The group chatted for a while, and when they learned Zhao San’s family had co over specifically for a al, they all laughed.
Yang Family said warmly, "It’s no trouble at all! You should co whenever you feel like it, and you don’t need to bring food. The swamp eels are one thing, but you should take the eggs back. Steam them for Shi Tou to eat; he’s still a little boy!"
Juhua listened and smiled to herself. ’These swamp eels are worth much more than the eggs, but they don’t even realize it.’
Shi Tou’s mother said, "He’s the only one who eats the eggs at ho anyway. We’re not short a few!"
When Zhao San heard Zheng Changhe say he was cutting bamboo to weave eel traps for catching swamp eels, he started helping him out.
After a mont, he added, "If we keep eating like this, we’re going to eat the swamp eels into extinction!"
Little Shitou said, "Next ti, we can go fish in another village!"
Shi Tou’s mother laughed. "Your brain always works fast when it cos to food!"
Juhua went to wash the vegetables. In the kitchen, Shi Tou’s mother and Yang Family kept busy while talking about what had happened at noon. She urged Yang Family not to be angry, adding that she’d been asking around everywhere and was determined to help Juhua find a good family to marry into.
"Last ti I went back to my parents’ ho, my mother told about a young man over there. He’s seventeen this year, with very handso features. It’s just that he took a fall as a child and twisted his foot. It never healed properly, so now he walks with a slight limp. But he’s a good kid, hardworking and capable, so I was thinking of setting him up with Juhua. But what do you know, soone else has taste as good as mine and didn’t care about his disability at all. They married their own daughter to him. That girl doesn’t have a scar on her face like Juhua, but she’s dark-skinned, short, and fat. She’s nowhere near as deft as Juhua! I regret it so much! If I hadn’t been one step too slow, wouldn’t that have been a good match?"
Yang Family listened and nodded repeatedly. ’Now this is soone who’s truly thinking about my Juhua’s future,’ she thought. ’Not like that Matchmaker Wang, who only cos up with rotten ideas. What kind of n has she been finding!’
Shi Tou’s mother said, "In any case, Juhua is still young. We can take our ti looking. I refuse to believe we won’t find soone good."
In the courtyard, Zhao San was also speaking to Zheng Changhe. "Brother Changhe, you shouldn’t let it get to you. The way I see it, Juhua is a blessed girl! You just wait and see, she’ll definitely marry a good man soday. Juhua is so outstanding. No matter what others say, you can’t just marry her off to so good-for-nothing man."
Zheng Changhe’s face flushed red. He lifted his head, stiffened his neck, and said angrily, "Would I ever do sothing like that? She’s my own daughter! I’ve doted on her and raised her like a treasure, only to marry her off to so old widower? My own father would curse from the grave! Hmph! I’d rather she never marry than marry a man like that. That old hag Matchmaker Wang, all she has are rotten ideas!"
Zhao San added, "And don’t you worry about Qingmu’s situation either. Hmph, they’re just greedy for money, aren’t they? If your family becos wealthy, I guarantee those people won’t dare say a word."
Zheng Changhe slapped his thigh. "You’ve hit the nail right on the head. I’ll put Qingmu’s matter aside for a few years and focus on saving so money. It’s no big deal if I have a grandson a little later!"
Zhao San gave him a playful shove and laughed. "My son is only this big, and you’re already in a hurry to hold a grandson? I only have such a young son because I married late. Shi Tou’s mother didn’t look down on back then! Among all the n who went to her house to propose, I was the oldest and the poorest, but didn’t she choose in the end?" He finished with a proud laugh.
Hearing him boast, Shi Tou’s mother stood at the kitchen door and chided him, "Go on and brag to Brother Changhe! I just thought you were pitiful back then—a grown man still not married. Otherwise, I would never have chosen you!"
Zhao San laughed. "Whatever the reason, you still chose , didn’t you?"
Everyone, both inside and out, burst into laughter.
Zheng Changhe then said to Zhao San, "Are you about done with things at ho? How about we go up the mountain tomorrow, hunt so ga, and earn a little extra cash?"
Zhao San, deftly weaving the eel trap he was holding, replied, "Sounds good! The weather is getting colder by the day, and there’s not much left to do at ho."
Shi Tou followed Juhua to the riverbank to wash vegetables, chattering to her with childish innocence.
He might not have understood much, but a child’s heart is the most sensitive. On Juhua’s face, aside from the ugly scar, her eyes were what best expressed her innermost feelings. In those clear eyes, Shi Tou could no longer see their usual tranquility and calm; instead, he sensed a new, heavy burden.
He told her many amusing things, but Big Sister Juhua only responded faintly. She wasn’t cheerful or excited, nor did she press her lips into a smile as she usually would—a smile that made her eyes ripple like the surface of Jing Lake.
He was sure Big Sister Juhua was worried about getting married—Gou Dan had said that soone like her could only marry an old, ugly man.
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