novelraw Chapter 441 - 422 Let Me Think First (2)
Chapter 441 - 422 Let Me Think First (2)
Tian Sanbao, enraged, swung his fists intending to hit them.
The group of children, however, giggling merrily, ran away.
Chen the Third laughed coldly and said, "Tian Sanbao, you even don’t spare children? Is your mother a man or not?"
Tian Sanbao glared at him, picked up his hat in frustration, and put it back on.
Faced with Chen the Third’s mockery, he had no way to respond because he couldn’t beat him.
He knelt down, feeling dejected, thinking about how unlucky he was.
Chen the Third snorted at him and then went to the back door of the Song Family to peek at Song Jinxiu.
Because he came prepared today, besides the kitchen knives and scissors for sale in his basket, he also brought a pot of wine, a pot of water, several large pancakes, and a packet of beef jerky.
These were enough food to last him a day.
Song Jinxiu, unaware of him hiding in the bushes opposite her backyard, went about her tasks as usual after opening the door in the morning.
She prepared medicine for her elderly grandfather, swept the yard, washed up, made breakfast, brewed morning tea, did the laundry, fed the chickens, and worked on some needlework.
Song Jinxiu was continuously busy with her tasks.
Chen the Third stroked his chin, thinking to himself, is this girl so diligent?
He thought to himself, Tian Sanbao, that pig-brained fool, such a good girl, and he used harassment and entanglement instead of proper courtship. Would a decent girl like that? Why not find a matchmaker to propose a proper marriage, offer a betrothal gift, and hold a lively wedding with a bright red sedan chair to carry her back? Isn’t that simple?
But then he thought, luckily Tian Sanbao is foolish, otherwise, what would be left for him?
Chen the Third smiled contentedly, not caring whether his legs were numb from squatting.
.
Li Family.
Today, during the lunch break, Liu Yanbai, a disabled child boarding with the Li Family, shared some amusing anecdotes he heard from the academy with Li Yuzhu.
"Song Baoshun and the others said that this morning, in front of Mr. Song’s house, they saw Tian Sanbao, who bullied Sister Jinxiu, with a mangy haircut, a huge patch of hair missing from the top of his head, it was hilarious." Liu Yanbai, who rarely laughed heartily, gestured amusingly at Tian Sanbao’s comical hairstyle while stomping his feet in laughter.
Li Yuzhu was surprised, "Yesterday, Tian Sanbao’s hair was fine, but overnight it changed? Who cut it like that? Did an enemy do it?"
Liu Yanbai said, "I don’t know, but when Song Baoshun arrived, he saw a big guy who sells knives scolding him, and it was him who took off Tian Sanbao’s hat. Could it be him who cut it?"
A big guy who sells knives? Isn’t that Chen the Third?
Did he go to the Song Family again this morning?
Pretty diligent, indeed.
Li Yuzhu chuckled to herself.
.
In the afternoon, after printing some more booklets with Mu Yuanxiu and Uncle Gui, Li Yuzhu took a ride on Mu Yuanxiu’s mule cart to visit Song Jinxiu at the Song Family.
Chen the Third had a request for her, so she was going to bring up the marriage proposal. If successful, she would ask Princess Consort Luling to act as a matchmaker.
If unsuccessful, she had no solution, as marriage depends on mutual willingness.
Their mule cart, as usual, stopped at the front entrance of the Song Family.
After getting off the cart, Li Yuzhu specifically looked at Tian Sanbao’s hair.
Sure enough, just as Liu Yanbai described, Tian Sanbao now had an old felt hat on his head.
But the hat only covered the top of his head, leaving the back of his head exposed.
Revealing unevenly cut short hair.
Did Chen the Third curry favor with Song Jinxiu by shaving Tian Sanbao’s head?
Li Yuzhu widened her eyes with curiosity as she looked at Tian Sanbao, but said nothing.
Tian Sanbao, feeling both ashamed and angry, shouted loudly, "What are you looking at?"
Mu Yuanxiu lifted his foot and stomped hard on one of his hands, "Haven’t you had enough punishment?"
The stomp was so powerful that Tian Sanbao felt like his fingers were about to break, and he quickly begged for mercy, "Let me go, let go, my fingers are about to break!"
"Apologize to Miss Li immediately!" Mu Yuanxiu said coldly.
"I’m sorry, Miss Li, I promise I won’t dare again." Tian Sanbao nodded to Li Yuzhu dejectedly.
Li Yuzhu glanced at him, then smiled at Mu Yuanxiu and said, "Let’s go, let’s see Jinxiu, I want to propose a marriage for her, marry her off to someone remarkable."
Upon hearing this, Tian Sanbao felt even more dejected; it was over, Song Jinxiu would never let him go now.
