Interview-Style Matchmaking
A large-scale matchmaking session naturally couldn’t follow the usual format anymore.
Just imagine it, Shen Taohua sitting alone on one side, facing a row, or even several rows of people. That would look completely absurd.
So she changed the matchmaking method into an interview process instead.
Each person would receive a number and line up accordingly; when their number was called, they would step forward for their turn.
The interviews were held in an upstairs private room. The “interviewers” were Shen Taohua herself, Shen Feibai, and Zhang Wan.
The latter two were basically just there for show, especially Zhang Wan, who was purely there to watch the excitement.
The entire interview format and all questions were personally designed by Shen Taohua.
When the person holding number one entered the room, the interview began.
Shen Taohua: “Name.”
Candidate: “Liu Wenhe.”
Shen Taohua: “Age.”
Candidate: “Eighteen.”
Shen Taohua: “Where do you live? Who are your immediate family members? How is their health?”
Candidate: “I live in… my family has…”
“Can you read and write? Do you have any bad habits, such as smoking, drinking, gambling, or visiting pleasure houses…”
“Do you ever experience symptoms like soreness in the lower back and knees, tinnitus, or mental fatigue?”
“What is your household’s annual income, and who is the primary earner?”
At first, Shen Feibai worried she was just messing around. But as he listened to the questions, he realized they were all genuinely necessary points to assess in a marriage arrangement, and gradually he became serious as well.
Shen Taohua recorded each answer carefully. Once finished, she said, “Alright, you may go downstairs and wait for notification.”
Liu Wenhe blinked. “We still have to wait for notification?”
Shen Feibai and Zhang Wan also looked confused.
Shen Taohua replied matter-of-factly, “This is only the first round, the preliminary interview. After everyone has been questioned once, I will announce the results. Those who pass will proceed to the second round. Those who don’t can leave.”
In fact, most of these questions were already available through a system scan, but since this was an interview, the formal process still had to be carried out; otherwise, it would be difficult to justify eliminating candidates later.
Besides, discrepancies between answers and actual conditions were also an important point of reference.
Liu Wenhe opened his mouth slightly, completely stunned.
Shen Taohua didn’t care about their reactions at all and reminded him, “When you go downstairs, tell Number Two to come up.”
Liu Wenhe nodded blankly and left with a complicated expression.
Inside the private room.
Shen Feibai asked in confusion, “You asked about the health of their other family members, was that to see whether you’d have to take care of sick elders after marrying in, or is there another reason? And does it really matter who earns the family income? Isn’t it all the same household anyway?
And those questions about lower back and knee weakness seem very targeted too. What exactly are you trying to assess?”
Shen Taohua replied, “Asking about other family members is partly to confirm whether there are elders who would require care. Another reason is to estimate medical expenses based on their household income, whether there’s anything left after that. If there isn’t, then their daily expenses may already be insufficient, which would mean I’d potentially have to subsidize them with my dowry.”
If she asked directly whether they needed her dowry to support them, anyone with a bit of intelligence would deny it just to avoid elimination, so she could only infer it indirectly.
As for the lower back and knee weakness…
Shen Taohua said righteously, “Those symptoms are mainly to check whether the man’s kidneys are in good condition. If they aren’t, he’s an immediate elimination. A man like that is basically just decoration, you marry him and you won’t have a good life.”
Both Ping’an and Zhang Wan, who were still unmarried, took a moment to process what she meant before their faces instantly turned bright red.
Surprisingly, after a brief pause, even Shen Feibai didn’t say anything.
Whether a man could perform in that regard was indeed very important. If not, he and Qingqing wouldn’t get grandchildren, and his daughter would also be left enduring a miserable marriage, so such a person absolutely could not be accepted.
Once he confirmed that every question she asked had a reasonable basis, Shen Feibai couldn’t help but look forward to the rest of the interviews.
Perhaps this seemingly absurd but actually quite practical “interview” would really help him find a good son-in-law.
After “Candidate No. 1” Liu Wenhe went downstairs, those waiting for their turn, as well as the curious onlookers outside, immediately pressed him for results.
Liu Wenhe explained the questions he had been asked, as well as the concepts of the preliminary and second-round interviews.
Everyone was stunned. “This is getting pretty complicated.”
“Still, those are indeed things that usually need to be asked when arranging marriages, it actually seems reasonable?”
Even so, this novel and unconventional matchmaking method still went far beyond everyone’s usual expectations.
As more and more people went upstairs in turn, increasing numbers of curious onlookers arrived after hearing the news, nearly filling the entire Yueya Tower.
Because there were so many people, and to save further time, Shen Taohua asked Manager Zhang to help distribute written questionnaires to those in line in advance. They would fill them out first, and she would then meet each person while reviewing their submissions.
Although it was said that results would only be announced after all first-round interviews were completed, in reality, candidates whose conditions were so poor that even Shen Feibai shook his head at them were eliminated on the spot.
