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Han Shiguo smiled and said, “Aunt, this is just a small token of my appreciation.”
He handed over the gift he had brought with him.
Zhou Guiyun received it and playfully scolded, “Why bring gifts? Just coming is enough, do you think your aunt would be lacking even a cup of tea from you?”
Though she said that, seeing Han Shiguo holding two hands full of things—sugar pastries, snacks, and even cigarettes and alcohol—made her smile all the more. His sincere gesture was impossible to ignore.
It wasn’t about the gift itself—her Jiang family wasn’t lacking in gifts—but rather the sincere thoughtfulness of Han Shiguo, the future son-in-law who had immediately caught her attention with his genuine heart.
Yes, he was already her future son-in-law!
After seeing him in person, Zhou Guiyun understood why Jiang Xiaogu had hurried back three years ago to take the lead in having her eligible niece get engaged to him, and why Matchmaker Zhang had nearly praised him to the skies earlier that morning.
His looks and demeanor were truly flawless!
If someone like him wasn’t appealing, then what kind of person would be? As far as Zhou Guiyun was concerned, she didn’t have such high standards, and she was really very satisfied!
After asking her daughter-in-law to prepare some sugar water, she invited them into the living room to sit.
Zhao Aiying quickly brought over several cups of sugar water, each one thick with sugar, especially sweet to the taste.
When Han Shiguo’s mother saw the sugar in the enamel cups, her smile grew even wider.
As the saying goes, whether or not someone values you can often be seen by how much sugar is in your cup!
Without needing Jiang Xiaogu or Matchmaker Zhang to bolster his image, Jiang’s father, the Captain, began chatting with Han Shiguo’s father about this year’s harvest.
This conversation naturally opened the floodgates, and Zhou Guiyun joined in as well, with Han Shiguo’s mother also chiming in from time to time.
That’s how it is with this generation—they could talk for days on end without running out of things to say. No topics? That’s impossible!
Big Sister-in-law Zhao Aiying also played the role of a conversational companion, explaining to Han Shiguo’s mother that Jiang Shouhai and his brothers had gone up the mountain early that morning to gather firewood, which was why they weren’t home at the moment.
It was necessary to explain, or else they might think that their family had no manners and that none of the sons were around to entertain guests.
Han Shiguo’s mother nodded in understanding.
If it weren’t for the occasion today, she would’ve sent her sons to gather firewood as well.
As everyone continued chatting, they would occasionally ask Han Shiguo about matters in the army, and he answered all their questions. There wasn’t much else to say; he simply sat properly and let the Jiang family observe him.
After a while, Second Sister-in-law Zhao Aifeng came over, smiling as she entered the room.
Meanwhile, Third Sister-in-law Su Zhirou was with Jiang Qian, who was giving her advice on lesson planning and sharing some teaching experience.
But they weren’t deaf—by now, they’d already heard the conversation. Seeing Zhao Aifeng enter, Jiang Qian couldn’t help but blush.
After all, she was still an unmarried young lady. Even though she’d met many handsome soldiers, having one show up at her door for an arranged marriage still made her feel some natural embarrassment and nervousness.
Su Zhirou smiled and asked Zhao Aifeng, “Second Sister-in-law, how is he?”
“No flaws!” Zhao Aifeng responded without any hesitation, offering a very high evaluation.
“Come on, let’s go take a look.” Su Zhirou smiled as she looked at Jiang Qian.
Although Jiang Qian’s face turned red, she still wanted to confirm whether he was the same person she had met yesterday.
So, she followed her second and third sisters-in-law out.
Jiang Qian had known that there would be a meeting, so she had prepared red beans the day before.
Today, she specifically made red bean cakes, and now she was bringing a tray of them to serve the guests.
“Aunt, these are the red bean cakes I made this morning. Please have a try.” Though still shy, Jiang Qian carried the sweets over with graceful composure.
