“You’re finally back.”

When Wei Cheng returned home, he saw two tall men, Wei Yuan and Wei Lei, squatting outside his door, both sweating from the sun.

He didn’t know how long they squatted until Wei Yuan, whose feet were numb, grinned and screamed! The reticent Wei Lei supported him with a smile in his eyes.

“Come and sit first.”

Wei Cheng opened the wooden door and asked them to sit under the tree in the small courtyard. There were no chairs to sit in, and the light was dim. Although there was only a bamboo stool in the small yard, there were also stone benches, which were well-ventilated and well-lit.

Wei Cheng went back to the house and poured a glass of water for each of them.

“How long have you been here?”

“It hasn’t been long.” Wei Yuan took the water and drank it directly. The sun was too hot in the afternoon, and the doorway was not covered. He could die of thirst by now.

Wei Lei’s forehead was also sweating heavily, but his way of drinking water was much more reserved than Wei Yuan’s.

After drinking water, they were under the tree again, and the wind blew under the tree, and the two finally did not feel like dying from the heat.

“Cheng-zi, did you go on a blind date today? How did it turn out?” Wei Yuan asked.

“How do you know I went on a blind date today?” He never told anyone.

“The aunt next door to your house said that you were not at home, that you went on a blind date.” Wei Yuan pointed to the door on the right. “We knocked on your door, but no one answered, so the aunt kindly told us.”

It turned out to be Aunt Liu. Aunt Liu was kind, and she should have heard it when his brother was talking outside the door as she was chatting with a few women outside the door.

“It didn’t work.”

Facing the caring eyes of the two good brothers, Wei Cheng said indifferently.

“It won’t work this time, but there will be a next time.” Wei Lei patted him on the shoulder and comforted him.

“That’s right, Cheng-zi, don’t pay too much attention to this; you will definitely find the right one.”

He didn’t care much; the blind date made the other party misunderstand that he looked down on him, and when he thought of those dim eyes…

“Why are you here?” Wei Cheng asked.

“It’s too noisy at home.” Wei Lei said lightly

“Lei-zi wants me to buy him a drink; I’ll get you one too.” Wei Yuan also said.

Wei Cheng understood, and he felt a little sorry, but no matter who he leased his land to, no matter how good his relationship with Wei Lei was, he would never consider Wei Lei’s family.

The parents of Wei Lei’s family were not only difficult to get along with, but they were also very greedy for petty gain. They were also known as rascals in the village. People in the village were afraid of being blackmailed or screwed over by them. If he leased the land to this family, the rent would definitely be lacking, and they might even use his relationship with Wei Lei as an excuse to give less.

And every time the original owner followed Wei Yuan to find Wei Lei, Wei Lei’s parents always found excuses to scold the original owner, scolding the original owner for being selfish and stingy. He would definitely have helped, but the original owner was afraid that Wei Lei would get into trouble with his family, so he never went there again.

She didn’t dare to scold Wei Yuan too much; Wei Yuan’s family was poor, but he was a close relative of the village head and the villagers.

Regarding the situation of Wei Lei’s family, the three of them were brothers who had known each other for a long time, and they already had a tacit understanding.

“I’m going to buy wine and come back to drink. I also want to buy some peanuts and melon seeds. What else do you want to eat? I’ll go buy them.”

Wei Yuan wanted to treat them. Cheng-zi’s house was not far from the market. This time, when he came out to drink, his parents gave him half a tael of silver privately, asking him to treat Lei-zi and Cheng-zi to a good meal.

Wei Cheng came back from eating noodle soup on the street, Wei Lei mainly came to drink, and both of them asked Wei Yuan to buy whatever he wanted.

It didn’t take long for Wei Yuan to buy a few bottles of wine, as well as a pack of melon seeds, peanuts, and crispy fish. When the mahua came back, the three men sat and chatted in the small courtyard. The courtyard’s wall was broken, and passers-by could see them drinking and chatting.

“I heard from Yuan-zi, Cheng-zi, do you want to do business?”

“Yes, I’ll go to the county town to sell snacks.”

“Doing business was also good. If you need help, just ask.”

Wei Cheng thanked him with wine, remembering his brother’s kindness in his heart.

“I told him this before; Lei-zi said that he would come to ask about it last time.” Wei Yuan smiled, “If Cheng-zi does business, let me tell you, before Lei-zi and I could marry a wife, Cheng-zi would be able to marry a wife, a wife from the county.”

“It’s okay, next time I see Aunt Lu, I’ll tell Aunt Lu and let her introduce you to others.” Wei Cheng said.

