There are flowers and wine, hoeing and farming

Chapter 38

After Cheng Daman and his son returned home, almost a month passed in a blink of an eye. On the ninth day, after lunch, Cheng Daman and Ning took the things they needed to go to Cheng Dazhu's house to attend the wedding. , and then took Cheng Zhiyuan and Qiaoqiao to go together, leaving Jasmine and Cheng Zhigao to look after the house.

Cheng Dazhu lives in the next-door village, which is not too far from here. More than 20 years ago, the scattered small villages around here were considered a big village, and later they were separated to form a small village one by one.

As soon as I entered the village, I heard a commotion not far away, and a few children were running there, laughing and laughing, and looked back at Qiaoqiao and his party.

Holding the basket with eggs on her shoulders, Ning whispered to Qiaoqiao: "Don't run around, just follow Mother."

"kindness."

Walking in the door, there are many long benches in the yard, full of people, talking loudly, occasionally bursting out into a burst of laughter, interspersed with many children's fights, it seems extremely lively.

Cheng Daman walked into the house with his wife and children. As soon as he entered the main room, he saw his elder brother Cheng Dazhu, who was standing there with a happy face talking to someone.

"Brother." Cheng Dazhu and Ning Shi stepped forward to greet him.

"Hey, you guys are here. My siblings are here too. Didn't I tell you to keep them at home? Isn't Zhigao's wife about to give birth? You're not watching at home either."

"nothing."

"Come on, meet the third brother and younger siblings, you haven't seen them for quite a while." Cheng Dazhu pulled out the people behind him with a smile.

As soon as the two came out, Ning's face immediately changed, and the two people opposite were obviously unhappy, with stern faces and no words.

It was only for a short while, but the awkward atmosphere still made everyone feel it. As the eldest brother, Cheng Dazhu had no choice but to continue to bite the bullet. He smiled and patted Cheng Daman on the shoulder, and then patted his third brother Cheng Dagui: "OK Yes, we are all brothers, today is your nephew getting married, please have fun."

Cheng Daman was a little hesitant, he didn't really want to cause such a situation, but he quietly looked at Ning Shi, and found that she nodded to him, he was relieved, he scratched his head, and smiled at his elder brother : "What's the matter, big brother, Dagui and I have nothing to do, don't worry, today's nephew's marriage, we will definitely let him do it lively."

Cheng Dagui is very thin, his whole body looks like only a few bones are left, his face is pale, his eyes are black and blue, he seems to be on the verge of falling, and he may faint at any time, he waved his hand indifferently: "I don't care about these things It's all caused by these two stinky women, it's none of our brothers' business."

His daughter-in-law Wu's complexion suddenly changed, as if she was suppressing her anger and looked at her husband. Soon, she sneered twice, and turned her head to look to the other side.

Cheng Daman was also very helpless about his younger brother's words. Looking at Ning, he found that she had no expression on her face. Seeing him looking over, she smiled at him instead. He felt that his daughter-in-law was the best.

Qiaoqiao watched and listened quietly behind Ning Shi. At first she was a little confused, but then she suddenly remembered that woman Wu Shi.

Because I was still young at the time, things were only vague and rough, so the impression was not very clear, but now I heard what they said, and with the attitude of my parents, Qiaoqiao knew that this woman Wu was still very young. At that time, the woman who threw herself off the bed, and Cheng Dagui next to her was Dad's third brother.

If the appearance of the third uncle who loves gambling is placed in modern times, he would be a drug addict, leaning to the side sickly, yawning non-stop, refusing to talk to anyone, squinting his eyes, very listless.And his daughter-in-law Wu Shi is obviously not a fuel-efficient lamp, her face is sallow, with a hostility produced by years of depression and grievances. May secretly curse and spit.

At this moment, Qiaoqiao felt more and more how precious the harmony and tranquility of her family was. She lowered her head, not wanting to care about the past, and grabbed Cheng Zhiyuan's sleeve and tugged hard to stop the angry little brother from rushing out.

Cheng Dazhu still had a lot of entertainment, so he quickly went to the yard to get busy.

After the sky gradually darkened, the sound of blowing and blowing came from outside, and the sedan chair swayed to a large area specially vacated in the yard.

