Chapter 38.1 - Proposing relatives and fishing village
She felt that . . . it was more likely that the matchmaker had come to visit their house than that she was asked to propose marriage for her Zhao Jinge.
However, the matchmaker just smiled and said, “Yes, someone is proposing marriage to your Jinge!”
“Really?” Zhao Liu asked in disbelief. She had never thought that someone would propose marriage to Zhao Jinge after several years of disappointment.
“Of course it is true,” the matchmaker said.
Constantly rubbing her hands, the smile on Zhao Liu’s face couldn’t be hidden. “Who is it? What is his home situation? Does he want to marry Jinge into his house or does he want to marry into our house?” When she asked the latter question, she blushed a little. She was afraid that no one would like to enter her family.
Sure enough, the matchmaker quickly said, “That family wants to marry Jinge in.”
Zhao Liu was a little lost and asked, “What’s that man like?” Although she wanted to tell Zhao Jinge about the marriage, she would not talk about it if the man was too bad.
“That man is two years older than Jinge, and his family’s life is alright. But his first wife left behind four children . . .” When the matchmaker looked at Zhao Liu, she saw that Zhao Liu frowned, so she couldn’t help turning her mouth away secretly.
In Zhao Jinge’s case, someone who was willing to marry him should already be considered as burning high-quality incense. Zhao Fugui and his wife regarded him as a treasure. A few years ago, she told Zhao Jinge about a marriage to fill a house for a widower, but they were unexpectedly unwilling to do so.
“There are four children already . . .” When Zhao Liu heard this, she was not as happy as she had been at the beginning. It would not be easy for her Jinge to become a stepmother of so many children.
“These children are still young. If he takes good care of them, when they grow up, they would be no different from their own,” Matchmaker He said.
Zhao Liu was still a little reluctant, but thinking about Zhao Jinge’s situation she endured it.
Good or bad . . . that guy is not old, is he?
“Who is it?” Zhao Liu asked.
“It’s Li Zugen from Lijia Village. . .”
“No! Absolutely not this man!” When Zhao Liu heard Li Zugen’s name, she got angry. That guy’s wife ran away, leaving a mess, and they wanted her Jinge to take it over? That was very wishful thinking!
If nothing else, those four sons were not affordable for ordinary people. Four sons! Even if those four sons found a daughter-in-law who didn’t want a dowry, how much would it cost to build a house, throw a banquet, and make furniture for so many people? What’s more, was there a wife in this world who didn’t need betrothal gifts?
In addition, Zhao Liu had always hated the Li family. At the beginning, it was the Li family who asked for an engagement, but later, they were kicked out by them. If Zhao Jinge wasn’t engaged to this Li Zugen, they would have chosen another family for him to make an early preparation. How could he still get married now that he was twenty-five?
“For the Zhao family, Li Zugen is not bad. They have seventy or eighty silver of cash on their hands now . . .” Matchmaker He persuaded.
“No. Never to this man! You get out of here!” Zhao Liu got even angrier.
After saying that, thinking that she might have to rely on the matchmaker in the future, her face softened again. “Elder Sister He, I don’t have a very good temper. I am sorry . . . It’s just that the Li family really won’t do. Even if I say yes, my family would not like them. You can help them find someone else.”
Matchmaker He’s face also looked very bad at the moment. She looked at Zhao Liu with dissatisfaction and sneered, “How is it so easy to find someone new? Your Zhao Jinge looks just like a man. Which man do you think would want to marry someone like this? What’s more, as far as his figure is concerned, it can be seen at a glance that he would have difficulties having children. What’s more, he is already so old, so he may not be able to have a child at all . . .”
Zhao Liushi got really angry right then and drove Matchmaker He out.
When the matchmaker left, she was annoyed again, and the more she thought about it, the sadder she felt.
A soft body, buttocks that were plump but petite, and a red cinnabar mole between the eyebrows that were still bright—the gers who were similar to women, they were the ones who easily had children. But her Zhao Jinge . . . just the opposite. So what the matchmaker said last was not wrong. But it was precisely because it was not wrong, that she felt sadder and sadder.
Zhao Liu has always been a sensitive person, and the more she thought about it, the sadder she felt. At last, the five ducklings kept shouting at her feet, and she regained her senses.
Zhao Liu took very good care of these ducklings, so none of the five ducklings died. They all lived well and grew very fast. Now they were around Zhao Liu, and they wanted to go out to eat.
In the past, Jiang Zhen would chop up small fish or fish intestines caught by Wang Haisheng and feed them every day. Even if they did not receive food from Zhao Liu, they would not be hungry, but Jiang Zhen was not here today. Without earthworms, fish, or shrimps, Zhao Liu cut lettuce leaves to feed the ducks. She also looked for Jiang Zhen.
Strange, why haven’t I seen Eldest Jiang today? Only the two children of the fisherman were digging earthworms to feed the chickens.
Zhao Liushi had always been very fond of children. She looked at them and went out to dig earthworms with the five ducks. Her original sadness dissipated a lot. But even so, seeing Zhao Jinge come back, she couldn’t help the redness filling her eyes.
“Mother, what’s the matter?” Zhao Jinge asked bewildered.
“Jinge . . .” Zhao Liu called out. She wanted to cry, but thinking that she shouldn’t make her son sad, she endured. “Jinge, if you are hungry, come and have something to eat.”
Zhao Jinge was really hungry, so he didn’t ask further.
These days, he had a meal at noon every day. But since he hadn’t had a meal at noon today, he couldn’t bear it any longer. Before, he saw Jiang Zhen every day, but suddenly he couldn’t see him anymore, making him miss him even more.
Zhao Liu didn’t say anything in front of Zhao Jinge, but when Zhao Fugui came back, she still told him about how Matchmaker He proposed marriage with Li Zugen. Of course, she concealed what the matchmaker had said about Jinge being unable to have children.
Zhao Liu was angry, and Zhao Fugui was also very angry. “Even if Jinge doesn’t marry, he won’t marry him!”
In fact, there was one thing Zhao Fugui never told his family. After the Li family annulled the engagement, he actually went to see Li Zugen once. He wanted to ask them for an explanation for his son, only to hear Li Zugen slandering Zhao Jinge. He said that Zhao Jinge was like a man, and even if he really married Zhao Jinge, he would never want to sleep with him. Zhao Fugui was so angry that he only went home after he slapped Li Zugen.
“Well, I won’t marry him,” Zhao Jinge said with great certainty and started thinking about Jiang Zhen again.
Jiang Zhen had been thinking about Zhao Jinge too.