frightfiction Chapter 273 Engagement and Receiving the Red Hair Tie
Chapter 273 Engagement and Receiving the Red Hair Tie
She said, "What are all these?"
Li Ju'an smiled and opened the basket, saying, "Mom dried some flower tea, brewed with boiling water. It smells wonderful. We also added our homemade honey to make candied fruit. Come and try some."
Zhang, the matchmaker, was already quite greedy, so he sniffed the flowers curiously. In the romantic spring season, rhododendrons, wild roses, and golden lotuses bloomed in succession. These freshly picked flowers, after being placed in the sun to dry and then in the shade, would not fade and would remain beautiful and attractive.
She uncorked the thermos, poured boiling water into a teacup, and added a few flower tea leaves. The steeped flowers retained their color, were beautiful in appearance, and had a wonderful aroma and flavor. The whole room was filled with their fragrance; it smelled wonderful.
Li Ju'an opened the lunchbox; inside were fresh flowers made into candied fruit with honey, blanched daylily buds served cold, and lily porridge made from lily stems. The various snacks were both beautiful and delicious. The colorful flowers, with their enticing aroma, were simply delightful.
Matchmaker Zhang's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but praise, "This craftsmanship is truly remarkable. Flowers can be made like this!"
She also enjoys picking wild vegetables and would exchange ideas with the women in the village about how to cook flowers and wild vegetables, but this was the first time she had ever seen it done this way. She found it very novel and also very practical, so she quickly asked a few more questions about how it was made.
Mr. Lin also came out, as did Mrs. Lin. When Mr. Lin saw Li Ju'an arrive and looked at his daughter's happy expression, he understood everything. He stopped talking and calmly asked Li Ju'an about the situation, how Song Lanhua was doing lately, and exchanged pleasantries.
As a result, Xu Da was left standing aside.
Seeing this scene, Xu Da was furious. He glanced at the expensive and rare items he had brought back from the city at great expense, including the rhinoceros wood comb and silver bracelet from the south. So many fine things—which girl wouldn't be tempted? He had even brought skincare products for Lin's mother and the shampoo that city people loved. These items had cost him a lot of money and used up many of his ration coupons.
He looked down at what Li Ju'an had brought, his chest heaving with anger, almost choking on his breath.
What kind of stuff did Li Ju'an bring? Wild vegetables? Wildflowers? And sun-dried flower tea? Well, it's still just wildflowers.
These kinds of things were things he never liked to collect when he went into the mountains as a child; they were all things that his aunts and uncles liked to collect. So how did these few things manage to captivate the Lin family so much?
Lin's father poured water for Li Ju'an, who quickly stood up, took the thermos, and filled it himself, exchanging a few polite greetings and warm words of concern for the younger generation. Lin's father smiled and asked him, "I heard you built a new house, started a bee farm, and planted fruit trees. These things must have taken a lot of effort. Getting so many fruit tree seedlings must have been a real ordeal; you must have pulled a lot of strings."
Li Ju'an took the teacup and said modestly, "Then just have some, don't make Mom worry about the land she was allocated. To be honest, there's really nothing to grow on that dry land, so we have no choice but to plant some trees, otherwise we won't get any harvest."
Lin's father nodded, deeply moved. Looking at Li Ju'an, he felt a pang of affection, like an elder looking at a younger generation. He said, "Those two uncles of yours, to be honest, I knew it wasn't easy getting along with them when I was a kid. You've really had a tough time, getting so many plots of land, not to mention the remote locations, and you still have the ability to organize things. You're a capable and reliable person."
Xu Da was getting increasingly frustrated; he'd been left standing there ever since he entered. He thought to himself, "These are just some shabby things? They're worthy of praise?"
All those expensive city things he brought are far superior to these wild vegetables. He forced a smile and stood up, saying, "Uncle Lin, I drove here. Meimei, why don't you go for a drive?"
He proudly pointed to the car outside, his chest puffed out perfectly. He said few young men in the surrounding villages could compare to him. "It's a car!" he exclaimed. "What girl has ever ridden in a car? It's a source of immense pride!"
Xu Da stared at Lin Mei, watching her and Li Ju'an holding hands, trying hard to maintain his composure, but inside he was furious and incredibly frustrated. The frustration was so intense he wanted to shout, his stomach churning with resentment, and he couldn't help but clench his fists and punch someone.
Lin Mei looked at Li Ju'an, her watery eyes sparkling, and smiled at him. Her eyes were as bright and beautiful as crescent moons.
Li Ju'an patted Lin Mei's hand to reassure her. He said to Xu Da, "Master Xu, Lin Mei rode in your car a couple of days ago, so she won't be riding in it today."
Xu Da was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding what was happening. This was a car from the forestry station's motorcade, a government vehicle he had borrowed from Captain Chen. How could someone have already ridden in it?
"Hey, why are you bragging? How come you've already ridden in one of the vehicles? Who gets to ride in one of the convoy's cars?"
Lin Mei's gaze never left Li Ju'an's face, and she smiled gently at him.
Li Ju'an glanced at her, smiled, and turned to Xu Da, saying, "I drove it."
Xu Da didn't believe it at first. Then he suddenly remembered that when he opened the glove compartment in the car, there was a row of Captain Chen's signatures. He was very familiar with that signature; he knew it was the signature of an old senior from his driving lessons. If you didn't practice well, you would be beaten. Only by being scolded every day until you had no temper could you get your driver's license a few months later.
He was so surprised that he stammered and couldn't speak clearly: "You're also from the automotive department? From the forestry farm? I've never seen you before."
Li Ju'an said, "No, I'm just here to learn how to drive."
Xu Da was about to use his seniority to put him in his place when he was suddenly caught off guard by a remark that left him speechless. He said, "Learning to drive? You borrowed Captain Chen's car just to learn to drive? Aren't you a driver from the motor transport department?"
He suddenly understood. The person who could learn to drive wasn't working in the automotive department, nor was he a top worker in the workshop. This person was definitely recommended by the head of the forest farm—that connection was rock solid!
Xu Da's expression was very complicated. He stood by the car and opened the passenger door, wanting to invite Lin Mei to get in. But now Lin Mei was sitting at the kang table, happily drinking flower tea and eating wild vegetable buns with her mother and father. These cheap things were all brought by Li Ju'an.
The expensive items he brought from the city were placed aside by the Lin family, and no one even glanced at them.
He couldn't hold back any longer and said, "So you two are dating?"
Li Ju'an stood up, stood in front of him, and looked him in the eye. Xu Da was initially a little unconvinced and wanted to see Zhang the matchmaker and let her say a few more words. Li Ju'an suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered with a smile, "Otherwise, how do you think you got into the hospital?"
Xu Da's expression instantly froze. He stared at Li Ju'an in astonishment, his face showing disbelief and fear, his fingers trembling slightly.
He had been having a nightmare of being beaten up for the past three months, and he was completely baffled as to why it was this kid who did it.
He shouted, "You bastard, Li Ju'an! You wait, this isn't over between us!"
Li Ju'an didn't care at all. His feud with Xu Da had a long history, and he couldn't bear to watch his beloved woman repeat the same mistakes she made in his previous life, only to die with regret. He turned to Lin's mother and said, "Aunt Lin, let's pick a day to visit again and receive the red ribbon."