Chapter 20: The Ugly Ger’s Farming Story

Chen Qi turned abruptly and indeed saw his younger brother with his head bowed, his voice sounding off.

Dropping the hoe from his hand, Chen Qi walked quickly to Chen Hong’s side and lifted his brother’s head, only to gaze into a pair of teary eyes.

“Why are you crying?!”

Chen Qi was about to wipe away Chen Hong’s tears when he noticed his hands covered in mud from repairing the hoe. He suddenly felt at a loss, saying, “Don’t cry! Don’t cry! It’s big brother’s fault. Our younger brother is so good, you’ll definitely find the best match!”

Chen Hong wanted to smile at his caring brother, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t curve his lips upwards. His mind was filled with the matter of Li Changfeng’s arranged marriage, and tears uncontrollably streamed down his face.

“Brother… I’m, I’m fine…”

Chen Hong spoke while crying, unable to stop…

Chen Qi felt a wave of discomfort in his heart, cursing himself inwardly: It’s all his fault for being too talkative!

“Oh no, what happened?! Step aside. Come on, little brother, tell your brother-in-law what’s going on? Did your big brother bully you?!”

Chen Qi’s wife, who had just returned home after fetching pigweed, saw Chen Hong sobbing in their yard, while his husband stood there in a daze.

If he didn’t comfort Chen Hong, that would be one thing, but not even wiping away his tears? Chen Qi’s wife thought angrily, pushing Chen Qi aside.

When Chen Qi’s wife married Chen Qi, Chen Hong was only seven or eight years old. Over the years, since he hadn’t conceived any children himself, he had treated Chen Hong, who was well-behaved and sensible, as his own child. Now, seeing Chen Hong, who usually had a radiant face, crying like a tearful person, it was hard for Chen Qi’s wife to bear in his heart.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Nothing, brother, it’s me. I don’t know why, but I started crying! It has nothing to do with you!”

Chen Hong held Chen Qi’s wife’s hand, vouching for Chen Qi’s innocence. Chen Qi’s wife glared at Chen Qi who had a face full of guilt, then pulled the still-sniffling Chen Hong into his room.

Just by looking at Chen Qi’s appearance, one could tell that there must be a reason for his younger brother’s tears.

Chen Qi felt very uncomfortable in his heart too. He had just spoken without thinking, and now…! He picked up the embroidery basket that Chen Hong had dropped on the ground when he left, dusted off the dirt, and placed it in the main hall. After some thought, Chen Qi tiptoed and leaned against the wall of the main hall, wanting to listen to any sounds inside.

“What are you doing?! Get out! Get out! Don’t you find it chaotic enough?!”

As soon as Chen Qi’s wife opened the door, he saw Chen Qi eavesdropping.

“Uh, well, is our younger brother still crying? Apologize to him for me. I… I’ll go to the field now…”

Watching Chen Qi fumble his way out of the main hall, Chen Qi’s wife helplessly closed the door.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing had finished feeding the piglet and went to the riverside with a wooden bucket. This time, he was using the spiritual spring water to lure the fish. After all, he had bought some herbal medicine from the medicine shop, so it would be beneficial to eat more fish that had consumed the spiritual spring water. He had caught six this time!

As he returned home with the fish, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Without thinking, Xu Qing placed the bucket not far from the well and went to open the gate.

“Oh!”

Xu Qing was startled by what Xie Ama was holding up in front of him.

“You, child, didn’t bring the medicine!”

Seeing Xu Qing patting his chest, Xie Ama grinned and said, “Scared you, huh? Hahaha!”

Xu Qing rolled his eyes inwardly. Who wouldn’t be startled by something suddenly appearing in front of them? But after spending these days in this timeline, he had gotten used to it, and his alertness had decreased significantly!

“Oh, Xie Ama, don’t rush to leave. Come in quickly. I just caught a few fish! Take some back with you!” Xu Qing said to Xie Ama, who was about to leave shortly after arriving at the door.

Upon hearing this, Xie Ama swiftly turned around and followed Xu Qing inside the courtyard.

“I have to say, after eating the fish you made the other day, I wanted to try making it myself, but I kept forgetting to go catch some! Your Uncle Xie is the same. If I don’t catch them, he acts as if he doesn’t even know!” Xie Ama smiled as he looked at the lively fish wriggling in the bucket. He felt contented in his heart. This was meat!

“As long as you follow my instructions, it will surely taste good. Remember to sprinkle some of the Sichuan peppercorn powder I gave you. Oh, and if you have any wine at home, you can add a little. Not too much, just to remove the fishy smell!” Xu Qing thought about the lunch he had at Xie Ama’s house earlier, where Uncle Xie mentioned that he enjoyed drinking a small amount. Xu Qing realized that he had forgotten that alcohol was also good for removing the fishy smell. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any at home. However, he could make his own!

Xu Qing’s eyes gleamed with excitement. This was a business opportunity!

“Alright, alright. I’ll have Uncle Xie obediently bring out his hidden treasure!”

Xie Ama didn’t like the smell of alcohol, but unfortunately, Uncle Xie had a taste for it. Helpless, Uncle Xie kept the alcohol in a place he knew, so as not to bother Xie Ama’s sight. He only drank occasionally.

