"Say it again? You actually want my Qiaoqiao to marry that idiot from his family? A toad wanting to eat swan meat, bah! Let them dream about it, it's impossible."
In a small square courtyard surrounded by mud walls, a woman in her forties was standing with her hands on her hips, cursing like a shrew, spitting everywhere.
Standing in front of her was a woman of about her age, who looked like a matchmaker.
Behind her stood a girl who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. She was looking at the matchmaker with an extremely disdainful look and an angry face.
The matchmaker looked embarrassed and took two steps back imperceptibly. She came here today with the money. Although the mother and daughter of the Jiang family looked ferocious, she had to convey the words of the Xiao family.
"Sister-in-law Jiang, you don't have to yell at me. Your husband has agreed to this marriage since he was a child. We will get married when the fourth son of the Xiao family turns 18. Look, the engagement letter written by the old village chief is still there, with the fingerprints on it. Now that the fourth son of the Xiao family has turned 18, he asked me to come and propose marriage, right?"
The matchmaker came prepared. She took out a yellowed, crumpled piece of paper from her sleeve and unfolded it. On it was written:
On the third day of the third month in the spring of the third year of Jingzhao in the Qingli period, Jiang Qiaoqiao, the daughter of Jiang Dayong from the Jiang family in Xianhe Village, and Xiao Hechuan, the fourth son of Xiao Cheng from the Xiao family, became engaged. They would marry when the boy turned 18 years old and their marriage would last forever.
Finally, there were the crooked names written by Jiang Dayong and Xiao Cheng, with red thumb prints on them. Over time, they had turned dark brown.
When Aunt Jiang saw this, her heart skipped a beat and she reached out to grab the engagement letter, but the matchmaker was a smart woman and would not let her snatch it away so easily, so she quickly stuffed it back into her sleeve.
"This is written by the old village chief himself. It cannot be faked. The old village chief is highly respected. He is now 90 years old. He still remembers this matter. He asked about it a few days ago. Sister-in-law Jiang, it's written in black and white. Do you want to think about it again?"
The old chief of Xianhe Village has a lot of say in the village. He can still keep a clear mind at the age of 90. People in the village respect him very much and ask him to notarize any matters.
Aunt Jiang felt guilty, and Jiang Qiaoqiao started crying, pulling her mother's arm and throwing a tantrum:
"I don't care. I don't recognize him. Xiao Hechuan is a fool. He is not worthy of me at all. Anyway, I won't marry him, even if I die."
Aunt Jiang felt so distressed to see her daughter crying like this. She didn't want her daughter to marry that fool. Her daughter was so well-behaved and beautiful, she deserved better.
So, Aunt Jiang made up her mind and continued to turn on her shrew mode:
"Bah, so what if there is an engagement letter? That was so many years ago. My husband passed away a few years ago. This is his fingerprint, not mine. Why should I recognize it?
Besides, no one realized that Xiao Hechuan was a fool at that time. Who among you has a daughter who is willing to marry a fool? Whoever is willing can marry. I remember that your family has a daughter, Lin the matchmaker. You are helping the Xiao family so much, so you can let your daughter marry him!"
What Aunt Jiang said was too unreasonable. She even mentioned someone else's daughter by name. Matchmaker Liu was naturally unhappy and her face turned unhappy.
"We are talking about the affairs of your Jiang and Xiao families. Why are you bringing up others? In that case, I will go and invite the old village chief and the Xiao family over. You can talk to them and make things clear."
Matchmaker Liu thought to herself, money is hard to earn and shit is hard to eat. If the second son's wife of the Xiao family was not her relative, she would not want to get involved in this matter.
So, half an hour later, the Jiang family's yard was crowded with people. The old village chief came, and the Xiao family also came.
Father Xiao brought his three sons, led by the old village chief, and a large group of villagers who came to watch the fun.
The old village chief had white hair and beard, a hunched back, and a face full of age spots. He was helped by his great-grandson to sit down on a chair.
Aunt Jiang looked at Xiao's father and the three sons of the Xiao family, rolled her eyes, and had no good expression at all.
The old village chief had just sat down when Aunt Jiang took the initiative:
"Since you are here, old village chief, I will say this today. It is impossible for my Qiaoqiao to marry the fourth son of their family. I advise some people to give up this idea. Why should my Qiaoqiao, a good girl, marry a fool?
Don't bring me any engagement letters, just come to me if you have anything to say. Dayong passed away early, and I'm the head of the family. Don't think I'm an orphan and a widow and you can bully me!"
Father Xiao knew that his family was indeed in the wrong in this matter, so he didn't know how to refute. The marriage was arranged in the first place because he and Jiang Dayong were very good brothers in their early years. They drank a little and got happy, so they decided on this matter on a whim. At that time, his fourth child, Xiao Hechuan, could write his complete name when he was less than two years old. Everyone in the village knew about this, and they all praised him for having a face that would pass the imperial examination in the future, and the story spread widely.
It was for this reason that Jiang Dayong saw the potential of his fourth daughter and planned a future for his daughter in advance.
Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened later. A few years ago, Xiao Hechuan accidentally fell and injured his brain after going up the mountain. Since then, he has become a fool with the mentality of a child.
The Xiao family was also thinking, if this is how the child's life will be, what will they do when they are buried in the future?
Only then did I remember this incident from many years ago, and I thought I'd try my luck. If the other party wasn't willing, I wouldn't force it, I could just talk things out.
The old village chief sighed, looked at the furious Aunt Jiang, the sobbing Jiang Qiaoqiao, and Xiao Cheng who kept his head down and remained silent, and he thought, why not just let the matter go.
After all, there is really no reason for a good girl to marry a fool who would make people jump into the fire kang, right? Although he is old, he still has a clear mind.
The old village chief was about to speak, but at this moment, a sudden female voice interrupted, with a slightly childish tone:
"I will marry, Jiang Qiaoqiao won't marry, I am willing to marry!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked in the direction of the source of the sound, and saw a thin and frail girl walking out of the woodshed in the Jiang family's yard, as if she would fall down with a gust of wind.
This person is none other than Jiang family’s adopted daughter, Jiang Sui!
Jiang Sui raised one hand and walked towards the old village chief step by step with a determined look on his face.
The old village chief rubbed his eyes and looked at her in surprise. Everyone looked at her in surprise, especially Aunt Jiang, whose eyes almost popped out of her head:
"Damn girl, why are you coming out to join in the fun at this time?"
Jiang Sui ignored Aunt Jiang and went straight to the old village chief without paying any attention to her.
"Girl, what did you just say? Say it again." The old village chief was old and his hearing was not very sharp, so he asked Jiang Sui to say it again.
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