For example: those who were overly overweight and likely to suffer from hypertension and related illnesses; those who were too thin and frail, clearly lacking a sense of security; those who were unkempt and slovenly in appearance; those with harsh or unpleasant facial features or simply lacking compatibility in appearance; and those who showed impatience during questioning or revealed a bad temper.
When these people left, they either did so in anger and embarrassment, or covered their faces in shame and hurried away.
At first, the onlookers merely laughed at them, but midway through, someone suddenly slapped their thigh in realization.
“This matchmaking method from the Shen family is actually something we can learn from! Families with good prospects aren’t limited to just one. The Shen family can’t possibly take them all, doesn’t that mean we can plan ahead too?”
The others immediately understood. That’s right, why hadn’t they thought of this?
Hiring matchmakers also costs money, and most people, even if they don’t literally split coins in half, still try to save wherever they can.
If they could leverage the Shen family’s process to filter out the undesirable candidates, wouldn’t that save both money and a great deal of time and effort?
Given Shen Taohua’s actions over the past few months, it was clear she was extremely selective.
The candidates most likely to fail the preliminary round were those with bad habits or low income, people they themselves would not want anyway.
But those who passed the first round were unlikely to be poor choices.
Even if the Shen family rejected them, others could still carefully consider them. It might even save them the trouble of hiring a matchmaker at all.
Many people with children or relatives of marriageable age immediately became energized. The more they thought about it, the more brilliant the idea seemed, and they all fixed sharp, intent gazes on the men waiting in the main hall.
Previously, many had thought there were too many candidates. But now, from a different perspective, once those eliminated in the preliminary round were removed, there might not even be enough left for everyone to compete over.
Thinking this way, many people began eyeing those around them with a sense of caution toward competitors.
By midday, more than 120 people had completed the first round of interviews.
In the end, only thirty-six remained. The elimination rate was undeniably high.
But considering that those who succeeded would become sons-in-law of the Shen family, such strict standards seemed reasonable.
Those eliminated left disappointed, knowing they had fallen short, while those who remained all felt their chances were high, becoming even more energized, as if they were only one step away from a life of wealth and ease.
Then the second round in the afternoon left them completely confused.
The questions in the second round were far more complex than the first, and many of them were outright traps.
For example: what do you think about dowry maids?
Do you have any close female cousins or childhood sweethearts?
If your wife and your mother do not get along, how would you balance the relationship between them?
The question about whether your wife gets along with your sister(s), and how you would handle it if they don’t.
How is your relationship with your siblings in your family?
Finally, how much betrothal gift is your family planning to offer?
There were over twenty questions in total. The ones above were just a few typical examples. For each candidate, three to five additional questions were selectively asked depending on the situation when it was their turn.
For some reason, during the second round, Shen Taohua did not have Manager Zhang assist with writing down the responses. She conducted all the interviews herself, and of course, she also made the final decisions.
Her conclusion was, everyone eliminated!
When Ping’an announced the result, the dozen or so candidates who had made it into the second round without being directly eliminated, along with the surrounding onlookers, all erupted in shock.
“That’s impossible! How could everyone be eliminated?!”
“Exactly! I met all the conditions, so why was I rejected? You must give us an explanation!”
Several people immediately spoke up in agitation, questioning Ping’an.
After completing their respective second-round interviews, they had also asked about the others’ situations and were fairly confident that their own answers were among the best, with no obvious flaws.
After enduring being watched by crowds outside and spending half a day answering questions, they had believed their chances were very high. Now they were being told they all failed, how could they possibly accept that?
Some even began to suspect foul play.
“Could it be that the Shen family was just playing with us from the start?!”
“You want to know why you were eliminated? Fine, I’ll tell you.”
Hearing the voice, everyone instinctively looked up, just in time to see Shen Taohua and Shen Feibai walking downstairs.
Shen Taohua was holding the notes from the second-round interviews, cross-referencing them with the system’s data panel, and pointed at the most vocal objector as she began.
“You have one older brother and two younger sisters, and your ages are quite close. You claimed you get along very well with all of them, correct?”
The man paused, then replied, “Of course!”
Shen Taohua let out a faint snort. “Based on your household income and the normal expenses in town, the amount of betrothal gift you said you were willing to give during the interview would almost bankrupt your entire family.”
The man said, “The Shen family is much wealthier than mine, so I naturally had to show enough sincerity.”
Since he was willing to bankrupt his family for the betrothal gift, who else could match that?
So why was he still being eliminated?
Shen Taohua challenged him directly: “If you really have a good relationship with your siblings, your younger brother and sisters will also be getting married in a couple of years. Haven’t you considered their dowries and betrothal gifts at all? How can you, as the eldest brother, be so selfish?”
Only then did many of the others realize this point, yes, that did make sense.
The man opened his mouth. “I—”
Shen Taohua continued, “If you answered like this, either you were lying and simply can’t actually afford it; or your relationship with your siblings isn’t as good as you claimed. There is also another possibility, you intend to help them financially after marrying into the Shen family. But regardless of which one it is, any of these is enough for me to mark you as unqualified.”
The man tried to argue but couldn’t find the words. In the end, he could only shut his mouth.
Shen Taohua then turned to the second person.