Grandpa thought that Luo Buzhai's words were credible, not to mention that his father's words were probably due to his own realization of the abnormality of his body. Many people actually know that their end is approaching before they die. Most of them will say to their loved ones before the deadline: "I know I can't do it anymore." ”

Grandpa heard this feeling from his father's words.

So, less than seven days after his grandfather returned from his travels, he took the initiative to take the bride price to the girl's house wearing a blood-colored jade bracelet to propose marriage.

The girl lived in a place called Meixi Bridge near Dongting Lake, which was the most prosperous market in the whole county, where snacks to eat, clothes to wear, furniture to live in, and carriages and horses could be bought. The girl's father was in charge of half of the market, so the family was very well-off.

But some strange things often happened to Meixi Bridge, and gradually, people called Meixi Bridge the Lost Bridge. In the local dialect, Meixi Bridge and Lost Bridge are pronounced almost identically. A poetic name becomes a cold-sounding name.

The girl's blood-stained jade bracelet is one of the most well-known anecdotes.

But Grandpa is not worried at all, he is no longer the fledgling scholar he used to be, and there is a well-informed Abba Xu Luo Buzhai by his side, coupled with the smart and clever bamboo slipper, he has no taboo against that girl.

The girl's surname was Xie, and she had no name. Her parents are very traditional, so they have to follow the ancient practice of "waiting for the word boudoir" and waiting for her to marry someone before letting her husband's family name it.

When Grandpa went to see Miss Xie, Luo Buzhai and Zhu Liuzi followed, and there were also a few servants who carried the bride price.

The Xie family's parents happily received Grandpa and others, let the servants drink tea and eat peanuts in the hall, and then led Grandpa to Miss Xie's boudoir to meet.

As soon as Grandpa took a step, the bamboo slipper jumped to Grandpa's feet, as if he wanted to hold Grandpa's feet and prevent him from following the Xie family to the back.

When the father of the Xie family saw the bamboo slipper, he frowned and said, "Where did the mouse come from?" I have more than 30 cats at home, are they all decorations? ”

Grandpa knew that the Xie family had many cats, and they were all masters of catching mice. This Xie family is not very fond of cats, but his family is in charge of the goods of the Lost Bridge Market, and there are many grains and dry goods in the goods, which are loved by mice, so they have to raise many cats. There was once a person who advised his family not to raise so many cats, because cats are night spirits, and they have a heavy yin qi, and raising too much is not good for the owner. Later, when Miss Xie was young, she was scratched by cats many times.

But the Xie family can't help but have cats.

An old servant of the Xie family immediately walked out of the side door, bowed to the father of the Xie family and said, "Master, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let the rats in." This is my rerequiretion. ”

Dad hurriedly said: "This is not an ordinary mouse, it is a pet I brought from Sichuan." It doesn't bite anything. ”

The father of the Xie family was a little displeased, glanced at his grandfather, and said, "Seeing that you are polite and polite, and you have passed the Xiucai exam, how can you play with such a disgusting pet?" ”

At that time, people generally liked common pets, there were cats, dogs, elegant birds, rich horses, trade feng shui fish, hunting falcons, and no one would raise rats. So my father understood the Xie family's father's displeasure very well.

Luo Buzhai saw that the bamboo slip behaved abnormally, so he threw away the peanuts in his hand, walked to his father's side, and said: "I raised this bamboo slip to play, I will go to the back with you, as long as I am next to it, this bamboo slip will not run around." ”

Grandpa also sensed the abnormality of the bamboo slip. If there are outsiders, the bamboo slippers generally won't show up rashly. It hides in rat holes in corners or perches on beams. Although the time spent between Grandpa and Zhu Laozi is far less than that of Luo Buzhai, the degree of familiarity between them is far greater than when Luo Buzhai was still Abba Xu.

Regarding the difference, Grandpa thinks that it is because he regards Zhu Yuzi as a friend, while Luo Buzhai used to only regard it as a puppet. An emotional relationship is always better than an employment relationship.

So, the father of the Xie family took his father, Luo Buzhai and Zhu Yuzi to the back together. Behind it is a "Hui" shaped building. It is surrounded by small chambers, and in the middle of the word "Hui" is a patio. A patio is not a well, but is used to store water and drain water. In those days, if a family could have a patio, it meant that the family's life was quite nourishing. Because ordinary people can't afford to build so many houses. Of course, there are several families that share a patio, so that's a different story.

Grandpa thought Miss Xie's room was here. But the Xie family's father didn't stop, and continued to walk forward, passing through a small corridor. There is actually a "Hui" shaped building in the back, and there is a patio of the same size in the middle.

If you can have two patios, you can call it a big family.

