“Maya! What is that?”
“It’s a bear, Bear-like Creature!”
“Bear-like Creature is wearing shorts?”
Black Treasure, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, was not pleased. Pfft! Pfft! Which blind person? Its eyes are so big and bright!
“Ah! This... is the Bear-like Creature... spitting?” Zhang Ling's Aunt said with some surprise and uncertainty.
“Black Treasure! Black Treasure!” Zhang Ling cheered while tightly hugging Black Treasure.
The people in the yard shouted urgently, “Reiko, let go, it’s dangerous!”
Yezhi grabbed Zhang Ling's Aunt, who wanted to rescue her, saying, “The little bear is raised by my family; it won’t hurt anyone!”
Her Aunt glanced at Black Treasure, who was still relatively calm in Zhang Ling's arms, and patted her chest, saying, “It seems... it really doesn’t hurt anyone. It scared me at first glance!” Yezhi smiled shyly; she didn’t expect Black Treasure to suddenly roll over.
After being overly pampered by Zhang Ling, Black Treasure suddenly seemed to realize something. It broke free from Zhang Ling and ran towards Yezhi. Zhang Ling followed with a smile. Black Treasure shivered and hid behind Yezhi, peeking out with half its head.
Zhang Ling's Aunt, her second aunt, cousin, and younger cousin were all charmed by Black Treasure's amusing appearance. The two bolder cousins reached out to touch Black Treasure's back, causing it to curl up immediately. Zhang Ling curiously asked, “Sister Ye, what’s wrong with Black Treasure?”
Yezhi wasn’t quite sure either. She quietly pressed the “Pet Communicator” to ask. Black Treasure stammered, “In broad daylight, men and women should not engage in close contact!” Yezhi was stunned.
When did Black Treasure develop an awareness of gender? What happened while she was away? No wonder Black Treasure started wearing pants!
Everyone watched curiously as Yezhi conversed with Black Treasure. Of course, her aunt and second aunt didn’t believe that Yezhi could communicate with animals; they just joined in for fun. However, Zhang Ling, knowing Yezhi's abilities, quickly asked, “What does Black Treasure mean?”
Yezhi, with a meaningful look, said, “You’re hugging and touching it; my baby is shy! Actually...” She leaned closer to Zhang Ling’s ear and whispered, “You don’t need to be so eager; tomorrow night, Xiao Huang will definitely let you ‘have your way’!”
Zhang Ling blushed bright red and stomped her foot while pointing at her, saying, “Sister Ye, you’re bad! You’re too bad!” Yezhi laughed even more wildly. Her aunt and second aunt didn’t understand what they were talking about but joined in the laughter when they saw everyone else laughing.
As soon as night fell, the Zhang Family became lively. The room of Zhang Ling was filled with sisters. Meizi touched this and looked at that while exclaiming from time to time, “Tsk tsk~ The city folks are really on a different level than us! When I got married, I had a dragon and phoenix quilt as my dowry; it was the most outstanding in the Village!”
"Yezhi, feel this satin, it's so smooth! If I could roll on it, I would wake up laughing in my dreams!" Meizi said with great envy.
Yezhi patted her shoulder and joked, "Is that all you aspire to? Just rolling around? I think Big Zhu should buy ten or eight beds to bury you under them!"
Meizi chuckled, "If Da Zhu really had that ability, I'd be falling into a honey pot!"
"Don't doubt it, good days are ahead!"
"I know, it's just that after seeing how people in the city live, I feel a bit sour inside!"
"Yezhi, do you think if we all lived well, wouldn't life be even better for the city folks?" Yezhi found Meizi's question profound. Whether life in the city would be better was subjective, but when it came to convenience and vitality, rural life fell short by a large margin. It was like being hospitalized; minor illnesses were manageable, but for serious ones, the technology, equipment, and qualifications of doctors couldn't compare to those in the city.
"Maybe!" Yezhi suddenly realized that just making Zhoujiatun people's pockets fuller wasn't enough; they needed to do something more. She had to think carefully.
The women were surrounded by endless topics of conversation. Watching Aunt make noodles for Zhang Ling, everyone crowded around curiously—first about the white noodles and then about the 8-shaped dough loop.
