Chapter 59: Qian Family Village

The sun had set.

At dusk—

Every member of the Jiang family sat in the courtyard, each with a bowl of bone-broth noodles, slurping hungrily.

There was hardly any meat left on the bones—
the butcher’s apprentice had cleaned them bare.

Zhang Jinlan had her eldest son chop the bones into pieces.

The marrow and oil simmered with the bones in the broth.

The aroma was indescribable.

Oil floated on the surface of the soup. Pick up a chopstick’s worth of hand-rolled noodles, blow lightly, and slurp them down—

the fragrance sank straight into the soul.

Just like at lunch, no one spoke a word while eating.

Jiang Fubao had eaten too much at noon. Children couldn’t digest so well, so in the evening she only ate half a bowl of noodles.

After dinner, she rested a bit, then took the feathered shuttlecock (made for her by grandma with pheasant feathers) into the courtyard to play.

The wild pheasant feathers were beautiful—
under the glow of sunset, they shimmered in five colors.

She played until night fell, then went inside to lie down.

When her brothers were asleep, she slipped 120 eggs from her storage space into the chicken coop.

She also mixed some rice into the family’s rice jar.

Only after finishing everything did she return to her room to sleep.

When she woke, daylight was already bright.

The smell of egg pancakes drifted from the kitchen, seeping in through the cracks of the door.

Her stomach immediately growled noisily.

She had spent too much energy playing shuttlecock last night—
in fact, she had already felt hungry halfway through the night.

“Grandma, I’m awake—!” she shouted loudly as she stepped into the courtyard.

“Alright, Grandma will get you some hot water.”

Zhang Jinlan hurried to respond.

She carried out the hot water. After her granddaughter brushed her teeth by herself, she picked up a piece of coarse hemp cloth and washed her face for her.

“Hiss—”

“Grandma, this cloth hurts my face. Tomorrow I want to use a soft cloth to wash.”

Since things were clearer now, she planned to gradually reveal items from her storage.

That rough hemp cloth hurt too much—she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Alright, tomorrow Grandma will cut a piece of coarse cloth for washing.” Zhang Jinlan didn’t understand at first.

“Not coarse cloth—soft cloth! You’ll have it tomorrow.”

Fubao smiled mysteriously.

“Alright, tomorrow we’ll wash with Fubao’s cloth.”

Only then did Zhang Jinlan react.

Could it be that the Immortal Family was sending cloth again?

She wondered what kind of cloth it might be—silk and satin perhaps?

“Ah, and a toothbrush too! These willow twigs hurt my mouth. Tomorrow I need a toothbrush.”

Glancing at the chewed willow twig on the ground, Fubao added.

“Alright~” Zhang Jinlan smiled dotingly.

She wrung out the hemp cloth and hung it back on the rope, then went to fetch breakfast for her granddaughter.

This morning’s food was shepherd’s purse and egg pancakes.

The shepherd’s purse was leftover from yesterday—it had wilted a bit overnight, but still edible. The eggs were freshly “delivered by the Immortals” today—over a hundred of them.

By coincidence, her eldest son had to go into town, so he would take a hundred eggs to sell.

“Grandma, when are we going to the mountain to dig wild greens?”

After breakfast, she sat for a long time and still saw no sign of Grandma heading out.

Fubao urged her.

“Today Grandma won’t go to the mountain. I’m going to Qian Family Village to find the matchmaker to arrange a wife for your eldest brother. Your aunt will come along. Fubao, do you want to go with your mother and second aunt to dig wild vegetables, or follow Grandma to Qian Family Village to play?”

Zhang Jinlan picked out a smaller basket and placed five eggs inside.

Clearly, they were meant as a gift for the matchmaker.

“Fubao will go with Grandma.”

Digging wild greens was boring—exploring a new place was far more fun.

“Good, let’s go then. Second daughter-in-law, watch over Yanzi carefully. Just go to yesterday’s spot, don’t go too deep into the mountain.”

Holding her granddaughter’s hand, Zhang Jinlan still turned back to give a final reminder.

“Got it, Mother. We’ll dig and come right back down. Don’t worry.”

Sun Pingmei and Zhang Yanzi each carried a bamboo basket.

The five parted ways, heading in different directions.

Qian Family Village was farther than Sun Family Village.

Fubao walked part of the way, then was carried in turns by her aunt and grandma.

It took a full half hour to reach the entrance of Qian Family Village.

In terms of wealth, Qian Village ranked above Sun Village and Zhou Village.

Walking in from the entrance, it was obvious—their homes were different from those in Jiang Village.

There were even a few houses made of blue stone bricks.

The villagers’ clothes, though patched, had far fewer patches than those of Grandma and Mother.

Some even wore coarse cloth as outer garments.

Following Grandma and Aunt’s pace, Fubao arrived at the far end of the village.

They stopped in front of a large household.

The entire outer wall was made of blue stone bricks—
clearly a wealthy family.

Knock, knock, knock—

Zhang Jinlan lifted the iron ring on the door and knocked.

“Coming—”

Before long, the door opened from inside.

A younger woman appeared. “And you are—?”

“I’m here for Matchmaker Qian. My eldest grandson has reached the age to find a wife.”

Zhang Jinlan answered truthfully.

“Alright, come in. Mother—someone’s here for matchmaking—”

The woman stepped aside to let them in, then turned her head to shout toward the main hall.

The doorstep was higher than at the Jiang house, at least double.

Fubao was too short, so her aunt carried her in.

Then she saw the inside—

and froze.

The stone-brick wall outside had looked grand.

But inside—the house was made of mud!

So it was just for show?

It was like in modern villages, where families built tall five- or six-story villas, covered the outside in expensive tiles, but left the inside bare concrete.

So even in ancient times, there were “face projects.”

“Well, if it isn’t Sister Zhang? What brings you here?”

Just as Fubao marveled, an older woman, a few years senior to Grandma, came striding out briskly.

“Matchmaker Qian, long time no see. My eldest grandson is already fifteen. I came to ask your help in finding him a good girl. Our hens just laid some eggs, I brought you a few to try.”

When they first entered, Zhang Jinlan hadn’t given the eggs to the younger woman.

Instead, she held onto them until now, personally handing them to the matchmaker in the courtyard—making sure she saw.

And sure enough, the moment Matchmaker Qian spotted the gift, her smile widened.

“You’re too polite. No need for gifts—we’re old acquaintances. Of course I’ll find a good match for you. Come in and sit. Baishi, fetch two cups of water—oh, and since there’s a child, three.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Baishi lowered her head and obeyed.

They entered the main hall and sat.

Fubao twisted her head around, looking everywhere.

Inside was about the same as the Jiang house—mud floors, an old round wooden table, uneven chair legs.

It seemed Matchmaker Qian’s money had all gone into building the outer wall.

“So your grandson is fifteen already? Yes, it’s the right age. What kind of family are you looking for? But let me be frank—Zhang Village isn’t like Jiang Village. Not many families are willing to marry their daughters there. You should be prepared—either be generous with the bride price, or else lower your standards. Don’t blame me for speaking plainly.”

Matchmaker Qian was indeed straightforward.