GBP Chapter 234 Village Life (8)
Chapter 234 Village Life (8)
She waited until the rooster crowed before getting up and snuggled back into the warm quilt.
Han Zhibai paused for a moment and said, "I'm just like you. I go to bed early and wake up early."
Xia Qingyue remembered that in the valley, he usually got up earlier than her. Without thinking much about it, she smiled and said "yes", then naturally snuggled into his arms and hugged him.
She squinted her eyes and said comfortably, "It's really warm."
Han Zhibai tried his best to calm his breathing, then hugged her back, not daring to move any more.
The two of them lay on the bed for a while. When the rooster crowed, they immediately lit the oil lamp and got dressed.
After washing up and getting ready at home, they went to Li's house.
It was still dark and foggy, and from time to time the sound of chickens clucking could be heard in the village.
Although it was very early, warm yellow lights were on in most homes, and smoke was rising from the chimneys on the roofs. The smoke was soon blown into pieces by the cold wind. The same was true for the Li and Fang families.
When Chen Yuzhen and the others saw that the two of them got up so early, they all said that they got up really early and urged them to go back and take a nap.
Xia Qingyue was in high spirits, "Aunt, we slept well and are in great spirits!"
When Chen Yuzhen heard this, she looked at Xia Qingyue, whose eyes were bright, her complexion was rosy, and she looked in good spirits. Then she looked at Han Zhibai, and the dark circles under his eyes seemed to have deepened.
Seeing this, Chen Yuzhen's smile deepened, and she said with a smile: "It's okay as long as you have a good rest. Then let's make breakfast first and eat it before we work. I cooked porridge and heated up the leftovers. We have river shrimps, how about adding some white flour and chopped green onions to make pancakes?"
"sounds good!"
They heated up the leftovers, fried some river shrimp cakes, and after breakfast began to prepare the meal for the lunch table.
After working for about an hour, all the dishes were ready and all that was left was to start frying. Xia Qingyue washed her hands and went to visit Fang's family.
In Fang Xiaoyu's boudoir, Qian Yurou and Xiaomei were dressing her up. The three of them were talking and laughing. Fang's mother sat alone on the side, secretly wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
When Xia Qingyue arrived, everything was almost dressed up. Fang Xiaoyu looked very beautiful in her wedding dress, like a flower bud about to bloom, so delicate and charming.
A few people chatted in the boudoir for a while. Seeing that it was almost time, Xia Qingyue returned to Li's house. Together with Chen Yuzhen, they each worked at the stove, wielding a spatula to cook.
At three quarters past noon, deafening sound of firecrackers was heard outside.
This was followed by a second burst of firecrackers, which was closer and louder.
In front of the Li and Fang families' houses, Li Benfu and his companions, just like yesterday, carried basins of wedding candies and distributed them to the villagers. There were so many people that the surrounding village roads were packed with people, and it was very lively.
"Here we are!" Xia Qingyue said to Chen Yuzhen, "Aunt, go ahead. The remaining dishes will be cooked quickly. There are not many left. Zhibai and I are here."
The groom carried the bride back on his back, and the next step was to hold the wedding ceremony. As the elders, Chen Yuzhen and others had to be present.
"Good, good kids, thank you for your hard work." Chen Yuzhen looked at them lovingly with tears in her eyes.
After cooking the last few dishes, the newlyweds completed all the procedures and were about to start the feast.
They worked together to carry the large round table to the front yard, set it up, placed the dishes and chopsticks on the table, and served one fragrant dish after another. Just like yesterday, there were twelve dishes in total.
After the meal started, everyone toasted each other and ate happily.
During the meal, Chen Yuzhen frequently picked up food and scooped soup for Han Zhibai, saying that it was to encourage him to eat more and replenish his body.
After dinner, Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai were busy cleaning up at Li's house.
Because of important matters, Qian Yurou and Xiaomei left after not staying for long.
In the evening, just like yesterday, there were a lot of leftovers, so we had a hotpot at Li’s house.
