My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 23 Part 1

Chapter 23

"Thank goodness you came to help, otherwise my fish pond wouldn’t have been tidied up so quickly. I’ve always heard from your father that you’ve taken care of the fish ponds in the village, and today I finally got to see your skills."  

"The two villages aren’t far apart. If Village Head Ji thinks I did a decent job with the pond, feel free to call me anytime if there’s anything wrong with it in the future."  

"Ah, good, you’re truly capable."  

Ji Yangzong carried a hoe on his shoulder, smiling as he chatted amiably with the young man beside him.  

"Come into the yard and sit for a while, take a good rest."  

As soon as the two entered the yard, Huang Manjing, who was feeding the chickens and ducks, greeted them.  

Ji Yangzong set down the hoe and asked, "Has Xiao Taozi come back yet?"  

Huang Manjing glanced at the young man standing next to her husband - dark-skinned, sturdy, with fairly regular features, he looked honest and reliable.  

She had already heard from her husband about the second son of Village Head Zhou from the neighboring village, who was of marriageable age but hadn’t yet been matched. She knew the family’s previous engagement had fallen through and that they were somewhat interested.  

She hadn’t expected him to show up so soon, probably wanting to meet while helping with work, which was a common practice.  

Still, she couldn’t help but shoot Ji Yangzong a displeased look. It had only been a few days since the broken engagement. Though their ger now unbetrothed and free to be matched again, he had been listless all these days and had only just mustered the will to go out today.  

And here his father was already eagerly arranging a new match for him, without a care for how their ger might feel.  

Of course, since the guest had already arrived and seemed decent, Huang Manjing didn’t embarrass Ji Yangzong in front of him. Instead, she warmly greeted Zhou Zheng, saying, "He went to the city and hasn’t returned yet. Not sure if he’ll come back today, he might stay overnight at his grandfather’s place in town."  

Zhou Zheng responded somewhat awkwardly, "No problem. I just came to help with the fish pond after hearing from my father that Village Head Ji was repairing it."  

That’s what he said, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment. Originally, he had no ties to the Ji family, it was just that his father was also a village head, so the elders occasionally crossed paths.  

If not for wanting to catch a glimpse of the Ji family’s ger, he wouldn’t have rushed over to help with half a day’s work. Now, the work was done, but he hadn’t even seen the person, it felt like a wasted trip.  

Since he hadn’t met anyone this time, he’d have to come again. After all, he couldn’t just agree to a marriage without even seeing the other party.  

Though such arrangements existed, in recent years, first marriages between people of similar age no longer favored blind matches. The young couple had to meet first to see if they found each other agreeable.  

Just as he finished speaking, a voice called from outside the yard: "Dad, Mom, I’m back!"  

"Ah, you’re back!"  

Ji Yangzong’s face lit up with a smile as he hurried out to greet him. But at the doorway, he froze.  

"You…"  

Before Ji Yangzong could finish, the ger complained pitifully, "The cart I was riding got stuck in a ditch, and I scraped my hands and legs."  

"Who was driving the oxcart? What a mess!"  

Ji Yangzong immediately forgot his intention to question why Ji Taoyu was with Huo Shu again, and even riding his horse, as he first cursed the driver.  

Huang Manjing, hearing that Ji Taoyu had fallen, quickly put down the chicken feed and went over to lift him off the horse: "How bad are the injuries? We’ve really been unlucky lately, I’ll have to burn some incense at the temple on the fifteenth."  

Zhou Zheng, standing to the side, watched as the Ji couple helped their ger down from the horse. At first, he thought they were coddling him too much.  

But when he got a clear look at the ger, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.  

Though the ger looked a bit disheveled from the fall, it couldn’t hide his bright eyes and white teeth. The mishap only made him seem more pitiable.  

[明眸皓齒 (míng móu hào chǐ): lit. bright eyes and white teeth; fig. radiant beauty, striking attractiveness (classical idiom for describing someone’s exquisite features)]  

He had long heard that among the good-looking ger in the surrounding villages, the most handsome was undoubtedly the only ger of Village Head Ji’s family in Mingxun Village. The fact that he was the village head's only child alone made him the envy of many families, let alone his good looks.  

But envy aside, the Ji family’s ger had been betrothed since childhood, and to a scholarly family at that, so those who were interested had no choice but to give up.  

When Zhou Zheng’s father learned that the Ji family’s engagement had been called off, seeing that his son was of marriageable age and hadn’t been impressed by any of the matchmaking offers, his father casually mentioned whether he had any interest in the Ji family’s ger.  

Thinking that the ger of a village head’s family was a good match, Zhou Zheng agreed to come take a look.  

But he never expected the Ji family’s ger to be far more impressive than he imagined.  

Most farm boys grew up on plain food and endless chores, making them somewhat rough around the edges - lacking refinement in manners, appearance, or speech due to a hardworking, rustic upbringing. However, a ger like Ji Taoyu, fair-skinned and beautiful, was rare, no less refined than the pampered ger of the city.  

He immediately made up his mind. Though the Ji family’s ger seemed frail and not suited for hard labor, he was capable of earning money and didn’t need his spouse to work in the fields. This marriage was feasible!