You've already caught the embroidered ball, and you still say it's not my husband?

"Little Xuanzi! Are you home? Open the door quickly!"

Upon hearing this voice, Lu Xuan's tension dissipated considerably.

Because it was his sister, Lu Qingqing, knocking on the door!

Only his older sister and brother-in-law call him "Little Xuanzi".

"That horrible woman is here!" Bao Bulu exclaimed in horror, secretly lamenting his misfortune.

It was terrified of its older sister, Lu Xuan, because Lu Qingqing had said more than once that she wanted to kill it and eat the donkey meat!

It quickly stood in the corner of the wall, motionless, trying its best to become invisible and praying that no one would notice it.

"Sis, I'm home..."

Just as Lu Xuan was about to walk over and open the gate, the gate creaked open first—the gate wasn't locked, and even if it were, his sister always had the key to the gate and could open it herself anytime.

A pretty young woman appeared at the gate of the courtyard, leading a little girl by the hand. Behind her stood a plump, honest-looking man.

It was my sister and her family of three!

Three years ago, Lu Qingqing married Li Du, and now they have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Li Tongtong.

The little girl inherited some of her mother's features, with a chubby face, big, bright black eyes, and two pigtails on her head... She looks very cute and endearing.

Brother-in-law Li Du works as a constable in the Qingyang County government office. Today is his day off, so he changed into civilian clothes and came to visit Lu Xuan with his wife.

At that moment, he was carrying a piece of pork, a chicken, and some fruits and vegetables.

"Sister, brother-in-law, you're here again."

Lu Xuan greeted him with a smile.

"What do you mean 'again'?" Lu Qingqing glared at her immediately, annoyed. "I haven't come to see you for three days. Last time you came, you even carried your old medicine box with you..."

My sister and brother-in-law live in Peach Leaf Lane on East Street. It doesn’t take half an hour to walk to Ping’an Lane on West Street. Lu Xuan’s parents died early, and the two siblings have lived together since childhood. They have a deep bond. In addition, after Lu Qingqing got married and had a daughter, she stayed at home full-time to take care of the child. She had plenty of time, so she would come to visit every few days.

Lu Xuan was used to it and could only scratch his head and chuckle awkwardly.

"Uncle... Uncle..."

The two-and-a-half-year-old girl's eyes lit up when she saw Lu Xuan. She called him "Uncle" in her childish voice and wobbled over with her small, tiny steps.

So cute and endearing!

She adores her uncle because he always brings her nice things when he comes back from outside; he spoils her rotten.

This time is no exception!

Lu Xuan took down the medicine box hanging on the wall, opened it, and took out two strings of candied hawthorns, two strings of sugar figurines, and a rattle drum.

His medicine chest may seem ordinary, but it is actually a spatial artifact that can hold several cubic meters of things and is in an "isolated" state, so that the contents can be kept fresh for a long time.

"Uncle went to Yunzhou City yesterday and bought Tongtong her favorite candied hawthorns, sugar figurines, and this rattle drum. It makes a 'dong dong dong' sound whenever you shake it. Do you like it?"

Lu Xuan smiled gently as he handed the items to the little girl.

The little girl held a candied hawthorn in one hand and a sugar figurine in the other, with a rattle around her neck, and smiled innocently.

"I like it..."

A two-and-a-half-year-old child's brain is still developing, so they only roughly understand some things and their speech is not yet fluent.

The little girl licked the sweet candied hawthorn in her hand, happily turned around and waved to her parents, as if to say: "Daddy, Mommy, look! My uncle bought these for me. He's so good to me!"

"Sigh, buying so much candy is bad for your teeth," Lu Qingqing said helplessly.

"It's okay, sis, Tongtong hasn't started losing her baby teeth yet," Lu Xuan replied instinctively.

"..." Lu Qingqing's eyelids twitched.

Lu Xuan quickly chuckled and changed the subject, looking at Li Du beside Lu Qingqing: "Brother-in-law, why did you buy so much stuff? Let me lend a hand; it'll be faster if we work together."

Li Du brought over a lot of ingredients, so naturally he was going to cook and prepare lunch for his family.

"It's alright, my brother-in-law can handle cooking all by himself. Xiao Xuanzi, you should have a good talk with your sister." Li Du chuckled and carried the things into the kitchen.

Li Du was cooking in the kitchen, while Tongtong was eating candied hawthorns and teasing Bao Bulu by the corner of the wall with a rattle drum. Only Lu Xuan and his sister were left at the stone table under the pomegranate tree in the yard.

"Why!"

Lu Qingqing looked up at the pomegranate tree she had planted in the yard three years ago and sighed, "The tree is growing more and more lush, but I'm still all alone..."

Lu Xuan knew that his sister was about to start again.

"Little Xuanzi!"

Lu Qingqing looked at Lu Xuan, her gaze becoming scrutinizing. "When are you going to bring a girl back for me to see?"

Lu Xuan's lips twitched.

His sister visits every few days, and the most important reason is to urge him to get married and start a family as soon as possible!

"Sis... I'm only eighteen! There's no rush..."

Lu Xuan was interrupted and corrected by Lu Qingqing before he could finish speaking.

