Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 19

Chapter 19

Hearing this, Liu Xiufeng and Father Ye hurried out.

They saw Lin Jiangshan and the matchmaker standing at the fence gate, their hands full of gifts. Liu Xiufeng was very satisfied. The generous gifts brought by her future son-in-law gave their family plenty of face, and her smile widened.

“Yes, yes, please come in.”

After leading the matchmaker and Lin Jiangshan into the house, Ye Shan quickly served them tea. In the past, Lin Jiangshan came as Ye Shan’s good friend, but today was different; he was their future brother-in-law.

Ye Shan winked at Lin Jiangshan, and Lin Jiangshan sat up straighter, not knowing where to put his hands. He had been to their house many times, but today he felt nervous.

The matchmaker naturally started by speaking auspicious words, praising the marriage.

Father Ye and Liu Xiufeng exchanged pleasantries with the matchmaker, their hearts already set on agreeing to the marriage.

When it was Lin Jiangshan’s turn to speak, he couldn’t say flowery words, so he simply said, “I will definitely treat Xi-ge’er well, not letting anyone bully him, starve him, or wrong him. I swear to heaven, I’m not lying. Uncle, Auntie, please trust me.”

These simple words, spoken with sincerity, brought tears to Liu Xiufeng’s eyes. She said repeatedly, “We trust you, of course. You’re honest and kind, not like those frivolous people outside. As long as you and Xi-ge’er live a good life together, we’ll be at ease.”

Father Ye wrote down Ye Xi’s birth date and time on red paper and handed it to the matchmaker. Next, they would find a fortune teller to check their compatibility and choose an auspicious date for the wedding.

Ye Shan immediately changed his form of address, calling Lin Jiangshan “brother-in-law.”

The marriage was thus settled.

As for the betrothal gifts, Liu Xiufeng and Father Ye didn’t ask for much, just accepting three taels of silver as Ye Xi’s future savings, to be added to his dowry.

Lin Jiangshan didn’t disappoint his reasonable in-laws. In the afternoon, he went to town again and returned carrying half a pig.

This surprised the entire Shanxiu Village, and everyone talked about how generous this outsider was and how much he valued the Ye family.

Father Ye and Liu Xiufeng tried to refuse, not wanting him to spend so much, as he needed to save money for his future, but they were very pleased with his sincerity.

Lin Jiangshan said, “Then let’s cure the meat and save it for the wedding feast. We’ll make the feast grand and give Xi-ge’er a proper celebration.”

They only had one son, and naturally, they didn’t want him to be married off without a proper celebration. As parents, they wanted to hold a grand feast for him, and now with half a pig, the feast would definitely be impressive.

Liu Xiufeng and Father Ye had no choice but to accept.

Ye Xi came out of his room, looked at Lin Jiangshan, smiled softly, and asked for his shoe size. Before the wedding, according to custom, the new husband had to make a pair of new shoes and embroider new clothes for his spouse. This was also a test of the new husband’s needlework skills, to see if he was virtuous and capable.

Lin Jiangshan gave his size, and Ye Xi was startled. His feet were so big! But Lin Jiangshan was tall and strong, so he should wear such large, boat-like shoes.

Ye Xi smiled. “Making clothes and shoes for you will probably require enough fabric for two people. If I work slowly, I might not finish in time.”

Lin Jiangshan didn’t want him to overwork himself. “If you can’t finish, just buy a set from town. Don’t push yourself too hard, staying up all night and ruining your eyes. I don’t care about these formalities.”

His considerate words warmed Ye Xi’s heart, but a wedding only happened once, and he still wanted to do his best. “I know my limits.”

The news that Lin Jiangshan had proposed to Ye Xi quickly spread throughout the village. Li-ge’er heard about it at home and rushed to visit Ye Xi.

As soon as he entered, he teased, “Someone is about to become a new husband, I came to see if you’re overjoyed.”

Ye Xi was sitting by the window in his room, measuring the size of the shoe soles. Hearing Li-ge’er’s words, he looked up and smiled softly. “You’re here, come and sit, I’ll get you some dried fruits.”

Li-ge’er didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down on the kang.

Ye Xi took out a plate of roasted melon seeds, peanuts, and a few dried figs from the small cupboard in the room and smiled. “Did you come just to tease me?”

Li-ge’er sighed and grabbed a handful of melon seeds. “I’m very happy for you. You just told me you had a crush on someone a few days ago, and today I heard Lin Jiangshan came to your house to propose marriage. Isn’t this great news?”

Ye Xi’s eyes were also filled with uncontainable joy. Indeed, joy brings renewed vigor. “He’s straightforward and acts quickly.”

Li-ge’er raised his eyebrows and continued, “And Lin Jiangshan is impressive. The betrothal gifts he brought this morning made many people envious. In just one morning, the news spread throughout Shanxiu Village. Everyone says you, Ye Xi, are a lucky star. They thought you had a good marriage before, and now you’ve fallen into another lucky situation.”

