Village Belle Chapter 134
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 134: Sister Taozi, I'll Marry You
Su Dou quickly ran over, staring longingly at the cakes. Su Tao gave him three pieces. "Give one to Dad and Mom."
"Okay."
Su Dou took the cakes and ran upwards. "Dad, Mom, have some cakes! Brother Yuntang gave them to me."
Lin Sanzhu, who was nearby, heard his voice, bent down and glanced over. Seeing it was Xie Yuntang, she greeted him with a smile, "Yuntang, don't bother picking. Just stand there."
"Auntie Su, it's okay. I'd been reading too many words, so I’m just exercising my wrists."
Su Tao liked to eat a cake in one bite, so her cheeks were puffed out. Xie Yuntang's eyes flashed with a smile. After glancing a few times, he raised his hand and began to pick the top flowers. His movements were quick and efficient, clearly indicating that he had done this before.
Every year when the peach blossoms bloomed, he would come to help.
He was as tall as the peach tree in front of him, his blue, wide-sleeved robe with a diagonal collar fluttering in the wind.
Su Tao didn’t believe that anyone could be so handsome before, but now she did.
Su Tao tsked inwardly, recalling Lin Sanzhu's words, and whispered in a gossipy tone, "Milksop, I heard you're engaged to a rich family's daughter?"
Mentioning his own marriage, Xie Yuntang was a little embarrassed and shook his head. "No, there’s no rush."
The Xie family wasn't in a hurry. They'd wait until Xie Yuntang took his exams next year.
"I also think there’s no need to rush. You have no idea. My mother is practically nagging me to death. I can't stand it anymore."
Su Tao lowered her voice, then chuckled. "I'm using you as a shield. If my mother asks you anything, you'd better cover for me."
"Sister Taozi, I'll marry you. Auntie Su won't pressure you anymore then." Xie Yuntang's ears turned red as soon as he finished speaking.
His parents had asked him if he had romantic feelings for Sister Taozi, but he wasn't sure. He only knew that he was happy to be with Sister Taozi.
Su Tao almost choked. She wasn't narcissistic enough to think that Milksop liked her. She tilted her head and looked at Lin Sanzhu.
There was no reaction. She hadn't heard Xie Yuntang’s words.
She heaved a sigh of relief. "You’re clueless. Don't talk nonsense. Anyway, if my mother asks you, just say you don't like me."
Hearing this, Xie Yuntang felt inexplicably depressed. Sister Taozi seemed very unwilling to marry him.
Afraid that he would make her angry if he asked too many questions, he nodded and replied, "Okay."
Su Tao stood up and picked some peach blossoms with him. After picking for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, she clapped her hands. "Mom, I'm going to the Xie family for dinner with him."
"Okay, come back early. I'll have your father pick you up later." Lin Sanzhu was worried about her coming back so late at night.
Her wretched daughter was pretty and bound to attract unwanted attention.
A few scoundrels in the village had been loitering around their house these days.
Just as Su Tao was about to say something, Xie Yuntang replied, "Auntie Su, I’ll escort Sister Taozi home after the meal. Don't worry." He then picked up the basket and slung it over his shoulder.
Seeing the two of them descend the mountain, Lin Sanzhu muttered, "They look quite well-matched."
She hadn't considered Xie Yuntang as a potential match, it was just a thought.
Walking ahead of Xie Yuntang, Su Tao suddenly remembered something. She took a few steps back, grabbed Xie Yuntang's arm, and blinked. "Milksop, how do I look now?"
Her closeness made Xie Yuntang instinctively a little awkward, and he said shyly, "Very good."
"What I told you a few years ago, you didn't believe me. Look, we've both grown up. I don't seem mentally ill, right?"
Su Tao stared at him expectantly, trying to see a glimmer of hope for going home.
She added, "I know this must be stressful for you, but you're not doing anything bad. You're helping me get home."
Xie Yuntang had asked the doctor about Su Tao's strange words, and the doctor said it was very likely she had delusions. But as long as her emotions were stable, there shouldn't be any major problems.
