novelden Chapter 137 Finally, he got it.
Chapter 137 Finally, he got it.
"Wait a minute, put the cabinet over there."
"All the pots, pans, and utensils are in this basket."
"Slow down, don't break anything!"
With everyone working quickly, the new house was filled with furniture in no time.
Inside the warm room, Li's mother and Li Xiaoyun spread out a straw mat on the kang (heated brick bed): "Pull it this way, yes, like this..."
"Mom, is it okay to put this cabinet here?" Li Xiangyang asked, wiping his sweat.
As they were talking, footsteps came from the courtyard.
"Is anyone there?" A young man peered cautiously into the courtyard.
"Who is it?" Li Xiangyang turned around and saw, "Zhao Dayong from Shanghe Village, come in, come in."
Zhao Dayong rubbed his hands, a hint of embarrassment on his face: "Li Xiangyang, um..."
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Li Xiangyang poured him a bowl of hot water.
"Here's the thing," Zhao Dayong said, taking the water but not even drinking it, "Our village has been ravaged by wild boars. You know, these wild boars can have seven or eight offspring at a time. We kill one batch and another comes along; we just can't eradicate them."
“That’s right,” Li Xiangyang nodded, “this thing can reproduce a lot.”
“That’s right,” Zhao Dayong continued, “In previous years, Master Zheng would organize the hunt before spring, but this year he promised his family wouldn’t go into the mountains. Our village has absolutely no one with experience who can lead the hunt, so Master Zheng recommended you…”
"Spring planting is just around the corner. We don't want the seeds to be uprooted before they're even planted."
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Okay, I understand. Do your village officials know about this?"
Mentioning this made Zhao Dayong even more uncomfortable: "I know, actually they're the ones who sent me. What happened that day was our fault..."
“Mother, what do you think about this…” Li Xiangyang turned to look at his mother.
Li's mother put down her work: "They've already come to apologize; we should help them if we can."
“Okay,” Li Xiangyang turned to Zhao Dayong, “Go back and tell your village officials that I’ll be there first thing tomorrow morning. But make it clear, this hunt is on my terms.”
"That's right, that's right!" Zhao Dayong breathed a sigh of relief, a smile finally appearing on his face. "I'll go back and tell them right away."
After seeing Zhao Dayong off, Li Xiaoyun quietly tugged at Li Xiangyang's sleeve: "You'd better be careful..."
Li Xiangyang laughed: "Don't worry, I'm going with Er Gou this time. Even if they try something bad, Er Gou and I can handle it."
"Speaking of which, I really need to go to their village. I recently found a pocket watch, which should belong to that educated youth who killed the former production team leader in their village. I thought it would be good to give it to his girlfriend, as a keepsake."
"Xiaoyun, you stay here. I'm going to Er Gou's house to talk to him about tomorrow."
"Then I'll head back first."
Thinking back to the awkwardness of last time, Li Xiaoyun felt quite embarrassed.
"Hey, don't rush off!" Li's mother quickly stopped her. "Today is moving into our new house, such a happy day. I'll cook a nice meal right away, and we can all celebrate together as a family."
"But......"
"No buts," Li's mother said with a smile, urging her to sit down. "You keep Xiaohua company and talk to her for a bit, I'll go start the fire now."
"Let me help you..."
"No need, no need, please sit down," said Li's mother as she walked towards the kitchen. "There's meat at home; I'll stew some for you."
Seeing this, Li Xiangyang smiled and said, "Then I'll be right back."
Wang Ergou was chopping firewood in the yard when he saw Li Xiangyang arrive. He grinned and said, "You missed me so soon?"
When Li Xiangyang told Wang Ergou about the matter in Shanghe Village, Wang Ergou agreed without hesitation: "If you go, I'll go. We're brothers, aren't we!"
When I got home, the aroma had already filled the entire yard.
