After losing a bet with Li Yuzhu, Yi Xiaofan got so angry at home that he fell ill, but his condition gradually improved after midnight.

After breakfast that day, her mother said, "Xiaofan, you're twenty-three this year. Li Yuzhu is married and has a child. What can you do if you can't let her go? Your aunt has introduced you to someone. The girl is a year younger than you. Everything's settled. Come with me to your aunt's house later to meet the girl. If she seems good, then you should finalize the marriage. Your father passed away early, so don't make me worry, okay?"

After Li Yuzhu married Dong Qing, her mother asked someone to introduce many girls to her son. However, Yi Xiaofan refused to meet any of the girls and spent his days eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring with a group of friends, which worried his mother to death.

Yi Xiaofan's family was not well-off. He often stole chickens and dogs, and went to the city to pickpocket. He often made a living by stealing.

However, he has one redeeming quality: he never steals in the village, so the villagers are unaware of his theft, and his reputation in the village isn't particularly bad.

It's common for people to steal bicycles in the city and exchange them for a few coins.

Last year, the bicycle he stole from Li Yuzhu was brand new. Coincidentally, his sister bought a Flying Pigeon bicycle, which was the same model as the one he stole. He took back his sister's bicycle invoice and kept the bicycle for himself.

He thought that with the receipt, the bicycle wouldn't have any problems, but he didn't expect that the bicycle was the one his fiancée had stolen. That time, he really ran into trouble. Li Yuzhu had money hidden in her pocket, so his receipt was useless.

Yi Xiaofan's pickpocketing technique is very fast, and he usually doesn't miss. This may be related to his cheating at cards. He relies on his speed. He has been doing this for three years and has never been arrested.

After listening to his mother's words, Yi Xiaofan pondered for a long time. There was no hope with Li Yuzhu, and he also felt that he should settle down and start a family. Finally, he nodded and agreed to meet the girl.

The girl's family lived in the same village as her aunt, and Yi Xiaofan rode her bicycle with her mother towards Su Village.

The mother bought some gifts along the way, and Yi Xiaofan continued on his journey with her.

Su Village is located next to a county-level highway; you can reach the village by getting off the road.

Almost everyone in this village is surnamed Su. They came to their aunt's house. Their aunt is not very old, only thirty-six years old this year.

Yi Xiaofan and her mother entered her aunt's house. Her mother asked, "Is my cousin home?"

My aunt came out of the house carrying the baby and said with a smile, "Oh, it's my cousin! This must be my nephew, Xiao Fan. He's so handsome!"

It's not contradictory for the aunt to call Yi Xiaofan's nephew. She is a distant cousin of Yi Xiaofan's mother, named Zhang Li. In fact, she is a distant cousin of Yi Xiaofan's mother.

This kind of kinship is similar to that of fellow villagers. If you force it, you can still be considered a relative. You might not see such relatives even once a year, and they never have any contact during holidays.

Regardless of Yi Xiaofan's character, he is indeed very handsome; otherwise, Li Yuzhu wouldn't have gotten engaged to him two years ago.

Zhang Li took the gift from Yi Xiaofan's mother and laughed, "Why bring a gift to my home? It's such a waste of money."

Mother Yi smiled and said, "It didn't cost much."

"Please have a seat."

After they sat down, Zhang Li said, "The girl's name is Su Wei. She's the eldest child in her family, a year younger than Xiao Fan. She recently broke off her engagement. She's very beautiful and sensible. Please wait at home for a while, and I'll go and call her over to meet you."

That's how matchmaking was done back then. Both parties would meet at the matchmaker's house first. If both parties were willing, the man would then go to the woman's house to meet her parents. If the parents were willing, the marriage was practically settled.

However, some parents meet the groom first. They only allow their daughter to meet him if they approve of him. If they don't approve, they won't let their daughter meet him. The first method of meeting is more direct and less complicated. After all, it's the girl who will get married in the future, and no one can stop her family from doing so.

Not long after, Zhang Li invited Su Wei to her home.

The girl was tall and had a pretty, delicate appearance. She spoke with a humble yet confident demeanor, neither self-deprecating nor arrogant, and her words were always well-controlled, making her pleasant to be around.

Zhang Li said, "Why don't you two go to the inner room and talk?"

Yi Xiaofan stood up and walked into the inner room with the girl. Yi Xiaofan extended his hand and said, "Let's get acquainted. My name is Yi Xiaofan!"

Girls of that era were more traditional, and she was a little embarrassed to extend her hand to shake hands with Yi Xiaofan. A blush rose on her face as she said, "My name is Su Wei!"

They talked for a while, then Su Wei said, "I'm sorry, I have something to do at home, I have to go back now."

Yi Xiaofan saw Su Wei out of the house.

Zhang Li asked, "How did your talks go?"

Yi Xiaofan said, "Not really, and I have no idea what she's thinking."

Yi's mother said, "Cousin, I think this girl is quite nice. Why don't you go home and ask her about her?"

Zhang Li said "okay" and turned to walk out of the house.

Zhang Li arrived at Su Wei's house. Her parents were home. Zhang Li asked, "Uncle, is my sister back?"

Su's father said, "He's back. He's in his room."

Zhang Li said, "Uncle, I introduced my sister to someone. We just met, and he's sitting at my house right now. Why don't you and Auntie go over and take a look?"

Su's father said angrily, "We won't look anymore. She won't listen to us anyway. She can find whoever she wants."

Su Wei has broken off two engagements in a row. She just broke off her second engagement a week ago. The man's family was very well-off, and her parents couldn't persuade her no matter what they did. The main reason was that they disliked her for not being talkative. In the end, they still broke off the engagement. No wonder her father said what he did just now. The couple was angry with their daughter.

Zhang Li said, "You really don't want to see me?"

"What good would it do to see her? Would she listen to us?" Su's mother paused for a moment and said, "She's inside. Go in and ask her yourself. If she's willing, I'll go see her. If not, then forget it!"

After listening, Zhang Li walked into the house. Su Wei was sitting on the edge of the bed embroidering. She said, "Sister-in-law is here. Please have a seat."

Zhang Li sat down on the stool and asked, "Sister, you've seen the man, and you've seen his mother too. What do you think? I'll give them a heads-up later."

Su Wei said, "I think it's a good idea. Let my mother go over and take a look. If she's willing, you can have her wait for me at the edge of my field, and I'll go there to talk to her!"

The matchmaker was happy to make the marriage happen, and Zhang Li was overjoyed. She said, "Okay, I'll have your mother go and take a look. If your mother is willing, you two can go to the fields and have some noodles."

Su Wei said, "Okay, let my mother take a look first."

Zhang Li said "okay," stood up, and walked into the yard.

Su Wei's mother and Zhang Li entered the house and met with Yi Xiaofan and his mother. They sat down and chatted for a while before Su's mother said goodbye and went home.

Zhang Li saw Su's mother to the gate and asked, "Sister-in-law, you've seen the person, what do you think?"

Su's mother said, "Whether it works or not is irrelevant to me. As long as my girl is willing, I have no objection."