He coaxed gently, "Sister Taozi, I'm going to town tomorrow. Come with me, I'll buy you something delicious."
Hearing this, Su Tao knew he still didn't believe her. Her face fell, and she said speechlessly, "I'm not joking! Do you think I'm just bored and have nothing better to do than ask you to kill me every day?"
Milksop just wouldn't believe her. He didn't believe him when she was little, and he still didn't believe her now. What was she going to do...
Seeing her angry, Xie Yuntang's heart skipped a beat, afraid she would ignore him.
He hurriedly tried to coax her, "Sister Taozi, it's all my fault. Don't be angry. Tomorrow you can buy whatever you want, okay?"
"I don't want to. Milksop, let go. From today onwards, we're no longer friends. You go your way, and I'll go mine."
Su Tao couldn't understand why he still didn't believe her. When they were little, he might have thought she was sick, but now they were all grown up. After all these years, Milksop should know perfectly well whether she was sick or not.
Did she have to kill his family to make him kill her?
She wouldn't dare. She had more courage to kill herself than to kill Xie Yuntang's entire family.
Seeing her leave, Xie Yuntang strode after her, instinctively grabbing her hand and continuing to coax her in a low voice, "Sister Taozi, I'll buy you storybooks. You can choose whatever you like."
"Really? You promise you won't nag like last time?"
"Yes."
"That's more like it."
Su Tao immediately stopped being angry. Being angry was useless. She needed to think of another way.
Well, she'd been thinking for years and still couldn't come up with anything.
"Why are you going to the county town tomorrow?"
"There's a book fair. The teacher wants me to go and check it out."
"Yuntang, Big Sister!"
Suddenly, a person wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt and carrying a basket waved at them from the opposite direction.
He quickly emerged from the field, and glanced at the basket. "You guys went to pick peach blossoms? Why didn't you ask me for help? Hehe, just give me two cakes."
This booming voice could only belong to Zheng Duoyin.
"You wish! I'll only give you one at most," Su Tao glared at him irritably.
Zheng Duoyin leaned closer to Su Tao, tentatively asking, "Big Sister, I heard that the Li family's son is asking your family for your hand in marriage. Is it true?"
"True my foot!" Su Tao slapped his arm.
Zheng Duoyin rubbed his aching arm and joked, "I knew it! Hehe, Big Sister, what do you think of me? I'll have my mother go to your house to propose marriage."
"Propose my foot! I wouldn't even consider you!" Su Tao kicked him twice.
Zheng Duoyin grinned and stayed close, not retaliating, laughing. "Don't get angry. What's so bad about me? I earn over a tael of silver a month doing accounting. I'll use it all to buy you food."
He quit school this year and found a job as an accountant in town.
These past few days, since it wasn’t busy at the shop, he had gone back to the village to help.
"Tch, a tael of silver isn't enough. You'd better earn a hundred taels a month first!" Su Tao knew he was joking. Just a few days ago, his family had been trying to arrange a marriage for him with the Wei family.
The Wei family hadn't agreed, saying the Zheng family didn't have a house in town, which made Zheng Duoyin so angry that he ran to her crying.
Zheng Duoyin's eyes widened at the mention of a hundred taels of silver. "Big Sister, how did you even dare to say that? A hundred taels of silver is so much."
Watching the two playfully bickering, Xie Yuntang pursed his lips. He reached out and took Su Tao's hand, saying gently, "Sister Taozi, it's time to go back for dinner."
"Duoyin, we’re leaving." After saying that, he took Su Tao's hand and left.
"Wait for me. I'm going this way too." Zheng Duoyin quickly joined in.
"We’re not going the same way. We'll be heading that way later." Xie Yuntang pointed to another path.
He didn't like Sister Taozi being too close to Zheng Duoyin and the others.
Author’s Note: Milksop hadn't realized he liked Sister Taozi yet, hahaha. I'll secretly expose him later...
