freenovelworld Chapter 123 Villagers
Chapter 123 Villagers
Upon hearing this, the little guy immediately hugged his father's thigh tightly, "No, I won't fall~"
"Hold him tight even if he won't fall." Xiao Li gently touched the little bun on his head, and when the little guy nodded "hmm" seriously, he held him tighter with his little arms, and placed his hands lightly behind his back before driving the carriage back to the village.
Erzhuzi led the way. He was so obsessed with Xiao Ruixue's beauty that he only remembered the important business now. He told Xiao Li about the changes in the village in the past two years.
The old patriarch was getting older and his health was naturally not as good as before, so two years ago he passed the position of patriarch to someone else, and this person was an acquaintance of Xiao Li in this village.
The main person Xiao Li and his friends were going to meet today was the patriarch of the Xiao family - Xiao Laofu.
Xiao Li was not surprised by this. After all, the old patriarch was old, so it was normal for him to retire. The position of patriarch had always been held by someone with a high seniority, ability and good health in the clan. No matter how you looked at it, Xiao Laofu was a more suitable candidate.
Lu Yuan was really surprised.
Before leaving Yangliu Village, he basically lived here all his life. The Xiao family is one of the two major surnames in Yangliu Village. The patriarch of the Xiao family is also the village chief of their Yangliu Village.
Before they left, he remembered that the village chief was still in good health. When he gave up the position of clan leader two years ago, it was only two years since they left.
But to the two little guys, both the old patriarch and the new patriarch were still strangers, and there was nothing to be curious about.
No, not really. Little Ruixue was still curious. She was curious about what a clan leader was and why she had to meet him.
My brother's personality is more like Xiao Li's. He often reacts indifferently to things around him. He will only pay a little attention to things he cares about. Otherwise, he would rather stare at the air than take a second look at other things.
When Xiao Li left Yangliu Village, the villagers were all hoping that he would pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi, and then become an official to bring honor to the family.
The villagers more or less wanted to benefit from the drought, but before the drought, Xiao Li reminded them of this and he even asked his friends to help them, which made them gradually change their minds.
At this moment, in the eyes of the people of Yangliu Village, it is not an exaggeration to say that Xiao Li and his family are the villagers' saviors.
Therefore, when Xiao Li followed Er Zhuzi to the ancestral hall, what he saw were villagers holding more or less things to give to them.
"Xiao Si, these are the wild vegetable buns my family just made today. They also have some bacon in them. They're delicious. Try them."
"These are the dried bamboo shoots my family makes. They're all made from the tips of the bamboo shoots. They're very tender and delicious when stir-fried with meat or cooked and mixed with a little salt."
"These are the eggs my family preserved. You wrote to us about the method. They are really delicious and beautiful."
"This is our own homemade bacon. There isn't much, so don't be disgusted."
……
Erzhuzi went in first, followed closely by Xiao Li, but everyone acted as if they didn't see him and looked directly past him to see Xiao Li behind him.
Xiao Li had no shortage of these things, but he didn't refuse them either. "Thank you all, uncles, brothers, aunts, and uncles. I can't take the things right away. How about I take them when I leave later?"
"Ok, Ok."
"Xiao Si still has the best brain."
"People who read are smart!"
"Then we'll take it first and send it to your carriage later."
Although everyone wanted to leave an impression in front of him, after all, they hadn't seen each other for several years, so they still restrained themselves and didn't dare to be too shameless, for fear that Xiao Si, who had returned from the capital and seen the world, would dislike them.
Everyone was about to turn around and go back when suddenly someone noticed Lu Yuan coming in with two little ones, one on each side.
The two little guys were as delicate as jade. One looked very much like the serious Xiao Si, and the other looked very much like the androgynous Lu Yuan.
Everyone:! ! !
Seeing the father and his two sons, everyone almost subconsciously lowered their voices for fear of scaring them.
As early as when Xiao Si and Lu Yuan got engaged, they knew that Yuan Ge'er was not what they saw or thought he was, but was as handsome as those boys raised in wealthy families.
Such a handsome boy is much more beautiful than Lu Youfu, the most beautiful girl in their Yangliu Village.