Luo Buzhai whispered to his father: "These houses are enough for more than a dozen families in our radish village." ”

Grandpa deliberately walked slower, separated from the Xie family's father for some distance, and laughed quietly: "You don't know, if you make two patios, there will be more than a dozen families living here." However, these dozen or so households are all the concubines of the old man. It's a pity that the descendants of the Xie family are thin, and they only have one daughter. ”

Luo Buzhai's eyes rolled slightly, and he said, "Do you feel it, the yin qi in this house is very heavy, and it doesn't look like a place to live for a long time." ”

At this time, the sun was in the sky, and the sunlight hit the patio and also shone into the corridor. Before entering Xie's house, Grandpa and Luo Buzhai were so hot that their foreheads were sweating, and the servants who picked the bride price were even sweating their clothes, and a layer of white sweat salt even precipitated from the position of the shoulder blades. In fact, the bride price chosen by the servants was not heavy, but mostly silk, cloth, red and white sugar, chairs and other symbolic things. At that time, the transportation was inconvenient, and it would be too stupid to walk such a long distance by manpower to carry heavy objects. The heavy loads had already been towed by car.

In such a hot weather, it is as cool as walking into the backyard of the Xie family as if walking into the bottom of a well, which is difficult not to make people suspicious. Daddy couldn't help but shiver.

After passing through the two patios, the father of the Xie family was still not Ting, and continued to walk back along the small corridor to the third patio. At this time, my father couldn't help but sigh that the Xie family was rich. But at this time, my father was a little more worried. Those big families fought for this girl before, wouldn't it be to share the family property? If it's for money, then Miss Xie may not be as good-looking as the legend.

In the past, my father heard a lot about the ugly lady of a big family cheating on marriage. When the man sent someone to see the man, the big family found a beautiful maid to sit in the room, which made people mistakenly think that this young lady was very beautiful. On the day of the wedding and carrying the sedan chair, the maid still sat in the sedan chair, and the lady pretended to be a maidservant, and the two changed when they waited for the cave room. When I saw it the next day, it was another person sleeping next to me, and it was too late to regret it.

Similarly, rich sons will use similar methods to deceive the young ladies of large families, using handsome subordinates to pretend to meet, and stealing beams and pillars on the wedding night. The weak daughter saw that the wood was already in the boat, so she recognized it. The fierce daughter may immediately use silk to hang the beam.

In the south wing of the third patio, Grandpa finally met the girl Xie who was wearing a blood-colored jade bracelet.

"Grandma!" As soon as Luo Buzhai saw the girl whose face was as white as paper, he couldn't help but exclaim.

When Miss Xie saw Luo Buzhai calling her a grandmother, her expression was stunned for a moment, then she eased up, deliberately touched her face with her hand, and smiled: "Do I look so old?" ”

Luo Buzhai knew that he was speechless, and hurriedly said: "No, no, I was very surprised to see the girl look so beautiful, and I unconsciously said something to sigh." He bent over and did more politely than his father.

When Miss Xie heard the compliment, she couldn't help but show joy.

Her father laughed and said, "Of course, my daughter is a national beauty!" You don't know how many good men break their heads and want to squeeze in my door. It's a pity that she can't look at any of them. After the Duduma Grain Officer reported your name, she agreed. You are the youngest talent in our county, if it weren't for the cancellation of the imperial examination, you would definitely be the Wenqu star of the high school emperor's list! Talented men and women, only you can be worthy of my daughter! Her father's fat face was shiny with a smile. There were a few pieces of transparent glazed tiles on the roof, and the sunlight shone directly through there, hitting his face, making the oil shine even more shiny, making people tired to look at.

Grandpa naturally understood the reason why Luo Buzhai couldn't help but call out "grandma", and immediately understood why Zhu Liuzi jumped on his feet and didn't let him go when he was in the hall.

However, seeing that the father of the Xie family was beside him, his father was not easy to pick out the words, so he had to pretend to greet Miss Xie mildly and ask Miss Xie about her birthday.

Asking about the birth date is also a more important thing before getting married. Only asked back the girl's birthday, and when I went home, I asked the fortune teller to cooperate with my own eight-character calculation. If they are matched, they can continue to get married later. If they are not worthy or even restrained, often the marriage is canceled.

Miss Xie said: "I was born at noon on the seventh day of the first month of the Gengwu year. ”

Grandpa immediately retorted: "Geng Wu Nian? It will be a few more years before Gengwu year. Haven't you been born yet? ”

Miss Xie said in a panic: "How could it be that it hasn't arrived yet!" It's long overdue! ”

Grandpa said: "Sixty years of reincarnation, if it has passed earlier, are you now in your fifties?" ”

The father of the Xie family on the side hurriedly interrupted: "She is not in the year of Gengwu, she was born in the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu, the year of Gengzi in the lunar calendar, and it is not at noon on the seventh day of the lunar month." Then, the father of the Xie family reported the month, date and hour of his daughter's birth.

The father of the Xie family glared at Miss Xie and reproached: "Marriage is not a child's play. The birthday report is wrong, in case the eight characters do not match, this marriage contract will be canceled! ”

Miss Xie glanced at her grandfather and said coquettishly to her father: "I thought Ma Xiucai was just a weak scholar who didn't understand the world, was dull and decadent......"

Grandpa immediately understood that Miss Xie was afraid that her true nature would be revealed, so she rejected other sons and chose to be a dull scholar.

The so-called useless is a scholar. Only a scholar can deceive her. If you can't be deceived, scholars are also the most likely to be compassionate.