Yezhi looked sympathetically at the 8-shaped loop being pulled on Zhang Ling's face until all her fine hairs were pulled out, revealing a smooth face. The noodle maker Aunt then shaped Zhang Ling's eyebrows into crescent shapes. Everyone stared at the seemingly transformed Zhang Ling and exclaimed, "Wow, so beautiful!" Zhang Ling shyly lowered her head, and at that moment, Yezhi thought Zhang Ling looked dazzling.
The next day at dawn, the Zhang family was bustling with activity. Yezhi's family and the village chief's family received special attention from Zhang Dou. Secretary Zhang and his wife handed out wedding candies to everyone they met. Black Treasure, having tasted the sweetness, happily moved closer to Secretary Zhang. Secretary Zhang patted Black Treasure's head and laughed, "You little rascal, all the candy on my plate must have gone into your big belly!"
"Uncle! Black Treasure's belly is so big that no matter how much you give him, he won't be full. My belly is small; you should give it to me!" Xiao Fan said with her chubby little hands.
Secretary Zhang looked at the adorable Xiao Fan and felt his heart melt. He quickly said, "Here you go!" He grabbed a handful of wedding candies from Zhang Ling's mother and stuffed them into Xiao Fan's hands. Xiao Fan was so happy her eyes disappeared as she thanked him in a sweet voice and ran over to show off to Black Treasure and Wolf Child.
Wolf Child bounced over to Secretary Zhang with outstretched hands saying, "Candy!" Secretary Zhang glanced at Wolf Child's bulging pockets and laughed heartily, "Old partner, I think we might not have enough wedding candies prepared!"
Because of the saying "the earlier the better," weddings should happen as soon as possible to compete with others' lives. At nine o'clock, Xiao Huang arrived at the Zhang family's door with his bicycle wedding procession. Accompanying him were a pair of rosy-cheeked children; they also brought a pork tenderloin said to be for the bride's mother called "Leaving Mother Meat," along with several green onions tied with red thread symbolizing a fulfilling life. A red basin filled with small household items was named "Treasure Basin."
Xiao Huang wore a neat Zhongshan suit with a big red silk flower pinned on his chest; he looked particularly spirited and handsome. He shouted loudly, "Dad, open the door! Mom, open the door!" Aunt and his second aunt complained about his volume being too low while his cousins teased him about giving too little in red envelopes. Xiao Huang was drenched in sweat from their teasing. Yezhi stood guard at the door and pulled Black Treasure forward saying, "Our heavenly sister can't just be taken away so easily!"
"This big sister here, what do you suggest we do?" Yezhi was called "big sister" by an older woman and almost felt awkward!
Clearing her throat she said, "First compose a love poem!" Before she finished speaking, laughter erupted throughout the courtyard.
Xiao Huang cast a flirtatious glance at Lin Haitao in the distance, but Lin Haitao pretended not to see. The Young Man from the wedding procession would not let him off easily and pushed him forward.
"Brother Lin, you have to help me!"
Lin Haitao remained silent, only smiling gently at Yezhi. Yezhi cursed Xiaobinzi for being "despicable" for using his looks to make her hesitate. "Well~~ forget the love poem, just repeat after me!"
"I promise: when my wife goes out, I will follow; when my wife gives orders, I will obey; when my wife is wrong, I will blindly comply!" Before she could finish, someone in the wedding procession shouted, "Then Xiao Huang will just become a follower!" Laughter erupted all around.
Lin Haitao pulled the annoyed Yezhi closer, and Xiao Huang took the opportunity to distract Black Treasure with a piece of candy. Once Black Treasure walked away, a group of people surrounded him and successfully entered the house.
Yezhi kicked the gluttonous Black Treasure, who was patting his pocket full of candy. "Mama Bear" wants to eat what she picks herself! Faced with Black Treasure's generosity, which left her both amused and exasperated, she could only look up at the sky.
Lin Haitao held her hand from behind. "Don't worry, I will do it!"
"Do what?"
"When my wife goes out, I will follow; when my wife gives orders, I will obey; when my wife is wrong, I will blindly comply! How many more after that?" He asked seriously.
Yezhi felt as if she had drunk honey water inside, but she retorted, "Hmph! You confess your feelings to your wife; what does that have to do with me?"
Lin Haitao squeezed her hand twice. "I plan to marry a girl named Ye Zhi. In fact, I've already submitted the marriage report! Yezhi, let's get married!"
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