Jiang Xiaogu (Jiang Qian’s aunt) beamed with a smile. “Good, good.” She proceeded to introduce Han’s father, Han’s mother, and Han Shiguo. “This is your Uncle Han, Aunt Han, and this is Shiguo.”
“Hello, Uncle Han. Hello, Aunt Han.” Jiang Qian gave a slight smile as she greeted them. She also glanced at Han Shiguo, and seeing that he was looking at her too, she felt a bit shy but still politely offered them some snacks.
“Qianqian, do you remember me? Last year, I sprained my ankle, and you helped me,” Han’s mother said with joy.
“I remember, Auntie, is your foot better now?” Jiang Qian replied with a smile.
She couldn’t help but feel a little amused, thinking that both marriages had been brought about by her helping elderly women cross the street. It seemed that if the conditions were right, doing good deeds was indeed a way to bring good fortune.
Of course, when she helped others, she hadn’t thought about any of this.
But do good deeds without asking for what comes next.
“Alright, the doctor you introduced is really skilled. I was fine the same day,” Han’s mother said, clearly in a good mood.
“That’s great,” Jiang Qian smiled and nodded.
Jiang Xiaogu (Jiang Qian’s aunt) quickly found another topic. “Is the school busy usually? Are the students all as naughty as people say?”
“Not really busy, the students are quite good overall. There are a few naughty ones, but they can be reasoned with,” Jiang Qian smiled.
Jiang Xiaogu looked at her gentle little niece and smiled, “That must be because you have a good temperament and patience, and you never hit your students.”
At this time, corporal punishment was something allowed in education. If a student misbehaved, the teacher would usually lecture them with a bamboo stick in hand.
However, Jiang Qian was not the type to hit. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. But when the teacher from the neighboring class disciplined students, she would take the misbehaving ones over to watch and tell them, “If you don’t behave, the teacher won’t be able to teach, and I’ll have to send you to the other class.”
Under this threat, none of the students misbehaved, and all of them preferred the gentle, non-violent Jiang Qian.
“If they can be reasoned with, there’s no need to hit,” Jiang Qian smiled and said, then turned to Han’s mother and the others, “I need to go prepare my lesson. You all can chat.”
“Alright,” Han’s mother looked at Jiang Qian, who carried an air of scholarly grace. The more she looked, the more pleased she became, nodding and smiling.
After making her appearance, Jiang Qian returned to her room to prepare her lesson.
Su Zhirou followed her back, smiling softly and whispering, “I can’t blame you for picking him out right away. His appearance is truly one in a million!”
Jiang Qian blushed but responded, “Isn’t my third brother handsome?” It wasn’t just her boasting—her family, the Jiang family, was filled with handsome men and beautiful women.
Even from the second branch of the family, Jiang Yue and Jiang Shouliang both looked quite good.
“Your third brother is definitely handsome, but honestly speaking, he’s a little bit behind compared to yours,” Su Zhirou smiled gently.
She had agreed to marry Jiang Shouhe after moving to the countryside, not just because she was afraid of doing farm work, but mainly because Jiang Shouhe was truly tall and handsome.
Standing at 1.8 meters, he was not only good-looking but also very responsible. Moreover, the Jiang family had a great reputation, which made her marry him without hesitation.
“When third brother comes back, I’ll tell him that you said he’s not as good as others. Let’s see if he doesn’t teach you a lesson!” Jiang Qian said, pretending to sound serious.
Su Zhirou smiled, “Am I not allowed to speak the truth? Come on, tell me, are you satisfied or not?”
Jiang Qian’s face turned bright red, “I don’t know.”
Although she hadn’t really looked at Han Shiguo much throughout the day—except for that one glance when her aunt introduced him while she was holding the pastries—her heart was still racing now.
Seeing a handsome guy like him, it made her feel a little bit embarrassed.
But she asked for forgiveness because Han Shiguo was indeed handsome, perfectly aligning with her tastes!
As a young lady, her heart wasn’t yet tempered enough to handle such a situation, and she couldn’t bear it!