Old Master Zhou saw that she had apologized, so he let the matter go.
Meng Jixue didn’t pursue it any further either. She politely greeted each of the elders in turn.
Old Master Zhou pulled Meng Jixue down to sit beside him. Before long, someone brought over some snacks and placed them on the table, smiling at Meng Jixue.
“Father was so happy that you were coming that he sent us to the pastry shop first thing this morning to buy all these pastries. He remembered that you like them.”
The speaker was Hu Yunlan, the wife of Zhou Yingzhong from the Second Branch. She had two unmarried sons, so naturally, they were both among the candidates Meng Jixue could choose from this time.
Hu Yunlan had always liked Meng Jixue. After all, she was the only daughter of the Meng family, and her status and reputation were extraordinary. She just hadn’t expected the Meng family to fall into trouble. When Old Master Zhou mentioned yesterday that he wanted to find a husband for Meng Jixue, it meant putting all the unmarried young men of the Zhou family in front of her and letting her choose.
At first, Hu Yunlan was quite unhappy about it. But after thinking it over, she realized that since the old man cared so much about this matter, and she had two sons anyway, it wouldn’t be bad if one of them married Meng Jixue. She happily went to make the arrangements.
Her eldest son was obedient. Once she told him what was going on, he came over himself that morning. She had practically dragged her younger son here, and he wore an expression of complete reluctance.
However, before Meng Jixue arrived that morning, Hu Yunlan and Lin Qilan, who were sisters-in-law, had already exchanged their thoughts.
At the time, Lin Qilan sighed. “Jixue’s father is definitely going to be sent down. Now, everyone who has any connection to the Meng family is avoiding them like the plague, afraid of being dragged into the mess. Yet father-in-law is actually going out of his way to pursue this marriage alliance. If he simply chose one man for Jixue, that would be one thing. But he insists on letting her choose a husband. Where does that leave our Zhou family’s dignity?”
“We’re helping them out of consideration for our old friendship. We don’t even know what kind of trouble she’ll bring once she marries into the family, and now we’re supposed to let her choose? It would be so embarrassing if word got out. Second Sister-in-law, I’m really upset about this. At least you have two sons. I only have Zhishu. If he really gets chosen, what are we supposed to do in the Third Branch?”
With that, she looked at Hu Yunlan and tentatively said, “Second Sister-in-law, I think Mingyuan is the oldest and the eldest son in your family. Why don’t you have him take the initiative?”
Hu Yunlan had been in a good mood before, but her expression immediately darkened.
What did Lin Qilan mean by that?
Her eldest son was the most outstanding one in their family. He was only twenty-six, yet he was already a junior leader at a railway bureau branch. He was certain to rise further in the future. Back when she was arranging his marriage, Hu Yunlan had carefully considered one girl after another, which was why she had let her son’s marriage be delayed until now.
And now Lin Qilan didn’t want the fallen Meng Jixue for herself, so she was trying to push her toward their family?
Hu Yunlan gave a few perfunctory replies and then didn’t want to speak with Lin Qilan anymore. She felt that this sister-in-law had far too many little schemes.
Still, she couldn’t help feeling somewhat dissatisfied with this marriage arrangement.
Therefore, when Meng Jixue arrived, she didn’t encourage her sons to show off or deliberately try to impress her. She simply wanted to observe the situation first.
Otherwise, if her sons performed well and Meng Jixue really took a liking to one of them, wouldn’t the Second Branch be the one losing out?
Although Meng Jixue herself was an excellent girl, no one knew what would happen to the Meng family. Sometimes, they had to be realistic.
But it wasn’t until just now, after hearing the conversation between Meng Jixue and Lin Qilan, that Hu Yunlan suddenly understood.
So Lin Qilan actually had her eye on Meng Jixue. She clearly knew that Old Master Zhou would protect Meng Jixue, so she had deliberately said those things to Hu Yunlan to make her back off. That way, Lin Qilan’s son, Zhou Zhishu, could step in and take advantage of the situation.