Ye Xi pulled the thread with his fingertips and curled his lip. “The Cao family wasn’t a good match, but he is indeed a lucky find.”

Li-ge’er pretended to gag at his cheesy words, and they joked around. Ye Xi started to sweat, so he took off his face veil and continued embroidering.

Li-ge’er sat at the kang table, resting his chin on his hand, watching him, as if he had made a surprising discovery. “Xi-ge’er, your scar seems to have faded.”

Ye Xi didn’t take it seriously, thinking he was just comforting him. “Really? You’re just trying to trick me.”

Li-ge’er became anxious and sat up straight. “It’s true, your scar isn’t as bright red as before, it has faded quite a bit.”

Seeing his seriousness, Ye Xi believed him and went to the next room to get his mother’s mirror. He carefully examined his left face under the window light. It was true, as Li-ge’er said, the scar had faded quite a bit, and it didn’t feel as bumpy as before, seeming to have flattened a bit.

Ye Xi thought for a moment. It must be the ointment Lin Jiangshan gave him. He had been applying it every day, morning and night, without interruption. He didn’t have much hope at first, just wanting to reciprocate his kindness, but it actually worked.

Li-ge’er clapped his hands. “That’s great! You’re about to get married, and your scar is fading. Xi-ge’er, aren’t you a lucky star!”

Ye Xi laughed at his sweet words. “Yes, yes, yes, I’m a big lucky star.”

Li-ge’er said smugly, “Yao-ge’er from the Lin family must be gnashing his teeth in jealousy right now.”

At the Lin family’s house, Mother Lin returned home and started complaining, “It’s already noon, why isn’t lunch ready yet!”

After a while, Yao-ge’er emerged from his room, yawning, with some red marks on his neck, clearly having just woken up.

Seeing his appearance, Mother Lin was furious. She put her hands on her hips and scolded, “Look, it’s already past noon, and you’re just getting up, so lazy! Even the young ladies from wealthy families aren’t as pampered as you. Have you fed the chickens and ducks? Have you washed yesterday’s dirty clothes?”

Yao-ge’er shook his head groggily. “I just woke up, haven’t had time to do them yet.”

Mother Lin said angrily, “So you’re really going to get married, and you’re not even doing any chores at home. What will you do? If you marry into the Cao family and continue like this, they might send you back.”

Speaking of which, she became even angrier. The Cao family still hadn’t come to propose marriage. Everyone in Shanxiu Village knew that her Yao-ge’er was about to get engaged to the Cao family, but why was there no news after so long?

“Did that Cao boy tell you when they’re coming to propose?”

Hearing this, Yao-ge’er felt both angry and anxious. He had secretly met with Cao Bin again last night, their fourth secret meeting.

Initially, fearing that the Cao family wouldn’t look at their family, Yao-ge’er came up with a risky plan. He went to the path where Cao Bin walked to and from the private school and pretended to sprain his ankle. He wasn’t bad-looking, and by acting weak and helpless, with a certain charm in his eyes, he managed to attract Cao Bin’s attention.

Cao Bin initially pretended to be upright and refused any physical contact, but after spending time together, they couldn’t resist their feelings and secretly pledged their love to each other.

However, even after meeting several times, Cao Bin didn’t mention proposing marriage. Last night, just as he was about to ask about it, Cao Bin skillfully changed the subject, undressed him, and coaxed him into bed.

“Not yet, Mother. I’m also very anxious.”

Mother Lin then shared what she heard today. “Do you know that Xi-ge’er from the Ye family is engaged?”

Yao-ge’er was stunned. He frowned in disbelief. “Mother, you must have heard wrong. That ugly freak burned his face, how can he get engaged? Who would want him?”

Mother Lin said, “I saw it with my own eyes at the village entrance. It was that outsider, Lin Jiangshan, the one who lives halfway up the mountain, who came to propose. He brought a matchmaker and lots of betrothal gifts to the Ye family: chickens, ducks, cotton cloth, pastries. The betrothal money probably wasn’t low either. The Ye family is very proud.”

Yao-ge’er still didn’t believe it. “Mother, you must be kidding. Does that man not know about Ye Xi’s face? He’s still willing to spend a fortune to marry him?”

Mother Lin said, “Don’t you believe it, everyone in Shanxiu Village knows about it. Lin Jiangshan even said it himself in front of everyone, that he doesn’t care about Xi-ge’er’s burned face and just wants to marry him and live a good life together. He even said he’s afraid he’ll be too late, eager to marry him. The Ye family agreed, and now the two families are waiting for the fortune teller to set a date for the wedding.”

Yao-ge’er was burning with jealousy. Why? Why was Ye Xi always one step ahead of him? He was just laughing at him a few days ago, saying no one would want him, and today he’s engaged, and it’s such a grand affair. But his own matter with the Cao family hadn’t been settled yet. If this continued, wouldn’t he become a laughingstock again?

No, he had to urge Cao Bin again. Did he think he could take advantage of him without any commitment?