Chapter 42: Getting Married?

After bidding farewell to Li Dechen and the others, Liu Yitiao paid visits to several other farming households before finally heading home with Liu Ertiao. Upon their return, Liu Yitiao bought over a hundred sheets of white paper and placed them on Liu Ertiao’s desk, ostensibly for calligraphy practice. However, the content for practice was the very contract that Li Dechen had read aloud that morning. According to Liu Yitiao, as a student under a sixth-rank official and a future official himself, Liu Ertiao would inevitably need to inscribe characters or write couplets for others. If his handwriting were too unsightly, he would be ridiculed. Could the Liu family afford to lose face like that? Certainly not! Could Master Wang afford it? Absolutely not! So, to avoid embarrassment in the future and to maintain some dignity in public, he must practice his calligraphy.

Liu Yitiao’s reasoning left Liu Ertiao with no grounds for refusal, and he could only obediently stay home and “practice his handwriting.”

Seeing Liu Ertiao so compliant, Liu Yitiao nodded in satisfaction, praised him a couple of times, and then left with some money in hand.

He still had to purchase willow wood.

Following the address provided by Yuan Fang, Liu Yitiao soon found the supplier of the timber.

Thirty willow logs were no small quantity; piled together, they filled an entire cart. Fortunately, the seller’s service was quite good. Upon hearing the timber was destined for Yuan Fang’s household, they proactively offered to deliver it and even gave him a price much lower than elsewhere. This saved Liu Yitiao a great deal of trouble and showed him the extent of Yuan Fang’s influence in the woodworking circles, giving him more confidence in Yuan Fang’s ability to craft a curved-beam plow.

The delivery was handled by a young worker driving a donkey cart. Liu Yitiao rode along with him all the way to Yuan Fang’s residence in Xia’er Village.

Upon arrival, Liu Yitiao got out and knocked on the door, which was opened by Yuan Pei. Recognizing Liu Yitiao, he greeted him warmly, “Ah, it’s Doctor Liu! Please, come in.” Seeing the young worker behind Liu Yitiao, he smiled, “Xiao Fu, you’re making the delivery today? Go ahead and bring the cart inside. Unload the timber where we usually do. Thank you.”

“You all know each other?” Liu Yitiao asked Yuan Pei after Xiao Fu led the donkey cart into the backyard.

Yuan Pei explained with a laugh, “My father and I are both carpenters. We always need timber for our work, and every time we do, these folks deliver it. After so many dealings, we’ve become quite familiar.”

Liu Yitiao nodded. In short, Xiao Fu and his companions were the Yuan family’s regular timber suppliers. No wonder the material was cheaper when bought from them.

Following Yuan Pei into the main hall, Liu Yitiao found Yuan Fang poring over blueprints. As soon as he saw Liu Yitiao, Yuan Fang stood up to greet him, “Ah, Mr. Liu, you’re here! Please, have a seat. Pei’er, pour some tea for Mr. Liu!”

“Thank you, Master Yuan.” Liu Yitiao returned the courtesy and sat down after Yuan Fang did. “Master Yuan, I’ve brought the timber. How soon do you think the first plow can be ready? To be honest, I’m quite curious about this new plow and eager to see it completed.”

At the mention of his craft, Yuan Fang’s spirits lifted. He smiled and replied, “No need to worry, Mr. Liu. After last night’s measurements, I’m confident I can finish the first plowhead within three days. The second and third will come even faster and won’t delay your farming.”

“As for the plow’s effectiveness,” Yuan Fang hesitated, “I’ve never seen this type of plow before, so I can only make educated guesses based on the drawings. I can’t guarantee it will be exactly as depicted. But I am certain it will be at least ten times better than the current ones!”

Liu Yitiao nodded. That was only natural—if Yuan Fang could truly reproduce a modern curved-beam plow perfectly, it would be quite extraordinary. He replied, “It doesn’t matter if it’s not identical. All I want is something useful. If the new plow is even a little better than the old, I’ll be satisfied.”

“Rest assured about that, Mr. Liu,” Yuan Fang said with a smile. Seeing Xiao Fu exit with the empty cart, he knew the timber had been unloaded and stood up, cupping his hands in farewell, “Now that the materials are here, I must get to work. Forgive my lack of hospitality.”

Liu Yitiao also stood and replied, “You’re too kind, Master Yuan. I’ll take my leave as well. I still need to order the share and attend to other matters this afternoon, so I won’t trouble you further.”

Yuan Fang nodded and instructed Yuan Pei to see the guest out, then hurried to the backyard to begin work on the new plow.

Liu Yitiao smiled in understanding—Yuan Fang, in his eyes, was much like a modern workaholic.

Walking home, he found that Liu He’s wife was not at home—a first since his arrival in this world. He felt a pang of worry. Had something happened? He quickly checked each room, discovering that Old Liu and Liu Xiaohui were also absent. Only Liu Ertiao was obediently practicing his calligraphy.

Seeing this, Liu Yitiao’s heart finally settled. If Liu Ertiao was calm enough to practice, nothing serious could have happened.

“Ertiao, where are Father, Mother, and Little Sister? I don’t see them. Did something happen?” Liu Yitiao walked up behind his younger brother and asked, “Is everything alright at home?”

“Big Brother?” Liu Ertiao put down his brush and turned around, a mischievous smile on his lips. “There is something, but it’s good news. No need to worry.”

“Good news?” Liu Yitiao felt a twinge of unease. Could it be that Old Liu had brought up marriage again? He asked, “What good news?”

“Auntie at the head of the village has found you a bride. Father and Mother are very pleased and have gone with her to take a look. If they like her, there’ll be a new sister-in-law in the family. Who knows, maybe next year I’ll have a little nephew as well! Isn’t that good news, Big Brother?”

Seeing Liu Ertiao’s cheeky grin, Liu Yitiao felt a surge of irritation and smacked him lightly on the head, pressing him back into his chair, scolding, “What do you know, you little rascal? Get back to your calligraphy—I’ll be checking it later.”

“Who’s a little rascal? I’m already fifteen! Father says I can marry next year!”

“Uh...” Liu Yitiao was speechless. Liu Ertiao was right—at this time, it was perfectly normal to marry at fifteen or sixteen; getting married at eighteen was even considered late. Not wanting to argue further, he asked, “Where did Father and Mother go, and how long have they been gone?”

“They’re at Xiaoxin Village—it isn’t far. They’ve been gone about an hour and should be back soon.” After speaking, Liu Ertiao muttered under his breath, “I wanted to go too, but Father wouldn’t let me. He said it wouldn’t be proper. Why can’t I go meet my future sister-in-law? Honestly.”

A vein pulsed at Liu Yitiao’s temple. He wondered if he should buy a few hundred more sheets of paper and make the boy practice calligraphy for a few more days.

Fortunately, just then Old Liu and Liu He’s wife returned, sparing Liu Ertiao from further “punishment.”

Upon entering and seeing Liu Yitiao at home, Old Liu beamed and walked over, saying, “Yitiao, you’re just in time. Auntie at the village head found you a bride. Your mother went to see her just now. The girl is lovely, comes from a good family, and is a perfect match for you.”

“That’s right,” Liu He’s wife chimed in with a smile. “She’s sixteen, delicate and pretty, and a joy to behold. Most importantly, she’s well-built and sturdy—broad hips and a good bosom. She’ll be sure to bear many children in the future.”