Old Lady Yun had delivered the baby for Chen Erniang's niece-in-law, and they often chatted together, so they were quite familiar with each other and addressed each other as old sisters.
Seeing her come to the door today, I knew she was there for my daughter Ruochun, so I grinned and welcomed her into the house.
"What joy? Are you just trying to flatter me, old woman?"
Chen Erniang chuckled twice, then picked up some melon seeds from the table and started cracking them open. "Your Chun-jie didn't say anything about other people, did she?"
"Speak your mind, or shut up. If Chun-jie had spoken ill of others, wouldn't you, old woman, be the first to know? Why would you even come here?"
"Old sister, I have quite a few good sons-in-law here, and I've come to tell you about them today."
Old Lady Yun didn't respond, so Second Sister Chen proceeded to list the matchmakers' fees she had been promised, from highest to lowest: "The first one is Third Young Master Wu, seventeen this year, two years younger than him, but they're a perfect match. He's quite handsome..."
"Next."
Chen Erniang was annoyed by the interruption, but knowing that Yun Laoniang was a woman of her word, she didn't want to waste her breath and make trouble for herself, so she continued the introduction.
This relieved Yun Ruochun, who was eavesdropping inside. She had just heard Yun Ling say that the matchmaker had come to the door, and she was so frightened that she hurriedly pulled Yun Ling to hide here to listen.
When Chen Erniang mentioned Wu Jia Sanlang, she felt disgusted and wanted to vomit. Before, when she was planting rice in the field, she heard this man brag to the heavens, saying that women were no more than chickens at home, and all they knew was how to lay eggs.
Fortunately, she told all of this to Old Lady Yun, and Old Lady Yun protected her.
Yunling couldn't understand Yun Ruochun's feelings. She ate and drank as usual, and more importantly, she trusted her mother, Yun Ruochun.
“Oh dear sister, you have such a sharp eye! I also have a Lin family member here. She also has three sons. The eldest son has already moved to the city, and the second son’s wife is so gentle. She would never say a harsh word to you. I’m sure you’ll get along well with her.”
"Besides, among the three sons, Old Man Lin dotes on Lin Sanlang the most. Because of his love for Lin Sanlang, Chun Jie'er will not suffer any injustice. Even if the land is divided in the future, she will only receive more, not less."
Old Lady Yun scoffed, "You only ever say the good things with that mouth of yours, you never utter a single word about the fatal ones."
Chen Erniang awkwardly touched her nose, not daring to grab any more melon seeds to eat. "For Chun Jie'er, that's no small matter."
"Hey, this is no small matter. The men in the Lin family are notorious for beating women. Wasn't the second daughter-in-law beaten until her face was bruised the other day? How can you have a conscience and recommend this thing? Trying to form a mixed doubles?"
"Alright, alright, don't be angry, big sister. Anyway, Chun-jie is not that old, she will always meet the right person."
Although Chen Erniang said this, she didn't really think so. At fifteen, she was already quite old and hadn't even started dating yet. However, she had no reason to offend anyone, especially since this family had four beautiful daughters, and she could act as a matchmaker four times.
Old Lady Yun naturally knew what Chen Erniang was thinking, but a woman's marriage is undoubtedly a second reincarnation. If she marries a bad man, she will have wasted her whole life. Wouldn't that be harming her?
If you can't meet the right person yet, it just means that the time isn't right. What's wrong with waiting a little longer? You're getting older, but it's not like you can't afford to support someone.
Old Lady Yun still gave her a few copper coins as a running fee, which made Chen Erniang very happy. She didn't stay long and went to inform each of the families.
When those families heard that their beloved sons had been rejected by Old Lady Yun, they unanimously accused the Yun family of being ungrateful after Chen Erniang left. They also cursed Yun Ruochun as an old woman, saying that it was her good fortune that their sons had chosen her, and that she was still being picky and would eventually be unable to marry and would have to become a nun.
He cursed her, but after cursing her, he started to think about the good things others had done for him. So he sent his son to pester Yun Ruochun, hoping to ruin her reputation so that he could save half of the dowry.
But Old Lady Yun wasn't one to be trifled with. Hadn't she seen enough of the dirty dealings in this village? After rejecting Chen Erniang, she made sure Yun Ruochun didn't go out or leave the house unnecessarily. Those busybodies, after hitting a wall a few times, had their patience completely worn away and stopped trying to take advantage of Yun Ruochun.
**
When spring arrived, Yunling still pestered Old Man Yun, taking the opportunity to touch all the seeds. While they were busy with spring planting, the eldest son's family was busy building a house.
This is quite surprising. It's only been a year since the New Year, and they're already building a house? Are the three strong men of the Yun family making money by working as porters at the docks? Or do their wives' families have connections to make money?
Old Man Yun secretly inquired with the village chief, but the village chief didn't know the specifics. He only knew that when Yun Da came to him, he said that he felt the house was too small and that his family was too big, so they wanted to expand outwards, break up the layout, and rebuild. He was very efficient when it came to paying for the land.
The villagers were all talking about it, but this time the eldest son kept his mouth shut, not even letting a whisper out. Whenever someone asked, he would just smile and not answer. The villagers were even more convinced that they had found a way to get rich.
No matter how good they are, Yunling's family is not envious; on the contrary, they are happy because this way, others won't always covet their possessions.
However, when Yunling and Yunruoxia drove the donkey cart past the main house, Yunling smelled a rotten odor, a smell that emanated from the inside out, like a cabbage that looked perfectly fine on the outside but had already turned black and rotten inside.
Liu's voice continued to carry outwards.
"Hey, be careful, this is a family heirloom, handle it with care."
"Yes, yes, make the rooms for my precious grandchildren bigger so they can live more comfortably."
"No, use the best materials, it doesn't matter if it costs a few dollars."
Yun Ruoxia found it annoying and rolled her eyes repeatedly.
"Look at her behavior, as if she's struck it rich and has endless money to spend. Such a stingy attitude."
Yunling felt uneasy, because people like this were the least likely to have any bottom line, and she didn't know when they might do something outrageous.
The donkey cart slowly drove into the county town, which seemed particularly lively today. Several tea stalls along the roadside were full of people, and all sorts of gossip and interesting stories could be heard here.
Yunling focused her attention on listening.
"Have you all heard? Master Song is going to take another concubine. I heard she's a beautiful young woman, a real gem."
"Really? Didn't the first one just notify her family to come and collect the coffin? Has she already found a new lover so quickly?"
"Hey, this Master Song doesn't have much of anything, except copper coins. He said he'd give twenty strings of copper coins first, and if I'm satisfied, he'd give me another eighty strings."
"One hundred strings of cash?! Goodness, rich people really know how to play. One hundred strings of cash to buy a life, I wonder if it's a profit or a loss."
Yunling suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. Yun Ruoxia was afraid that she would be reminded of the abduction she suffered during the Lantern Festival, so she hurriedly wiped the sweat from Yunling's forehead and then got a cup of hot tea to feed her. "Don't listen to their nonsense. They're just making things up and it's not true."
Yunling sensed that something big was about to happen, but without any evidence, she couldn't say anything and could only nod.
Her unease lasted for two days. Seeing this, Yun Ruoxia stopped her from going out and drove a donkey cart to the city to sell mushrooms herself. As soon as she left, a red sedan chair was slowly carried into the village.
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