Central Compound.
At the entrance of the Jia Family residence.
The crowd of onlookers had completely surrounded the entire central compound by now.
Even several senior residents had come, along with elders from various households, all drawn by the reputation of the event.
Among the younger generation, Zhang Yuanlin and Jia Dongxu were the first unmarried ones, followed by others who were younger but would eventually reach this stage.
Thus, with Jia Dongxu taking the lead, not only were the younger generation watching the spectacle, but elders with children also came, treating it as a reference for their own children’s future marriages.
Of course, the main reason was that Jia Dongxu had extravagantly praised his blind date, and Matchmaker Zhang had vigorously promoted her, making everyone curious to see what this “little fairy” looked like.
When they finally saw Qin Huairu in person, they realized Jia Dongxu had understated her beauty and Matchmaker Zhang’s description had fallen short.
Her looks alone surpassed all the women in the compound—no, one could even say she outshone the entire neighborhood—and her figure was graceful and slender.
Liu Guangqi and Yan Jiacheng, who were not yet adults but beginning to understand such matters, stared dumbfounded, thinking this was exactly how a young woman ready for marriage should look.
Seizing the moment, Jia Dongxu stepped forward with a proud and arrogant stride, making a grand entrance.
Heh, didn’t I tell you the truth?
What’s wrong? Why do you all look so stunned?
Sorry, but this little fairy is here for my blind date. You can all just watch!
Behind him, Jia Zhangshi frowned deeply, her expression cold and hostile, as if ready to pick a fight with someone.
In fact, it wasn’t surprising that Jia Zhangshi felt this way. Since ancient times, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships have been difficult to manage, especially with someone as sharp-tongued, harsh, and selfish as Jia Zhangshi.
Seeing how popular Qin Huairu had become the moment she entered the compound, and how even her son was mesmerized, Jia Zhangshi felt it necessary to harshly put her in her place, to show everyone who was really in charge in this family.
As Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi made their entrance, Matchmaker Zhang wasted no time and got straight to the point, introducing both families to each other.
After a brief introduction, Jia Dongxu rubbed his hands together and revealed a lecherous smile that he tried but failed to hide.
“Heh, Huairu, come on, let’s go inside and eat. We’ve been waiting for you!”
Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu’s delicate brows furrowed, but she restrained her disgust, reminding herself to be polite!
“Please call me Miss Qin. I’m not used to people using my given name.”
Jia Dongxu, however, missed the underlying message and immediately nodded obsequiously.
“Alright, Miss Qin, please come inside!”
In the distance, Xu Damao narrowed his eyes and sneered.
“Shazhu, just wait and see. Jia Dongxu is bound to make a fool of himself today!”
Shazhu, standing beside him, nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, he said the wrong thing and his attitude isn’t proper. If it were me, I could definitely do better than him.”
Xu Damao was taken aback and couldn’t help turning to look at Shazhu, only to find the guy staring fixedly, drool clearly visible at the corner of his mouth.
At that moment, Xu Damao caught a glimpse of Shazhu’s future.
At the entrance of the Jia residence, Jia Zhangshi, following behind, snorted and said discontentedly,
“Miss Qin, my son using your given name shows he likes you—it’s a sign of familiarity and closeness. How can you be so unreasonable?”
Qin Huairu met Jia Zhangshi’s cold stare and frosty expression, feeling a surge of grievance in her heart. But I don’t want to have anything to do with your son—isn’t this actually for your son’s own good?
Matchmaker Zhang sensed Jia Zhangshi’s confrontational tone and, wanting to wrap up this formality quickly before Qin’s parents lost their temper, stepped in to smooth things over.
“Hehe, dear lady, look at what you’re saying. Of course, a young woman should be reserved. I think we’d better go inside first—it’s hardly convenient to talk out here.”
Jia Zhangshi glanced around, noticing the mix of envy, jealousy, and disapproval in the onlookers’ eyes, snorted again, and turned to enter the house first.
Then Jia Dongxu followed up, urging:
“Please, Miss Qin, after you!”
