Chapter 30

They had left with nearly empty hands, but returned loaded with bags.

Since it was almost the New Year, it wasn’t too out of place.

Madam Xu looked at the leather boots on her feet from every angle, fondly admiring them while still pretending to grumble: “How much did these cost? I’m already this old, what a waste to give such nice things to me.”

If you could just tone down that grin that’s turning your face into a chrysanthemum, I might believe you’re not pleased.
Xu Hehua crouched at the edge of the kang, helping the old man with his shoes as she rolled her eyes.

But the old lady’s attention was fully on her new boots. She didn’t need anyone to respond—just kept on proudly chattering: “Who would’ve thought I’d get to wear leather boots one day? Life’s really good now. I bet there are tons of my old gal pals green with envy.”

A daughter knows her mother best—and vice versa. Still squatting beside the kang tying laces, Xu Hehua didn’t even lift her head as she said, “You’d better calm down. It’s snowing hard out. If you go out showing off and end up slipping, don’t blame me.”

Old Madam Xu, who had just been planning to parade around the village…
“I was just saying, okay? You think your mother is the kind of shallow woman who likes to show off?”
Despite her tough words, the regret on her face was very real.

No wonder they say the elderly are like children again.
Xu Hehua, both amused and indulgent, coaxed her with a chuckle: “Wait till the weather clears up a bit. You and Dad can go out for a stroll then.”

Hearing that, Madam Xu immediately beamed, her grin wide enough to show all her teeth. “My daughter’s so thoughtful!”

Old Xu Chunsheng nodded in agreement. “Third Girl’s a good one.”

She had always been filial, but back then, her parents didn’t have this attitude. Xu Hehua didn’t bother saying anything to ruin the mood, even if she had her thoughts.

She’d long since realized—blood ties or not, people always judged you based on your worth.

Xu Hehua couldn’t change how others treated her, but she could make sure she never treated Peach Blossom that way.

To her, her daughter would always be a precious treasure, no matter what.

“We’re thinking of heading back today,” Xu Chunsheng said as he paced the room in his new shoes, clearly pleased with how comfortable they were.

Xu Hehua frowned. “Why not stay a few more days?”

“We’ve already been here more than a week. If we stay any longer, it’ll be New Year’s already.”

To elders, spending the New Year at their son’s home was a deeply ingrained tradition. Xu Hehua didn’t insist further and was about to say she’d see them off after dinner, when someone called out from the courtyard.

In the west room, Xu Wanchun, who had been doing accounting on an abacus for her foster mother, stood up to open the door.

Three people stood at the gate, wrapped tightly against the cold, their faces completely hidden.

Xu Wanchun stepped quickly over the stone path to open the gate. “Who are you looking for?” she asked with a smile.

One of them pulled down his scarf, smiling sheepishly. “Xu Wanchun, it’s me—Hu Jun.”

He looked vaguely familiar… Wasn’t he in the class next door? They weren’t even close. What was he doing at her house?

Though confused, Xu Wanchun still smiled politely and waved them in. “Oh, it’s you? What brings you here? Come in—it’s cold out.”

By then, Xu Hehua had already come out behind her daughter and immediately guessed who the visitors were.

She was furious. To show up uninvited for a matchmaking visit—how rude and ill-mannered!

She was about to throw them out, but then she remembered her parents were inside.

Maybe… this was a good chance to let them see what kind of person this so-called match was. Better than blindly trusting a matchmaker’s word.

With that thought, she forced down her anger and entered the main room with her daughter, leading the guests inside.

Besides Hu Jun and his father Hu Weidong, there was also the matchmaker.

After they sat down, Xu Hehua poured them plain boiled water—definitely no sugar tea.

Xu Wanchun instantly picked up on the bad vibes. With her foster mother’s character, she would never serve plain water to guests unless they were unwelcome.

The matchmaker, utterly lacking in self-awareness, gulped half a bowl of water and, once she had warmed up, smiled with thinly veiled sarcasm:
“I’m sure the young lady’s guessed why we’re here, so I won’t beat around the bush. Your parents personally agreed to a matchmaking meeting with Hu Weidong. But it’s been over a week, and we’ve heard nothing back. If you’re backing out, you could at least send word, right? Leaving things hanging like this—what’s that supposed to mean?”

Not here for peace, huh?
Xu Wanchun shot a cold glance at Hu Jun, saw his eyes drifting, and stood up to leave the room.

Xu Hehua ignored the matchmaker entirely and instead looked to her parents, who had just stepped in from the east room. “Dad, Mom, did you agree to match me with someone named Hu?”

Hu who? Hu Weidong frowned—he had a name, didn’t he?
The girl might be pretty, but her attitude was rather crude. A woman like that would be a handful as a wife.

Still, his son liked her, and the girl was college-bound. If the marriage went through, the title of “college student” would belong to their family.

Calculating as always, Hu Weidong immediately swallowed his irritation.

Xu Chunsheng’s face darkened. He slammed his cane on the floor with a loud “thud! thud!”
“Who agreed? Who said yes? I only said my daughter would consider it. When did I say she agreed to anything?”

Even Madam Xu, usually so soft-spoken, was furious. “Who does something like this? Showing up unannounced? You think Hehua’s that kind of woman?”

Just a divorced woman a man dumped, the matchmaker thought with contempt, though she kept her expression polite.

