Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 476: Chapter 249: Grilling Fish on a Snowy Night

As it turned out, Juhua wasn’t the only one who noticed her unusual relationship with Huai Zi. Her mother and He could see it too—they weren’t blind, after all. Juhua wanted to enjoy a proper romance, but the two elders couldn’t possibly let the situation continue as it was. Still, they weren’t sure how to address it. It was for this very reason that Gou Dan’s mother, upon suspecting Meizi had feelings for Qingmu, had rushed to arrange her daughter’s marriage.

Juhua’s mother, in particular, felt rather anxious and uneasy.

Before, when Huai Zi came to visit, he and Juhua hadn’t interacted much. Besides, she was younger then, so it was no great concern. But now that the two were so clearly fond of each other, meeting every day and making eyes at one another, they simply had to be engaged. ’Anything less would be improper!’

While Juhua was lost in her sweet dreams of romance, her mother had already made up her mind. She had to get Juhua engaged quickly to prevent a lack of official status from spawning gossip that could ruin her daughter’s reputation. At the same time, she didn’t want to forbid them from seeing each other. Although she didn’t share Juhua’s ideas about falling in love freely, she secretly felt that it was nice seeing the young couple together like this. They hadn’t done anything discourteous, so ’what was there to be ashamed of? Still, it would be even more perfect if they were engaged.’

He, being a mother herself, understood perfectly. She took the initiative and said, "Then let’s set the engagement for next month. An engagement in the twelfth lunar month is auspicious. With the New Year just around the corner, they’ll be like family once they’re engaged, and it will be more appropriate for the kids to be together."

Juhua’s mother nodded repeatedly. "I’ll go discuss it with her father and brother, and of course, I have to talk to Juhua herself. Don’t you worry yet; just wait for word from me. Once we’ve all agreed, things will move quickly. Let’s not bother with all the fussy, superficial formalities. We’re simple farm folk—what’s the point? When my Qingmu was engaged, we skipped all the extraneous rituals, but I didn’t neglect a single one of the important customs."

He nodded cheerfully. "I understand. Just have a good talk with Juhua, and don’t mention anything about being afraid of gossip—she hasn’t done anything out of line, and words like that might upset her. Just ask her if she’s willing to marry Huai Zi. If she is, then you can explain the benefits of getting engaged. If she isn’t..."

She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. She couldn’t even imagine what they would do if Juhua was unwilling. ’Wouldn’t Huai Zi be heartbroken?’

Seeing her worried and downcast expression, Juhua’s mother patted her hand reassuringly and said, "Do you think I’m rushing to pair her with Huai Zi because I’m afraid she won’t get married? I’m not that foolish. Of course I can see what’s in her heart. But she’s still young and doesn’t understand the weight of these things. I need to make sure she understands it all properly."

He brightened up at that. The two of them continued to chat about other things as they did their needlework.

In the kitchen, the atmosphere was lively as they ate.

Juhua ate several small fish. One was so spicy it brought tears to her eyes. In the lamplight, her eyes shimmered beautifully. She smiled through a slight frown and complained playfully to Zhang Huai, "Brother Huai Zi, chili paste is valuable these days—we can use it to make spicy pickled cabbage to sell! You’re cutting into our profits by using so much!"

Everyone laughed at her remark. Qingmu quickly grabbed a teacup from the small square table, poured some hot water, and handed it to her. He chuckled and said, "Didn’t you say you weren’t eating the spicy ones? So why did you? Huai Zi probably saw you weren’t having any and added extra—Yangzi and I both love spicy food."

Zhang Huai looked guilty and pained. He quickly asked, full of apology, "Oh! If you’d said earlier you were going to eat one, I would’ve put less on. Are you feeling better now?"

’He loved spending time with her like this. Just having her by his side, hearing her voice, watching her move, and sometimes, when they were close, even catching her faint, delicate scent—it all made him feel incredibly content and at ease. Whatever they did, he was full of enthusiasm.’

Juhua gulped down two mouthfuls of water. Seeing his worried face, she quickly nodded. "Much better." Then she noticed Zhang Yang, whose lips were fiery red and who was still sucking in sharp breaths of air. She couldn’t help but say, "Yangzi, be careful eating that much spice or you’ll get a stomachache. It’s not like during a meal, where you have rice and other dishes to line your stomach. Eating spicy fish on its own like this will make you feel awful."

For once, Yangzi actually nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can’t eat any more of this. My stomach feels like it’s on fire," he said, slipping a hand inside his padded jacket to rub his belly.

Hearing this, Qingmu and Zhang Huai burst out laughing and told him it served him right for eating so much of it.

When Juhua saw her brother and Zhang Huai roast and eat a few more fish, she decided this wasn’t healthy. Looking at the glowing red charcoal, she said to them, "Why don’t we use the small clay pot to boil some water and make some dough drop soup? We should eat something more substantial so we don’t upset our stomachs."

Everyone agreed it was a great idea, and they all got busy again. Qingmu started boiling water while Zhang Huai, following Juhua’s instructions, mixed some flour. To add more flavor, Qingmu even braved the heavy snow to run out to the backyard and pull up a few scallions.

He came back inside, letting in a gust of cold wind that made the lamplight flicker. The warm air in the room swirled with the chill, instantly clearing the heads of the three people who had been getting toasty by the fire.

Qingmu said cheerfully, "This is incredible! The courtyard gate will probably be blocked by snow tomorrow morning. With a storm like this, there’s nothing to do but stay home and cook. I had to dig these scallions out from under all the snow!"

They all laughed. Zhang Yang said, "Well, we’ll have to push the gate open when we head home later anyway, right? We might as well shovel the snow while we’re at it, so it won’t be as deep tomorrow morning."

Zhang Huai stirred the dough drop soup in the clay pot with a large wooden spoon. Juhua took the scallions from Qingmu, got up to rinse them with a bit of water, then chopped them finely on the cutting board. She sprinkled the green flecks into the pot, releasing a fresh fragrance. "It’s ready," she announced.

Zhang Huai looked up and they exchanged a smile. He used a cloth to lift the hot clay pot onto the table and said, "Come on, let’s eat. After filling up on all this, we can go out and shovel some snow..."(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)