He Cuiâerâs family is poor, and her mother dotes on her son, unwilling to let him fulfill the labor duties, so she wants He Cuiâer to quickly get attached to Gu Dayaâs house, and then deduct money from the Gu Dayaâs house to pay off her sonâs labor duties with silver coins.
"I understand." He Cuiâer, dissatisfied, pushed away the daughter of her Brother Er and went into her own room, thinking about how to win over Qi Kangping.
...
Gu Jinliâs family was unaware of the He familyâs intentions, and they were joyfully preparing for the festival.
Third Grandma made two types of rice dumplings with sticky rice, and that eveningâs dinner consisted of meat dumplings and sweet dumplings.
Gu Jinli loves meat, he ate three meat dumplings and after a bowl of wild hawthorn tea, he blissfully went to sleep.
The next morning, they put on the Five Poison Pouches made by Gu Jinxiu.
When noon came, Third Grandma took them to the yard, and lined them up.
Third Grandma dipped lemongrass in realgar water and splashed it on them saying, "After the noon water, disaster is averted and evil is expelled, ensuring a stable summer."
While splashing the noon water, Third Grandma kept reciting the words to ward off the five poisons.
Luo Huiniang saw from her own courtyard and also came over saying, "Third Grandma, I want the noon water too."
Third Grandma laughed and replied: "Sure, I wonât forget you, young lady."
Brother Wu carried festival gifts and followed Luo Huiniang into Gu Jinliâs house. When Third Grandma saw him, she happily said, "Brother Wu is back, come on over and line up."
"Eh." Brother Wu deliberately stood next to Gu Jinxiu, causing Gu Jinâan and Gu Jinli to squint their eyes simultaneously.
Brother Wu has become more and more bold; although he used to want to get close to Gu Jinxiu and would avoid doing so when many people were around, now he did not avoid it at all, and would always join wherever Gu Jinxiu was.
Third Grandma quickly finished splashing the noon water on them: "Done, go and play."
Then she looked towards Brother Wu and asked, "Did Er Lang and San Lang not come back?"
Brother Wu shook his head: "No, they are on duty this round."
Like the Military Office, not everyone gets to come back every break, they have to take turns, and last time Brother Wu had already been on duty during his break, so he was able to come back for the festival this time.
Third Grandma felt it was a pity: "The gathering isnât complete without everyone, the festival feels a little less joyful."
Then to Brother Wu she said, "When you go back to the county tomorrow, bring some food for them."
"Alright, Third Grandma, pack the things up and Iâll bring them to them when I go back to the county." Brother Wu said, and took out a gift he brought, handing it to Third Grandma: "Third Grandma, this is silk rope from the county cloth shop, keep it for tying your hair."
Gu Jinli snickered, what a change of tactics.
Third Grandma looked at the pile of colorful silk rope, and said with a laugh: "Third Grandma is too old for these things, donât waste them; you take them back for Hui Niang to use."
Luo Huiniang raised her hand and pointed to the silk rope tied around her wrist, saying: "Third Grandma, I have some already, these are gifts from my brother to you and Sister Xiu, Xiao Yu, please accept them."
The smile on Brother Wuâs face widened as he joined the conversation, "Yes, Third Grandma, please keep it. Itâs nothing expensive, and I can afford it with my pay."
Without waiting for Third Grandma to respond, he also called out to Gu Dashan and Third Grandpa who were sitting inside the house: "Third Grandpa, Uncle Dashan, this is the wine I bought for you. Try it and see if you like it; if itâs good, Iâll bring more next time."
Gu Dashan, who liked Brother Wu and approved of him as a potential son-in-law, happily accepted the wine and started chatting with Brother Wu.
Brother Wu was more than happy to talk with Gu Dashan and Third Grandpa, sharing many stories about his work at the county government: "Master Tian, who works closely with County Magistrate Xu, thinks highly of me, and things have been going smoothly working at the county government."
Due to handling the case at Village Chief Sunâs family last time, he caught the eyes of Master Tian.
Third Grandpa furrowed his brows upon hearing this, and asked, "Is this Master Tian one of Lord County Magistrateâs men? How is his relationship with County Magistrate Zou?"
Luo Wu knew what Third Grandpa was worried about and explained, "Master Tian is the confidant of Lord County Magistrate, and he isnât close with County Magistrate Zou."
"Thatâs good," Third Grandpa said with relief and reminded him, "Our families follow under the County Captain Jiangâs Family, and you were introduced by Jiang Family. Make sure to clear up allegiances; do not neglect Jiang Family just because of Master Tian."
Luo Wu replied, "Donât worry, Grandpa, I understand. I definitely wonât neglect Jiang Family because of anyone else."
He wasnât foolish; he wouldnât make the mistake of cooling relations with Jiang Family because of Master Tian.
Hearing this, Third Grandpa was reassured and continued to talk with Luo Wu for a long time, until Luo Wu took Luo Huiniang back home in the afternoon.
Before leaving, he looked at Gu Jinxiu several times, which was promptly blocked by Gu Jinâan, saying, "Brother Luo Wu, let me escort you out."
After saying this, he pulled Luo Wu out of his house.
Third Grandpa noticed Luo Wuâs intentions and waited until Gu Jinxiu and the others went to the kitchen to help before he asked Gu Dashan, "What did Tie Zhu tell you?"
Brother Wu is not young anymore.
Gu Dashan said, "Brother Luo Er and his wife are afraid Brother Wu canât protect Sister Xiu well. They want Brother Wu to gain some experience in the county government for two to three years, make a name for himself, gain skills, and build connections, then come to our house to propose marriage."
Hearing this, Third Grandpa breathed a sigh of relief, "Itâs good that Tie Zhu and his wife have a plan."
When the matchmaker Lao visited, Sister Xiu had already declared that she would observe three years of mourning for the deceased villagers of Gu Family Village, a noble act that, once announced, could not easily be undone.
But a girlâs age doesnât withstand delays, and Third Grandpa worried that after three years, Jinxiu might rush into a marriage and choose the wrong person. So, he still felt that matching with Luo Family was best.
After all, how Brother Wu felt about Jinxiu was clear to see; he was truly devoted to her.
But Brother Wu is already eighteen this year, and in three years, he will be twenty-one. At such an age, if it were anyone else, they might already have several children, and he worried that Luo Family couldnât wait that long.
Now, hearing these words, he felt relieved.
After a while, Gu Jinâan returned and directly went to the backyard chicken coop to mix chicken feed.
Gu Jinli followed him to the backyard and asked, "Did you beat up Brother Luo Wu?"
Gu Jinâan glanced at her and while adding water and mixing the husks in the trough, said, "Your brother is a gentleman, not the kind of rough person who resorts to violence."
He relied on his brains.
Gu Jinli heard this with disdain, "Then what did you say to Brother Luo Wu?"
Gu Jinâan added two bowls of bean dregs to the trough and continued mixing, "Brother Luo Wu said that he will restrain himself from now on, and until his family formally proposes, he will not do anything that might cause gossip, nor will he reveal his feelings to elder sister, so as not to trouble her."
Gu Jinli, hearing the satisfying answer, nodded, "Thatâs good."
This isnât the modern era; if rumors spread, Gu Jinxiuâs life would be ruined.
Gu Jinâan put the trough into the chicken coop, cooing softly while waiting for the chickens to come and feed. He then said, "You donât need to worry about this matter, Iâm here. Come on, todayâs a holiday, letâs make some sweet and sour pork, itâs delicious."
Gu Jinli shook her head, "Brother, youâre a guy, how can you also love sweet food?" A dark persona should reject sweet treats.