The sedan chair door was opened, and the bride who covered her head with a red hood had just stepped out when a woman next to her stepped forward and scattered beans, millet and other grains.

After spreading the grain and grain, the next step is to worship and get married.

Qiaoqiao looked at the immature child with a chubby face, and kept sighing: "Brother."

"what?"

Cheng Zhiyuan was also twelve or thirteen years old, about the same age as the child who came to marry him, Qiaoqiao saw that the little brother was very serious about getting married, she couldn't help but persuaded: "Brother, don't get married So early."

Cheng Zhiyuan probably got her talking, so he couldn't help turning his head and glaring at her, and said viciously: "A girl's family, why are you so talkative, you can't say such things."

Qiaoqiao curled her lips, knowing that her face-saving little brother must be blushing again, she didn't dare to provoke him any more, so she obediently kept her mouth shut.

"Second brother." Cheng Dagui quietly walked to Cheng Daman's side when the newcomers were paying their respects.

"What?" Cheng Daman was happily watching his nephew kneel and kowtow, but he didn't look back at his younger brother.

"I, I..." Cheng Dagui stopped talking for a few times, at this moment, Qiaoqiao raised his head, and a crisp voice sounded: "Do you want to borrow money?"

In her clear eyes, Cheng Dagui's pale face flushed, he was a little annoyed, he took a step back unconsciously, Ning Shi also leaned over amidst the noise, and asked suspiciously: "What's wrong?"

Qiaoqiao blinked innocently, pointed at Cheng Dagui and said, "Third Uncle..."

"It's okay, I'm okay, I'm leaving, I'm going first. I have something to do at home." Cheng Dagui was in a hurry, and he staggered to push away the crowd and walk outside.

"Damn it, bitch, come home with me..." Cheng Dagui's angry roar came from outside vaguely.

"You smelly and shameless, you have the guts to scold others... ah..."

The people on the outside were attracted by their scolding and looked out, seeing that the two disappeared quickly, and then turned their attention to the wedding.

After worshiping, the newlyweds walked to the new house surrounded by the crowd, and the elder who had been selected in advance, with complete children, was holding a tray in the new room, and scattered the dates, chestnuts, longan, peanuts and other things on the bed tent, while He also recited: "Scatter a date, get a small one, sprinkle a chestnut, get a nipple, a handful of chestnuts and a handful of dates, the small one will follow the big one."

After she finished speaking, the couple was ushered into the new house, Qiaoqiao was squeezed into a corner, she couldn't see clearly even on tiptoes, and jumped up in a hurry, Cheng Zhiyuan pulled her in front of her, bent down He picked her up and lifted her up slightly: "Can you see it?"

"I see, thank you, little brother." Qiaoqiao smiled sweetly at her brother, and then watched the bridal chamber.

After spreading the tent, a woman in her 40s, dressed in festive clothes, walked to the bed and began to make the quilt.

"Qiaoqiao, Xiaoyuan, come, come here." Ning Shi stood at the door and waved to them.

"what?"

"Let's go."

Cheng Zhiyuan was not very unhappy, he walked out immediately, Qiaoqiao was not willing, but at this moment Cheng Zhiyuan half dragged and half hugged her, and the two walked to the door together.

"Mom, let's see if it's okay"

"No, let's go, where can the child's house see these, let's go." Ning scratched her daughter's nose, took her hand and walked to the door.

Cheng Daman had to wait for the wedding to end, and he helped his elder brother clean up the noisy and messy house.And Ning was worried about her daughter-in-law, so seeing that some people from the same village were leaving, she took her two children and went back first.

Jasmine's belly is getting bigger and bigger, and soon it will be time to give birth. Ning is very worried. Seeing that Jasmine's belly is really big, she thinks it might be dangerous for her to give birth? , although I have already greeted Mrs. Wen in the village, but what if she can't come that day because of something, or if Jasmine has a difficult labor?
In the end, Cheng Zhigao decided to invite a doctor to come to the house to take the pulse and confirm the condition of the fetus. Although the visit would cost a lot of money, it was worth it for the peace of mind and Jasmine's safety.

After the doctor with the gray beard touched Jasmine's left and right hands, he got up and said solemnly: "It's twins, both of them are very strong, do more activities and walk around these few days, so it's easy to give birth. .”

