271 I’ve Already Found One
The next day, after lunch, Dalang arrived. The mule cart that was used to transport sugarcane was filled with food.
Little Ah Yu ran at the front and shouted at the mule cart, “Big Brother, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”
Wang Dalang jumped out of the car and hugged Little Ah Yu. He reached out and pulled her messy hair back. He also smiled with Little Ah Yu. “Are you welcoming me, or are you waiting for me to bring you food?”
With that, Wang Dalang took out a small cloth bag from behind as if he was performing a magic trick. The small cloth bag contained a lot.
One bag contained a few dried pancakes, another contained wild fruits planted in the fields, and the last bag contained dried fruits.
“Other than the wild fruits, everything else was prepared by the others in the village. This dried fruit was specially made for you by your Brother Xiaotong. There’s some licorice added in. Eat this if you eat too much. It can help improve your digestion.”
“This is the flatbread that your Third Aunt specially fried for you. She didn’t give it to anyone else who wanted to eat it.”
“Everyone prepared these for you.”
When Wang Dalang took out something, Little Ah Yu exclaimed and brought it to the back. Little Ah Yu asked, “Is it only mine? Does everyone not have it?”
“Of course there is, but you’re the lucky star of our village. Naturally, you have the most.” Wang Dalang smiled and hung the cloth bag on the neck of the lamb at the side. He let the lamb carry the things to Little Ah Yu’s room first and carried her onto the mule cart before unloading them.
When they heard the commotion, Wang Wulang and the others also rushed out. When they saw that it was Wang Dalang, they were all very happy.
“Big Brother, you’re a little late today.”
Usually, he would arrive in the morning.
Now, the road from town to the village was basically relatively smooth. This was because the villagers had a good life and had a lot to buy. They often took the path to town.
As they walked, everyone tidied up the uneven roads. In some places that were too narrow, they even spontaneously dug a wider path.
As time passed, it naturally became smoother.
Initially, Wang Wulang was just asking casually, but Wang Dalang’s face suddenly turned red.
“Eh, Big Brother, why are you blushing?” Wang Wulang rolled his eyes and teased him. “Did you meet someone on the way?”
Wang Dalang raised his voice. “Who can I meet? There was no one on the way. There was just a little mule!”
“I didn’t say anything. Why are you shouting at me? Aren’t you exposing yourself?”
However, Wang Erlang reminded him softly, “Big Brother is already planning his marriage. Don’t spout nonsense and ruin his reputation.”
“That’s right. How’s Big Brother’s marriage going? It’s been a few months. Don’t tell me you haven’t taken a fancy to any girls yet? Big Brother, don’t be too ambitious. Although our family is doing better, we’re still country bumpkins!” Wang Wulang placed his hands behind his back and pretended to be old.
In the end, it attracted Wang Dalang to knock him on the head.
Wang Dalang said, “If you don’t know, don’t spout nonsense. Hurry up and bring the things in. I still have to bring the mules to the back to feed them.”
Wang Dalang untied the mule from the cart and led it to a place specially used to raise livestock in the backyard. He pretended not to notice the probing gazes of his brothers.
“Look, Big Brother is feeling guilty. There must be something fishy!”
“Could he have had some romantic encounter on the way? That’s what the storyteller used to tell us.”
“Even if he had an encounter, it must be with a ghost or a demon!”
“Big Brother is almost 17 years old. Don’t tell me you’ll be like Fourth Uncle and can only get engaged when you’re 20 years old? By then, I’ll be old!”
“In any case, if Big Brother doesn’t get married, we won’t be able to get married. If I had known earlier, I would have taken Big Brother’s position. I definitely wouldn’t have been picky. I would have just found a random girl to be my wife.”
“That’s right. What’s there to choose? The girls in our village are all very good.”
Everyone spoke one after another. No one was around them, and most of them spoke in joking tones. They did not notice that Little Ah Yu was listening especially seriously.
After Little Ah Yu heard her brothers’ words, she was not in a hurry to eat the food they had brought her. Instead, she ran to look for Old Madam Wang.
Old Madam Wang was drinking tea. The new Biluochun tea had just been added to the grocery store. It was not considered good tea, but it had a sweet aftertaste. With their Wang Family’s special water, it would have a different flavor after being boiled.
“Grandma, why doesn’t Big Brother have a wife yet? He’s getting old!” Little Ah Yu began to shout before she could run to Old Madam Wang.
“-Pfft!” Old Madam Wang took a sip of tea and accidentally spat it out.
She pretended to be calm and took out a handkerchief to wipe the tea off her hands before looking at Little Ah Yu.
“Who did you hear that from?” What did she mean by old? Dalang is only 16 years old this year. No matter how old he is, he could not compare to her, a 50-year-old woman.
Little Ah Yu said, “The other Big Brothers are all talking about it. Just now, they asked Big Brother if he had encountered anything on the way. Big Brother’s face turned red, and they started talking about Big Brother’s wife…”
After Little Ah Yu explained what had happened, Old Madam Wang really pondered for a while.
Previously, Old Madam Wang had said that she did not care about her grandchildren’s marriage. Unless they really needed an elder to host the wedding, she would naturally take charge at that time.
The previous matchmakers had been chased away, and the new matchmakers did not dare to offend their Wang Family. A matchmaker had long come to greet them and promised to take care of their Wang Family.
Old Madam Wang did not care much about this. The country folks paid a lot of attention to the words of matchmakers, but the people in town did not pay so much attention to them. Most of them skipped the step of matchmaking because they could not stand the involvement of the matchmakers.
There were even some people who directly treated their own family members as matchmakers.
“Grandma, if Big Brother doesn’t get married, will the other older brothers also not be able to get married?” Little Ah Yu suddenly felt a little worried. “If the older brothers don’t get married, will I also not be able to get married?”
Old Madam Wang found it a little funny. “You’re only three years old this year. Why are you thinking about getting married? Your eldest brother has found a girl he likes and will get married soon. You don’t have to be anxious.”
Little Ah Yu: “Can they get married directly after finding a partner?”
“You can say that.” In any case, 16 years old is the proper age to get married. Those who are more particular could wait another two years. If they wanted to get married early, they could even marry now.
Little Ah Yu hurriedly said, “Then can I get married first? I’ve already found one!”
“Cough, cough… What?!” Old Madam Wang really choked this time.
You’ve found one?
What did you find?
Did you find a marriage partner already?
“Who is it?” The person who asked was not Old Madam Wang, but Wang Chuanman, who was planning to go out today.
While he worked for Shopkeeper Zhou, Wang Chuanman would find an opportunity to come back and stay for a day or two every month.
Just as he was about to greet Old Madam Wang, he heard Little Ah Yu’s words.
Without thinking, Little Ah Yu said, “Big Brother Ah You! We’ve already agreed that we’ll be husband and wife when we grow up! Big Brother is so stupid. He can’t even find a partner faster than me!”
When she said this, Little Ah Yu’s face was filled with pride.
However, Wang Chuanman seemed to have been struck by lightning.
When did this happen?!!