Sometimes, the group of them were really too busy to keep up, and Qiangzi would come over to help during his breaks. One day, after everyone had finished their work, Taozi ran to his mother and said that his brother did indeed have a girl he liked.
"How did you know? Did your brother tell you?" Aunt Zhang found this somewhat plausible. After all, she knew her own son well. He was getting on in years, yet he still refused to go on dates, so he must have a girl he liked.
"Then you can help me find out which family's girl your brother likes."
"Mom, don't worry, I've got it covered," Taozi said confidently, patting his chest.
Xichun also heard about this and said to Aunt Zhang, "Now that Qiangzi's marriage is settled, Aunt Zhang, you can rest assured."
"Don't worry, don't worry, but we still don't know what the girl is like. Would a city girl be interested in a family from the countryside like ours?" Aunt Zhang had been tossing and turning for days because of this, afraid that something might go wrong.
Xi Chun smiled too. She wasn't sure if anything would go wrong, and could only hope that everything would go smoothly.
A few days later, Taozi indeed found out who the girl Qiangzi liked was. When he got home, he told Aunt Zhang and Xichun about it in a mysterious way.
“Mother, I found out that the girl is from the shop next to my brother’s restaurant. Her family name is Jiang, and people call her Jiang San Niang. She and her father usually run the business in the shop, and many people know her.”
"She runs a shop, huh? Is there anything else going on with her family?" Aunt Zhang felt even more troubled upon hearing this. Would anyone even be interested in her family?
"I heard that they only have three daughters and no sons. It seems that Mr. Jiang's shop will be given to his son-in-law who will move in with them."
“What, a live-in son-in-law? That won’t do. Your brother is the eldest son in our family. No matter how good her family is, he can’t be a live-in son-in-law. I’ve heard that some families are good at tormenting people, and live-in sons-in-law will be bullied.”
Upon hearing the words "son-in-law who lives with his wife's family," Aunt Zhang jumped up immediately and said with a determined look in her eyes.
"Aunt Zhang, please don't be anxious. Let's find out what happened first. Besides, she has three sisters, so it might not be her," Xichun quickly reassured her, seeing how agitated she was.
“Yes, yes, it’s all still uncertain. I shouldn’t be in such a hurry. Xichun, do you think we can find out about her family situation? I’m worried that that silly boy Qiangzi has really become a live-in son-in-law.”
Aunt Zhang was shocked by the news. Right now, the only person she could turn to for help was Xichun. Although Xichun was younger than Qiangzi, Aunt Zhang believed that Xichun was a reliable person and thought of her first.
"I think we can try to find out indirectly from the diners, and from the people around here. They've probably heard about her family's situation. Let's find out first, and then ask Brother Qiang's attitude. If he really likes that girl, then if we continue to stop him, I'm afraid we'll hurt his feelings."
“He doesn’t even want to talk to me, which shows he thinks I don’t agree. Otherwise, it’s been so long, and he hasn’t gone to meet any potential suitors or even mentioned it to me, let alone asked us to come and propose marriage. What’s going on here? I’ll definitely have a good talk with him later.”
"I think you should stop talking about him for now. Let's investigate first. What if it's just wishful thinking on Qiangzi's part, and the girl doesn't have any feelings for him at all?"
"Yes, yes, Xichun, then I really need your help with this matter."
Once the matter was settled, Aunt Zhang stopped asking Qiangzi about it and decided to wait until they had investigated the matter thoroughly before making any further inquiries.
Xichun had been running a stall in town for almost a year, so he had gotten to know quite a few of the diners on the street. The two of them went to the vicinity of the girl's shop and house to inquire, and soon they had found out all the information clearly.
"It turns out it was just wishful thinking on the part of this guy. The girl had told everyone that she wanted to find a son-in-law to live with her and inherit the family business. He just fell for her out of nowhere. She probably doesn't even know who he is."
After inquiring, Aunt Zhang was finally happy and asked Taozi to go find Qiangzi, saying that she had something to tell him that evening.
Qiangzi didn't know what was going on either, and only came to the courtyard after he had rested.
"Qiangzi, you're seventeen now. Your father and I want to find you a wife as soon as possible. What do you think? We asked you to go on a blind date before, but you wouldn't agree. What's wrong? Have you taken a fancy to a girl? If you really like one, we'll go and propose marriage."
Aunt Zhang planned to follow Xi Chun's advice and try a "courtesy first, then force" approach. If they showed resistance from the start, Qiangzi would definitely not cooperate.
"Mom, I... I like a girl, and she's willing too, but there's one problem: she said she wants me to live in the city from now on." Qiangzi thought for a moment, and finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"What? You mean that girl knows you too, and even said she'll live in the city from now on?" Aunt Zhang thought the information they had gathered was wrong.
"Yes, she really is a wonderful girl. She runs a business every day, and she's both smart and kind. Once you see her, you'll definitely want to be with her too."
"Are you talking about Jiang San Niang?" Aunt Zhang asked tentatively.
"Mom, how do you know her name? You didn't investigate her beforehand, did you?" Qiangzi immediately guessed what his mother was thinking.
"We heard from Taozi that you seem to have a crush on a girl, so we went to inquire about it. But what we heard was that the girl is looking for a son-in-law who will live with her family. Are you kidding me? Did you not find out the truth or are you trying to lie to me?"
“Mom, you all know, but I don’t think there’s any difference between a son-in-law who lives with his wife’s family and a son-in-law who lives with his wife’s family. You and Dad will still be my parents, right? Besides, you and Taozi are doing business in the city now, so you can see us often. Whether you live with your wife’s family or not, life is still the same.”
Seeing that he couldn't keep up the pretense any longer, Qiangzi scratched his head and told the truth.
"You little rascal, Qiangzi! You even dare to lie to your own mother! Do you think just anyone can be a live-in son-in-law? You're a grown man! If you suffer any injustice in the future, will you have the nerve to come home and cry to us? You're going to drive me crazy! Let me tell you, if you dare to continue seeing that girl, then don't come home! You're the eldest son of our family! You little brat, you're really going to drive me crazy!"
Aunt Zhang hit him as she spoke, getting angrier and angrier, and she was about to kick him out.
Several aunties nearby heard the argument and came over to try and calm Zhang's agitated mother down. Qiangzi had already run away, telling Taozi along the way that he wouldn't give up.
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