As the old saying goes,
It’s not the thief you fear, but the thief’s covetous eye.
Especially when someone like Jia Dongxu had the audacity to confront Zhang Yuanlin directly, threatening that if he didn’t hand over the house, Jia Zhangshi would join forces with the Three Great Uncles to stir up trouble.
Zhang Yuanlin was instantly furious upon hearing this. Wasn’t this a clear case of moral kidnapping?
How could he ever sleep peacefully again? Even the delicacies in the Still World would lose their flavor.
All because he’d been targeted by a thief!
Since his family’s property was now in someone’s crosshairs, Zhang Yuanlin decided to strike first.
You arrogantly scheme to seize my property? Then I’ll take the initiative and intercept your blind date.
Hmm, this is justifiable self-defense—protecting my home and myself. Perfectly reasonable!
Just as Zhang Yuanlin was preparing to take his future family out for hotpot,
In the central courtyard,
Jia Dongxu stood with one foot propped on the stone block, smugly boasting about his future wife.
Beside him was Jia Zhangshi’s distant relative, also surnamed Zhang, a semi-professional matchmaker.
But Matchmaker Zhang lived far away. Jia Zhangshi had put on airs, using her status as an elder to demand that she find a match for her son.
Truth be told, Matchmaker Zhang wasn’t keen on it. She knew Jia Zhangshi’s character all too well and had heard that Jia Dongxu wasn’t much of a catch.
But Jia Zhangshi had a vicious tongue and spoke harshly. If she refused, the woman would surely gossip back in their hometown, and soon the whole village would be talking behind her back.
Left with no choice, Matchmaker Zhang agreed. However, to avoid being entangled further, she promised to find someone they’d be absolutely satisfied with—and if she failed, she’d quit matchmaking altogether.
That’s what she said, but Matchmaker Zhang was already scheming to slip away and avoid further involvement with this family.
And she did exactly that—by bringing in Qin Huairu, renowned as the most beautiful girl for miles around.
Matchmaker Zhang’s reasoning was simple: Qin Huairu was exceptional, while Jia Dongxu was merely average, with nothing but an urban residency to his name.
As long as Qin Huairu’s family wasn’t deceived or sweet-talked by Jia Zhangshi, the match would never happen.
But until the final outcome, Matchmaker Zhang had to play along with Jia Dongxu, lavishly praising this yet-unseen blind date.
By now, more and more people had gathered in the central courtyard. Jia Dongxu was the first among the younger generation in recent times to have a real shot at marriage.
Originally, Zhang Yuanlin had been the most promising, but with no elders to support him, not even matchmakers bothered to inquire about his situation.
Thus, Jia Dongxu became the center of attention.
“Anyway, I’m not just blowing smoke! This Qin Huairu is the number one beauty for miles around. If any of you are curious, go ask around—no, wait, no need! Once she arrives, you’ll see for yourselves!”
Jia Dongxu, with his limited education, simply lacked the vocabulary to describe true beauty.
Matchmaker Zhang, on the other hand, was different. Well-traveled and articulate, she spun rustic phrases to depict Qin Huairu’s charms—five parts in looks, seven in figure, and full marks in capability.
Why full marks in capability? Because once she described how much work Qin Huairu could handle, everyone understood.
The seven-point figure and five-point looks were only because Matchmaker Zhang’s descriptive skills fell short. Truth be told, Qin Huairu at that age was beyond mere words.
Still, her vivid descriptions left the men in the compound spellbound and the women feeling inadequate.
Jia Dongxu, upon seeing this, was so smug that his chin nearly tilted up to the sky.
In the crowd, Shazhu and Xu Damao were equally envious, thinking they’d talk to their families later and aim for the same standards as Jia Dongxu.
But for now, the two marriage-hopefuls were green with envy.
“Hey, that bastard Jia Dongxu is really lucky to run into such a fine girl!”
“No kidding, it’s enough to make anyone jealous. If Jia Dongxu really succeeds, the pressure on us two will be huge!”
The usually antagonistic Shazhu and Xu Damao couldn’t help but mutter their admiration under their breaths.
Then they exchanged a glance and remembered Zhang Yuanlin.
