Qu Huaiyuan paused in his packing as Zhen Wanwan's image flashed through his mind.
But he dared not say it outright; he was not unaware of the strange atmosphere between Zhen Wanwan and Zhu Yuan during this period.
Thinking of this, he wiped the gloom from his face and said with a faint smile, "Mother, as I said, I have no intention of getting married at this time."
"It's not that I'm pressuring you, but Dongzi, who's the same age as you, is already pregnant with his second child. You should also start thinking about settling down."
"After everything we've been through, I don't have many demands anymore. I just hope you can quickly find a wife to help with the household chores and carry on the Qu family line..."
Aunt Qu began to nag and urge him to get married, her words filled with anxiety and worry.
Upon hearing these familiar words, Qu Huaiyuan frowned slightly but did not respond.
Seeing her son like this, Aunt Qu sighed silently, and then said seemingly unintentionally, "If only you and Wanwan could become a couple!"
Qu Huaiyuan was stunned when he heard this. He looked at Aunt Qu in shock, feeling somewhat at a loss, fearing that his thoughts would be exposed.
However, Aunt Qu ignored him and calmly continued, "She's just a young girl whose husband died before her child was even born. Now she's struggling to raise two children. It's really pitiful!"
"If we had known the Zhen family earlier, perhaps the two of you would have..."
Back then, the Qu family was considered a decent family. Before she went blind, her embroidery could fetch a high price.
Qu Huaiyuan lived up to expectations, passing the imperial examination for the first time and becoming a student. If she hadn't gone blind, with Qu Huaiyuan's knowledge, he probably would have also passed the county-level examination that year.
Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes; the famine and man-made disasters did not diminish at all, and all the family's money was used to buy her medicine.
The family became poorer and poorer. Originally, she was the one choosing a wife, but later it became others choosing her son.
She had grown quite fond of Zhen Wanwan during their time together.
If their two families had known each other earlier, she might have already agreed to welcome Zhen Wanwan into their family.
Qu Huaiyuan was, after all, a piece of her flesh and blood; how could she not guess what he was thinking?
So tonight was a test she deliberately took to see if her son was willing to tell her the truth.
“I… Zhenniangzi is indeed very good, but I… am not worthy of her.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Qu was certain of her son's intentions, but a sense of unease also arose in her heart.
"What do you mean by 'worthy' or 'unworthy'? Although we are a bit poor, you still have official rank and title! Your future will definitely be good."
"Besides, you're not married yet. As long as you're not picky, there are plenty of good girls willing to marry you!"
Zhen Wanwan is good, but if she were married but widowed and childless, she would naturally be very reluctant to marry her.
Alternatively, if there are still people in her husband's family who can leave the two children there, she could barely accept it if she remarried.
The difficulty lies in the fact that Zhen Wanwan is now living alone with her two infant children at her parents' home, and it seems she will have to learn from her and be a widow for the rest of her life, raising her children to adulthood.
Although she liked Zhen Wanwan very much and could see that she was very capable, her own son also liked her.
But... she didn't want her son to become a stepfather to two children for nothing. What would happen if they got married and had more children?
Thinking of this, Aunt Qu was caught in a dilemma, but she could sense her son's disappointment, and after thinking about it, she finally let go of the awkwardness in her heart.
Having made up his mind, he planned to find an opportunity to ask his wife, Zhou Er, to put in a good word for him.
At this moment, she dared not make any promises to Qu Huaiyuan, fearing that he might harbor illusions.
"It's late! Go home and get some rest! You'll be busy all year!"
The next day, at the crack of dawn.
The Zhen family gets up exceptionally early, except for Zhen, who still sleeps in late every night.
Everyone ate breakfast as usual, and a decent set of clothes was prepared for Zhen Fugui.
Today he is going to Dahe Village to collect information on the villagers' production areas, as this is his first time doing this job and it is a village he is unfamiliar with.
Grandpa Zhen was like a pillar of strength, following behind Zhen Fugui to support and embolden him.
By the time the sun rose past midnight, the courtyard was deserted again.
When Zhen Wanwan entered the space and saw the work she had done last night, she felt a surge of pride.
She has already harvested a batch of sweet potatoes and potatoes, and planted seeds again last night.
The ripe grapes have been picked and made into wine; the first batch of wine is already drinkable.
It tasted even better than the grape wine she had bought before. She packed two bottles and prepared to send them to Mrs. Feng.
After finishing breakfast and sending the wine, she had nothing to do, so she took her two children out for a stroll.
Having been in Guangling County for so long, she had only been running errands recently and hadn't had a chance to explore properly.
Therefore, she was very curious about many things, and also bought gifts for the two little ones and Zhou'er who stayed at home.
Unlike the plastic toys in the space, the ones sold here are all made of solid wood. But after looking around, she found that Zhu Yuan had bought many of these things and given them to her sweet baby, Tian Bao.
Following behind Zhen Wanwan, Granny Zhang remarked with emotion, "Guangling County isn't a particularly wealthy county in the entire Anqing Prefecture, yet it's incredibly lively here, and the things they sell are novel and interesting."
Zhen Wanwan nodded in agreement. It must be said that although this county town is small, it is as lively as a modern market.
Seeing that Zhen Wanwan and her companions were unfamiliar faces, the stall owner explained with a smile, "Sir, you may not know this, but the magistrate of our Guangling County was once a wealthy merchant. Since he took office as the magistrate of this county, he has issued a series of preferential policies for business!"
"Therefore, many merchants from other places come to Guangling County to do business, and they bring a lot of fresh goods!"
"A wealthy merchant?" Zhen Wanwan was slightly surprised. Wasn't it said that in ancient times, agriculture was valued more than commerce?
How come wealthy merchants can take the imperial examinations and become officials here?
"Boss, I heard that merchants and their descendants for three generations cannot become officials. How come our county magistrate can?"
This was no secret, and the stall owner didn't hide it, explaining with a smile, "That's right! But our county magistrate is no ordinary person!"
"The Chen family was originally the richest family in Anqing Prefecture, but Lord Chen loved reading from a young age and was also a philanthropist."
"One year we had a locust plague here, ugh..."
The boss seemed to have thought of something bad, and couldn't help but clutch his chest in distress.
"The harvest season that should have been bountiful turned into a complete crop failure, and we ordinary people almost starved to death. Meanwhile, the imperial court was pressing for taxes, and those high-ranking officials were racking their brains for help."
"Because General Xiao was fighting a war and needed grain, and we were a major contributor to the taxes, the late emperor almost had the high-ranking officials of Anqing Prefecture beheaded..."
"At that time, Lord Chen possessed immense wealth. He voluntarily donated his family's grain to the imperial court and sold off his property to buy a large amount of grain from other prefectural cities, which he then sold to us at low prices!"
"Otherwise, many people would have starved to death that winter..."
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