"Marry?"
Hearing Zhao Liangcai's words, Suozi immediately sat next to him, "Who do you want to marry? Qian Duo?"
Zhao Liangcai glanced at Suozi sideways, "Qin Junyao."
"The granddaughter of that old lady down the mountain? Are you crazy!"
"She's not as pretty as Qian Duo, just a farmer's daughter, what's so good about her?" Suozi couldn't understand what his childhood friend was thinking. Sudan Novels
He had ignored connections made by so many colleagues and superiors before, and now he actually wanted to marry a farmer's daughter.
It would have been fine if she came from a scholarly family, but she was a refugee, and had such a difficult grandmother. Marrying her would be marrying trouble.
Zhao Liangcai carefully recalled, leaned forward, and listed the reasons to Suozi, "I can fall asleep listening to her play the zither. She's quiet and calm, not naggy. She's bold enough to wield a knife to hurt people, and she doesn't cry much. Fuzi likes her."
There was one more thing Zhao Liangcai didn't say: some of the food provided by the Qin family could alleviate his headaches.
Suozi was stunned as Zhao Liangcai listed one by one the reasons he wanted to marry Qin Junyao, "Hammer, are you serious?"
"Serious."
"My heavens, hurry up and dismiss this idea," Suozi shook his head even more vigorously, increasingly disapproving.
"Although I think the old lady's granddaughter doesn't deserve you, don't ruin the girl's life. You listed a bunch of reasons, but none of them show you like her."
"What if a more suitable and better person appears later? If she can give you a child or two, that would be good, but if she's barren, that girl would be miserable."
Zhao Liangcai didn't understand his brother's meaning.
No one had taught him since he was young. As he got older, he had to beg for food behind his stepmother. After joining the army, all he thought about was how to survive.
He had heard and seen things about men and women, but he had no experience.
"How would she be miserable? Isn't marriage about mutually assessing conditions? If suitable, you get married. What is this thing you call 'liking'? And no one else will appear who meets the conditions."
Suozi stood up, helpless, "Mutually assessing conditions is for families of equal social standing. Liking is wanting to marry her the moment you see her, not your reasons."
"Furthermore, Hammer, if a divine doctor like the one staying with you, Dr. Mo, cured your insomnia, headaches, and stomach problems."
"Then there would be a flood of women who meet your conditions."
Suozi patted Zhao Liangcai's shoulder, "Listen to me, brother. If you want to get married and have sons, we'll find someone of suitable background. Now, hurry back to the camp with me, there's a lot to do."
Zhao Liangcai pondered for a moment but still didn't understand his brother's meaning. He simply got up and decided not to think about it for now, he would ask someone later.
He walked ahead and opened the door. Fuzi rolled in roundly, his brush somewhat dry, indicating he had been eavesdropping for quite some time.
Fuzi lay on the ground, his face contorted in a grimace as he said to Zhao Liangcai, "Brother, please pick me up. My legs are numb from squatting."
...
Down the mountain, Qin Junyao had worked in the fields all afternoon and was covered in sweat. The anxiety and lingering fear from the morning had mostly subsided.
The Qin family had cultivated three mu of land for planting winter wheat, and the yard surrounding the house had also been tidied up.
At this time of year, only short-growing vegetables like spring onions could be planted in the yard, which was better than nothing.
They ate dinner late in the afternoon, and everyone was extremely hungry. Without any oily food, the meal was both filling and frugal, and the three oxen in the family lived up to their name, eating quite a lot. Qin Grandma's purchased grain was almost gone.
After dinner, Qin Grandma called Qin Mu over and asked him to inquire with the Hou family where they could buy potatoes and sweet potatoes, to buy some for their own consumption.
"Have Yao Yao come over," Qin Grandma said, then told Qin Mu to go back and call Qin Junyao.
Qin Mu didn't leave but said to Qin Grandma, "Mother, Junyao is grown up, don't hit her. I'll scold her for what happened today."
"Go rest. I'm not talking about that."
"Your old mother isn't a madwoman who bites anyone. If you lot weren't so useless, I wouldn't bother expending so much effort," Qin Grandma was piecing together fabric, wanting to make a color-blocked headscarf.
Qin Mu was amused to hear Qin Grandma say this. Since his mother hadn't mentioned hitting her, she definitely wouldn't.
When Qin Junyao arrived at Qin Grandma's room, Qin Grandma was already sewing a headscarf under the oil lamp.
"Why are you so slow?" Qin Grandma asked Qin Junyao, holding the fabric.
"I was taking a bath, Grandma. This is an inner garment I bought for you."
Qin Junyao looked at the red and green fabric her grandmother was holding, not knowing what she was making. She placed the inner garment on the kang and continued, "Grandma, why are you doing needlework under the lamp?"
"I want to. What's it to you? We haven't divided the household. In this family, I am the emperor of heaven."
Qin Grandma finished speaking, then suddenly clasped her hands in prayer, "Pah pah pah, apologies to all the celestial emperors. I am my son's father, no, no, I am my son's mother, my mother."
Qin Junyao stood by speechlessly. Not believing in gods or Buddhas, she felt a prickle on her arms every time she saw her grandmother acting so strangely.
After praying and muttering, Qin Grandma first looked at the inner garment on the kang, then put it aside and asked Qin Junyao to sit down.
"Yao Yao, how did that Zhao Hammer find you today?"
"I got into a bit of trouble, and he happened to help me," Qin Junyao chose to tell the truth.
"Mm, alright. Yao Yao, if you want to go out, I won't stop you. Next time, bring your eldest brother, or Er Niu and San Niu. No matter what you do, they won't dare to say anything. That Zhao Hammer is an outsider after all. It's best not to bother him."
Qin Junyao heard that Qin Grandma's words had a hidden meaning, "Grandma, if you have something to say, just say it."
"Alright, I'll say it directly. You'll be fifteen soon and can get married. Although that Zhao Hammer is considered wealthy, it's not suitable."
"At first, because he was handsome, I did have that thought. The children you two would have would definitely be good-looking. But later, his stepmother and stepcousins are not good people. When our family..."
"Grandma," Qin Junyao interrupted Qin Grandma, "I don't plan to marry General Zhao. Besides, you said he's handsome? That face full of beard," she still found it somewhat repulsive.
Hearing her granddaughter's doubt, Qin Grandma immediately raised her voice, "How is he not handsome? He is. If he shaved that beard, he'd be refined and delicate."
"Oh my, like that little puppy, ouch, hiss," Qin Grandma gasped at this point, perhaps thinking of something.
Sensing the silence in the room, Qin Grandma coughed lightly, her triangular eyes blinking, sniffing, "Uh... where was I saying?"
Qin Junyao reminded her, "Little puppy."
"No, no, no, start from the beginning," Qin Grandma waved her hand, as if asking her granddaughter to forget what she had just said.
Qin Junyao also deliberately teased, "Then it's the emperor of heaven."
"You little rascal!"
"Alright, if you don't have any intentions, then keep your distance from him and interact less. Also, your Grandpa Hou is different from others."
"He's sentimental and keeps his promises. He'd marry Hou Jingniang, who was sent back by her husband, because of a single word. So he needs to repay favors, and only then can he be at ease. He's the same type as your mother," Qin Grandma was explaining the argument from a few days ago caused by the rabbit.
"Your grandma, I can't stand rules the most. But if people want to live, they have to stay within the framework of rules. Your mother and your second aunt are people whose hands and feet are bound by those frames. I'm different."
Qin Grandma patted her chest, "Your grandma and I are people who run in circles within the frames. You should learn more, listen to me more, it's beneficial. Go to sleep now."