Pastoral Splendor

As dawn broke, commotion broke out in Xiaojia Village. The creaking of the mule cart drew the gate of Xiao Laoda's family's courtyard: "Sanhua, Sanhua, shall we go to town today?"

Yan Ying rushed out from inside, saying, "I have to go, I have to go!"

Last night, everyone unanimously decided that she should first go to Baixiang Garden to ask Gong Liang for his message. If he agreed, then they would take him back to Xiaojia Village for dinner. Dahua lowered her head and said, "Sigh, I don't know if he would want to marry someone like me, after all, I've been married before."

"Big sister, don't worry. Since Gong Liang brings you things every time he comes, he must care about you." Yan Ying reassured Da Hua, "Just wait at home, I promise I'll bring him back!"

Upon arriving at Yuzhou City, the workers all arrived and began to unload the baskets from the cart. Yan Ying called out to Gong Liang, "Gong Liang, I have something to ask you."

Seeing Yan Ying's serious expression, Gong Liang felt uneasy, wondering what she wanted to ask, but he still obediently followed her into the courtyard. Yan Ying noticed his nervousness and smiled slightly: "Don't worry, this isn't a bad thing."

"That's a good thing?" Gong Liang's eyes widened. Could it be that his employer was going to give him a raise because they saw how hard he worked?

"It's not just a good thing, it's a joyous occasion!" Yan Ying reached out and plucked a leaf from a branch, twirling it gently between her fingers before continuing, "It's about you and my older sister!"

Gong Liang blushed, not daring to look up at Yan Ying, but staring at his toes, constantly scratching at the green moss on the ground with his toes: "Miss Xiao, why did you suddenly bring this up?"

"I just wanted to ask you one question: do you like my older sister or not?" Yan Ying laughed angrily as she saw Gong Liang's head lower and lower: "How can you, a grown man, be so shy! If you don't like my older sister, then I'll have to ask a matchmaker to find her a good match. She'll be twenty-one this year, and she can't take any more trouble."

"No, no, no!" Gong Liang panicked when he heard Yan Ying say that, shaking his hands frantically: "Miss Xiao, I, I, I like your eldest sister, and I want to marry her!"

"Then what are you waiting for? Why don't you say it?" Yan Ying was finally completely relieved: "Our family is waiting for you to propose marriage. Have lunch at our house today."

"Propose marriage?" Gong Liang's mind was a jumbled mess, a mixture of joy and confusion. He didn't know what to do. "Then, should we hire a matchmaker? How much dowry should we give?" He touched his purse with difficulty. "I've only saved sixteen taels of silver. That's too little."

"That's enough." Yan Ying waved her hand at him. "A dowry is all just formalities. The most important thing is that you have a sincere heart. As long as you sincerely want to spend your life with my older sister, you'll have plenty of opportunities to make money in the future."

“Okay, then I’ll go and ask the matchmaker. Sixteen taels of silver will be the betrothal gift!” Gong Liang was so happy that his face was glowing. After being single for so many years, he finally had the opportunity to get married. He was so happy that he was almost disoriented.

"Hey, hey, hey, you've used all sixteen taels as a betrothal gift, what are you going to eat this month?" Yan Ying looked at Gong Liang, who was about to leave, and quickly called him back: "Fifteen taels is enough. In a couple of days, you should be able to get your wages, and you'll have more money in your pocket."

"Okay, okay!" Gong Liang happily ran out, and as soon as he stepped out of the shop, he bumped into Manager Ning, who had just come from home: "Hey, Gong Liang, where are you going?"

Gong Liang dashed forward, shouting, "I'm going to ask the matchmaker!" His joyful voice came from the bottom of his heart, loud and clear. Several pedestrians walking on East Street glanced at him curiously: "What's wrong with this guy? Asking the matchmaker so early in the morning? She probably hasn't even gotten out of bed yet!"

Manager Ning was somewhat taken aback and hurried into the shop: "Miss Xiao, Gong Liang said he's going to ask for a matchmaker!"

Yan Ying smiled and nodded: "I know."

"Ah?" Manager Ning's eyes widened slightly. "Miss Xiao, you actually know? Which family's daughter is she?"

