lay down in bed to rest feeling a little bored.

Although there are several green brick houses, except for a bed, the house is bare and does not look like a home. I think of Chen Qing's room that I saw that night, with bamboo curtains, cabinets, makeup, and camphors. Although the wooden box is small, it feels like a home.

People who have been trained on the battlefield have excellent ears. He lay on the bed and listened to the movement on the path outside.

"I already said I could pick it back by myself." It was Chen Qing's voice.

Zhou Yuan didn't hear Chen Qing speak too many times. Chen Qing was quiet most of the time and had no sense of presence. Chen Qing's accent is not that of Luohe Village. If you really want to talk about it, his accent is similar to that of Zhou Yuan's hometown. It's closer over there.

"You're not just in good health, you can sink two buckets of water." This was another voice that he had never heard before.

"But this way we have to make one more trip." Chen Qing's voice was a little helpless, "If I choose it myself, one trip is enough."

"Just treat it as a walk." The voice said, "Can't you walk with me? "

Chen Qing could only sigh: "Okay."

Zhou Yuan sat up and looked outside from the window. Two figures, one tall and one short, walked to the next door with a bucket of water in a very awkward posture.

Zhou Yuan thought for a while, got up from the bed, found the bucket he had just made, and carried it to the well.

When he passed by, he saw Chen Qing and another brother carrying water forward.

Chen Qing saw him and nodded towards him, the arc of the nod was almost negligible.

Zhou Yuan finished fetching the water very neatly and walked back with it.

His strides were very long, and he soon caught up with Chen Qing and Li Xin. Looking at their awkward postures, the guy who was taller than Chen Qing soon said he was tired. At this moment, the two of them were sitting aside to catch their breath. .

Chen Qing wanted to say something, but Li Xin was really helping him, so he had no choice but to say nothing. Fortunately, he was not busy at the moment and still had time to take a rest.

"I will also burn a paper for Meng Tao on the Ghost Festival." Li Xin said, "Although we are not familiar with each other, we are from the same village."

He was not at home when Meng Tao was buried earlier and could not accompany Chen Celebrate.

Chen Qing nodded: "Thank you."

"What's the point? Aren't we good friends?" Li Xin didn't care. "If the corn is harvested in a few days, I'll come to help you then."

Li Xin didn't have any at home . His father was busy farming, and his mother was not in good health. His family's land was rented out, so he was quite free when farming was busy.

Chen Qing was a little embarrassed. Li Xin didn't even have to work at home, so he offered to work for him. He declined and said, "My family didn't plant much this year, so don't bother." Just

as Li Xin was about to speak, he heard movement beside him. , Zhou Yuan, who was carrying a load of water, picked up their buckets when he passed by them, and left without even saying hello.

"Hey, you..."

Chen Qing quickly grabbed Li Xin who wanted to get the bucket back, for fear that his loud voice would attract others' attention.

Li Xin saw that he could still walk steadily while carrying water and a bucket in one hand, and then looked at Chen Qing: "He helped you carry water?"

Chen Qing nodded: "I was sick before and my mother's waist was not good, so he Help me pick up the water."

Today, Aunt Sun saw Aunt Hua go to Zhou Yuan's house. She knew that he might not be free for a while, so Chen Qing said that he would pick it up himself. He was fine now anyway, so he should stop pretending.

When he met Li Xin at the well, Li Xin wanted to help him no matter what. Chen Qing was not good at rejecting people, so he carried water home with him. He didn't expect to meet Zhou Yuan.

Chen Qing looked at his back, had he already made an agreement with Aunt Hua? Are you going to Li Xin's house to propose marriage?

Li Xin is a very good person, good-looking, and has a good family background, so he is a good match.

"What are you thinking about?" Chen Qing squatted down to pick up the pole, but didn't pick it up for a while.

Chen Qing picked up the pole with some embarrassment: "Nothing, are you going home?"

Li Xin nodded. The sky was getting dark. It was time for him to go back and help his mother cook. His mother was tired from traveling and traveling. Still resting at home.

Li Xin glanced at Chen Qing and then at Zhou Yuan, who was walking far away.

There is something wrong with these two people, very wrong!

They broke up at the intersection, and Chen Qing walked home with a bare pole. On the road, he met Zhou Yuan who had just come out of his house.

The two houses are not far apart, but the road at the door is a small path. The roads in the village are not wide. This is why Chen Qing is reluctant to go out. Wherever he meets people, they are always very close.

