The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 134

 

| TBBOTOF | 134

Wei Zhonghong felt that such things should be dealt with sooner rather than later; resolving it sooner would break the stalemate. 

So she went to the big house. Tang Xu had just put the chubby child to sleep and, noticing her movements, hurried to greet her.

While walking, she said, "Let’s go, let’s go, to your father."

Tang Xu was taken aback and turned to Xu Ze in the courtyard, waving his hand, "Ze’er, go inside and keep an eye on the child, he just fell asleep."

Xu Ze nodded and waved back, then lifted the curtain and went into the room.

Tang Xu followed Wei Zhonghong, striding quickly, noticing her urgency and reaching out to stop her, "Auntie, Auntie, slow down, what's the hurry?"

"It’s about the Sun family." Wei Zhonghong stopped, looking at him. "Didn't I tell you before that there is a widow who I think is very good, that is the daughter-in-law of that family, Wang Cuicui. We are very good friends. We always get together to talk and do things."

Tang Xu’s brow twitched.

"I was planning to talk to her earlier, but with all the recent commotion at her house, I just came from there and saw that her face was bad and she had lost a lot of weight." Wei Zhonghong recounted everything about Wang Cuicui, and Tang Xu grew increasingly troubled.

They had reached the entrance of Tang Erhu’s house, and by chance, Tang Li came out carrying a basket on her arm.

"Brother, Aunt." Seeing them, Tang Li was clearly surprised. 

Wasn't her brother supposed to be at home with the chubby child for his afternoon nap at this time?

Tang Xu glanced at the basket she was carrying and asked, "Where are you going?"

Tang Li’s face reddened slightly at his look. 

Tang Xu squinted his eyes and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Liu Yao said he wanted to eat the fried cakes I made. He usually comes in the morning, but it’s almost noon now. He said he was so hungry on the road, so I fried some for him to take with him." Tang Li lifted the cloth covering the basket to show him.

Tang Xu grunted, took a piece of fried cake, and took a bite. Although it was cold, it wasn’t greasy at all, and the sweet red bean filling was just right.

"Why didn’t you make any for me?"

"…" Tang Li was taken aback and uncertainly said, "Last time when I made fried cakes, didn’t you say you didn’t want any?"

Tang Xu clicked his tongue and poked her forehead with his fingertip, "You little girl, you’re going to be taken away by someone."

Tang Li’s cheeks turned red, and she smiled at him, "No way, I’ll fry some fresh ones for you later, so you can have them hot."

Tang Xu snorted, waved his hand, "Go on, go on. Aunt and I have something to discuss with Dad."

Tang Li agreed and, without further delay, headed off to find Liu Yao with her basket.

Tang Xu stuffed the remaining half piece of fried cake into his mouth, puffing his cheeks as he chewed, and said to Wei Zhonghong, "Auntie, did you see that? My grown-up sister is going to be taken away."

"How can you say that? Liu Yao is a reliable young man, capable and hardworking. I’ve seen how well they’ve been selling the braised dishes you taught them," Wei Zhonghong said with a smile, patting him on the back.

Just thinking about how his charming younger sister would get married in a few years made Tang Xu very unhappy.

So, when Tang Erhu had finished feeding the cattle and turned around to see his son striding towards him with a frown, he wondered if he had been found out for drinking secretly.

He hadn't drunk too much—just two small cups each day.

Tang Xu, not noticing his father’s uneasy expression, stood in front of him, fuming, and said, "Ah Li specially made fried cakes for that smelly kid Liu Yao!"

Tang Erhu was taken aback, then realized what he meant, and couldn’t help but chuckle, "Your sister isn’t a clueless young girl anymore; she’ll be married off in another couple of years."

Tang Xu got even angrier, snorted, and crossed his arms, clearly displeased.

Wei Zhonghong found his reaction amusing and laughed. She gently patted his back to comfort him.

Tang Xu remembered he had something to discuss with his father, took a few deep breaths to calm down, and said to Tang Erhu, "Auntie said there’s a suitable person she wants to introduce to you. Would you like to consider meeting her?"

Tang Erhu glanced at Wei Zhonghong and had already guessed something.

Seeing that he didn't refuse, Wei Zhonghong recounted Wang Cuicui’s situation in full, leaving nothing out and observing the reactions of the father and son.

Tang Xu actually felt that such matters could be resolved, but under one condition: the person involved had to be someone he was truly connected to before he would help resolve it. After all, he wasn’t looking to do charity work.

Even though Tang Erhu hadn't lived in the village for long, he had met many people through building the new house and would chat with them when he ran into them. 

Recently, with the death of two members of the Sun family, it was common gossip among both idle women and hardworking men, so Tang Erhu found it hard not to know about it.

Seeing that someone was causing trouble late at night, Tang Erhu frowned tightly and said with a stern face, “They are truly shameless.”

Tang Xu echoed this sentiment, agreeing that those people were indeed shameless, willing to sacrifice their integrity for money.

He got up to pour water for the two of them, handing them each a cup while holding one himself, and asked, “Auntie, do you know what’s going on with her house and land?”

Wei Zhonghong, who had heard Wang Cuicui talk about it, thought for a moment and said, “Cui’er’s in-laws didn’t fully divide their family property. When the elders were around, they said that anyone who wanted to move in could, and there was no formal division of the property. The house was bought by Sun’s head with his own money from the villagers. Now that both of them are gone, the house certainly won’t be given to Cui’er.”

“And the land?” Tang Xu pondered and asked again.

