Chapter 83 Chapter 83 Matchmaking
The Fan family's banquet was not watery at all. The plates were full of meat and vegetables, and there were only five or six solid dishes. The whole table of food cost about one thousand coins.
There were twenty-two tables of banquets, and the cooks and other people were hired. All in all, it cost more than sixteen strings of cash.
There was enough meat and vegetables, so there was plenty left over.
The weather in May couldn't keep the food out for long, so Chen Sanfang prepared a basin of meat and gave it to Mr. Shen. She also took some vegetables and meat to send to her loved ones and called the eldest wife to come over to eat. It took a day or two to finish the meal.
The money for the banquet was paid by Kang He and Fan Jing, and they were the ones who collected the gifts in return.
After a thorough counting, they found that the gift money alone amounted to fifteen strings of coins and three cents, and there were also many other gifts.
Like children's clothes, shoes, socks, toy boxes...caught chickens, ducks, fish...everything to eat and use.
All in all, not only did we not make a loss after setting up the banquet, we actually made a lot of money.
When Kang He and Fan Jing got married, they had little money and the banquet was poor. They only spent two strings of cash to prepare several tables of food.
Not many people came, and the gifts they presented were few and far between.
Nowadays, the banquet is well-prepared, more guests come, and the gifts and money people give are also getting more generous.
After the daytime banquet, matchmakers came to the house three more times.
These people all came to propose marriage to Zhen'er.
The first time, it was about a restaurant owner's son. He came from a well-off family and was hardworking and capable. Chen Sanfang was quite interested, but it was a pity that the restaurant owner was from another county.
Kang Heti had said before that Zhen'er should not be married far away, as it would be inconvenient for the two families to visit each other in the future, and if she suffered any grievances, it would be difficult to seek support from her family.
Besides, it is not easy to visit a family far away, let alone to inquire about the family in detail. How can it be done just by relying on the matchmaker's eloquence? Who knows whether what she says is true or false?
The second chapter tells the story of a wealthy man, who is said to be a wealthy lord in the city. He owns seven or eight shops and is also engaged in the tea business. If the girl marries, he will give her two land deeds as soon as she is born.
Chen Sanfang was confused by what he heard and asked the matchmaker in detail. It turned out that the man wanted to take a concubine.
Hearing this, Chen Sanfang spitted. They had enough food and drink at home, so why would they be greedy for wealth and become someone's slave or concubine?
In the third chapter, the matchmaker had heard of Chen Sanfang's power and was afraid of her, so he didn't do anything mysterious. He recommended a man from an average family, the son of a tofu shop in the city.
The owner of this tofu shop has an only son, a daughter and a boy. The family makes a living from the tofu shop business. They don't live a rich life, but they have enough food and drink.
Chen Sanfang thought it was acceptable, so he told Kang He and Fan Jingting about it.
"It sounds like they are an honest family."
Fan Jing said, "I'll go and see this person first."
Since he was running a business in the city, he had to go and see it. Chen Sanfang also wanted to see it, so he followed Kang He and Fan Jing to the county town.
Hearing that the family's surname was Zhang and their shop was on Liuer Street, the three of them pretended to be customers going to buy tofu and went into the shop to take a look.
Zhang's tofu shop is not big, but according to the matchmaker, it is their own shop, not rented out by a real estate agent. Although it is small, it is theirs after all.
As soon as he walked in, a young man came over to greet him. When Fan Jing raised his eyes, his brows furrowed.
This young man's appearance is not ugly, but he is definitely not good-looking either. Appearance is the icing on the cake, but if he doesn't have it, it's not bad if he just looks unpleasant.
The important thing is...he is too short.
Not to mention Kang He, even if someone stood in front of Fan Jing, Fan Jing would have to lower his eyes to look at people.
When someone came to greet him, Fan Jing casually asked for two pieces of tofu. The man quickly went to get them for him, and when he brought them back, they were already wrapped.
Fan Jing took out four coins from his pocket and gave them to the man. Kang He came over and said that he had bought the item. Then the two of them left the shop together.
Chen Sanfang walked around for a while and then left empty-handed.
"As for this matchmaker, I thought she was honest. She didn't even tell me that the Zhang family kid was so big. If he got into trouble, I'm afraid even a dog could carry him off."
Kang He couldn't help laughing and said, "Although the young man from the Zhang family is not very talented, I think their shop is very clean. If he has good character, it would be a credit to him. I'd like to take a closer look."
Fan Jing also knew that when dealing with people, the most important thing was their character. If someone only had good looks but couldn't get things done, their appearance would only make them boring after days of dealing with them.
"Let's find out more. If it's a good match, we can ask a matchmaker to introduce her to Zhen'er."