Only afterward did he address Qin’s father and mother, clearly showing that Jia Dongxu only had eyes for Qin Huairu and hadn’t even considered her parents.
With that kind of attitude, Qin’s parents were already fuming. If not for the crowd watching, they would have turned and left on the spot.
Compared to Jia Dongxu’s rudeness, they couldn’t help but recall how polite Zhang Yuanlin always was—no matter the situation, he always thought of Uncle and Aunt first, then Qin Huairu, and only lastly of himself.
Forget about respect for elders; Qin Huairu was, after all, their daughter. What, were they planning to skip the parents and just snatch her outright?
Seething with anger, Qin’s parents entered the Jia Family’s home with grim expressions.
Seeing the Qin family go inside, the crowd began to disperse.
But Zhang Yuanlin didn’t move. He knew the real show was just beginning—why rush off?
Sure enough, before the crowd had taken two steps, they saw the Qin family emerge with dark, angry faces.
Never mind that they had just finished a hotpot meal earlier; now, looking at the meager spread the Jia Family had prepared, it was downright shabby.
Even by normal standards, it was barely on par with what you’d see at a rural matchmaking event—just who did they think they were looking down on?
“What’s going on, Miss Qin? Why are you leaving without even eating?”
Jia Dongxu hurried out after them, blocking the Qin family’s path.
Qin Huairu said nothing. In such situations, it was best to remain silent and let her parents do the talking.
This would signal that the outcome of the blind date was up to her parents, while also sparing her unnecessary trouble and potential harassment.
Seeing Qin Huairu stay silent, Jia Dongxu grew frantic and reached out to grab her, but Qin’s father blocked him, scolding:
“What do you think you’re doing? Trying to lay hands on her?”
At that moment, Jia Zhangshi came out as well, planting her hands on her hips and declaring:
“Well, I never! Since when do country folk get so picky?”
“Everyone, come and see! I spent seventy or eighty cents on this meal—three vegetable dishes and one meat dish—and still they look down on it!”
Matchmaker Zhang’s eyelids twitched upon hearing this; she wished she could bolt right then. This was unbelievable—seventy or eighty cents was already an average budget, and yet you cut it in half when serving? How could you even say that out loud?
Qin’s mother was no pushover either. Seeing Jia Zhangshi immediately sling mud, she called out:
“Everyone, go take a look inside! If that table of food is really worth seventy or eighty cents, I’ll pay the Jia Family back for the meal right now!”
Hearing this, Jia Zhangshi’s face instantly changed, and she backtracked:
“I did buy seventy or eighty cents’ worth of food, but I thought we couldn’t finish it and didn’t want to waste anything, so I split it into two meals. What, do you country folk live by wasting things?”
For a moment, the entire room erupted in an uproar. No one had expected Jia Zhangshi to pull such a shady move.
Now things had taken a turn for the worse—the family’s disgrace had been publicly exposed. Soon, the whole compound, no, the entire neighborhood and even nearby work units would learn that the Jia Family had served guests for a matchmaking meeting by splitting one meal’s worth of dishes into two servings, a standard that might not even meet what rural families offer during such occasions.
As everyone buzzed with discussion, Jia Dongxu’s face flushed bright red. He felt utterly humiliated and couldn’t help shooting his mother a resentful glare.
Jia Zhangshi was also stunned. She had never imagined things would unfold this way. She had rehearsed this scenario repeatedly in her mind—the Qin family was from the countryside, so what gave them the right to be so picky?
And moreover, how did these three clueless country bumpkins dare to cause trouble for city folks?
Meanwhile, at the back of the crowd, Zhang Yuanlin was leisurely enjoying himself. He snacked on Five-spice melon seeds, then moved on to Salt-baked pumpkin seeds, followed by some Creamy peanuts. He even sneakily nibbled on a couple of Spicy sticks, popped a few Pistachios, and secretly took a few sips of Soda from the inner pocket of his coat.
And so, he happily watched the drama unfold while munching on his snacks—what a delight!