The whole family was shocked. Although it was said that Jasmine's belly was big, no one really thought about it. Twins are so rare. How could anyone have such a blessing and get it casually?

Only Qiaoqiao was not too surprised, she ran to the doctor and asked: "Doctor, how many days will it take for the sister-in-law to have a nephew?"

The doctor chuckled: "Hurry up, hurry up, the baby will be born within ten days."

"My God, twins!" Sitting on the bed, Ning said in a daze.

The Cheng family couple who were extremely happy gave the doctor a whole lot of money. Although the money was enough for them to live for a month, they still felt very happy to spend it.After the neighbors heard about this incident, they came to congratulate her one after another. For a while, before the baby was born, the house was as lively as if the baby had already been born.

Twins are very rare. If a family has such children, it means that they are very lucky.Wen Po, who only came here when she was about to give birth, came to live here in advance. She said that it was 20 years ago that she delivered twins last time. The Cheng family's family naturally welcomed them, and greeted them with delicious food and drinks. They were waiting for Jasmine to give birth in a few days.

After waking up this morning, the family was busy when the door was suddenly knocked violently.

Qiaoqiao was making breakfast in the kitchen, she frowned, the sky was not bright yet, where people were so rude.When she put down the water ladle and was about to open the door, Cheng Daman, who was gathering firewood outside, walked over first.

"Who is here, come here, stop knocking."

As soon as the door opened, people from outside rushed in and staggered a few times before standing still.

"You..." Cheng Daman was about to scold him angrily, but when he found out that the person who came was the third younger sibling Wu, he could only suppress his anger and asked in a low voice, "What's the matter, come here early in the morning."

"Go and save your brother. He owes someone's gambling debts. Someone came to his door and is making a fuss at home." Mrs. Wu raised her head high and said in a cold tone with a bit of contempt.

Qiaoqiao came behind Cheng Daman, listening and watching in silence.

"What? What's going on?" Cheng Daman was really anxious, and asked two steps forward.

Wu sneered a few times: "It's not once or twice, I'm used to it, but this time it's more serious, you can go there with some money and see if it can save his life?"

"You, you mother-in-law, why do you talk like that, he is your husband?" Cheng Daman roared angrily.

Wu turned around and walked out: "Anyway, I informed you, you can go if you like, if it's just about him alone, even if he is hacked to death, I don't care, but there are two children, there is nothing I can do. I asked other people to notify Cheng Dazhu, you should rush over there too, remember to bring more money."

Everyone in the family was startled and stood at the door.Seeing that Cheng Daman's hands were tightly squeezed, Ning sighed, walked quickly back to the house, and took out three taels of silver plus two slings of money from the cloth bag.

"Here, hurry up, our family has to live, and Jasmine is about to have a baby again, so I can only help so much."

"I..." Cheng Daman looked at Ning with some guilt.

"Go, we husband and wife, don't need to be like this. I'm here waiting for your news. Don't do anything stupid impulsively. You have to know that you are the backbone of our big family. Without you, We can't make it through."

"I know, don't worry." Cheng Daman nodded vigorously, and strode out.

"Zhigao, follow your father, don't get close, just watch him from a distance, in case something happens, don't let him do something stupid, please persuade him." Ning said to the person who came out said the eldest son.

"Okay, mother, I'll go now."

"Brother, mother, go and see sister-in-law." Qiaoqiao looked at the door of the eldest brother's house, and suddenly saw that sister-in-law seemed to be holding her stomach in pain.

When the two of them saw it, their expressions immediately changed, and they hurried over: "What's the matter, this is? Isn't it time to give birth?"

"It's okay, it just hurts a little." Sweat trickled down Jasmine's face, and her hands shook accordingly.

Ning's eyes were red with anxiety, and the steady lady also hurried over to check and inquire.

"Mother, you and brother are here, I'll go." Qiaoqiao knew that her father was a very simple and honest person. Although she had never experienced those debt-forcing incidents, she had seen them on TV anyway. She didn't trust her father at all. If he was impulsive and directly took over everything for that third uncle Cheng Dagui, then wouldn't his family suffer a catastrophe in the future.

"You, you are a girl, hey, your little brother just went out again, what should I do?"

