Chapter 11: Door-to-door Matchmaking

“Auntie, what are we eating today?”

What the two girls looked forward to most recently was eating.

Wen Jiajia raised her eyebrows slightly, patted the fish basket, and said proudly, “We’re having fried loach.”

Back in the backyard, she poured the river goods from the fish basket into a large bucket, adding water to raise them for two or three days.

She was accustomed to heavy tastes and, of course, cooked according to her own preferences.

To clean the loaches, she stir-fried wild garlic, chili peppers, and ginger slices in hot oil until they were fragrant, then poured the loaches into the pan and stir-fried them.

Judging from the vegetable garden, the Wen family also liked a bit of spice, but the chili peppers were not strong enough. Wen Jiajia didn’t smell the choking aroma, indicating that even if they could eat spicy food, it was only mildly spicy.

There was no hot sauce seasoning like chopped pepper sauce or bean paste at home, but fortunately, there was soy sauce, homemade in the countryside, with a rich flavor.

She sprinkled some salt and poured in soy sauce to continue stir-frying, added half a spatula of wine, half a bowl of water, and covered the pot to simmer.

After a while, the aroma wafted out, enticing the two girls to lie on the stove, staring at the pot without blinking.

Wen Jiajia was still patient and checked the oil tank, secretly noting that they would run out of oil in three days.

“Auntie, is the loach ready?” Wen Xuan stopped licking her fingers after being scolded a few times by Wen Jiajia, and licked her lips instead.

Wen Jiajia: “If you lick your lips again, it won’t be ready.”

As soon as she said this, Wen Chun immediately covered her sister’s mouth and looked at Wen Jiajia with wide eyes, a bit like trying to cover her ears while stealing a bell.

Wen Jiajia couldn’t help laughing. She waited for another half a minute before opening the lid of the pot, and the fragrant steam wafted out, revealing the loach with thick oil and red sauce in the pot.

Before serving, she added garlic sprouts, stir-frying them briefly.

The green garlic sprouts dotted the sauce-colored loaches, making the dish even more appetizing for the aunt and her nieces.

The staple food was still meat porridge. Thinking it might not be enough, Wen Jiajia also steamed a few extra sweet potatoes.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan, the two children, had probably never eaten such rich and flavorful dishes since they were born. They didn’t lift their heads for a while, the sound of their swallowing was audible, and even their lips and noses were stained with sauce.

The Chen family next door.

Zhang Xiuli stood in the backyard and sniffed hard, always feeling a faint fragrance in the air.

Don’t underestimate people’s desire for rich, oily food these days. Even if you had raw meat in your hands, people could smell it.

“The Wen family is having a good time today. How many ingredients do you need to put in to fry the dishes like this? The young man really can’t be in charge.”

Zhang Xiuli muttered to herself as she drove the chickens in the yard back to the nest. She glanced in the direction of the Wen’s house and then turned to go back inside.

“Master, do you have any opinions on the marriage of our third son?” Zhang Xiuli asked as she cleaned up the stove.

Chen Youliang, enjoying the scent of his tobacco leaves, replied casually, “What opinions could I have? With the way he is, being able to find a daughter-in-law would be considered a blessing from his ancestors.”

Zhang Xiuli put down the cutting board with a bang and squinted, “Are you really putting down your son like that?”

Chen Youliang snorted, “Just give it up. If you have time, go to places like Qianshan Village and Houshan Village. You might be able to find a daughter-in-law for our third son.” These villages are remote, and people who love their daughters are willing to marry them out of the village.

His wife always wants to find an excellent girl for their son, but where can you find a girl with good conditions who would be interested in their son, who works less than 200 days a year and less than six hours a day?

When you marry a man, you marry him for better or for worse.

While the old couple is around, their son might not be as good as Wen San next door when they’re gone.

Chen Youliang suddenly raised his head, “You don’t have your eye on Wen San next door, do you?”

Zhang Xiuli immediately retorted, “Absolutely not.”

Chen Youliang nodded, “That’s right. You can’t hold back another good girl. The Wen family’s girls have it so hard. If they really got together, she couldn’t be any worse off.”

It’s not that he doesn’t love his son, but he knows that in this situation, his son needs to find a capable girl who isn’t a burden.

When people marry, they do so for a better life. If life gets worse after marriage, what’s the point?

Zhang Xiuli snorted in dissatisfaction and had nothing more to say.

She thought about a solution until it was dark and the candle was out. Surprisingly, she came up with an idea.

“Honey,” Zhang Xiuli said, patting his side.

Chen Youliang, annoyed, turned over, “What is it? We have to work tomorrow. Can’t it wait until then?”

Zhang Xiuli hurriedly said, “I was thinking of asking Liu Yu and her grandmother to help introduce someone to our son.”

“Okay, that’s a good idea.” Chen Youliang yawned and said sleepily, “Sleep now.”

Zhang Xiuli, frustrated, pulled the quilt and muttered, “There’s more to it than that! I’ll tell you later.”

—

The next day, Zhang Xiuli went to the Fang’s house, Fang Liuyu’s maiden home.

Fang Liuyu married in this village, and her mother’s house was not even 50 meters away from her mother-in-law’s house, which was the closest marriage in the village.

Her mother’s name was Tian Junxia, and her home was in Hegou Township. Junxia’s mother was a famous matchmaker in the area.

“Junxia, are you home?”

“Coming!”

