"Still looking at her?"
Lin Yuan had been marveling at Aunt Chen, but she had forgotten there was a super-sized jar of vinegar right by her side. It wasn’t until Xia Zheng cupped her face with both hands that Lin Yuan chuckled and punched his stomach once: "She’s a woman, can’t I look at women?"
Xia Zheng dramatically clutched his stomach, mustering a look of extreme pain: "You, you, murderer of your own husband!"
Lin Yuan’s ears turned red, and this time she really hit him: "What nonsense! Aren’t you ashamed!"
Xia Zheng, amused by her shy demeanor, chuckled "heh heh," took Lin Yuan’s small hand into his, and began to playfully knead and rub it, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"You’re not permitted to look at women either, from now on, you can only look at me. You shouldn’t look at anything else, no matter if it’s a man or woman!"
Lin Yuan found his domineering and unreasonable words amusing and annoying at the same time, and she glared at him before yanking her hand back and heading inside the house.
However, Xia Zheng suddenly hummed from behind: "I’m telling you, my return gift can’t be just a few buns and slices of meat. I sent you a super deluxe carriage, it can’t be settled with just buns and meat."
Lin Yuan paused, then after a moment, she realized this guy had been listening to her conversation with Aunt Chen from the beginning.
"Fine then, what return gift would you like?" Lin Yuan asked with a smile, arms crossed.
Xia Zheng was captivated by her smile, raised an eyebrow, and said with a deep gaze, "I want you!"
Lin Yuan blushed to her neck, scolded him offhandedly, and rushed back into the house in just a few steps.
But Xia Zheng smiled seriously and murmured to himself: "I really wish you’d grow up fast, so I can marry you and bring you home."
Li Feng’e’s uninvited arrival did not affect the enthusiasm of Lin Yuan’s house for the celebration; everyone enjoyed eating and drinking heartily. Especially the men, who were beyond happy with meat and wheat buns to eat and the strong liquor from Meng Family Wine House to drink.
"This Meng family’s liquor is really something else, way stronger than the swill we used to drink!"
The man who spoke was well-known in the village for his love of drinking, but unlike Lin Dashuan, he imbibed just for pleasure. He didn’t become a drunken mess all day, neglecting his work, and unlike Lin Dashuan, he didn’t beat his wife and children when drunk.
Another man guzzled a cup, his mouth stinging hot: "Damn, this is what real liquor tastes like! What we had before was horse piss!"
The other men eating laughed heartily on hearing this, and Lin Jiaxin joined in, though he glanced sideways at Xia Zheng. Although Xia Zheng had spent a considerable amount of time in the Lin family’s valley, he was ultimately from a well-off family, and Lin Jiaxin worried that the boy might look down on these rough villager customs and by extension think less of Lin Yuan.
Unexpectedly, Xia Zheng showed no sign of displeasure; in fact, he joined the man next to him and began to drink as well.
Lin Jiaxin was slightly surprised, but his fondness for his future son-in-law only grew.
The women ate inside because there was no alcohol suitable for them, so Lin Yuan specially prepared some sweet soy milk in advance. Since the weather was getting cooler, it was all served hot.
Everyone enjoyed the soy milk, finding it quite to their liking.
Seeing that everyone got a bowl of sweet soy milk, Lin Yuan was just about to head to the kitchen when she noticed Xiao He’s lonely figure in the corner. Although surrounded by a group of children, Xiao He was staring blankly with a bowl in hand, showing no inclination to drink.