As soon as the full moon celebration ended, Xichun turned her attention to Taozi. She was surprised to find out that there was indeed a girl Taozi liked.
"Madam, I have already asked around and found out that the girl's family is not from the county town, but from a village outside the town. Although her family is poor, she is hardworking and brave."
The girl's name was Qian Qiaoqiao. She had two younger brothers and a younger sister. She was the eldest sister in the family. Because her father had a leg injury, her brothers had grown up and could not afford a dowry, so no girl was willing to marry into their family.
So, in order to help her younger brothers get married, she decided to stay at home until they got married, so that her parents wouldn't have to worry so much. Now that she's twenty years old, she's considered an old maid in their family. Now that her two younger brothers have already gotten married, her mother is trying to arrange a marriage for her, but all the people they're introducing her to are either widowers or people with some kind of problem.
So, her two younger brothers didn't want to make their sister suffer, which is why they said that as long as she doesn't get married and stays at home, her nephews will take care of her in her old age.
Xiaoyue had already found out all of this clearly, which piqued Xichun's curiosity.
"So what happened next? How did the two of them meet? Why didn't Taozi tell us that he met such a good girl?"
"This was also a chance encounter, which shows that the two of you are destined to meet. Just before you gave birth, Master Zhang was checking the accounts in the shop when he heard a loud-voiced girl arguing with the shopkeeper across the street."
It turned out that the shopkeeper had shortchanged her. The girl spent a long time calculating and wanted to argue with the shopkeeper, but the shopkeeper was no pushover. Just because she was a woman, he said that she didn't know anything about accounting and that she was obviously being unreasonable.
The two were arguing when Master Zhang stepped in to speak up for the girl, finally silencing the shopkeeper. That's how they got to know each other. Later, when the girl returned home, she brought eggs from her house to thank Master Zhang for speaking up for her.
Seeing that she was skillful and quick-witted, Mr. Zhang gave her some advice on making money, and she actually did make some money.
After talking to her for a while, Master Zhang began to admire the girl. However, after learning of his thoughts, the girl dared not continue their relationship, saying that the gap between their family backgrounds was too great and that she felt unworthy of Master Zhang, and ultimately rejected him.
"Alas, our Master Zhang isn't one to give up easily. He went to the girl's family and even sent many gifts, but their family is worried and doesn't dare to openly propose marriage. They had to politely decline, so Master Zhang has looked rather dejected these days."
"So that's how it is. Haha, I never thought that Taozi, who is usually so eloquent, would be turned away. It seems that it's time for us to step in. I want to meet that girl first. If she really has a pure heart, it would be a good thing for us to help her get married."
Xi Chun quickly made up her mind. After all, Aunt Zhang had written several times, saying that she wanted to entrust Xi Chun with the entire responsibility of Tao Zi's marriage, and she trusted Xi Chun's judgment.
Soon, Xichun, in her capacity as the county magistrate's wife, arranged for someone to invite Qian Qiaoqiao over.
Upon learning that the county magistrate's wife wanted to invite them to her home, the entire Qian family was terrified, fearing that the county magistrate's wife wanted to punish them for refusing Manager Zhang's offer.
"Sister, why don't I go with you? If the magistrate's wife really wants to blame us, then blame me. What kind of background does that shopkeeper Zhang have? We're just ordinary people. I'm worried that you'll suffer if you marry into that family. I've heard that the magistrate is a good man. I don't think his wife would cut off our heads, would she?"
“Why don’t I go with you? I’ll just say that I didn’t want you to get married. If you’re going to punish someone, punish me.” Mother Qian also stepped forward.
“Sigh, our family has finally gotten a little better off, so why is Qiaoqiao’s marriage so unsuccessful? Why don’t you let your father go with you? Anyway, I’m a useless person.”
"Father, Mother, Brother, don't worry. That Manager Zhang isn't a difficult person, and I don't think the Magistrate's wife is either. Don't worry, I'll pack up and go over tomorrow. Oh, Mother, let's make a set of children's clothes tonight. I heard the Magistrate's wife just had a baby. Regardless of whether they appreciate our craftsmanship, we can't go empty-handed."
Qian Qiaoqiao felt very comforted to see her family protecting her.
"Big sister, if we help each other, we can finish faster. We can at least make two pieces before we can give them away as gifts," the two sisters-in-law chimed in.
The next day, Qian Qiaoqiao, escorted by her two younger brothers, arrived at the gate of the county magistrate's house. Although the two brothers were a little intimidated by the gate, they said they would wait outside and rush in if anything happened.
Xi Chun had tea and snacks prepared, and upon learning that Miss Qian had arrived, she hurriedly got up to entertain her.
"This humble woman, Qian Qiaoqiao, greets the county magistrate's wife." As Qian Qiaoqiao spoke, she was about to kneel down when Xichun quickly stepped forward and helped her up with both hands.
"Miss Qian, what are you doing? I invited you here today as a guest, so don't be so reserved. This is our first time meeting. But I've heard that you are a very filial daughter who has single-handedly supported your family. I really admire you. Come, come, sit down. There are some snacks and tea here. Please eat more and don't be shy."
Xi Chun maintained her big sister smile throughout. Just by looking at her face, you could tell that this girl was someone with her own ideas, but not stubborn.
Qian Qiaoqiao was surprised to see the county magistrate's wife being so polite to her. She had originally thought that the county magistrate's wife wanted to reprimand her, but she didn't expect her to be so friendly.
"I never expected you to be so kind, Madam. We common folk admire you greatly. We heard that it was you and the county magistrate who came up with the idea of the waterwheel, which solved many of our problems."
"Not at all, it's what we should do. By the way, do you think there's anything inconvenient about using that waterwheel? If you think there's anywhere else we need such a thing, feel free to tell us. We need to make some improvements."
As they chatted, Qian Qiaoqiao lowered her guard and talked to Xichun a lot. When she heard that her two younger brothers were waiting outside the door, Xichun hurriedly sent someone to invite them in and arranged for food and snacks to be served in the front yard.
"Oh, my younger brother, he's usually a clever person, but his marriage is something that always worries the family. My aunt is worried about him every day, afraid that he'll be alone for the rest of his life. Every time she urges him, he says he's busy with his business and doesn't have time for this."
To be honest, I was overjoyed to hear that he had taken a liking to a girl. However, I also guessed your family's concerns. You don't know that he and I were originally from the village. We also grew up in poverty. Our families had experienced hardship and were not as well-off as you see us now.
So if you're also interested in him, but are held back by the difference in your family background, I don't think that's a problem. Someone as hardworking as you won't have to worry about not making money together in the future. Once you've earned your own money, that will give you confidence.
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