After listening to Cai the matchmaker's words, Zhang Hongyan also felt that this family was not bad, so she added them to the shortlist she had made for her daughter.
Comparing several options is definitely a good idea.
Seeing that Zhang Hongyan remained silent, the matchmaker Cai pressed, "Hongyan, what do you think? Should we arrange for the two children to meet?"
Zhang Hongyan asked with some doubt, "Aunt Cai, is that family an only child?"
A son can be good or bad. In this day and age, people believe that having many children brings many blessings. If there are fewer people in the family, there will be no one to help you if something happens.
Matchmaker Cai chuckled and said, "That's not true. He has five older sisters, and they're all married off now."
Upon hearing that there were five daughters, Zhang Hongyan subconsciously frowned: "When my Qingqing is looking for a partner, she mainly looks at whether the man himself is outstanding. Family background is secondary. Could you tell me more about the man's personal situation?"
Matchmaker Cai was eager to make this a success, and the man's family promised her many benefits. She immediately launched into a long list of details about the man, praising everything in a positive light.
The man is 1.6 meters tall, but she insisted he was 1.7 meters tall.
The man was lazy and unwilling to work in the fields to earn work points, but she described him as ambitious and capable of great things.
That man was clearly a mama's boy, but Matchmaker Cai insisted on praising him as a filial son.
Fortunately, Zhang Hongyan wasn't stupid. She quickly extracted the key information: "So that guy was spoiled since childhood, never did anything hard, and is just waiting to marry a wife to serve him?"
Hearing her say such harsh things, Cai the matchmaker's expression also turned cold. She tried to argue, "How can you say that? Isn't she lucky? Her parents dote on her, and she has five older sisters and brothers-in-law to help her. She doesn't need to work in the fields. Besides, which family doesn't have to do housework when they get married? Don't you have to do it too?"
Zhang Hongyan rolled her eyes at her: "Thank you so much. My daughter is lucky to be unmarried and has such good parents. Her father and I want to support her for a few more years."
Matchmaker Cai thought she was just saying that out of anger; what family would want to raise a girl who just freeloads?
He patiently continued to persuade her: "Hongyan, this is where you're wrong. Girls have to get married eventually. Your Qingqing is already 18. If you delay any longer, she'll become an old maid. In the future, she won't have any choice but to marry a divorced man."
These words thoroughly enraged Zhang Hongyan. She could criticize her own daughter, but she couldn't stand hearing anyone say anything bad about Xia Qingqing.
He immediately became anxious and roughly dragged the matchmaker out of the yard: "Don't worry about me, my daughter's affairs are handled by her father and me. We are too good for such a good match."
After saying that, Zhang Hongyan slammed the door shut.
The matchmaker, Cai, was humiliated and her face turned ashen. She spat at the Xia family's gate and said, "You treat a little girl like a treasure. You'll regret it later."
When Xia Qingqing heard that Cai the matchmaker had been driven away by her mother, she immediately ran out and hugged Zhang Hongyan tightly: "Mom, you are so good. I am so happy to have such a good mother like you."
She overheard Zhang Hongyan and Matchmaker Cai's conversation. If it weren't inconvenient for her to come out, she would have liked to confront them personally. What kind of people are they? A toad trying to eat swan meat.
"Oh, it's my blessing that you're not angry with me," Zhang Hongyan said, pleased by her daughter's coaxing, but she still couldn't help but lecturing her.
It has to be said that Matchmaker Cai was right about one thing: the older a woman gets, the harder it is for her to find a partner.
Zhang Hongyan looked at her daughter with worry: "You're almost 20. Even if you don't get married in the next two years, you still need to start looking for someone soon. Otherwise, all the good ones will be taken, and you'll really only have ugly ones left."
Xia Qingqing didn't care at all; she would rather stay single for life than settle.
Her eyes darted around, and she began to lecture: "Mom, you don't understand. Excellent men get married late because they have to study and work hard to improve their abilities."
“I also need to improve myself. Look at all the time I spend studying, it’s not for nothing. If the factories in the county are hiring, they will definitely look at people’s abilities, right? I’m much more confident than others.”
"As long as I am excellent, what kind of excellent man can't I find? Those who are in a hurry to find a wife are just afraid that they will not be able to find a wife."
Xia Qingqing rattled off a string of persuasive arguments and actually convinced Zhang Hongyan: "That seems to make sense. Well, let's not rush. We need to find an excellent one."
After being kicked out of the Xia family, Cai the matchmaker was furious. When she got back, she exaggerated and told the man's family, "The Xia family doesn't like your son. They said your son is too useless and doesn't deserve their daughter."
Zhu Zi's mother exploded upon hearing this: "You old hag, how dare you talk about my son like that!"
Matchmaker Cai joined in the condemnation of Zhang Hongyan: "Seriously, Zhu Zi is such a good catch, why does the Xia family look down on him and even kick me out? Isn't that disrespectful?"
Zhu Zi's mother's face darkened. This was a slap in the face to Cai the matchmaker, which was a slap in their own face, since she was the one who invited Cai the matchmaker.
After that day, the two began to smear Xia Qingqing everywhere, saying that Xia Heping's daughter had such high standards that she looked down on country folk and was determined to marry into the city.
After hearing it so many times, the villagers started to believe it and even began to bet on whether Xia Qingqing could marry into the city.
But it wasn't without its advantages. At least from then on, no one from our brigade or the surrounding brigades dared to come to Xia Qingqing's house to act as a matchmaker.
Without Xia Qingqing's knowledge, he solved a major problem for her.
——
Song Ze looked at Qin Jiajia, who was blocking his way, and frowned unhappily, staring at him with the look of someone who had betrayed him: "Qin Jiajia, what's wrong with you now?"
These words caused Qin Jiajia, who was already heartbroken and upset because she knew that Song Ze had a girlfriend, to break down: "I'm crazy? Brother Song Ze, you're the one who's crazy. You actually found a country girl as your girlfriend. Grandpa Shen will never agree to it."
"What nonsense are you spouting? I don't understand," Song Ze's head was throbbing from Qin Jiajia's shrill voice.
Qin Jiajia pointed her finger at Song Ze and questioned, "Isn't that right? Jiang Tao saw it with his own eyes. You secretly gave beef jerky to that village girl. You still want to lie to me?"
Liu Xiaoying, who was standing in the background, felt a chill: Goodness, this sister really can't keep secrets. She glanced guiltily at the Jiang brothers not far away, and her eyes met Jiang Hai's.
Jiang Hai looked at Liu Xiaoying with a hint of anger. Liu Xiaoying was the closest person to them at the time, and it was definitely Liu Xiaoying who told Qin Jiajia about this.
Jiang Tao didn't notice the subtle commotion between the two at all; his attention was entirely focused on the heartbroken Qin Jiajia, wanting to go over and comfort her but not daring to.
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