Chapter 2 I want to make an offer as soon as possible
The next day, Xie's second son indeed visited the Shen family.
A total of five people came to the Xie family. According to Xue the matchmaker, they were Erlang himself, his father, second uncle, second aunt, and cousin.
According to the usual practice, the male guests of the Xie family were entertained for tea by Father Shen and eldest brother Shen Shao outside, while the female guests were welcomed by mother Zhang and sister-in-law Qiao to the backyard for a chat.
In order to avoid looking down on each other and being embarrassed when they meet in the future, men and women who want to meet each other do not meet in person. Instead, their appearance and personality are all conveyed to them by their families.
Xie's second aunt, Feng, sat in the backyard hall, drinking tea and looking at the people in this small town.
There are two storefronts of a woolen thread shop in the front and two small courtyards in the back. One floor is used for guests outside and the other floor is used for living inside. They are separated by a row of flower walls, which is very clean and elegant.
She thought to herself, how could such a small family be a good match for the Xie family! Fortunately, this was the marriage of the second son of the eldest son, so she could only stand on the dry shore and watch the excitement!
Thinking of this, she cleared her throat and told Zhang and Qiao about her family's wealth.
"Erlang's grandfather built up the family business we have today. Now that the old man has passed away, only the old lady is left at home to take care of us. My sister-in-law from the eldest house passed away ten years ago, leaving behind a son and two daughters. The eldest daughter married into the He family in the county and moved to the provincial capital a few years ago. The youngest daughter is only eleven or twelve years old this year, so she is still young and naive.
Although my family is the second branch, my son is the eldest grandson in the family! He is very capable and married early. He married the only daughter of a rice shop in the south of the county town. He also has a sixteen-year-old daughter who is rare in beauty..."
Seeing that Feng's words were increasingly leaning towards her own family, Zhang smiled and pushed the teacup forward, naturally interrupting her.
"What have you been doing for a living lately, Erlang?"
Feng stopped talking and drank some tea to moisten her throat.
"Nothing much. He just hung out in the shop when he was little. When he grew up, he went south with his father twice to learn how to buy medicinal herbs. Then, his father broke his leg and couldn't walk far, so he let him go on his own. Oh, he's never home! It's still my eldest son who manages the shop all by himself..."
The atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Shen's mother and daughter-in-law Qiao looked at each other. It was the first time they heard an elder speak of their own child like this. They wondered if Erlang was really that bad and what grudge he had with his second aunt's family?
Qiao quietly stood up, walked to the back, and waved outside. Chen Qi nodded in understanding and walked in with the little maid Si'er, carrying a tea tray.
Feng was talking endlessly when she suddenly saw Chen Qi coming with a little maid to pour tea. Then she remembered the main purpose of her visit today, stopped talking, and looked at the daughter of the family carefully.
The little girl from the Shen family was indeed beautiful. She had a tall figure and skin as white as a peach, which set off her beautiful face. Her eyebrows were like willow leaves, her eyes were like apricots, and she had a head of thick black hair, which was like a bright pearl, pleasing to the eyes.
Seeing Feng looking at him, Chen Qi lowered his eyes slightly, held the teapot steadily, bowed to add tea, greeted softly, with a warm smile between his eyebrows.
Feng murmured in her heart, no wonder the eldest wife attached so much importance to this interview that even her own family members were called over to accompany her. She was so beautiful and graceful.
Not to mention the girls from the small town, even the daughters from the wealthy families in the county cannot compare to her.
Feng said nothing under the pretext of drinking tea, but she had a hundred plans in her mind.
His own daughter was naturally perfect, and even his disappointing daughter-in-law, Sun, was a rare beauty in the city, who seduced his own son as if he had eaten bee poop.
But if this outstanding woman walked in, not to mention her dignified and generous demeanor, just her dazzling appearance would make the two of them look inferior.
She was unhappy in her heart, but after all, the elder came to visit her. Second Aunt put down the tea bowl and began to hold Chen Qi's hand with a smile, asking what the girl's name was, how old she was this year, and what she was busy with at home.
Zhang from the side continued the conversation in a friendly tone.
Because my daughter was born on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, her nickname was Yue'er. Her full name, Chenqi, was chosen along with her brother. In two months, she would be eighteen. She had been helping her parents and sister-in-law with household chores and tending to the shop. She was quite capable.
Mrs. Qiao also said a few words, that her younger sister was the most amiable one at home. Not only was she the apple of her parents' eyes, but she and her elder brother also loved her the most.
Second Aunt took the opportunity to touch Chen Qi's hands. There was indeed a thin layer of calluses on them. It seemed that she had done a lot of housework at home. She thought to herself, if she was really the apple of my eye, I would spoil her enough, and I wouldn't let her do such things.
