"Can you lend me some silver for the taxes? My family is still short, and I'll repay you after the autumn harvest."
Having stammered this out, Xu Da Niu was so ashamed she dared not look up, twisting the corner of her clothes between her hands.
Xiao Shan frowned, searching his memory again.
However, since arriving in Bozi Village, he had rarely interacted with anyone. Besides the village chief and the cart driver, Lai Cai, he barely knew anyone else.
Didn't the village chief have any daughters?
Lai Cai was the same age as him, so that was impossible.
"Who are you?"
Xu Da Niu suddenly looked up, as if in disbelief, her somewhat simple face freezing.
Just then, Xue Niang ran out from the kitchen, her eyes watering, fanning herself with both hands, anxiously looking for Xiao Shan.
"Spicy! Spicy! My eyes, my eyes!"
She had been stung by the chili peppers. Xiao Shan forgot about Xu Da Niu and pulled Xue Niang to the large water vat, dipping his hand in water to rinse her eyes.
His hands were calloused, and Xue Niang's skin around her eyes immediately turned red from the rubbing.
"Don't rub, your hands are spicy."
Xiao Shan stopped Xue Niang's hand and blew on her eyes with his mouth.
Xu Da Niu, standing by the door, watched blankly. They all said Xiao Shan was a rough man, and whoever married him would be unlucky, not knowing how long they would live in his hands. She had hesitated for a long time before deciding to seek him out.
But what was this?
She had never seen any man in the village treat a woman like this. It was just chili peppers in her eyes, did he need to be so careful?
Could that ugly woman be pregnant?
She was just a bought woman, not a properly married wife. She was ugly and thin, but she wore beautiful clothes that Xu Da Niu had never seen before, and on her head, she even wore a silver hairpin.
She had only seen such a thing on the scholar's wife's head.
Had Xiao Shan bought all this for her?
How could that be? How could someone who had been a bandit be so gentle with a woman?
"It's all your fault! You didn't tell me earlier!"
"Yes, yes, my fault. You stop cooking, I'll do it later."
Their conversation drifted over, and Xu Da Niu's face grew increasingly shocked. She had even forgotten the purpose of her visit.
She had seen the best husband in the village, who only bought some food for his wife at the market.
How could there be men who cooked?
Xue Niang could finally open her eyes, which were as red as a rabbit's. Oh no, the dishes hadn't been served yet!
"Hurry up, it's going to burn!"
"Okay, okay. You stay outside, don't go in."
Xiao Shan stood up and walked quickly, then remembered something. He turned to look at Xu Da Niu, who hadn't left yet, and said calmly, "You should go back! I can't manage others."
Xu Da Niu's face was stiff. She couldn't bear to look anymore. She had swallowed her pride and was rejected so unceremoniously. She looked at Xue Niang, and seeing her looking at her, her clear eyes seemed to be mocking her.
What was there to be proud of for this bought, ugly woman?
Xu Da Niu covered her face and ran.
Dazed, she had just reached home when a broomstick flew towards her, hitting her shoulder. It hurt terribly.
If she hadn't turned her head slightly, she would have been disfigured.
"You debt-ridden thing! Not staying home to watch your brother, where have you been roaming!"
This sharp, sarcastic voice, she had heard it for over ten years, never daring to retort. She was like an ox in this family, doing the hardest work, eating the least, getting up before dawn to cook, work, feed chickens and ducks, go to the fields, without a moment's rest.
She didn't want to stay in this house for another moment!
She was eighteen, she wanted to get married, she wanted to marry Xiao Shan!
"If you don't go and talk to Xiao Shan's family for me, I'll go jump in the river."
"What did you say?" Xu Da Niu's mother thought she had misheard.
"I said, I want to marry Xiao Shan! I should have married him in the first place. You said he was poor, but you actually just wanted me to work more for this family. I'm already 18, if this drags on, will anyone want me? How can I have parents like you!"
Xu Da Niu resisted like this for the first time, spitting out her words in one breath, feeling incredibly relieved.
"He is my savior. According to custom, I am his person. If you don't agree, I will go to Uncle Village Chief and ask him to make the decision for me!"
Xu Liu Shi's head was buzzing. "You're talking about that hunter?"
"Yes! That's him!"
Xu Liu Shi was almost furious. What savior? That incident was long over. Such a foolish, debt-ridden ghost, and she still shamelessly wanted to marry him!
The matter had started three months ago. It was the spring plowing season, and everyone in the family was busy with farming. It was their family's turn to use the ox that day. Da Niu happened to be wearing a red dress, pulling the plow with her father in front. Unexpectedly, halfway through the plowing, the ox went mad, broke free from the harness, and chased Da Niu relentlessly.
It ran from the field all the way to the village entrance. During this time, some people tried to stop the mad ox, but they were gored far away by the ox, until they encountered Xiao Shan, who had just come down from hunting.
He was indeed valiant, his strength greater than the ox's. He grabbed the loop around the ox's neck and held it, and Xu Da Niu escaped death, collapsing on the ground and crying loudly.
Bozi Village had a rule: a life-saving debt must be repaid with one's person.
But it also required mutual consent.
Xiao Shan had only settled in Bozi Village for two or three months. He never interacted with the villagers, and he looked frightening. The village all said he had been a bandit and had killed people.
Moreover, he was poor and didn't even have land. He had bought three mud houses from the village chief, but no one knew how old they were. The houses were bare, and the wind blew through them.
Could they marry their daughter to him?
They had prepared some gifts and went to express their thanks, and Xiao Shan had accepted them, which meant the matter was settled.
Now, Xu Da Niu was bringing up the matter again and wanted to find the village chief to make the decision?
She was desperate to get married!
"Xu Da Niu! Have you no shame? A grown girl seeking a husband herself. Not a single girl in the entire village is like you. My old Xu family is truly unlucky to have such a debt-ridden ghost like you!"
"Yes, I am a debt-ridden ghost! Why did you give birth to me in the first place! Do you think I wanted to be your daughter?"
"Slap, slap, slap!"
Xu Liu Shi slapped Xu Da Niu three times. She had gone too far. She would starve her for two days first. She was truly possessed by a debt-ridden ghost.
"Wait until your father comes back and see how he deals with you!"
"Sister, why do you always make Mother angry."
Xu Er Niu hid nearby, saying sarcastic words.
Xu Da Niu's face swelled. She glared fiercely at Xu Er Niu. She had clearly promised to cover for her, and she had only been out for a moment. What a tattletale.
Did they ask her why she went out? Wasn't it for this impoverished family! Humiliated outside and beaten at home.
This was her own mother, her own sister. What kind of family affection was there in this home!
She was truly fed up!
And that brother who always cried, she really wanted to strangle him!