My Childhood Sweetheart Is a Crazy Beauty
Chapter 191: The Marriage of Two Steamed Buns

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: The Marriage of Two Steamed Buns

The next day, early in the morning, Tang Chuxia was woken up by Tang Jianbing, "Did you tell her yet?"

Rubbing her eyes, Tang Chuxia felt her sleepiness pushed back down.

With no other choice, she could only say helplessly, "Little Brother, don’t be impatient, I’ll talk to our mom about it today!"

Tang Jianbing rubbed his hands together, "It’s just nerves!"

Tang Chuxia teased him, "What are you afraid of? The eldest brother is already married, the second and third brothers don’t even have partners yet, it’s not your turn to be anxious!"

Tang Jianbing tapped her forehead and told her to hurry up and get out of bed.

After Tang Chuxia had freshened up and barely sat down, she saw Little Brother pulling Second Brother aside to discuss something.

Dangdang sat beside Tang Chuxia, "What’s up with Little Brother?"

While munching on a sesame seed cake, Tang Chuxia pointed to Wu Haipeng, who was delivering breakfast at the door, "Same as him!"

Dangdang didn’t understand what she meant.

But the elder sister-in-law got it and teased, "He wants a wife!"

Dangdang’s face turned red, she stamped her foot and called them boring, yet she herself ran to greet Wu Haipeng, not knowing who was actually eager to get married.

The elder sister-in-law spoke cheerfully to Tang Chuxia, "If it weren’t for the upcoming New Year, I would’ve sent a telegram home to start preparing for marrying off our daughter!"

Tang Chuxia nodded vigorously.

"Still, it’s better to wait. Let’s worry about these matters after my little nephew is born!"

Tang Chuxia was really worried about the elder sister-in-law’s pregnancy. In the book, there was very little mention of the elder sister-in-law, but the one noteworthy point was that she had a difficult labor, and neither the child nor she survived, after which Tang Jianguo completely fell into despair.

Knowing this, she would not let the elder sister-in-law come to harm.

Wu Haipeng came over carrying donkey meat sandwiches for an extra meal, and Tang Chuxia was exceptionally warm to him.

"Truly enlightened, in honor of the donkey meat sandwich, I approve of the two of you!"

Tang Chuxia playfully made the remark, which made Dangdang’s face turn beet red as she threatened to deal with her.

Tang Chuxia stuck out her tongue, knowing well that with the elder sister-in-law protecting her, Dangdang wouldn’t dare do anything to her.

On the other hand, Wu Haipeng earnestly promised, "Does this mean I should start preparing to visit her parents?"

After he spoke, Tang Jianbing poked Tang Chuxia.

Tang Chuxia felt helpless, why were these two so anxiously looking for wives?

Tang Chuxia turned to ask Madam Tang, "Mom, with the New Year approaching, should Brother Haipeng visit Dangdang’s parents?"

Madam Tang nodded, "If you two have decided on it, then bring a matchmaker to the girl’s family to propose. If not formally engaged, it’s not proper to visit."

The elder sister-in-law also agreed, "That’s the right idea. If you visit without having gotten engaged, people will gossip."

Throughout this process, Tang Jianbing kept making faces at Tang Chuxia.

Even Tang Jianjun couldn’t stand it any longer, "Little Four, is your eye twitching?"

Seeing the right moment, Tang Chuxia finally had a flash of conscience, "Second Brother, Little Brother wants to find a wife!"

Tang Jianjun was aware of Yu Meiyu’s existence, and immediately, his drawn-out "Oh?" was loaded with meaning. He turned to instruct Madam Tang, "Mom, quickly prepare the gifts. While I’m still home, let me go with you to make a good impression and propose!"

Tang Jianbing nodded vigorously.

With the eldest brother not at home and the most impressive Third Brother also away, only the unreliable Second Brother remained. Though unreliable, he was still a brother, and on top of that, a naval officer, presentable enough.

Now, it was with his brothers’ protection that Tang Jianbing could confidently go forth to propose.

Madam Tang cheerfully expressed that it was no problem.

