Song Baogen's surgery went smoothly, and his girlfriend Li Wenxiu went to the health center to take care of him as soon as she got off work.
Song Erzhuang and Qiao Guilan, a married couple, went to the woman's family to propose marriage, bringing a dowry and a pile of valuable gifts. The woman's family was very enthusiastic, and the two sides had a good discussion. They decided to hold the wedding after Song Baogen recovered.
When Qiao Guilan went to the woman's house to propose marriage, she overheard a piece of gossip and casually mentioned it during dinner.
"Do you remember that scoundrel who used a tranquilizer dart on us in the middle of the night more than a month ago?" Qiao Guilan asked the two girls. "I heard he was arrested."
Snap!
Song Caixing accidentally dropped her chopsticks.
Qiao Guilan glanced at her fourth daughter. It wasn't unusual for her to accidentally drop her chopsticks while eating, so she didn't take it seriously and continued gossiping.
"It's been several days."
"Li Er, who sells pork at the market, was also taken away with him."
"I heard that he and Li Er's wife have been having an affair in the house while Li Er is away selling pork at the market, and it's happened more than once."
"Normally, Li Er would get home around noon after selling pork every day and never came back early. But for some reason, he suddenly came home early that day and caught the two of them together."
"They started fighting right then and there."
"Think about it, a man who slaughters pigs every day is full of malice. That hooligan was beaten quite badly. He suffered a loss at the time, so when he got home, he gathered a group of people and beat Li Er up again. Li Er was so angry that he reported it to the authorities, and the officials took Li Er, his wife, and the hooligan away."
"Li Er, Erliuzi, and a group of people he hired to fight were all detained. They said they would be detained for a week and fined."
"Erliuzi's mother even went to Stone Village and scolded Li Er's wife, blaming her for seducing Erliuzi, causing him to be beaten, fined, and detained."
Qiao Guilan just thought it was gossip and didn't notice that her fourth daughter's face had turned pale.
Is Erzhuang home?
A village woman entered the courtyard and saw a faint kerosene lamp lit in the main room.
"Is the family of four having dinner?"
Song Erzhuang recognized her as Wang Sao, the wife of the bricklayer who worked with him building houses.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Sister Wang explained her purpose.
"Erzhuang, your family is about to have double happiness... no, triple happiness! I've come to congratulate you and come over to eat some happy dumplings! Hahaha!"
Wang's words left Song Erzhuang and his wife completely baffled.
At this moment, Aunt Wang looked at the Song sisters, Song Yinhua and Song Caixing, and said, "These must be your eldest and fourth daughters, right? I'm here to act as matchmakers for your two daughters. The grooms are also brothers, so the sisters will marry the brothers, making them sisters-in-law, a double blessing! What a joyous occasion!"
Wang's wife praised the two brothers from the groom's family.
He was a tall man of 1.75 meters, and quite good-looking. His family had a ready-made house, so everything would be provided for his two daughters when they married into the family. There was no mother-in-law to nag them, nor a paralyzed father-in-law to serve.
Qiao Guilan only heard that after the two girls got married, the family could combine the girls' and son's rooms and renovate them to make a wedding room.
"That's great!" Qiao Guilan praised. "Caixing always likes to stick to her older sister at home. The two sisters will still be family after they get married."
Song Erzhuang also thought it was a good idea.
Wang Sao kept mentioning Song Yinhua's age, implying that they couldn't wait any longer and wished they could set a date right now and get married tomorrow.
Qiao Guilan and Song Erzhuang were so persuaded by Wang Sao that they were eager to agree immediately.
The two chatted enthusiastically, almost to the point of discussing which relatives to invite when having a baby.
Song Yinhua then put down her chopsticks after finishing her dinner.
"How old are they? What is their health condition? What do they do for a living? What are their family circumstances? Who are their family members? What are their temperaments like?"
Song Yinhua's series of questions caused the smile on Wang Sao's face to freeze instantly.
Song Erzhuang scolded his daughter, "Age doesn't matter, as long as he's not an old man. You're already a 25-year-old spinster, so don't be picky. No matter what the man's family's conditions are, you and Caixing will work together to earn money after you marry him. Don't always think about taking advantage of the man's family. When your mother and I got married, we had nothing, but we still managed to support the four of you sisters."
Qiao Guilan glanced at Song Erzhuang and recalled that when she married him, her parents-in-law passed away and the family divided the property the year her eldest daughter was born, and he received nothing.
The house was left to his older brother, who said that his brother's son, Hanwen, was a boy and would need a house to get married when he grew up.
His sister took away all the family's food supplies in the middle of the night. He said his sister was having a hard time, so he could just take them away.
She had to live in a makeshift thatched hut with her newborn daughter. In the summer, mosquitoes covered the girl's body and face with bites. It was so hot inside that even adults couldn't stand it, let alone the newborn girl who cried loudly in the middle of the night because of the heat.
Song Yinhua asked Wang Sao, "You haven't answered my question yet."
Wang's wife's expression was off; she was clearly guilty.
She gave an awkward laugh. "This marriage is all decided by your parents. I'll talk to your parents, so you, as a child, shouldn't interrupt."
"When they were arranging a marriage for me, they complained that I was too old and wished I would marry them that very night; when I asked about the other party, they said I was just a kid and shouldn't interrupt, and asked if there was really something wrong between them?"
Aunt Wang stood up. "Erzhuang, Guilan, I suddenly remembered that I have something to take care of at home. I'll talk to you about it when I have time tomorrow."
No sooner had Wang's wife left than Song Erzhuang began scolding his eldest daughter.
"They meant well by arranging a match for you and Caixing, so why did you drive them away? What does it matter what the man's family's circumstances are? What's wrong with being poor? You're already a 25-year-old spinster, what kind of man do you want to marry? Do you want to marry a city man or a big boss? Do you think city men and those rich big bosses would even look at you?"
"I'm already twenty-five, so I'm not getting married!"
Snap!
Song Erzhuang flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table and erupting in anger.
“If you don’t get married, won’t your mother and I be laughed at to death? I think the man that Sister Wang introduced is pretty good, so let’s just settle on him. Why are you being so picky? Do you really want to marry a city man or a big boss?”
"Alright, stop talking so much, why are you getting so angry!" Qiao Guilan pulled Song Erzhuang away, pushed him into the inner room, and only after closing the door did she come over to persuade Song Yinhua.
“Yinhua, your dad isn’t entirely wrong. If you don’t get married at your age, you’ll really never get married. The man that Sister Wang introduced is 175 cm tall and doesn’t have any parents-in-law who need to be taken care of. I think it’s a good idea. If you really don’t get married, what will outsiders say about your parents? Now people in the village are gossiping that your dad and I are greedy for your wages and are deliberately keeping you around as free labor.”
"Isn't that the actual situation?" Song Yinhua asked calmly.
Qiao Guilan choked for a moment, "You're the eldest, this is what the eldest should do, every family does it this way."
"So now that Baogen is getting married, there's not enough room in the house, so Caixing and I have to get married and move out to make room?"
"No, no, what are you thinking? Mom is just worried about you and hopes that you and Caixing can both marry into good families." Qiao Guilan felt guilty, not knowing how her eldest daughter could have thought of this.
"If the brothers introduced by Sister Wang are really a reliable and good family with no bad habits, I don't mind if they are a little poor or old. I can marry into their family."
After hearing Song Yinhua's words, Qiao Guilan went to inquire about it the next day.
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