Chapter 29 Idle Talk

  Lian Man'er took a glance, and among them, the most eye-catching one was Yingzi. Next to her was Qi Qiao, who had dark skin. The two girls who looked extremely alike and were wearing green clothes were sisters, one named Chunni and the other Chunyan. The youngest one was Er Niang's sweet daughter, Xiao Hong.

  They were all acquaintances of Lian Piao, among whom Chunni and Chunyan, two sisters, and Er Ya, used to play with her often in the past. The others were closer to Lian Hua.

  "Lian Man Er, why don't you ever play with us anymore?" Er Ya said as she ran to Lian Man Er.

  "Come and take a rest, Lianmeng'r." Little Hong said, beckoning from under the shade of the tree.

  "Man Er, it's still early for dinner at home. It's cool here, if you want to play, just play here and then go back home." said Wu Lang.

  "Sister, wait for me and brother to send back the fish and grass, I'll come find you." said Xiao Qi.

  Lian Man'er thought for a moment, after coming here, she hadn't interacted with the girls from her village again. From now on, she would be living here, it wouldn't be good if she didn't get along with these little friends at all.

  Lian Wan'er handed the basket in her hand to Wu Lang and took it back home. She followed Er Ya to the willow tree, Chun Ni and Chun Yan moved aside, leaving half of the stone stool for Lian Wan'er and Er Ya to sit on.

  "Man Er, is your head all right?" several girls asked.

  Lian Man'er nodded, "It's all right. You see, the gauze has been removed."

  "I heard you don't remember many things," said Xiaohong, looking at Lianmeng.

  "They say you bumped your head and got stunned." Qiǎo said quickly.

  "Who said I'm crazy?" asked Lian Man'er with a smile.

  Obviously, Qiao just looked at Little Red, which clearly meant that Little Red told her.

  Yingzi burst out laughing beside him.

  "I didn't say anything," Xiaohong immediately denied, and was very angry at Yingzi for laughing at her, "Someone even said you're dead."

  Xiao Hong said as she looked at Yingzi.

  Due to living environment, rural girls even if they have some thoughts, most of them are put on the surface.

  "You see, I'm fine now. If anyone says that again, I'll think she's cursing me," said Lian Man Er.

  "Man Er Jie is right, from now on no one is allowed to say that kind of thing again." Qiǎo said.

  Lian Man'er felt it was no fun and thought of getting up to leave.

  "Man Er, has your sister Hua Er gone to the county town? When is she coming back? Has she prepared all the dowry?" Little Red asked, holding onto Lian Man Er and asking in a string of questions.

  Several girls were gazing at Lian Man'er with eagerness.

  The day before yesterday, Gu Shi, Lian Jia's eldest and second elder brought Lian Hua Er, Lian Duo Er and Lian Xiu Er to the county town to find Lian Lan Er to prepare dowry for Lian Hua Er.

  They pulled her to talk, and wouldn't it be just to ask about Lian Hua's news? Lian Man'er suddenly realized that Lian Hua had smashed the gift, and Qi Xiao, Xiao Hong, and Ying Zi were all present at the time. Since then, they have been regarded by the Lian family as people who refuse to associate with them. Lian Hua also never invited village girls to play at home again, and Zhou Shi was even more unfriendly to girls who dared to come to the door. This is also why no one has come to find her and Lian Zhi'er to play for so many days.

  Even if these girls are no longer allowed to enter the Lian family, Lian Hua's marriage is still their focus.

  Lian Man'er looked at several girls with some speechlessness, Xiaohong and Yingzi were a bit older, but the rest were about her age, and they started to care about this issue.

  "She's gone to the county town to prepare her dowry, and will be back in two days." Lian Man'er revealed some more information, "When the time comes to bring the dowry back to the village, you'll all be able to see it."

  "Really?" Qiǎo asked.

  "Ah, Qiǎo, when the time comes, you and my aunt will come to our house together." Lián Huā'er said to Qiǎo. One of Zhōu's cousins, who married into a Zheng family in Sān Shí Lǐ Yíng Zi, Qiǎo was the granddaughter of Zhōu's cousin, and she and Lián Huā'er were considered sisters-in-law.

  "Alright." Qiǎo said hastily.

  "Lian Hua'er can be considered to have gone to enjoy her blessings," Yingzi said, lifting up her arm and revealing a yellowish bangle on her wrist. Yingzi was slightly plump, and her wrists were somewhat thick, but the bangle was rather small, tightly clasped around her wrist.

  The eyes of several girls were all shone by that golden light, and they all showed envy in their eyes.

  "Yingzi, this bangle of yours is really beautiful, no matter how I look at it, I just can't get tired of it." Chunni said.

  "It's just that the style is a bit old." Xiaohong pouted. Every time Yingzi appeared, she would show off this gold bangle.

  "This style is outdated, it's currently popular in the county town. You stay in the village all day, what do you know!" Yingzi said immediately.

  Little Red's face turned red when she was talked about.

  "This ring is too small for you to wear, it wasn't yours originally, was it?" said Xiaohong.

  "I didn't tell you, it was my grandma who gave it to me." Yingzi glared at Xiaohong.

  "I think the bangle looks good on you, but doesn't it feel tight on your wrist?" Qiuye asked.

  I'm afraid it's unbearable, thought Lian Mei.

  "The bangle looks good, but if it's melted and made into a hairpin, it would look even better on the head." Lian Man'er said, "Yingzi, this bangle can at least be melted into one hairpin and a pair of earrings."

  "Then you'll have to add labor costs, can her family afford it?" Little Red smiled.

  "Who says our family can't afford it?" Yingzi immediately retorted, "My mother and I said that we would take this bangle and melt it down to make a new one with the latest flower pattern."

  "I should head back home now, feel free to drop by my place when you're all free."

  Lian Man'er was walking home when she heard Mrs. Zhou's voice before she even entered the gate.

  "This small fish is hardly worth eating, and you still need a lot of oil and salt to cook it. I don't want it, throw it away."

  Lian Wan'er hastily walked in through the door and saw Wu Lang and Xiao Qi holding fish, being scolded by Zhou Shi.

  "Nanny," Lian Mian'er couldn't help but step forward, "we also have good intentions. Under the big sun, we caught fish and brought them back to pay respects to Grandpa and Nanny, and to have a family gathering. If Nanny doesn't agree, we can't say anything, and it's not worth scolding us like this."

  "You little scamp, eating my food and drinking my drink, yet you still dare to talk back!" Madam Zhou immediately turned her spearhead towards Lian Man'er.

  "Mum, Dad and Mum are all working, I just eat theirs, I don't dare to drink milk," said Lian Man Er.

  "Man Er, what's going on? Hurry up and apologize to your grandma." Lian Shou Xin said, accompanying Old Man Lian as they walked in from outside.

  "Milk, cooking this fish won't use much oil." Lian Man'er hastily said with a smile.

  "Have you gone fishing?" Lao Yezi walked over and looked at the fish in Wu Lang's and Xiao Qi's hands.

  Lian Wan'er hastily ran in front of Old Man Lian.

  "Grandfather, look at the fish we caught. These few crucian carp will make a delicious stew, perfect for you to drink with wine tonight." said Lian Man Er.

  "Grandpa, I caught this big one!" Little Qi hurriedly held up a crucian carp to show off to Old Master Lian.

  "Good boy, my grandson knows how to show filial piety. Tonight, let your mom cook the fish and we'll eat." Old Master Lian rubbed Little Seven's head and went into the house.

  "A few fish are the children's intention, how much oil can be used? You go back to the house." Walking past Zhou Shi's side, Lao Yezi said again.

  Although Lao Yezi is the head of the family, he said so, and Zhou Shi couldn't refute him.

  "If you mess up my wok, let you all lick it with your tongues." said Zhou Shi.

  "Don't worry, it's definitely not smelly." said Lian Man Er.

  Wu Lang and Xiao Qi carried the fish to Zhang Shi's place to collect the money.

  Lian Shouxin called Lian Man'er over to his side.

  "Man Er, you still don't know your mother's temper. From now on, just go along with what she says, it will also avoid her getting angry." Lian Shou Xin instructed Lian Man Er.

  "Father, even if mother is wrong, should we still go along with it?" asked Lian Man Er.

  "Oh, this..." Even if Lian Shixin's words were meant to convey this meaning, being asked so clearly by Lian Man'er made it difficult for him to honestly answer "yes".

  "But it's always like that, isn't it? It's all Grandma's fault, and she's always wrong." said Lian Mian'er.

  Lian Shouxin was speechless, he was an honest man, wouldn't tell lies, and even more wouldn't be unreasonable, even in front of his own children.

  "Not saying who's right or wrong, what happened earlier, Nai did that, and I, my brother, and Xiao Qi all felt very sad. But when Grandfather spoke up, I thought he was truly a kind and respectable elder, also showing concern for us and valuing us." Lian Man'er added.

  "Your grandfather is fine," Lian Shou said, "and your grandmother's heart... aches for you."

  Lian Man'er looked at Lian Shouxin with some sympathy, he himself didn't believe what he was saying either.

  Being stared at by Lian Man Er like this made Lian Shou Xin feel somewhat embarrassed.

  "Go help your mother with her work, Meng."

  Lian Man'er couldn't help but laugh.

  "You kid, still making fun of your dad!" Lian Shou Xin couldn't take it anymore and turned around to leave.

  There was an extra bowl of milk white crucian carp tofu soup on the dinner table.

  The carp was caught by Zhang, seasoned with salt, ginger and scallions, coated with a thin layer of batter, then pan-fried in a little oil until golden brown on both sides before being simmered in water. Lian also bought two catties of tofu from Old Man Lian for two cents, waiting for the fish soup to boil before adding the cut tofu, bringing it to a rolling boil again, and then simmering it over low heat for a while, resulting in a milky fish soup.

  The main course for dinner was millet noodles, and each person at the table got two servings. Madame Zhou had been sullen-faced all along, and no matter how Zhang and Lian Panna tried to persuade her, she refused to drink the fish soup. Since Madame Zhou wouldn't drink the fish soup, He's reserve was gone, and he began ladling some into his own bowl while also serving some to Lian Yu.

  "Yuer should eat more of this, I'll give her all the fish meat. Yuer is wrapped around my leg, and it's a pity for her." said He Shi.

  Lian Man'er isn't a petty person, but He Shi's behavior makes people uncomfortable. Lian Man'er doesn't say anything, she just quickly picks the fattest piece of meat from the fish belly and gives it to Xiao Qi, then swiftly serves two more portions to Lian Zhi'er and Zhang Shi.

  Lian'ou was stuffed a mouthful of fish by He Shi and got choked by the fish bones, starting to cough.

  "Branch, take a photo for your sister." He Shi said, unwilling to put down her chopsticks.

  Lian Zhi'er saw Lian Niu'er's face turn red, so she put down her bowl and chopsticks and patted Lian Niu'er on the back.

  Zhou suddenly slammed his chopsticks on the table.

  "Who cooked today?"

  ………………

  After finishing the tasks at hand, I will try to add more updates.