The three of them had originally planned this, but when they returned to the shop, they immediately gave up the idea.
Originally, several people were planning to have lunch in the shop at noon. Chen Sanfang took the two cubes of tofu that Fan Jing bought from Zhang's house and prepared to make a tofu soup with He Xiaoqiu.
Who would have thought that when the lotus leaf was opened, two pieces of white and tender tofu were revealed, and a sour smell came out.
Chen Sanfang was afraid that it was his nose that was playing tricks on him, so he asked He Xiaoqiu and Kang He to smell it. They both said that the taste of one piece of tofu had changed.
"You son of a bitch, you treat us like strangers and bully us with such stinky stuff!"
Kang He persuaded Chen Sanfang: "Maybe there's a mistake. The sour smell of this tofu isn't that strong. General Xu took it out while he was busy and wrapped it up. The Zhang family kid didn't even smell it."
"Well, Dajing and I will take this rotten tofu and go find them to see what they have to say."
Seeing this, Chen Sanfang also agreed to see what the Zhang family would do.
Kang He and Fan Jing went to Zhang's tofu shop together, took back the two cubes of tofu intact, and showed them to the boy from the Zhang family.
"Smell it and see if it's rotten?"
The boy from the Zhang family leaned over to smell it. Anyone with a healthy nose could smell the sour smell on the tofu.
“It does smell a bit sour.”
Fan Jing said: "The general just bought it from you."
The young man from the Zhang family smiled when he heard this: "Husband, you said you bought it at my house, right? You can't just say it with your mouth."
"You have amnesia, don't you? I bought this from you this morning, and you can't remember it."
"People come and go, and I can't remember who has ever done business with me. If you insist that I bought it, besides you two, who can testify to it, who else can testify that it was bought from me?"
The Zhang family boy said shamelessly, "Even if you bought the tofu from my shop, how could such freshly made tofu go bad so quickly? Who knows if you bought it before and let it go bad yourself and are now bringing it here to cause trouble?"
"If I said I bought the tofu this morning, why didn't I tell you it smelled different when I gave it to you? You had to wait until I left the shop to come looking for me."
Seeing that this man was very clever, Kang He pulled Fan Jing and walked over to him with a smile: "My husband and I have also experienced the management of the Zhang family shop. A square of tofu is only two cents. It can buy the Zhang family's character. The price is very reasonable."
"It's just right to feed the chickens and pigs."
The Zhang family boy heard that Kang He was scolding him in a strange tone and said angrily, "You!"
Kang He didn't wait for him to finish and pulled Fan Jing away. What's the point of arguing with such people over a few dollars?
"Look at this square of tofu, two cents, it really tells us a lot about the character of this young man from the Zhang family."
Kang He was a little angry when he saw what the Zhang family did, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt that it was worth it.
"People say there are three kinds of hardship: rowing a boat, forging iron, and grinding tofu. Running this business is a hard life. Besides, the young man from the Zhang family has no talent and his character is not good. I don't think it's appropriate to say anything more to the matchmaker."
Fan Jing shook his head. These families really couldn't stand being questioned. Although he knew that no one was perfect and it was impossible to find a perfect person, he wouldn't be too picky if it was just some simple shortcomings. But if Zhen'er married into a family as dishonest as the Zhang family, she would only suffer.
He said, "No wonder Fan Xin couldn't find a suitable one after several attempts."
Kang He laughed and said, "It's hard to find a suitable family, and my aunt is picky, so it's even harder than an ordinary family."
"After all, it was better back then."
Fan Jing glanced at Kang He. They were just lucky, a once in a million opportunity that was hard to come by.
The two men went back and told Chen Sanfang what had happened. Chen Sanfang was so angry that he cursed loudly, saying that if the Zhang family's tofu shop ran its business like this, it would sooner or later close down.
I went to reject the matchmaker that day.
Chen Sanfang felt discouraged for a while after three matchmakers came but failed to find a reliable one.
In June, the weather was hot. She lay listlessly on the bamboo couch at home, eating cold melon. She thought to herself that when her family was poor, she had few choices, but it was easier to accomplish things. Now that her family was well off, why was it still so difficult to find a good family?
Just as she was lost in thought, Zhen'er came in and told her that Aunt Yun was here.
When Chen Sanfang heard her coming, she sat up from the bamboo couch, hurriedly tidied the couch, straightened her clothes and hair, and then went out to greet her with a smile.
"Why did you think of coming to see me? I was just thinking of going to the city to look at some shops someday, and when I have some free time I'll come and talk to you!"
Cousin Yun held Chen Sanfang's hand and said, "I went to the Monkey Temple to burn incense. On the way back, I bought some winter melons. They were crisp and sweet. I remembered that your home is also here, so I said I would give you two melons to help you cool down in the summer heat."
