When she returned to the Li family, Li Qingruo nodded when Mo Qiaoniang asked her about it.
Just from the moment she went to see Gao Chuan, Gao Chuan's first reaction was to leave, and she felt that this man was marriage material.
Fortunately, she didn't know that Gao Chuan had already imagined her as a pitiful woman who stayed at home making hairpins to supplement the family income.
On the way back, Madam Gao asked Gao Chuan what he thought, but Gao Chuan only looked serious.
"It's all up to Mother to decide."
Gao Chuan had been studying his stepmother's thoughts for over a decade, and upon hearing her question, he immediately understood her intentions.
Mrs. Gao was very satisfied with Gao Chuan's answer.
After returning, he sent his trusted confidant to Lijia Village to inquire, and the confidant's report was similar to what he had learned before.
Although the Li family workshop is famous, the second branch of the Li family is not well-known, and Li Qingruo's two younger brothers are not very well-known either. However, the third branch of the Li family has a child prodigy with superhuman strength.
Having figured things out, Madam Gao sent someone to tell her sister-in-law to help her find out what the woman meant.
If they agree, the Gao family will prepare to propose marriage to the Li family before the new year, and the two families will exchange birth charts and match their horoscopes as soon as possible.
Madam Cao readily agreed; if the deal went through, she would become the matchmaker for both families.
After waiting for some time, Madam Cao wrote to the Li family, saying that this marriage was a serious matter and that the woman should be given more time to consider it.
During this time, Gao Chuan tossed and turned every night, unable to sleep, wondering if Miss Li would be willing to marry him.
For the first time, he felt a sense of unease about his origins.
After receiving Madam Cao's message, the Li family waited some time before giving a positive reply.
This is customary, after all, it's the woman, so she should be more reserved.
The Li family also inquired about Gao Chuan and received positive feedback.
"Gao Chuan spends his days going between home and school, and has few friends, mostly classmates."
His stepmother wasn't a cruel person. Although she disliked Gao Chuan, she was generally acceptable to him.
There's no word outside of Madam Gao mistreating her illegitimate son. Her manipulative tactics regarding marriage are nothing compared to the fact that he'll be separated from his family after the marriage.
"This shows that Madam Gao still knows how to behave appropriately."
"It's alright. After you get married, you can separate from the family and maintain appearances."
Li Xu was satisfied. After all, he was a scholar. If it weren't for Madam Gao's desire to control the marriage of her illegitimate son, this good thing wouldn't have fallen into their laps.
"It's this Madam Gao. Her attitude does have a hint of arrogance, which makes people feel quite uncomfortable."
Mo Qiaoniang ignored it because she was always thinking about the family splitting up.
"They probably visited poor relatives. It's alright, what's important is that they got something in return."
Madam Cao had already discussed all the details with the Li family, and the Li family was aware of them. Since Gao Chuan was indeed a good candidate and Qing Ruo was willing, they should finalize the deal as soon as possible.
Upon receiving the message from the Li family, Madam Gao asked Madam Cao to act as matchmaker. After all, it was Madam Cao who had previously facilitated the match, so they decided to ask Madam Cao to act as matchmaker again.
After all, she was the wife of the county magistrate. With her acting as matchmaker, it was acceptable in the Gao family. Who could criticize her for not doing a good job as the legal mother?
Madam Cao didn't care about Madam Gao's ulterior motives.
She was quite willing to act as matchmaker, so she brought the gifts prepared by the Gao family and visited the Li family again to formally propose marriage.
The Gao family took Li Qingruo's name and birth date to a divination, and received a good omen.
Just before the New Year, the Gao family prepared the betrothal letter and gifts and arrived at the Li family in a grand manner. Gao Chuan even included the silver hairpin left by his aunt in the betrothal gifts.
The betrothal gifts were decent, not stingy at all; Madam Gao still managed to maintain appearances.
One by one, they were carried and lifted, filling the entire hall.
