Just a few steps past the village entrance stood an old locust tree. Several elderly villagers tending to children had brought chairs to sit in its shade and chat. Seeing a decently dressed, unfamiliar young woman walking over, they couldn’t help but steal a few curious glances. Spotting the several oil-paper parcels of pastries and canned goods in her hands, they wondered whose relative had come to visit.
Zhao Juan was unfamiliar with Qinghu Village. Their initial matchmaker meeting had taken place in the township, so she didn’t know the exact location of the Qin household. Seeing elders at the edge of the village, she stepped forward generously to ask for directions.
“Hello, Aunts! I’d like to ask how to get to Qin Zhijun’s house.”
With such a young woman looking for Qin Zhijun, a hint of gossip flashed in the eyes of the old women.
Zhang Hehua lived quite close to the Qin family. Smiling warmly, she asked, “Young lady, are you a relative of the Qin family? I’m their neighbor, but I haven’t seen you around before.”
Zhao Juan chuckled cheerfully and said forthrightly, “No, I’m from Sanjiawan. Qin Zhijun is the match my family set up for me a while ago.”
The moment those words left her mouth, the elderly women perked up instantly, eyeing her up and down several times over. Black trousers, a blue-and-white floral Dacron shirt, plus the heavy paper parcels of pastries and canned goods in her hands—this girl’s background was certainly not bad!
One woman remarked, “What a fine, spirited young lady! When did your family set up the match for you?”
“Thank you for the compliment, Aunt. Our two families had our initial meeting at the beginning of the month,” Zhao Juan replied with a smile on her round face, looking naturally cheerful and pleasant.
A round face, a tall frame, and especially broad hips—she looked like a blessed woman built for bearing children. Zhang Hehua thought to herself that Lin Chunhua had certainly kept this under tight wraps. But on second thought, at the beginning of the month, Qin Zhijun’s legs weren’t injured and he had a bright future ahead; no wonder he had secured such a respectable match.
She stood up enthusiastically and said, “I live close to the Qin family. Let me lead the way.”
“Oh, thank you so much, Aunt!” Sweet talk cost nothing, and Zhao Juan offered it freely as she followed Zhang Hehua deeper into the village.
Under the locust tree, the women immediately burst into hushed discussion the moment the two were out of earshot.
“Do you think that girl knows Qin Zhijun injured his legs?”
“She must, right? It’s been days—how could she not have heard? Look at the stuff she brought in her hands; she’s clearly visiting to pay her respects.”
“No way… She still wants him even after knowing?”
“Hard to say. Young girls fall for good looks sometimes. Qin Zhijun is so handsome—you can’t find anyone better-looking than him in the whole village.”
Wang Cahhua, who loved gossiping more than anyone, picked up her one-year-old granddaughter and trailed right behind them to catch a glimpse of the excitement.
Those who couldn’t bring themselves to abandon their dignity stayed seated under the tree. After all, once Zhang Hehua and Wang Cahhua returned, they would surely spill every single detail down to the last grain, so they would find out anyway.
Meanwhile, Zhang Hehua led Zhao Juan into the Qin home, but only Qin Zhijun was home at the moment. Qin Dayou and his two sons had gone to work in the township, Lin Chunhua had gone out to the fields and hadn’t returned yet, and Qin Xiaomei was naturally over at the Gu house.
At her advanced age, Zhang Hehua didn’t care for formalities like avoiding a man’s private quarters. Entering the courtyard, she raised her voice and called out, “Chunhua! Are you home?”
Receiving no reply, she led Zhao Juan through the front door and poked her head directly into the first room in the east wing—which was precisely Qin Zhijun’s bedroom.
Troubled by Gu Wan’s earlier visit, Qin Zhijun was no longer leaning against the bed reading his magazine. Instead, he had transferred himself into his wheelchair and was staring blankly at the table in a daze.
Surprised by the sudden visitors, he froze for a moment before greeting, “Aunt Hehua, why are you here?” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Zhang Hehua beamed with smiles: “Are you feeling a bit better, Zhijun? I bumped into your partner at the entrance of the village, so I brought her straight home to you.”
