Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Speaking of Matchmaking (Please Subscribe)_1
Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Speaking of Matchmaking (Please Subscribe)_1
Fourth Watch
Early the next morning, when Dashan went into the mountains, Monkey Brother also made a fuss about going together. Yixiu thought that Dashan wouldn’t go deep into the prival forest, so she agreed to let Monkey Brother follow. Fierce Red Monkey was a spirit of the mountains and should also learn so hunting skills. Keeping it caged was actually harming it.
Cheng Yue’s creations were also all completed. She not only followed her daughter’s request and made the dolls well but also expanded on them, with the scraps of fabric paired with a great sense of aesthetics. It was hard for her, picking through a pile of brightly colored fabric scraps to piece together a few; the little tigers were not only cute but also beautiful, fitting the aesthetics of this era perfectly.
She even took the initiative to hang little bellybands on two little tigers and styled two others with sky-reaching ponytails, and there was even a mother tiger with her hair done up in a bun. Moreover, each of the five tigers had different expressions; so were baring their teeth and grinning, so looked serious, so were smiling—it was simply lifelike.
Yixiu was so pleased that she hugged Cheng Yue and kissed her twice, “Mom is so smart.”
Cheng Yue, kissed and complinted by her daughter, smiled with her eyes curving and said, “Mom isn’t foolish.”
Yixiu laughed heartily, “Of course Mom isn’t foolish. She’s not just not foolish but much smarter than so people.” She then picked up the mother tiger with the bun and asked, “How did Mom think of making a mother tiger?”
Cheng Yue glanced at the tiger with the sky-reaching ponytail and said, “Mom loves Jinwa and also loves Yixiu.”
Yixiu was deeply touched and leaned in to kiss her twice more, acting spoiled, “Beautiful little mom, Yixiu loves you so so much.”
Qian Manxia happened to pass by the window and heard this, laughing and scolding, “Only Yixiu could say such greasy words, it’s so saccharine it could rot one’s teeth.”
Cheng Yue was afraid her daughter might be upset and comforted her softly, “Mom loves to hear Yixiu talk.”
“I also love to hear Mom talk,” Qian Manxia said in a low voice too.
Cheng Yue then followed her daughter’s request and sewed them onto five small baskets respectively. The baskets weren’t very large, with a diater of about twenty centiters, and ca in both round and heart shapes. Except for the mother tiger basket, which did not have a handle, the remaining four baskets all ca with handles.
Having finished the tiger baskets, she then adorned a dozen small grass plates and boxes, either lining them with fabric lace or stitching fruit or flowers made of fabric on top.
The items woven by Qian Sangui were from designs drawn by Yixiu which were novel and distinct from the grass-woven objects of that era. With Cheng Yue’s skillful touches and alterations at the details, they beca even more elegant, incorporating so modern elents and elevating their class.
Yixiu helped alongside, and in half a day’s work, all these items were readied.
In the afternoon, Yixiu brought her little mother with all the fruits of their labor to the main hall. The day after tomorrow, the nineteenth of June, was the birthday of Guanyin Dashi, and Yixiu wanted to sell these items then.
Qian Sangui, Lady Wu, and Qian Manxia were all amazed after seeing them; they never expected that a worthless grass basket, once tidied up, could beco so exquisite.
“Good heavens, two simple little things put together turned out so beautiful,” Lady Wu exclaid while holding the tiger basket, “Yixiu is really clever.”
Qian Manxia also smiled and said, “That’s like Xia Grass and wildflowers, although they look nice separately, they don’t catch the eye quite as well. But when you put them together, the effect is different. Really nice, not like what you see in the stores at all. Yixiu is really capable.”
Qian Yixiu laughed, “Grandma and Auntie are praising the wrong person. The basket was woven by Grandpa, the little tiger was made by Mom. I just made a small suggestion—that’s all. Why take all the credit for it?”
