Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Where is the matchmaker?
Outside the yard, they saw a large bouquet of bright red flowers with two legs growing from its bottom, moving towards them.
How could anyone be afraid of such a horrifying scene? They were not fools. Although the man's legs were a little short, anyone with a little bit of common sense knew that it must be Ang'er who sent flowers.
Xu Yunfan folded such a big bouquet of flowers in just one afternoon. Naturally, he folded this bouquet together with Qin Run in the evening after teaching him how to do it.
"Brother, brother-in-law, I brought the flowers." Qin An stretched his neck and peeked out from behind the flowers with difficulty, "Where do you put these flowers?"
Xu Yunfan, holding half a bag of flour, raised his chin towards Qin Dashu and said, "I'll give it to you, Brother Dashu."
Dashu's father and mother looked at Xu Yunfan, looking so excited that they didn't know what to do.
Qin Dayou told them last night to let Xu Yunfan go with them to welcome the bride. He had met Xu Yunfan before, and he knew that this kid was very smart. Everyone from the two-year-old Sandan to his grandfather who was in his seventies liked this kid, which showed that this kid had some abilities. It would be a good idea to let Xu Yunfan go with them.
Also, they come from overseas and know a lot of things that they don’t. Since Xu Yunfan has agreed to help, he will definitely not let them down.
This young man has the ability to convince others. Once he promises something, he will definitely do it.
Dashu's parents originally thought that Xu Yunfan was so young and probably inexperienced, so if he went with them, it would just be a matter of adding one more person. If Fang Ge'er really couldn't be brought back, it would be because Dashu and others were not destined to be together.
Dashu's mother had originally planned to cancel the marriage, but the date had been set and the horoscopes of both parties had been exchanged. If Fang Ge'er went back on his word now, where would her son's face be?
Qin Dashu had set his sights on Fang Ge'er, and he was unwilling to give up until the very end. Even if Fang Ge'er chose Lin Feng in the end, at least he had persisted to this point and had no regrets.
Qin Dashu knew Fang Ge'er, and precisely because of that, he didn't want to give up halfway.
Dashu Niang and the others were also worried. They were holding their breath until Fang Ge'er came home.
When they heard their nephew ask Xu Yunfan for help, they were still wondering, what can Xu Yunfan do to help?
Seeing her son's changed look and the eye-catching big red bouquet, Dashu's mother immediately felt reassured.
Firstly, although his son's appearance is not as good as Xu Yunfan, he is more handsome than ordinary men. So, he may not be worse than Lin Feng.
Secondly, even if such a large bouquet of flowers was not made by Dashu himself, the fact that he had such a thoughtful touch was enough to prove that the groom attached great importance to this marriage. It was also such a beautiful bouquet that no matter who saw it, he would surely be happy and moved.
Anyone with a little bit of common sense would know what to choose.
Several men gulped down a few bowls of porridge each. As soon as they put down their bowls, without anyone calling them, they all carried the wild geese and the food, and boarded the ox carts to the town.
When sitting on the ox cart, Xu Yunfan always felt that they seemed to have forgotten something. He was not very clear about the marriage process in ancient times. Seeing that Qin Dayu and the others did not say anything, he remained silent.
Sun Wu was in charge of driving the ox cart. When he returned home last night, Grandpa Sun mentioned to him the matter of Xu Yunfan hiring workers. Sun Wu was so happy to know this that he went to find Xu Yunfan without even having time to sit down. He signed a contract with Xu Yunfan and he would officially start work tomorrow.
For the men in the village, earning a few hundred coins a month is already a great job.
Sun Wu was happy and wanted to perform well in front of Xu Yunfan. After everyone got on the cart, he drove the ox cart quickly and steadily, so that when the matchmaker came out of Dashu Niang's house with a smile on her face, there was no trace of the ox cart outside the yard.
The people in the yard were busy washing dishes, moving tables, and making so much noise that they didn't even notice when the ox cart left.
On the ox cart, Qin Dashu dared not move, for fear that if he moved, his hairstyle would be messed up and look imperfect.