With that, she stepped inside.
Gu Wan? Qin Zhijun instinctively glanced toward the doorway.
When he saw Zhao Juan following behind Zhang Hehua, a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes. Of course. Gu Wan was the daughter of their neighbor, the Gu family—why would she need Aunt Hehua to lead her here?
However, the Zhao family had already come to state that the match was off. What was Zhao Juan doing here now? Furthermore, why did she tell Aunt Hehua that she was his partner? A look of confusion appeared in Qin Zhijun’s eyes.
Zhao Juan, who had acted with immense confidence along the way and talked about her match without a trace of bashfulness, now felt a rare blush creep up her face upon seeing Qin Zhijun.
Setting the pastries and canned goods on the table, she said with a touch of bashfulness, “Qin Zhijun, I heard earlier that you got hurt. I found out two days ago that you were back, but the factory has been busy so I didn’t have time to come see you. Today is my day off, so I came over to check on you.”
Before Qin Zhijun could say anything, Zhang Hehua turned to Zhao Juan and gasped in admiration, “Oh my! I was thinking this girl looked so respectable—you’re actually a factory worker?! Incredible, simply incredible! My, my, Zhijun, you’re truly blessed! This girl is so capable!”
She then asked Zhao Juan, “Young lady, which factory do you work at?”
Hearing the old woman praise her and say Qin Zhijun was blessed, Zhao Juan felt a sweetness as thick as honey in her heart. She smiled and said, “Aunt, please don’t praise me so much, it’s quite embarrassing. I work at the county printing factory.”
Zhang Hehua grew excited. A worker at the county printing factory—that was true success! In the future, that job could even be passed down to her children. If it was said before that this girl was marrying up to Qin Zhijun, now Qin Zhijun was definitely marrying up to her!
She turned to Qin Zhijun and said, “Zhijun, with such a wonderful girl, you must treat her well in the future!”
Seeing that Zhao Juan didn’t mention a single word about her family backing out of the match, and even quietly accepted Aunt Hehua’s words, Qin Zhijun furrowed his brows.
Meanwhile, Wang Cahhua, holding her granddaughter, couldn’t very well barging right into someone’s home just to watch the spectacle. She took a detour toward the Qin family’s vegetable patch, hoping to bump into Lin Chunhua so she could drop a word and make her visit seem less intrusive.
However, Lin Chunhua was nowhere to be seen in the vegetable patch. Asking someone working nearby, she learned Lin Chunhua had gone to check the water levels in the rice fields. After asking them to pass along a message to Lin Chunhua that Qin Zhijun’s match had arrived so she should hurry back, she carried her granddaughter and headed straight toward the Qin house.
Passing by Gu Jinsheng’s front gate, she saw Qin Xiaomei sitting in the Gu family yard stitching shoe soles. This was truly a godsend! She quickly put on an anxious and caring expression and said, “Xiaomei, why are you just sitting here? Hurry back home! Your eldest brother’s partner is at your house! I went to your vegetable patch to call your mom, but couldn’t find her.”
Qin Xiaomei couldn’t process the words for a moment. His eldest brother’s partner?
Wang Cahhua grew anxious and called out, “Oh dear, why are you sitting there dazed? A girl from Sanjiawan, dressed so nicely, brought pastries and canned goods right to your doorstep! Your dad and two brothers are working in the township, and your mom isn’t home—there isn’t even anyone at your place to pour her a cup of tea right now! Hurry back!”
Someone from Sanjiawan? Didn’t they say the match was off? Why would she come to our house? Qin Xiaomei quickly turned to look at Gu Wan, only to see her face fill with surprise first, followed by a look of helpless panic.
She had just verified her best friend’s feelings, and now her friend had to hear that her brother’s previous match had arrived—what a terrible situation!
The Zhao family backing out of the match before was already dishonorable enough, but since her family hadn’t broadcasted it after the initial meeting, no one lost face or was made a laughingstock. Now, the Zhao family girl had come to the village on her own and was telling everyone she was her brother’s partner—a surge of annoyance rose in Qin Xiaomei’s heart.
