"I have Da Huang, so I don't need it. Besides, I'm always in the mountains; I can't use a bicycle there."

  "Then let's give it to Dali. He'll be working at the forest farm next spring, and it'll be just right for him."

  "Dad, no need. I've asked the forest farm, and there's accommodation there. I can go there to work and come back once a week. I don't need a bicycle." Dali's legs have gotten much better. He can walk with a crutch under his arm.

  Daniu looked at her brother, who was also 20 years old. "Okay, brother can have it. Don't go live in the forest farm. The beds there are big bunk beds, and you won't be able to rest well. Besides, Mom has already asked the matchmaker to find you a wife. You can't live separately from sister-in-w after you get married."

  Dali smiled helplessly. His family had been joking with him about this recently. "It's not even settled yet; don't talk nonsense."

  After saying that, he looked up to the east. What a coincidence; he saw a tall girl with two pigtails and a maroon cotton-padded jacket tying firewood in the firewood pile. When she heard the children's cries in the yard, she looked up and happened to meet Dali's eyes. The girl gave him a fierce look, pouted her lips, put the firewood on her shoulder, and walked away.

  Daniu saw the exchange of the two. She was the girl from the Guo family. The two families were very close to each other, separated by only a vilge road.

  Half a month ago, Aunt Zheng brought the girl from the Zheng family to visit. The girl was humble and pleasing to the eye, very pretty, but cked the forthrightness of girls from the Northeast. Her brother was not impressed by the girl, and Daniu girl felt that her brother was a little absent-minded that day. Her brother went to elementary and junior high school together with the girl from the Guo family. The two families lived close to each other, and the children did not have so many taboos. They pyed together when they were young and had some affection for each other. But st year, her mother saw the two of them walking together and went home to scold Dali and forbade him to associate with the girl from the Guo family.

  Later, when her father saw that Dali was confused, he told him about the grudge between the two families.

  Dali was depressed for a few days, and it is unknown whether he had figured it out or what. He talked to the girl from the Guo family, and the two never met privately again after that.

  Daniu always thought that things between men and women would become more profound if there were twists and turns. Anyway, she feels that her brother has been in deep thought more this year.

  But given her brother's personality, he would rather suffer and regret his whole life than really go against his family.

  The next morning, Aunt Wu sent a message saying that the Zheng family will send a matchmaker to discuss the marriage of the two children. This time they will come to discuss the betrothal gift and other things. If it was suitable, they would get engaged.

  Her getting engaged is almost the same as getting married. Ma Desheng and the old man of the Zheng family decided on this engagement when they were still young. It was at the wedding of Ma's son, but after the bandits came into the vilge and Grandma disappeared, the two families never mentioned it again.

  Before, Aunt Wu came to say that the old man of the Zheng family had passed away. Their family said that since the old man did not leave any message, they did not know about it, but they were willing to let the two children see each other.

  Their family had no objection to this, but Daniu had a bad feeling about the Zheng family.

  Ma Hongmei was extremely happy. In those days the marriage gifts were not that much, and their family could afford it, so the matter was almost settled in her mind.

  She asked all the people in the family to help clean up the front and back yards and then prepared lunch.

  The meeting was held in the backyard. Around noon, Fifth Aunt brought two people, one of them a woman in her forties. She was wearing a dark blue, cotton-padded jacket and a pair of Burmese cotton trousers of the same color with the trouser legs tied up and a green pid scarf on her head. She looked around with a pair of smiling eyes as she entered the yard.

  The other person was a man in his forties, holding a cigarette in his hand, wearing a blue cloth Zhongshan suit and a pair of very old leather shoes.

  The two looked very decent.

  "This is Zheng Ya's second aunt and her second uncle. The two families are close, and her second aunt is here to act as a matchmaker." Fifth Aunt introduced them to everyone.

  The children all went to the west room since they were forbidden to listen to what the adults said. Daniu boiled some water in the kitchen at the back and put some sugar in the teacup. Then she went into the house and brought it in.

  "This must be your eldest daughter. She's so pretty. How old is she this year?" The second aunt stared at Daniu. "I heard she's a forest ranger and getting paid?"

  Daniu didn't say anything, just smiled, and went out.

  "That child is shy." Ma Hongmei interrupted without saying anything about Daniu.

  The eldest girl returned to the west room and saw her brother leaning on the kang with a book in his hand and her two sisters picking cotton on the kang. Dayong and Dazhi had disappeared.

  "How is it? Did you hear what they said?" Xiao Cui asked.

  Daniu got on the kang, picked up a ball of cotton, and stretched it with her hands. This was old cotton, so she had to peel off the yers and make it fluffy before putting it inside her cotton-padded jacket and trousers. "What could I hear when they just got here?"

  She thought the two of them would have dinner at their home, but they left not long after.

  "What's wrong, Mom? Did the talk not go well?" Daniu asked in surprise.

  Ma Hongmei had a cold face, and Song Yuncheng on the other side was not very happy either. "This Zheng family is too much; isn't this asking for too much?"

  Song Yuncheng also shook his head and said, "Let's see what their Fifth Aunt has to say ter."

  After a while, Fifth Aunt came back with a bad look on her face. "Hongmei Yuncheng, sister-in-w, I really didn't know about this matter today. I didn't expect their family to offer such conditions. Maybe they heard the news from somewhere."

  After listening to Fifth Aunt's detailed account, Daniu realized that the Zheng family really wanted a lot this time, including a bicycle, a sewing machine, and a house in the front yard. As for the extra 200 yuan, it was nothing.

  Daniu was also a little dumbfounded. Is the girl in their family made of gold? This was in the 1960s. You have to know that the betrothal gift for Tianxiang's wife, from Third Grandpa family, was only ten yuan, which made his wife very popur in her family. Who has so much extra money these days? Moreover, the betrothal gift for the youngest son of the second grandpa's family in Harbin was only five yuan, but he bought a sewing machine. That was already a very good condition in Harbin.

  The Zheng family is too much of an exaggeration in comparison. Not to mention the bicycle, sewing machine, and money, what about the house?

  The house in the front yard is where Ma Desheng lives. It was the main house of the old Ma family. It was not burned down because of the materials used. When hey house was rebuilt ter, the original frame foundation was used. Although there are only three rooms, it looks very tall. But the backyard is not bad either. It is all built with bricks that were not burned down. In the whole vilge, apart from their family, there are only two brick houses in the team headquarters. Even so, the family did not prepare houses for other boys but prepared two rooms for Dali first. This is already an excellent condition, and they still have the nerve to ask for the front yard?

  Styvetass