The day after the New Year gift from Xiao Family was delivered, it was a rare sunny day.
The snow in Su Family's courtyard had been cleared away. The clothes for the New Year had long been made. The materials Xiao Lin Yu sent were so superb that Mrs. Su was reluctant to use them. Even the hide was locked up and stored in the storeroom. It was better to wait for the girls to get older before making clothes.
Having nothing to do, You Jin led the girls on cutting a lot of window decorations with red paper and pasted them on the translucent glass windows. It added warmth to the bare yard in the background as well as adding a few more festive air. Quite suitable for the current time.
In the whole year, Su Family's shop only closed for about ten days during the New Year. However, Su Family's servants had four days off every month. They took turns to rest, so it didn't delay their work. But a crowd having holiday was really only once a year. Having free time, the young girls finally had a chance to spend the monthly pay they had saved for a year. So they all took leave of absence from You Jin and asked Han Li to drive them to Luohe Prefecture's market in a mule cart.
You Jin took the three oldest, You Yin, You Zhu and You Bao to Wuliqiao Village on the east side of the river. Today they were going to give some gifts to Lizheng's family and the aunties whom they often had contact with.
Because of what happened to old Third Chen last time, You Jin learned her lesson. You Jin didn't prepare many generous gifts for these families. It was just two or three jins of pork and a pack of snacks. After sending to the other families first, she went to He's house at the end. He Family's gift had always been heavier.
Today she took Song Hua out for carrying things. Not needing You Jin to speak, Song Hua had already knocked on the door of He's house: "Auntie Zhao, it's Song Hua!"
"Oh! Coming!" The people inside heard the knock on the door and hurried out to open the door. As soon as the door opened, it turned out to be He Xiao Ning, the youngest daughter of He Family. Seeing Su Family's sisters, she obediently greeted: "Hello, Elder Sisters!"
Then she hurriedly moved her body to let Su Family's sisters enter.
"Hi Xiao Ning, are your parents at home?" You Jin merrily asked as she followed Xiao.
Xiao Ning, who was walking in front, nodded: "They are!"
When they reached the door of the main room, she shouted: "Mother, Elder Sister You Jin was here!"
As soon as the people inside heard that it was someone from Su Family coming, they rushed out to welcome them. Mrs. Zhao smiled and pulled them to sit on the kang inside: "Really, what are you thinking? Bringing your younger sisters out in this cold weather. Aren't you afraid of freezing!" Looking Su Family's daughters sitting in a row and then at their own daughter standing beside them, she couldn't help feeling the difference!
"Auntie, don't make yourself busy. We aren't here to trouble you to do these things!" You Jin hurriedly grabbed Mrs. Zhao, who had poured out the sugar water and was about to prepare the snacks: "It's very cold, Auntie. Must warm up now."
She signaled Song Hua to put the basket in his hand on the table.
Looking at the things in the basket, Mrs. Zhao was a little at a loss: "You child, just bring yourself. What are you doing bringing all these things?"
In the past two years, it was thanks to Su Family renting a place to them at a low price, they made a lot of money by making some food. Before she could thank them, they brought some things to give her. How could this not make her feel ashamed?
You Jin smiled and pressed Mrs. Zhao's refusing hand and said: "The past two years, Auntie had taken care of our family. This gift isn't worth much. It more or less had our thoughts. Auntie, do accept it. "
Seeing You Jin's insistence, Mrs. Zhao could only thicken her cheek to accept it. The two talked for a while, before You Jin took her few younger sisters to say goodbye to Mrs. Zhao and then head to the west of the river. Su Family just stepped out of the gate of He Family's courtyard, when there was a sound of footsteps chasing after them: "Miss Su!"
Su Family turned their heads after hearing this. Their stare made He Xuan Hai a little embarrassed: "I'm looking for Eldest Miss Su."
"Oh." You Yin and the others indifferently responded. You Jin looked at He Xuan Hai and made an equal generation salute: "What's the matter, Gentleman He? Is Auntie Zhao looking for me?"
He Xuan Hai noticed the male following Miss Su wasl well-dressed and realized that he was a little disheveled. He scratched his head in embarrassment: "It's not my mother looking for you. It's me looking for you. I'll send you back. Let's talk while we walk?"
You Jin smiled gently, but firmly shook her head: "No need. The snowy road is difficult. Don't need to trouble Gentleman He to run around. Whatever the matter, just talk here." Her mind rummaged around. You Jin didn't think there was any kind of intersection she had with him. So what was the matter? The rest of Su Family also all blinkingly looked at He Xuan Hai, waiting to hear what he had to say to Eldest Sister! Eldest Sister didn't tell them to go away, meaning they could listen.
He Xuan Hai originally wanted to ask You Jin if she would wait for another three years. In three years, he would definitely be able to pass and marry her with great fanfare. But now besides the girl he wanted to confess, there were four people who were waiting to spectate with their eyes wide open. How can he, who had always been thin-skinned, speak up?
Seeing him hesitate to speak, You Jin felt a little speechless. Didn't he have something to say to her? Why wasn't he speaking? Then she asked: "Gentleman He, if you have anything to say, just say it?"
"Can, can we step to the side to talk?" He Xuan Hai blushed, pointed to a place about ten steps away from You Yin and the others, and looked at You Jin with pleading eyes: "Just a moment!"
