Huo Tianzhou Strangeness (Part 2)

When she returned, she saw Huo Tianzhou preparing to leave, with a bamboo tube hanging at his waist.

"Going to town?" Liang Hongyu asked him.

Huo Tianzhou was indeed heading to town.

The job he found yesterday required another day of work today.

Liang Hongyu had bought several days' worth of rice and flour last time, to avoid taking the ox cart to town again soon.

Seeing that he seemed to be going too, Huo Tianzhou looked at her in confusion.

Taking the ox cart was a rough ride.

If possible, Liang Hongyu didn't want to take it again, but Huo Tianzhou's return yesterday had been odd.

Now seeing he was heading to town, Liang Hongyu asked him to wait so they could go together.

Huo Tianzhou hadn't been standing in the front yard for long when Liang Hongyu came out with a basket.

It was filled with wild rabbits, though she had left the smaller ones behind.

Since the rabbits were too scared to eat, keeping them might not work out.

Selling them seemed like a better idea.

She glanced at the rabbits and then walked out with Huo Tianzhou.

An hour later, they arrived in town.

Seeing Huo Tianzhou about to walk away after getting off the ox cart, she knew he was headed to the place where he worked yesterday.

Liang Hongyu suddenly asked for the exact location.

Huo Tianzhou wouldn't be done until the afternoon at the earliest, and Liang Hongyu didn't have much to do after selling the rabbits.

She couldn't just...

Liang Hongyu got off the ox cart and stood in front of him, waiting for his response.

Huo Tianzhou remembered how late it had been when he got home yesterday and was about to indicate that he would be back earlier today.

Liang Hongyu is already familiar with the routine.

She extended her hand in front of him, opened his palm, and urged him.

"Hurry up and write it down, clearly."

...

Liang Hongyu arrived early this time, and the rabbits sold quickly.

After visiting two restaurants, they were all sold.

Knowing the rice and flour at home wouldn't last long at their current eating pace, she went to the grocery store she visited last time and bought a few days' worths of supplies for 180 wens.

Then she visited the butcher shop and bought over half a pound of both lean and fatty pork.

She had wanted to buy some beef, but cows in the area were precious and couldn't be slaughtered unless they died of old age or illness.

She came out and saw a stall selling pigeons nearby and bought one.

The ten or so wild rabbits sold for 230 wen.

Liang Hongyu had brought only 35 wens in loose change and, after paying the fare, had just 31 wens left.

Liang Hongyu had previously calculated how quickly she could earn money from hunting and figured it wouldn't take long to repay her debts.

Holding the money pouch as she walked out, she thought she needed to be more proactive.

It was now mid-morning, and the street was crowded with pedestrians, making it easy to bump into people if she wasn't careful.

At this time, the dock wasn't very busy.

Gong Banyun didn't have many tasks usually.

It took nearly half an hour to walk from here to the dock, and Liang Hongyu planned to ask him something.

Then she saw Mrs. Yang pulling someone beside a teahouse, speaking earnestly.

Liang Hongyu recognized the person as the matchmaker who had come to propose a marriage for Huo Tianzhou.

The matchmaker didn't seem to care for Mrs. Yang, but her demeanor changed once Mrs. Yang handed her a money pouch.

She weighed it and smiled.

After exchanging a few more words, Mrs. Yang left, and the matchmaker turned around to enter the teahouse.

Liang Hongyu didn't think much of it and walked on.

...

Mrs. Deng had an appointment to discuss matters at the teahouse today.

After taking a few sips of tea, her guest arrived and sat down across from her.

She smiled and was about to speak when she looked up and was startled, almost spitting out her tea.

"Did Mrs. Sun come to you just now because of the last matchmaking proposal?" Liang Hongyu asked directly.

"Of course not," Mrs. Deng instinctively denied.

She had been matchmaking for a long time and had seen all kinds of people.

The ones she least wanted to deal with were those like Liang Hongyu, who seemed rather intimidating.

After Liang Hongyu issued an eviction order last time, Mrs. Deng had no doubt that if they had stayed any longer, Liang Hongyu would have gone to the authorities.

So, she quickly added, "Mrs. Sun's family has a young member who wants to get married. She saw me on the street and especially came to apologize for the unpleasantness last time and asked me to introduce someone for matchmaking."

The last incident had caused her quite a little bit of trouble.

Mrs. Sun didn't dare to ask her to come again and she just wanted her to introduce one of her acquaintances instead.

If it weren't for the money, she wouldn't have agreed.

With a forced smile, Mrs. Deng spoke evasively.

Liang Hongyu didn't need to ask further and inquired about something else, "Which family did Mrs. Sun ask you to help with the marriage?"

This wasn't something she couldn't tell, so Mrs. Deng replied, "It's someone from Mrs. Sun's maternal village, a relative of hers. The girl just turned sixteen this year, just the right age for marriage."

"How is the girl's character?" Liang Hongyu asked, following up on her comment.

"She's excellent, of course. She's gentle, sensible, obedient, and very filial," Mrs. Deng replied.

Seeing Liang Hongyu's expression, Mrs. Deng thought she had a chance and continued, "She's also quite good-looking. I think she would be a perfect match for the one in your family."

"After all it's been a while but you guys still don't have a child, having her join into your family maybe would bring luck if there are children around."