"Hey, why are you piling the firewood at the door?"
Zhang Fangyuan was working in the house when he heard a shout outside. He put down his work and went out. Matchmaker Gan was standing at the gate of the yard, guarding the firewood outside.
"Put it far away, why are you piling the firewood outside?"
He really didn't know when a pile of firewood as big as a small hill appeared next to the courtyard gate. Zhang Fangyuan went out to greet him. He tilted his head and looked around the yard a few times, but couldn't see any clues.
"I haven't had time to collect the firewood I picked up yet." He smiled and said, "Aunt Gan, please sit down."
Zhang Fangyuan led people into the central hall, brought stools and poured tea. His hospitality made Gan the matchmaker very satisfied.
"Nephew, I have to say something unpleasant, but I have put a lot of effort into this matter for you." Matchmaker Gan sat down without any hesitation and drank a gulp of tea.
If it weren't for the fact that the man had asked her to stew the two pounds of meat as a snack when she brought it home, and she hadn't been scolded so harshly when she got out of the Hu family, she would have wanted to give up this job. After all these years as a matchmaker, this was the first time she had been scolded so harshly.
He sent another basket of eggs, so she had no choice but to shamelessly visit a few more families. After she had made some progress in her heart, although she was also scolded by some weird words, fortunately, the insults were not as harsh as those from the Hu family. In the future, she would never go to the Hu family to propose marriage. Even if the marriage could not be successful, there was still humanity. The villagers would meet each other every day. They really didn't know how to behave.
"Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Gan. I will definitely give you a red envelope as a reward when the task is completed."
Matchmaker Gan waved her hands and said, "Forget it. Even if I don't consider your feelings, I should consider your parents and aunt's feelings."
"Please remember this well. The one we have agreed to marry this time is the Guang family. They have many children, and the girl who is of the right age is the fifth oldest. I took a look at her and found her to be pretty and quiet. She is a virtuous woman who is good at housework. You should dress neatly, bring some gifts and go with your aunt to meet her. If the two sides are suitable, then the matter will be settled."
Zhang Fangyuan's heart warmed, but he still asked cautiously: "Guang family? Is it the family on the edge of the village?"
Matchmaker Gan nodded. This family moved to their village a few years ago. Because they lived on the other side of the border, they did not have close contacts with the villagers. If she could not find a suitable family in her own village, she would go to the neighboring village to ask. When she passed by Guang's house, she remembered that there was such a family there.
The Guang family lived a poor life and had many children, six or seven in total. Gan the matchmaker had not seen all of them and only saw the one who was of appropriate age. Now that the Guang couple were getting older, the family had to pay a lot of taxes due to the large number of people, so they were anxious to marry their child off.
The law of the Da Chong Dynasty stipulated that the head tax for any girl or boy between the ages of fifteen and thirty who did not marry would be doubled. Originally, the head tax was one hundred and twenty coins per person per year. If a girl or boy reached the marriageable age and did not marry, the tax would double as he got older, and the maximum would be five hundred coins.
This means that if there is a late-married girl or boy in the family, then this person alone may have to pay a maximum of 600 coins in taxes, which is less than one or two taels of silver. Unless the family is extremely well-off, who can bear to pay such taxes?
When matchmaker Gan came to the door and told the Guang family that it was Zhang Fangyuan, although they hesitated for a moment, they were still willing to meet him.
"Auntie specifically asked you about the bride price. The bride price in our village is not considered high. An ordinary family would consider it decent if they give three or five taels of silver. The Guang family is also very open-minded and does not ask for a bride price. Your aunt is also aware of this and we will negotiate based on this price when the time comes."
The matchmaker's instructions were so thoughtful that Zhang Fangyuan thanked her profusely and said a bunch of nice things to her.
Matchmaker Gan also drank the tea happily. She glanced around the Zhang family. The last time she came here was to attend a funeral. It had been several years. At that time, the Zhang family was very well tidy. When she came today, the yard was overgrown with weeds. Although there were signs of tidying up the house, it was not as meticulous as the one cleaned by the young lady. There was still dust on the tables and chairs. Isn't this what a bachelor's house should be like?
But it is also difficult for Zhang Fangyuan. He is a butcher with rough hands and feet, and he has to free up his hands to do these delicate jobs. It is good enough to be able to get to this point.
"Okay, I've brought you the news. I won't keep you here any longer. Hurry up and get ready to go to the Guang family for a wedding. The sooner it's done, the sooner I can get your wedding money."
