Butcher and little girl

The next morning, Mu Dingxiang went out early as usual.

It's just that in the afternoon, I accidentally stepped into a puddle and wet my shoes, so I thought about going home to change my shoes.

When I entered the door, I saw that the old man Mu didn't go out to work as a helper today, but sat in the yard smoking a dry cigarette, with his brows furrowed.

Mu Dingxiang has long been familiar with the strangeness, every time Mu Kongqing leaves, the old man Mu always looks like this.

I couldn't help but sneered in my heart, it would hurt anyone to be robbed of a tael of money every month, not to mention that this son has not been admitted for so many years.

Mu Dingxiang didn't want to offend him at this time, so she changed her shoes and went out quietly. When she was going out, she almost bumped into Mu Mu who just entered the door.

In the past, the woman would have cursed and wanted to beat her up, but now the woman raised her eyes and looked at her, and actually smiled, which made Mu Dingxiang feel terrified, and ran away as if she had seen a ghost.

When he ran outside the courtyard, he couldn't help stopping his steps.

If something goes wrong, there must be a demon. This mother of mine must have some shady schemes, otherwise she wouldn't have reacted like this.

Thinking of Mumu's smile just now, Mu Dingxiang faintly felt uneasy.

So he turned around, walked back cautiously, hid behind the door, and pricked up his ears to hear what the two men were saying.

"What, Widower Zhang?" The old man's voice came from the room, the volume was a bit high.

"Yes, just passing by their door, he pulled me in and told me about it." Mumu said in the usual way, "It's nothing bad, the two families are close, and Sanya will go to work in the field when the time comes. Also convenient."

Hearing this, Mu Dingxiang couldn't help but thumped in her heart, and instantly understood the general idea, and her whole body became cold like falling into an ice cave.

"But this widower is almost as old as me." The old man hesitated, "Did he say how much dowry?"

When Mu Dingxiang heard the old man Mu's question, she clenched her teeth tightly, clenched her hands into fists, and her nails pierced into her palms, and she didn't know the pain.

"Give us the three-acre paddy field near the foot of the mountain, plus a small yellow ox and five taels of silver."

Hearing what his mother-in-law said, Old Man Mu frowned and thought for a while before saying, "This condition is not very good, five liang of silver is a little less."

"Widower Zhang said that Sanya can go back to our house to do field work during the day, and stay at his house at night. It will be fine if he can give birth to a big fat boy."

The old man Mu thought for a while after listening to what she said, and murmured: "Our family's six acres of land, when the time comes, add the three acres of land that we will give, and there will be a total of nine acres of land, and we will pay a few hundred yuan of seed money every year. , Excluding the food for the family, the harvest of the six mu of land in previous years would be five or six taels, and the nine mu of land would be worth eight taels anyway, so it seems to be a good deal."

"Isn't that right? Marrying a daughter takes five taels of silver plus a small scalper, and the girl can still earn seven or eight taels of silver every year. Where can you find such a good job? It's much better than going outside to work. It's gone..." Seeing that the old man was a little shaken, Mu Mu was busy striking the iron.

"Widower Zhang is just a little older, but other things are okay, but he married three of them before, and all of them died. This..." The old man hesitated.

"Why are you hesitating? Think about it, the cost of studying is getting bigger and bigger. It's a tael of silver every month. It's not enough for you to go out to help alone."

When the old man Mu thought about Mu Kongqing, he immediately looked bitter and bitter. After thinking for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and asked, "What about the second child? Did you say when you will come to propose marriage?"

"He said it's a good thing as soon as possible. Let me come back and tell you that if you promise him, he will come tomorrow morning and find a matchmaker."

……

The voices in the room were still coming out intermittently, but Mu Dingxiang didn't have the courage to listen anymore, she stood up leaning against the wall, and staggered towards the outside of the yard.

Accidentally fell, the palm of his left hand scratched a sharp stone, opened a small hole, and immediately bled profusely.

At this time, Mu Dingxiang didn't have the mood to pay attention to the pain in her chest, her whole head was buzzing.

When passing by the sheep pen, I found a small yellow cow standing in it. I don't know when it was put in.

Suddenly there was a sneer in my heart, before I discussed it with my father, my mother couldn't wait to bring the little scalper back, because she was afraid that people would change their minds.

Thinking of the widower in the village, Mu Dingxiang felt a chill in her heart. That man was in his forties, almost as old as Mu, with yellow teeth. He had married three wives one after another over the years, all of whom were like himself. little girl.

Moreover, the longest life of these wives was three years, and the shortest was only two months.

Thinking of the way the widower smiled at her when passing Zhang's house sometimes, she suddenly retched.

And his biological parents were even planning to marry him to such a person, just for a mere five taels of silver, a small scalper, and three acres of land.

Of course it was more than that, they also wanted to continue to be a slave of the Mu family in this life and help them farm for the rest of their lives, that's why they wanted to marry her so close.

Mu Dingxiang walked outside like a walking dead, but didn't know where to go. As she walked, she felt a strange look. She turned her head and looked over. Instantly, his scalp tingled, and he turned and ran towards the opposite place.

Mu Dingxiang didn't want to accept her fate like her elder sister, but she also didn't want to be beaten into a fool by the couple like her second sister and given to others as a plaything.

