Guests coming to congratulate her came in waves, and Qin Manzhi's face almost froze with laughter.
The lively flowing water seats are open until the sun goes down.
Very few people in the village light candles at night. They finish everything during the day and just get under the covers and sleep when it gets dark at night. So when it gets dark, everyone has eaten about the same and dispersed.
The cook and his apprentices stayed to clean up the yard. Before leaving, Qin Manzhi paid them full wages and promised each of them a red envelope, which made them happy and beaming.
It wasn't until the moon rose above the treetops that the banker's courtyard became quiet.
In the woodshed, the eggs were tied tightly and could not move at all.
He almost regretted it. How could he be greedy, listen to Zhuang San's idea, and do this? He didn't get any money, and he was beaten so badly. But what about others? He didn't even have a face. It came out, and not a single hair was injured.
Now his whole body ached, his stomach was hungry, and he felt angry even though Zhuang San had scolded his ancestors for eighteen generations.
"crunch"
The door of the woodshed opened.
Shen Ling came in, followed by Qin Manzhi.
The cow egg raises its head.
The man in the wedding dress was between a teenager and a young man, and his figure was a little thin. But he knew very well that although this man looked weak, he was also cruel when it came to punishing people.
The kick on his chest still hurts a little!
But at this time, the other party was dressed in red, holding an oil lamp in his hand, standing expressionless, with orange flames in his dark eyes, just looking at him silently. This look alone made Niudan come out. Sweat.
"You, what do you want to do?"
He shrank toward the woodpile at the back.
It's a pity that it doesn't help, there is no space at the back.
Shen Ling raised his hand, Niu Dan saw it from the corner of his eye, and subconsciously protected his head. He thought he was going to be beaten again, but the other party just handed him a piece of paper.
"It's written clearly about your connection with Zhuang San. If you press your fingerprint, we won't hold you responsible."
What?
Not a beating, nor a report to the police?
You just let me go after pressing your fingerprints? Could you be tricking me?
Niudan is a bit lonely and suspicious.
If this piece of paper really says something about his collusion with Zhuang San, wouldn't that be evidence of his fraud? If his fingerprints were pressed, wouldn't he be found guilty?
His triangular eyes rolled, and he hesitated.
But Shen Ling didn't give him a chance to think at all.
"If you don't press the button, I will send you to see an official tomorrow morning."
"I press, I press!"
Knowing that what the man in front of him said was true, Niu Dan hurriedly responded and signaled Shen Ling with his eyes to loosen his bonds.
Shen Ling handed the oil lamp to his mother-in-law behind him, and drew a finger-long knife from his waist.
Niu Dan thought the knife was used to loosen the ties, and turned around immediately. Unexpectedly, the ropes were not loosened, and his fingers hurt.
The knife cut his finger and some blood dripped out.
Shen Ling grabbed Niu Dan's other intact hand, which was stained with blood, and pressed it heavily on the paper full of words.
"Can you let me go now?" Niudan turned his back and covered his hands, without even frowning. He only raised his chin and asked anxiously.
Compared with the punches and kicks I received today, the pain of cutting my flesh with a knife was nothing.
After confirming that the document was correct, Shen Ling untied the rope. When he was about to let the person go, he said, "Don't come to Erlizi Village again, otherwise, this document will be handed over to the county government at any time."
Nowadays, no matter how brave Niu Dan is, he doesn't dare to appear in Erlizi Village, let alone hang out in front of the villagers. It is estimated that even if he meets from a distance in the future, he will have to walk around in fear.
He nodded repeatedly to Shen Ling, and the moment his hands were free, he stood up, buried his head, and ran away. He actually ran for two miles without looking back.
Shen Ling got the document and didn't bother to care about him. He just folded the paper carefully and handed it to Qin Manzhi with both hands.
"Mother, this document is for your safekeeping."
Qin Manzhi was just an ordinary peasant woman, so she had never been called "mother" so solemnly. This was a title that only a person with status deserved.
She took the things and said with a smile, "We are an ordinary family. From now on you will be just like Kerr, just call me mother."
Shen Ling paused unnaturally.
mother.
A common and affectionate title.
This reminded him of how Zhou had asked him to call her this way when he first arrived at the Shen family. At that time, the woman was still a bit gentle and amiable, and her eyes were full of love.