Truth was, if Xu Hehua hadn’t served plain water just now, she wouldn’t have spoken so harshly. After all, she still hoped to get a matchmaker’s fee.

Thinking of that, she forced a smile and tried to salvage things:
“Oh my, I must’ve misunderstood your words, Uncle. I thought it was a yes. That’s on me. But since we came all this way, why not at least have a look at each other? Hu Weijun really is a rare catch—plenty of girls would jump at the chance to marry him!”

Hearing this, the two elderly parents instinctively turned to their daughter.

Xu Hehua… really shouldn’t have had expectations. She sighed internally, about to reject them when she heard a familiar voice:

“Well, an uninvited matchmaking visit—now that’s something new. You don’t mind if I stay and observe, do you?”

Su Nan had already taken a seat beside her best friend. She patted her hand reassuringly, then looked at the three visitors with a sweet yet piercing smile.

Cao Xiu followed, sitting stiffly on a stool not far away. He said nothing—just stared with a stone face.

The Hu father and son didn’t recognize Dr. Cao, but the matchmaker did. She often mingled around nearby towns and villages—offending someone like him wasn’t worth it.

She immediately forced out a flattering smile and completely dropped her earlier arrogant tone.
“Oh, it’s all a misunderstanding, really! I must’ve misheard, leading to this surprise visit. But hey, maybe it’s fate! Don’t you think so?”

“Fate, my ass,” Su Nan was just about to curse when she felt her hand squeezed.

Xu Hehua wasn’t going to let her good friend offend someone on her behalf. She didn’t bother playing word games with the matchmaker either—just turned a cold face to the man who’d barely spoken the whole time. “I’m not interested in you. You can leave now.”

Hu Weidong was from the town and held a secure job at the supply and marketing cooperative.

So even though he was already in his forties and had a son nearly twenty, he still carried himself like a prized catch.

To be fair, he was decent-looking, and many rural girls were indeed eager to marry him.

If it weren’t for his son fancying Xu Wanchun—and if Xu Wanchun weren’t so outstanding and eye-catching—Hu Weidong wouldn’t have spared a glance at Xu Hehua.

Granted, she was pretty and worked as the village accountant, which made her even more appealing in his eyes.

So he never expected that a village woman would actually reject him.

Hu Weidong was fuming, but still cared about saving face. “What part of me don’t you like?”

Xu Hehua didn’t even bother responding to him. Instead, she looked directly at Hu Jun.
“It’s you who has your eye on my Peach Blossom, isn’t it? And since you have no ability of your own, you’re trying to take a roundabout way. If your dad marries me, you’ll be under the same roof as Peach Blossom. That way, you’ll have proximity and you can save on the bride price. Isn’t that a great deal?”

The moment she finished speaking, everyone’s expression changed.

The Hu father and son and the matchmaker all looked guilty, while the Xu family was brimming with anger.

Especially old Xu Chunsheng—in his heart, his granddaughter was a future college student, a golden phoenix who would soar beyond the countryside. She was the pride of the family. How could she marry into a village household?

No one else even had time to react before he raised his cane and angrily chased the three out of the house, cursing all the way.

Before slamming the door, he even threatened: if they dared spread rumors, he’d take his old bones and hang himself right in front of their house.

The three visitors were both furious and frightened, but in the end, they could only flee in disgrace.

Seeing the old man trembling with rage, Xu Hehua wasn’t angry anymore. In fact, she felt a bit relieved—at least for now, her parents wouldn’t pressure her into more matchmaking nonsense.

Still, relief was one thing—some scolding was still in order.

As she helped her father back into the house, she scoffed, “How many times have I told you not to trust matchmakers so easily? Learned your lesson now?”

Xu Chunsheng: “…”

==

After dinner.

She saw the two elders off.

And just like that, it was back to just mother and daughter at home.

It was one of those rare nights where they stayed up late—both of them leaning over the table under the lamplight, crunching numbers.

By around ten o’clock, their brains practically mush from all the accounting, Xu Wanchun stood up to stretch, then went to make two cups of milk powder—one for each of them.

Xu Hehua was used to this. Whenever her daughter had something good, she always shared. So she didn’t refuse—just took a sip.

It was a little hot, but quite tasty. She smiled and said, “Jingliang’s too sincere. No matter what I say, he won’t listen. He sent you three more packs of milk powder this time—I bet he owed people favors to get them.”

Xu Wanchun replied, “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ve got a mental ledger for everything. Besides, I won’t ask for much, but milk powder’s different—only Shanghai has the good stuff. I’ve got no choice but to shamelessly accept. Drinking more helps me grow taller.”

She had said this many times before, and Xu Hehua didn’t buy it. Milk making someone taller? Peach Blossom was about to turn fifteen and was still petite.

Not that she minded. Honestly, she thought her small and dainty daughter was adorable. But of course, that was something she only dared to think. If she said it out loud, her girl would explode.

So, as a self-proclaimed “wise mother,” Xu Hehua skillfully changed the subject:
“It’s been over a week since we mailed the package. I wonder if Jingliang’s received it yet?”

Xu Wanchun thought for a bit. “If nothing went wrong, it should be about there. Don’t worry, he’ll definitely get it before the New Year.”

And in fact, the delivery went very smoothly.

The very next morning, right after the mother and daughter had talked about it, Cao Jingliang received a notice asking him to pick up a package at the guardhouse.