But right now there is no good way, whether or not to escape, I have saved one or two taels of silver over the years and buried it under the big tree by the field, and I don't know where I can escape to.

I'm afraid that if the Mu family and the Zhang family are arrested, they might be beaten into a fool like the second sister.

The more Mu Dingxiang thought about it, the more confused she became, and the more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. When she stopped again, she saw something strange in front of her eyes, only to realize that she had crossed the stone bridge and walked to the end of Furong Village without knowing it.

She had never been to this area, and few people in the village came.

Looking at the clear river in front of him, he was in a trance for a while.

Otherwise, just jump in from here, and you will be dead forever, and you will no longer be enslaved by the Mu family, nor will you need to marry that infiltrating widower Zhang.

Thinking this way in my heart, I closed my eyes, and the steps under my feet were involuntarily approaching the river.

At this moment, the sound of rushing water came into her ears, Mu Dingxiang opened her eyes, temporarily forgot what she had to do, and looked around.

There was only one family at the end of the village in Furong Village, and all the houses had collapsed, and most of the people in this family had died, leaving Chuyu alone.

Chu Yu is a butcher. He walks the streets and alleys to kill pigs, and then pulls the meat to sell in the county. He lives in the county town on weekdays and only comes back once in a while. Who came all the way here to wash clothes.

When she took a closer look, the man was hanging his head down, rubbing his clothes awkwardly, without even a washboard or mallet.

Hearing movement by the river, the man raised his head and saw a thin figure approaching against the light. He stopped what he was doing and squinted his eyes at the person coming.

It was almost evening at this time, and the light was very weak. It shone on Chu Yu's face, and the long hair that was naturally hanging down was blown up by the wind, looking very beautiful.

Mu Dingxiang didn't expect that it was Chu Yu who was doing the laundry here, so she said a little shyly, "Chu Yu, why are you doing the laundry here?"

They were all from the same village, and Chu Yu naturally knew Mu Dingxiang, but they only met each other once or twice, let alone talked.

"My house is near here. If I don't wash clothes here, where can I do the laundry!" Chu Yu's temper was not very enthusiastic, and his voice did not fluctuate.

"You... didn't you live in the county before?" Mu Dingxiang asked doubtfully.

"No, I will live in the village from now on." Chu Yu lowered his head and continued to wash clothes.

Mu Dingxiang looked at the woman with half of her arms exposed in front of her, with undulating lines and tight muscles, and subconsciously thought of what the villagers said behind her back.

They said that Chu Yu didn't like men, but women.

Because of this, Chu Yu didn't have a single friend in the village, and all the little girls had to take a detour when they saw her.

Suddenly a thought flashed in her mind, and Mu Dingxiang's originally ashen eyes instantly became a little brighter.

She took two steps forward, knelt down and said to the woman, "Chu Yu, otherwise you should marry me."

Chu Yu stopped rubbing her clothes in an instant, raised her head and looked at her suspiciously: "Are you crazy, or did I hear wrong?"

"You heard me right, and I'm not crazy. I'm telling the truth. If you marry me, I can wash your clothes and cook for you. I can also farm. I farm the six acres of land in our family by myself. "Mu Dingxiang said eagerly.

Chu Yu looked at the thin little girl in front of him, and then noticed that her hands were covered with blood, and there was a terrible wound on the palm, and the flesh was turning outward.

The most amazing thing is that this little girl is not afraid of herself. The eyes of ordinary girls and boys will drift around when they see her, and they dare not look directly into her eyes, let alone ask her to negotiate terms.

"I'm a woman, why do you have such an idea?"

"People in the village say that you like girls, but you haven't found them all these years,...otherwise you can try me," Mu Dingxiang said incoherently, "You can do whatever you want, as long as...just help me get out of the woods. Home."

Seeing Chu Yu standing up, Mu Dingxiang hurriedly stood up too, for fear that she would leave suddenly, only to realize that Chu Yu was so tall, even taller than her elder brother, a full head and a half taller than her .

"Look at you, you can't even wash your clothes clean. My clothes are very clean, and my cooking is delicious—"

"Are you sure your cooking is delicious? How did I hear that Sanya of the Mu family can kill people by cooking?" Chu Yu couldn't help but reply when she heard her say this.

"No, I did that on purpose just because I didn't want to cook for them..." Mu Dingxiang said with a guilty conscience, "Chu Yu, help me, my parents are going to marry me to Zhang widower in the village, he used to The three wives are all dead, and I have to die in less than two months."

"What conditions did Widower Zhang give your parents so that they would be willing to betroth such a capable daughter to such a rotten person?"

Chu Yu knew Zhang widower, so he couldn't help frowning.

Mu Dingxiang hurriedly told her what she had heard in the afternoon, and finally begged bitterly: "I have two taels of money myself, you can help me pay for the rest first, and I can earn it by myself after I come out of Mu's house." I will pay you back the money slowly."

Chu Yu fell into deep thought after Mu Dingxiang finished all this. She had heard about the Mu family's affairs, but she didn't expect to be so shameless. Looking at the almost skinny little girl, she sighed Said: "Does your hand still hurt?"