After finishing the meal and cleaning up the kitchen, Xia Qingyue took Chen Yuzhen to her home and told her about the silver in the wooden box.
The two of them talked behind closed doors in the room for a long time, and at the end, bursts of sobbing could be heard.
Han Zhibai hesitated for a moment in the main room, but ultimately did not go in.
The night passed.
When Xia Qingyue woke up in the morning, she felt better and better. On the other hand, Han Zhibai looked a little sluggish.
After getting up and dressing, she noticed something was wrong. She pulled his arm and stared at the dark circles under his eyes. "You have dark circles. Have you not slept well recently?"
"Maybe he's used to his bed." His eyes wandered.
Xia Qingyue, who was used to being in her bed, knew how uncomfortable this was. Her heart ached and her eyes were filled with pity. "We'll go back in the afternoon."
He took a deep breath, his eyes firm, clenched his hands and said: "It's okay, I will overcome it."
"Don't force yourself." She held one of his hands and said sincerely.
Han Zhibai was stunned and looked at her with complicated eyes.
She just turned around and walked to the dressing table to comb her hair. After combing it a few times, she looked at Han Zhibai in the mirror and said, "By the way, we have to go to the carpenter's this morning to check out the furniture. It's probably almost done.
I'll get the remaining winter clothes after I get down the mountain in a few days."
"it is good."
Since they didn't have any cooking at home, they went to Li's house for breakfast. The hand-rolled noodles were delicious, along with yesterday's leftovers.
Even leftovers are something that most families cannot afford in years of famine and can only dream of eating.
They have all lived hard times before, and they will not waste food just because the situation has improved a little. If there are many people, the leftovers will be disposed of after breakfast.
After the meal, Chen Yuzhen, Li Benfu and Chen Dawei rushed to clean up, not letting the newlyweds do anything.
After everything was tidied up and they had nothing to do, they went to take a look at the vegetable gardens of the Li and Fang families.
The Li and Fang families collected some seasonal vegetables and asked Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai to take them up the mountain. If they hadn't been stopped, they would have collected more vegetables.
A few young ones carried the vegetables back home and took a walk to relax, while the older ones stayed in the fields to weed.
From the fields we turned to the riverside. The water was rushing, the banks were lined with trees, and a thin mist was floating. The scenery was pretty good.
Li Weisheng and Xia Qingyue suggested going to the shallow water by the river to see if they could catch crabs. Chen Youmao and Fang Xiaoyu were also eager to try.
Several people were chattering as they walked towards the shallow water area. After walking for a while, Xia Qingyue noticed out of the corner of her eye that one person was missing. She turned back suspiciously and saw Li Weikang standing there in a daze, his eyes dull, and no one knew what he was thinking.
She shouted: "Brother."
Since getting married, she called Li Weikang the eldest brother, Li Weisheng the second brother, and Chen Youmao, who was two months older than her, the third brother.
"Oh, here I come." Li Weikang suddenly came to his senses and ran over.
Xia Qingyue stood on the shore without moving, watching them run to move stones to catch crabs.
Han Zhibai followed her line of sight and saw Li Weikan squatting on a rock absent-mindedly. He picked up a rock in his hand and immediately put it down without even looking under the rock. He didn't even notice that there was a crab running around and running away.
"It's a bit strange!"
She squinted her eyes and tried hard to recall what happened in the past two days. She didn't know what she was thinking about, but her eyes widened.
"What's wrong, Qingyue?" Han Zhibai asked with concern.
"Brother seems..."
"Let's talk about this after we get back." Xia Qingyue's face showed a rare seriousness.
Although Han Zhibai had doubts, he still chose to respect her.
A few people touched crabs in the shallow water area near the river for a while, and finally caught a few small crabs. Although the harvest was not much, it was full of fun.
They released the few crabs they caught and returned to the village.
When they reached the village entrance, Xia Qingyue asked Li Weikang and the others to go back first, saying that she and Han Zhibai had something to do and would go back later.