The next day, early morning!
Li Yi was woken up early in the morning by the village loudspeaker—it was Feng Kai calling on the villagers to gather for road repairs.
Although Li Yi didn’t need to go help with the roadwork, he still got dressed and got out of bed after hearing the announcement.
His mother and Matchmaker Zhang had already agreed that they would go to the Cui family’s house this morning to propose marriage for Little Doggie.
Li Yi turned to look at Jiang Xue lying beside him. Feeling the limpness in a certain area, he recalled last night’s passionate encounter and couldn’t help but sigh.
Being handsome isn’t a crime, but my second younger brother is really suffering for it!
His second younger brother had followed him, and he’d really suffered for it.
Especially lately, with his third and eldest sisters getting pregnant one after another, his own wife had gone a bit mad and was working him to the bone without mercy.
It had even driven him to consciously stockpile goji berries, deer antler, and maca—after all, he who fails to plan ahead will surely face trouble soon!
Gently removing the hand that was resting on his wife’s chest and lowering Jiang Xue’s arm from his shoulder, Li BB Xi TR Yi sat up and began to get dressed.
However, the rustling sound of him getting dressed still roused Jiang Xue, who lay beside him. The girl opened her eyes, glanced around, and then mumbled sleepily, “What time is it?”
“It’s just past six. You go back to sleep; I’ll go draw water from the well!”
“No, I’m getting up too!”
As she spoke, she crawled out from under the covers. Li Yi was suddenly met with a blinding white sight—a certain part of him, which had been limp just moments ago, now seemed to be standing at attention.
Seeing this, Li Yi hurriedly fetched his wife’s underwear from the nearby bed and handed it to her, asking, “Why are you getting up so early?”
Jiang Xue’s face flushed slightly as she replied, “I want to wash up, and besides, my older sister is pregnant, so I need to help out a bit.”
“Alright!”
Summer clothes are relatively light, so the two were dressed in no time.
Jiang Xue went to the kitchen to heat water for washing their faces and bathing, while Li Yi carried a bucket and led Zhang Ziqiang to the well.
On the way, both Zhang Ziqiang and Zhou Wen offered to help Li Yi, but he declined.
Although carrying water was tiring, it was also a form of exercise. To keep his body from breaking down prematurely, Li Yi decided to stick with it for the time being.
As soon as they reached the well, Li Yi spotted Erdouzi there.
The twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy was carrying two huge buckets on his shoulders; aside from looking awkward, the sight was actually a bit heartbreaking.
The boy, however, didn’t seem to mind. Upon seeing Li Yi, he even greeted him first.
“Brother Yi, you’re here to fetch water too!”
“Hmm, where’s your brother? Why are you here carrying water today?” Li Yi asked curiously.
“A cow gave birth to a calf at the cattle farm in the middle of the night, so Uncle Feng called my brother over. He hasn’t come back yet, so I came to fetch water!” Erdouzi replied.
“Huh, it’s been hours already. Isn’t he done yet?”
“It probably isn’t over yet; otherwise, my brother would’ve come back!”
“Ergouzi, have you finished writing the marriage contract and everything else? Don’t let it delay today’s marriage proposal,” Li Yi asked again.
“They’re done. My brother got everything ready for the proposal last night. I just don’t know when they’ll be finished over at the cattle farm!” Erdouzi said.
“The cattle farm isn’t far from my place. I’ll go check it out in a minute!”
“Alright…”
Carrying water was truly backbreaking work, and since the Li family’s house was quite a distance from the well, it took him a full hour to make four trips.
Even though Li Yi prided himself on having grown up in the countryside, he was still left panting from the exertion.
After filling the water jar, Li Yi carried two extra buckets out to the courtyard to let them soak up the sun.
Once they’d warmed up in the sun by noon, they could be used to wash the children’s clothes or give them a bath.
After finishing these tasks, he decided to head over to the cattle pen to check on things.
By then, Jiang Xue had finished her bath and was just stepping out of the bathroom. Spotting Li Yi, she immediately asked, “Where are you headed?”
“Just taking a walk over to the cattle pen. Why?”
“Wait for me—I want to go take a look too!” Jiang Xue said.
“It stinks over there. What are you going to do there?” Li Yi said with a laugh.
“No way, I just want to go take a look!”
“Fine, then. But hurry up!”