“Is Brother Qing at home?”

Just as Xie Ama and Xu Qing were chatting cheerfully, a sugary male voice echoed in the courtyard, abruptly silencing their conversation.

Since the courtyard gate wasn’t closed when Xie Ama entered, it could be pushed open easily.

“I’m here. Who is it?”

Xu Qing wiped the chicken skin that was stimulated by the voice on his arm. He heard, “Is Brother Qing at home?”

Xie Ama felt that the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t recall who it was.

The person outside the courtyard gate heard Xu Qing’s response and gently pushed open the gate. Xu Qing then saw a small mountain! Ahem, I mean, a person who resembled a small mountain.

Xie Ama squinted his eyes as he looked at the person who weighed over 200 pounds at the courtyard gate.

The person who resembled a small mountain was Huang Ama. He dug out a large handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the sweat dripping from his face, and then carefully squeezed his large body into Xu Qing’s courtyard.

“Hey, isn’t this Xie Ama from the village? Are you also here for a chat?” Huang Ama, with his large body, approached Xu Qing and Xie Ama. The sound of Xu Qing’s goosebumps standing up could be heard as Huang Ama greeted Xie Ama with a playful expression on his face.

“I was wondering who had such a ‘captivating’ voice calling Brother Qing. So it turns out to be Huang Ama. Why are you here instead of matchmaking unmarried couples? Why did you come to my nephew’s house?!” Xie Ama’s words immediately woke up the dazed Xu Qing. So this person was a matchmaker!

“Just look at what you’re saying. I came here to play matchmaker!” Huang Ama’s small eyes, almost disappearing into his flesh, quickly surveyed Xu Qing’s courtyard. They gleamed with greed because, you see, if he successfully arranged the marriage for the ugly ger, he would receive double the usual red envelope!

“Heh, you’ve come to the wrong place! It’s getting late, and Brother Qing won’t offer you a seat to stay. Go and attend to your own business!” Xie Ama said with a dismissive tone.

Xie Ama gave Xu Qing a reassuring look and began to show Huang Ama the way out! This Huang Ama was someone who saw money in everything. As long as the red envelope money was enough, he would do anything, even match an unmarried ger with a widow! He had no conscience! Xie Ama wouldn’t give him a good face to see!

Upon hearing Xie Ama’s veiled words, Xu Qing also understood. This person had come to propose marriage! It made sense since Xu Qing, as a young ger without elders to make decisions for him, marrying him would mean bringing along a large piece of land.

Usually, when a man proposes to a ger, it is kept secret. So only Xie Ama’s family and Liu’s family, who knew about Xu Qing’s engagement with Li Changfeng, were aware of the matter. Others would only find out about Xu Qing’s identity after the wedding.

When a man proposes to a ger, he invites a matchmaker to the ger’s house. With a silver tongue, the matchmaker tries to arrange the match. If successful, the man’s family will give the matchmaker a red envelope. If unsuccessful, they still need to pay for the travel expenses.

“Hey hey hey! Why are you chasing me away? Ah? More fish?! Brother Qing, why are you still eating this?” Huang Ama felt uncomfortable. He hadn’t finished speaking yet! How could they chase him away like this? How could he arrange a match if he was driven out?

In the struggle between Xie Ama and Huang Ama, they accidentally kicked the wooden barrel containing the fish, causing it to topple over, spilling water and the fish jumping around.

Xu Qing told Xie Ama not to touch it, as the fish would make his hands smell fishy. He filled the barrel with water again and carefully caught the jumping fish one by one, placing them back in the barrel. He replied irritably to Huang Ama’s words, “Why can’t we eat it?!”

If it weren’t for Xie Ama preventing him from interrupting, he would have kicked out this matchmaker long ago. But he also understood Xie Ama’s intention. This Huang Ama was clearly a petty person. As the saying goes, it’s better to offend a gentleman than to offend a petty person!

Huang Ama’s small eyes lit up. “You see, with just one person living alone, it’s not a good life without getting married. I have some good news to tell you! The Sun family in the village invited me to arrange a marriage proposal for their second son with you!”

After speaking, he had a face full of anticipation, waiting for Xu Qing’s surprised response. He expected Xu Qing to be grateful, as it would be considered a success if they could marry off this “ugly ger.” Otherwise, it would be an arranged marriage by the officials! However, Huang Ama squinted his eyes, puzzled, as he didn’t receive the grateful words he had imagined from Xu Qing. He looked at Xu Qing with suspicion.

To his surprise, Xu Qing was busy picking thorns from the fish with a piece of grass.

“Well, the Sun family is an honest and decent family. Marrying into their family would be much better than your days of eating thorny fish!”

Xu Qing deftly used a grass rope to tie up the three larger fish. These were to be taken back by Xie Ama!

“Tell the Sun family that I, Xu Qing, make my own decisions. They don’t need to worry about me not having enough to eat. I’ll find my own husband. Thank them for their concern. Huang Ama, it’s getting late, and it seems like you’re busy too! I won’t see you off. Goodbye!”

Polite yet firm, Xu Qing “courteously” ushered the incessantly chattering Huang Ama out of the gate, then closed and secured the gate with a resounding thud, just as Huang Ama was still trying to reenter.

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