Chapter 33

Huang Manjing carried a bowl of freshly brewed ginger soup into the room and placed it on the table. It was almost noon, and Taoyu was still curled up in bed.

She walked over and felt Taoyu’s forehead.

“Feeling a bit chilly?”

Taoyu shook her head. “Just a bit dizzy, probably just tired.”

“I’ve been saying there’s nothing special about going to see the grain off. It happens every year. Why go out early in this cold weather and freeze in the morning?”

Huang Manjing bent over and brought the ginger soup over. “Drink some ginger soup to dispel the cold, sleep for a while, and you’ll feel better when you wake up.”

Taoyu was absent-minded. She knew she wasn’t physically uncomfortable and didn’t want to drink the ginger soup, but since her mother made it, she reluctantly got out of bed.

“Has dad come back yet?”

“It’ll be a while before he comes back. Are you hungry?”

Taoyu took a sip of the hot ginger soup. Although it had sugar added, the ginger juice still stung her mouth a bit.

After drinking a few sips, she began to feel warm all over, and her spirits lifted slightly. “I’m not hungry.”

“You seem listless because you didn’t eat much in the morning.”

Huang Manjing took the ginger soup bowl. “I’ll make stir-fried vegetables with shredded pork for lunch; make some extra for takeout.”

Taoyu said, “But this time of year in the village, why haven’t I heard of anyone having a feast?”

Huang Manjing chuckled. “You’re not satisfied with just stir-fried pork. You’re still thinking about having a feast.”

“Taxes have gone up again this year, and the autumn harvest wasn’t particularly good. Many families are doing fewer things. Apart from the incident at the You family, people are anxious, and villagers dare not leave the village without anything to do, let alone have time to buy things to make a feast.”

Taoyu pursed her lips. “But the wives and husbands in the village are still quite enthusiastic. Now that farming is idle, they’re thinking about arranging marriages.”

“I… I heard some villagers say they want to propose marriage to Big Sister Huo.”

Huang Manjing’s brow twitched. “Huo Shu is a person with a cold face but a warm heart. She seems tough but is upright. It’s reasonable that the villagers would consider her.”

“I think so too.”

Taoyu coughed lightly. “Big Sister Huo has helped our family a lot. Otherwise, Mom could also help find a good match for Big Sister Huo.”

“You said no one in the village has proposed marriage to her yet?”

“Whoever hasn’t settled down yet hasn’t had anyone propose marriage to them. Most of those who propose marriage are after the betrothal gifts. They can turn black into white. Most of them are unreliable.”

Taoyu said, “Mum has a good reputation in the village; she is more reliable than others, right?”

Huang Manjing looked at Taoyu, hiding a smile in the corner of her eye, and continued, “That’s not entirely impossible. Then who do you think is suitable from which family?”

“I don’t understand these things.”

Taoyu felt a little guilty under her gaze. “Isn’t this something only Mom would know?”

“In that case, what about Dong’s daughter? She’s seventeen this year. Her parents are honest and straightforward. She’s also skilled and capable, with a handsome appearance. She’s a suitable candidate for marriage.”

Taoyu quickly said, “No!”

“Why not?”

Taoyu blinked as she saw her mother staring at her. “Dong’s daughter, she’s good in everything, just a bit reserved and speaks less. Big Sister Huo is already a bit taciturn. If they were together, wouldn’t they hardly say three words all day?”

Huang Manjing pondered for a moment. “That makes sense.”

“If you want someone talkative, what about Master Qiao’s second daughter? Huo Shu is also learning skills under Master Qiao’s butcher. Your father said Master Qiao thinks highly of Huo Shu and is considering finding a reliable son-in-law to inherit his skills and butcher shop, and Huo Shu is the most suitable candidate.”

Taoyu opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but for a moment, she couldn’t find a suitable argument.

Perhaps because she knew it was a good match and there was nothing inherently wrong with it, she felt particularly disappointed.

Seeing this, Huang Manjing pointed out the shortcomings: “However, Master Qiao’s second daughter has been living in the city since she was young and leads a prosperous life. If the two of them were to marry, she certainly wouldn’t be comfortable living in the old-fashioned house of the Zhao family. They would either have to renovate the house or have Huo Shu move to the city with her.”

“But Huo Shu probably wouldn’t want to live with his in-laws and be subordinate to them, and he wouldn’t feel at ease leaving Mrs. Yuan, a widow, alone in the village without proper care.”

After finishing her point, Huang Manjing looked at Taoyu. “What do you think?”

Taoyu gripped her clothes. “Um.”

“In the end, none of the options seem entirely suitable.”

With that, Huang Manjing suddenly looked at Taoyu. “Our ties with the You family are completely severed, and the Zhou family is unreliable. The situation hasn’t been clarified yet, and as soon as there’s a hint of trouble, they run away scared. So, your marriage plans are on hold for now. Otherwise, why not consider Huo Shu?”

