Matchmaker Zhang was very responsible. Not long after Old Lady Lin left, she went out to Shenjiazhuang.
Taohua Village was separated from their village by two communes. Old Mrs. Lin left early in the morning and didn't arrive until almost noon. Shenjiazhuang was also far away. If she didn't leave early, she might not be able to return at night.
Fortunately, Matchmaker Zhang was very lucky. Not long after she left the village, she met an ox cart heading to Shenjiazhuang.
When they arrived at Shenjiazhuang, Matchmaker Zhang went straight to Shen Guobin's house.
Fortunately, it was not the busy farming season, and when everyone was at home, Matchmaker Zhang told Shen Guobin's parents, Old Man and Old Lady Shen, about the marriage exchange.
At first, the two old people were puzzled when they heard about the marriage exchange and did not agree.
After all, they had seen Lin Tao's photo. The little girl was very pretty, just like a fairy in the painting.
I heard that he has attended high school, can read and write, and is less than 20 years old.
If I could really marry his third son, that would be fantastic.
How could a child raised by a girl like this have no future?
But when they heard Matchmaker Zhang talk about Lin Tao's life experience, the two old people looked at each other and immediately saw in each other's eyes that "the marriage must be changed!"
Coffin, how unlucky!
Although the current Chairman advocates the overthrow of monsters and demons and that feudal superstition is unacceptable, these country old men don't understand this.
Old Man Shen: "If we exchange marriages... there's nothing wrong with this sister, right?"
Matchmaker Zhang knew what she meant and assured her immediately, "Auntie, you can rest assured this time. I'm sure I'm not hiding anything from you. And the younger sister didn't intentionally not tell you. Wasn't this because the Chairman advocated fighting against feudal superstition? So they didn't tell you at the time, but later they thought it was not a good idea, so they came to me right away."
Old Man Shen: "Okay, okay, that's good."
Old Lady Shen looked at Lin Hui's photo and said, "Then let's change it to the elder sister. This elder sister looks blessed and looks much more comfortable."
Matchmaker Zhang looked around and found that Shen Guobin was not there. She asked, "Don't you want to discuss this with Captain Shen?"
"Sanwa took the child to the clinic for treatment. The child is so young and it's hard to be without a mother to take care of him. He was sick two days ago and he hasn't recovered yet. But we can make the decision on this matter. I won't hide it from you, Sanwa hasn't even seen the photo of your sister that you brought before."
"When his mother gave birth to the third child, something went wrong. She died of heavy bleeding. There is no one to take care of the three children. What Sanwa is most anxious about now is to find a stepmother for the children as soon as possible. He himself does not have any requirements in this regard. As long as he loves the children and treats them well, it's fine. But I think that my Sanwa is now a battalion commander after all. Even if we find a stepmother for the child, we have to find someone who is presentable. An ugly one will not do. When he joins the army, people will laugh at my Sanwa, right?"
Matchmaker Zhang agreed: "Auntie, you are right. As parents, we are of course thinking about our children. Don't worry, Auntie. This elder sister also graduated from high school. She is not worse than her younger sister. She will definitely teach the children to be more successful than the younger one!"
"Okay, okay, then I'm relieved. That's it."
Old Mrs. Shen said "good" three times in a row, and then made the final decision to replace Lin Tao with Lin Hui.
When Shen Guobin returned from the health center with the child, Old Lady Shen told him about the bride exchange.
When he first heard about the marriage exchange, Shen Guobin frowned and did not agree with it.
Although he had never seen a photo of Lin Tao, let alone met her in person, and could not be said to have any feelings for her, the matter of the bride swap was not a good one to talk about.
But Old Lady Shen also said that Lin Tao was a coffin-born child, had a hard life and would bring bad luck to children. She also said that Lin Hui liked children and would definitely be well-behaved with the children, and would definitely raise a promising child.
After thinking about it, Shen Guobin followed the two old people.
He was a soldier and was determined to resist feudal superstition, so he didn't believe in the saying that a coffin would bring bad luck to one's children.
However, if Lin Hui could really treat his children well as his parents said, he would be willing to marry her.
**************************
That's how the marriage exchange was settled.
When Lin Hui heard the news from her grandmother, she felt relieved.
In a good mood, she went to find Lin Tao again.
Lin Tao was chopping chili peppers. She put the washed and dried chili peppers and another kind of less spicy red pepper into a mortar, added some garlic seeds, and started pounding the peppers.
The chopped peppers pounded in this way are more flavorful and fragrant than those cut directly with a kitchen knife.