Qin Dazuo and several young men surrounded Xu Yunfan and asked him how he changed the "head" of their brother Dashu. They also asked if he could let them see his ability to turn decay into magic next time.
What is Qin Dashu being compared to?
Xu Yunfan, who was laughing so hard that he almost choked, said, "Okay, okay. By the way, have you finished your autumn planting recently?"
"We finished planting the last piece of land the other day. When we were slaughtering the pig yesterday, we agreed that we'd go to town tomorrow and try our luck. Maybe we could find work."
After the autumn planting is completed, you can rest for a few days. When the weeds grow out, you will be busy.
During this period of time, the men in the village would go to the town to find some odd jobs when they had nothing to do, so as to earn more money.
However, this time of year was also the hardest time to find work in previous years. After all, the town was so small, there was basically only so much work, and there were many men looking for work. Therefore, in previous years, they could basically not find any work. If they were lucky, they could go to the dock and carry heavy bags for two days and earn forty cents.
Xu Yunfan had been around town for more than ten days. "It's not easy to find work in town. After the busy farming season, everyone is idle. I don't think you'll be able to find a good job there."
"Who says it's not? But a little is better than just growing mushrooms at home." Qin Dayou sighed, "All year round, apart from making a little money from selling pears, I usually rely on finding work like this to earn a few coins."
Xu Yunfan: "It's hard to find work in town. I do have a job here, but it's quite hard and will be a bit tiring. Would you like to do it?"
Qin Daqian was sitting next to Xu Yunfan. Upon hearing this, he immediately asked, "What kind of work?"
Yesterday he heard Aunt Qin and the others say that Xu Yunfan had booked the cafeteria of Qingfeng Academy. Maybe he knew other people and could introduce him to someone else.
If that's the case, that would be great. Qin Daqian added, "We brothers are all used to doing farm work. We can endure any hardship. So what if we get a little bit sunburned or tired? For us, it's nothing."
"I need a lot of firewood. I'd like you to go up the mountain and chop it for me and bring it back. I don't provide food. It's 30 cents a day. Would you like to do it?"
Xu Yunfan had everything planned out. He still had to burn charcoal. When the canteen of Qingfeng Academy had income, he would rent a few shops in the town to sell snacks and other things. Also, he needed to build a greenhouse, and then he would hire someone to make sweet potato noodles for him.
Xu Yunfan had personally inspected the people on Qin's side during this period, and found that they were all decent people. When he distributed candies, although everyone was greedy, without exception, they all refused at first, and even gave him a lecture, asking him to be frugal and manage the household well. Even the husbands and wives who married into the family, except for Qin's eldest daughter-in-law, were decent people.
Therefore, when the time comes, he can safely leave many things to the Qin family's people.
Human nature is greedy. If there is no bottom line as a human being, the binding force of a contract will often be like waste paper in the face of temptation.
As a boss, he also needs to pay special attention to the character of his employees. Otherwise, if his food or other manufacturing skills are stolen, he will suffer a huge loss.
Qin Dayou and the other young men exclaimed, "No, you want us to chop wood for you for thirty cents a day?"
Of the men on the oxcart, Qin Daqian was the oldest. He slapped Xu Yunfan on the back and said angrily, "Thirty cents a day? I think you're just burning through all that money, aren't you? You used to be a rich kid, ignorant of the hardships of life, but why haven't you gotten over your extravagant habits?"
They went to the town dock to carry heavy bags, but they had to be exposed to the sun, and the work was not easy at all. Even so, the daily wages were only 20 cents, and they only got one meal at noon, which was just two coarse flour buns. Xu Yunfan asked them to chop trees, and he paid 30 cents a day. What else could it be but that they felt the money was too much of a burden?
Qin Dashu frowned his specially modified brows and said, "I can chop wood for you, no money."
"That's right, if you need a lot of firewood, we'll help you chop it. Why bother talking about wages? We're all from the same clan, and talking about money would hurt our relationship."
