Locked: God is the matchmaker, neither you nor I can escape

Facing the sunset, the two walked side by side on the dirt road in the countryside. The breeze brought coolness. The early summer evening was still a little chilly, but not hot.

After crossing a small wooden bridge made of planks, we went up the slope, walked down along the stream, passed a paddy field, and finally entered the Dashan Village.

If it were in the past, Xin Ye would not choose to enter the village from the village entrance. He always went in and out of the village from the back mountain to avoid contact with villagers as much as possible.

But he couldn't do that today. He had to take Yan Yiyi and pass himself off in front of the villagers. Otherwise, if a girl suddenly appeared in his house, wouldn't others think that he was trafficking decent women?

At this time in the mountain village, smoke was rising from every household, and the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking were mixed with the laughter of children. Some villagers were cooking, some had already cooked and were eating at home, and some had already eaten and came out to chat under the shade of the trees.

The chatting villagers saw that it was the lame man from the end of the village. The bamboo basket on his back was full, and there was a young girl beside him.

The little girl carried a lot of bags and a lot of small bags, and her clothes were starched, bleached and had some patches, making her look like a poor relative who had come to seek refuge with the Li family.

Some people's gossip instincts were stirring, and they couldn't help but ask, "Young man from the Li family, is this girl your relative?"

"It's my fiancée. Her family encountered a flood and she fled to find me. We plan to hold the wedding in three days and invite the villagers to our home for a wedding banquet."

"Oh! Are you getting married? Congratulations."

"Thank you very much. I will take her home and settle her down first. I won't disturb you anymore."

The villagers bid him farewell warmly. Someone could not help but sigh: "This young man speaks in a very literary way, like a scholar. What a pity."

"Luckily, he got engaged early, and his fiancée doesn't mind his legs. This girl has good character."

Soon, everyone in Dashan Village knew that the lame man from the Li family at the end of the village was going to get married.

At the foot of the vast green hills stands a brick house with a courtyard. This is Xinye’s home.

Behind the house is a mountain, and in front is a large piece of wasteland overgrown with weeds. After climbing over a small slope, you will reach the villagers' dry land, which is also the vegetable field. Now vegetables are planted there and it is lush and green.

The paddy fields are at the head of the village, where a stream flows by. At the end of the village, there are either mountains or land. Xinye's house is a mile away from the road leading to the hillside. The people are accustomed to going up the mountain a little bit in front, where there is a gentle slope, and it is not so steep to go up from the gentle slope.

Therefore, the Xinye family is an independent entity in the village.

The man was a sickly person. When his children were young, they didn't like to go out. There was no woman in the family to go out and chat. Sometimes their family would be forgotten by the villagers. Only when they occasionally met Xin Ye in the mountains would they remember this poor father and son.

Xinye’s relationship with the villagers wasn’t very good, but it wasn’t bad either. They were strangers and didn’t bother each other.

Arriving at the gate, Xin Ye took out the key and opened the door, and the small courtyard could be seen at a glance.

There are three rooms in the main row opposite the gate. On the left are the kitchen and the utility room. There is a well in front of the kitchen. In front of the utility room are a pile of wood, as well as a wooden block and an axe for chopping wood.

On the right are the animal house, toilet and bathroom. In front of the room on the right stands a clothesline made of bamboo poles, on which clothes are drying. Judging from the length, it is obviously for two people.

After entering the house, taking into account his inconvenient legs and a hard day's work, Yan Yiyi arranged for Xin Ye to sit aside and let him give instructions with his mouth.

"No, I'm not tired." Xin Ye said.

Yan Yiyi looked at him speechlessly: "Do you look down on me? Or are you eager to show yourself and worried that I will dislike you?"

Xinye: ...

He was just telling the truth, but she probably wouldn't believe the secret even if he told her. Besides, he didn't have the face to talk about such an embarrassing thing.

Yan Yiyi didn't give him a chance to refuse and rolled up her sleeves to get to work.

Rice, flour, vegetables, meat and other things were moved to the kitchen, and the other things were moved to the living room. After picking them up one by one, all the items were put away in no time, leaving only her newly purchased personal belongings.

"Well, where do I live?" She looked around and saw that there were only two rooms, one on the left and one on the right, with a living room in the middle.

Xin Ye thought for a moment and said, "You can stay in my room. I'll pack up and move in with my dad. I can take care of him at night."

Yan Yiyi nodded in agreement.

The father who was in a coma had no idea that everything had been arranged for him by his son.

Xin Ye went back to his room first to pack up his things. When Yan Yiyi went in to decorate the room, Xin Ye went to his adoptive father's room. After opening the door, he saw him sleeping with his eyes closed.

The medicine bowl that he had boiled in the morning was empty. If his chest had not been still rising and falling, he would have thought that he had passed away. His pale and bluish face and his skinny appearance made it seem that he would not live long.

After placing his luggage on the table in the room, Xin Ye did not disturb him to rest and turned to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner for tonight.

Yan Yiyi finished cleaning up and came out. She heard some noise in the kitchen and came over.

Seeing him cooking, she was surprised and asked, "You can cook?"

"Well, there are only me and my dad at home. He used to go to work, and I had to take care of myself at home, so I learned how to cook."

Yan Yiyi's eyes lit up. That way, she wouldn't have to worry about him having no food to eat at home when she went hunting in the mountains next time. Moreover, he could prepare dinner early and wait for her to come home.

Such a life is nice to think about!

Yan Yiyi wanted to taste the food he cooked. Anyway, her cooking skills were limited to being able to cook food that would not kill her. The only things she was good at were barbecue and instant noodles.

She sat obediently in front of the stove and helped to light the fire. She watched him skillfully cut and cook vegetables, and smelled the aroma coming from the pot. Yan Yiyi couldn't help swallowing.

"Sniff—it smells so good!" Yan Yiyi's eyes were shining and she kept swallowing her saliva.

Xin Ye was amused by her greedy look, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. At this moment, for the first time, he felt proud and happy that he could cook.

Half an hour later, a bowl of braised pork, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, an egg drop soup, and a plate of pickles were served on the small square table in the kitchen.

Afterwards, he washed the rice and cooked porridge. He cooked porridge with minced meat and eggs. This was dinner for Father Li.

"Is your father still awake?"

"No." He paused and said, "Let's eat first. I'll wake him up later to have dinner and take medicine."

"Then I'll go meet your father later."

Xinye nodded and asked, "Are you nervous?"

"Ah?" Yan Yiyi looked confused, "Why am I so nervous?"

"Don't they say that an ugly daughter-in-law will be nervous when meeting her parents-in-law?"

Yan Yiyi raised her chin proudly: "That's because I'm not ugly."

"Pfft!" Xin Ye was amused by her little appearance and unique answer, "That's true."

Seeing that he was tactful, Yan Yiyi curled her lips in satisfaction, and the two began to discuss the wedding arrangements three days later.