"I'm so touched to hear that you care about me so much."
"We had such a good time together for two hours, how could I not be worried about you?"
Chen Sanfang was just complaining that no one talked to her when Yihuan and Erxi came home and worked very efficiently, teaching them to do all the work. She had nothing to do all day and was just taking care of Dafu.
The weather was hot, and the child slept a lot. She would fall asleep in a short while, leaving her with nothing to do. The girl was grown up and didn't like to listen to her nagging, so she could only rock Dafu in his little bed and mutter to him in vain.
She could go to the main house to play, but because of Xiaoqiu's previous incident, she and her sister-in-law Zhang Jingui were not on good terms again, and now she didn't like to talk to her.
Finally a guest came, so she pulled her cousin Yun over and asked her to stay for dinner.
She threw the winter melon she brought into the well to make it boil, caught a rabbit, and asked Yihuan to kill it to treat her cousin Yun to a meal.
Seeing her enthusiasm, Cousin Yun decided to stay for dinner.
"Mother and Aunt Yun rarely see each other. You two stay inside and talk. I'll go cook."
When Zhen'er saw that there were guests at home, she took out some tea and made some water, then cut a plate of winter melon and brought it into the house.
She picked up her apron and tied it around her waist, then whispered something to the two women sitting cross-legged on the bamboo couch.
Cousin Yun said, "I came here to play without telling you in advance, but I'm sorry to have troubled you, little girl."
Zhen'er smiled, said nothing more, bowed, and went to the kitchen to work.
When Cousin Yun saw Zhen'er leave, she whispered to Chen Sanfang, "Don't take anything I'm saying too seriously. Although this girl isn't as eloquent as your own daughter Qiao'er, she's also sensible and well-behaved."
Chen Sanfang said, "When I came here, this girl was only three years old. I have raised her all these years. She has been sensible since she was young."
"You are so lucky. All three of your children are so good. Now you have a big, fat grandson."
Cousin Yun said, "It's a pity that my eldest son has been married for three years and still has no child. I heard that the Bodhisattva at Monkey Mountain is very powerful, so I made a special trip there this time."
Chen Sanfang comforted her, saying, "This child was born as fate would have it. Our eldest brother and Sanlang were married for over a year before they had a child. Your eldest brother is busy with business, so he doesn't spend much time with his wife when he comes home. This is not uncommon."
Cousin Yun sighed. She couldn't confide these things to the people she met in the city, for fear of being laughed at, so she only shared a few words with Chen Sanfang.
"Every family has its own problems, and I'm worried about it too. Look at my daughter Zhen'er, she's such a nice girl, but the couples who've come up with marriage proposals haven't been good enough. You know a lot of people, so if you find any good families, please let me know."
When Cousin Yun heard what Chen Sanfang said, she responded, "Of course it is."
At noon, Cousin Yun and Chen Sanfang had lunch together in the house.
The pot of braised rabbit meat made by Zhen'er was so delicious. In order to prevent people from getting tired of it, she also boiled some bean water and let it cool before eating. Cousin Yun ate it with relish and went home in the afternoon when the sun was low.
When she returned home, Cousin Yun saw her second son coming home from school. She called the waiter and asked him a few questions about school. In a blink of an eye, she found that her son had grown a lot taller and she had to raise her eyes when talking to him.
"My son, you've been doing very well lately. I've noticed that you've grown taller and stronger."
Cousin Yun's son Luo Chuanyi said, "My son has turned eighteen this year. He's grown taller and stronger as he gets older."
"It's the Mao year."
Cousin Yun felt a little guilty. She was so focused on her eldest son and daughter-in-law not having children that she neglected the opportunity for her second son to find a partner.
Speaking of seeing each other, her heart suddenly moved.
"Mom, if there's nothing else, I'm going back to my room to review my lessons. I want to write two more articles for Dad to read before dinner."
"Well, all right. But watch your eyes."
Cousin Yun watched her son go into the house, then went back to the house and asked someone to get her some water. She had been out for most of the day and the weather was hot, so she was sweating all over.
She washed and dressed, and her husband Luo Tongsheng also came home.
"How about going to the Monkey Temple today?"
"The master said we have to wait for fate to come."
Luo Tongsheng sighed slightly.
Cousin Yun went up to her husband and said, "The second son is getting older. It's time to take care of him."
Luo Tongsheng said, "It's a relief that you still remember this matter. You've really lost yourself because of the matter between the boss and his wife."
Cousin Yun let her husband complain and said, "A cousin from my mother's family has come to visit us twice before. She has a girl of the right age."
Luo Tongsheng heard this and said, "Is that the one you mentioned who opened a pork shop in the city?"
Cousin Yun nodded.