Li Xiaohua was chatting with Li Xiaoyun when she saw him return. She jumped over and asked, "Brother, is Brother Ergou going?"
“Go, go first thing tomorrow morning.”
After lunch, Li Xiangyang offered to take Li Xiaoyun home.
Before leaving, Li's mother gave Li Xiaoyun a bag of pastries: "Take these home and eat them."
Walking down the street, Li Xiangyang suddenly remembered something: "By the way, what's your exam date again?"
March 28.
"Isn't that tomorrow?" Li Xiangyang stopped in his tracks. "How about I skip the hunt and come with you to the exam?"
Li Xiaoyun shook her head, a smile in her eyes: "No need, I'm confident. Go ahead and don't worry. Trust me, I'll definitely pass."
"real?"
"Really!" Li Xiaoyun straightened her back. "I'm confident in that."
"Okay, then I wish you success in advance. Once you pass the exam, I'll definitely plant a peach tree on the left and a plum tree on the right in front of our house."
"How to say?"
"People always say 'a peach and plum tree has students all over the world,' it's for good luck."
"You're just trying to flatter me," Li Xiaoyun said, but her eyes were filled with amusement. "So, what are you planning to do with the backyard?"
"Isn't the backyard easy to manage? We can raise a couple of pigs and build a chicken coop," Li Xiangyang said excitedly. "We can also plant some vegetables, peppers, eggplants, and stuff like that. I guarantee they'll grow well. When you come home from school, I'll pick some fresh ones for you."
"That would take a lot of effort." Li Xiaoyun glanced at him furtively.
"No trouble at all," Li Xiangyang scratched his head. "The main thing is to make the yard more spacious and bright."
"What, any other plans?"
"Of course, when we have kids later, the kids will be running all over the yard..."
"You..." Li Xiaoyun blushed, but couldn't help moving closer to Li Xiangyang. "You're just making things up."
“How can this be considered wishful thinking? This is called being prepared. Of course, regarding having children, we still need to hear your opinion. My opinion is to let nature take its course, and it would be best to have both a son and a daughter.” Li Xiangyang squeezed her hand. “Life in the future will definitely be better than it is now. Don’t you think so?”
Li Xiaoyun nodded: "Yes, I also think it's best to let things take their course, as long as we're together..."
Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the educated youth settlement.
"You have an exam tomorrow..."
“Don’t worry about it,” Li Xiaoyun interrupted him. “I’m sure I’ll pass the exam. If you really care about me, then go and come back soon.”
After watching Li Xiaoyun enter the courtyard, Li Xiangyang stood there for a while before reluctantly turning around and walking home.
When he arrived home, Li's mother was tidying up the kang table. Seeing him come in, she asked, "Did you deliver it?"
"Delivered." Li Xiangyang sat down on the kang (heated brick bed). "By the way, Mother, I need to go to the city."
"Going to the city?" Li's mother stopped what she was doing. "Where are we going?"
"Xiaoyun has an exam tomorrow, and I can't go with her, but I'm thinking of getting her a gift..." Li Xiangyang stammered.
"You've finally figured it out, kid. Girls need to be pampered. Go on, don't worry about spending money, the important thing is that she likes it."
Li's mother said with a smile.
"Brother, I want to go too!" As soon as Li Xiaohua heard the word "city," she immediately jumped out of the house.
Li Xiangyang smiled and patted his younger sister's head: "Okay, then quickly change into some warmer clothes. It's so cold, don't catch a cold."
"Great!" Li Xiaohua dashed into the house to change her clothes.
"You, as her older brother, always spoil her," Li's mother scolded playfully, but with a smile on her face, she added, "Ride slowly on the road and keep a close eye on your sister."
"Okay," Li Xiangyang replied, pushing his bicycle out and calling out, "Xiaohua, hurry up!"
"Here I am!" Li Xiaohua, bundled up tightly, skipped and hopped out.
The brother and sister rode their bicycles, braving the chilly spring air, towards the city.