Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

"Jixiang, the little tiger cub will be your friend from now on. Remember to take good care of it when you are in the mountains and forests." Ji Nuan advised the little white mink.

"Woo woo..." Don't worry, little fairy, I will definitely take good care of it.

"Then I'll leave. You and Ruyi can go and have fun by yourselves. I'll come to see that person again in the evening." Ji Nuan waved his hand, stood up and jumped down the mountain. His figure quickly disappeared into the woods.

The next day, the matchmaker went to Ji He's home to propose marriage. According to local custom, on the day of the proposal, the man's family would invite the matchmaker, along with his parents, uncles, and other elders, to the woman's home, bringing the betrothal gifts. At noon, they would all have a proposal banquet at the woman's home as a sign of respect.

After breakfast, Ji's mother cleaned up the house and went to help her uncle. Her two sisters-in-law also went to the new house to prepare lunch for the workers.

Ji Nuan was teaching her two nephews arithmetic in the yard.

"Come, Yindouer, tell your auntie, there is a bun on the plate, and your brother put another bun in. How many buns are there on the plate now?" Ji Nuan said while gesturing with her fingers.

Yin Douer held Ji Nuan's fingers and picked them up, counting with her little mouth: "One pile, two chops. Dudu, there are two chopped buns." After counting, she looked at Ji Nuan with a look of seeking praise.

Ji Nuan pinched his chubby face and praised him exaggeratedly: "Wow, Yindou'er is really good, you got it right!"

After hearing this, Yindouer laughed "hehe", and the fat on her face shook happily.

"Okay, now it's Jindouer's turn." Ji Nuan looked at Jindouer and asked the question slowly: "There are three sweet potatoes at home, and your father brought back five more. How many sweet potatoes are there at home now?"

Jindouer stretched out three fingers on his left hand and five fingers on his right hand, counted them silently twice in his mind, and replied, "There are eight sweet potatoes now."

"Jindou'er is great too! Auntie will tell you a story tonight." Ji Nuan gave him a thumbs up.

Then, she changed the subject and asked in a puzzled tone, "Whose bean is it's turn to answer the question now?"

"I, I, Yindouer!" Yindouer was afraid of missing him, so she pointed at herself.

Ji Nuan said with a smile, "Then I'll ask Yin Dou'er now." Then she thought about teasing the little kid again, "Grandma bought three strings of candied haws. You ate one, your brother ate one, and your aunt ate one. How many are left?"

Yindou fiddled with his fingers for a long time, and suddenly burst into tears, "Wow, wow, wow..."

"I didn't say that..." Yin Douer looked at Ji Nuan with tears in her eyes, feeling very aggrieved.

Ji Nuan laughed out loud.

"You bullied Yindou'er again?" Ji Chuan stepped into the yard and said to Ji Nuan with a helpless smile. My little sister is smart and sensible, but she can still be very naughty at this age.

"Third brother is back!"

"Uncle Three!"

Ji Chuan was instantly surrounded by three people. He took out two strings of candied haws from the oil-paper package and gave them to his two nephews. The two children were overjoyed and skipped away to play. He then took out a small pink silk flower from his arms and handed it to Ji Nuan.

"Thank you, Third Brother!" Ji Nuan happily took the silk flower. It looked pretty nice, so she casually put it on her head, turned her head left and right, and asked, "Does it look good?"

Seeing that she was still as conceited as she was when she was little, Ji Chuan couldn't help laughing. He pretended to look her over seriously and answered with certainty, just like he had done countless times before: "Pretty, my sister is the prettiest!"

"Well, you have good eyes!" Ji Nuan smiled, with a hint of playfulness in her tone.

Ji Chuan put the items he brought back into the main room and found that only Ji Nuan and the two children were at home. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why are there only three of you at home? Where are the others?"

"Our family is busy building a new house now, and everyone has gone to the east end of the village to help." Ji Nuan explained.

"Then I'll go over and see if there's anything I can help with." As he said that, he stood up and walked out.

Seeing Ji Chuan had also gone to help, Ji Nuan gave her two nephews a few words of advice, asking them to play in the yard and not run around. She then returned to her room and busied herself with making pills.

