Jin Hua's face turned bright red when she saw that her family members all had an "I understand" expression.
Manager Yao's words were exactly what Old Madam Ye and Madam Du wanted to hear.
They had long wanted to get to know that young master properly.
Grandma Ye smiled and said, "That's wonderful! Manager Yao will bring his family too, won't he?"
Yes, it will.
Du said, "Speaking of which, is this young master's surname Zhou?"
"Yes, his full name is Zhou Ziyang."
Grandma Ye asked, "Who are the members of their family?"
Shopkeeper Yao: "The Zhou family has been running a cloth shop for generations. The young master's father passed away many years ago, leaving only a widowed mother and no siblings. However, he does have two uncles and several cousins, all of whom are businessmen in the county."
"Such a wealthy family background, and our young master's impeccable appearance, certainly do not disgrace the Jin family..."
"What nonsense are you talking about, shopkeeper!" Jin Hua said, blushing.
"Haha, I misspoke. Anyway, you must come the day after tomorrow."
Ye Caiping asked, "What time?"
"Before noon! We'll have lunch at the Zhou family's house then!"
After saying this, Manager Yao stood up, bid farewell to the Ye family, and then left.
After Manager Yao left, Ye Caiping and the others all looked at Jinhua.
Jin Hua's face turned bright red: "Grandma, Mom... if you don't want to go..."
“Of course I’ll go!” said Madam Du.
Jin Hua blushed slightly and said, "Um... well, I'll go back to my room now."
After saying that, he ran away in a flash.
Grandma Ye was both happy and worried, but mostly nervous: "I don't know if it's suitable..."
Ye Caiping said, "We'll know the day after tomorrow."
Du said, "I inquired about it a few days ago. It is said that the Zhou family earns seventy or eighty taels a month from one shop, and they also have five shops in other towns and counties."
Grandma Ye exclaimed in surprise, "That must be three or four hundred taels of silver a month! With so much money, why don't you move to the county?"
"The cloth shop in town is the main store, that's where we made our fortune. The house in town is our ancestral home, how can we move?"
"That's true."
After lunch, Grandma Ye discussed with her family the arrangements for having dinner at the Zhou family's house the day after tomorrow.
Ye Daquan and his father felt a pang of sadness; their daughter (granddaughter) was about to get married.
Ye Daquan said in a muffled voice, "Leave it all to you, Mother, to decide!"
Grandma Ye said, "The people going the day after tomorrow... can't all of us go. Just me and my eldest son and his wife, Cai Ping, and the little one... and we'll take Yin Hua with us."
Jin'er and Huan'er are too beautiful; I'm afraid they'll steal Jin Hua's thunder.
The honeysuckle hasn't fully bloomed yet, so it's the perfect time to bring it over.
...
Soon, the young master's birthday arrived.
Ye Caiping and her group arrived at the Zhou family's house by oxcart.
Led by the gatekeeper, Ye Caiping and the others went inside and soon arrived at the main hall.
Manager Yao and the others had already arrived. Besides her, there were two other embroiderers, all from Xixiang Cloth Shop. All three had brought their husbands or children with them.
When Manager Yao saw Ye Caiping and the others, he pulled them over to chat.
The Zhou family's house was a typical three-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), and in terms of space, Ye Caiping felt it wasn't as big as her own courtyard. There were probably four or five servants.
"Hey, everyone's here." A laugh rang out.
Ye Caiping and Du Shi looked up and saw a beautiful woman in her thirties walk in, followed by a maid.
The woman was dressed in silk, which looked beautiful, but her attire was not overly extravagant.
"This is our boss, surnamed Xie." Manager Yao stood up and said with a smile, "These are Jin Hua's grandmother, parents, aunt, and sister."
When Xie saw Ye Caiping and the others stand up, she quickly said, "Please sit down, please sit down. Today is my son's birthday. It's good that you are here, otherwise it would be too lonely."
He then burst into laughter, a very hearty laugh.
Seeing that Xie was dressed very elegantly, and with several servants coming and going, Du and Ye felt somewhat restrained.
But Xie was a straightforward person, and after a few words, they both relaxed.
The two embroiderers were quite tactful and had already taken their families to sit in the small courtyard outside. Seeing this, Madam Xie said to the maid, "Take the two Miss Yes outside for a stroll."
Jin Hua blushed, took Yin Hua's hand, and followed the maid out of the room.
Madam Xie said, "Jinhua is so clever and beautiful; she's a joy to behold."
Mrs. Du smiled and said, "It's all thanks to your guidance."
"What does Sister Du's family do?"
"I deliver goods to a few restaurants and earn a little money through hard work."
Madam Xie said, "My son is already nineteen years old. Over the years, he has been picky, but only Jinhua has caught his eye. What I mean is, if possible, I will find a matchmaker to come to our door in a few days and arrange their marriage as soon as possible."
Mrs. Du's face lit up with surprise: "Ah, this..."
"Mrs. Xie is being a bit too hasty," Ye Caiping said with a smile. "We've only just met today."
Madam Xie was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Yes, yes, I was presumptuous."
Madam Du was extremely anxious, wishing she could arrange the marriage immediately, but she also felt that being too hasty would make her daughter seem worthless.
Grandma Ye secretly patted her hand and said, "To be honest, we are both peasants, how could Mrs. Xie agree to this marriage?"
Madam Xie laughed: "Isn't it just that the two of them have taken a liking to each other? I'm not a big deal. As long as the girl is innocent and virtuous, I'll be willing to do anything."
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Ye was about 80% in favor of the marriage.
Ye Caiping said, "Since Mrs. Xie has laid it all out, we won't hide anything either. The Zhou family is quite wealthy; will the young master have three wives and four concubines in the future?"
Ms. Du, who was initially extremely satisfied, suddenly froze on the spot. How could she not have thought of this?
Du said anxiously, "I've heard that wealthy families keep concubines."
No, no, her daughter can't suffer like that!
Madam Xie laughed and said, "Oh dear, what kind of talk is this? It's only natural for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Don't even mention rich families, even a villager would go to a prostitute if he earned a few extra copper coins!"
Du and Ye Daquan immediately turned pale, and Old Madam Ye's expression also darkened.
Madam Xie noticed that the group was somewhat unhappy and sighed, "Jin Hua's parents should go home and think about it for a few days. If they are willing, they should tell Manager Yao, and I will send a matchmaker to their door."
...
Jin Hua pulled Yin Hua out of the Xie family's house and strolled through the alley.
Yinhua said, "Didn't you say last time that you went to play during the Flower Festival because of his little sister? Why aren't you here today?"
"Oh, that's his cousin. She usually lives in the county."
"Jin Hua?" Zhou Ziyang walked over from the other end. "What are you doing here?"
Jin Hua was taken aback: "Didn't you invite us? Not only me, but also my grandma, parents, and aunt. Manager Yao and Chen Xiuniang are here too, all to celebrate your birthday and have some fun."
Zhou Ziyang was shocked: "This..."
"You really don't know?" Jin Hua looked embarrassed. "What happened... Manager Yao came to invite us personally. And Aunt Xie..."
Zhou Ziyang thought for a moment: "Could it be... my mother's idea? Last night she said she wanted to surprise me, and this is it?"
Jin Hua's face flushed instantly as she held Yin Hua's small hand.
"Let's go back first." Zhou Ziyang hurriedly entered the door.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
