Reborn in a small mountain village in 1991

Chapter 13 Not Marrying Is a Win

After speaking, You's father looked at Xu Chunsheng.

Mother You also looked at Xu Chunsheng.

Xu's father, mother, eldest sister, and youngest sister all looked at Xu Chunsheng.

"Snapped!"

Xu Chunsheng suddenly slammed his chopsticks on the table and said firmly, "Then let me make this clear: I don't want to marry You Xiaoxia anymore, and this marriage is over!"

Xu Chunsheng's words clearly surprised everyone.

Especially the You couple.

The two were stunned for a long time, their faces stiff and unsightly, not knowing how to react. They never expected Xu Chunsheng to turn hostile.

Because of Xu Chunsheng's usual clinginess to his daughter, the two thought they could easily control the Xu family today.

The two had originally planned that once Xu Chunsheng admitted his mistake and apologized, Xu's parents would say a few words to smooth things over and offer him a way out, so that they could take the easy way out and then enjoy the Xu family's meals.

You should know that the two of them came specifically at mealtimes and are still hungry.

Besides, the two of them could already smell the aroma of rice in the pot, the aroma of oil, and it seemed like there was also the aroma of meat.

Moreover, in the center of the table was a plate of stir-fried eggs with chives. The golden eggs wrapped around the bright green chives made the two of them salivate.

But now, Xu Chunsheng's answer left the two of them speechless. They were too embarrassed to sit down, let alone eat, and could only stand there awkwardly.

After Xu Chunsheng finished speaking, he saw that Yaomei was in her mother's arms, secretly looking at the eggs on the table. So he picked up several pieces of scrambled eggs and put them in Yaomei's bowl.

This made the You family feel very sorry for Xu Chunsheng, as if Xu Chunsheng was picking up their own scrambled eggs. They felt aggrieved and thought that a little girl shouldn't have to eat so many eggs.

"Have you thought this through? If you regret it in two days, the bride price will be much more than just that!" Mother You said, forcing herself to endure the hunger.

"This marriage is off! Go find someone else for the dowry!" Xu Chunsheng retorted.

"Alright, alright, you little brat, remember what you said today." Mr. You grabbed his wife, turned around, and slammed the door shut as he left.

"Bang!"

The sound of the door slamming shut echoed in the hearts of the Xu family members, causing them to let out a muffled groan.

Of course, Xu Chunsheng and Xu Yaomei are not included in this list.

Xu's father immediately frowned.

Mrs. Xu's eyes reddened with anxiety, and seeing Mr. Xu's expression, she swallowed back the words she was about to say.

The eldest sister was also very anxious, feeling that Xu Chunsheng was not aware of his family's circumstances and was only refusing the You family because he was concerned about saving face.

The whole family assumed that Xu Chunsheng was just saying things in a moment of impulse because he felt he couldn't afford the bride price and was forced into a corner.

Xu's mother got up, wanting to chase after him to stop him, but Xu Chunsheng stopped her as soon as she stood up. "Mom, eat. The food is getting cold."

As he spoke, Xu Chunsheng added a spoonful of hot rice to everyone's bowl.

The You couple, who had just stepped out the door, deliberately lingered outside for a while, hoping to wait for the Xu family to come after them. Instead, they heard Xu Chunsheng calling for dinner.

The two exchanged a glance, becoming even angrier, but neither could bring themselves to go back.

As she was leaving, Mother You glanced at the chicken coop in the yard and thought to herself: Every time the Xu family came, they always treated me to good food and drink. They would even force me to eat two eggs when I left. Humph! Now you want to give them to me? I'll have to think twice before accepting them.

Only by thinking this way could she feel better. She was completely unaware that she had gotten those two eggs through a roundabout way. "Your chickens are so well-raised. Unlike my family, we're too busy to raise chickens. We can't even afford an egg..."

At times like these, Xu's mother would often get them two eggs and say some nice things.

Unfortunately, we can't get the eggs now.

This made You's mother feel quite aggrieved, as if she had suffered a huge loss.

Stepping out of the courtyard and making sure the Xu family couldn't hear her, You's mother tugged at You's father's clothes and said, "Husband, we really shouldn't go through with this marriage. Xu Chunsheng keeps giving Xiaoxia money every few days. If we stop giving him money, how will Xiaoxia afford to go to town?"

"Young people like him, they care about their image. Go back and talk to Xiaoxia, ask her to say a good word for Xu Chunsheng, and he'll obediently take the money."

