The autumn air was deep, the mist still lingering, and the fields were utterly silent. A chill wind blew, carrying a hint of earthy air, making one bundle up tighter.
Lin Yan was walking on the road with a bowl of tofu. When he was almost at the door of his house, he saw his mother looking out the door and hurriedly quickened his pace.
Zhou Chunlan took the tofu from his hand and jokingly asked, "How do you like it?"
Lin Yan blushed and stammered twice: "It's, it's okay..."
"So you agree to it?"
"good"
Back in the house, Zhou Chunlan went to the kitchen to light a fire and prepare breakfast. Feeling sorry for her brother who had just returned, she instructed: "Mom, cook the porridge first. Get some hot water to wash your hands and go back to the house to rest. I'll call you when it's ready."
"Oh, let me help you."
"No, you just came back. Don't get cold. Go back to the house and warm up."
"Thank you, mom," Lin Yan said with a slightly red face. He scooped some water and washed his hands in the yard. He didn't really go back to rest. Instead, he chopped some rotten vegetable leaves and went to the backyard to feed the chickens.
He thought back to what happened this morning and was a little impressed by his own boldness.
This has to do with the fact that a few days ago, a matchmaker from the neighboring village came to propose marriage. She said it was Mr. Zhao, who made tofu in the village. He was nineteen years old this year. He had not seen anyone in the past two years because he had to save money to get married. This year, the time was almost right, so he went to the matchmaker from Zhoujia Village next door and asked her to help him find a suitable girl or boy.
The matchmaker thought of Yan'er, the youngest son of the Lin family. The head of the Lin family fell ill a few years ago, and now only the mother and son depend on each other. However, both Lin and Yan'er are hardworking people, and they manage the house in order. Lin planted several acres of vegetables, and she would take them to the town to sell every now and then. The money she earned was enough to support the family.
Yan Ge'er is also a filial son. Not only does he help his mother take care of the vegetable garden at home, but when he has time, he also goes to the nearby mountains to pick wild fruits, mushrooms, soap beans or bath beads. When he has enough, he takes them to the town to sell, which also earns him a source of income.
As soon as Hua the matchmaker and Zhao Li Yuemei talked about this, Li Yuemei remembered this family in the village. Because the two families lived far away from each other, they had little contact, but they would occasionally run into each other and come to their house to buy tofu. It was usually Aunt Lin who came. She looked like a friendly person, and she had never heard of any mess in this family.
Yan'er had come to buy tofu a few times. He was a handsome boy with two dimples when he smiled. At that time, he was chatting with the grandmothers and aunties of various families under the big tree at the entrance of the village. When they talked about the Lin family, they all praised the family's diligence. When Li Yuemei heard it was the Lin family, she was also satisfied.
Matchmaker Hua patted her chest and said, "Don't worry. Don't you trust me, Matchmaker Hua? This family is doing well. Although the head of the family is gone, they're doing OK. Aunt Lin grows vegetables and takes good care of them. This Yan Ge is both sensible and filial. He's 18 this year. I proposed to him when he was 16, but he said his father had just passed away and he wanted to spend more time with his mother, so he's put it off until now."
Li Yuemei nodded, "Then I'll leave it to you."
"Hey, you're welcome."
The matchmaker stood up as she spoke, "I'll go over there and try to find out what's going on. You wait for my good news."
The matchmaker did not delay and went straight to the Lin family. Lin Yan had gone to the mountains to collect firewood at the moment, and Zhou Chunlan was the only one at home.
"Knock knock knock"
"Who is it?"
Zhou Chunlan planned to dry some radishes today. She and Yan Ge'er picked a large basket of white radishes early in the morning and were now washing them in the yard.
"Aunt Lin, it's me, the matchmaker."
"Matchmaker?" Zhou Chunlan muttered to herself and opened the door.
"Come in and sit down."
Zhou Chunlan led the matchmaker into the yard. The matchmaker took a look and found that the yard was clean. There was a large basin of water in the yard with a few radishes in it.
"Oops, sorry to bother you while you're working."
"It's okay, it's okay," Zhou Chunlan smiled awkwardly and led the matchmaker to the main hall to sit down. "You sit down first, I'll pour a glass of water."
I think Hua the matchmaker is here to act as a matchmaker. I don't know which family has taken a fancy to Yan Ge'er. Zhou Chunlan paused while pouring water, took out the sugar jar and added some sugar to one of the bowls.
"Here I am," Zhou Chunlan came over with two bowls of water and placed the bowl with sugar in front of the matchmaker.
The matchmaker drank it and found it sweet. She praised Lin for her good behavior.
"Aunt Lin, I won't keep you in suspense. I'm here today to propose marriage on behalf of the man from the Zhao family who sells tofu in the village." The matchmaker said straight to the point.
"Zhao family?"
"Yes, you should know that family. They are diligent and work hard from dawn to dusk in the tofu business. There is only one man in the family, Shiyun. He is 19 years old this year. He is a perfect match for your brother Yan. They are both good children and hardworking. They will definitely live a good life in the future."
"This..." Zhou Chunlan frowned.
The matchmaker's heart skipped a beat. "What's the matter? Tell me what's the problem."
Zhou Chunlan smiled and said, "Not really. I know this family, they're a good one, but I only have one son. Although they say marriages are decided by parents and matchmakers, I still want to ask the child's opinion and see what he thinks."
"Hey, you scared me," the matchmaker slapped her thigh, "Now I have to ask, where is Brother Yan now?"
"He's out gathering firewood. He won't be back for a while. I'll ask him when he gets back and give you an answer, okay?"
"Okay, this is a lifelong event, and I should think about it carefully. Then, ask someone to go to Zhoujia Village and give me a message."
"good."
Since it was not dinner time and no one was invited to stay for dinner, Zhou Chunlan continued to work after sending the matchmaker away.
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