At noon, Ji Wei, the cousin from my third aunt's family, came to ask Ji Nuan to go to Uncle Ji's house together.

The guests from the uncle's family gathered in the main hall to discuss Ji He's marriage. Ji Nuan didn't like this kind of hustle and bustle, so she let her two nephews go play, and she and Ji Wei sat in the yard to chat.

"Sister Nuannuan, if Zhang Qinghu comes looking for you later, don't pay attention to him." As soon as Ji Wei sat down, she glanced towards the main room and whispered to Ji Nuan.

Ji Nuan looked puzzled. "Who is Zhang Qinghu? Why are you looking for me?"

"Have you forgotten? The fat black kid who often came to my uncle's house when I was a child, he is Zhang Qinghu." Ji Wei explained, "Before, his mother always wanted to strengthen the relationship and let Ji He marry into his family, but my aunt looked down on him and did not agree. A few days ago, they heard that you made money selling medicinal herbs, so they started to have ideas about you again." Ji Wei was quite dissatisfied with this kind of person, and her tone was full of disdain.

"You know all this?" If this news is true, then it has something to do with the matchmaking that her aunt-in-law had been keen on trying to match her up with.

Ji Wei said: "My mother's surname is also Zhang. She is from the same village as my aunt. I went back to visit my grandmother yesterday afternoon and heard about it."

Haha, the Zhang family has some nice ideas!

In the main room, Zhang Qinghu sneezed twice, sniffed twice, and continued to peel and eat melon seeds. His mother quietly nudged him twice, raised her chin toward the door, and motioned him to look into the yard.

Zhang Qinghu looked up at the door, his eyes lit up instantly, he grabbed a handful of melon seeds and put them on his body, then ran out happily.

"Hey, this is my sister Nuannuan, right? She's even prettier now that she's grown up!"

Sisters Ji Nuan and Ji Wei were talking in a low voice when a voice suddenly came from the front of them, with a hint of flattery.

Ji Wei immediately became alert. She quickly leaned over to Ji Nuan's ear and whispered, "He is Zhang Qinghu."

Upon hearing this, Ji Nuan looked up at the man standing in front of her. He had slightly dark skin and a somewhat wretched appearance, with an indescribable light flashing in his eyes.

Ji Nuan curled her lips expressionlessly, as a response to his compliment.

Zhang Qinghu didn't feel embarrassed and continued to say with a smile: "Sister Nuannuan, don't you remember me? I'm your cousin. We played together when we were little."

As soon as Ji Chuan came over, he saw Zhang Qinghu moving towards his sister. He took a few steps over and grabbed Zhang Qinghu's shoulders from behind.

"Hey, Fatty Zhang, why are you sticking around that little girl? Come on, let's go outside and talk." Ji Chuan pulled Zhang Qinghu out.

"He doesn't even take a piss and look at himself, yet he still has the nerve to come close to you!" Ji Wei curled her lips, "Luckily Brother Xiaochuan took him away."

"You have a big problem with him?"

"This whole family is lazy and only wants to take advantage! This Zhang Qinghu is even more of a thief, not doing his job, he's a scoundrel in Zhangjia Village!"

Well, Ji Wei’s grandmother’s house must have been ruined by him, otherwise why would she have such a strong resentment.

Ji Nuan pulled Ji Wei's sleeve and reminded her, "Just say these things to me, don't shout them everywhere, or someone else might hear them." If the Zhang family heard them, they would definitely go to her house and make a scene.

Upon hearing this, Ji Wei immediately nodded in understanding: "I see! I'm not stupid, I'll tell everyone I meet."

Ji Nuan smiled and took Ji Wei's hand: "Yes. I know you say these words for my own good." To express her gratitude for her reminder, she continued: "I've been learning to make a facial cream recently. Applying it on your face will make your skin white and tender. When I make it, I'll send you a box."

What little girl doesn't love beauty? Ji Wei's eyes lit up immediately when she heard this. She hugged Ji Nuan's arm and thanked her quickly: "Really? Thank you, Sister Nuannuan!"

"I haven't received the things yet. Thank you after I get them." Ji Nuan said with a smile.