The room was dimly lit, unlike the outside.

Since Hu's mother couldn't see clearly from inside the house, she took it outside to look.

What her son found was a milky-white jade pendant in the shape of a phoenix. The pendant had a smooth surface, a fine luster, and exquisite workmanship, and it was clearly not an ordinary item.

After watching for a while, Hu's mother's expression became excited.

"Qingquan, this might be a good thing. Look at the material, it looks like fine jade. The craftsmanship is so exquisite. When I was a maid in a landlord's house, I saw those young masters and ladies wearing things like this, but none of them looked as good as this."

"This must belong to some wealthy family, someone even richer than a landlord. Hey, you're so lucky to have found such a treasure! It's the first time I've ever seen anything like it!"

When Hu Qingquan heard his mother say it was a good thing, he became even more excited. He thought he would be a poor and miserable person all his life, but he never expected to have such a lucky day.

"Mom, this is wonderful! I never thought I'd really struck gold."

He stared at the jade pendant, turning it over and over for a while, and then carefully rubbed it in his palm several times.

"Mom, it feels so good, the more I touch it, the more comfortable it feels. Good things are just different."

"Of course," Mrs. Hu said, her smile never fading.

A little later, Hu Qingquan remembered something else.

“Mom, didn’t Aunt Jiang say that there’s a female educated youth at the educated youth settlement who would be willing to marry me and become my wife if we had a family heirloom? We have a treasure now, right? Let’s say it’s our family heirloom and ask Aunt Jiang to talk to that female educated youth. Hey, maybe you’ll have a daughter-in-law soon.”

He is the eldest of two brothers, but because his mother is chronically ill and needs medication, and the family is struggling financially, he is already twenty-two years old and still unable to find a wife.

After thinking for a while, Mrs. Hu nodded.

"Qingquan, you're right. Anyway, she said that as long as our family has a family heirloom, that's fine. She didn't say she wanted our family heirloom. Even after she marries into the family, this thing will still be ours. We can keep it for ourselves. You've gained a wife for free. This jade pendant has been a great help to you."

"Alright, after Mom finishes eating, your dad and I will go find that matchmaker Jiang and tell her that our family heirloom was stolen by rats, but we've found it again. We'll have her go to the educated youth settlement and talk to that educated youth Shen Man, saying that you'll be getting a wife soon."

After Hu's mother finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes, and she clasped her hands together and bowed twice to the doors of the main room.

"Ancestors of the Hu family, you are all watching. Our Qingquan is about to have a wife, and the Hu family will have an heir. Thank you for your blessings, ancestors."

At this moment, Hu Qingquan's younger brother, Hu Qinghai, returned from outside. As soon as he entered the door, he heard Hu's mother worshipping the ancestors and saying that the Hu family should have a daughter-in-law.

He knew without even thinking that it was because his older brother was getting married.

He was only gone for a day, and he never expected that his older brother would be getting married.

"Mom, which family's girl is my eldest brother going to marry? When did he get engaged to her? I didn't know anything about it. You guys are too fast!"

Hu's mother immediately told her second son about the good news.

"Qinghai, your older brother and that female educated youth haven't settled down yet, but it's probably not far off."

“A female educated youth? Mother, which female educated youth would be willing to marry into our family? Even the family in the village with the child who had polio wouldn’t want her to marry into our family before. How come a female educated youth suddenly agreed? No, it can’t be that this female educated youth is ugly and unsightly, or that she is missing an arm or a leg, stupid, unable to take care of herself, and not even as good as a child.”

Hu Qinghai has always been a carefree and irresponsible person, and he never speaks seriously.

Hu's mother slapped him on the head, "Can't you say something nice? What do you mean by missing an arm or a leg? What do you mean by being stupid? How could any educated youth be missing an arm or a leg? Have you ever seen any of the female educated youth who were ugly? As for being stupid, that's even more impossible. They were all educated young people, much better than us with our brains."

Mother Hu smiled and said, "The reason why she was willing to marry your brother is because our family has this."

Because she was happy, Hu's mother shared the jade pendant with her second son.

Hu Qingquan immediately spotted the phoenix jade pendant. When he saw its lustrous, white, and exquisitely carved form, with the phoenix seemingly poised to soar through the heavens, his small eyes lit up.

"Mom, how did we get such a great thing? It looks like a top-quality item, such a wonderful thing." It's sure to sell for a lot of money.

He took the jade pendant from Hu's mother and examined it carefully several times.

Mother Hu snatched the jade pendant: "Alright, alright, you've seen enough. Your brother and you found this when you were hunting in the mountains. Let me tell you, those female educated youths don't look at any other conditions when they get married, they just look at whether the other family has a family heirloom."

Yesterday, Matchmaker Jiang asked us if we had a family heirloom, so she could introduce that educated youth to your older brother. Unfortunately, our family has been poor farmers for generations and we've never had such a treasure.

Who knew your brother would find such a treasure today? It's all thanks to our ancestors! Once your brother gets married, your wedding won't be far behind, and our family will soon be thriving.

"Mother, do you mean to trade this family heirloom for a wife? A jade pendant can only be traded for one wife. If you trade it for my brother, will I still get a share?" Hu Qinghai was clearly unwilling.

"Oh dear, it's all my fault for not explaining it clearly to you. That educated youth, Ms. Shen, said that as long as our family has a family heirloom, that's enough. She didn't ask for anything from us. Even if your brother marries her, the things will still be ours, and no one can take them away."

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