Chapter 18: Su Tai and Shen Yi Get Engaged
Shen Yi's breath hitched. It took him a while to answer solemnly, "Miss Su is very good, I—"
Madam Xu excitedly interrupted him, "As long as you think she's good, leave the rest to your second aunt, your second aunt will help you!"
After saying this, Madam Xu excitedly pulled Shen Zhuang back, insisting that he find an opportunity to propose marriage to Su Chunlin.
Shen Zhuang had barely sat down when he jumped up in a panic, "Can this... can this work? We haven't prepared anything..."
Madam Xu, exasperated, pinched him. "Prepare what? If we drag this out any longer, the Su family will have already betrothed their daughter. Hurry up! I happen to have a bolt of fine linen fabric tucked away, though the color is a bit plain. And go to the Daxun River to see if you can dig out two fish from the mud. Just gather some things first. We absolutely cannot miss this girl from the Su family."
She had always been a good judge of character. Su Tai didn't look bad; she seemed like someone who could live a good life.
Shen Yi was uncharacteristically flustered by Madam Xu's words. It took him a while to calm down. After tidying Su Tai's room, he didn't dare meet her gaze, instead looking down and saying to the others, "My house only has two rooms for sleeping. This one used to be my parents'. Although no one has lived in it for a long time, I clean it occasionally, so it's quite clean. Little Sister Tai will sleep in this room tonight. The three of us will squeeze in together."
Su Chunlin didn't mind. On the contrary, he formally thanked Shen Yi.
The next day, Su Tai woke up before dawn. As usual, she first went to the Earth time-space to check on the growth of the wheat, then left her room.
Shen Yi had prepared everything. He led them out of the village to a less-trodden mountain by the Daxun River to look for food.
Since this place didn't belong to any village and was far from any villages, few people came here. They had only walked for a while when Su Chunlin discovered a small patch of wild onions and mountain leeks. Before Su Chunlin could even get excited, Shen Yi found a patch of ferns, but unfortunately, they were a bit old and inedible. Su Zhan, however, wandered a bit further and dug up a few plantains.
Su Tai looked from one side to the other. She recognized wild onions and mountain leeks, but couldn't distinguish between them.
These two vegetables tasted good, so she followed behind Su Chunlin to help. While Su Chunlin was busy, she secretly grabbed a few handfuls and temporarily stored them in her medium storage bag. No one but her could see the medium tools. She planned to transplant these wild vegetables to the Earth time-space later.
While the three members of the Su family were working diligently, Shen Yi suddenly caught a few ladybugs and handed them to Su Tai. "Want to play?"
Su Tai's eyes lit up. "Where did Big Brother Shen catch them?"
"You like them? There are many other insects in these mountains, like crickets, grasshoppers, dung beetles, and so on. If you like them, I'll find them for you." Shen Yi looked gently at the girl, who was a head shorter than him, his eyes filled with joy.
His solitary childhood's only joy was playing with these insects, but usually, only little boys liked them. He hadn't expected Su Tai to like them too.
Su Tai nodded like a pecking chick, secretly thinking that these insects should fetch a good price.
With Shen Yi's efforts, by evening, the clay pot Su Tai brought was full. During this time, she also secretly entered the Space-Time Gate Transfer Station twice, selling some less resilient small insects and earning 12 virtual coins.
The group rushed back to Shen Yi's house before dark.
Looking at the day's harvest, Su Chunlin couldn't stop smiling. "Good, good! These wild vegetables will last for several days!"
No sooner had his words fallen than Madam Xu and Shen Zhuang arrived with a pile of things. Seeing that Su Tai wasn't there, she quickly pulled Shen Zhuang to speak.
"Brother Su... do you think our Shen Yi is suitable?"
After Shen Zhuang said this, he visibly relaxed.
Su Chunlin was initially surprised, then quickly regained his composure. He looked towards the backyard and whispered, "Old brother, feel free to speak directly."
Shen Zhuang cleared his throat. "Then I'll speak directly. I want to ask for your daughter's hand for our Shen Yi. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes!" Su Chunlin replied very smoothly, without any hesitation.
Madam Xu and Shen Zhuang exchanged excited glances and quickly said, "Then it's settled. How about our two families arrange the children's engagement today?"
"So quickly!" Su Chunlin was utterly surprised.
Madam Xu chuckled, "It's not that quick. Shenjiazhuang and Dongmen Village are a bit far apart, and it's inconvenient for us to travel back and forth. Since you're here, let's settle the engagement to save us another trip, right?"
"Heh! Doesn't his second aunt want to come to our house to take a look and inquire?" Su Chunlin asked, stroking his chin.
Madam Xu decisively shook her head, "Inquire about what? Your daughter is right in front of me. I only believe what I see with my own eyes, no need to inquire! As for our Shen Yi..."
A bit of embarrassment appeared on Madam Xu's face. "As you've seen, this house was built when my eldest brother-in-law and sister-in-law were alive. With three years of severe drought, it's become quite dilapidated. And now, water is scarce everywhere, so we can't even help with renovations for now. We can only temporarily make your daughter suffer a bit."
Su Chunlin waved his hand, not overly concerned. "Everyone is in the same boat, and we're not unreasonable. Since his second uncle and second aunt have said so, this engagement is settled."
Madam Xu quickly handed the gifts to Su Chunlin.
She also called a few familiar families in the village to come and be witnesses.
It wasn't that Madam Xu was overly cunning, but she had been made overly cautious by the Mo family, afraid that this engagement would fall through again.
With Madam Xu creating such a grand spectacle, it was hard for Shen Yi and Su Tai not to notice. The two stood in the courtyard, listening to Madam Xu and Su Chunlin's back-and-forth conversation, silently exchanged glances, then quickly looked away.
Su Tai was still relatively composed, but Shen Yi, uncharacteristically, blushed.
By the time the villagers left, it was completely dark.
The night could conceal all emotions, and both Su Tai and Shen Yi unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
The next morning, as soon as it was light, Su Chunlin prepared to return with Su Tai and Su Zhan.
Shen Yi had prepared food for them, along with a basket of fresh wild vegetables.
Su Chunlin was a little surprised, "Did you go into the mountains early this morning for these?"
Shen Yi offered a simple, honest smile, "Just happened to."
"Hiss! Young man, you're really capable!" Su Chunlin couldn't help but exclaim. Seeing that Shen Yi didn't dare to look at Su Tai, he found an excuse to send Su Zhan away first.
Only the young man and woman were left in the courtyard.
Shen Yi gathered his courage and looked at Su Tai, "Little Sister Su Tai, we got engaged yesterday. Are you... are you willing to marry me? If you're not willing, I won't force you."
He had wanted to ask last night but was afraid Su Tai truly wouldn't agree, so he hadn't dared to speak. Now, if he didn't ask, he wouldn't get another chance.
"Marrying you doesn't seem so bad!" Su Tai smiled playfully, sitting on the steps with her hands propping up her chin. "At least you're much better than Xiong Kai."
"You really think I'm better than Xiong Kai?" Shen Yi suddenly grew a little excited.
Su Tai nodded seriously, "Xiong Kai is arrogant and conceited, narrow-minded, and petty. Big Brother Shen is broad-minded, gentle, values friendship, and upholds justice. He's better than Xiong Kai in every way, even his looks... he's better-looking than him! Big Brother Shen, don't worry, I'm not Miss Mo. Since my father already agreed to this engagement yesterday, as long as Big Brother Shen doesn't do anything to betray me, I definitely won't break off the engagement."
(End of Chapter)