The news of Zhu Ping'an's return home spread throughout the village in an instant.
Of course, this was because when Chen went out to pour out the slops early in the morning, she inadvertently said something to Aunt Li who was also pouring out the slops. Then in less than half an hour, the whole Xiahe Village knew that the second son of the Zhu family who had passed the imperial examination had returned. Then, as a result, when Zhu Ping'an came back from school early in the morning, he saw many aunts and uncles in the family, and it took him a long time just to greet them.
Seeing that Zhu Ping'an was a scholar, but he was still polite to them according to his generation, these aunts and uncles were even more excited, praising and admiring Zhu Ping'an. There was even an old man who swore that when Zhu Ping'an was born, he saw a red cloud behind the Zhu family's house, as if the sky was on fire... ...
Zhu Ping'an blushed at what these people said.
Mother Chen enjoyed this atmosphere very much, and from time to time she would tell stories about Zhu Ping'an's childhood, such as how he could herd cattle at the age of 5, which drew praises from the surrounding aunts and uncles. Then Chen shook her hands and said modestly that my son Zhu was not that smart and was very tough when he was young, but his face looked as if he had drunk two taels of wine...
"Aunt, my second aunt's little daughter is twelve years old this year. She is sensible and capable. Everyone in the surrounding villages praises her. I think she is as good as your Ping An Lang..."
An elder aunt talked about some meaningless things in a roundabout way for a while, and suddenly changed the subject, saying that she wanted to introduce her second aunt's little daughter to Zhu Ping'an. Zhu Ping'an was a juren, and he could become an official in a few minutes. If the relative's daughter was married to Zhu Ping'an, the relative's family would naturally enjoy great blessings. Then wouldn't the matchmaker herself also benefit from it
When Chen heard this, her face changed. Before she could say anything, someone next to her raised an objection.
"Aunt, I'm just saying what I want to say. The little daughter of my aunt is sensible and capable, but she looks..."
One aunt stood up and quit as soon as she heard what the eldest aunt said. Although she didn't say what the youngest daughter of the eldest aunt looked like, she could almost understand it from the tone of her voice.
Chen heaved a sigh of relief when she heard someone help her refuse. But before she could fully relax, the aunt who had just helped her spoke again, which made Chen even more angry.
"If you ask me, the eldest daughter of my second aunt is so pretty. She's from Zhaotou Village. You must have seen her. What a good girl she is. The matchmaker alone has lowered the threshold by three inches..."
After this aunt had introduced her eldest aunt in a derogatory manner, she then described the eldest daughter of her second aunt as a flower. The meaning is self-evident.
"Forget it. Your second aunt's daughter is already sixteen years old, three years older than Ping An Lang. If you ask me..."
Another sister-in-law stepped forward.
Then, Zhu Ping'an's yard was like a flock of ducks. They quacked and talked about the same topic, introducing their relatives to Zhu Ping'an. They took this great wealth.
Chen's face was not very good. She had seen many of the girls mentioned by these aunts and uncles. Compared with Li Shu, the best daughter-in-law in her mind, these girls introduced by the aunts and uncles were not even as good as Li Shu's maids, let alone Li Shu. One was a golden phoenix flying in the sky, and the other was a group of small sparrows flying on the ground. How could they compare
Li Shu is beautiful, sensible, kind, filial, and good at managing the household. She also has a good family background. Most importantly, Chen feels that Li Shu is particularly lucky for her husband. Only such a girl can be worthy of her own Zhuer. As for these aunts and uncles, they may have good relationships, but compared with her own Zhuer's lifelong event, they have to be put aside. How can a country girl in the village be worthy of Zhuer, who will become a high official in the future? Zhuer will not be able to hold his head up when he goes out in the future.
Looking at the aunts and uncles who were vying to introduce him to potential partners, Zhu Ping'an's face twitched a little...
"Ahem, we've got arrangements for our pig." Chen coughed and said something evasive to the aunts and uncles who were about to fight in the yard.
Then the yard was quiet for a while, and then he started asking who the girl was, what she looked like, and what her character was like.
Chen smiled but said nothing.
Chen's mystery and affirmation made the aunts and uncles give up the idea of introducing their relatives to Zhu Ping'an.
I am still the one you can rely on at critical moments. Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but salute Chen.
Chen looked at Zhu Ping'an's relieved and grateful eyes, and thought that Zhu Ping'an had guessed something. Her Erxiao often went to borrow books from her family. She was such a beautiful and well-behaved girl, so it was hard to say whether Erxiao had some thoughts about her. So the thoughts in her heart were about to reach the sky.
Ancient people were embarrassed to express their thoughts on marriage. When a marriage was arranged in ancient times, if the girl was satisfied she would shyly run back to her boudoir without saying a word, and the boy would at most say something like "listen to your mother".
Therefore, Zhu Ping'an's look caused Chen to misunderstand a little.
The aunts and uncles stayed at Zhu Ping'an's house for a while until smoke rose from the village. Chen politely invited them to have dinner at her home. The aunts and uncles thanked Chen and left reluctantly.
call
Looking at the relatives who left, Zhu Pingchuan took a breath. This... ...felt much more difficult than the imperial examination.
"Really? You've delayed me so much that I haven't had time to make the chicken soup yet." Chen said with some pride, and went into the kitchen to continue making chicken soup.
The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan came out of the house and joked with Zhu Pingan, "Do you have any favorites, brother? Tell me."
Zhu Ping'an shook his head repeatedly.
Then I heard the eldest brother Zhu Ping'an say a little embarrassedly, "Well, Juan'er has a cousin..."
At first glance, it was obvious that it was proposed by my future sister-in-law and brother.
Before the eldest brother could finish his words, Chen came out of the kitchen with a fire poker in her hand.
"Zhu Dachuan, say that to me again!" Chen grabbed Zhu Pingchuan's ear and pretended to drop the fire stick on Zhu Pingchuan, but looking at the sparks on the fire stick, she couldn't bear to hit him.
"Mom... Mom... I'm going to get married..." Zhu Pingchuan was whining because of Chen's pulling.
"What's wrong with getting married? You are so confused that you still beat him in front of your wife." Chen glared at Zhu Pingchuan unhappily, then pulled him hard before letting go.
"Why can't I understand?"
Zhu Pingchuan stammered with some grievance, and in return Chen waved the fire poker, so he dared not say anything more.
"Think about it yourself." Chen glared at Zhu Pingchuan again before entering the kitchen.
Think for yourself? Zhu Pingchuan couldn't figure it out, and turned his gaze to Zhu Pingan in confusion.
"Ahem, brother, I'm going to my room to study."
Zhu Pingan coughed and went to the bedroom, leaving Zhu Pingchuan standing in the yard with a bewildered look on his face, not knowing what he couldn't tell. He was introducing a wife to his second brother, which was a good thing, so why couldn't he tell them apart? (To be continued)