The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Aunt Chen waved her hand and said indifferently: "Our family doesn't care about dowry or not, as long as the girl is a good person."

"However, Jianqiu's parents have gone to burn incense with the old lady at home. They have to stay overnight and won't be back until tomorrow. After they come back tomorrow, we will bring Jianqiu to visit and reply to the girl's side."

"Okay, there's no rush. I'll just tell you first. Just give me a reply after you've discussed it," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

After saying this, he didn't stay long and went back to the yamen.

Even when my mother Xu asked him why he was going to the Chen family, he didn't say anything. It's better to have less trouble than more.

It would be fine if this thing succeeded, and everyone would be happy. But if it fails, if something gets out of the window, it would easily damage the reputation of both parties.

In the evening of the next day, Chen's father and mother brought Chen Jianqiu to visit, and Chen Ergu was also with them.

Compared with Chen's father and mother's cautious style of doing things, Chen Ergu is more warm and generous, and is better at dealing with people.

There won’t be any dull moments with Chen Ergu here.

Zhang Pingan originally wanted to take people to the side hall to talk.

Chen Ergu smiled and said, "Let's just chat here. There's nothing to be shy about. We're all family!"

After the two sides chatted for a while, Xu finally figured out what was going on. She slapped her thigh and said cheerfully, "So that's what's going on. But Jianqiu is old enough now. It's time to settle down with a suitable girl so that the elders in the family can have grandchildren sooner!"

At this point, he recalled: "I remember the child's father said that Old Man Ding was a hardworking man with a down-to-earth personality. His granddaughter is also sensible. It's just that there are not many people in their family. If Old Man Ding passes away, the girl will be an orphan. Without her mother's family to go to, to be honest, her family background is a bit low for Jianqiu."

Xu's evaluation was relatively fair and objective. People in this era still cared a lot about whether the woman had a family background and whether both her parents were present when they were looking for a marriage partner.

If a family has fewer members, it is considered unlucky.

Upon hearing this, Chen's mother smiled, with a hint of bitterness and dejection in her smile: "Sister, you know our family situation. We are not as wealthy as we used to be. Fortunately, we have cooking skills, so we don't have to worry about food. There's nothing special about us. Besides, marrying up is always the way it has always been!

I heard that this Dingxiang girl is literate, filial, and good at tending to flowers and plants. She would be a perfect match for Jianqiu. As long as the two of them work together and live a good life, that would be enough."

"Does this mean you agree?" Xu asked tentatively.

"Well, I'll trouble Ping An to arrange this marriage. Please reply and discuss a date," Chen's father replied in a low voice.

There was a gloomy look on his face, not particularly happy.

Not only Chen's father and mother, but even Chen Jianqiu looked a little confused.

Obviously, he is not fully prepared for marriage.

Zhang Ping'an guessed that Chen's parents were not particularly satisfied with this marriage. Dingxiang was the tallest among the short ones, and was chosen after comprehensive consideration.

The happiest person was Chen Ergu, who kept thanking him.

I get along especially well with the Xu family.

She had a clear understanding of the current situation. Their Chen family was just an ordinary family now, not to mention outsiders in Ci County. If they chose too much, they would end up with neither a high-quality nor a low-quality marriage, which would only delay their nephew's future.

She also took her elder brother and sister-in-law to secretly see Dingxiang during the day and was quite satisfied with the girl.

She knew that her elder brother and sister-in-law were quite satisfied, but they had some complaints about the girl's family background and could not adapt to the current gap.

These all take time to adjust and are not a big problem.

The most important thing is that after getting married, there is someone who can stay by your side and understand your feelings. When you have a few children in the future, you will have a wife and children and a warm bed. Only then will your life be warm and meaningful.

The old lady in the family also thought so. She didn't care about the girl's family background, as long as she was a good person and could make a living. Only then could the marriage be settled.

I have to say, this idea is somewhat similar to Xu's.

She thinks it's good enough for a couple to have something to talk about and stay with each other for life, and it's fine as long as they are similar in other aspects.

Life is something we have to live through.

If I continue to be picky, I’m afraid I’ll end up being single, which would be troublesome!

Before Zhang Ping'an could respond, Xu said enthusiastically, "This is a good thing about getting married. I will definitely make sure Ping'an responds quickly. Don't worry, haha, I will definitely ask for a glass of wedding wine when the time comes!"

"Of course," Chen Ergu said with a smile.

Seeing his good brother looking a little bewildered, Zhang Pingan forced a smile down his face, cleared his throat and said, "Uncle, aunt, and second aunt, don't worry. I'll go and report to the Ding family tomorrow morning and I promise there won't be any delays."

"Okay, we are confident in you doing the job. The county magistrate is acting as a matchmaker for us, so we couldn't be more relieved," Chen Ergu joked with a smile on her face.

After talking for a while, the Chen family said goodbye and went back.

"I didn't expect my son could be a matchmaker," said Mrs. Xu, stretching.

After chatting for a long time, she felt sleepy. Normally, she would have lay down at this time.

"It's also fate. Old man Ding happened to have this idea. I just wanted to convey a message," Zhang Pingan replied.

"Go to bed early, you have to be on duty tomorrow," said Zhang Laoer.

After listening for a long time, he also felt sleepy.

The next day came in a flash.

Zhang Ping'an takes his good brother's life-long event very seriously.

I thought asking Old Man Ding to come over seemed a bit arrogant, not humble and sincere enough.

I took some time out in the morning and went to the farm in person to respond.

Old Man Ding had somewhat expected this result, but he was still very happy.

He spoke a little more excitedly than usual.

However, Dingxiang, who was standing next to her, was a little confused after hearing this.

Old Man Ding found an excuse to send his granddaughter out, saying, "I'll tell you in detail later."

After hearing this, Dingxiang bit her lower lip, hesitated for a while, and then went out.

"Miss Ding, don't you know yet?" Zhang Ping'an asked.

"I haven't told her yet because the marriage has never been decided. Marriage is always decided by parents and matchmakers. I'll tell her later. It's okay," Old Man Ding waved his hand.

Although Zhang Ping'an was the one who brought the couple together, the formalities of exchanging engagement letters and proposing marriage still required the services of a professional matchmaker.

That afternoon, Zhang Ping'an heard Chen Jianqiu say, "The date has been set. It's in half a month, an auspicious day for the wedding."

"So fast?" Zhang Pingan was surprised.

This can be called the ancient version of flash marriage!

Generally speaking, the fastest time to get married is one to two months.

Chen Jianqiu was a little depressed: "Both sides want to do it sooner rather than later. We don't want to delay it any longer, so why not just do it in half a month?"

What he didn't say was that his grandmother and Old Man Ding were not in good health, and they both wanted to see them get married as soon as possible and have some fun at the same time.

The two sides hit it off immediately.

"Then I'll wait for the wedding banquet," Zhang Ping'an patted Chen Jianqiu and said with a smile.

When Green Bean Eyes received the wedding invitation, he was filled with resentment and even came to the government office: "Ping An, you are so unbrotherly. You only remembered to introduce me to Brother Chen and forgot about me. I was always thinking about you and counting on you to be my matchmaker. I guess I will be single for the rest of my life!"