Tian Junxia wiped her hands, “Xiuli, come sit and rest. I was just feeding the pigs. What’s the matter?”

Zhang Xiuli took her hand and said, “Hey, old sister, I really need to ask you for something. It’s about my son’s marriage. I want to ask your mother for help.”

Tian Junxia was puzzled, “Didn’t you say a few years ago that your third son wasn’t in a hurry to get married?”

Zhang Xiuli sighed, “I’m in a hurry now. I’m afraid if he continues like this, no girl’s family will be interested in him.”

This was a simple matter, and Tian Junxia agreed.

Her mother-in-law had been a matchmaker for a long time and had developed a keen eye. She could tell Chen Xiong was a good match.

Her mother wouldn’t take on a man who loved gambling, drinking every day, and always bragging.

Zhang Xiuli smiled and said, “I heard your mother was recently helping the son of the old Wei family in Hegou Township find someone?”

Tian Junxia waved her hand and said, “It’s okay! There are so many good girls in our commune. We won’t be competing for the same girl with the Wei family.”

Zhang Xiuli whispered, “I didn’t mean that. I wanted to ask if the old Wei family found someone suitable?”

“Do you have a recommendation?” Tian Junxia asked, “I really haven’t found anyone yet. The son of the old Wei family has conditions; he’s looking for an educated girl, at least someone who finished junior high school. That’s a bit difficult.”

Zhang Xiuli’s eyes lit up, and she patted her hand, pointing to the door with a smile, “The right person is in our team.”

“Who?”

“The third daughter of the Wen family!”

“Oh!” Tian Junxia sat up straight, “I didn’t think of Wen San.”

These two were indeed suitable.

To be honest, Wei Dai was really good. He was a platoon commander, earning a level 23 salary, which was 52 yuan a month. Even in the city, few people earned more than 50 yuan.

He had a good character, and his upright personality from childhood was further refined by the army.

Even if there is a confused father and mother in the family, Wen San also has two nieces to care for.

Wei Dai’s parents were foolish, but not bad. With Wen San’s sharp tongue, it wouldn’t be a problem to manage the Wei family.

The only issue was the army.

Wei Dai couldn’t bring Wen San with him yet, and Wen San couldn’t leave her two nieces behind. But this major problem wasn’t a problem for Wen San.

Tian Junxia smiled, “You found the right match. I’ll go to Wen’s house tonight to ask Wen San’s wishes.”

What were Wen JiaJia’s wishes?

She had none for now.

After hearing Tian Junxia’s intentions, Wen Jiajia was incredulous. She knew free love was rare in this era, but she didn’t expect a matchmaker to come so soon after she dressed up. Was she still that attractive?

No, she wasn’t.

She still had two nieces to care for.

Wen Jiajia thought for a while and said, “Aunt Tian, my Chun’er and Xuanxuan are still young. If I get married, I will definitely have to bring the two children with me. They still need to go to school for as long as possible.” She didn’t believe anyone would accept this condition.

Who knew that Tian Junxia would laugh, take her hand, and say, “I don’t know where you are.” If the other party’s character isn’t good and they want to give up Chun’er and Xuanxuan, I can’t introduce them to you. Chun’er and Xuanxuan were delivered by me back then, and I also feel sorry for the two children.”

Wen Jiajia: …… Is this all right? It’s incredible.

She continued, “Life can’t be too hard either. I have a big temper, and if his family doesn’t take Chun’er and Xuanxuan seriously, it won’t work. Also, I don’t want to live with a big family. If his parents have bad tempers and there are a lot of brothers and sisters, then it won’t work.”

Tian Junxia laughed so much that tears were about to come out: “Coincidentally, his parents are known for their good tempers. There are four siblings, but the older brother and sister are already married. The elder brother built his own house, the younger sister also got married, and the old couple usually take care of their grandchildren, so there’s no big family.”

Wen Jiajia was incredulous: “Auntie, the person you are finding for me isn’t divorced with two children, right?”

Otherwise, they are missing an arm or are lame.

“How is that possible!” Tian Junxia immediately explained, “Where would I deceive you? That person has something to do with you. When you fainted that day, he took you to the commune health center, which is a small kindness to you.”

Without waiting for Wen Jiajia to ask, Tian Junxia continued, “That kid is a soldier, four years older than you, with a salary of 52 yuan a month. Maybe in two years, he can take you to live in the army. If you go to the army, everything will be different.”

Wen Jiajia was shocked: “52 yuan, and he’s lacking a partner? Can he take a fancy to me with such good conditions? He has a small kindness to me, and that’s a kindness, so how can I repay it?”

Four years older than her, that’s 23.

A 23-year-old platoon commander doesn’t sound like much, but he has a level 23 salary and is a platoon commander, which is already excellent.

Wen Jiajia felt that there was a big catch inside!

She refused, saying, “I don’t think it’s okay. My parents just died, and I’m not suitable to talk about marriage now.”

Tian Junxia sighed and said, “We don’t pay attention to these things now. Let’s meet first, and then we can talk. I didn’t ask you to settle it now. If it’s really not suitable, we’ll stop. It’s not a feudal society anymore, and there’s no such thing as forced marriage.”

Wen Jiajia was listless: “Aunt Tian, forget it. I really don’t have this idea now.”

Tian Junxia wanted to say more, but seeing that Jiajia’s face wasn’t good, she left with a sigh.