Shen Yi's breath hitched, and it took a long while before he answered solemnly, "Miss Su is very good, I—"
Madam Xu interrupted him excitedly, "As long as you think she's good, leave the rest to your Second Aunt. Your Second Aunt will help you!"
After speaking, Madam Xu hurriedly dragged Shen Zhuang back, insisting that he find an opportunity to propose to Su Chunlin.
As soon as Shen Zhuang sat down, he jumped up in a panic, "Is... is this okay? We haven't prepared anything..."
Madam Xu was so angry she gave him a pinch. "Prepared what? If we delay any longer, the Su family will have already betrothed their daughter to someone else! Hurry up! It just so happens I still have a piece of fine linen tucked away in my dowry chest; the color is a bit plain, so go to the Daxun River and see if you can dig a couple of fish out of the mud. Gather things together first. We absolutely cannot miss this girl from the Su family."
Her judgment of people had always been accurate; Su Tai looked like she wasn't bad at all, the kind of person who could make a life prosperous.
Because of Madam Xu's words, Shen Yi's heart was uncharacteristically unsettled. It took a while for him to calm down. After tidying up Su Tai's room, he didn't dare meet her eyes, looking down as he spoke to the others: "Our house only has two rooms where people can sleep. This one used to belong to my parents; although no one has lived here 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 and instead solemnly thanked Shen Yi.
The next day, before dawn, Su Tai woke up. As usual, she first went to the Earth Space to check on the growth of the wheat, then walked out of the room.
Shen Yi prepared the supplies and led them out of the village to a mountain near the Daxun River that was relatively untouched by people to find food.
Because this area did not belong to any specific village and was far from the settlements, few people came here. After walking for a while, Su Chunlin discovered a small patch of wild scallions and mountain leeks. Before Su Chunlin could celebrate, Shen Yi found a patch of ferns, though they were unfortunately a bit too old to eat. Su Zhan, however, had wandered a bit further and dug up several stalks of plantain.
Su Tai looked here and there; she recognized the wild scallions and mountain leeks, but she couldn't tell them apart.
Since these two types of vegetables had a good taste, she followed behind Su Chunlin to help. While Su Chunlin was busy, she secretly grabbed a few handfuls and stored them in her medium storage bag. Aside from her, no one could see the medium tools; she would transplant these wild vegetables into the Earth Space once they returned.
While the three members of the Su family were working hard, Shen Yi suddenly caught a few seven-spot ladybugs and held them out to Su Tai. "Want to play?"
Su Tai's eyes lit up. "Where did you catch these, Big Brother Shen?"
"You like them? There are many more insects in these mountains, like crickets, grasshoppers, jewel beetles, and so on. If you like them, I'll find them for you." Shen Yi looked tenderly at the girl, who was a head shorter than him, his eyes full of joy.
The only joy in his lonely childhood had been playing with these insects, but that was usually something only young boys liked; he hadn't expected Su Tai to like them too.
Su Tai nodded like a chick pecking at grain, secretly thinking that these insects should be worth quite a bit of money.
Through Shen Yi's efforts, by evening, the clay pot Su Tai had brought was full. During the process, she had also secretly entered the Time Space Transit Station twice to sell some of the less resilient small insects, earning 12 virtual coins.
The group rushed back to Shen Yi's house before dark.
Looking at today's harvest, Su Chunlin grinned from ear to ear. "Wonderful, wonderful! These wild vegetables will last us for several days!"
Just as he finished speaking, Madam Xu and Shen Zhuang arrived with a pile of things. Seeing that Su Tai was not there, Madam Xu hurriedly pulled Shen Zhuang forward to speak.
"Brother Su, do you think our Shen Yi is suitable?"
As Shen Zhuang spoke, his whole body seemed to heave a sigh of relief.
Su Chunlin was initially surprised, but he quickly regained his composure and looked toward the backyard, whispering, "If you have something to say, Brother, please speak plainly."
Shen Zhuang cleared his throat. "Then I shall speak plainly. I want to ask for our Shen Yi to marry your daughter. Is that alright?"
"It is!" Su Chunlin answered very briskly, without a hint of hesitation.
Madam Xu and Shen Zhuang exchanged excited glances and hurriedly said, "That's perfect then. How about our two families settle the children's marriage today?"
"So fast!" Su Chunlin was extremely astonished.
Madam Xu chuckled happily. "It's not that fast. Shenjia Village and Dongmen Village are quite far apart, and it's inconvenient for us to travel back and forth. Since you've come over, settling the marriage now saves us another trip, right?"
"Heh! Shouldn't your Second Aunt visit our house first and ask around?" Su Chunlin asked back, stroking his chin.
Madam Xu shook her head decisively. "Ask around for what? Your daughter is right in front of me. I only believe what I see with my own eyes; there's no need to ask! As for our Shen Yi..."
A look of sudden distress appeared on Madam Xu's face. "You saw it too. This house was built when my eldest uncle and his wife were still alive. We hit a three-year drought, and it has fallen into quite a state of disrepair. To make matters worse, there is a water shortage everywhere now. We wanted to help renovate it, but we couldn't, so we can only ask your daughter to endure some hardship for the time being."
Su Chunlin waved his hand, unconcerned. "Everyone is in the same boat. We aren't unreasonable people. Since his Second Uncle and Second Aunt have said so, then the marriage is settled."
Madam Xu hurriedly handed the items to Su Chunlin.
She even invited several familiar families from the village to come and witness the event.
It wasn't that Madam Xu was calculating, but rather that she had been made so paranoid by the Mo family that she was constantly on guard, fearing this marriage might fall through again.
With Madam Xu making such a grand scene, it was difficult for Shen Yi and Su Tai not to know. Standing in the courtyard, listening to the back-and-forth dialogue between Madam Xu and Su Chunlin, the two of them silently exchanged a glance before quickly averting their eyes.
Su Tai was relatively fine, but Shen Yi's face turned red, which was rare for him.
By the time the villagers left, the sky had turned completely dark.
The night could shroud all emotions, and both Su Tai and Shen Yi breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.
Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, Su Chunlin prepared to take Su Tai and Su Zhan back.
Shen Yi prepared food for them, along with a basket of fresh wild vegetables.
Su Chunlin was somewhat surprised. "Did you go into the mountains to get these first thing in the morning?"
Shen Yi revealed a simple, honest smile. "I just did it while I was at it."
"Hiss! Young people are truly capable!" Su Chunlin couldn't help but exclaim. Seeing that Shen Yi didn't dare look at Su Tai, he found an excuse to send Su Zhan away first.
Only the two youths remained in the courtyard.
Shen Yi mustered his courage to look at Su Tai. "Little Sister Tai, we were engaged yesterday. Are... are you willing to marry me? If you are unwilling, I won't force you."
Actually, he had wanted to ask last night, but he was afraid Su Tai truly wouldn't want to, so he hadn't dared to speak. If he didn't ask now, he wouldn't get another chance.
"Marrying you seems not bad!" Su Tai gave a playful smile and sat on the steps, resting her chin on her hands. "At least you are much better than Xiong Kai."
"Do you really think I am better than Xiong Kai?" Shen Yi suddenly became a bit excited.
Su Tai nodded with great seriousness. "Xiong Kai is headstrong, narrow-minded, and lacks magnanimity. Big Brother Shen is broad-minded, gentle in temperament, values affection and righteousness, and is better in every way. Even his looks... are better than his! Don't worry, Big Brother Shen, I am not Miss Mo. Since my father already agreed to this marriage yesterday, as long as you don't do anything to wrong me, I certainly won't break the engagement."
(End of Chapter)