Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Blind Date
"You have heard everything you should have heard."
"The young man from the Kang family is healthy and handsome. Would it be appropriate for him to be your live-in husband?"
After seeing the matchmaker off, Chen packed up her joy at having someone propose marriage and turned back to the kitchen.
There was a fire burning in the stove and some water in the pot.
Fan Jing was sitting under the stove, fiddling with his right hand.
He sprinkled a handful of chalk on his hand, and the big cut on the palm of his hand absorbed the chalk, and the bleeding that was oozing out immediately stopped.
Seeing someone coming in, he tightened his hands as if nothing had happened, and took out the hemp rope and twisted it into a strand to repair the bow and arrow.
Chen had certainly seen it, but people who make a living in the mountains are bound to suffer minor injuries and pains, so they have endless worries.
Besides, Fan Jing didn't care much, and probably didn't like to hear those caring words, so she pretended not to see it.
She folded her hands in front of her and coughed a little awkwardly.
She was a little afraid of this guy, so she pulled Father Fan into the kitchen with her.
They both asked him what he meant.
Fan Jing plucked the hemp string with his thumb, adjusting the tension. He didn't even look up when he heard the sound. After a moment, he said, "Is it so good that you come to our house?"
When asked by Fan Jing, Chen's voice softened a bit. "Marriage is all about fate. That young man isn't entirely good either. The matchmaker was honest and said that he...is a little bit off-key."
Fearing Fan Jing would be upset, she added, "You know how tough things have been these past few years. Respectable families are all looking for high salaries. Families with girls are desperately trying to snatch them away, and the dowries are all competing with each other."
"The other day, Li Zao from the next village married my brother, and she gave him a strong donkey as a dowry. And that wasn't enough; they said she also gave her in-laws a bill for more than ten strings of cash."
"You could say his brother and son-in-law are some remarkable people, and it's no wonder they've made such a fuss. But he has a horse face and is short and skinny, not even as tall as you. His family is just a farmer with a few acres of land. The only thing they can boast of is making incense and candles, and setting up a stall at temple fairs."
"The Li family is such a good family, and my brother is well-known in the village for his virtuous and capable character, but in the end, he only married someone like this, and even lost so much of the dowry."
"If this had happened in the past, everyone would have said the Li family was blind. But in the past two years, it's nothing new anymore."
After that, she got back to the point: "Our family is in such a poor position, we can't compare to the Li family, so how can we afford such a large dowry? Your father is reluctant to let you marry far away, and he wants to find a live-in wife, but these days, he doesn't even have the nerve to ask for it."
"It's so hard to find someone who's willing to come to my house. I can't be too picky. As long as they're okay, that's fine. Don't you think?"
Fan Jing said nothing and continued to work on repairing the bowstring, as if he didn't care much about it.
He knew clearly in his heart that it was true that his family could not afford the dowry and that they were reluctant to let him get married. However, this so-called reluctance did not mean that they loved him much.
The seven acres of land the family owned was just enough to feed them year-round, but during the war years the land taxes increased several times and the family was left with a lot of debts.
If he hadn't been able to earn a little money by going into the mountains, the debts would have piled up year after year and his family would have been unable to make ends meet.
If he gets married, the only person in the family who knows a skill will be someone else.
The situation has been bad in recent years. The man’s family doesn’t give any gift money, but the woman’s family gives a high dowry.
He has to empty his family savings and then borrow money, so how could his family be willing to let him go to another house?
He was already past the age of seventeen or eighteen when it was easy to talk to someone else. Now he was over twenty years old and no longer had any thoughts about getting married.
Even if he stayed alone at home for the rest of his life, he could save the money he earned from other people, and when all the debts at home were paid off, he could save some more and find a new home for Zhen'er and Qiao'er.
But his family felt ashamed to be away from home, so they still wanted to find him a suitable wife.
Chen had no idea what Fan Jing was thinking. It was bad enough that he couldn't say anything on a normal day, but it was really worrying when it came to big things.
Seeing this, she elbowed Father Fan beside her.
Father Fan was of considerable build, but he had a dark, square face and thick lips, and looked like an honest farmer.
He was not much better than Chen, and was also a little afraid of Fan Jing.
As soon as he opened his mouth, he started to say those same words that he had chewed over and over again.
"Brother, you are not young anymore and it's time for you to get married. In our village, there are already two children your age."
"I've been telling you about other people these past few years. The blind people in our village are unwilling to come to our house, and there is no one suitable for you to go to."
"If you don't get married, how will your father see you in the future..."
Father Fan calls Fan Jing his eldest brother. There are three children in the family now, Fan Jing, Fan Zhener, and Fan Qiaoer.
Fan Jing and the second girl Fan Zhen'er were born to the same mother, and the third girl Fan Qiao'er was born to Fan's father and his concubine Chen Sanfang.
Before he could finish his words, Fan Jing suddenly stood up, startling the two of them.
"If you think it's good, just do as you say."
Fan Jing said this indifferently. He didn't seem happy, but he didn't say it angrily either. He took the bow he had repaired and went into his room.
Father Fan and Chen looked at each other.
Chen felt that since he hadn't said no, he had agreed. She couldn't hide her joy and said to Fan Jing's back:
"Brother, this is settled. Your father and I will ask someone to reply to the letter! Anyway, we'll see each other first. If you don't like it, we can talk about it later!"