Matchmaker Gan smiled and left.
Zhang Fangyuan sent the person to the door, put his hands on his hips and looked at the firewood beside the gate, and shook his head helplessly. This Xu Laoya!
"Your legs and feet have healed so quickly? I can go up the mountain to collect firewood again."
He carried all the firewood into the house, put it in order, locked the door, and turned around to go to his fourth uncle's house.
…
"Why are you working with me? Isn't there any work to do in the fields?"
"I'll go with you to the city to have a look, so I can know what gifts to bring when I propose marriage, and it will be useful when I propose marriage."
The next day, Zhang Fangyuan had to go to the city early in the morning to buy things for the marriage proposal. In the early morning, Chen Si came to bother him.
"How do you know that?"
Chen Si pursed his lips and said, "Matchmaker Gan has mentioned so many families in the village. Other families may only brag that the matchmaker went to their house to propose marriage to the girl or boy, but they won't say who the marriage proposal is. But when it comes to the Hu family, how can that big mouth be controlled? In the afternoon, most of the village knows that you, Zhang Fangyuan, asked the matchmaker to propose marriage. I saw Matchmaker Gan go to your house again yesterday. She came out smiling, so I know that she must be talking about someone."
"You are so mean. You did such a big thing and kept it secret without informing me."
Zhang Fangyuan walked towards the village entrance with big strides: "You are younger than me, and you are not in a hurry to get married. Are you trying to compete with me to be a girl or a boy?"
"I am only one or two years younger than you. I am already old enough to get married."
Zhang Fangyuan said, "You don't have a bad reputation like me. Since you can get married, why are you still waiting?"
Chen Si sighed, "My third brother hasn't gotten married yet. My parents mean that no matter how anxious we are, we can't skip over my brothers. We should wait until my third brother is married before it's my turn."
Zhang Fangyuan thought that the Chen family was quite conservative. It seemed that although a family with many brothers and sisters was lively, it also had many discomforts. Being an only child like him also had its advantages.
"Then you should first choose a good person, and then go and propose marriage when your third brother gets married."
"That's what I thought."
After saying that, Chen Si turned around and said, "You haven't even seen the girl from the Guang family. If you go and see her, you can get married. Don't you really want to find someone you like?"
Zhang Fangyuan also thought about this problem at night, but let alone now, he had never thought about these things in his previous life. He wanted to get married quickly. After all, he was not young anymore, and he didn't have anyone he liked. "It's much better in our village. We can see each other before getting married. It's not like the city where there are so many etiquettes and dogmas. It's all about the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. You can only see the person you are getting married on the night of the wedding. Don't ask for too much."
After he gets married, he will work and earn money.
Chen Si scratched his head: "That's true."
Zhang Fangyuan looked at Chen Si and smiled: "But if you have a chance to meet Ke Xin, don't miss it. I should have gone out to have fun at my age, but I missed it. Now I can only do this."
Chen Si responded.
"Hey! Master, wait, let's take a ride!"
Zhang Fangyuan looked up and saw an ox cart carrying people on the official road, and waved quickly.
Chen Si stepped forward and grabbed the man: "We are not in a hurry to go to the city. We are fast and will be there in just over an hour. Why spend this money?"
"Then you go on foot, and I'll take the cart." Zhang Fangyuan straddled the cart.
"Look how anxious you are, as if the person would run away if you were late." Chen Si hurriedly chased after him.
Today is market day in the city. More people are coming into the city than usual. There are many people carrying things on their backs or shoulders on the official road. The way to make money in winter is not as easy as during the busy farming season. The villagers are very tight-fisted with their money, and even the ox-cart driver has a hard time making money. There are four people on the cart, including Zhang Fangyuan and Chen Sicai. They don't know each other and are not from the same village.
Zhang Fangyuan had a fierce look on his face. He had high brow bones and thick eyebrows, an angular face, and a tall figure, which made him intimidating even without him getting angry. After he got on the car, the woman who was originally talking in a low voice shut up, and everyone in the car fell silent.
"Everyone, please stop the ox cart at the Xijiao Village ahead for a while. I'll go to the entrance of the village to get something."
The oxcart master spoke, and everyone responded without objection. When Zhang Fangyuan was bored, the ox cart stopped under a big pine tree, and the master jumped off the cart and ran quickly to get the goods.
Zhang Fangyuan lifted his long legs and got off the cart. The cart was not small, but with his long arms and legs, it was not very comfortable for him to curl up on it.
After getting off the cart, he shook his arms and neck, and heard Chen Sixing, who had also gotten off the cart, shouting anxiously: "He Ge'er, are you going to the city today too?"
Zhang Fangyuan looked in the direction of the sound. There were several huge rocks as tall as a person on the other side of the mountain wall. People carrying things to the city would put their backpacks on the rocks to take a break. Xu Laoyao was also there.
He heard Xu He call him indifferently: "Cousin."
This is how the people in the village are. They are either close relatives or distant relatives. In short, they can have some relationship with anyone, whether close or distant.
"Why are you carrying so many things? What are they?"
Xu He's voice was even hoarser than before, and he said simply: "A little hand-knitting."
Seeing that Xu Laoya also spoke to his cousin in an attitude of not wanting to pay any more attention, Zhang Fangyuan suddenly felt a sense of balance in his heart, although he didn't know what he was feeling balanced about.
"Chen Si, let's go, the master is back."
He saw the coachman carrying a bag of things and putting it back on the cart, so he followed him and returned to the ox cart.
"He'er, let's take the bus. It'll be almost noon when you get to the city carrying so many things. It'll be better if you go earlier so that you can sell them all."
Chen Si called out to Xu He enthusiastically, but was rejected as expected.
It would be nice to take a bus, but it costs four cents to get to the city, which is enough to buy two vegetarian buns in the city, and Xu He doesn't have that much spare money.
Chen Si did not give up. He rolled his eyes and said loudly, "Zhang Fangyuan, please ride the ox cart."
After saying this, he cunningly carried the man's backpack to the ox cart.
Xu He hurriedly chased after him, wondering why everyone was so fond of snatching other people's backpacks: "Cousin!"
"Quick, lend a hand!"
Chen Si handed Xu He's backpack to the oxcart. Zhang Fangyuan sneered, "You want me to pay for the ride? You really thought of that!"
"We are all from the same village. He Ge still calls you brother, so what's wrong with taking care of your younger brother?"
"You are a respectable cousin, why don't you pay for the care?"
Having said that, Zhang Fangyuan still managed to put the backpack on the car before Xu He caught up.
Chen Si jumped onto the car and said to Xu He, who was standing anxiously on the ground, "The backpacks are all on the car, hurry up and get on."
Xu He's chest heaved rapidly, and he glanced at his cousin Chen Si with some anger.
The ox cart swayed forward, the cold wind and morning frost blew, it was indeed faster on the cart than on walking, but the wind was also much stronger than walking.
Chen Si looked at Xu He, who was sitting with his legs crossed and his head down, and asked impatiently, as if he had seen a guiding light, "Brother He, are you going to the city alone today?"
"Um."
"What about your second sister? Didn't she go?"
"No, she's at home."
Chen Si asked again: "When will your second sister come to the city?"
"I don't know either."
"When you come back later, don't leave in a hurry. There are many delicious cakes in Babaozhai in the city. I'll buy two pieces and you can bring them back to your sister for me, okay?"
Xu He sat opposite the two men, his eyes lowered, his face and lips were unnaturally red. He had caught a cold after being caught in the rain the day before, and his face was even redder in the wind. The injury on his knee had not healed completely and it hurt all the time at night.
He was not feeling well, and today he wanted to go to the city to see a doctor under the pretext of selling things. He originally did not want to speak, but he had to answer as he was in debt and was riding in a bullock cart.
After saying a few words, he couldn't help coughing due to the hoarseness and itchiness in his throat. He just hoped that the ox cart could go faster so that he would be less exposed to the wind and cold and could say less.
"So what kind of cakes does your second sister like to eat? How about pea yellow cakes? Has she ever tried them? Girls should like them very much, they are sweet and delicious..."
Xu He pursed his lips, stopped coughing slightly, and answered impatiently.
"Please be kind enough to tell your cousin that you are invited to ride in the bullock cart."
Xu He suppressed a cough. He knew that nothing comes for free. If it weren't for his second sister, no man in the village would care about him. Thinking that he still had to deal with some relatives, he was about to speak when a large vest made of rabbit fur was suddenly handed to him in front of his knees.
He looked up and saw his cousin being punched by Zhang Fangyuan. The butcher's voice rang out coldly: "Why are you talking so much? You're making so much noise. Shut up!"
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