Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 377 - 376 "Big Sister

Chapter 377: Chapter 376 "Big Sister

The story finished, and the snow beneath them was littered with melon seed shells.

Miao Hongqi turned around to take a look, and upon seeing those four just standing there cracking and eating seeds, couldn’t help feeling helpless: "I’m up front sweeping snow and telling stories, while you’re all in the back enjoying yourselves and eating seeds?"

Wang Xue chuckled and casually swept the seed shells aside with the broom, exclaiming, "Who would have thought, those two actually had such a past. No wonder Xiangqin was willing to give Zhuangshi private lessons and teach him to read!"

Wen Lan, having no interest in matters of love or affection, inquisitively asked, "How many people were on the other side? How many did Zhuangshi bring with him? How did the fight go down?"

Wang Shumei was the only one who had something serious to say. She pondered for a moment, then objectively said, "Looks like Xiangqin’s determination to marry Zhuangshi can’t be stopped."

After they all shared their thoughts, they turned their heads to look at Lin Nianhe.

The one who is usually the most talkative was suddenly silent, which they found somewhat unusual.

Lin Nianhe finished the last melon seed and commented, "Based on my understanding of Zhuangshi, his decision to fight his way through their door was most likely because he felt his authority as the village bully was being challenged."

Everyone: "..."

It seems... quite reasonable...

...

After hearing Yu Xiangqin’s account, Widow Zhao’s feelings grew more complicated.

She certainly remembered her son’s famous fight where his face was beaten to look like a pig’s head, and yet he had the nerve to come home boasting that he would henceforth be the team’s guardian hero... Since when does a hero come home with two big black eyes!

Yu Xiangqin clutched the edge of her clothes, her eyes downcast as she spoke softly, "Who else in this world would risk their life to save me?"

Widow Zhao used to frequently listen to storytelling and opera in earlier years, loving tales of heroes and beauties the most, and adored "Top Scorer in Matchmaking." But her son was no top scorer, and up till now... he might be reluctantly regarded as a hero.

Widow Zhao dwelled on her feelings from the storytelling days, remained silent for a long time, then stretched out her hand to pat Yu Xiangqin’s hand, "Don’t rush this matter. Discuss it with your parents... We can’t compare with families in the city. Zhuangshi’s illness cost the team over a hundred, and after repaying what we owed, we’re still short by a large sum. Marrying into our household will definitely bring hardship."

Widow Zhao was adept at making ends meet and capable of hard work. Although Zhuangshi didn’t used to show up for labor, he could still catch fish or rabbits to earn some money. But no matter how capable she was at managing the household, it was truly difficult for a widow with two children to save money.

After discussing her family’s situation, Widow Zhao stood up. She said, "Let Zhuangshi know I’m going home to grab some things."

"Alright."

Widow Zhao also took Wang Hong with her, leaving only Zhuangshi and Yu Xiangqin in the sickroom.

Yu Xiangqin, with downcast eyes, peeled an egg and handed it to Zhuangshi.

Zhuangshi felt awkward all over, wanting to move back, but as soon as he did, his leg hurt, and he couldn’t help but inhale sharply from the pain.

"What’s wrong? Shall I call the Doctor to have a look at you?" Yu Xiangqin hurriedly placed the egg on the lid of the lunchbox, ready to leave.

"Hey hey, it’s nothing." Zhuangshi called out to stop her, "Just a moment of pain, why make a fuss."

Yu Xiangqin saw he didn’t seem to be in any serious condition, so she sat down again.

Zhuangshi felt extremely uncomfortable, wondering to himself—

In the past, when he teased the young widows, it was never so maddening. Why did it feel as if he was crawling with lice now?

Yu Xiangqin handed him the egg again.

Zhuangshi spoke dryly, "Not, not hungry."

"Oh." Yu Xiangqin put the egg back, rolled her eyes, "Then you should’ve said so sooner."

"I thought you wanted to eat."

"If I want to eat, you’ll just give it to me."

Zhao Zhuangshi: "..."

Right, if she wants to eat, he’ll just give it to her? Why didn’t he stop her? Those were eggs!

He couldn’t figure it out and just gawked.

Yu Xiangqin watched him for a while, then suddenly laughed.

She tilted her chin up at him and asked, "When can you get out of bed? Let’s go get our marriage certificate."

Zhao Zhuangshi: "...!"

Yu Xiangqin glared at him: "What? You held me in front of all those people. Are you planning to shirk responsibility and play the scoundrel?"

Zhao Zhuangshi was shocked: "I did that to save you, didn’t I?"

"Yeah," said Yu Xiangqin, "so admit it, did you hold me or not!"

Zhao Zhuangshi opened his mouth wide, struggling for a while before finally gritting his teeth and squeezing out a sentence: "Fiery woman! There’s no reasoning with you!"

The once young village tyrant had fallen victim to a fiery woman’s hand.

From that day on, Yu Xiangqin started taking care of Zhao Zhuangshi on alternate days with Widow Zhao. When nosy aunties asked about it, she responded without blushing or panting:

"We’re in a relationship, and we’re getting married soon."

Upon hearing this, nobody gossiped anymore. They all agreed that Zhao Zhuangshi’s ordeal was worth it, as he gained a wife in return.

Yu Xiangqin didn’t idle either. She called her mother’s workplace to explain the situation, while also implying that everyone already knew about it.

Her mother in Hohhot was stunned for three days, cried for three days, and ultimately had to accept that her eldest daughter was going to marry a country man.

Because Yu Xiangqin emphasized several times on the phone about the life-saving favor, her parents discussed until midnight. They secretly sold a pair of jade bracelets left behind by their elders, and together with their savings over the years, they scraped together two hundred yuan and wired it to Yu Xiangqin first.

When Yu Xiangqin received the remittance slip, she was dumbfounded.

Since she was four or five years old, she’d had to take care of her younger brothers. At first, it was just one brother, then two. Both parents had to work, and she did most of the chores at home, while her brothers would just call out for ’sister.’

Whenever there was trouble, her parents would scold her first; in a disagreement, they would remind her, "You are the big sister."

When she was sent down to the countryside, her mother gave her fifty yuan, reminding her repeatedly from the moment she left home until she boarded the train to take care of the money because the family had no more to send her...

She always felt she was the least favored child at home.

She dialed her mother’s workplace again, and before she could speak, she heard her mother’s voice, as if she had been waiting by the phone.

"Mom..."

"Yes, did you receive the money?"

"I got it..."

"Listen to me. Take the money for the medical bills to them first; you can’t owe this debt. Otherwise, you won’t be able to lift your head in your in-laws’ house. Keep the rest for yourself, save it, don’t spend it recklessly. I’m exchanging it for cloth tickets and industrial tickets. Once I have enough, I’ll send them to you. You can buy some red fabric for your clothes... Let me know when you set the date for your wedding. Your father and I will have to request leave in advance. Laoer is in the battalion; he definitely can’t come. I’m not planning on taking Laosan either, the train tickets are terribly expensive..."

Listening to her mother’s endless nagging, Yu Xiangqin’s eyes reddened.

She suddenly understood that what she once perceived as unfairness and hardship was actually what every "big sister" had to go through.

"Your grandma also gave you twenty yuan. I’ll bring it to you later. Oh right, the old lady also made you a big bag of cheese... My dear, think about it again. If you don’t want to get married, just give the two hundred yuan to his family as our thank you..."