With the Li family accepting the betrothal gifts, the marriage was settled.
The Li family didn't care about the betrothal gifts at all; their main concern was confirming that the Gao family would divide their property after Gao Chuan's marriage.
Having resolved a major issue, the Li family was filled with joy every day, and Mo Qiaoniang and Li Xushi smiled at everyone they met.
Li Qingruo stopped making hairpins and began embroidering a wedding dress. However, embroidering a wedding dress was actually just a way for Li Qingruo to recuperate and nourish her skin.
Mo Qiaoniang embroidered the wedding dress herself, with Liu Yun, Qi Wan, and Yan Min also helping a lot.
The Li family spent the entire New Year in a joyous atmosphere.
Pan Jinhua was also happy. Her eldest granddaughter's marriage was arranged, and the woman herself seemed willing. The family was filled with joy, and there couldn't be better than this.
This year has indeed been full of good things; we've even held ancestral worship ceremonies several times.
During the Spring Festival, the Li family slaughtered a pig and distributed the meat directly to the workshop employees as New Year's gifts.
This is meat!
The employees paraded around with this thing, making everyone around them envious.
The clan school had also suspended classes long ago, and the teachers all took the New Year's gifts prepared by the Li family home to celebrate the New Year.
Liu Yun is the busiest. This year, the Li family has had many more visitors, and it's time to start exchanging gifts.
I was busy for more than half a month before the Lunar New Year.
Yan Min taught at the girls' school for a while, and later a female manager was invited to teach everyone how to read accounts.
The main thing is to understand the market price of everything on the market, which is where you are most easily deceived by your servants.
Because a large sum of money was spent, the shopkeeper taught very diligently, focusing on teaching accounting, how to read ledgers, and where problems might easily arise in the ledgers.
This series of classes took about two months.
Fortunately, there was "mathematics class" to fill in, and since the female tutor hadn't been found yet, the class continued.
Fortunately, the Spring Festival is approaching, and the math lessons are almost over. After all, the goal isn't to produce math geniuses.
This year is different from last year.
From the first to the fifteenth of the lunar month, guests come to our door every day.
The most special guest, of course, was Takakawa.
Gao Chuan, as the son-in-law of the Li family, came to visit with his father on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
In fact, after the engagement was arranged before the Lunar New Year, Gao Chuan personally delivered New Year's gifts to the couple's home.
That day, they were surrounded by the entire Li family, especially the twin brothers Li Qingduan and Li Qingyi, and Bai Sha. The three of them followed Gao Chuan in and out.
In Takagawa's own words, it was like watching a thief.
He didn't even get to see Li Qingruo, but he didn't dare offend his brother-in-law.
Gao Chuan also paid a formal visit to Pan Jinhua. Overall, Pan Jinhua's impression of the child was acceptable.
The most stressful person during the New Year was Li Qingyao.
After the spring, he would have to prepare for the exam. The news of the county exam had already been released, and the exam date was set for the tenth day of the second month.
I was initially full of confidence, but as the time drew closer, I couldn't help but get nervous. What if I didn't pass... No, I definitely will pass!
Li Qingyao continued flipping through the already curled-up book in his hand, muttering to himself.
Wang Jiao sighed. He had tried to persuade him, but Yao Ge wouldn't listen.
Wang Jiao has been staying at the Li family for a year. He has grown a lot taller in that year and really looks like Li Qingyao's younger brother.
Yan Min and Li Qingyao accepted him without any reservations, and the Li family was a warm place.
The three of them had seen each other at their most disheveled and vulnerable, and they couldn't bear to take him back, yet they chose to embrace each other.
Sometimes, when I wake up in the middle of the night, I feel like it's from a past life, but I know in my heart that some things really happened.
Wang Jiao was playing with a small knife. It was a gift from Yan Min after she earned her first sum of money making hairpins, perhaps because she noticed that he lacked a sense of security.
He's playing quite well now.
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