Everyone in the village knew that Shen Qing had killed a wild boar and sold it for money. They all guessed that he had made at least twenty taels of silver. Even Wei the matchmaker was envious. This amount was enough to support a farmer's family for three to five years!
I didn't expect that someone would keep me in mind.
She just knew that nothing in the world would fall for free! Is it so easy to earn one tael of silver? Judging from the clothes this mother and son are wearing, there’s probably not even a bowl without a hole in their house. Can you find even a tael of silver if you turn everything upside down? I guess he's planning to ask Qingger for a large sum of betrothal money before he can give it to her, right? The clacking of the abacus beads was so loud that she could hear it in Lantang Village!
This is not the key point. As long as she can give the money, why does she care where the money comes from? But although Qing'er said that when he left the Shen family, he would either marry a son-in-law or take his mother with him to support him - many people in the village knew about this.
But Qing Ge'er never registered with me, never said that he must find a son-in-law, and never said that he would look for one recently! Now that Qingge'er's family has just made some money, they come here just because they smell something bad. How can they be a good family?
On the day Shen Qing went down the mountain to hunt wild boar, Wei the matchmaker also went to watch the fun. The wild boar's fangs were so long and scary, it was frightening to look at! She didn't dare to rashly bring such a mother and son to Qingger. If it were someone else's family, at most she would be spit on and scolded. But as a matchmaker, she was thick-skinned and not afraid. But if it was Qing Ge'er, he would jump up and punch her twice in a hurry. Could her old arms and legs withstand it?
It has to be said that Shen Qing's hope of establishing authority in the village has already produced significant results.
"Oh, sister, this won't work. Aren't you making things difficult for me?" Matchmaker Wei waved her hands repeatedly. She didn't dare to take this job! "You may not have heard clearly. The guy in our village talked about his future plans, and he didn't say that he was planning to marry a son-in-law recently."
Mrs. Wang was immediately anxious: "How is this a dilemma? He's already 19 years old, how can we afford to delay? Even if he didn't have the nerve to mention it to the matchmaker, how could he refuse it when it's delivered to his door? You know this without even asking, elder sister? At least take us to his house." She pulled her son again, "Our boy is not really presentable."
Wang San, however, seemed to have nails driven into his feet and could not move at all. Old Lady Wang frowned unhappily and twisted his hand hard. Wang San felt the pain and then took two steps forward.
Matchmaker Wei didn't notice any of this, but was thinking about it. What Old Lady Wang said makes sense. When a matchmaker is talking about matchmaking, does it mean she is only talking about those families who have greeted the matchmaker? That would only lead to a few more things, and you would starve to death! As long as you are of the right age and not engaged or married, you can come and ask. It doesn't cost money to ask, and if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work. It just takes a little more effort.
As for the boy in front of him, to be honest, he is not too bad. I won’t go into details about his appearance, but he looks strong and seems to be a capable worker. Just like when people generally marry a wife or a husband, they prefer to marry one who is good at giving birth. Families that marry a son-in-law value labor and recruit a man to work for their family.
Is there any man in this world who is willing to marry into another’s family? People have to take this path only when they have no other choice. There are really not many candidates to choose from. Therefore, the boy in front of him can be regarded as a general among the lame.
So it’s not surprising that Old Lady Wang is somewhat confident in her son. But the affairs of each village are only known to the people in each village, and Matchmaker Wei was really afraid of Shen Qing. In addition, since Old Lady Wang didn't seem to be very clear-headed in her actions and words, Matchmaker Wei simply refused: "I really can't bring myself to say it. If you really want to make this marriage happen, why not try another matchmaker?"
Old Lady Wang gritted her teeth and secretly hated her in her heart. She felt that this matchmaker Wei was flattering the powerful and looking down on the weak, and looked down on people from their poor village. She wanted to find another matchmaker, but if she found Matchmaker Li from their own village, she might not even know which way to open the door to Shen Qing's house. At this moment, he could only force a smile and said, "Two taels of silver. If the matter is settled, I will give you two taels of silver as a thank you for the matchmaking, and also prepare a generous gift!"
"This is not about the money!" Matchmaker Wei remained unmoved. It's not that I look down on two taels of silver, but I know that I can't earn that much money at all. No matter how high the price I promise, it will be a waste of effort if I can't do it.
Old Lady Wang was really at a loss. She rummaged in her bosom for a long time and took out more than a hundred copper coins, which she piled on the table. "As long as you are willing to take us on this journey, the money will be yours. I have my own way of convincing that young man."
Or is it said that people die for money and birds die for food? Matchmaker Wei didn't buy into Old Lady Wang's empty promises, but when real gold and silver were placed in front of her, she became tempted. After hesitating for a while, he asked his eldest daughter-in-law to take the money and said, "Let me make it clear first. I will only take you there and try my best to mediate. If it doesn't work out, I won't return the money. If you think it's okay, I'll go there."
Old Lady Wang was heartbroken, as the hundred or so Wen was most of her family's savings. In his heart, he cursed Wei the matchmaker a thousand times, but thinking about the future and the money Shen Qing's family would make from selling the wild boar, he could only put on a smile and said, "Of course."
