"Oh, let me tell you, Hu Sanlang is good-looking, and most importantly, he is smart."
"The Hu family opened a kiln factory. Do you know how much money a kiln factory makes?"
"His family has five kilns. Each kiln can produce 5,000 bricks. They can finish the production in five days. They can earn one or two taels of silver a day."
"There are three brothers in my family. Hu Sanlang is the youngest and the smartest."
"Hu Sanlang is a scholar. He is in charge of the household accounts and the brick kiln at home."
"Your daughter won't have to suffer at all when she marries him. She will enjoy happiness after she marries him."
The matchmaker spoke with great enthusiasm.
Zhang Hulan entered the room, and Wang waved and asked, "Dani, what do you think?"
Li also looked at Zhang Hulan, wanting to hear Zhang Hulan's opinion.
Zhang Hulan asked the matchmaker: "Is this the Hu family from the brick kiln in Baoping Village? And how old is Hu Sanlang?"
The matchmaker replied, "Yes, it is the Hu family in Baoping Village. Hu Sanlang is 22 years old this year."
"Why haven't you gotten married yet at 22?"
According to the local customs, men usually get married and have children at the age of sixteen or seventeen, so twenty-two is considered an older young man.
The matchmaker said: "Hey~, it's because the Hu family is well-off and Hu Sanlang himself is also well-off.
When I was studying in the early years, I wanted to pass the imperial examination. By the way, Hu Sanlang was a student, but he had not yet passed the examination to become a scholar.
But he is considered a good man in the surrounding villages. There are not many Tongsheng in the nearby villages.”
The matchmaker continued with spit flying everywhere, "Hu Sanlang said he wants to continue studying and take the imperial examinations, and his family is not short of money anyway.
Hu Sanlang was also ambitious, and he had said before that he would not get married until he passed the imperial examination. But now Hu Sanlang was not young anymore, and the old couple of the Hu family were urging him to get married, so Hu Sanlang agreed to get married first and then continue his studies.
Hu Sanlang has high standards and doesn't like girls from ordinary families.
I heard that your daughter is beautiful and virtuous, so the Hu family asked me to be a matchmaker. Anyway, I think this marriage is a good one!"
Zhang Hulan pulled Wang and Li outside and asked, "Mother, sister-in-law, do you want to get married?"
Wang said, "If it's the right one, it's not bad. Although Hu Sanlang is a little older, he's not too old."
Li also said, "If the Hu family is really like what the matchmaker said, it would be a good match."
Here, men usually get married when they are sixteen or seventeen, but some get married later, around twenty-five.
So in the eyes of Wang and Li, twenty-two years old is not very old.
The main reason was that they heard that Hu Sanlang was a scholar, and scholars had a high status in the hearts of ordinary people.
As long as one has studied, especially if one has passed the imperial examination, he is superior to others, even if he has only passed the examination to become a student.
If what the matchmaker said is true, that Hu Sanlang was delayed because of his studies, then this is really a good marriage.
But Zhang Hulan still thinks Zhang Dahua is too young.
"Mom, sister-in-law, Dahua is only fifteen years old, she is not in a hurry to find one."
Wang said, "A good marriage is hard to come by. If you miss it, it will be hard to find it again."
Li said, "Fifteen is not too young. Many people get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen."
Zhang Hulan understood Wang and Li's thoughts. If it was really a good marriage, it was indeed hard to come by.
Most girls here get engaged at the age of fifteen or sixteen. In the eyes of Li and her friends, Zhang Dahua is already old enough to get engaged.
But in Zhang Hulan's opinion, fifteen years old is still too young.
But Zhang Dahua is not her daughter, she is just her aunt and can only give advice at most.
"Mom, you can't just listen to what the matchmaker says. You have to go and find out for yourself whether the Hu family and Hu Sanlang are a good match."
Wang said: "That's for sure, we must first find out what kind of people the Hu family is like.
Our family is not the kind of people who are only interested in profit. The first thing we look at is a person's character. If the person's family is well-off, that's naturally better.
Not all scholars are good, just like Chunhua's brother, he is not a good person at all."
Zhang Hulan felt relieved. She was afraid that Wang and Li would hear that the Hu family was well-off and Hu Sanlang was a scholar and would just settle the matter.
Wang added, "I meant that we should find time to go to Baoping Village to inquire, but the matchmaker meant that the two families should meet first."
Zhang Hulan said: "She is just a matchmaker. It is not her decision when to meet."
"Of course it's not the matchmaker who can make the decision. It's the Hu family's side. The matchmaker said that the Hu family plans to bring Hu Sanlang home this afternoon so that Dahua and Hu Sanlang can meet each other. The matchmaker just came to say hello."
"So urgent?" Zhang Hulan felt that it was abnormal and that something was fishy.
Wang said, "The matchmaker said that Hu Sanlang will take an exam next year, so she wants to settle the matter as soon as possible and arrange the marriage by the end of the year, so that Hu Sanlang can study hard for the exam."
Wang went on to say, "In fact, I also think that the Hu family is a little too impatient. I have also heard of the Hu family in Baoping Village. The kiln factory has been open for many years, and the family conditions must be good. It's just that I don't know much about their family members.
But the Hu family is coming over in the afternoon, and we don’t have time to go and ask about it.
We don't know the person at all, so we can't just agree to it blindly. But if we reject him directly, we're afraid that Dahua will miss out on a good marriage opportunity."
If Zhang Hulan was the one making the decision, she would definitely have refused directly.
But Wang and Li were worried about missing out on a good marriage, and Zhang Hulan didn't know what to say.
If she says now that the marriage with the Hu family is not okay, but Zhang Dahua's marriage is not good in the future, then she will be blamed.
Now she could only help with the advice and find out the situation of the Hu family.
Zhang Hulan said, "How about this. Mother and sister-in-law, you guys talk to the matchmaker first, I can go to Baoping Village to inquire..."
Zhang Hulan paused in the middle of her words. She and Zhao Guoliang were going to buy bricks from the Hujia Kiln Factory in Baoping Village, so she could go there and ask around...
Halfway through the thought, Zhang Hulan felt that it was not possible. Since the Hu family knew about the Zhang family, they must have already inquired about the Zhang family's situation. Maybe they even knew her. It would be inappropriate for her to go and inquire in person.
Zhang Hulan thought about it and decided to ask Luo Changqi or Yuan Gang to go to Hu's house to buy bricks for her, so as to see what the Hu family was like. She would not show up herself, but go to the village to ask other villagers.
Wang asked, "Are you going now? Is it too late?"
"It's still in time. It will be quick to get there by donkey cart. You guys can continue chatting with the matchmaker. If she wants to leave, it's up to her. I'm sure I can get there faster than she can."
Zhang Hulan left after she finished speaking. Wang and Li went into the house and continued talking to the matchmaker.
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