It was autumn in September. The breeze was gentle and the willow branches were swaying. Bursts of insects were accompanied by the laughter of children coming from the field path. On the hillside not far away, a group of young men and women walked down the mountain with laughter. It looked very lively.
At the foot of the mountain, a very thin girl dressed in rags was carrying a basket and burying her head in nepenthes.
It just so happened that the production team was on holiday these two days. They didn't have to work in the field. Gu Dong, who couldn't stay idle, and Fu Jiu agreed to go to the mountain to look for wild animals. Unexpectedly, they met the educated youths who had just arrived in the village.
Compared with the rustic girls in the village, who were either sturdy or thin, the girls from the city were foreign, fresh, white and tender. They were more beautiful and eye-catching than the village's "Da Ni", "Er Ni", "Xiao Hua", and "Mei Zi".
After these educated youths showed their faces on the day they arrived, they became the topic of conversation for a group of young men in their teens and unmarried girls in the village in the evening.
Beautiful and good-looking girls and gentle and fair boys. How can they not attract people's eyes?
However, unlike other friends who took the initiative to show affection, Gu Dong felt they were good-looking. But every time he saw them from a distance, he would occasionally feel envious. Which one should he marry as his wife? Hmph, he won't even think about it. If he had the time, it was better to think about how to fill his stomach.
Moreover, with his status as the little bastard of a landlord who had been beaten down, how could she take a fancy to him? She was just like those one-track minded villagers who wished their ancestors had all been poor farmers for eight generations. Seeing him, she didn't hide far away. He already felt pretty good.
But he never expected that the female educated youth he met on the mountain today would take the initiative to greet him. What's more, it was the most beautiful Duan Xue among them.
"Gu Dong, you are so capable. We walked around the mountain for the whole afternoon. Except for finding some wild fruits, we didn't even see a pheasant." Duan Xue stared at the fat wild rabbit in Gu Dong's hand with joy and curiosity. Her eyes were full of little stars.
"This is nothing. You have stayed in the village for a long time. If you have time, learn from my Third Uncle. You can also hunt pheasants and rabbits. Hehe, my Third Uncle was a famous hunter in this area!" Without waiting for Gu Dong to answer, Fu Jiu chatted with these educated youths.
"Does your family all know how to hunt?" Hearing his words, a female educated youth with two ponytails named Fu Fang suddenly became interested.
"No, it's just my Third Uncle." Fu Jiu scratched her ears and said embarrassedly with a red face.
"Oh." The girl responded softly and didn't say anything else.
Seeing that Fu Fang had lost interest, Fu Jiu quickly jumped up and explained, "But I learned from my Third Uncle. My ability is definitely one of the best among us. Isn't that right, Dongzi?" After saying that, he turned his head and shouted at Gu Dong. He was eager to get his friend's approval.
Seeing how Fu Jiu was fooling around in front of the female educated youth, Gu Dong smiled and followed his friend's words, "Yes, yes!"
The group of people laughed and talked about the stories and skills they knew or heard about hunting. They happily walked back to the village. They didn't notice that a pair of dark and watery eyes were staring at them for a long time from the grass in the ditch next to the road. When they disappeared at the foot of the mountain, the person hurriedly grabbed the basket next to her. With great difficulty, she carried half a basket of grass on her back and walked back to the village with great difficulty.
Smoke rose in spirals, reflecting the gorgeous sunset of the West Mountain and the fiery red sunset. The distant moo of a cow echoed in the valley. Everything seemed so peaceful and harmonious.
But at this time, the Ai family in the south of the village was under a lot of pressure.
The head of the Ai family, Ai Er Gou, who had just reached his forties, had a wrinkled face and a hunched back. He lowered his head and stared at a pair of dirty shoes that exposed the toes. He sat by the door and smoked a pipe. The argument in the low and tattered mud house behind him seemed to have nothing to do with him and he couldn't hear it.
"No! Ai Cao is my wife. I can marry her after I graduate in two years. How can you let her marry that landlord from the Gu family! Ah! Have you ever thought about me! "The third son of the Ai family, Ai San An, shouted at his mother and grandmother who were sitting in the middle of the central room.
"You said no and you said no! Ai Cao belongs to our family. She has to marry whoever her grandmother wants her to! You don't have the final say! " Next to him, the fourth son of the Ai family, Ai Yaozong yelled at his third brother until his face turned red and his neck turned blue. He looked like he wanted to fight.
Don't underestimate Ai Yaozong for being only twelve years old this year. He was strong and strong. He was used to being wild in the village. He wasn't thinner than Ai San An who was sick all year round and soaked in medicine since he was young. When the two stood together, his third brother occupied the higher ground.