Luo Tongsheng frowned, "A butcher's family must be very fierce. Our second son is a scholar."
"Just because a family has a butcher doesn't mean they're all fierce. I saw that girl; she's very pretty, she can make delicious soup, and she's also very quiet."
Cousin Yun spoke of Zhen'er's good qualities to her husband: "Our second son needs someone with a gentle personality to take care of him and help him study."
The one Luo Tongsheng loved and was most satisfied with was the second son in the family. He was a scholar, while the eldest son refused to study and started running a business early.
The second son alone is not only willing to study, but also diligent and motivated. Judging from the conditions, he will surely be able to pass the imperial examination in three to two years.
He loved the second son and naturally wanted to have a very good relationship with him.
Now, those who are neither high nor low are looked down upon by the good people in the city.
The county town was different from the countryside. During the war, most of the soldiers were from poor families. Most of the wealthy families in the city paid money to be exempted from military service, so men were not as scarce as in the countryside.
Those who are slightly better off cannot take advantage of the fact that there are many boys, girls and men, but they cannot gain much.
The Luo family is a rare good family among rural residents, but they are not well-known in the city.
"And this girl's cousin is also a scholar. He opened a private school in the village to teach children. Coincidentally, her cousin was a student of Mr. Xu, the old scholar. Counting on my fingers, he was a classmate of our second son!"
Luo Tongsheng became interested after hearing this: "Really?"
"I'm not one of those matchmakers who randomly arranges marriages for me, and I'm not sure I'd harm my own children. Just ask around and you'll know if what I say is true or not!"
Luo Tongsheng took what he heard to heart. One day, while asking about his second son's studies, he took the opportunity to ask Xu Laoxiucai about the Fan family.
Mr. Xu, the old scholar, said that they were from the same hometown, and that the child was indeed now running a private school in his mind, and his words showed his satisfaction with this student.
Luo Tongsheng asked about his uncle and aunt's family in a roundabout way, and learned how good the second family was with Xu Lao Xiucai's only grandson.
After hearing the good things the Fan family said, Luo Tongsheng developed some good feelings towards them, so he went to the Fan family's pork shop and bought pork twice.
After a few visits, I realized that the Fan family runs their business with integrity and honesty, and I really can't find any major shortcomings.
Even so, he still felt unsatisfied in his heart. Perhaps he was determined to find a family of scholars, as the two families of scholars would be a perfect match.
"You've been watching for a while now, do you think it's done?"
Cousin Yun saw that her husband had been busy for a long time but still didn't give her a definite answer, so she couldn't bear to ask him again that day.
Luo Tongsheng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go and ask them to come and see. We also need to teach the two children to look at each other. It won't be enough for us to just look at each other. In the end, the second child has to say it's okay."
Cousin Yun knew that her husband was not very satisfied with the Fan family, and he wanted to marry someone who was educated.
But she didn't care about the scholarly background. Firstly, she had no education and didn't care about it; secondly, she thought that scholars were arrogant and looked down on others.
She felt that the Fan family was very good.
Seeing that her husband had spoken, Cousin Yun did not delay, so as to avoid him regretting it. The next day, she went to find Chen Sanfang and told her about it.
One day, Kang He and Fan Jing returned home, and Chen Sanfang said to them joyfully, "Zhen'er's marriage is finally settled!"
"Another matchmaker has arrived?"
Fan Jing asked Chen Sanfang.
"It's not a matchmaker, it's my cousin from my mother's family."
Chen Sanfang couldn't contain her joy: "A while ago, I told her to keep an eye out for a good family for me. Who knew she would tell me today that she wants to marry into our family?"
Kang He knew that the person who had been closest to Chen Sanfang recently was her cousin from her natal family. She was said to be a business owner in the city. Her husband was a student and worked as a teacher in a private school. Her eldest son ran a calligraphy business, her second son was studying, and she had a daughter.
I had heard that they were a nice family before. When Chen Sanfang went to their house to play, he came back and boasted to them about their food and daily necessities, and how spacious their house was, which made them even more impressed by their good family background.
"It's hard to find such a nice family in this world!"
Chen Sanfang said, "How could such a family look down upon us? It's only because of our kinship that we are considered relatives. You two should stop hesitating and start looking and asking around. Get started quickly, and don't let such a good family be snatched away by others."
After hearing what Chen Sanfang said, Fan Jing believed her more than the matchmaker, but because of Zhen'er's matter, he was still extra cautious. He didn't mind the trouble and went to inquire about the Luo family in private with Kang He.
After asking around at several places, I found that there was nothing wrong with any of them. When I compared them, I found that they were much more satisfactory than the previous ones.
Since both families have agreed, it's a good idea to let Zhen'er meet the second son of the Luo family.
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