“The land…” Wei Zhonghong wasn’t very familiar with the land situation and turned to look at Tang Erhu.

Tang Erhu added, “Let me put it this way. If the land being farmed now isn’t ancestral land, it will be reclaimed after the owner’s death. The government won’t collect the grain this year, but once you’ve harvested it, they’ll send someone to take the land back. I suspect the land they’re interested in is ancestral.”

Wei Zhonghong nodded, “They say there are ten acres of rice paddies. I’m not sure if it’s ancestral land or not.”

Tang Xu rubbed his chin and took another sip of water.

“Dad, what do you think?” He needed to get Tang Erhu’s opinion first.

Tang Erhu scratched his head, thinking about it. Even though he hadn’t met Wang Cuicui and didn’t know what she looked like, he had a good first impression based on Wei Zhonghong’s words. 

Everyone likes a filial person.

“How about meeting her?” After a moment, he spoke up.

Tang Xu raised an eyebrow, “Alright, let’s arrange a meeting.”

The location of the meeting was a question.

Tang Xu didn’t speak, and Wei Zhonghong said, “Let’s meet in your backyard. She’s been here many times, always at the small clinic to get medicine for her two fathers.”

“Oh, then you might have already seen her, she might look familiar.”

Tang Erhu nodded, “Hmm, alright.”

Wei Zhonghong, having received confirmation, went straight to the Sun family’s house and informed Wang Cuicui about the situation, urging her, “Change your clothes, wash your face, and tidy your hair. Let’s head over right now.”

Wang Cuicui looked at her blankly, “Now?”

“Yes, there’s nothing much to prepare. While it’s still light out, even if people see you, just say you’re going to get medicine. That way, you can avoid gossip from those busybodies,” Wei Zhonghong was concerned that if this matter didn’t work out, there would be more idle talk.

Wang Cuicui sighed, changed her clothes, washed her face, and combed her hair. She didn’t apply any powder, keeping her face bare, and followed Wei Zhonghong out.

Not far from the house, they encountered a group of women gossiping and eating melon seeds. 

As soon as they saw Wang Cuicui, their eyes lit up with interest, their gossiping clearly evident as they tilted their heads and shot sidelong glances. Their eyes almost seemed to pop out of their sockets, and their mouths didn’t stop moving.

Fortunately, they kept their gossiping quiet, or Wei Zhonghong wouldn’t have tolerated it.

“It’s infuriating how some people love to gossip about others, not fearing that one day the same might happen to them,” Wei Zhonghong was one of those who enjoyed gossiping but only did so in moderation. She wouldn’t actively spread rumors or fabricate stories.

Many women in the village were different; they not only spread nonsense but could turn things they hadn’t seen or heard into vivid tales, as if they had witnessed and heard everything themselves. It was a pity they didn’t work as storytellers in teahouses!

Wang Cuicui curled her lips into a scornful smile and said coldly, “They’ve never stepped in muck themselves, so they don’t know how sticky it is.”

Wei Zhonghong: “…” There was no need to be so harsh.

As they turned onto the village path, the women gossiping behind them raised their voices noticeably.

“What are those two up to? Did you see? That widow Wang’s face looks bad.”

“Every day someone’s causing trouble, how could she look good?”

“If it were me, I’d say the house and land shouldn’t be given away. What will she do in the future?”

“What can she do? She could remarry, after all, she’s single.”

“Huh? Do you think they’re going to Tang Erhu’s place? I heard Tang Erhu hasn’t found a suitable match yet. Many matchmakers have gone there, but none have succeeded. How come he’s so picky that no one is good enough?”

“If he’s picky, then so be it. Besides, you won’t be able to marry him anyway.”

“My younger sister from my maternal family can get married. She’s just lost her husband and is looking to remarry!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. With her temperament, how could Tang Erhu possibly like her? Besides, Tang Xu wouldn’t even let his father find someone with a bad temperament.”

“I think Tang Erhu is being persuaded to remarry by Tang Xu. Why doesn’t he persuade his own parents to get back together instead? He’s really ruthless.”

“Shh, be quiet and don’t talk nonsense. If you don’t know, don’t make things up. Be careful, or Wei Dong might beat you.”

“He dares to hit me? My husband isn’t someone to mess with either!”

“Enough, with Tang Xu’s sharp tongue, you don’t need Wei Dong to beat you; he could verbally berate you until you lose a layer of skin,” the topic shifted off-track, and they ended the discussion on an unhappy note.

In short, those who gather to gossip about others will likely have their own little groups continuing the gossip and various discussions.

…

In the small clinic, Old Xu adjusted his beard and asked Wang Cuicui to stick out her tongue so he could examine it. Frowning, he wrote her a prescription.

Xu Ze, obediently waiting nearby, quickly took the prescription to another room to prepare the medicine.

Wang Cuicui asked, “Doctor, is there anything wrong with me?”

“Nothing serious, but it’s not a minor issue either,” Old Xu replied, stroking his beard.

Just then, Tang Xu, who happened to be bringing a plate of freshly baked biscuits, rolled his eyes and said, “Doctor Xu, when you speak, could you avoid being so cryptic? Just say what the problem is directly without scaring people.”

Old Xu shot him a glare, then turned to Wang Cuicui and said, “You’ve been overworking yourself for a long time. If you want to conceive again, you need to take good care of your health.”

Tang Xu: “????” Did he make a mistake?

Wang Cuicui: “????” What is she going to do with this information?

Wei Zhonghong: “????” At this age, she can still get pregnant???

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