Xiao Laifu, standing nearby, asked with a smile, "Sanhua, is it with your eldest sister?" He had taken Gong Liang to Xiaojia Village several times, and each time he noticed that Gong Liang's hands were always full. He suspected that Gong Liang had an ulterior motive and tried to get information out of him every time they hitched a ride. Although Gong Liang was clever and subtly changed the subject, Xiao Laifu was still convinced that he had his eye on Dahua.

Gong Liang spends all day at Baixiang Garden, how could he have time to look at women? Today, Yan Ying called him to the backyard for a chat, and he ran out happily, shouting that he was going to invite a matchmaker. He must have gotten together with Da Hua.

Yan Ying nodded readily: "Isn't that right?"

Xiao Laifu patted the counter: "Those two are a perfect match! I just can't stand Wang Fugui, that pretentious bastard!" Xiao Laifu and Wang Fugui had a past grudge, which he still held onto. When Wang Fugui married Dahua, he had promised to use his mule cart to transport the bride, which meant Xiao Laifu didn't dare go out during the day. He helped out at Xiao Lao's house while waiting to take Dahua to the wedding ceremony in the afternoon. But unexpectedly, Wang Fugui brought over a small donkey: "I thought Sanhua's dowry wouldn't be much, a donkey would be enough."

Xiao Laifu was so angry he was practically spitting fire. He had just bought a mule cart and was going to Yuzhou City every day to earn some copper coins. Wasn't Wang Fugui cheating him? If he didn't want the mule cart, he should have said so earlier, and he wouldn't have missed a day of work! Although it was a small matter, in Xiao Laifu's mind, Wang Fugui was no good person.

"Let's not talk about him!" Yan Ying smiled. Things have changed so much, why bring up such an annoying person?

"Let's not mention him, or he might try to take advantage of you!" Xiao Laifu chimed in enthusiastically, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't he already come to your house to harass you?"

Yan Ying sneered: "That was when I wasn't home. If he dares to come again, I'll break his legs!"

For some reason, Wang Fugui divorced Da Hua and married Li Hua. Not long ago, he came to Xiaojia Village again. Last time he came to celebrate Xiao Wangshi's birthday, and the second time he came again, saying that he wanted to see if Xiao Wangshi was feeling better. In reality, he sneaked over to the wall of Xiao Laoda's courtyard.

"Sanhua, I have something to tell you, but you must be careful!" Xiao Laifu said solemnly, "The Lihua that Wang Fugui found has lost her baby!"

"What?" Yan Ying was taken aback. Although she also hated the person who was the mistress, she felt sad when she thought of the unborn baby: "How could it be gone?"

"I heard that Wang Fugui's parents wanted Lihua to get up and work, but Lihua refused and lay on the bed without moving. When Wang Fugui's parents reached out to pull her, she turned around and bumped her stomach against the wall." Xiao Laifu shook his head: "Sigh, I heard it from the people in Wangjia Village when I was rushing to catch the cart. It seems that after waiting for the doctor to come, Lihua had already started bleeding. She stayed up until late at night and gave birth to a fully formed fetus, a girl. Wang Fugui's parents smashed the rice bowl that day, saying that Lihua would only give birth to a money-losing child. I heard that they made her go to work in the fields the next day."

“Brother Laifu, please don’t talk about this family, lest you offend my ears. My eldest sister has nothing to do with them anymore.” Yan Ying felt a pang of pity for the unborn baby girl, but her heart slowly hardened again: “That family, just thinking about them is disgusting, like swallowing a fly.”

"I'm just worried that Wang Fugui might want to take that boy back." Xiao Laifu glanced at Yan Ying: "It's not impossible, is it?"

Yan Ying was stunned. He came to take Changsheng back? How dare he come here! Yan Ying slammed her hand on the counter angrily: "If he's not afraid, then come on over!"

After waiting for more than half an hour, Gong Liang finally invited the matchmaker over. Yan Ying recognized her as a familiar face, Matchmaker Wu.

"Oh my, Miss Xiao!" Matchmaker Wu smiled broadly. "The roast duck you gave me last time was really delicious. I invited my relatives over, and we all had a taste. Oh my, the flavor is still lingering in my mouth!"

