Song Xi is getting married.

Assi put down the bamboo basket in his hand and looked up into the distance. In the distance, wisps of wind blew in the open sky, and the clouds moved slowly. The fiery red sunset faded away, and the afterglow of the sunset churned several colors on the clouds, becoming heavier and heavier gray-white, mixed with large patches of rose gold, and then into rose purple, and slowly turning into crimson, the slightest crimson like the pointed color of a flower bone that had just poked its head out, and these colors were all beautiful. But the darkness came so fast that in a moment all that was left in sight was the faint gray of the blue sky and the horizon.

The twilight was heavy.

In the village, the men who have been farming for a day carry shovels and hoes, lead oxen and push plows, and walk from the fields to the village in pairs. At the head of the village was a solitary courtyard, which, unlike the other houses made of earth or stone, exposed uneven wood and grass velvet roofs. The men passing by paused in front of the gate of this courtyard, and subconsciously looked at the courtyard, the courtyard door was closed, there was no trace of the figure, the men looked at each other, shook their heads and said hello to each other.

Ahem, ahem, ahem.

Abba began to cough again, and his lungs were thicker than ordinary people by smoking hookah all year round, and whether it was coughing or breathing, it always made the listener breathe, as if he could exhale the stone pressing on his chest.

Assi was shocked to realize that he had stood unconsciously for a long time. She turned from side to side, as if she didn't know what to do, her eyes fell on the thatched roof on the other side, and she hurriedly walked in, scooped out a bowl of water from the pot and brought it into the house.

"Abba, drink water." Assi put the water on the table. The old table was black and greasy, and the four legs were thin and sturdy, as if they could not support it and would fall apart if they tried hard, but it did support it for another year.

It's been a year since Grandma died.

Now Abba is dying.

"Assi." Abba Song coughed and beckoned to Ah Xi, he supported half of his body, and Ah Xi quickly knelt on the kang and put a pillow behind him.

"Abba knows, I have wronged you. Ahem. Abba Song patted the back of Axi's hand, Axi originally knelt on the edge of the kang, but changed to kneeling to sitting, bowing his head and not speaking.

"Since the death of your grandma, our family's life is getting worse day by day, it's Abba who is useless, who hasn't taken good care of your sisters and brothers, and Abba is sorry for you." The old man's thin face had deep eye sockets, his eyes were blue, and his coughing all day and night made him not rest enough, and his body was not good.

"Abba, I know it all, I don't blame you." Assi bowed his head and replied sullenly.

The girl's voice was originally crisp and clean, but when she spoke at this time, she was full of melancholy and helplessness.

Not to blame. It's really not weird.

Assi convinced himself.

From that day when Mrs. Chai carried snacks and tea into the house, took her hand and looked her up and down and said that she was really handsome, and when Abba saw this and instructed herself to go outside the house to boil water, she knew that Abba was going to marry herself.

“…… Although there are some people who are a little inappropriate, but he, Abba, you see, there will be endless wealth in the second half of his life after marrying a big family......"

“…… Your kid will be fifteen years old for the New Year, and in such a situation at home, whose daughter is willing to marry......"

“…… People are waiting for news, he's Abba, you can give me a word of approval......"

“…… Or if you think about it one more day, I'll come back tomorrow......"

Chai Pozi's words were intermittent, Abba has not been silent, Assi knows, at this time Abba must be frowning and smoking hookah, thinking about Chai Pozi's words in a complicated and tangled way.

The weather was also very good that day, the sun was so bright in the sky, and there was not a single cloud. But there was no heat around, and the whole body was as cold as if it was soaking in the river, as if it was sinking a little deep in the river, and the mouth and nose were covered by water, and it was a little suffocating.

Chai Pozi came out of the house, and saw Axi sitting stupidly on a wooden stake, a pair of eyes misty on her delicate white face, coarse cloth clothes could not cover the slender and compact body below, fifteen-year-old breasts have been revealed, waist and hips are round, at first glance it is the body of a son, and the appearance is so lovely, no wonder even the old man has taken a fancy to him, and he must marry his family back as a daughter-in-law. But the situation of the third young master, alas, I don't know if this girl is really blessed or falsely blessed.

"Asi," Abba coughed as he leaned against the door frame, "you deliver Aunt Chai on my behalf." ”

"He, Abba, come into the house and rest, and Assi will walk two steps with me." Chai Pozi looked at Assi with a smile, and Axi came back to his senses and stood up and followed behind.

"Axi, my aunt will tell you something from the bottom of my heart, marry a man and marry a man, dress and eat. You don't look at anything else, it depends on the situation of your family, your father will ask for money for medical treatment, and your brother will ask for money to marry a wife and have children in the future, but your family even sold the old house in order to treat your grandma, how much money is left now? You don't think about it for your Abba and Brother, you have to think about it for yourself, if you miss this village, can there be a better store than this? Chai Pozi sighed bitterly, seeing that Axi still lowered her head, she didn't even blush, and the white piece was straight to her neck, and she sighed and waved her hand: "You go back, don't send it, think about your aunt's words." ”

Axi knew who Chai Pozi was matchmaking.

That Master Xu has seen it himself. The Song family used to rent the land of Master Xu's house, but later Grandma fell ill and almost went bankrupt in order to treat Grandma, but the medicine stone was invalid and Grandma died. After Master Xu found out, he also exempted half of her family's rent, but after Grandma died, Abba's body also collapsed, and Abba didn't go to school to go home to help farm, after all, Abba was young, and with himself, he couldn't plant so much, so Abba decided to quit the rent.