So Miao opened the door and saw Wei the matchmaker, a woman and a young man standing at her door.
"Sister Chunlei, I'm here to congratulate you!" Matchmaker Wei spoke first, stepped into the room in three or two steps, and took Miao's hand with a smile on her face.
Miao was stunned for only a moment before she understood what was going on. She was a little surprised, but she had no objection to the matchmaker coming to her house. She just glanced in the direction of the young man inconspicuously.
She was not very satisfied in her heart - she now even looked down on Zhao Shuanzi from the village chief's family, let alone this one? But at the same time, living in the village, Miao did not want to have an estrangement with Wei Chunfang, the matchmaker and midwife. She had to give Wei Chunfang some face anyway, so she smiled and let her in. "Sister Chunfang, how come you have time to come to my place? Come in and sit down."
Then he sent Shen Qing away: "Brother Qing, go get some of those jujube paste cakes and a pot of sugar water to treat your Aunt Wei well."
This is an old rule. When a matchmaker comes to propose marriage, the boy and girl themselves have to avoid the crowd. It would be embarrassing if they just stood by and listened to people talking about their own marriage. Shen Qing also understood this principle. He responded and turned to go into the kitchen.
"Qing'er is so promising and sensible, you are blessed!" Matchmaker Wei said, patting Miao's hand.
Wang Laoniang and Wang San, who followed in from outside, had completely different thoughts in their minds: Ever since Wang Laoniang entered the room, she had been looking around non-stop. She looked at the spacious yard, the sausages and bacon hanging in the yard, the dumplings covered with curtains under the windowsill, the chirping of chickens coming from the backyard, and the half-new jacket that Miao was wearing. She was envious and satisfied with everything.
When Wang San saw Shen Qing who had just entered the kitchen, his face became even darker.
Soon Shen Qing brought out some snacks and sweet soup, put them down and went back to the kitchen. Miao sat down in the main hall with her people. She poured sugar water for Wei the matchmaker herself and pushed the snack plate towards her. "Sister Chunfang said there was a happy event when she came in just now. What is the happy event?"
Even though Matchmaker Wei's family was well-off, they would not easily afford to buy this jujube paste cake. It can be seen that those wild boars were really sold for a lot of money. Wei the matchmaker was envious. She picked up a piece and tasted it. It tasted sour and sweet and was really delicious. Then he said to Miao: "You have suffered a lot in the old Shen family before, but now you have finally made it. Now you can eat snacks and drink sweet soup. Don't you have to worry about other things for Qingge'er?"
Matchmaker Wei really spoke from the heart. She was not happy to talk about this marriage, more because she looked down on the mother and son and thought it would not work out and would also affect her image and reputation in front of Shen Qing. But if Shen Qing really wanted to find a son-in-law or wanted to find a husband to marry into, she would be more than willing to entrust this job to her. After sending the mother and son away, she will definitely help look for them carefully!
He took another sip of the sugar water, his mouth full of sweetness, and his words became even more pleasant to hear. Sugar is an expensive commodity, and it is much more respectable than the barley tea in her family. This also shows that Miao respects her. Matchmaker Wei was so happy that she turned around and scolded the old Shen family: "Mrs. Shen is really cruel. I have never seen anyone keep a boy until this age. She really doesn't care about face or reputation. I just feel pity for Qing'er. Such a good child was delayed!"
Miao responded twice but didn't say anything else. Matchmaker Wei saw that she was not interested and thought that she didn't want to talk about the old Shen family anymore, so she immediately changed the subject: "Fortunately, Qing Ge'er is a filial son. I heard that in order to support you, he said when he left the old Shen family that if he got married, he would take you with him to support him, or find a son-in-law for his family. He didn't want you to suffer any grievances. Now that you have a good life, isn't it time to consider this matter?"
As she spoke, Matchmaker Wei pointed to the mother and son sitting at the bottom and said, "This is Sister Wang from Xiaoji Village. Her family has five children and life is really hard. This boy is the third child in the family. He is the most sensible and hardworking, and is good at farm work. Isn't he a perfect match?"
Miao looked at Wang San carefully again and glanced towards the kitchen: This kind of thing cannot be heard without the brother present. Shen Qing was sent to the kitchen to boil water, but he was not honest. He was peeking into the main room through the door curtain.
Seeing Miao looking at him, Shen Qing shook his head vigorously.
In fact, even without Shen Qing saying it, Miao was also planning to refuse, but she was just afraid that Shen Qing would think the person was okay. Seeing that Shen Qing was as unhappy as she was, she felt relieved.
Just as she was thinking about how to refuse, Old Lady Wang spoke first: "To be honest, this boy of ours is one of the most famous in our village. There are countless girls and boys who like him! It's because our family is poor and can't afford the betrothal gifts that the children are dragged down. Although those girls and boys like our children, their parents only care about money and not people. I'm afraid they are obsessed with money. It's really hateful!"
She wiped her eyes and continued, "His brothers are all unmarried, so we had no choice but to send him here. We don't want much," she gestured to Miao, "only ten taels of silver, and this child will work for you in the future!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
