Since the Chen family broke off her engagement, Zhao the matchmaker's reputation has been severely damaged, and she has become a laughing stock in the surrounding villages. She hasn't received any business for more than a month.
Yesterday, Fan Tong invited me to act as a matchmaker. At first, I thought he had taken a fancy to a girl from a certain family and wanted to take her as a concubine, but I never expected it to be that brat Chen Qingqing.
She had witnessed Chen Qingqing's prowess and initially wanted to refuse this troublesome task, but then she thought again that Butcher Li was a pig slaughterer and a tyrant, so it was normal for the girl to disagree.
Fan Tong is different from others; he is a very famous and wealthy man. I don't believe Chen Qingqing wouldn't be tempted.
With that thought in mind, she happily accepted the job.
I put on makeup and got ready early this morning and headed straight to Nanshan Village.
As soon as he arrived at the village entrance, he heard that Chen Qingqing had gone to town. He was overjoyed. It would be much easier to handle the matter if she was not at home. As long as he could persuade her parents, the marriage would be settled.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Chen Zhanshan explained his purpose, he kicked him out.
At this moment, he was upset and hung his head, wondering how to explain things to Master Fan.
Suddenly, she heard Old Mrs. Chen greet her, and she had no choice but to give a perfunctory smile, "I was just passing by, it's nothing."
Hearing matchmaker Zhao say this only fueled Old Mrs. Chen's curiosity, and she reached out to block his path with a gossipy look on her face.
"Come on, little sister, let's sit down for a while, have some water, and rest our feet."
Matchmaker Zhao's face darkened, and she said irritably, "No, your threshold is too high, I'm afraid I'll hurt my leg."
"Oh, little sister, what makes you say that?" Old Mrs. Chen's face was full of smiles. "You can't blame me for what happened last time. I also suffered a great loss because of that brat. If you want to blame someone, blame my good-for-nothing eldest son. He was actually manipulated by a brat. I have a lot of grievances to vent to!"
"I don't care if you have anywhere to talk about your grievances. I'm upset myself and have no mood to chat with you."
"Who's so blind as to make my sister so angry?" Seeing that Zhao the matchmaker's expression was off, Old Mrs. Chen became even more curious. She raised her hand and patted her chest. "There's no one in Nanshan Village who can frighten me. Tell me who bullied you, and I'll get revenge for you."
Matchmaker Zhao snorted coldly, her face full of contempt, "This person is someone you probably can't afford to offend?"
Old Mrs. Chen curled her lip in disdain. Her son was a scholar, a future scholar, and everyone who saw her had to be respectful and courteous. There was really no one in Nanshan Village that she dared not offend.
“Sister, I’m not bragging, but I’ve cursed everyone in Nanshan Village and I’m invincible. I’ve never met anyone I dared not provoke. Just tell me who offended you, and I guarantee I’ll make them apologize to you in person.”
Matchmaker Zhao glanced at her disdainfully, "Who else could it be but your ungrateful eldest son who can't enjoy any good fortune? I came here with good intentions to arrange a marriage for his daughter, but before I could even say two words, he kicked me out. Can you believe it?"
"Why are you arranging a marriage for that brat? What's going on?"
"Sister-in-law, don't ask anymore. Your son is a complete fool. He gave up such immense wealth and deserves to be poor for the rest of his life."
He's just destined to be poor; he'll never have a good life, not even in his prime, because he's not meant to enjoy wealth and luxury.
The matchmaker, Zhao, was so angry that she stomped her feet.
Grandma Chen's face was full of disbelief, her mind filled with thoughts of immense wealth and luxury, yet she couldn't bear to part with such things.
She hurriedly pressed, "Sister, tell me in detail, what exactly happened? Could it be that someone has taken a fancy to that brat?"
The matchmaker Zhao spat, "If someone hadn't taken a liking to his daughter, I wouldn't have entered his house even if I were carried in a sedan chair by eight men."
"Who's so blind as to take a liking to that brat? Tell me, sister."
"You'd be terrified if I told you," Zhao the matchmaker scoffed. "This man is none other than the most prominent figure in our Qingshui Town, Master Fan, the wealthy tycoon."
Old Mrs. Chen was so shocked that her eyes almost popped out of her head. "You mean Rich Man Fan is going to marry that damned girl?"
"It's that rich man Fan. As long as she agrees to this marriage, she'll become the fifth concubine. If she has another son or daughter, won't your Chen family all benefit from her?"
Before I could finish speaking, Chen Zhanshan pointed his finger at me and chased me out. Can you believe how ungrateful he is?
After finishing her sentence, Matchmaker Zhao sighed helplessly and continued...
"Master Fan also promised to give two hundred taels of silver as a betrothal gift."
If I marry into that family, I can wear gold and silver, have servants at my beck and call, and live a life of luxury.
Many young women and wives dream of going to that happy family home to enjoy a life of luxury.
Tell me, what's the point of living? Isn't it just about eating, drinking, and relieving oneself?
But your eldest son doesn't think that way; it's as if he suffered a great loss.
Since he doesn't want to be the father-in-law of a wealthy man, there's nothing I can do about it.
I had no choice but to go back and talk to Master Fan, hoping he would give up the idea!
Old Mrs. Chen's eyes widened in astonishment. "Young lady, is Master Fan really willing to give a betrothal gift of two hundred taels of silver?"
"Of course it's true! He said that as long as you agree to the marriage, you'll get an extra fifty taels of silver as a wedding gift on the wedding day. That's two hundred and fifty taels of silver in total. For ordinary people like us, we couldn't earn that much money in three lifetimes!"
Matchmaker Zhao shook her head with a regretful expression.
"It's a pity your son doesn't appreciate it. I'm like a widow meeting a eunuch, worrying for nothing. Alright, sister-in-law, you go ahead and do your work. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."
Old Mrs. Chen was a complete miser, and when she heard that Fan Tong was willing to offer a dowry of 250 taels of silver, she subconsciously swallowed and her eyes almost gleamed with greed.
She was incredibly excited. If she had that much silver, why would she need to learn sugar making? She could live a life of luxury, eating fish and meat at every meal.
Then I could just spend money to hire an obedient maid, someone to bring me tea and water when I'm thirsty, someone to massage my shoulders and legs when I'm tired—how wonderful that would be...
Thinking of this, a wicked idea instantly popped into her head.
As the saying goes, when it rains, the ground becomes slippery; if you fall, just get up.
Although I didn't marry that brat off to Butcher Li last time, I can only blame myself for being too soft-hearted.
It seems that heaven took pity on this old woman and gave her another chance to turn her luck around.
Just as she was thinking this, she saw that Matchmaker Zhao was about to leave. Old Mrs. Chen quickly pulled herself out of her thoughts and said with a smile,
"Don't rush off, little sister. Come in and sit for a while."
Matchmaker Zhao waved her hand weakly, "I'm not in the mood today, let's do it another day!"
"Don't be like that, girl. I have something to discuss with you."
"What could you possibly want?" Matchmaker Zhao was feeling annoyed and her tone was somewhat impatient.
Old Mrs. Chen was only thinking about money and didn't care about these things at all; she still had a smile on her face.
"Little sister, do you trust me?"
"What do you mean? Explain it clearly."
"What I mean is, if you trust me, go and tell Master Fan that I agree to this marriage." Old Mrs. Chen said confidently...
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