"We might not be able to find work in town, and it would be a waste of time if we went. There's nothing to do at home. If you need a lot of firewood, we can chop it for you."
"Come to think of it, you're responsible for feeding so many students at Qingfeng Academy this time, so you'll need a lot of firewood. If you buy it, it'll cost a fortune. Since we have nothing to do during this time, we brothers will chop some for you and put it at the end of the backyard. Every day when you go to town, you can take a few bundles with you, so you don't have to spend that much money buying it."
Sun Wu went home last night and told their father about Xu Yunfan booking the cafeteria. His tone was full of envy, "Now, Xu Yunfan must be making a lot of money. No wonder he's been so generous recently, giving out so much candy in one go."
The village chief, Sun Wu's father, shook his head. "You guys, listening to this, only think about how much money he makes. Why don't you think about how much Xu's daily expenses are? Workers' wages, firewood, rice, oil, salt, and a day's worth of rice, meat, and vegetables. When he gets to town, he has to pay for firewood, not to mention everything else. You could say he spends money on everything."
Sun Wu thought so too. They only knew that Xu Yunfan had booked the canteen and had become capable and could earn money, but they never thought that while Xu Yunfan earned money, he also had to spend it.
He was in charge of picking people up and dropping them off every day, so he was also Xu Yunfan's worker. He was a waiter in the town restaurant, busy all day long, and earned the same 500 coins a month as Xu Yunfan. As for him, he could come back after sending people off, so he could still earn a few hundred coins a month. Thinking about it, Sun Wu felt bad and turned to Xu Yunfan and said, "Yunfan, my grandfather said... this is all forfeit. From now on, I will take you to town, and when I come back, I will chop firewood for you."
The young men were talking at once, very righteous.
Xiao Qin's two kids are useless.
As for Qin Run, he is a boy, even if he is more capable than men, how can he go up the mountain to chop wood every day!
The young men didn't know that Xu Yunfan's canteen relied on Qin Run, the boss.
"How can this be possible?" Xu Yunfan scratched his head. "I need a lot of firewood, and I don't want dry firewood."
If you use dry firewood to make charcoal, I'm afraid that by the time the time comes, there won't be much charcoal left, but only a kiln of ashes.
"What? Aren't all firewood made of dry wood? Why do you need to use raw firewood?" Sun Wu was very puzzled. Could it be that this young master Xu Yunfan didn't even know this common sense?
Xu Yunfan looked at the town gate and said, "I have my own uses. Wet firewood is hard to chop. I must be paid, otherwise, what will become of me? I will discuss this matter with you in detail when I get back. When we get to the town, where is Brother Fang's house?"
The young men who came to welcome the bride were obviously confused. When Xu Yunfan saw them, he was stunned.
No, it’s understandable that he doesn’t know where the Fang family is, but why don’t they know either?
Looking at Qin Dashu again, wow, the look in his eyes was even more confused than theirs.
Xu Yunfan was about to cry out in disbelief, "No, none of us knows where Second Brother Fang's house is. Shouldn't Aunt Dashu and the others send someone who knows the way to come with us? Is there someone we're missing?"
All of them, whether driving the ox cart or sitting on it, were men. After asking, Xu Yunfan glanced at Qin Dayou and the others and realized belatedly, "It's the matchmaker. The matchmaker didn't come. Where is the matchmaker?"
Xu Yunfan was not familiar with the marriage ceremony of the Dayan Dynasty, but he knew that the matchmaker was the central hub of the marriage arrangement.
"Yeah, where is the matchmaker?" Xu Yunfan asked Qin Dayu and the others. Instead, they asked him if he had returned.
Xu Yunfan: “…”
He has no idea where the matchmaker is.
He was a foreigner and was not familiar with the local customs. How could he know that they had to bring a matchmaker when they came out to pick up the bride?
Seeing that the time was almost up, Qin Daqian was anxious, "What should I do now?"
The town is so big, it will take them a long time to find it if they look for it.
Xu Yunfan: "...What can I do? Of course I'll go ask for directions."
