After confirming her son's intentions, Mother Zhao began asking around about the Chen family's situation.
The Chen family was small, and the whole household was known in Chen Family Village for being honest and hardworking. Moreover, Chen Qiuyue herself was not only beautiful but also skilled at embroidery.
Since her son was satisfied, Mother Zhao had nothing more to say and began actively promoting the match.
Through connections, she found Chen Qiuyue's aunt, Chen Meihua, to first sound out the situation. If the Chen family agreed, the Zhao family would prepare to send a matchmaker to formally propose.
Meanwhile, after Father Chen and his son unhurriedly made their way home, they picked up their hoes and headed to the fields to weed. The harvest season was approaching, and Father Chen had recently been spending his days in the fields whenever he had nothing else to do.
Ever since Mother Chen had told her about Zhao Huaiyu the day before, Chen Qiuyue had been restless all day.
That afternoon, while doing embroidery at home, she pricked her finger with the needle several times. Xu Cuicui also knew about her sister-in-law's situation.
She just sat nearby mending old clothes, lowering her head and secretly smiling without saying a word.
There would be plenty of time to tease her sister-in-law once the match was settled.
That evening, the Chen family sat around the dinner table. Tonight's meal was fairly decent: a pot of sweet potato porridge, a plate of stir-fried fresh wild vegetables, and a basket of mixed-grain steamed buns.
At the table, Chen Qiuyue's younger brother, Chen Goudan, clutched his bowl and slurped noisily.
Mother Chen looked at her seven-year-old son and said to Father Chen, "Goudan is getting older, and running around playing all day isn't doing him any good. Starting tomorrow, let Goudan come with us to the fields to help. He can't do heavy work, but he can run errands. What do you think, father?"
Before Father Chen could speak, Chen Goudan had already put down his bowl and started making a fuss.
Father Chen shot him a glare, and Chen Goudan immediately shut up wisely. Under normal circumstances, Father Chen didn't interfere much, but when he did speak up about something, Chen Goudan had to quietly obey and didn't dare defy him.
"Starting tomorrow, the job of gathering pig feed will be handed to Goudan. If he doesn't do it well, he'll go without a couple of meals."
"The weather's getting hotter and the sun is harsh. Qiuyue will stay home doing housework and embroidery." Father Chen glanced at Chen Goudan and Chen Qiuyue sitting nearby as he spoke.
When Chen Goudan heard that he would be taking over his sister's job of gathering pig feed, he felt sullen inside but still obediently responded in a low voice.
Chen Qiuyue looked at her glum little brother and found it amusing, though she didn't show it on her face. "I understand, Father," she said.
That night back in their room, Father Chen told Mother Chen about what had happened in town that day. Having seen the young man with his own eyes, the heavy stone in his heart was finally set down.
Their daughter's marriage was more or less settled.
"Then we'll wait for sister-in-law to come by, and when she does, we'll go along with the match."
After Mother Chen finished speaking, she felt reluctant again. Once their daughter married, she would be someone else's daughter-in-law, and they would only see her on holidays and festivals.
Mother Chen had been a daughter-in-law herself and knew well the various difficulties involved. She could only teach her daughter well before the wedding, hoping the Zhao family wouldn't have too many complications and that her future days would go smoothly.
"Let's sleep. Now that Yue's matter is settled, we need to start planning her dowry early. I hope the heavens won't act up this year and we'll have a good harvest!"
A few days later, Chen Meihua came to visit again.
Because Father Chen and Mother Chen had already made up their minds, the discussion this time went very smoothly, and Chen Meihua was also very happy to have helped bring about this marriage.
If her niece married well, she herself could share in the glory, after all.
Chen Qiuyue knew that her eldest aunt had come today to discuss her marriage, and she felt both nervous and excited inside.
When she saw Chen Meihua out the door, her eldest aunt even teased her a few times, and her whole face turned red with shyness.
Mother Chen looked at her daughter standing to the side, shy and bashful, and said with amusement, "This time your eldest aunt came over, and we have already agreed to the Zhao Family's marriage proposal."
"In a few days, the Zhao Family will choose an auspicious day and send a matchmaker to our door to formally propose."
After hearing this, Chen Qiuyue glanced at Mother Chen, then turned and ran straight back into the house, ignoring Mother Chen.
Mother Chen looked at her daughter's coy manner and really could not help but laugh out loud.
Once Chen Qiuyue's marriage was settled, Father Chen and Mother Chen began planning to prepare their daughter's dowry.
In the countryside, when ordinary families married off a daughter, it was usually just a bundle with a few clothes or some cloth, plus a few boxes, and then she would be married off.
Some families who doted on their daughters would send along a few extra sets of bedding and a few pieces of furniture, and those with better conditions could even include a little silver as a trousseau.
The Chen Family's circumstances were fairly good. In recent years, because the weather had been favorable and the court's various taxes had been relatively lenient, they had accumulated some family savings and added two mu of land.
At present, the Chen Family had three mu of top-grade fields and two mu of medium-grade fields.
Setting aside the grain kept for the family to eat, the silver saved from farming each year came to about two taels.
From the piglets the family raised each year, the eggs they saved, and the odd jobs Father Chen and Elder Brother Chen did in town during slack farming seasons,
the Chen Family could save three or four taels over the course of a year.
In the beginning, Chen Qiuyue, like Mother Chen, embroidered plain handkerchiefs, and the earnings were not much—only a few dozen coins a month.
But after Chen Qiuyue's skills improved last year, the embroidery work she took on could bring in several hundred coins a month.
Each time the money came in, Mother Chen would keep fifty coins for Chen Qiuyue to hold herself, so she could buy some little things for a girl.
But Chen Qiuyue was frugal, and most of the time she saved it all up. By now, her own little stash had about one tael of silver.
Last year, because of Elder Brother Chen's marriage, more than half of the Chen Family's saved silver had been spent.
The betrothal silver was three taels, and adding the simple repairs and tidying up of the family's house, altogether seven or eight taels of silver were gone at once.
Now the Chen Family did not have much ready silver left, but Father Chen and Mother Chen still did not intend to shortchange their daughter. Whatever other people had, their own daughter should have too.
Only the furniture would take a long time, so it had to be prepared in advance, otherwise they were afraid it would be too late when the time came.
"Once things are settled with the Zhao Family, we will start preparing everything one item at a time. We must marry our daughter off in grand style."
After discussing it, Father Chen and Mother Chen each went to bed.
On the twenty-third of the fifth month, the Chen Family's door was knocked on, and a middle-aged woman dressed in bright red appeared at the Chen Family's gate.
One look at her clothes, and Mother Chen knew it should be the matchmaker invited by the Zhao Family.
Li Cuilan was a matchmaker with a very good reputation in Zhao Family Village, and she had brought about many couples in the surrounding villages.
She never exaggerated or concealed the circumstances of the man or the woman, and except in a very few cases, most people were very satisfied with the matches.
This time, too, Mother Zhao had gone directly to her and explained the situation, asking Li Cuilan, this very busy person, to make the trip.
Li Cuilan knew the Zhao Family's situation like the back of her hand, and Zhao Huaiyu was a young man she thought highly of.
Previously, Mother Zhao had also asked her to introduce quite a few young women to Zhao Huaiyu, but in the end, nothing came of any of them.
This time, hearing from Mother Zhao that things had already been settled with the Chen Family's daughter, she was naturally filled with curiosity, and coming over today was a perfect opportunity to meet her.