"What do you mean 'just'? It means 'already'! You're already eighteen! Li Ergou next door, who's the same age as you, already has a baby, okay? Look at you... Sigh! It makes me so anxious!"

Lu Xuan was puzzled: "Sister... what does it have to do with you that someone is holding a baby? Why are you so anxious?"

"Aren't you worried!" Lu Qingqing looked like she was about to cry. "You're the only son in our family, and our parents passed away early. You... you're still single. How can I, as your older sister, not worry?"

There's a saying that the eldest brother is like a father, and now it seems that "the eldest sister is like a mother" is almost the same, or even more so.

Lu Qingqing's biggest wish now is for Lu Xuan to get married and start a family.

"Tell me honestly, do you have a girl you like? If so, I'll find someone to play matchmaker for you tomorrow!" Lu Qingqing said to Lu Xuan. "Although our family isn't exactly wealthy, we're doing alright. The key is that you're quite handsome, Xuanzi. It might be a blessing for any girl to catch your eye!"

"You don't need to worry about the bride price. I've saved up some money over the years and have already prepared it for you..."

Ugh!

Lu Xuan sighed inwardly, feeling helpless.

His sister is great in every way, except that she's too pushy about marriage, which gives him a real headache.

"I don't have a girl I like yet," Lu Xuan shook his head.

"It's okay if you don't have it!"

Lu Qingqing wasn't surprised or angry at all. Instead, she continued enthusiastically, "Recently, several families and matchmakers have come to me, saying that many girls are interested in you!"

Lu Xuan is handsome and has a good reputation as a doctor in recent years. He has unknowingly become the ideal husband in the hearts of some women and an excellent son-in-law candidate in the eyes of many elders. Many people want Lu Qingqing to help them ask Lu Xuan what he thinks.

"You know Zheng the butcher at the West Street bridge, right? The one who slaughters pigs. His daughter is of marriageable age, and I don't know where she saw you, but she's taken a liking to you. She asked me to inquire about you... Butcher Zheng also said that if our two families could become in-laws, she'd give us a 20% discount on all pork from him! It just so happens that my sister is planning to open a noodle shop soon..."

"And there's the wealthy Zhang from East Street! His daughter is slightly plump, which is good for bearing children. He even said that if you're willing to marry his daughter, he won't ask for any dowry and is even willing to give three hundred taels of silver as a bride price!"

"Your brother-in-law has a colleague whose sister is incredibly beautiful..."

"besides……"

Lu Qingqing rattled off seven or eight names in one breath, then asked Lu Xuan, "So, Little Xuanzi, which girl do you like?"

Lu Xuan shook his head with a wry smile: "Sister, getting a wife can't be rushed... I think you should find one yourself."

"Hmph!" Lu Qingqing snorted, her tone becoming rather harsh. "You always say that! But after all these years, you still haven't brought a girl back!"

Ever since Lu Xuan was fifteen or sixteen, she had been urging him to find a wife. Each time, Lu Xuan would just give perfunctory replies like "Oh, oh, oh," "Okay, okay," or "I will, I will." Two or three years have passed, and Lu Xuan is still single…

"Xiao Xuanzi, you don't listen to your sister. You're eighteen years old and still won't get married. How am I supposed to face our parents in heaven? Waaah, I feel like there's no point in living anymore. I won't be able to hold my head up in front of the neighbors anymore. Waaah..." Lu Qingqing took out a handkerchief, lowered her head and sobbed sadly.

Lu Xuan helplessly advised, "Sister, this really can't be rushed!"

"I think you're just a playful person who won't settle down. All you do is ride your donkey around all day, doing nothing productive! I'll open a noodle shop tomorrow and slaughter that stupid donkey to sell donkey meat noodles!"

what?

Bao Bulu, who was trying his best to please the little girl in the corner, was almost scared to tears.

Its owner is eighteen years old and still unmarried, so how can he blame it on his mount?

Waaah, when you're determined to find fault, you can always find a pretext!

"Sister, I'm not just wandering around aimlessly, I'm practicing medicine and doing good deeds," Lu Xuan explained.

Lu Qingqing wouldn't listen at all.

"Tongtong, come here!" She covered her face with a handkerchief, pretending to cry, while raising her hand to beckon her daughter over.

The little girl trotted happily to her mother's side.

"Quickly tell your uncle that you want an aunt."

Lu Xuan: "..."

The little girl obediently came to Lu Xuan's side, blinked her innocent big eyes, looked at Lu Xuan pitifully, and called out in her childish voice:

"Auntie...Tongtong...want...Auntie."

Lu Xuan covered his forehead, utterly helpless.

His sister has tried every possible method to urge him to get married.

Looking at the adorable little girl in front of him, Lu Xuan's heart melted.

"Tongtong, be good. Uncle promises you, I'll find you an auntie someday." Lu Xuan reached out and rubbed her little head, having no choice but to agree.

"whee."

The little girl smiled happily. Perhaps she didn't understand what "aunt" meant yet, but her uncle had promised her. Her uncle never lied to her; if he said he would find her, he would definitely find her...

dong dong~

Just then, there was another knock on the door.

"Excuse me... is Dr. Lu home?"

It was a woman's voice, soft and gentle, like a willow swaying in the breeze.