Fan Jing didn't reply. Second and third girls Fan, who had just returned from cutting grass, heard that a matchmaker had come to their house, so they hurried home to see what was going on, but they were a step too late and didn't see anyone.
Not daring to ask Fan Jing, he pestered Chen, who looked very happy, and asked her which family and what kind of person they were talking about.
Chen scolded them for being shameless, but she couldn't help but say a few words to the two maids.
Within two days, the matchmaker really brought a letter.
It was said that the fifteenth day of the lunar month would be three days from now, and there would be a temple fair at Monkey Mountain, so they would meet there.
The Fan couple thought that this was fine. It would be embarrassing if they couldn't meet at home. The villagers would gossip when they saw them. It would be better to meet at the temple fair. Otherwise, they could just go their separate ways.
On the fifteenth day, Fan Jing knew that he was going to go on a blind date.
Since he had agreed to go with his family, he didn't try to be mean and act like he wanted to mess things up. He took a shower the night before and changed into clean clothes when he got up early in the morning.
Chen, who was boiling water in the kitchen, saw someone coming in. She tied her hair tightly. Although she didn't look gorgeous, she looked energetic.
He had a piece of animal fur tied diagonally on his body and a short knife on his waist. He was tall and did not look weak at all like a young man. Instead, he looked domineering.
Chen was silent for a moment. She was already thankful that Fan Jing was willing to cooperate with the blind date. Logically, she shouldn't ask for anything more from him.
But she didn't want such a hard-earned marriage to fall through so easily, so she coaxed him to change his clothes so that people would see her as more approachable.
After Chen called him several times, Fan Jing could no longer bear her nagging, so he had to change out of the animal skins he was used to wearing and took out a well-worn indigo cloth shirt from the bottom of the box.
Father Fan, Chen, and Fan Jing then went to Monkey Mountain, leaving Zhen'er and Qiao'er to look after the house.
Before leaving, Chen carried a basket and acted as if she was really going to a temple fair to burn incense.
Fan Jing also wanted to carry the bow and arrow he carried with him, thinking that if he walked around Monkey Mountain, he would not have come across any pheasants or wild ducks, so that his trip would not be in vain.
Seeing this, Fan's father Chen tried to persuade him and asked the second maid Zhen'er to bring the bow and arrow to him back into the house before they gave up. However, he refused to put down his dagger, so the couple had no choice but to let him do as he pleased.
When I went out, it was a bit windy and I thought it was going to be a cloudy day. But when I got to the official road, the sun came out and it was warm.
It takes nearly two hours to walk from the village to the temple on Monkey Mountain. Fortunately, the three of them walked fast and arrived at the big temple at the foot of Monkey Mountain in about an hour.
I was in such a hurry to go out that I didn't even bring the water hyacinth.
Chen's running strength was not as good as the father and son. She was so tired that sweat broke out on her back and chest, and her mouth was so dry that it was almost chapped.
"We said we'd meet under the prayer banyan tree, but it looks like they haven't arrived yet. Dajing, wait under the tree. I'll go get some water from the nuns and come back."
Father Fan wiped the sweat off his face with a sweat-sweating cloth. After hearing what Chen said, he said, "I'll go have a bite too."
With that, the two of them went to the temple, and Fan Jing waited there.
The temple on Houer Mountain is not big, and it is mainly for farmers from the surrounding area to burn incense. People from the city prefer to go to the Jinding Temple.
After the autumn harvest, the farmers had some free time, and the area outside the temple was busier than usual.
Watching people coming and going, Fan Jing was used to holding a bow and arrow and a stone spear in his hands, so he felt a little uncomfortable waiting for people outside with nothing in his hands.
He was a little impatient because he wondered how long it would take for someone to arrive. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could go back. It would be a bit of a waste not to go to the mountains because the weather was so nice today.
Just as I was thinking about it, I was suddenly bumped into by someone.
Although he was thin but strong, he was still knocked back two steps.
Fan Jing stopped and looked up, and saw that the person who bumped into him was a young man.
He is tall, about eight feet tall.
The nose is the nose, the eyes are the eyes, and he can be called a good person.
Fan Jing didn't care whether the man's eyebrows and eyes were in order or not. He looked at the man looking left and right, and he didn't seem like someone who was serious about attending the temple fair.
He couldn't help but frown and subconsciously touched the money he had stuffed in his belt.
“I’m… sorry…”
The man was slightly stunned when he saw Fan Jing's face.
After being stunned for a moment, he saw Fan Jing's hand reaching for his waist, and mistakenly thought that he was going to take out the dagger at his waist, so he quickly stammered and apologized.
Fan Jing thought the man's accent was a bit strange. Although he spoke the local dialect of their area, it sounded a bit like Mandarin.
I thought, could he be a stranger?
But he was not a person who liked to meddle in other people's affairs. Seeing that he still had the money, he said, "Nothing."
After saying that, he turned around and walked away without paying any attention.
He hadn't taken two steps when a panting, annoyed voice came from behind him:
"Oh, my ancestors, please teach me how to find her! If I lose her, how am I going to explain to your parents when I get back?"
"Even if you love the hustle and bustle of the temple fair, you should wait for me, your mother!"
Fan Jing thought the voice sounded familiar, so he turned around and took a look.
But someone called out:
"Hey! Big brother from the Fan family!"
"You're early!"
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