Chapter 284 Huzhou Refugees Besiege the City
Cheng Wanwan and Grandma Zhao sat down in the house.
She got straight to the point, saying, "Ergou is getting on in years, and I'm thinking of finding him a wife."
"This matter really needs to be done quickly." Old Mrs. Zhao slapped her thigh. "To tell you the truth, I've been secretly looking at girls lately. There are quite a few nice girls in our village. I'll find an excuse to invite those girls to my house for a visit, and you can have Er Gou sneak a peek. If he takes a fancy to one, we'll go to that family to propose marriage..."
Cheng Wanwan was both amused and exasperated. She lowered her voice and said, "Mother, the choice has been made. It's Miss Yingying from the Cao family."
Grandma Zhao was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "That Er Gou must have saved Laozi in his past life to be able to marry such a good wife. Yingying is a beautiful girl, not spoiled at all. She's a treasure. But the Cao family is different from our village. They definitely have many customs when it comes to marrying off their daughters. We can't be too careless."
“That’s what I meant too,” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “It’s just that I don’t quite understand this matter, so I came here specifically to ask Mother.”
"First, we need to find a matchmaker. Our village's matchmaker, Zhao, knows everything. We'll have her go to the Cao family first; this is called 'Nacai,' which means asking the Cao family if they're willing to marry off their daughter." Old Mrs. Zhao spoke knowledgeably about these matters. "If the Cao family agrees, the matchmaker will take gifts and go again to find out the other party's name and birth date. This step is called 'Asking the Name.' Next, we'll take the birth date to the temple to have the divination done to determine if the marriage is suitable, and we'll also set a rough wedding date..."
Cheng Wanwan listened carefully, and after listening, her head was spinning.
She now has only one thought: she hopes that San Niu's future partner will be a girl from a similar family background, which would make the marriage process much simpler.
She said, "Then I'll trouble Mother and Matchmaker Zhao to discuss this matter first. Tomorrow I'll go to town to buy the gifts that the matchmaker will bring when she visits."
Grandma Zhao immediately said, "You wouldn't know what to buy anyway, so let's go together tomorrow morning."
Cheng Wanwan nodded, completely bewildered. Having the old lady's help would save her a lot of trouble.
She took a small piece of silver from her sleeve and handed it over: "This is a small gift for the matchmaker."
After the marriage is officially arranged between the two families, the matchmaker must be given money. On the wedding day, the groom's family must also give the matchmaker a large red envelope.
Grandma Zhao pushed the money away: "I've already saved up the matchmaker's money for Er Gou. It's all from the wages you've given me lately. Er Gou, San Niu, and Si Dan, all three children get a share..."
The old woman opened a cloth bag, which was full of copper coins and some loose silver.
Cheng Wanwan was slightly moved. All the old people in the world are the same. They are reluctant to spend the money they earn on food and clothing, and save it all for their descendants.
The old lady can be a bit gossipy at times, but she genuinely cares about the children.
Qian Chengwan did not refuse, telling Er Gou that being a good son to his grandmother was more important than anything else.
Early the next morning, Cheng Wanwan and Grandma Zhao boarded a horse-drawn carriage to Ping'an County. It was getting colder and colder, and the north wind was howling in the early morning. It was too cold to ride in an oxcart. Zhao Ergou sat outside driving the carriage. He was a strong young man, and the wind was no big deal for him.
The carriage bumped along the way to Ping'an County and stopped in front of the Zhao family's restaurant.
Old Mrs. Zhao had heard long ago that Zhao Ergou was going to open a restaurant, but she never had the chance to come to the city to see what it was like.
She jumped off the carriage, stepped over the threshold and went inside. At first glance, she saw a small pond and a small rockery in the entrance hall. After passing through the entrance hall, she saw the spacious hall. The tables and chairs had been temporarily moved out and the floor tiles were being repaved.
"These floor tiles look so expensive!" Old Mrs. Zhao said, her voice trembling with heartache. "Why be so particular about the things we walk on?"
Cheng Wanwan quickly put her arm around the old lady's shoulder and went out: "Leave Er Gou to keep an eye on things here, let's go shopping."
Grandma Zhao knew her eldest daughter-in-law didn't like hearing these things, so she could only swallow back the words she hadn't yet uttered.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had already discussed what to buy on the way: tea, cloth, and wine. These were essential gifts for the betrothal and the formal marriage proposal. After the first two stages, the next step was to propose marriage and exchange betrothal gifts. There were so many things to prepare for the betrothal gifts. It wouldn't be good if the girl brought a lot of dowry while their family only prepared ten taels of silver as a bride price. Otherwise, people would gossip about them behind their backs.
Cheng Wanwan and the old lady went to the cloth shop first and bought some of all kinds of cloth, easily spending more than ten taels of silver.
No woman in the world doesn't love shopping. Old Mrs. Zhao was initially worried about the money, but in the end she couldn't be bothered with it anymore. She bought whatever she liked, and before long, the two of them had their hands full of things.
But that's not enough.
Cheng Wanwan knew that Cao Yingying owned many estates and shops, which, when converted into silver, were worth at least five thousand taels of silver.
Even if she can't prepare a betrothal gift that matches her dowry, it shouldn't be too meager.
Of course, she would prepare the same dowry for Er Gou as she would allocate the same amount of property to her other three sons. In short, she would never favor any of her four sons.
As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were walking down the street, a sudden commotion broke out in the main street.
Two constables rode up on horseback and posted a notice on the notice wall on the main street. Passersby gathered around to see what was going on.
Cheng Wanwan couldn't squeeze in, so she could only listen to what those people were saying.
"My God, there are refugees in Huzhou."
"I had heard long ago that the floods in the south were very serious, with no harvest and many people homeless and starting to wander around."
"The weather is getting colder and colder. If these refugees don't find a place to stay, they will definitely freeze to death on the road."
"Didn't you see the notice? There are just too many refugees. The prefect of Huzhou can't handle it. He's even closed the city gates. We can't go to Huzhou anytime soon."
"Heavens above, surely no refugees will come to our Ping'an County."
"Lord Shen has already made ample preparations, so rest assured, he will definitely not allow the refugees to enter the city."
"..."
Everyone exchanged glances and whispered amongst themselves, their faces showing fear.
Cheng Wanwan's heart sank. In the past summer and autumn, she could easily find wild vegetables and fruits in the fields to fill her stomach. But now that the weather has turned cold, it is no longer possible to survive in the wild. Those displaced people have begun to wander around looking for a place to settle down.
Everyone in the country knows that Huzhou had a bumper harvest this year, and those displaced people must have heard about it, which is why they gathered in Huzhou.
The tax grain handed over to Huzhou had already been sent to all parts of the country. What ability did the prefect have to take in these refugees?
If Huzhou doesn't open its city gates, these refugees will continue to wander. Where will they go next?
Cheng Wanwan stuffed everything into Old Madam Zhao's hands: "Mother, go back to the restaurant first. I'm going to the county government office."
She walked hurriedly to the entrance of the county government office.
Magistrate Shen was reviewing cases in his study. His daily work consisted of reviewing cases, writing documents, and then making a trip to see the prefect.
However, Huzhou closed its city gates last night, so he won't need to report to the prefect for at least the next two weeks. But not having to go doesn't mean he's free; there's still a lot to do. Besides daily trials, he also needs to keep a close eye on the movements of the displaced people and devise countermeasures...
"My lord!" Master Yuan walked in from the study door. "Madam Sui has arrived."
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