But from intimacy to indifference, from indifference to hatred, in just a few years, the title also changed from the word "mother" to the more alienated word "mother".
"mother."
Shen Ling lowered his eyelashes and whispered.
Qin Manzhi didn't know what he was thinking, but she was also keenly aware of the child's slight depression.
She sighed, feeling slightly weak.
Her son-in-law is a completely different person from Ke'er. That girl is a bit happy and angry, and she shows it all on her face. She has a clear distinction between love and hate.
As for this one, it seems like he likes to keep everything in his heart.
She really didn't know whether this marriage was right or wrong.
But thinking about what her daughter once said about Shen Ling's life experience, Qin Manzhi looked at the young man with nothing but heartache in her eyes.
"You go and have a rest early. We'll talk about anything tomorrow."
After saying that, she put the oil lamp into Shen Ling's hand and went back to the house by the moonlight.
Aman was sleeping soundly on the bed, and he didn't realize that the sister who usually slept next to him was no longer here to accompany him.
The weather was about to enter autumn, and the night was a bit cool. Qin Manzhi went to bed and lay next to the little one. Without her daughter, the bed seemed a little empty.
After covering the thin blanket that had been pushed open, Qin Manzhi looked at her little son's plump and well-behaved sleeping face in the cold white moonlight, and felt soft in her heart.
The only sound in the village at night was the rustling of leaves in the breeze and the occasional barking of dogs. When she fell asleep, she vaguely heard the sound of the door opening and closing.
Shen Ling entered the main room with an oil lamp and bolted the door.
But then, facing the door with the red word "happy" on it, he hesitated.
An unprecedented emotion called anxiety occupied his chest, making the hand holding the oil lamp a little unsteady.
Is she...waiting for me?
The sudden hoot of an owl from outside disturbed Shen Ling's mood. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his hand was already covering the big word "hi".
Intense and flamboyant red, confident and shining, fiery and warm.
Just like that girl.
Shen Ling opened the door.
There was no one at the table, only two red wedding candles were lit. The candlelight was weak and it was almost burned out. The two pools of candle tears below spread on the table, and the edges touched the coarse porcelain bowl filled with food, forming a red of semicircle.
Why didn't she eat anything?
The original inexplicable timidity was replaced by worry. Shen Ling blew out the oil lamp in his hand, placed it gently on the table, and walked towards the only bed in the room.
Zhuang Keqing fell asleep and she was dreaming.
Dreams about past lives.
The hardships of studying, the sweetness of falling in love, until encountering painful betrayal.
It was as if she was experiencing everything all over again. In the end, all the pain and unwillingness came to her, until she could not breathe as if she were drowning in her dream.
The girl on the bed was curled up with her back to the bed, the thin quilt on her body was all gathered up in her arms, her brows were furrowed as if she was grasping for a life-saving straw, her cheeks that should have been rosy were pale, and there were beads of sweat on her forehead.
This is not right.
Shen Ling subconsciously leaned over and reached out to cover the girl's clenched fist.
As if feeling a warm body temperature different from his own, Zhuang Keqing unconsciously rubbed Shen Ling's hand in his sleep, loosened the quilt in his hand, grabbed the arm and pulled it into his arms.
Shen Ling froze. Even if his palms were not sensitive, he could feel his forearm being held in a soft place, and the rising and falling feeling caused by the girl's shallow breathing also agitated his sensitive nerves.
He knew he was blushing.
In the room, the boy who was kneeling on the bed was trying to pull his arms out, but the girl who was fast asleep did not give him such a chance, and instead hugged him tighter. She was almost buried in the boy's arms, like A furball who only seeks comfort.
"Don't go..."
A faint request came from Shen Ling's ears.
"Don't go..."
"please"
In his small, soft plea, he described the other person's sleeping face with his eyes.
The slightly frowning brows reveal uneasiness, the trembling fragile eyelashes, the small nose covered with fine sweat, and the soft and pleading lips.
Shen Ling finally relented, gave up his limited struggle, undressed and lay down next to the girl.
In the dream, Zhuang Keqing caught a piece of driftwood in the water, which had a reassuring fragrance. She felt the sun shining on her body, making it warm.