Hu Yunlan had almost fallen for it.
Judging from Old Master Zhou’s attitude, she could tell that even though the Meng family had fallen on hard times, Meng Jixue still had the old master protecting her.
Naturally, she was now all smiles toward Meng Jixue, hoping to build a closer relationship.
She even said, “Jixue, your Brother Mingyuan and Brother Mingda are both here today. They’ve practically watched you grow up, so you know their character better than anyone. If either of them does anything wrong, just tell them to change, or come and tell Second Aunt.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a young man standing nearby with his hands in his pockets lazily spoke up, clearly displeased.
“Mom, what are you talking about? What era are we living in? Why are you still doing things like this?”
Meng Jixue looked over.
The man was tall and slender. He wore a dark striped sweater over a plaid shirt with a small pointed collar, the collar turned out over the neckline of his sweater. It was considered a very fashionable style at the time.
He had a high, straight nose and a pair of beautiful, flirtatious eyes with slightly raised outer corners, giving him a somewhat carefree and rebellious air. At the moment, however, they also showed a hint of displeasure.
It was Zhou Mingda.
Meng Jixue knew that Zhou Mingda was probably unhappy about this arranged marriage. But he wasn’t her target, so there was no reason for her to indulge him.
She smiled and said, “Brother Mingda, I know you’re not interested in me and that you’re opposed to this whole arrangement. Don’t worry, I won’t choose you.”
In fact, Zhou Mingda did have a favorable impression of Meng Jixue. After all, she was beautiful and talented, and having a woman like her as his girlfriend would certainly make him look good in front of his friends.
But Zhou Mingda was rebellious by nature. What he had originally considered something he might choose for himself had suddenly turned into an old fashioned arranged marriage. He felt that it was feudal nonsense, and if his friends found out about it, they would definitely make fun of him.
He had been extremely annoyed ever since he heard about it, which was why he couldn’t help showing his displeasure now.
But when Meng Jixue smiled at him and said she wouldn’t choose him, Zhou Mingda discovered that he seemed even more unhappy.
He became even more irritated and scratched his hair. “Jixue, that’s not what I meant.”
Seeing Zhou Mingda’s attitude, Old Master Zhou’s face darkened.
He had made it clear last night that everyone was supposed to put on a good show and make a good impression. Yet one after another, they were all managing to anger him. It seemed that he had spoiled these youngsters too much over the years.
Old Master Zhou glared at him. “If you’re unhappy, then don’t come. No one forced you to come. You can leave right now.”
Seeing this, Hu Yunlan quickly stepped in to smooth things over. She patted Zhou Mingda and said, “Didn’t you always say how wonderful your younger sister Jixue is? Why are you suddenly so bad at speaking today? You must be so excited to see her that you’ve forgotten how to talk. Didn’t you say you were going to take Jixue out this afternoon?”
She actually favored having Zhou Mingda marry Meng Jixue. That way, her outstanding eldest son could choose another excellent daughter-in-law, making the Second Branch even stronger.
Now that Zhou Mingda was behaving like this, wasn’t he embarrassing the entire Second Branch?
Naturally, she had to persuade him to behave.
Seeing his grandfather get angry, Zhou Mingda fell silent. When his mother gave him a way out, he immediately went along with it.
Old Master Zhou was still angry, but the moment he looked at Meng Jixue, his expression softened into one of affection.
“Jixue, all your brothers are here now. Grandpa won’t make you choose anyone right away. This afternoon, I’ll have them take you out for a stroll. You can take your time and get to know them properly.”
Meng Jixue actually didn’t want to leave. She didn’t know whether Zhou Hanzhang would return today.
But since the Old Master Zhou had said this, she couldn’t make her intentions too obvious. She smiled and agreed.
After chatting for a while, she finally spoke as casually as she could. “Grandpa, how come I haven’t seen Uncle Hanzhang?”