Marrying off a daughter-in-law was what she was most eager to do, and even though she had two unreliable sons, her youngest had grown up by her side, so she paid a bit more attention to him.

Second Brother, with a donkey meat sandwich in his mouth, said, "Little Four, you’d better think this through. Once you marry a wife, you must treat her well and not follow in our eldest brother’s footsteps—he barely has time to keep Elder Sister-in-law company!"

Elder Sister-in-Law kept waving her hands: "Don’t drag me into this!"

Her situation was different and not comparable.

Tang Jianbing scratched his head: "Cut the nonsense. If Elder Brother hears you making up stories behind his back, wait and see if he’ll hit you!"

Tang Chuxia also agreed with this conclusion.

Elder Sister-in-Law was in a good mood, chuckling as she watched them bicker.

She liked the atmosphere at the Tang Family, especially since the younger brothers-in-law were not unreasonable people.

Tang Chuxia clapped her hands and stuffed the last bite of her donkey meat sandwich into her mouth, then patted Tang Jianjun’s arm, "Second Brother, cut the crap. You better think about cleaning yourself up and putting on a reliable younger brother’s demeanor. Don’t let them look down on our family when the time comes!"

Tang Jianjun snorted but still took his donkey meat sandwich and ran to look in the mirror.

Wu Haipeng wore a face full of eagerness to learn, "Aunt Fang, if there’s anything that needs to be bought, please give me a list too, and I’ll buy it according to that!"

Dangdang’s face turned a deep red, and she shyly hid in her room.

Licorice, on the other hand, looked curious, "Is proposing marriage a hassle?"

Tang Chuxia passed her a bowl of tofu pudding, "Isn’t it troublesome in your area?"

Licorice held the tofu pudding and drank, nodding after hearing Tang Chuxia’s question: "When my brother-in-law came to our house to propose, he only brought twenty pounds of wheat seeds!"

Tang Jianbing was shocked and could hardly believe it.

Tang Chuxia was even more astonished; she had never thought that proposing with twenty pounds of wheat seeds as a bridal gift could be so casual.

Madam Tang had already started writing the gift list and upon seeing the children’s disbelief of Licorice’s words, she felt very emotional.

"Licorice is not making it up. It’s tough for ordinary folks to get by. Twenty years ago, a steamed bun could marry off a daughter-in-law!"

Tang Chuxia couldn’t dare to imagine.

The Tang Family remained silent, but Licorice nodded in agreement, "My mother was married off by my father for just two steamed cornbread cakes!"

This sparked everyone’s curiosity, and they all asked Licorice what had happened.

Licorice didn’t shy away and shared what she knew.

Back then, her mother had fled a famine from Henan all the way to their village. Times were truly hard and people were desperate for food.

Licorice’s mother’s family had all perished on the road of escape, leaving only her mother alone. At that time, she simply wished to survive. As long as someone was willing to feed her, she would marry them.

Licorice had finished her tofu pudding, "My mother said, when she agreed to marry for a bite to eat, no one in the village believed she would really do it. So my father jokingly took out two steamed cornbread cakes and asked if she would really marry him. My mother snatched the cornbread cakes and devoured them, almost choking but continued eating. Once she finished, she dragged my father into the bridal chamber!"

Tang Chuxia: ...

Dangdang and the others: ...

So, it was true.

Madam Tang held Licorice’s hand, "Child, your parents had no choice back then. Times were tough for everyone. When you get married, your auntie will make sure to look out for you properly. You can’t be deceived by just a couple of cornbread cakes!"

Licorice’s smile was timid. During these past two days with the Tang Family, she had eaten well and slept soundly, and her complexion had improved significantly.

She had the makings of a beauty, and as she grew older, she would naturally blossom.

Tang Chuxia broke Tang Jianbing’s pensive mood, "Little Brother, don’t even dream about it. When you marry a wife, you can’t do it like this; you must follow the proper procedures!"

Tang Jianbing pressed her forehead, "Brother will definitely remember that, and when you start looking for someone, I’ll make sure to keep a strict watch!"