Yan Ying laughed and said, "No problem. This time when I go to play matchmaker, I'll still give you two roast ducks!"

"What? To your house?" Matchmaker Wu looked at Gong Liang in confusion, then at Yan Ying. "Last time...last time, didn't a young master Jian ask me to come to your house to propose marriage?"

“Matchmaker Wu, we don’t only have one daughter!” Yan Ying smiled generously: “This time I’m going to propose marriage for my eldest sister.”

"Sanhua, you're engaged? When did this happen? Why didn't you tell us about this happy occasion so we could all share in the joy!" Xiao Laifu, standing nearby, was also taken aback: "You kept it all quiet, perhaps you didn't want to invite us to the banquet?"

"Brother Laifu, that's not true! It's just a formality proposal. Brother Jian is busy, so he'll probably come to present the betrothal gifts around the end of the year. How can I invite the villagers for a feast before the betrothal gifts have even been presented?" In the grand ceremony of marriage in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the betrothal ceremony, known as "Nazheng," is equivalent to the engagement in the previous life. Back then, families with better financial conditions would naturally invite many relatives and friends to the wedding feast, while those with poorer conditions would only invite a few of their closest relatives to sit and share in the joy.

"So that's how it is. You should let us know when you're about to pay your respects!" Xiao Laifu grinned at Yan Ying. The food at Old Master Xiao's house was absolutely delicious; once you'd eaten there, you'd want to eat it again. Old Master Xiao had seven daughters. Except for Qi Hua, who was still young and whose talents were yet to be seen, the rest were all good—beautiful and hardworking.

Erhua got engaged to Xiao Jingwei last time, and Dahua also went to act as a matchmaker this time. It seems that Sanhua will get married in the next two years. It's really a happy occasion for the Xiao family!

"Matchmaker Wu, what should I buy to take to the house?" Gong Liang asked nervously. Everyone was talking to the employer and had forgotten about him, the main character.

The matchmaker, Wu, finally came to her senses and slapped her thigh, saying, "Brother Gong Liang, are you kidding me? You didn't even bring the betrothal gifts when you came to propose marriage, and you came to me first?"

Everyone burst into laughter. Gong Liang, his face flushed, turned and ran to the shop across the street. In the blink of an eye, he came back carrying several boxes of pastries and some pieces of cloth. Matchmaker Wu looked at him and smiled, "What a clever boy!"

Chapter 193 Matchmaking

"Erhua, you two go do what you're supposed to do!" Old Xiao, looking somewhat uneasy, sat on the bamboo chair on the steps. He touched his hoe: "Why aren't they here yet?"

"Dad, aren't you waiting too?" Erhua chuckled and took Sihua's hand: "Come on, let's get to work."

Liu Hua leaned against Xiao Laoda and said coquettishly, "Daddy, can I stay at home?"

The eldest son of the Xiao family glanced at her and said, "Go with your sisters. This is an adult matter. Children shouldn't meddle!"

Wu Hua had already walked out with her small basket. Liu Hua saw her leave and hurried over, calling out, "Fifth Sister, wait for me! Wait for me!"

In an instant, all four daughters disappeared, and the eldest son of the Xiao family finally breathed a long sigh of relief: "My wife, what do you think about Da Hua's matter? Will it work out?"

Aunt Xiao sighed, "Oh, who knows?" She glanced at the back room, but Da Hua hadn't shown up. She was getting a little anxious. It was almost Chen Shi (7-9 AM), why hadn't San Hua returned yet? She needed to at least give them some news, whether they agreed or not!

Soon, the sound of a car could be heard. Aunt Xiao looked up and saw Sanhua and Matchmaker Wu walking towards her door, but Gong Liang was nowhere to be seen. Seeing the matchmaker put Aunt Xiao at ease, and she smiled as she welcomed her in: "Come in and sit down!"

Matchmaker Wu strode in familiarly, calling out, "The magpies are chirping, good news again! Congratulations! Congratulations to you two, it's only been a few days and someone has already come to propose marriage again!" Matchmaker Wu had never met Da Hua and didn't know she was divorced. She thought she was only a few years older than Xiao San Hua, and said with a smile, "Someone has taken a fancy to your eldest daughter!"