Especially Wu Dajiao, who has been frequently visiting lately.
Her two daughters, Da Niu and Er Niu, are about the same age.
One was sixteen and the other fifteen. To be fair, Wu Dajiao's family was not bad off. Her only son, He Wutong, had been a waiter in town for over twenty years and had earned quite a bit of money. Of course, they were only living slightly better than the villagers.
But the eldest and second daughters are too ugly.
Even she couldn't bring herself to praise it.
His face was as big as a basin, his eyes looked like they were closed even when they were wide open, his nose was upturned, and he had a huge mouth and thick eyebrows like a man.
They're absolutely hideous. Jin Lu is as handsome as Pan An. The three of them standing together are like heaven and earth.
The two sisters look like twins.
They're all exactly the same in terms of ugliness.
But Wu Dajiao didn't realize it.
She insisted that Xu the matchmaker bring Jinlu to her house for a meeting, and even declared that she would take a fancy to any girl she liked.
"Auntie, I trust your character. I don't need the girl to be very beautiful, just pleasing to the eye. She must have good character and not be too extreme in personality. Her family should also be kind. I know Jinlu well. He doesn't like fierce girls or girls who speak as softly as mosquitoes. Auntie, you can introduce her to someone. We have to meet her in person to know if she's suitable."
Yan Xia didn't take Jin Lu's words to heart; that kid didn't know anything.
What good is a pretty girl? Can she feed you? Marriage is a matter between two families. If the wife is a "brother-supporting demon" or completely brainwashed by her own family, then her family will never have a peaceful life. Or, if she marries someone who is scheming, she shouldn't secretly reveal her family's flower cake recipe.
Therefore, when it comes to money...
Being pretty is useless.
Yan Xia's first criterion for finding a wife for Jin Lu was that she should have sound values and her family should be easy to get along with.
As long as they look pleasing to the eye, that's fine.
"Auntie understands, don't worry. I've been keeping an eye out for you. I'll come over and tell you when I find out."
After the two finished discussing this topic, Xu the matchmaker started gossiping with Yan Xia about the people in the village.
"Your sister-in-law from before, ugh, we're not related anymore, what sister-in-law is she? It's Zhu Xiaohua, she brought her niece from her maternal family over, she's so pretty, speaks softly and gently, and smiles like a flower. I've disliked Xiaohua ever since she married into our village. Her eyes dart around, and I know she's up to no good. She might be planning to sell her niece. But this girl is so stupid, she treats her like her own aunt."
"Really? Then you're probably right. She's the stingiest person in the world. To bring her niece into her home for free, eating and drinking for no reason, means either she's lost her mind or she has something to gain from it. I'm guessing the latter."
"...."
She was the only matchmaker in Baihua Village.
Matchmaker Xu knew all the gossip in the village.
By the time Yan Xia came out of her house, it was already dark.
Apart from the occasional bark of a dog or croak of a frog, the village was unusually quiet.
She returned home under the moonlight.
Sure enough, none of the children were asleep.
He's probably waiting for her.
A feeling of warmth welled up inside me.
I got into bed.
Yan Xia soon fell asleep.
In her dream, she saw her youngest son bring a beautiful girl home, insisting on marrying her and demanding a dowry of 880,000 yuan, plus a house and a BMW for the girl's younger brother, or he would sever ties with her as mother and son.
The scene also shifts from Baihua Village to the modern era.
Yan Xia was startled awake.
There was a commotion outside; it seemed to be morning.
She touched her forehead; it was covered in sweat.
I don't know if it was from the heat or from being scared.
As always, we set off for Shuangqiao Town at dawn.
Yan Xia, who had been selling goods all morning, was going to visit Shoucheng Village.
Just as she stepped out of the shop, a familiar voice called out to her.
"Oh my, Yan, you've struck it rich! Are you buying flower cakes? I heard they cost half a tael of silver. That's so extravagant! Even if you gave them to me, I wouldn't dare eat them."
The speaker was none other than the loudspeaker of Baihua Village.
Aunt Big Mouth.
"You old woman are really funny. She's the shopkeeper. Does she need to buy flower cakes if she wants to eat them?"
One of the customers in line chimed in.
Yan Xia knew something was wrong.
It seems the news of her opening a shop will spread throughout the village as early as tonight.
"What? She owns this shop? My friend from the neighboring village just said that there's a flower cake in town that's really famous lately. A bag only has five small pieces, but it costs half a tael of silver. Yan, if you had told me earlier that you owned this shop, I would have patronized your business. You really know how to make a fortune quietly. Half a tael of silver, and you sell ten bags a day, that's five taels of silver! Good heavens, you've really struck it rich."
“We’re all from the same village, why don’t you send me some flower cakes to try? If they’re good, I’ll buy a bag.”
Aunt Big Mouth's eyes lit up.
She cannot read.
Naturally, he couldn't understand the characters on the signboard.
She learned about flower cakes from someone else's conversation. She happened to be in town today and wanted to see what flower cakes looked like. She found the shop by asking for directions and unexpectedly saw Yan Xia there.
“Oh, Aunt Big Mouth, are you saying I have no costs? The ingredients for my flower cakes don’t fall from the sky; they’re all very precious. Although they sell for half a tael of silver, I only make a few coins at most. If that’s the case, I would have bought a house in town long ago. Why would I still be living in the village? Besides, this shop is rented; the rent is free. It’s just enough to make ends meet, not much better than farming.”
Aunt Big Mouth would never believe that.
She was about to speak when Yan Xia cut her off.
"Oh, my family is so pitiful. We have no land, just that one acre of barren land where we can just plant some corn. We don't even know how much we'll harvest. What can we do if we don't find a way to make a living? The whole family needs to eat. How about this, Aunt Big Mouth, can you lend me your land to plant? I heard you have two acres of first-class fertile land. You're really powerful. Can you lend me one acre? There's no time like the present. Let's do it today. Come on, let's go back to the village now. You can dig up the crops you planted on your land and let me plant them."
As she spoke, Yan Xia came up to pull her.
Aunt Big Mouth was so frightened that she quickly ran away.
He didn't say a word.
Fearing that Yan Xia might actually do something, they didn't dare to accept the flower cakes anymore.
They disappeared in no time; these old bones and limbs, they run quite fast.
Yan Xia chuckled softly.
Trying to take advantage of her?
Not even in the next life!
Having experienced this, Yan Xia decided not to go to Shoucheng Village anymore. She went to a nearby street, bought a few steamed buns, and planned to take them back to the shop to share with her children.
When I came back, I saw a lot of people gathered around Zhouji Crispy Rice Shop across the street.
It was noisy and disruptive.
"Give me my money back! What kind of garbage is this? You dare to sell flower cakes? Do you think I've never tasted Yan's before? Bah! It's awful. I wouldn't even eat this if it were given to me for free."
A burly man who looked to be in his early twenties stood at the main entrance of the shop, shouting loudly.
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