“Cheng-zi, please don’t!” Wei Yuan said anxiously. He wanted to get married in two years, and it would be difficult to marry another person because of the family situation right now. “You and Lei-zi are not married yet, so I’ll wait to get married.”

Wei Cheng was a few months older than Wei Lei, and Wei Yuan was two years younger than them.

“I won’t marry; who would want to marry me?” Wei Lei laughed at himself a bit.

His family also arranged a partner for him, but when they heard that marrying a girl cost five taels of silver, his parents gave up. Marrying a ger was the ger’s blessing, in their minds. If they wanted money, there was no way they would give it.

Wei Lei’s parents were very kind to their youngest son. Wei Lei did the housework, and Wei Lei earned money at home, but they gave the youngest son a dowry of eight taels of silver for the girl he wanted to marry.

Wei Lei was indeed their own son, but Wei Lei was brought up by his grandparents, and they were not close to Wei Lei. The two elders were afraid that they would spoil the eldest grandson, so they stayed with him. After his grandparents passed away, Wei Lei returned home to live. The old house and fields that Wei Lei’s grandparents left to Wei Lei were occupied by his parents, so Wei Lei’s family had some wealth.

It was just strange that Wei Lei didn’t seem to care about this, but both his good brothers knew that it was not that Wei Lei didn’t care; it was that Wei Lei’s nature was to do more than less.

No matter how bad the parents were, they were still his parents.

But did Wei Lei really let his parents take everything?

Certainly not.

“Lei-zi, you don’t want to get married because you were afraid of the noise at home after you get married, weren’t you?”

Wei Cheng looked at Wei Lei and said the truth.

Wei Lei drank and laughed without saying a word.

“There’s something else you’re not telling me!” Wei Yuan yelled.

Which old man doesn’t want to marry a wife and have children? If he couldn’t marry a wife, he still had to squeeze his head and marry a ger, how could Wei Yuan not be surprised that this good brother of his does not want to marry at all?

Wei Cheng, a modern person, understood that this was called premarital phobia.

“No.”

No?

What do you mean?

Wei Cheng and Wei Yuan glared at him.

It’s okay not to speak too much, but if you don’t say it clearly and only say two words, they are even more confused.

“I plan to separate from my family.”

Wei Cheng and Wei Yuan both smiled when they heard the words. Wei Lei’s plans were finally considered his own future.

If Wei Lei proposed to separate the family, Wei Lei’s parents would definitely fall into chaos.

It was definitely not so easy for Wei Lei to split up, but since Wei Lei’s tone was so sure, there was definitely a way.

“Come on, cheers to Lei-zi, if you don’t get drunk today, you don’t get to go home!” Wei Cheng shouted happily.

Wei Cheng didn’t like to get drunk, but he raised his glass and clinked glasses.

Wei Lei drank all of the liquor offered to him.

The three of them drank to the brim, and the two who were drunk were still conscious, so the two of them did not stay overnight. They had to do farm work the next day, and they would have to go back when they were sober anyway.

Wei Cheng didn’t drink much; he sat quietly in the yard by himself and watched the night.

The lights were turned off in the neighborhood.

The faint lights flickered, and the insects in the grass were singing not far away.

Strange time and space, strange life, and an uneven mood for a while.

He didn’t go back to the house until the dead of night, washed up hastily, and fell asleep.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Waking up at noon, the mood of last night was swept away.

Wei Cheng regained his spirits.

Today, he has to find a carpenter to make a small cart, and he would get rid of the burden of needing a cargo man this way. Pushing a cart was easier and more convenient than carrying the things on his back.

The carpenter Wei Cheng was looking for had five generations of inheritance, and the family was all good carpenters. They had never done the small cart style Wei Cheng mentioned. Generally, wooden pushers were either single-wheeled or double-wheeled. What Wei Cheng wanted was a three-wheeled cart. It was a little shorter than the average ones; the cart was made of wooden cabinet frames, and the armrests were high armrests. Wei Cheng drew the pattern, and the carpenter could understand it.

The carpenter held the pattern. Although it was the first time he saw this kind of cart, it was definitely more practical than the previous ones. He wanted to make it first and try it out, so he didn’t take Wei Cheng’s deposit.

The carpenter said, “You don’t need to pay the deposit. I would make it first, and then you could pay if you are satisfied.”

After leaving the carpenter, he still had to go to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for seasoning and cooking. The most important thing was the special seasoning, which he had to make himself.

Just as Wei Cheng walked to the market, he did not expect to see Zhou Yuan again so soon.