Mr. You had a wonderful idea: his daughter was beautiful and knew how to dress up, so which of those half-grown boys would want her to suffer?

"That's true." Mother You nodded immediately.

"I didn't even get a bite of rice just now, but I could smell it. The rice in the pot was cooked with cured pork."

Hearing what Mrs. You said, Mr. You realized that he had been so busy giving her a hard time that he hadn't even gotten a bite of the eggs on the table, and the two of them suddenly became even hungrier.

After the You family left, the only ones in the Xu family who could still eat were probably Xu Yaomei and Xu Chunsheng.

"Mom and Dad, Big Sister, come and eat! The food is delicious tonight!" Xu Yaomei said to them after swallowing the rice in her mouth.

Today's rice was made by my older sister using the oil left over from frying cured pork the other day. She carefully brushed a layer of oil into the pot, washed the rice, added some sweet potato and a little bit of diced cured pork, and put them all into the pot to make kong rice. When you eat it, you can taste the unique salty and savory flavor of the cured pork, combined with the aroma of the rice and sweet potato.

Xu Yaomei's favorite part is the golden-brown crispy rice crust at the bottom of the pot, which is crispy and savory.

She picked up a piece of crispy rice and shakily brought it to her mother's lips, "Mom, have some crispy rice."

Xu Yaomei didn't know why everyone wasn't eating, but she knew she didn't like those two people.

Xu Yaomei urged anxiously, "Mom, eat quickly, or you won't get enough to eat if those two people come again."

"They also take our eggs. Every time they leave, my little sister has to go several days without getting any eggs."

"My little sister doesn't like them!"

As she spoke, the youngest sister felt like crying. She didn't know what this feeling was, but she just wanted her family to have enough to eat and sleep well.

"Eat up, eat up! If our little sister doesn't like them, we'll just ignore them." Mr. and Mrs. Xu put away their heavy expressions and coaxed their little sister.

The family finished dinner in an awkward atmosphere, but unfortunately, no one was in the mood to savor it.

The next day, Xu Chunsheng got up very early.

He was going to collect Ophiopogon japonicus from several other brigades, and this time he went alone.

Xu Chunsheng realized that he couldn't be greedy. For example, yesterday he collected some other medicinal herbs, which not only wasted time but also took up space. More importantly, he still needed to borrow a donkey from the village chief, and he still owed the village chief 3 yuan. All of these were expenses, and it was really not worth it.

As for Xu Yaomei, she's just a child, good at remembering but also quick to forget. Yesterday's unhappiness didn't stop her from digging for Ophiopogon japonicus with her friends today. However, before leaving home today, Xu's parents told her not to ask for any more "cuts" from the other children. They told Xu Yaomei that the two cents from yesterday was the "registration fee" for those children, and registration only required paying once.

As for Mr. Xu, Mrs. Xu, and their eldest daughter, after feeding the chickens and pigs, they were not in a hurry to go to work in the fields.

The three people sat inside, all worried about Xu Chunsheng's important life event because of the commotion caused by the You family.

Mr. and Mrs. Xu also glanced at the eldest sister.

They were also worried about the eldest sister's marriage.

Just like Xu Chunsheng, who was looked down upon by many families because his family was poor, his eldest sister was also looked down upon by many families because her family was poor.

Only the Qian family came to propose marriage without looking down on her, and even promised to give the eldest sister a very high dowry. But both Xu's parents knew what kind of person Qian Junwei was.

"Dad, Mom."

Seeing that her parents seemed unsure how to broach the subject, the eldest sister simply told them directly, "I agree to the marriage with Qian Junwei."

Mr. Xu stood to the side with a sullen face and did not speak.

"This, this won't do!"

Xu's mother was a little anxious. "That Qian Junwei is a good-for-nothing. He's never home and is always causing trouble. You'll suffer if you go there."

"Mom, you saw it yesterday too. Because our family can't afford such a large dowry, my younger brother is about to refuse the engagement."

"Besides, the Qian family offered a high dowry. The reason they're interested in our family is simply because they want someone easy to get along with in the village."

The eldest sister was very open-minded. She had only suffered some indignities in the past, but for the sake of her second brother's marriage, these were not big problems.

Xu's mother remained silent, partly out of fear that her daughter would suffer in the past, and partly out of concern for her son's dowry.

"Okay, I'll think about it some more, and I'll go talk to them another day."

Who should we talk to? How should we talk to them?

Xu's father didn't say anything, and he didn't have a plan in mind for the time being.