Chen Qing stood on the path and did not go any further. He wanted to wait for Zhou Yuan to walk through this path before walking. He looked at the bucket on his shoulder and guessed that the water he carried had also been poured into his own water jar. .

Chen Qing unconsciously rubbed his fingers on the pole, thinking that he should say thank you to Zhou Yuan, but Zhou Yuan was almost in front of him, and his words were still in his stomach and never came to his mouth.

Zhou Yuan saw Chen Qing standing on the side of the road early in the morning. Seeing his confused look, Zhou Yuan walked up to him and said, "Thank you for the wild fruit today. It's delicious. I've never eaten it before."

"Ah, oh, that, that is a very common thing." Chen Qing said quickly, but he did not dare to look at Zhou Yuan, and a blush slowly appeared on his ears, "Mom asked me to thank you."

Zhou Yuan thought to himself, thank you Say nothing at all.

"Auntie thanked you just now." Zhou Yuan said.

"Ah, I don't know." Chen Qing felt that his hands were numb. If his mother thanked her, Zhou Yuan might not have thought that he was deliberately trying to find something to say, but he really didn't mean it.

Zhou Yuan stood there without moving, and Chen Qing didn't move either. The two of them just stood there, until Zhou Yuan lowered his head and saw Chen Qing's whole body trembling slightly.

He stepped aside a little: "Sorry, I didn't realize that I was blocking your way."

Chen Qing said in a low voice that it was okay, and then ran home without looking back, for fear that Zhou Yuan would find him again if he was delayed for a second. Say a few words.

Zhou Yuan looked at him running away, unable to control himself and smiled.

When he got home, Chen Qing drank a ladle of water and found that his water tank was full. Aunt Sun said, "Zhou Yuan just came over and filled the water tank."

Chen Qing nodded.

"Did you just say thank you to someone?"

Chen Qing said in a low voice: "Thank you."

Aunt Sun shook her head: "Aqing, we are all neighbors from now on, and we have to deal with a lot. We can't be like this. There will be more in the future . What's the matter? You have to come forward on your own. If mother is gone in the future, will you hide in the house all your life?"

Chen Qing raised his head stupidly: "Mom, don't say such unlucky words. I will definitely learn from you in the future. Let's communicate with others."

Aunt Sun then touched his hair and said, "We're ready to eat. I've made more. You can send some to Zhou Yuan."

Chen Qing went to the stove and saw that he had already used the basin. A pot of vegetables was packed. Today they made a soup made with pork ribs. The soup base was very rich. Some winter melon, sweet potatoes and rolled noodles were cooked in it, making it a big bowl of warm soup.

Chen Qing was a little unsure: "Should I go and deliver it?"

Aunt Sun said, "Didn't you just promise me that you will do anything by yourself in the future?"

Chen Qing could only carry a small basin and slowly walked towards Zhou Yuan's house. Let's go. He walked to the door of Zhou Yuan's house. Zhou Yuan was not in the yard. Chen Qing wanted to call someone, but the sound just couldn't come out.

Zhou Yuan had already noticed that Chen Qing was at his door, but he made up his mind that he would not go out until Chen Qing called him.

"That..."

"Hey..."

The room was still quiet. Chen Qing took a deep breath. His voice was a little louder than before, but there was still some trembling in his voice: "Zhou Yuan."

The word "Yuan" seemed to be twisted. After twists and turns, it finally reached his heart. He was even more certain that Chen Qing was not from Luohe Village. His accent was further north than his hometown.

Zhou Yuan sat up from the bed, walked to the door, lowered his eyes and looked at Chen Qing: "What's the matter?"

Chen Qing handed him the bowl: "Mom made it for you to eat."

Zhou Yuan followed his hand and saw that he was being burned Hong's fingertips took the bowl from his hand.

Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief and heard Zhou Yuan say: "But I have already eaten."

"Ah? What should I do?" Chen Qing was at a loss.

Looking at his look, Zhou Yuan felt the joy of teasing a child for the first time in a long time: "I'll eat it tomorrow and send the bowl back to you tomorrow?"

Chen Qing nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Okay, okay, that's nothing. I'll go back soon."

"Wait a minute."

Chen Qing stopped trying to run away, but still didn't look at Zhou Yuan: "What's wrong?"

"I'll see you in a few days. I want to give your husband...Meng Tao a stick of incense."

Chen Qing blinked: "Okay."

"It's okay, you can go back."

Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ran back home and stood in his yard. Zhou Yuan inside shook his head and laughed.