During the autumn harvest last year, Master Xu came to Lishui Village with a group of slaves, and Abba told Master Xu at that time that he wanted to return the rent. Axi especially remembered that Master Xu looked at him, cool and cool, his expression seemed to be smiling, and his triangular eyes were shining: "Song Sheng did something ...... this."

He deliberately hesitated, and Abba hurriedly kowtowed and explained: "Master Xu, my body is useless, and there are only a pair of children in the family, there is really no way to plant those lands, and I can't let the land be wasted." You're a lot of adults, a lot of adults. ”

"Oh, I heard that Song Sheng's inner man died of illness?" Ah Xi felt that Master Xu's eyes were like a cold snake, wrapped around him, and he would spit out the core and open his mouth to bite him at any time.

Abba kowtowed and said yes, it's been four months.

"Hmm. If you don't rent, you won't rent, but Abba Song has to think about how to earn a living if you don't rent land. After saying that, Master Xu whispered a few words to the people around him, the man nodded, and then looked at Axi's gaze became much more ambiguous. Master Xu has five concubines, and this girl's appearance and figure may be climbing the high branches.

After Master Xu left, the man came to his house and said that Master Xu only collected half of the rent and returned the remaining buds.

Half of those buds were sold for money, and they were used to get medicine for Abba, cotton clothes for Abba and Brother, and half of them were ground and stored for winter food, otherwise, the whole family would not be able to resist last winter.

Axi said that it was impossible not to be grateful, but that gratitude became small and weak when he met Master Xu's cool and greasy snake-like gaze with a core.

Everyone in the village knew that the Song family had been exempted from half of the rent, and the men and women in the village looked at them with a lot of rich eyes, sympathy, envy, jealousy, and disdain.

Ah Xi has been panicking, is it really like the women in the village chattering, he wants to be a concubine for Master Xu?

Abba just frowned when he heard the rumors, and smoked a hookah without saying a word. It's like when Mrs. Chai came to the house to talk about matchmaking that day.

"Abba, I'll marry. I do. Assi looked at Abba's hands, which were once muscular and powerful, and were now shriveled and thin, with skin hanging on bones and wrinkled.

Abba has been sick for almost a year. From the slight cough at the beginning to the cough that has been coughing all day and all night, there are blood streaks in the sputum. But even so, Abba still smokes shisha. Click, click, goo.

Abba Song closed his eyes: "Ah Xi, Master Xu's family is rich, although the third young master is a little stupid, but he used to be very smart, he passed the Tongsheng exam at a young age, if he hadn't burned his brain, maybe he would be a talent now." Ah Xi, you married the third young grandmother, you eat well and dress warmly, if the third young master's illness can be cured......" Abba Song shook his hands and mouth, and couldn't go on.

If it could have been cured, it would have been cured a few years earlier. The Xu family's financial and human resources have not been cured, and it is estimated that they will not be cured again.

Asi's eyes were wet: "Abba, I know everything." It's good that I'm married, and I'll never worry about food or clothing in the future. Grandma can also rest assured. Abba, can I use the dowry given by their family? ”

Abba Song felt sad, his daughter was well-behaved and smart, and her aunt taught her very well, but the disaster was not a one-way street, her aunt went, and she was going to go. It's coming, and a pair of children don't have a good home, and they are really unwilling. But what if you are unwilling, the family is poor, the daughter has no dowry, and the son has no dowry. Originally, I thought that Master Xu wanted to take a concubine when he fell in love with Axi, but he didn't expect that it was for his third son's daughter-in-law, and it was much better to be a young grandmother than an aunt, and Axi's life was better. Axi is simple, I don't know if I can cope with the twists and turns of the deep house compound, but she is actually in the hands of Master Xu, and there is a father-in-law who is facing Axi, and Axi's life will be better. Father Xu thought about it for a long time and agreed to Chai Pozi's matchmaking, and the next day Chai Pozi brought five taels of silver, as well as tea snacks and wine wrapped in red paper and a whole slaughtered sheep as a four-color dowry.

Although Assi also agreed, but after thinking about it, he was really sorry for his daughter. It is said that the third young master still wets the bed when he sleeps, drools when he talks, and smirks when he sees people, and he doesn't know if he can do anything. How bitter it is for Assi to marry such a person.

But no matter how hard it is, you have to marry. This is the best way for the family that Assi can think of, she got married, and left the dowry money for Adi to repair the house and marry his daughter-in-law, support him to live a good life, the Xu family has a lot of money, and she can help her mother's family. Abba can continue to take medicine, and Abba can continue to go to school.

At this time, Assi said that she had the dowry at her disposal, and Abba Song felt that she owed her daughter, so she should take more money to buy a dowry, and she should not be looked down upon by her in-laws after marrying. He handed the burden of silver to Assi:

"This is the Xu family's dowry money of five taels of silver. If they are willing to spend that little money, it proves that they still value you. Abba Song reached out and took out a small box: "Axi, this is what your mother left for you, saying that she will give you a dowry when you get married, and tell me not to take it away." ”

Assi took it and opened the box.

In the days when I was so poor and miserable, when my grandmother had no money to buy medicine, when I sold my ancestral house and moved to the village, and when my family had a meal but didn't have a meal, this hairpin Abba actually kept it and didn't take it away.

In the box, there is a golden hairpin in the shape of a tulip flower, the hairpin is finely made, the six petals are slightly curled and the shapes are different, the flower center is carved vividly, and the fine lines and veins of the petals are clear. The only drawback is that the years have been a little long, and the surface of the gold is slightly dull. But under the light of the kerosene lamp, the dim gold still reflected a shallow light.

"Abba!" Assi looked up in shock, "Where did this grandma come from?" How come I've never seen one? ”

Abba Song looked a little guilty and a little proud, and just as he was about to speak, he heard heavy footsteps in the yard.