Reborn in the 60s, I hunt to support my family and even seduce the village beauty.

These days, it's no small matter for a man and a woman to sleep together before marriage.

On a minor level, it's considered improper conduct, which will draw criticism and gossip; on a major level, it's considered thuggery, and could potentially land you in jail.

Liu Meifen became more and more puzzled. Zhang Quhun, that simple-minded boy, could hardly speak properly. How did he manage to win over Xiao Cui?

"You know, that kid Qu Hun, he usually blushes when he sees a girl and can't say much, how did he manage to get Xiao Cui like that..." Liu Meifen shook her head and clicked her tongue twice, "You really can't judge a book by its cover..."

She worked at the supply and marketing cooperative. She didn't learn much else, but she did learn a lot of rhymes and satirical proverbs.

As Chang Kun heard his mother's words becoming increasingly absurd, he quickly tried to defend his brother.

"Mother, please don't say that. Qu Hun may not be very good at talking, but he's not stupid. He's genuinely good to Xiao Cui, and Xiao Cui genuinely likes him too. It's called sincerity for sincerity, and it has nothing to do with deception."

Liu Meifen glanced at her son and snorted, "You're so good at talking."

After a pause, she recounted to her son in detail the conditions that Xiaocui's mother had proposed.

"A bicycle is a must, as Xiao Zhang promised beforehand. Two sets of bedding, two sets of clothes, one for autumn and one for winter, at least four tables for the banquet, and a bride price of sixty-six yuan."

They also demanded that Qu Hun move into Xiao Cui's house, and that after keeping a small allowance for himself, the rest of his salary be managed by Xiao Cui. A small portion of his food rations would be left for his father, but his older brother would be left alone, to prevent the Zhang family from getting involved.

Chang Kun frowned after hearing this.

Although it's less than the previous 888 plus 9 beds and 9 covers, the conditions are still quite high.

In an ordinary household, just the bicycle alone would be enough to drive a person crazy.

"These conditions, while not as outrageous as they were at the beginning, are still quite a few," Chang Kun said, stroking his chin.

Liu Meifen sighed, "Xiao Cui's mother thought her daughter slept with Qu Hun, so she asked for a higher dowry. I didn't even dare to haggle. If it were me, and Xiao Min had been...you know...with you, I'd ask for more too."

Chang Kun blushed at his mother's words and quickly stopped her, saying, "Alright, alright, don't drag me into this."

Liu Meifen glared at him and said, "I'm thinking we should go talk to Qu Hun about this as soon as possible, so he's aware of the situation. We need to get the necessary things done early, so we don't end up scrambling later."

Chang Kun waved his hand: "Mother, don't run away. Qu Hun went back to the village today, she's not in the city."

Liu Meifen was taken aback: "Back to the village?"

"Well, I'll talk to him myself when he gets back, so you don't have to worry about it." Chang Kun didn't want his mother to know that he had brought a lot of grain back to the village, so as not to make her feel bad.

"Hey! I've worked so hard as a matchmaker, my legs are all worn out from running around, and you're the one who gets to reap the rewards!" Liu Meifen scolded her son harshly.

However, there were some things she really couldn't say to Zhang Quhun.

After all, he's a young man, and he cares about his reputation. He can't very well say, "You slept with that girl, that's why she's asking for more dowry."

These words are hard to say... She really couldn't bring herself to tell Zhang Quhun.

Liu Meifen added a few more words of advice: "You have to make it clear to him that although the conditions are not low, Xiao Cui Niang has already agreed. Don't let him feel that she is making things difficult for him."

That girl, Xiao Cui, risked her reputation for him. If he dares to wrong her, I'll be the first to punish him.

Chang Kun laughed: "Alright, Mother, don't you know what kind of person Qu Hun is? His feelings for Xiao Cui are genuine, no doubt about it."

Liu Meifen then stopped saying anything and turned to go to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Chang Kun stood at the entrance of the alley, lit a cigarette, and pondered that when Zhang Quhun returned, he would have to have a good talk with him about this marriage.

A dowry of 66, plus a bicycle, bedding, clothes, and a banquet, is no small sum. We need to help our brother figure out a way to pay it.

Back at the courtyard house, several young maids were already dressed neatly, each carrying a small cloth bag and with their hair in braids, waiting in the courtyard with their legs up.

"Big brother, why are you only coming back now! We've been waiting for so long!" Xiao Qing was the first to rush up, her lips pouting so much they could hang an oil bottle on them.

Xiao Mu and Xiao Shui chimed in, "That's right! You promised to take us out to play today!"

Xiuer ran out of the house, clutching half a half-eaten egg yolk pastry in her hand. Her cheeks were bulging, and she called out indistinctly, "Big brother, are we coming or not?"

The little girls were shouting especially loudly, especially Xiao Qing and the others. They've been going to school every day lately, getting up before dawn and doing homework when they get home at night. Their heads are starting to hurt.

I've been looking forward to the weekend for ages, and I wish I could stick to Chang Kun all day long.

Chang Kun laughed at their eager expressions: "Alright, alright, I'll take you to a good place today."

"Where? Where?" Several little girls gathered around, their eyes sparkling.

"Dashilan".

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaoqing jumped up: "Really? Big brother, you're not lying to us?"

Xiao Mu and Xiao Shui clapped along, and Xiu'er, though she didn't know what Dashilan was, laughed along with her sisters because she saw them happy.

Chang Kun is right, Dashilan is the best place for children to play.

They have everything: shadow puppetry, dough figurines, sugar blowing, monkey shows, popcorn popping, martial arts performances, magic tricks, and more.

On weekends, the streets are filled with teenagers, holding candied hawthorns and chasing after the monkey troupe, creating a lively atmosphere.

Xiao Qing and Xiao Mu had been there once before and still couldn't stop talking about it. Holding Xiao Shui's hand, they jumped and skipped, saying, "It was so much fun there! There were people who made dough figurines, and they could make Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie! There were also sugar makers who could blow out little mice and roosters!"

Xiao Shui's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she wished she could fly there right now.

Xiuer stuffed the last bite of the egg yolk pastry into her mouth, swallowed it forcefully, and tugged at Chang Kun's sleeve: "Big brother, I want to see a monkey show! I want to see the little monkeys!"

Chang Kun smiled and ruffled her hair: "Yes, yes, don't worry."

Cheng Min, who was listening nearby, also smiled. Suddenly remembering something, she tugged at Chang Kun's sleeve: "How about I ride my bike to call Xiao Xin first? He's never been to Dashilan either, he'll definitely be even happier than them."

Chang Kun nodded: "Go ahead, tell him to hurry up."

Cheng Min responded and pushed her bicycle out of the yard. As she got on the bike, she felt a little uneasy.

My younger brother has only been back for a few days, and hasn't even had a proper rest yet, but Dad is already asking around about joining the army, wanting Xiaoxin to train in the military.

She knew, of course, that joining the army was a good way out, but she just couldn't bear to give it up.

The siblings hadn't seen each other for so many years, and the family was finally reunited, but they had to leave before they could even stay for a few months.

Cheng Min felt increasingly uneasy as she thought about it, and her feet pedaled the bicycle very fast.

Anyway, let my little brother have a good time today. We'll talk to our parents about joining the army later.