You Jin really didn't understand how the brain circuits of these bookworms were long. Just like him, Xiao Lin Yu was literati and had the rank of a Juren. Xiao Lin Yu was much better than He Xuan Hai, wasn't he? Sighing, she nodded and then followed He Xuan Hai a few steps away: "Speak!"
Facing the girl he liked, He Xuan Hai, who usually talked about poetry and songs with eloquence, turned into a clumsy idiot. Blushing, he finally opened his mouth and uttered the countlessly-revised draft: "Miss Su, you, are you willing, willing to wait for me..."
You Jin waited for a long time for him to speak, but the result was that his voice became softer and softer. She couldn't hear what he was muttering toward the end. You Jin felt that her last trace of patience was about to run out: "Gentleman He, what are you talking about? Is there anything? I'll go back first, if there's not."
In such cold weather, freezing outside was fun?
"Don't!" As soon as He Xuan Hai heard that she was leaving, He Xuan Hai stretched out his hand to grab You Jin's cloak in angst: "Miss Su, I want to ask, are you willing to wait for me?"
"Wait for you? Why wait for you?" You Jin pulled her cloak back from his grasp and asked with a frown. She was confused by his nonsensical words.
Reaching halfway through his words, He Xuan Hai was questioned back like this and the blush on his face that had finally subsided climbed up again: "Wait until I gain the rank and honor in the exam, I will marry you..."
"Marry me? When did I say I want to marry you?" You Jin felt that He Xuan Hai had a problem with his brain: "Gentleman He, we haven't met a few times in total and I never said I want to marry you. How did you come to have the illusion that I want to marry you?" You Jin asked back as she suppressed the impatience in her heart.
He Xuan Hai was a little stunned when he heard her asking himself such a rhetorical question. He had clearly heard Mother tell Father that she would go to Su's house to talk about marriage. Why didn't Miss Su know about this? Or was it that she saw that he hadn't gain a rank and she was unwilling to create this marriage?
Seeing his dumbfounded look, You Jin sighed: "Gentleman He, I don't know how you came up with the idea that I want to marry you. But I can tell you clearly today that I have not thought of marrying you in the past, now, and even in the future. Neither I nor my family will have this thought. For the sake of the friendship between the two families, I ask Gentleman He not to mention this matter again."
"But I obviously heard what my mother said before..." He Xuan Hai only assumed that she rejected him because of not getting admitted and said: "Miss Su, You Jin! Believe me. In three years, I will definitely be able to pass the exam and then I will marry you in a grand manner!"
Seeing that he was already a little crazy, You Jin took a few steps back to be safe: "You Gentleman He, we don't have much affection between us. You should call me Miss Su! As for Auntie Zhao, she did mention it, but my family didn't agree. If you don't believe me, you can go home and ask Auntie Zhao. If there's nothing else, then I'll go back first. A woman's reputation is a big deal, so I ask Gentleman He not to speak casually."
After finishing speaking, she turned and walked towards her youngers sisters and Song Hua who were watching them closely. Then they went to the west of the river. Leaving behind He Xuan Hai, who felt dizzy, spurted out a mouthful of blood, and fell unconscious to the ground.
"It's fine. He's better to vomit this blood out. The depression in his heart had dissipated a lot. He'll wake up after sleeping. I will prescribe medicine for you. Five bowls of water boiled into one bowl. Two doses a day. Around three-five days, he will be alright." The barefoot doctor in Wuliqiao Village took the pulse and reassured the worried He Family: "It's just that Xuan Hai's body is a lot weaker now. More or less, he needs to nourish it back."
He Hao breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor said that his son was fine: "Thank you doctor. Later, I will let the child's mother kill a chicken to nourish the child." The doctor was sent away. The family killed the chicken and boiled the medicine. In the afternoon, He Xuan Hai, who had been asleep for nearly two hours, finally woke up. He Family let out a sigh of relief.
He Xuan Hai, who obediently drank the medicine, looked at slightly red-eyed Mrs. Zhao. A little confused, he uttered: "Father, Mother, what's wrong?"
"It's fine. It's all fine. As long as you're okay, Father and Mother are fine!" Mrs. Zhao handed the empty medicine bowl to nearby He Xiao Ning and then brought over a bowl of old hen soup that was boiled until fragrant and delicious: " This chicken soup is just right. Drink it up!"
After He Xuan Hai vomited blood, the stagnant energy in his heart did dissipate a lot. Although he was still a little weak now, the gloomy energy on his face had disappeared. Although he remembered what happened with Su Family's girl before he was unconscious and still felt a little pain in his heart, he couldn't bear to let parent worry when seeing the family guarding his bed. So I drank a small bowl of chicken soup sip by sip before speaking: "Mom, I want to rest for a while."
"Oh! Okay! Then we're all outside. Just call out if you need anything!" Mrs. Zhao was relieved to see her son willing to eat. Seeing that he said he was tired, she hurriedly rounded up her husband and children together and ushered out to let Eldest Son have a good rest.
Seeing the door tightly closed, He Xuan Hai closed his eyes and his sight was You Jin's pretty face saying heartless words. A tear slipped out from the corner of his eye and soaked the pillow.