At that time, countless young men secretly regretted in their hearts, regretting that they had disdained Yuan Ge'er, regretting that they judged people by appearance, regretting that they had not taken a closer look at the former Yuan Ge'er, otherwise...
Otherwise, they might be able to marry Yuan Ge'er and have a husband as handsome as an angel.
But all those thoughts disappeared when he saw him coming in behind Xiao Li, holding two equally cute little kids.
Although they didn't want to admit that they were not as good as other men, they had to admit that Brother Yuan should be very happy if he married Xiao Li.
There seems to be no change compared to before, except that her appearance has grown a little. She has become more delicate and beautiful, and there is also a not-so-obvious charm.
If it were in the past, seeing such a handsome guy, everyone would not be able to help but take a few more glances even if they didn’t have any thoughts on him. After all, who doesn’t like to look at good-looking people!
But today, everyone was just stunned for a while when they saw Lu Yuan, and then they looked away. Some looked at the two little kids, some looked at Xiao Li, and some lowered their heads to look at the ground... In short, no one felt comfortable staring at Lu Yuan.
The men still needed to avoid suspicion, but the uncles and aunts didn't have to be so particular and almost kept their eyes glued to Lu Yuan.
"I haven't seen Brother Yuan for a few years. I almost didn't recognize him. With his appearance and figure, he's not much different from those brothers from wealthy families, right?"
"Yes, yes! Brother Yuan looks much more beautiful than before. It seems that the water in the Central Plains is more nourishing than our northern waters."
"Look at our Brother Yuan'er's appearance, and you'll know that Xiao Si must have treated him very well in the past few years."
……
"Hey, these two little kids are you and Xiao Si's kids, right? They're so pretty!"
"Are these two babies twins? They look about the same size!"
"These two little ones are growing up quite well. One looks so much like Xiao Li, and the other looks so much like Yuan Ge'er. If you go out together, no one will suspect that you are not a family."
"Which one is the older brother and which one is the younger brother?"
……
In the past few years, Lu Yuan has been growing up slowly and is no longer the boy who was tongue-tied when facing outsiders.
Faced with everyone's praise and inquiries, Lu Yuan was able to handle them all without Xiao Li's presence, and no one could find any problems with them.
"I haven't seen them for a few years, and the uncles and aunts haven't changed much since I left. They are still as welcoming as ever."
"These two children are twins, almost four years old. Jing'er is the older brother and Bao Bao is the younger brother."
"The children haven't grown up yet, and we don't know what they will become in the future. Uncle and aunt, please don't praise them, otherwise these two little guys might get too cocky and go crazy."
……
Lu Yuan was already pretty and delicate, and he always smiled when he spoke. The uncles and aunts in the village all liked to talk to him, and for a moment he felt like he couldn't get away from him.
If it was Lu Yuan, who had never been to the capital and had not interacted with so many people, she would definitely be very happy about this, feeling that she was recognized by the villagers and that they did not hate her.
In the past few years at Zhuangzi, Lu Yuan learned to read and write with Xiao Li, and also learned many other principles. He knew that sometimes you can't just look at the surface.
Just like now, if he wasn't Xiao Sifulang, if they hadn't shown their kindness to the village, if they had returned from the capital in such a mess...
Then what they face at this moment may not be the enthusiasm of the villagers, but the ridicule of the public.
Therefore, he just listened to the compliments and flattery towards their family and did not take them to heart.
Little Ruixue was originally being held by her little father's hand, but was suddenly lifted into the air. When she looked up, she met her father's eyes which seemed somewhat helpless.
"Baby, what are you looking at? Daddy is holding you, you can look at whatever you want." Xiao Li held the little guy in one hand and had no intention of listening to his reliable answer, so he just asked casually.
After all, what children need most is attention, especially the attention of their parents.
However, Xiao Ruixue told him seriously, "Daddy, there are so many grandparents I don't know~"
Most of those who can come to the ancestral hall at this time are not young anymore, around 30 or 40 years old, and they are already grandparents in the village.
The people in the third branch of the Xiao family got married relatively late in the village, but Xiao Li was not the son of Xiao Lao San and Lin Cao, so they were still in their prime.