“You think Zhang Yuanlin left early in the morning because he was afraid of being humiliated and didn’t dare stick around?” Xu Damao snorted with a laugh.
“Hey! You’ve got a point there. Zhang Yuanlin is older than Jia Dongxu, yet Jia Dongxu is getting married first. He really has no face to stay and watch the excitement. Well, with Zhang Yuanlin around, we’ve got nothing to worry about!”
Shazhu clapped his hands, analyzing the situation seriously.
After saying this, the two exchanged a smile, feeling much more at ease. With Zhang Yuanlin—who had no one to look out for him—around, any ridicule in the compound would never land on them. So what was there to worry about?
However, after Jia Dongxu had boasted enough to last a lifetime, his throat growing dry from all the talk, he kept going just to save face. Even as every household started calling everyone in for meals, the so-called “number one beauty from ten villages around” he’d been hyping up still hadn’t shown up.
Before long, the crowd in the central courtyard dispersed, leaving only Jia Dongxu and Matchmaker Zhang behind.
An increasingly awkward Jia Dongxu stood in the middle of the yard, repeatedly glancing toward the compound’s entrance, but the gate remained empty.
“Aunt Zhang, what’s going on with your arrangements? It’s already this late, my mom will have the meal ready soon. Where is she? Why hasn’t she arrived yet?”
Jia Dongxu showed clear disrespect toward this distant relative, who was a generation younger than his mother, precisely because she was no match for his mother, so he felt no need to hold back.
Matchmaker Zhang was annoyed but held her temper, thinking that if Qin Huairu didn’t agree, it would be the Jia Family’s own problem and none of her concern.
“Don’t rush. I definitely gave them the address, and it was correct. I made it clear that your family has urban residency, and she’d become a city dweller as soon as she married in. Her family was quite interested at the time and agreed to come. Let’s wait a bit longer!”
But Jia Dongxu couldn’t help pacing back and forth, grumbling, “How can I not rush? I’ve already said all that. If she doesn’t show up soon, how embarrassing will that be?”
Matchmaker Zhang stayed silent, thinking that if Qin Huairu really didn’t come, she would bear some responsibility.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yuanlin had brought the three members of the Qin family to the hot pot restaurant, where the owner personally came out to greet them.
Learning that the rare guest Zhang Yuanlin had brought friends, the restaurant owner’s mind raced, realizing this was a perfect opportunity to repay a favor.
Zhang Yuanlin never accepted money. Even if he were offered a free meal every week, how much could one person eat alone?
So treating Zhang Yuanlin for free would only repay a small part of the debt, but treating Zhang Yuanlin and his friends for free—that would be a significant favor!
Of course, it was mainly because Zhang Yuanlin was highly capable, did things without charging, and never set fixed prices, so the indebted bosses had no choice but to be generous.
There are many repairmen in Sijiucheng, but none are like Zhang Yuanlin, who can fix anything, has never failed, and has never been heard saying “no.”
Making friends with such a talented individual means that if other friends have needs in the future, Zhang Yuanlin can step in to help, allowing one to gain favor from others.
But in fact, precisely because bosses have this mindset, they have inadvertently helped Zhang Yuanlin expand his network of connections extensively.
Thus, to repay a favor, the shop owner generously waved his hand and declared that today’s meal was on him, and everyone could eat to their heart’s content.
With that, there was no reason to hesitate—they dug right in!
Zhang Yuanlin was a regular customer. After sitting down, he didn’t even glance at the menu. Instead, he clearly and fluently recited a list of dishes for four people, once again astonishing the three members of the Qin family.
What surprised them wasn’t how good Zhang Yuanlin’s memory was or how many dishes he could recall, but the fact that the dishes he ordered were a mix of meat and vegetables—all high-quality ingredients, with generous portions of meat, and enough for four people. It certainly wasn’t cheap.
Especially when plate after plate of lamb, beef, pork, tripe, fish balls, and shrimp balls were laid out on the table as if they were free. The Qin family, who had never eaten like this before, stared wide-eyed.
And since the owner had made it clear from the start that everything was free, not a single cent needed to be paid, Qin’s father and Qin’s mother once again looked at Zhang Yuanlin with newfound respect.
This young man was truly genuine—when he said something, he meant it, without a single word of exaggeration!