Upon hearing this, Lady Wu turned to Cheng Yue with a smile, “Yueyue is also capable.” It was the first ti she had praised her for sothing other than giving birth to children.
Cheng Yue, her face flushed with excitent upon hearing this, said without the slightest bit of modesty, “Yueyue is capable, doesn’t eat for free, can work to earn silver.” In her subconscious, she did not want to be soone who lived off others.
Qian Sangui was chuckling to himself in the corner, happy that the thing he had made could fetch a good price again.
While the family was in good spirits, they heard a knock on the door. Cheng Yue and Qian Manxia both exited the main hall—one hiding in the side room, the other to open the door. After Lady Wu had put away the items on the table into the bedroom, Qian Manxia led in a middle-aged woman dressed in red and green, her face coated with makeup. Before the woman even entered the room, the sll of sweat mixed with perfu wafted in, causing Qian Yixiu to cough twice.
It was Matchmaker Wang from Darong Village.
The mont Matchmaker Wang entered, she laughed loudly, “Congratulations to the Sangui Brothers, congratulations to the Qian siblings, soone has entrusted with a marriage proposal for you.”
This was the first ti a matchmaker had visited Qian’s third wife, and Qian Sangui and his wife were beaming with joy. Qian Manxia was already twelve years old and it was high ti to talk about marriage. Despite the fact that their daughter was pretty and diligent, many young n from the area were unwilling to form a marriage alliance with their family. One reason was the disdain for their inability to provide a substantial dowry, and the other was the fear that Qian Manxia, once married, would use her husband’s family’s money to supplent her own family’s needs in secret. Thus, no one had co seeking her hand in marriage so far.
However, Qian Yixiu was not eager for her young aunt to be spoken for so soon. She felt that not a single young man from the surrounding villages was worthy of her hardworking and beautiful aunt. In her mind, she always thought that when she made a fortune quietly, she would find a better match for her aunt.
Seeing how happy her grandparents were now, even her little aunt, whose face was blushing with embarrassnt, had run off to her own side room, Yixiu was feeling quite depressed, yet she couldn’t express her inner thoughts. So, pinching her nose, she said, “Grandma, what’s that sll? It’s not fragrant nor stinky, it’s just unpleasant.”
Matchmaker Wang’s grinning mouth twitched, and she threw a glare at Yixiu, muttering to herself, as foolish as her mother.
Lady Wu first smiled apologetically at Matchmaker Wang, then dragged Yixiu out of the main hall. Scolding softly, “You child, what nonsense are you saying? Go on, go back to your room.”
Once back, she again changed her expression to one of smiling eyes and poured a bowl of sweet water for Matchmaker Wang, “Sister-in-law, please have so water. Which family’s young man has taken a liking to our Xiajun? Not to brag, but my Xiajun has a good appearance and disposition, is diligent and knows propriety; whoever gets her is truly blessed.”
Matchmaker Wang’s face twitched, and she laughed behind her handkerchief, “Oh dear, sister-in-law, you have misunderstood. This ti I’m not here for Xiajun. I also know that she’s a good girl. Next ti when there is a suitable young man, I’ll co propose for her. They say good fortune cos in pairs; your family is sure to celebrate double joy.”
Lady Wu’s expression turned rather unpleasant, “Not for Xiajun? My Jinwa and Yixiu are still young…”
Matchmaker Wang hastened to say with a laugh, “It’s not for Jinwa and Yixiu, either. It’s a proposal for your widowed daughter-in-law, Lady Cheng. People say that Lady Cheng is fortunate, and it’s true. She encountered your kind hearts; even after her son died, you treated her like your own daughter. Now a good family has taken an interest in her, willing to offer fifteen Guan of betrothal gifts to marry her.”
Seeing that the faces of Qian Sangui and Lady Wu had darkened, she thought to herself that although such an action was morally grey, proposing for other families usually only brought her a few hundred Wen in gratitude. But if this proposal went through, it would be a hefty Two Guan of money. Self-preservation is the law of nature.
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