"Mother, don't worry, I will hide in the distance and watch secretly, and I will make sure to bring Daddy back safely. You take good care of my sister-in-law." After Qiaoqiao finished speaking, she shook Mother's hand hard, and then ran out.

The roads in the countryside are very simple, and there are few houses. Although Cheng Daman walked far away, Qiaoqiao can still see his back. Along that road, Qiaoqiao ran forward with all her strength.

Cheng Daman ran very fast, Qiaoqiao followed to the end, almost couldn't keep up, his throat felt like he was choking on hot pepper water, and his legs were so sore that he couldn't pull it out, but when he thought of his father Wan who was angry As soon as she did something stupid, she continued to force herself to move forward.

After Cheng Daman turned into a yard, Qiaoqiao breathed a sigh of relief.

Originally, she planned to quietly hide in the distance to check, but when she saw that the place was already surrounded by neighbors, she just walked over and got to the front.

Cheng Dazhu has also come here, and is discussing something with those people in the room. The door of the main room is ajar, and many people are just looking at it, not daring to really go to see it, after all, they are still afraid of those with swords A very aggressive looking person.

There were quite a few people asking for debts, there were four in the yard alone, and there were probably at least seven or eight people in the house, Qiaoqiao was a little panicked, afraid of what to do if something happened.

The voice in the room was so low that she could hardly hear it. Standing there, Qiaoqiao soon began to feel stuffy. There were too many people around her, all of whom were taller than her, and they crowded around her tightly, making her unable to breathe. Angry, she was very anxious, she turned to the side, and saw those people talking with her uncle and father through the crack of the door, the words should be quite harmonious, because the person didn't show any anger expression.

"Close the door." A man in the room suddenly yelled, shocking everyone, and then the man standing in the yard said to the spectators with a straight face, "Let's go, everyone, hurry up!" point."

The people behind all walked away sparsely, and they all looked at Qiaoqiao. She pursed her lips, but in desperation, she had to go out with her. After going out, she quickly walked over to the wall next to her. As soon as I arrived, I saw a few children moving stones over.

"Don't make a sound, just be obedient if you want to see it." One of the boys glared at Qiaoqiao, and quickly jumped onto the stone, just reaching the edge of the wall.

Qiaoqiao looked around, there were houses and trees nearby, even if the people inside came out, she could quickly hide in other places.Moreover, many children have moved stones from other places and want to continue watching.Even a few grown-ups followed along to visit evasively.

She crawled to the little boy's side, and managed to stand on tiptoe but couldn't see what was going on inside. She tugged at the boy's clothes: "Did you see it?"

"Don't talk." The boy continued to stare at her.

Qiaoqiao is too short, she can't see it, she can only listen quietly, there is no movement from inside, her heart is jumping, the boy suddenly squats down: "Someone, squat down."

Crash, dozens of people standing outside squatted down, Qiaoqiao hugged their knees, terribly worried.

"Ah..." Suddenly, there was a heart-piercing cry from the house, which made everyone who heard it tremble. A few timid children turned their mouths, jumped off the stone and headed home run.

Qiaoqiao only felt a buzz in her head, and she swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, her feet were trembling and she couldn't jump down.

"Let's go, it's scary." The boy jumped down, seeing how pitiful Qiaoqiao was, he gave her a hand and dragged her to a corner of the house to hide.

"This Cheng Dagui is often beaten. Sometimes it is worse than this. We often see it. If no one comes to ask for debts for a few months, people in our village are not used to it." The boy wiped his nose. , said in a show-off manner.

Qiaoqiao raised her ears and continued to listen. After that miserable howl, there was nothing, the sound of fighting and cursing, nothing at all, and she entered a silence again.

She could tell that the sound didn't come from her father, so she didn't rush in, she squatted in the corner and continued to listen, Qiaoqiao smiled wryly, even if she heard it was her father, so what if she rushed out.

After staying quietly for a while, the wooden door of Cheng Dagui's house was opened from the inside, and there was a commotion, and the debtors inside came out. There were eight people in total, and the person walking in the front bumped his purse in his hand and turned his head. He also said a cruel sentence: "If you dare to default on the payment next time, it will not be such a small punishment as today."

Before these people could go far away, Qiaoqiao suddenly ran in.

(End of this chapter)