Chapter 92: Chapter 55: Ugly and Ill-fated

Early the next morning, Yang Family saw that although Juhua was still weak all over, she was out of any serious trouble. She instructed Juhua to rest well for the day and have her father do the housework, then headed out with the shoulder pole carrying the pig offal.

Juhua felt annoyed. ’To end up like this just from taking a bath… I really am unlucky! But it’s always the beauties who are said to have thin fortunes. Why is an absolutely ugly girl like me so unlucky, too?’

She sat listlessly in the warming barrel, slowly stitching a shoe sole. It was overcast outside today, so she didn’t dare sit in the courtyard.

Suddenly, Big Mouth Zhao rushed into the small courtyard, calling out to Zheng Changhe, “Uncle Zheng, I’ve come to buy pig offal!”

Zheng Changhe quickly replied, “Ah! Your Aunt Zheng has it all ready. I’ll get it for you.” The two then went into the kitchen.

Juhua got out of the warming barrel and followed them in, saying to Big Mouth Zhao, “Brother Big Mouth, you must have a lot of guests today, right? I’ve prepared a few dishes to go along with your order. If she’s the one, you have to let me know so I can celebrate with you.”

She remembered that she had eaten one of his soft-shelled turtles just the other day, and she quite liked Big Mouth Zhao’s simple, honest personality. Hoping his matchmaking would be a success, she had specially prepared braised pig’s trotters, braised pig’s tail, spiced pig heart in soy sauce, and a cold salad of pig’s ears for him, in addition to the large pot of pig offal and head meat. She figured a more lavish spread of food would give the Zhao family more face.

When Big Mouth Zhao saw that Juhua had prepared so many extra dishes for him, he was at a loss. “Oh my! I don’t have that much money… What do I do?”

Seeing his naive expression, Juhua let out a laugh. “This is a gift for you, Brother Big Mouth. If you find your bride today, you can treat us to a wedding feast next year, can’t you?”

Big Mouth Zhao was overjoyed. Grinning from ear to ear, he said repeatedly, “Alright then! Brother Big Mouth won’t stand on ceremony with you. Little Sister Juhua, once I’ve found my bride, I’ll invite you to the wedding feast. And what’s more, come next spring, I’ll catch a whole bunch of Huang Shan and soft-shelled turtles for you.”

His simple-hearted nature was even more earnest than Zheng Changhe’s.

He had never found Juhua’s appearance strange. ’So what if she has some things on her face?’ he thought. ’What’s there to be so shocked about?’ Now that Juhua wore a cloth over her face, which ordinary people found rather surprising, he still felt nothing of the sort. Standing before her, he simply felt that the sight was much brighter and easier on the eyes, that’s all.

Because of this, Juhua felt very relaxed talking to him, and her questions could be quite nosy, as she always liked to get to the bottom of things.

And Big Mouth Zhao was happy to tell her everything, down to the last detail—after all, no one else talked to him the way Juhua did.

Zheng Changhe laughed. “You silly boy, you’re just too earnest. This food isn’t worth much; it’s not worth feeling like you owe someone a favor.”

Big Mouth Zhao chuckled, watching as Juhua and Zheng Changhe moved the various jars and pots into the Lanzi he had brought. Since it didn’t all fit, they had to lend him another Lanzi to pack all the food.

He said to Zheng Changhe, “I’ll bring your things back later. They’re all filled with food for me now, so you must be out of containers to use.”

Juhua smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Your family must be busy today, so it’s fine to bring them back tonight. We have plenty of these jars and pots at home these days; we won’t miss these few.”

Carrying two large Lanzis, Big Mouth Zhao left in high spirits.

Watching his retreating back, Juhua sighed. ’Getting a wife is a huge event for a countryman. I hope his meeting doesn’t fall through today.’

Juhua asked Zheng Changhe, “Dad, how much do you think our big pig weighs now?”