At these words, Taoyu’s face flushed red, and her eyes darted around in panic, not daring to look at Huang Manjing. “Mother, what are you saying? How can I…?”

“Why not? Huo Shu has a good character, and you know him better than others.”

Huang Manjing pressed on, “Do you think he’s too much older than you?”

“I don’t.”

Taoyu immediately denied it, then added, “Dad… Dad definitely wouldn’t agree.”

“How do you know your dad wouldn’t agree?”

Taoyu said in a low voice, “Mother knows Dad well. Whenever someone talks about a young man, they always focus on his land, property, family background, skills, and livelihood.”

“Regardless of what your dad says, do you care about these things?”

“I don’t mind them at all!”

After saying this, Taoyu realised she had responded too quickly and hastily explained, “What I mean is, even if someone has all these things, it’s just a matter of time if they lack integrity and practical abilities.”

“Then, after all that, do you like Huo Shu?”

Taoyu blushed even more at being asked such a question.

She had never thought about whether she liked or disliked someone since she learned about her arranged marriage with Yu Lingxiao from her family. And no one had ever asked her whether she liked Yu Lingxiao. Faced with such a question all of a sudden, Taoyu didn’t know how to answer.

“You better think about it sooner rather than later, or Huo Shu might be snatched away by someone else.”

Taoyu was about to speak when a cheerful shout came from outside.

“Little Taotao!”

Taoyu raised her eyebrows. “Is Dad back?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Yangzong came in, dusty and windblown.

“Oh my, still in bed at this hour!”

Seeing both his wife and daughter in the room and Taoyu looking sleepy, Ji Yangzong went straight over. “How can you stay in the house all day? Although you shouldn’t wander outside the village, you should at least walk around the village.”

“Come on, get up quickly, and put on your clothes; the plum blossoms on the mountainside have already bloomed.”

Taoyu was dragged to the dressing table by Ji Yangzong, who asked skeptically, “Is it true?”

“You’ll know when you see it.”

Ji Yangzong picked up a comb and ran it through Taoyu’s hair. “Look at your messy hair. You’re all grown up now, so you should take care of yourself.”

Huang Manjing watched her husband, who had come back and started chatting away, interrupting their important conversation. She couldn’t help but scold. “It’s so cold outside. You’ll catch a cold if you let her go out.”

“The sun is already shining outside. It’s not cold.”

Taoyu asked, “Was the grain delivery smooth today?”

“Smoothly. It was delivered to the prefectural government office in one go, and the procedures were done quickly.”

Ji Yangzong said, “We can finally have a peaceful year ahead.”

Taoyu felt reassured by her father’s words. She put on her thick coat and saw the winter sun leaping outside the window. “Then I’ll go to the foot of the mountain and pick some early-blooming plum blossoms.”

“Good idea; go for a walk.”

Ji Yangzong praised, then glanced at Taoyu’s plain outfit and opened the drawer of the dressing table. After rummaging for a while, he found a green jade hairpin.

“I bought a bunch of these things but never wore them. Here, put this on.”

“Why wear this for no reason?”

Taoyu frowned, refusing.

“Oh my, isn’t it said that tidying up nicely looks better and improves your mood? If you keep frowning all day, how can you feel better?”

Ji Yangzong stood up. “Dad will put it on for you.”

“I’ll do it myself.”

Seeing this, Taoyu quickly took the hairpin.

Seeing the well-dressed Taoyu, Ji Yangzong smiled and said, “That’s more like it.”

“It’s almost noon; what are you going out for?”

Huang Manjing frowned. “Let’s eat first.”

But Ji Yangzong said, “The early-blooming flowers are the best. If you go too late, someone might pick them first. You go ahead; we’ll wait for you to come back for lunch.”

Taoyu replied, “Okay, then I’ll go out.”

“What’s gotten into you?”

Seeing Taoyu leave, Huang Manjing glared at Ji Yangzong. Knowing her husband well, she knew there was probably something fishy going on.

“I’m telling you, don’t bring up any more unsuitable matches for Taoyu. I won’t speak up for you in front of Dad anymore.”

“I’m just planning for Taoyu.”

“Planning?!”

“Don’t; I advise you not to mess around anymore. Look at the Yu family; that’s the good match you planned for.”

“No one steps into the same pit twice.”

Ji Yangzong’s brow furrowed at the mention of the Yu family, but thinking of his own plans, he smirked. “I told Huo Shu to wait for her.”

Huang Manjing’s brow jumped. “What are you doing?”

“These good things are in high demand, and men with good looks are also sought after. If we don’t act quickly, we’ll miss out. Now people in the village are secretly thinking of proposing to Huo Shu.”

