Seeing that Madam Feng was about to speak, he tugged at her sleeve and shook his head at her.
"Mom, what is it?"
Mrs. Feng tilted her head.
Grandma Qiao whispered a few words to her.
Madam Feng suddenly realized, "Yes, we should keep it a secret. This is my daughter's future husband. We should wait until things are more stable before making a decision."
Mu Xinghe went to the town and sold his notes to the students at the school. Hearing that he had passed the imperial examination and become a government-subsidized student, several students were eager to buy them.
In the end, the highest bidder won, and it sold for two taels.
Mu Xinghe thought that selling it for five or six hundred coins was already a lot, and now that he had two taels in hand, he could do even more.
He bought two pieces of brown sugar, a chicken, a piece of smoked pork belly, ten eggs, and a length of red cloth. Finally, he went to the bookstore to buy the engagement letter.
"Brother, what are we buying these things for?" Mu Xingyue, only five years old, followed behind Mu Xinghe.
Mu Xinghe patted his head with a doting smile on his face: "Little sister, you're going to have a sister-in-law soon. Your brother is going to arrange a marriage for you."
"Who is it? Who is it?" Mu Xingyue was overjoyed and jumped around, grabbing Mu Xinghe's hand.
"There are only the two of us in our family, and now there will be one more person."
"It's the Qiao family, your sister Xi'er."
"Wow, it's Sister Xi'er! Sister Xi'er is beautiful and kind. Xingyue likes her."
"Once I ran into Sister Xi'er, and she even gave me some candy."
"It's just that my mother has just passed away, so we can't marry your sister Xi'er right away. We have to wait three years."
"Oh." Mu Xingyue was a little disappointed; she wished she had this sister-in-law right now.
"Once the marriage is settled, can I visit my sister-in-law often?"
Thinking of the Qiao family's affable and generous nature, Mu Xinghe assumed they wouldn't hold it against him and said, "Xingyue, go if you want to."
When they returned to the village, it was already evening. Mu Xinghe took ten eggs and went to find Zhao Laosi.
"What? You want to marry Xi'er and you want me to be your matchmaker?"
Zhao Laosi was surprised and looked Mu Xinghe up and down. He was indeed good-looking and tall, but—
"Yes, Uncle Zhao, could you please be my matchmaker?"
Old Zhao sighed and said earnestly, "Xinghe, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you've lost both your parents, your family is in such a state, and you didn't even pass the imperial examination. Compare that to the Qiao family's current situation. You're really making assumptions."
It turns out that, in the eyes of outsiders, he was so unworthy.
Thinking about this, Mu Xinghe felt even more that the Qiao family's kindness was truly rare.
"Besides, your mother just died. Even if you get engaged, you can't get married for three years. Aren't you making things difficult for the girl?"
"Uncle Zhao, I have a plan. Please go and make the trip."
Mu Xinghe cupped his hands and bowed solemnly to Zhao Laosi.
"Hey, what are you doing—"
Seeing how honest the child was, he must have really fallen for Xi'er. Considering that she had lost her parents, Zhao Laosi wondered if he would be too cruel to refuse her.
"Okay, let's go then. Be prepared."
Zhao Laosi shook his head; this was probably the only time he had failed in all his years of matchmaking.
Normally, when he acts as a matchmaker, it's just a formality when both parties are willing. But given the conditions of the Mu Xinghe family, he doesn't believe they've discussed it with the Qiao family.
But to his surprise, the Qiao family agreed on the spot.
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