Ai San An was so angry at his younger brother's words that his face turned red. His mother looked distressed. She was about to say something when the eldest daughter-in-law, Ge Er Ni, who had been observing her husband's body language, beat her to it.
"San Er, they are all brothers. You can't just think about yourself. You have to think about your eldest brother and Yaozong. If this daughter-in-law is gone, you can still find another one. But if your eldest brother and fourth brother were to be reported by that damn old man of Gu Family, the two of them will be arrested and raped. They might even go to jail! "
Ai Dabao's wife's words struck the bottom of the Ai family's old woman's heart. Her grandchildren were her flesh and blood. Ai Cao, a worthless girl, was nothing! For her eldest grandson and youngest grandson, let alone marrying an Ai Cao, she wouldn't even blink an eye even if she had to sell an Ai Cao.
"Yes, your eldest sister-in-law is right! If Da Bao and Yaozong are caught, you are killing this old woman! " The old lady with small feet sitting in the chair in front of the hall narrowed her eyes. Her pair of thin arms hammered her legs. Her voice didn't match her age at all. It was very harsh and stiff.
"But..." Ai San An stuck his head out and wanted to argue.
Seeing that the old lady at home had made the decision, Ai Dabao, who was squatting on the ground with his head shrunk and hands clasped, quickly raised his head and looked at his wife Ge Er Ni with a fawning expression.
"Grandma is the best. I will cook delicious food for Grandma tomorrow!" Ai Yao Zu scuttled to the old lady and held her hand to please.
"San Er, calm down." Ai San An's mother saw her third son trembling with anger and quickly walked to his side. She stroked his back with concern and soothed him.
Both were flesh and blood. Although she loved her third son and felt that she owed him by marrying off Ai Cao, Ai Cao really couldn't compare with the other two sons in her heart.
"Mom, I won't make a fuss about letting Ai Cao continue to go to school with me. Let her serve you all day at home and let her go to the field to earn centimeters. Can you not..."
Ai Er shun, who was sitting on a small stool near the door, looked at the few people in the room. Don't know what he was looking for alone. He didn't say a word. When the dust settled and the matter came to a conclusion, he turned his head disdainfully and looked outside the house. The fiery red sun was setting in the west. The afterglow sprinkled on him reflected a face full of sarcasm.
The autumn wind swept by, and the leaves of the poplar trees outside the courtyard rustled. The fragile leaves spun and floated down from the branches, landing on the yellow soil below. Not long after, they would wither and rot, becoming one with the mud.
It was at this time that Mugwort rushed home from outside.
It was time to cook dinner. If she was late, she would be scolded by the old lady at home or be nagged by Ai Da's wife and bullied by Ai Si.
Glancing at the central room from a distance, Ai Cao felt that the atmosphere wasn't right. She turned around and went to the straw shed on the west side of the courtyard wall. She put down the basket, rolled up her sleeves, and started to make a fire to cook. Fortunately, she had the memory of the original owner. Otherwise, she really felt that she would be embarrassed to death.
"Why did you come back so late? You must be tired. Do you want me to help you? "She didn't know when Ai Er shun was standing behind Ai Cao.
As soon as he spoke, Ai Cao jumped in fright.
"No, no, no need second brother! I can do it myself. I can do it. "Ai Cao quickly refused.
Although she didn't know how to do these things and was in a mess, she really didn't want to interact with the second son of the Ai family.
Ai Er shun and Ai San An were twins. Compared to Ai San An who was weak, Ai Dabao who was stupid, and Ai Yaozong who was annoying, Ai Er shun was the most normal in the family. He was nineteen years old and had a neat height. He was thin, but not weak. Normally, he would secretly show some concern for Ai Cao, but Ai Cao felt that it was better to not spend too much time with him.
Even though she had only been in this family for three days, Ai Cao had already seen Ai Er shun coldly staring at her from behind twice. Although she had changed her body, her brain wasn't broken. That feeling of being stared at by a poisonous snake made her spine shiver.
Her intuition told her that this man wasn't as good as he looked.
Seeing Ai Er shun finally return to the main room, Ai Cao wiped the sweat off Xiao Hua's face and sat in front of the stove to make a fire.
The flickering fire gave off waves of heat that warmed Ai Cao. Her tense nerves finally relaxed a little, and it was only at this moment that she let out a slight sigh of relief.
Speaking of which, Ai Cao wasn't Ai Cao. She was originally called Ai Zhi. She was a pampered young miss from the duke's family. Last year, her parents were unwilling to let her go and didn't help her get married, so she stayed for another year. Three days ago, she went to Zhuangzi with her mother for an autumn outing. She excitedly caught a butterfly and wanted to show it to her mother, but who knew that she would trip over the threshold.
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