Ji Yangzong said, “That Huo Shu is such a blockhead; he can’t even say a word for half a day. I’m anxious just watching him. Normally, the two of them have few chances to meet. If I don’t take action, it’s unlikely that anything will happen in a year or so.”

“I’m just letting them see each other more, have more chances to talk, and then it will naturally come together.”

Huang Manjing sighed, finding her thoughts coinciding with Ji Yangzong’s. Whether it could succeed or not depended on how they got along. This approach wasn’t bad either.

“Don’t push too hard; Taoyu doesn’t know anything.”

“I know, I’m just trying to let the young people talk for themselves.”

—

There aren’t many sunny days in December. Even though the sun was shining near noon, it felt as if it had been dredged up from the snow, and it wasn’t much warmer.

But some sunlight is better than none, and it’s still a lot more open.

Taoyu walked toward a pile of rocks at the foot of the mountain. Feeling no chill, she lifted the hood of her cloak from her head.

After straightening out the brim, she saw a tall figure standing in front of her.

Taoyu widened her eyes and tentatively called out, “Huo Big Brother?”

Seeing the person turning back, it was indeed him: “What are you doing here?”

Huo Shu didn’t answer the question but handed over the chestnuts in his hand: “Want some?”

Taoyu looked at the oil-paper package in Huo Shu’s hand and cautiously took it.

After pinching the package, she guessed that it was candied chestnuts. It was the season for selling chestnuts, and she had wanted to eat some for a while, but with the trouble outside, she couldn’t go to the city.

So she hadn’t had any chestnuts this year.

Holding the chestnuts, Taoyu sat down on a large pile of rocks nearby with light steps and asked, “Did you buy them when you delivered the grain to the city?”

As soon as she finished speaking, there was a crackling sound under her feet. She looked down and found that there were already many chestnut shells on the ground.

Seeing this scene, she squinted at Huo Shu: “So someone was here sneaking a snack.”

Huo Shu didn’t say anything; he just sat down besides Taoyu.

Taoyu opened the oil-paper package and saw a bunch of golden nuts inside. She was slightly stunned and couldn’t help but turn her head to look at Huo Shu besides her.

Huo Shu said, “Go ahead and eat.”

Taoyu saw that Huo Shu seemed a bit strange today, and he spoke less.

She couldn’t help asking, “How have you been lately?”

Taoyu originally wanted to answer, but Yu Lingxiao was too busy to bother her, so naturally, she was fine.

But if she really said she was fine, it seemed like she wasn’t really fine. She looked at her toes and didn’t answer the question directly. Instead, she said, “Huo Big Brother should be fine.”

Huo Shu looked at the little sister besides him in confusion. “Huh?”

Taoyu concealed her nervousness and casually said, “A few days ago, Master Qiao came to our house. I heard him say he wanted you to be his son-in-law.”

“Not only that, people in the village are also busy thinking of proposing to you. Isn’t it getting better and better?”

Taoyu said gloomily, “It’s not in vain that you put in so much effort. The villagers all see it.”

After hearing this, Huo Shu said, “If you judge good or bad based on whether others want you to be their son-in-law, there should be quite a few people who want to marry you, so are you good?”

Taoyu was momentarily speechless.

She lowered her body, leaning over her knees, and looked at the withered grass on the ground, saying, “The affair between our family and the Yu family has caused quite a stir. Although it was Yu Lingxiao’s fault and the matter was made public, it still tarnished our reputation to some extent.”

“Even though I haven’t had any inappropriate dealings with Yu Lingxiao, breaking off the engagement alone invites suspicion, let alone the ugly scene between the two families. Others can’t help but think that I’m troublesome, and they have to consider what others might say.”

Taoyu’s voice lowered as she spoke; she hadn’t thought about these things before, but somehow, as she spoke now, she felt more and more aggrieved.

She took a deep breath. “With me like this, I’m afraid I won’t be able to marry again.”

Huo Shu looked at the bowed head, the weak voice tinged with a hint of sorrow, the pitiful little sister, and his brow furrowed.

While waiting here for someone, he had repeatedly rehearsed in his mind what he wanted to say and do to her.

Ask her: It’s been a while since we last visited Zhao Pan; do you want to go see how her calligraphy is coming along?

She couldn’t judge the quality of the characters herself, so she would have to ask for her help.

Or perhaps, as Ji Yangzong suggested, a new batch of medicinal herbs has arrived at the Suspended Vessel Hall in the city. Do you want to go take a look?

But when he saw the person, he felt a sense of contentment in his heart. Even if they didn’t say anything, just looking at each other seemed enough.

Those rehearsed words seemed too deliberate, and for a moment, they felt insincere, like deception.

Seeing Taoyu like this, there was only one thing he wanted to say among the thousands of words.

Huo Shu parted his lips and uttered three words: “I’ll marry you.”