The pampered girl in her mind means never leaving the house, not doing anything, and not caring about anything, just being a young lady in the boudoir.
But the Shen family spoiled Shen Qi because she was willing to learn to read and write, so they let her go to school with her brother. When she wanted to learn accounting and cooking, her parents also taught her step by step.
The Shen family raised all their children equally, regardless of whether they were boys or girls. Even their youngest son, Shen Ji, had to pick vegetables and wash dishes with his sister and sister-in-law after school, and help his father and brother carry things.
Only when family members help each other can life be prosperous.
Second Aunt never expected all this. She smiled on her face, but in her heart she was thinking that if the daughter of a small family in the town married into the Xie family, she would be at her disposal, and she would have more people to serve her, which would make her happy.
At this moment, the smile on Feng's face became sincere.
After Chen Qi poured the tea, she carried the tea tray and came out from the back door with Si'er.
Si'er was the fourth daughter of a neighbor living in the back street. She was only twelve or thirteen years old. Because there were many children in the family, her parents sent her out to work. She came to the Shen family every day to help with housework.
Coming out from the back door, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
The auntie inside is so unpleasant. She always looks down on people and you can tell she has a lot of schemes.
Chen Qi and Si'er were walking forward, chatting and laughing, when they happened to see their eight-year-old brother Chen Ji, who was sneaking around on the peach tree beside the flower wall.
Si'er went up and slapped him.
"The peaches aren't ripe yet, and you're eating them again!"
Chen Qi watched as her father and brother were leading the male guests of the Xie family out of the lobby. It was too late for her to stop them.
Shen Ji was concentrating on peeking, and was hit by her, and screamed "ouch" in fright.
Sure enough, when the group heard the noise, they all looked over here.
It is a rule that men and women who meet for the first time do not meet each other.
But seeing that people were looking at her, she felt that it was okay, she was only afraid of losing face for her parents.
In a hurry, Chen Qi covered her face with the tea tray, pulled Si'er with one hand, and ran away like the wind.
No one saw Shen Qi and Si'er, they only found Shen Ji falling from the tree. Shen Shao hurried over to pick him up and patted his butt. Everyone laughed.
Only Xie Yuduo didn't laugh.
As soon as he went out, he noticed a noise nearby. No one paid attention except him, who looked at it calmly.
At first glance, I saw the two girls tiptoeing out.
A little girl was mumbling something, but I couldn't hear her because I was too far away. I just saw another girl smiling coquettishly when she heard what she was saying.
You have a really beautiful smile.
It was as if his soul flew away with this smile, leaving behind an empty chest.
Until the girl also saw them and ran away as if escaping.
The child fell from the tree and was helped up again.
He was still in a daze.
His cousin bumped his arm, and he suddenly came to his senses and bowed and said goodbye.
When they arrived at the gate of the Shen family, the Xie family said goodbye to the old man of the Shen family, and the cousin Xie Yuming went to get two black horses and asked the coachman to lead the carriage.
This time, the two brothers rode their own horses.
Father Xie Yan, second uncle Xie Ang, and second aunt Feng were riding in a hired carriage.
In the small town of Baihe, if a family had a mule, they were already considered one of the most affluent. The Xie family, who could raise two horses, were truly wealthy families found only in the county.
As expected, as soon as the Xie family left the house, some noisy neighbors looked over here, lowered their voices, and whispered to each other.
"Look, the little girl from Mr. Shen's family has someone come to see her again."
"Not really. A beautiful young lady like her is always sought after by hundreds of families, isn't she?"
"Oh, there are quite a few people who want to see each other, but I'm afraid it won't be successful this time."
"That's true. Ever since Doctor Xu's family broke off the engagement, everyone's been saying this girl has a tough life, and they're afraid she'd bring bad luck to her husband if she were married. Didn't Doctor Xu almost die from that? Luckily, it was just an engagement, and after the breakup, her health improved. If she'd really been married, who knows what would have happened!"
Someone nearby heard it and couldn't help but interrupt.
"What's the point of saying you have a strong life? Birth, aging, sickness, and death are common. Which man or child doesn't get sick? How can you blame the girl?"
"Oh, it might not be certain for other families, but what Doctor Xu said is quite accurate! He sees patients every day, so how could he not know his own son's condition? He tried so many doctors but couldn't get better, so he must have called off the engagement because he had no other options. Look, it's all right now after he called off the engagement!"
"That's right! Speaking of which, Xiaoyue has been very lovely since she was little, diligent, sensible, and sweet-talking. When the engagement was just broken off, so many families came to propose to her that they almost broke down the door. Everyone was pleased when they saw this girl, but once they heard about her reputation as a jinx, there was no further contact..."