People in Xiangcheng love to eat chili peppers, and they can't live without them. Last time, Lin Tao made chopped chili peppers before she finished eating them, and she quickly made new ones.
The chopped chili peppers just pounded cannot be eaten directly. They need to be sprinkled with salt and cold oil and mixed evenly, then put into a jar and marinate. It is best to eat them after ten days or else they will be too spicy to bear.
Lin Hui moved a small stool to sit beside her and asked her, "What do you think? Are you going or not? If not, I will tell my sister-in-law."
She was afraid that she was too enthusiastic and would make Lin Tao suspicious of her intentions, which would result in Lin Tao not going, so she said this on purpose.
Lin Tao paused, looked up at Lin Hui, pursed her lips and asked, "Come on, what do you want?"
She didn't believe that Lin Hui would be so kind to help her. Lin Hui would definitely not give her the spot for free. Even if her grandmother gave it to her, according to Lin Hui's personality, she would take the opportunity to get some benefits from her.
As for what these benefits are, that depends on what Lin Hui says.
Lin Hui was stunned for a moment, then reacted.
After all, Lin Tao didn't know about her rebirth, and she didn't know that she asked Lin Tao to attend the social dance. In fact, she just wanted Lin Tao to marry Zhao Yuejin and live the hard life she had lived in her previous life.
So from Lin Tao's perspective, she is not that kind-hearted.
"Yes, although I can't go to the social dance, I can't give it to you for free. The chopped peppers you make are so delicious, why don't you make a jar for me too?" Lin Hui stared at Lin Tao's white hands as she pounded the peppers.
It was as if I saw Lin Tao wearing jewelry on TV in my previous life.
She couldn't suppress the jealousy in her heart, but when she thought that the Shen family had agreed to the marriage exchange, she would be the one marrying Shen Guobin in this life, and she would be the one living a good life in the future -
She felt relieved.
Lin Tao didn't expect Lin Hui's request to be so simple, and she unexpectedly agreed: "Okay, come and get it when I'm done."
"Okay, that's a deal." Lin Hui stood up from the stool. "By the way, do you have any nice clothes? Do you want me to lend them to you?"
She wore that skirt to attend a social dance in her last life, and Zhao Yuejin fell in love with her as expected.
She wanted to lend the skirt to Lin Tao so that Lin Tao would be attracted by Zhao Yuejin at first sight, just like she was in her previous life.
Lin Tao refused directly: "No, I have it."
She was not used to wearing other people's clothes, let alone the other person was Lin Hui.
"Oh well."
Despite this, Lin Hui was not too disappointed.
After all, Lin Tao was much prettier than her. Even if she didn't wear that skirt, Zhao Yuejin would definitely like her. Those women in the machinery factory were no match for her...
And Zhao Yuejin was the most outstanding one in this dance, both in appearance and family background, otherwise she would not have fallen in love with Zhao Yuejin at first sight in her previous life.
By then, Lin Tao will definitely not refuse Zhao Yuejin.
****************************
Soon the day of the social dance arrived.
Although Lin Tao also attached great importance to this dance, the most she put on was the long skirt she had just made. She usually tied her hair into a braid casually, but today she put a lot of effort into it and even paid attention to whether the two sides were aligned.
For her, this is already dressed up.
But when Aunt Fang saw her, she said no, she had to dress up properly.
"I remember the hairstyle I had when I got married was very pretty. How about I do it for you?"
"Aunt Fang, don't bother yourself. We're just going to a dance, not getting married..."
Aunt Fang held Lin Tao in the chair for a long time, but she forgot how to comb her hair halfway through. After all, it was a long time ago, and someone else combed her hair, so it was normal for her to forget.
Finally, Lin Tao tied her smooth black hair into two big braids again, letting them hang in front of her chest, and said to Aunt Fang, "It's still comfortable this way."
"Okay, okay, that's it." Aunt Fang walked Lin Tao to the door.
During his break, Lin Changhai borrowed a 28-ton truck to take his daughter to the machinery factory.
Aunt Fang: "Be careful on the road."
"Okay." Lin Changhai responded.
Lin Tao waved to Aunt Fang: "Aunt Fang, please go back soon."
When they arrived at the gate of the machinery factory, Lin Hui's sister-in-law was already waiting there.
The machinery factory is much larger than the transport factory where Lin Changhai works, and is considered the largest state-owned factory in Xiangcheng.
Because of this social dance, today, which was originally a rest day, there were many female workers at the entrance of the machinery factory who were dressed up carefully and held their work badges to pass the inspection before entering.