“Okay…”
Jiang Xue was ready in no time, but when Li Yi saw she was holding a small yellow basin, he asked in puzzlement, “What are you going to do with that basin?”
Jiang Xue smiled and said, “I thought I’d see if I could milk a cow. We can make a pot of milk tea tonight!”
“No wonder you suddenly decided to go to the dairy farm today—so you had an ulterior motive all along!” Li Yi said with a laugh.
“It’s been nothing but porridge or noodle soup these past few days. I’m getting a bit sick of it. Don’t you want to try something different?” Jiang Xue asked, blushing.
“I do. Let’s go!”
Then, the couple set off with the little yellow basin, heading straight for the nearby cattle farm.
From a distance, they could already smell a pungent stench—the overpowering odor of fermented livestock urine and manure.
Fortunately, Li Yi and Jiang Xue were already well-accustomed to this smell. While they couldn’t exactly call themselves unfazed by it, they didn’t gag or vomit the moment they caught a whiff.
As soon as they arrived, Li Yi spotted Xiaogouwa, Uncle Hailiang, and the others emerging from the cattle farm, their faces worn with exhaustion.
Upon seeing Li Yi and his wife, everyone rushed over to greet them.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Yi turned to Xiaogouwa and asked, “So, has it been born yet?”
“It’s born, and it’s already nursing!” Xiaogouwa said with a smile.
“That’s great. Go home and get yourself sorted out—ideally, take a hot shower and put on the new clothes you bought yesterday. I’ll come pick you up at nine o’clock with Grandma Zhang!” Li Yi said.
“Okay…”
Just then, Jiang Xue turned to Yang Genwang, the cattle farm manager, and said, “Uncle Yang, do we have any cows that produce a bit more milk? I’d like to milk some!”
Yang Genwang smiled and said, “Yes, plenty of them. I’ll take you over there!”
With that, Yang Genwang led Jiang Xue deeper into the dairy farm.
Before long, when she came out, the basin was already more than half full of milk…
……..
At nine o’clock in the morning, Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang each got into their cars and drove off with Jiang Xue.
First, they went to the north end of the village to pick up Matchmaker Zhang, and only then did they arrive at Xiaogouwa’s house.
By then, Xiaogouwa had already gotten himself ready. Although he’d been up half the night and looked a bit tired, with bloodshot eyes,
But after changing into the clothes Li Yi had bought for him, he still looked a little dashing.
The group then loaded all the items needed for the engagement ceremony into the cars and set off for the Cui family’s home.
It was only a few kilometers away, so they arrived in no time.
The Cui family had received word the day before, so relatives and friends had been waiting at the veterinary station since early morning.
As soon as they saw Xiaogouwa step out of the car, the Cui family immediately set off firecrackers.
Amid the warm welcome, Matchmaker Zhang led the way, followed by Little Dog, while Li Yi, Jiang Xue, and the others carried various gifts into the Cui household.
It was the first time Cui Cuiping and Old Cui had seen Xiaogouwa dressed so smartly, and they were instantly stunned.
Little Gouwa was wearing a white polyester shirt and black dress pants, with the hem of his shirt tucked into his pants, revealing just a glimpse of the temporary leather belt at his waist.
He had also swapped out his Liberation shoes for a pair of shiny black leather shoes. If it weren’t for his somewhat dark and rough complexion, anyone would have believed he was a city playboy.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Matchmaker Zhang immediately put her professional skills to work and formally proposed on behalf of the Meng family’s son to the Cui family’s daughter.
The proposal ceremony wasn’t complicated, but it was quite impressive.
This was mainly due to the groom’s family’s incredibly generous gesture: in addition to presenting the Cui family with a dowry of 888 yuan on the spot, they also promised to provide the bride with a set of “Three Turns and One Sound” household items, plus a television, before the wedding.
On top of that, the other betrothal gifts were so dazzling and numerous that they left the Cui family’s relatives and the onlookers gathered around utterly envious.
The entire ceremony lasted over an hour. According to local custom, when a suitor from the south presents betrothal gifts, the bride’s family is expected to host a feast with fine wine and food to thank the matchmaker.
So after the proposal, Li Yi and his companions stayed at the Cui household for lunch.
And just as Li Yi and Jiang Xue were dining at the Cui residence, a sedan arrived in Nianzishan Village…
………..