Seeing Qin Dashu and the other young men panicking, Xu Yunfan, who had just jumped off the ox cart, remembered to turn around and comfort them, "Don't panic, there's nothing to panic about. It's just a small problem. Just wait here."
After all, Xu Yunfan had been around the town before, and when he bought meat and rice, he was very familiar with the butcher and the grocery store owner.
Although Qinghe Town is large, it has few entertainment programs in ancient times. Other things may not spread quickly, but family matters spread the fastest.
Xu Yunfan ran to the grocery store where he usually bought rice and salt. The shop owner greeted him with a smile as soon as he saw him. "Little brother Xu, what are you planning to buy today?"
Xu Yunfan waved his hand. "No, no, boss. I came here today to ask you something urgent. Do you know any families in town where there are young men getting married today?"
"There are many. Several people bought things from me the other day, saying they were planning a wedding soon. Which one are you looking for? Tell me more clearly, and maybe I'll know."
"The family I'm asking about is a second marriage. Her previous marriage was also in town. I heard that her ex-husband ran off with a girl from a brothel... Oh, her last name is Fang."
When the shopkeeper heard this, he immediately understood. He knew about this matter. After all, such stupid men are rare these days. He gave up his newly married beautiful husband and chose to live secretly with a prostitute. What kind of person is this if not a fool?
Now she comes back to beg for forgiveness from that guy. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have done it in the first place.
Everyone talked about this matter with great relish. The shopkeeper received so many old customers every day and chatted with them in their spare time. What could he not know?
Xu Yunfan hurriedly asked, "Where is your brother's home?"
"Brother Xu, what are you doing at his house?"
"Oh, the young man from the Fang family is getting married today. He's from the same clan as my husband. I came with some of my cousins to pick her up, but we forgot about the matchmaker. How would we, the men, even know where the Fang family is?"
The shopkeeper choked up, "Oh, how can you do this? How can you forget about the matchmaker for such an important matter? That's why I say that the way you young people do things is really worrying."
Qinghe Town is not small, and houses along the main roads are easy to find, but can ordinary people afford to live in houses in such locations?
Although the Fang family lived in the town, they were not rich, so how could they afford to live in those places?
The Fang family's house is on the east side of the town. There are so many alleys there. When the yamen runners catch thieves, the thieves always like to run there. Why? Because the alleys there are not only small, but also complicated. If they run through them a few times, the yamen runners from outside will not be able to catch the thieves, and they can't even find their way out. Even the people living there may not be able to find their way home after just having a drink.
The shopkeeper was on good terms with Xu Yunfan and knew about this. He took advantage of the lack of customers and closed the shop directly. "Come on, come on, I know the Fang family. I'll take you there."
The shopkeeper walked ahead, motioning Xu Yunfan to follow. "Where are the people you're here to welcome the bride? I'm telling you, the Fang family's on the east side of town. The alleys there are very chaotic. Without someone you know to lead the way, you youngsters probably won't be able to find your way."
Xu Yunfan didn't expect the shopkeeper to be so kind, and he was immediately excited. "Uncle, you are such a good person. There are still many good people in this world. Come on, I'll take you there."
Seeing Xu Yunfan bringing someone back, Qin Dashu and the others felt inexplicably relieved even though they didn't know who this person was.
When they arrived in front of the ox cart, the shopkeeper knew it was them without even looking. He jumped on the cart without saying a word. Having been a shopkeeper for decades, he was not going to be polite with a few young men. Time was urgent, so he patted Sun Wu's shoulder and said, "Let's go. I'll show you the way, and you just drive the oxen."
Xu Yunfan jumped onto the ox cart and said, "Brother Sun Wu, listen to uncle."
The shopkeeper was giving directions while chatting with Xu Yunfan and the others. "That ex-husband of Fang's was truly ungrateful. He abandoned her newlywed daughter and chose to run off with a prostitute. Tell me, was he born without a brain? Or was he drugged by some drug? I heard he's been pestering the Fang family all day, demanding to see her. If Fang's daughter gets married again today, that Lin family brat definitely won't let you take her away quietly."
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