In addition, Xiao Li often exchanged the spiritual spring water from the source for his family to drink, so Xiao Laosan and Lin Cao and his wife still looked very young.
The villagers look much older than normal because of years of hard work. Some of them are about the same age as Xiao Laosan, but they look much older.
The three-year-old kid naturally wouldn't know these things, but fortunately, the adults were the same age as the grandparents he mentioned. They all looked so beautiful when they were called "grandparents" by such a pretty little kid.
"Oh, this is the baby? He's so pretty and sweet-mouthed, just like your little daddy. He'll definitely find a good family when he grows up."
"That's right, such a pretty little boy will definitely be a pretty boy when he grows up. I'm afraid that men who want to marry your baby will have to knock on your doorstep in the future."
……
In this era, the best way to compliment a boy is to say that he is handsome and will marry into a good family in the future.
At this moment, countless people are asking for Xiao Ruixue to marry them in the future. Aren’t they just praising the little girl for being able to marry into a good family in the future?
Xiao Li: "..." Suddenly wanted to kill someone.
The young man, who had originally had a gentle expression, now had a face so gloomy that water seemed to drip from it.
Xiao Li said nothing, looking indifferently at the villagers he was not familiar with, thinking that he should not have come back this time. He did not like to hear any words praising the little guy.
Not to mention that he has never thought about letting his baby get married and have children, just look at how old his baby is now?
He's only three years old! Even if we use the current method of calculating age, he's only four. How can we tell him now that he'll have a family?
What's this?
Because there were so many people, those who were close to Xiao Li and the others noticed that his expression was not right and gradually quieted down. However, the people at the back could not see clearly what was in front, so the flattery continued.
Lu Yuan also noticed that her husband's face looked strange. She looked at the little girl in his arms who was clueless and very happy to be praised for being pretty, and she probably knew what he was unhappy about.
Not to mention my husband, even he didn't feel happy to hear these words.
How old is their little brother? Talking about marriage is still a long way off for their little brother! Moreover, the husband said that their little brother doesn't need to get married, and they can just marry a son-in-law and set up their own family in the future. They will watch from the sidelines and will definitely not let anyone bully him.
Although Lu Yuan himself was not happy, he was still considerate of the fact that this was a fellow villager, so he did not lose his temper, but the smile on his face still faded a little.
He calmly pulled Xiao Li's hand, but without looking at him, and gently scratched his palm with his fingertips.
Xiao Li held his fingers calmly and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. He saw him looking down at the other little guy with a gentle smile on his face, and he didn't seem to be affected at all.
Others couldn't see through his disguise. Xiao Li had slept in the same bed with him for so many years, so he naturally saw that his mood was affected to some extent. However, because they were in front of others, he didn't show it.
And he naturally saw what his young husband was thinking, which was that he didn't want him to have a bad relationship with the villagers.
After the noises in the back gradually died down, Xiao Li raised his thin lips slightly and said in a gentle tone, "Who knows what will happen in the future? I would like to keep the child for a few more years. As for whether he wants to get married and have children in the future, it all depends on his preference."
For the sake of his young husband, he didn't mention the idea of finding a son-in-law for his child, so as to avoid having to deal with other problems later.
When everyone heard this, they were surprised that he still wanted to find a wife and have children for his young man, but they also knew that he was unhappy about this matter.
Although the villagers are simple and honest, they are not completely ignorant of others' opinions.
There was a moment of silence and the atmosphere was a little awkward.
Xiao Laofu was originally watching from the back. He sighed, pushed aside the people in front of him, walked up to Xiao Li, and raised his hand to pat his shoulder.
After raising his hand, he realized that with Xiao Li's current height, it was inappropriate for him to do this action.
After a pause, the hand finally landed on Xiao Li's arm. He patted Xiao Li twice with a little force, "I'm glad you're back safely. Why did you come back at this time? What's going on in the world outside?"
After hearing the clan leader talk about serious matters, everyone stopped caring about being embarrassed and stared at Xiao Li intently, waiting for his answer.
"Fifth Grandfather," Xiao Li looked at the old man in front of him, who was much thinner than he remembered. The indifference in his eyes gradually dissipated, and he returned to his initial gentleness. "The reason I came back now is because..."