Seeing Zhou Yuan again, Wei Cheng did not leave. Instead, he stood and watched him talking and laughing with a ger and a girl who was walking beside him. His brows were clear and bright, and his eyes were bright, which made the whole person clearer and more spirited. They walked to the needlework stall and stopped to choose needlework.

His eyes couldn’t help but follow the other party.

The joy in his heart was self-evident; this feeling… this unspeakable joy, he wanted to get closer to the person… Then Wei Cheng walked over and whispered, “Zhou-ger, what a coincidence.”

He was not afraid of being abrupt.

Zhou Yuan and the people around him turned around at the same time. Zhou Yuan called, “Wei–Wei Cheng!”

Zhou Yuan was surprised. When he met Wei Cheng on the street, Wei Cheng even came over to say hello. His eyes lit up a little bit, and he couldn’t hide his joy.

He himself didn’t notice it, but the two people walking beside him saw the truth.

A man surnamed Wei? Could this be the one who had a blind date with Zhou Yuan before and lived in the county?

Zhou Yuan went on a blind date with people in the county, but the other party didn’t like him. Under the propaganda of his aunt, the village spread the word, secretly ridiculing a ger, trying to win the hearts of the county people. His aunt went around talking about the blind date that day, that man didn’t even give Zhou Yuan a look, and it seemed superfluous that they wanted to look at him.

As for what Wei Cheng invited the Zhou family to eat later, Zhou Wu definitely didn’t know about it since she left early; otherwise, she would be jealous instead of spreading rumors randomly.

The Zhou family didn’t bother to clarify, and they didn’t allow other members of the family to talk about it. If they did, others would be more suspicious, and they might think that his family was telling lies.

There was a lot of vulgarity in the village, but no one dared to speak nonsense in front of the Zhou family. The Zhou family was not a family that allowed others to bully them.

But Zhou Muzi, his good friend, and Zhou Qiu, a girl next door, were afraid that Zhou-ger would be sad, so they made excuses, saying that Zhou Muzi wanted to buy some needles and thread, and they took the person out to relax.

They didn’t expect to meet the person in question here.

However, judging from the other party’s polite attitude towards Zhou-ger, it seems that it was not as Aunt Wu said.

This Wei Cheng was very upright, with clear facial features; he was tall and stood up straight, and his clothes were elegant and tidy. No wonder their friend Zhou Yuan took him to heart, and they could tell by the way he looked at Wei Cheng.

They didn’t know what Wei Cheng meant when he came to say hello.

They hadn’t met this man before, except for Zhou Yuan, but he came over to say hello. Were they misunderstanding something?

“Zhou Yuan, you and your friends were here to go shopping. Let’s go, I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Zhou Yuan: ……

Zhou Muzi: ……

Zhou Qiu: ……

Hearing Wei Cheng’s words, both of them were stunned, not knowing how to reply for a moment.

Seeing their reactions, Wei Cheng realized that he was being abrupt.

Dajing was open to people’s customs, and it was okay for both men and women, or both men and men, to talk about marriage, or to have a meal with friends accompanied by an older brother, but it was not common for a complete stranger to say that they’ll treat the other.

They had been on a blind date before, so it was easier to cause misunderstandings. They might misunderstand that Wei Cheng was a frivolous person, or misunderstand that the ger who had been invited was disrespectful.

Wei Cheng realized that he had said the wrong thing, and it was hard to go back on what he said, so he thought of a compromise.

“Zhou Yuan, wait for me.” Then he walked away, leaving the group of friends standing in place with dazed faces.

Wei Cheng walked into a shop selling candy and dried fruit, and asked the waiter to weigh a pack of dried fruit and a pack of maltose. Then, he went to the pastry shop opposite, packed a box of mung bean cake, shortbread, and cloud cake, and, considering Zhou Yuan’s friends, he also packed another box of mung bean cake.

Wei Cheng just learned to buy, buy, buy without restraint!

Even Zhou Yuan’s friends were taken care of.

This was more intimate than an official boyfriend.

He hadn’t even realized what he was doing.

Wei Cheng was packing snacks here, while Zhou Yuan and the others, who were waiting for someone over there, were being troubled by fellow villagers.

The trouble for Zhou Yuan was a few girls; they were pretty girls, and they always looked down on Zhou Yuan in the village.

Zhou Yuan’s delusional attempt to gain fame was rejected, and they had long wanted to ridicule Zhou Yuan face-to-face, but unfortunately, they didn’t have the chance.

Since they met on the street this time, they certainly won’t miss this opportunity.