Seeing her ask about this, Zheng Changhe began to chatter away happily. “Oh, that pig is growing so fast! I originally estimated that if we raised it until the end of the year, we’d be lucky if it reached one hundred thirty or forty jin. But after feeding it acorns for the past few months, all that pig does is eat and sleep, sleep and eat. I bet it’s already up to one hundred seventy or eighty jin! It’ll definitely reach two hundred jin by year-end.”

Juhua laughed with delight at his words. ’It’s puffing up like a balloon,’ she thought. ’The pork is going to be so fragrant!’

“Dad, when we slaughter the pig, can we keep half for ourselves?” Although she was always eating pig offal and head meat, she had only eaten real pork once, when Yang Family had weighed out some pork belly for them to try back when they were digging the well. She was really craving some stir-fried pork. ’Sigh! This is the complete opposite of my past life.’

Seeing her delicate frame and the hopeful look on her face, Zheng Changhe was ready to grant her anything. “We’ll keep half, we’ll keep half!” he said repeatedly. “By the time we finish this half, the piglet will be grown. From now on, we’ll always keep half when we slaughter a pig.”

The father and daughter looked at each other and smiled.

For the rest of the day, Juhua remained listless and didn’t move around much. Zheng Changhe took care of all the chores, so there is little else to note.

In the afternoon, after Qingmu arrived at the schoolhouse, Zhang Huai asked him, “So, how was it? Is that acorn tofu any good?”

Qingmu shot him a look. “Good? She hasn’t even made it yet! Juhua fainted last night while taking a bath. She’s feeling unwell today, how could she possibly be making things like that?”

He said this deliberately, wanting to see how the other boy would react.

Zhang Huai was stunned and asked in alarm, “How could she faint from just taking a bath? Then what’s to be done? Doctor Qin is gone, so there’s no one to look at her. Is she just having to endure it?”

Qingmu was very pleased with his reaction. He smiled. “It’s nothing serious. It was just pretty scary when it happened. My mother said her qi and blood probably rushed to her head. She’s much better after a night’s sleep, just a bit weak. I was going to ask you over tonight to try the tofu, but I’m afraid that’s not going to happen now. We’ll see about tomorrow. If Juhua’s better, you can come with me for dinner.”

Only then did Zhang Huai’s heart settle. But he asked again, worriedly, “But Aunt Zheng went out to sell her food. Who’s at home to help Juhua? Uncle Zheng can’t cook.”

Qingmu was both surprised and amused to see him suddenly become so fussy. ’Well, isn’t this something he brought on himself? If he hadn’t been so disgusted by Juhua before, he wouldn’t have to be so furtive about it now. He could just go straight to her house and see her. But now, here he is, suffering all on his own, and it’s not even certain that Juhua would have him!’

When Zhang Huai saw Qingmu’s teasing, half-smiling expression, his face flushed red.

He understood perfectly what Qingmu meant. Annoyed, he turned his head away. “Don’t you laugh at me. I’m an honest person; I don’t lie. Just think about it. If someone came out of nowhere and said they liked Juhua, would you believe them? I was a little put off at first—isn’t that a normal reaction? I had to think for a long time, think it all through carefully, before I understood my own feelings. Now that I know my own heart, I also know what to do. What’s so wrong with that?”

******

Some readers have questioned my use of “gē gē xiào” (giggle/chuckle), saying the book is going off the rails. The author is surprised: since when did the usage of this common phrase change? I checked the online Xinhua Dictionary, Baidu Dictionary, and Baidu Baike, and I’m not wrong. “Gē gē” is an onomatopoeia used to describe a person’s laughter! Of course, it also describes the clucking of a chicken, which I imagine is why some people are unaccustomed to it.

The author’s updates have been too fast. According to the New Book Rankings, books that exceed 200,000 characters in the first month are removed from the list. Therefore, starting tomorrow, I will be switching to one Chapter a day, posted in the morning. I will return to two Chapters a day on May 1st. Please understand. I have consistently been doing two Chapters a day; if I haven’t earned even that much of your trust, then there’s nothing more I can do. Please vote for the story!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep