The woman in front of us, who came to Guan Baiyu's shop to buy braised tofu and then wanted to introduce Shi Zhen to a potential partner, was also a member of the Guan family.
She is the wife of Guan Xingguo, the elder brother of Guan Jianguo, and her name is Chen Juanjuan.
Guan Jianguo's older brother is six years older than Guan Jianguo and is almost forty now. When he got married, he married a woman who was older than him... The woman in front of him is in her early forties, and with all the farm work she has done, she looks a bit old.
Chen Juanjuan is illiterate and therefore has no job, but she is very popular and well-liked in the village.
This is largely due to the fact that she was the eldest daughter before she got married, and her father died early. She was very capable, raising several younger brothers and sisters before getting married. When villagers were unsure about what to do for funerals or weddings, they would go to her.
She also takes good care of her vegetable garden and occasionally takes some vegetables to town to sell, earning a few yuan to supplement her family's income.
She occasionally also worked as a matchmaker, accepting gifts in return.
She came to talk to Guan Baiyu about this because someone in the village had asked her about Shi Zhen.
"Your cousin probably doesn't have a girlfriend, right?" Chen Juanjuan asked again.
Guan Baiyu knew that Shi Zhen was single; if Shi Zhen had a girlfriend, he would definitely tell him.
But he didn't want to tell Chen Juanjuan.
After Chen Juanjuan said she would introduce Shi Zhen to someone... he felt a deep sense of unease.
His brother likes him a lot now, but what if his brother gets married and has children?
Will his brother still treat him this well then?
He had witnessed many sibling conflicts in the countryside. Some older brothers were originally very good to their younger brothers, but after getting married, they started to dislike them.
In fact, Chen Juanjuan's husband, Guan Xingguo, and his brother Guan Jianguo had a bad relationship.
Back then, the Guan family was poor. Guan Xingguo's parents tried every means to raise the money so that Guan Xingguo could get married.
Even so, Guan Xingguo couldn't marry a young and beautiful woman, so he could only marry Chen Juanjuan, an old maid.
When Guan Xingguo got married, Guan Jianguo was only a teenager. The Guan family had not yet separated, so they should have saved money together to pay for Guan Jianguo's wedding.
But Guan Xingguo was not happy, and not long after the marriage, he started making a fuss about separating the family property.
Although Guan Baiyu's second grandmother was stingy and miserly, she was very clear-headed. She knew that her eldest son already had this idea, and if the old couple insisted on not dividing the family property, the family would most likely fall into chaos... So she gritted her teeth and separated Guan Xingguo from the family. Of course, she also said that Guan Xingguo would have to take care of her in the future.
After Guan Xingguo was separated from his family, the second grandmother began to worry about her youngest son's marriage, but ultimately, due to lack of money, she could not find a suitable match.
Even though Guan Jianguo was quick-witted and found work to earn money when he was young, he still didn't get married until he was twenty-eight.
However, he was lucky; the wife he married was not only young and beautiful, but also literate and had a job.
With this old story in mind... the relationship between Guan Jianguo and Guan Xingguo was naturally not good.
Even their biological brothers are distant relatives; he and Shi Zhen are just cousins, and they even grew up together...
Guan Baiyu's breathing became erratic.
Seeing that Chen Juanjuan wouldn't leave until she got an answer, Guan Baiyu said, "Auntie, my brother is only eighteen this year."
Chen Juanjuan was somewhat surprised: "He's still so young?"
Shi Zhen is tall and very decisive. Everyone thought he should be in his early twenties and ready to get married, but he was only eighteen.
“Yes, my brother is still young,” Guan Baiyu said.
Men should be at least 22 years old to get married, and nowadays it's recommended to get married at 24. Guan Baiyu thought that Chen Juanjuan should give up on arranging a marriage for Shi Zhen since he was only 18. But to her surprise, Chen Juanjuan's eyes lit up: "Xiaoyu, Auntie has a question for you... What's your brother's family like? Does he have any brothers? Does he plan to settle down here? Sigh! The main thing is, is he willing to marry into the family? Your sister Lanlan is the same age as you. Now she doesn't have to study anymore and has already gone to work in a factory. I'm hoping she can find me a son-in-law."
Chen Juanjuan and Guan Xingguo have two daughters. Their eldest daughter, Guan Lanlan, was born in 1979, the same year as Guan Baiyu, but a few months older.
Guan Lanlan is also in her third year of junior high school. Actually, her grades were originally quite good.
But she didn't want to study anymore, so she secretly enrolled in a slower class without telling her parents. That wasn't all; she even found a factory job with her girlfriends and stopped going to school altogether.
Chen Juanjuan felt helpless about this and couldn't do anything about her daughter. After thinking it over, she decided to find her daughter a partner as soon as possible to avoid her daughter dating someone unsuitable.
When Shi Zhen arrived, she thought he was a good young man, though he looked a bit too old. Later, seeing how capable Shi Zhen was, she gave up the idea of making him her son-in-law, fearing that he might not be willing.
But now that she knows Shi Zhen is only eighteen years old... she has another idea.
It doesn't hurt to ask.
“Hey, if your brother is willing, we won’t skimp on the bride price, and we’ll even buy them bicycles and TVs! Our house is pretty nice, and we have some belongings… Xiaoyu, when your brother comes back, can you ask him for me?”
Guan Baiyu was stunned.
Guan Baiyu looked a bit dazed, and Chen Juanjuan assumed he was just young and encountering something like this for the first time, so he couldn't process it. She then said earnestly, "Xiaoyu, actually, if you're not going to study anymore, you should think about your own life. Your parents definitely won't help you find a wife, and you'll most likely end up marrying someone else... You can start looking now, find someone from a better family."
In their rural area, getting married costs a lot of money.
Guan Guangguo would definitely not pay for Guan Baiyu to get married, and it would be very difficult for Guan Baiyu to get married on his own.
Putting everything else aside, these days, to get married, you need at least a two-story house. Where would Guan Baiyu get one?
Guan Baiyu has no elders to help him, and the small amount of land allocated to him in the village is not enough to support his family.
His best option is to find a wealthy family without sons and become a live-in son-in-law.
That way, you'll have a house, land, and everything else.
Many men in their area can't afford to get married, so they do this. In the past, some families had many sons, and in the end, they would keep two at home and let the others become live-in sons-in-law. This was very common.
In poor families, brothers would compete to become live-in sons-in-law, since staying at home meant a life of poverty, but going to a rich family meant a life of ease, drinking and eating meat.
Perhaps because in earlier years, most of the work here, such as raising silkworms, reeling silk, weaving cloth, and spinning yarn, was done by women, and women could earn money, even more than men who farmed the land, the status of local women was not so low, and it was common for them to marry into other men's families.
When Chen Juanjuan mentioned this, she thought of Guan Guangguo's family, including Guan Jinjin.
Guan Guangguo doesn't care about his adopted son Guan Baiyu; his mind is all on his daughter. He must be thinking of finding a husband for her. Shi Zhen is only eighteen years old, five years younger than Guan Jinjin, which is barely a good match... She should make her move sooner rather than later.
Guan Baiyu was stunned, but Chen Juanjuan still instructed him for a long time to find out Shi Zhen's thoughts.
After saying that, Chen Juanjuan left.
Guan Baiyu checked the time; it was already 8 PM.
He only had some odd jobs left to do, and usually at this time, he would take out his radio and learn English by listening to the audio.
But he really wasn't in the mood today.
If his brother gets married and goes to someone else's house, then... then...
Qian Qi often listened to the radio, but Guan Baiyu never listened to it when he was using it alone; he always used it to learn English.
But his mind was too chaotic to concentrate on studying, so he found a channel with clear sound to listen to the radio.
However... he listened for a long time but still didn't know what he was hearing.
He kept having the same thought in his mind—what would he do if his brother got married and had children?
Shi Zhen didn't get home until 10 p.m. that day, as usual.
As soon as he arrived at his doorstep, Guan Baiyu opened the door and smiled at him, saying, "Brother, you're back."
Shi Zhen wanted to say a few words to him—he had always disapproved of Guan Baiyu staying up to wait for him to return.
But Guan Baiyu was very stubborn, and it was no use talking to him.
Shi Zhen sighed inwardly, but didn't say anything, only quickened his pace.
He needs to finish what he's doing quickly so he can go to sleep, and then Guan Baiyu can also go to sleep.
After Shi Zhen returned, he would eat something simple.
He basically doesn't eat anything when he's selling fried skewers.
Then, after riding a tricycle loaded with a bunch of stuff home, I'm exhausted and hungry. I need to eat something hot to warm my stomach before I can fall asleep.
Guan Baiyu waited for him at home and prepared something for him every day. Today, Guan Baiyu prepared a bowl of steamed eggs for him.
The egg had been cooked for a while, but it wasn't completely cooled down. Shi Zhen scooped up a few spoonfuls and ate them, only to discover that there was minced meat underneath.
It tastes really good!
Shi Zhen finished eating quickly. Guan Baiyu had already prepared warm water for him. As usual, he went outside to wash himself clean, and then went into Guan Baiyu's room to change clothes alone, avoiding Guan Baiyu.
There was no one outside late at night. Actually, he deliberately wore his underwear while showering because he didn't want Guan Baiyu to see anything.
He does prefer men, so we need to avoid suspicion.
After Shi Zhen took a shower, he went to bed. Only after he left did Guan Baiyu's face show worry again.
He didn't want to listen to his aunt and talk to his brother about finding a partner.
So... let's just pretend we don't know anything about it!
A new day dawned, and Guan Baiyu performed as usual.
Usually, after Shi Zhen and his group set up their stall at six in the morning, Guan Baiyu would take a nap at home until around eight o'clock before going to town.
The same goes for today.
After arriving in town, he first went to find Shi Zhen.
This morning someone brought him a bowl of boiled broad beans, and he thought he would bring it to Shi Zhen as a snack.
As soon as Guan Baiyu arrived at the stall, he heard a middle-aged woman talking to Shi Zhen, saying something similar to what Chen Juanjuan had said: "Young man, do you have a girlfriend?"
Shi Zhen was well-liked in the town.
When he sets up his stall, he is always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needs help. There are a few elderly people living alone in the town who are not doing well and eat vegetable scraps in the market in the morning. After he learned that they were indeed having a hard time, he would give them rice balls from time to time.
He is happy to help people within his capabilities.
The town wasn't big, but many people knew what he did and liked him. But Shi Zhen never expected that someone would want to introduce him to a potential partner.
After all, in his previous life, he wasn't very popular because he was from out of town.
By the way, he's always spoken the local dialect his whole life, so the people in town don't know he's from out of town...
"Sister, I'm only eighteen, I don't want to find a boyfriend yet," Shi Zhen said to the man with a smile.
"Only eighteen? That's a bit young," the middle-aged woman laughed. "My son is only two years younger than you, and you still call me 'sister'!"
"You look so young, sister!" Shi Zhen said.
The woman was overjoyed and covered her mouth, bursting into laughter.
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