The marriage discussion between the Gu and Qin families was still just a private agreement between the parents and hadn’t been made public yet. Under these circumstances, it wasn’t appropriate to get Xiao Wan involved. She cast a reassuring glance at Gu Wan, signaling her to rest easy, and said, “I’ll go back and attend to things first. I’ll come over to hang out with you later.” The source of this chapter is g.com.
Over at the Qin house, seeing Zhao Juan’s ambiguous attitude, Qin Zhijun knew as a grown man he couldn’t just keep her in his bedroom. It was fine with Aunt Hehua present, but if Aunt Hehua left, things would be impossible to explain. Thus, he turned his wheelchair and invited the two to sit in the main hall.
Zhao Juan felt an urge to step forward and help push his wheelchair, but bounded by Aunt Hehua’s presence, she felt too embarrassed to step up. When the three reached the main hall, Qin Xiaomei happened to return, with Wang Cahhua holding her granddaughter following closely behind.
Seeing Zhang Hehua, Wang Cahhua chuckled and said, “I saw Chunhua heading to the vegetable patch earlier, so I turned around to call her, but didn’t see her. So I found Xiaomei instead.”
Both were determined to watch the commotion, yet neither exposed the other’s intentions.
As Qin Xiaomei set about pouring water, she sized Zhao Juan up a few times, offering a silent evaluation in her mind: Not as pretty as Xiao Wan, not as gentle as Xiao Wan, and her skin isn’t as fair as Xiao Wan’s.
At that moment, Wang Cahhua was asking Zhao Juan how old she was and if her family had set a date for her wedding.
Zhao Juan stole a glance at Qin Zhijun, lowering her head with a shy smile.
Qin Xiaomei felt so annoyed she added another line in her mind: And thick-skinned too!
The match was clearly off, yet she deliberately put on this act to mislead others! Though she was furious inside, as an unmarried young girl, she couldn’t very well butt into these matters.
Just then, Qin Zhijun said solemnly, “Aunts, I did have an initial meeting with this young lady from the Zhao family after I returned last time, and we were mutually agreeable back then. However, after I injured my leg, the Zhao family sent a matchmaker two days ago to state that the match was off. Therefore, I will not be marrying this young lady from the Zhao family.”
“Ah?”
Wang Cahhua and Zhang Hehua were both stunned. There was such a thing?
Yet just now, this girl’s words had heavily implied she was Qin Zhijun’s partner—she hadn’t mentioned a word about the match falling through!
Initially, when Aunt Hehua teased them in Qin Zhijun’s room, Zhao Juan had felt a bit uneasy, but seeing that Qin Zhijun hadn’t said anything, her heart settled.
Now, hearing Qin Zhijun address her distantly as “this young lady from the Zhao family” and even bringing up her parents’ backing out of the match, the shyness vanished completely from her face, leaving her flushed red and pale with deep embarrassment.
However, it lasted only a brief moment before she composed herself. She straightened her back once more and said to Qin Zhijun, “Qin Zhijun, my parents acted dishonorably in this matter, but I don’t accept that the match is off! We were mutually agreeable back then, so that counts. Even if you’re a cripple now, I’m still willing to marry you!”
Wang Cahhua: Goodness gracious, what a massive piece of gossip!
Zhang Hehua: This girl talks far too boldly! With so many people around, she’s actually shouting that she wants to marry the man herself!
Earlier, she had thought this girl was straightforward and pleasant, but now she felt she was straightforward to a fault.
Qin Xiaomei was even angrier. A young woman whose parents had called off a match, coming to their doorstep on her own and shouting in front of everyone that she wanted to marry him! Well, even if she was willing to marry, their family didn’t want her anymore!
She wanted to say something, but given her age and the circumstances, it was improper for her to interfere in her eldest brother’s marriage. The teacup she had been about to hand to Zhao Juan was set down heavily onto the table before her—the force was far from gentle, making a loud clack that sloshed several drops of cooled boiled water out of the cup.