"That's right, I wasted these two years..."
Everyone talked for a while, until Shen Jia Dalang came out and opened the shop door, and then everyone dispersed as if nothing had happened.
At this time, the Xie family members who were walking on the way back to the city were also discussing this matter.
The two brothers each rode a horse, and the three elders sat in a large blue cloth carriage. When they arrived at a deserted place in the countryside, they lifted the curtain to make it easier to talk to the brothers walking on both sides.
In a small county town, there wasn't much strict separation between men and women, let alone family members who saw each other every day. Dad sat on one side, and Second Uncle and Second Aunt sat on the other, so they knew the rules.
My cousin Xie Yuming socializes outside every day and asks the most questions. He is telling the elders about the Shen family.
"The Shen family's father was originally from another town, selling cloth from door to door. When he was young, he came to Baihe Town and settled down. The couple worked hard for several years selling cloth in the wind and sun, and finally earned enough money to buy these two small houses facing the street."
Listening to Xie Yuming's words, Second Aunt couldn't help but curl her lips.
The Xie family's house has been there since their grandfather's generation. It has five rooms in front and four courtyards in the middle. Although the family has indeed declined in recent years, it is still considered a wealthy family in the county.
For a girl from such a small family, even if she looks like a fairy, it is really too high to marry her.
As Xie Yuming was talking, he also mentioned the rumor about the "husband-killing" girl, but since it concerned the girl's reputation, he lowered his voice so that only his family could hear it.
When Feng heard this, she immediately became energetic.
If she really is unlucky in marriage, there will be a lot of drama to watch when she marries into the old family! If something bad happens to her, then Yu Ming will be the only child in our family...
Feng was about to speak when Xie Yan, the head of the Xie family who had been silent for a long time, spoke.
"Don't say such nonsense. I'm a good girl and I don't want to be buried by such dirty words."
When Xie Yuming heard his uncle's words, he wisely shut up, but Feng found an opportunity.
"Speaking of which, this humble family background is somewhat unworthy..."
When Xie Ang heard his wife's words, he also agreed.
"If you all think this one is not good, let's look at another one. We just saw the first one..."
Feng immediately rolled her eyes at him.
Xie Yan said, "It's not so bad. Their family also has an industry that can make money. It's just a small business, smaller than ours, so they are not poor."
Second Aunt continued with this and spoke to the eldest brother with a smile.
"That's right. Our Brother Duo isn't young anymore, and the girl is five or six years younger than him. If we delay any further..."
After hearing this, Xie Yan didn't respond. After a while, he sighed.
My son, who was supposed to be married when he was seventeen or eighteen, has been away from home for five or six years because he went out to buy medicinal herbs. His marriage has been delayed until now.
But there are quite a few people in the family, so why let a young man of seventeen or eighteen go on a long journey?
It turned out that after the brothers Xie Yan and Xie Ang came of age, they would take turns going out to buy things, and each trip would last for a year or two. When Xie Yuming and Xie Yuduo grew up, they would each take their children out to gain experience.
However, Xie Yuming, the eldest grandson who always regarded himself as the eldest grandson, could not bear this hardship. As soon as he got married, he said that in order to continue his offspring as soon as possible, he would not go out until he had a child.
In addition, his second uncle Xie Ang was confused and his father Xie Yan broke his leg on the road, so only Xie Yuduo was left to take on the task of going out to buy things.
For six or seven years, he only stayed at home for less than twenty days in total, which delayed his marriage.
Speaking of which, the girl from the Shen family was the first family Xie Yuduo visited.
At this moment, Second Aunt started nagging again.
"I've heard it said long ago that my cousin's third daughter knows everything about us, and our two families are close. She's also very beautiful..."
Second Aunt had said this many times, and every time she said that Miss Zhao San was "good-looking." But this time, suddenly remembering the appearance of Miss Shen today, she felt a little embarrassed to say that she was "good-looking."
Xie Yan glanced at his son who had been silent the entire way.
Ever since his wife passed away, the son has spoken less to himself.
Over the years, he has done so many things outside alone, and unknowingly, he has grown into a man like this, with broad shoulders and a straight back. He stands straight on horseback, and is very handsome and heroic.
Xie Yan felt a little distressed, sighed, and interrupted his sister-in-law's chatter.
"Duo'er, what are you thinking?"
Xie Yuduo was looking at the sparse trees and fields beside the official road from his horse, and he felt very happy.
"The Shen family's daughter is very good. If she is willing, I would like to propose marriage as soon as possible."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
