CH 147

Zhong Cheng opened the door and let Ze Wu drive the carriage in.

No wonder the Zhong family’s courtyard was so big; their home was actually two houses, connected together. They had a total of ten rooms, and each house had three main rooms and two side rooms. There was a row of open sheds on the west side of the courtyard, which held the stables, chicken coops, as well as storage for wagons and farm tools.

The house nearer the streets was where Zhong Cheng’s parents lived.

After Ms. Liang, Mo Feng and Mo Yan entered the house, Ze Wu came in with goods that were in the carriage, “Madam, where should I put this?”

Mrs. Liang waved her hand towards a table, “Just put it here!”

Zhong Cheng’s mother said politely, “You’ve come here from so far away, you shouldn’t have brought us a gift!”

Ms. Liang said casually, “It’s just a few snacks most households have at home. I just took a couple to thank someone for asking for directions, since I didn’t expect to find this place so soon.”

Mo Yan sat beside her mother, secretly observing Zhong Cheng’s mother. Her clothes are clean, but plain. When she was talking to Ms. Liang, her eyes were flickering, but she definitely wasn’t scheming, instead being rather unconfident and cowardly. She reminded Mo Yan of Ms. Hua and most of the women in the countryside.

Mo Feng took a sip of tea, then frowned and put the tea cup down, “Why is this tea so bitter? It’s far worse than the ones sold in my family’s firm.”

If he hadn’t mentioned it, Mo Yan would’ve forgotten that she hadn’t asked him why he took her Mengding Huangya tea leaves.

Zhong Cheng’s mother’s eyes flickered again, but she still smiled and said, “We don’t drink tea normally, and Cheng’er brought this tea back.”

Ms. Liang took a sip and said, “The quality doesn’t matter, it’s just to quench our thirst. Feng’er, don’t be picky.”

At this time, two children, a boy and a girl, ran in. The girl was five or six years old, and the boy was three or four years old. Their clothes were correctly sized, but were all faded and clearly just adult clothing, re-tailored for them.

Theydidn’t dare to speak when they saw strangers, and snuggled up to Zhong Cheng’s mother, staring straight at the Mo family. She said these were her eldest son’s children.

Ms. Liang opened the gift box on the table, took out the candied fruit, and gave it to them. The children looked at their grandma, who nodded and said, “Take it!” They ran out after taking the candied fruit.

Then, a chubby woman came to the door, grabbing the two children and starting to reprimand them, “Who told you to run over here? You need to learn manners.”

Mo Yan remembered she was the woman who first sold them duck eggs at the market, and she was Zhong Cheng’s sister-in-law. She stood up and greeted her, and the woman nodded with a silly smile, “Miss Mo Yan, Madam.”

Zhong Cheng asked his sister-in-law to come in and sit down, but she refused repeatedly, and took her two children away.

Zhong Cheng’s father spoke for the first time, “Since you are here, let’s discuss the children’s marriage! Let’s settle the dowry first.”

Ms. Liang sat upright and said, “I told Cheng’er that I’m not selling my daughter, and it’s not like our family can’t afford a dowry. According to tradition, the dowry is six and a half silver taels. The other parts of the dowry can just follow tradition as well.”

Mo Yan tugged Mo Feng’s sleeve under the table to make him talk. He cleared his throat and said, “My sister is the head of the family and has done a lot for it. When she gets married, we can’t let her suffer. We did a rough calculation at home, and her dowry costs a few dozen silver taels! This is discounting the clothes and jewellery she bought herself.”

Zhong Cheng’s mother’s expression became more and more embarrassed, “The dowry will be hers in the future. We don’t want any of it.”

Ms. Liang proudly said, “Of course, but I want to ask, where will they live after marriage? Will their residence be able to accommodate Mo Ling’s dowry?”

Mo Feng echoed, “That’s right, a whole set of mahogany furniture!”

This time, Zhong Cheng spoke up, “Our house was built last year, but it hasn’t been tidied up yet. I want to hear what you think about it! How about we go and have a look?”

His father also echoed, “Yes, let’s go and have a look! See if there are any more requests for the house, so we can change anything if necessary.”

Mo Yan helped Ms. Liang get up, and Zhong Cheng led them out of the courtyard, before going to another home to the south.

It was almost identical to the Zhong family’s first home, and the two houses were connected together again. The windows of the house near the street have been pasted over with paper, and it looked like people were living in them.

Zhong Cheng explained, “Auntie, my second elder brother and second sister-in-law live here, and the house further away from the street is mine.”

Ms. Liang looked around, “The place seems spacious, so both families will go through the same gate in the future?”

“We didn’t think that far ahead when building the house. My parents only made one door for the sake of convenience.”

The other house didn’t even have paper on the windows. They looked in; nothing was tidied up inside, but it seemed spacious.

Mo Yan looked towards the west side of the courtyard, “Is there also a street there? Could you make another door?”

Zhong Cheng nodded and said, “Yes, since it’s at the edge of the village and there are no other residents. We can install a door easily.”

“Let’s go and have a look!”

Then, the door of the house on the side opened, and a young woman in green clothes with purple flowers on her hair stood at the door.

“Cheng’er, who are these!”

The woman’s eyes fluttered wildly as she tried her best to show off her charm, but it’s a pity that she had a plain appearance with thin eyebrows and small eyes.

Zhong Cheng greeted his second sister-in-law and introduced her to everyone. He clearly stated that Ms. Liang was his future mother-in-law. The woman, but she looked up and down at her, before saying to him, “Didn’t you say you were going to cancel the marriage?”

Zhong Cheng explained, “It was a misunderstanding. Since my future mother-in-law had come all the way here, we decided to take the opportunity to settle the marriage.”

“Then congratulations, brother!” The woman turned and went back to the room with a strange look on her face.

When they all left the courtyard, Mo Yan was the first to run to the lake. Zhong Cheng smiled indulgently and said, “She misses her ducks! I’ll accompany her to see them. Father, Mother, please rest at home with Mother-in-law!”

Ms. Liang said helplessly, “This child is very energetic.”

Mu Feng didn’t want to sit there awkwardly, so he followed them. Ze Wu and Lu Junming naturally followed as well.

There were weeping willows planted by the river, and their branches were already green.

Mo Yan ran all the way to the river, almost falling after she stepped on a smooth pebble, but fortunately, Lu Junming stopped her.

The river water shimmered in the sun, and Zhong Cheng pointed to some small white dots in the middle of the river and said, “Look, Yan’er, those are your ducks.”

The breeze blew gently, and the branches of the weeping willows brushed against their faces, causing them to itch. Zhong Cheng broke off a willow branch casually, and pulled out the core, leaving only the bark. Then, he made a small hole with his fingernails, before putting it on his lips and blowing on it, making a “woo-woo” sound, which was very loud and can be heard from far away.