"Yes, let’s go." Mu Yuanxiu said and walked up the Song Family steps with Li Yuzhu, heading around to the back door.
Once the area was deserted, Tian Sanbao dared to sit down and steal a rest.
Song Jinxiu was flipping the bedding in the backyard.
Today’s bit of sunshine allowed her to set up some boards in the backyard to air out the bedding from Mr. Song’s bed.
She dried one side in the morning and was now flipping to the other side to dry.
"Jinxiu!" Li Yuzhu walked into the courtyard and called out with a smile.
Song Jinxiu looked up, smiled, and said, "It’s Miss Li, please come in." She nodded to Mu Yuanxiu, "Brother Mu."
"Where’s Mr. Song? Yesterday, you ran out of tea, so I brought some from home for him to taste. I don’t drink much tea; it’s just sitting unused." Mu Yuanxiu, knowing Li Yuzhu was here to discuss matchmaking with Song Jinxiu, tactfully went to the main hall to avoid interrupting.
Song Jinxiu laughed, "Brother Mu, how could I trouble you for tea again? Grandpa is in his study reading, go ahead and find him. I’ll make tea for you guys to warm up."
She found a stool for Li Yuzhu to sit, then went to head toward the kitchen.
Li Yuzhu pulled her back, "Wait, Jinxiu, we’re not thirsty, no need to hurry about the tea. I have something to tell you."
Song Jinxiu blinked and sat down on a small bamboo chair beside Li Yuzhu, "What’s the matter, Miss Li?"
Miss Li’s face was all smiles, looking at her with amusement.
Song Jinxiu was puzzled.
Li Yuzhu smiled and whispered, "Jinxiu, someone asked me to talk to you about something."
Song Jinxiu was stunned, "Miss Li, what is it? Just say it directly."
Oh, Miss Li was smiling mysteriously.
"Someone fancies you and wants to marry you. They asked me to see if you would be willing to marry them." Li Yuzhu said, "He’s from Huang Village at the county market, 29 years old. When he came to this village, he heard you had no husband and asked me to ask. By the way, he has never married before, has two older brothers who are already married, healthy parents, no grandparents, and has no shortage of houses with land at home."
She briefly described the family situation of Chen the Third without mentioning the family’s wealth, avoiding influencing Song Jinxiu.
Once Song Jinxiu agreed, she would say more.
Song Jinxiu’s face fell, "Miss Li, but I don’t want to get married now."
Li Yuzhu said, "You told me that because you were in a bad mood from Mrs. Tian Song’s scoldings, but now that the truth of your situation has come out, you should reconsider this matter. Your grandfather certainly wouldn’t want you to remain unmarried forever, right?"
Song Jinxiu sighed, "Huang Village is so far, 30 miles from here, 60 miles round trip. If I married that far away, what about my grandfather?"
Li Yuzhu looked at her, "What if that issue was resolved? For example, he could marry into your family, or bring your grandfather over there?"
Li Yuzhu thought, Chen the Third is probably so desperate for a wife that he might accept these terms, right? The problem posed by Song Jinxiu was apparent, and anyone wanting to marry her should have anticipated her concerns.
Song Jinxiu laughed bitterly, "How could a well-off family marry someone like me, a poor orphan with no parents and an old, sick grandfather?"
Li Yuzhu said, "You guessed right. His situation is quite good in some aspects, but there are downsides too."
Seeing Song Jinxiu wasn’t entirely against marriage, Li Yuzhu then explained the Chen family’s circumstances.
She explained truthfully, "His family is the wealthiest in Huang Village, owning 500 acres of land and a large boat that can seat 20-30 people, used for river trade or hired out to transport goods, or rented out for others traveling elsewhere, and they’ve even retrieved drowned bodies from the river."
"..."
"He’s tall, with fairly regular features, except his mouth is crooked. They say it didn’t start that way at birth, but it became more crooked over time. His temperament is sometimes good, sometimes bad. He’s not lazy and helps out around the house."
"..."
"Because his family is wealthy, he’s picky about finding a wife: too ugly or old, he won’t marry; with bad character, he doesn’t like them. But for girls with good conditions, some don’t fancy him either. Anyway, he’s set on you, and it’s up to you. If you don’t agree, I’ll turn him down. He also said that even if you refuse, it doesn’t matter, as he’s been rejected by many girls before and takes it in stride."
Song Jinxiu suddenly understood; no wonder such a person was still unmarried at 29.
This condition, while good, indeed has its drawbacks, enough for many girls to reject him—how crooked could that mouth be?
Song Jinxiu, having not seen him, was unsure whether to agree or not.
She said, "Miss Li, let me think about it, I also need to ask my grandfather’s opinion."