The family of three walked quickly ahead, and before long, they had left Zhou Wulang and Lu Zhi behind, with Manbao sandwiched between the two.
Manbao looked left and right, then sped up, running to catch up with the trio ahead, "Four, sister-in-law, wait for me!"
Zhou Wulang watched Manbao running off, reaching out to grab her, but she was quick like a rabbit, hopping away before he could get hold of her.
Zhou Wulang felt his hand stiffen, turning to her with an embarrassed smile.
They walked forward in silence until Zhou Wulang mustered the courage to break the ice, "What, what do you like to eat?"
Lu Zhi’s eyes widened slightly. What kind of question was that?
Zhou Wulang, however, saw nothing wrong with the question. Asking about food was always safe, and he liked to eat as well.
Besides food, other worries were left for the parents to deal with.
But Lu Zhi had never encountered such a suitor in a matchmaking session before. In her past experiences, the men had asked all sorts of questions in private, but asking about favorite foods...
Lu Zhi said, "I like to eat chicken eggs."
Zhou Wulang perked up immediately, "My home is never short of chicken eggs. We’re keeping seven or eighty chickens. Now that it’s cold, they don’t like to lay eggs, but come spring, they can lay one almost every day..."
So on their way up the mountain, they talked about food, performed a simple worship to Heaven Master, then chatted about farming on their way down.
After bidding farewell to the Fang family, Eldest Sister-in-law Lu asked Lu Zhi on the road, "Little aunt, what do you think?"
Lu Zhi blushed and answered, "I’ll listen to Grandfather."
Upon hearing this, Eldest Sister-in-law Lu’s face broke into a radiant smile, nodding fervently, "Yes, yes, listen to Grandfather, listen to Grandfather."
As Grandfather had already agreed, this signaled his approval of the match.
Eldest Sister-in-law Lu joyfully led her little aunt back to report to the old doctor.
The old doctor nodded, "Then we’ll just wait for the news from the Zhou family."
Ms.Qian was also asking Zhou Wulang, "How did it go?"
Zhou Wulang, too, blushed as he said, "I’ll listen to Mother."
Ms.Qian nodded slightly, "Then we’ll ask Matchmaker Wang to come over when we get back, and tomorrow we’ll make a visit to Dali Village."
Zhou Wulang nodded in agreement, face still flushed.
After the children had dispersed, Mother Fang quietly spoke to Ms.Qian, "My in-law, today it was Eldest Sister-in-law Lu who came for the matchmaking, not Zhiniang’s mother. I’m afraid..."
Ms.Qian just laughed, "It will be fine as long as the old doctor has agreed. Children have their own good fortune, and we as parents can’t really control too much of it."
Mother Fang then fell silent.
Ms.Qian headed home with a happy smile, sharing the good news with Old Zhou.
Upon hearing that it was the granddaughter of the old doctor’s family, Old Zhou was ecstatic, "They agreed too?"
"If it’s the young lady from the Lu family that’s inclined towards Wulang, then it’s almost a certainty," Ms.Qian said.
Old Zhou immediately tensed up and asked, "Wulang wasn’t sunburnt today, was he?"
This thought made Old Zhou call Zhou Wulang over to inspect him, worriedly saying, "It’s been two months into winter now, how come you’re still so dark?"
"..." Zhou Wulang couldn’t help but protest, "Father, I have gotten much lighter!"
Old Zhou snorted and waved him away, "Who am I worrying for? Not you? Next year you’ll be twenty; if you don’t marry soon, you’ll be old. I thought Four was the most troublesome one to marry off, but it turns out to be you..."
Zhou Wulang was irritated. This was like picking at his sore spot, wasn’t it?
So, he turned and walked away.
Old Zhou glared, "Look at him, he’s even got a temper now!"
"Enough, why provoke him into anger?" Ms.Qian said indifferently, "A good meal is worth waiting for, isn’t it? Now we have the young lady from the Lu family waiting, don’t we?"
Old Zhou thought about it and calmed down, asking, "Should I accompany you tomorrow then?"
"Go. For one, it shows seriousness, and for another, it’ll be easier to talk if you’re there," Ms.Qian said with a smile. "Mother Lu may not be very satisfied with this marriage."
Old Zhou frowned, "What do you mean by that?"
"The person who came with the young lady from the Lu family today was her sister-in-law. Also, I’ve inquired with Matchmaker Wang. In the past two years, she’s been looking to match the young lady with families in the town or the county city," Ms.Qian explained.
After pondering the status of the old doctor’s family, Old Zhou began to feel a bit uneasy too, "Can this marriage still take place?"
"If the old doctor makes the decision, it will happen," she assured.
Old Zhou looked at her in surprise, "Don’t you always say marriages should match in social status? How come it’s not important in Wulang’s case?"
"Who says I’m not particular about it," Ms.Qian glanced at him, "Our family’s wealth isn’t much less than the Lu family’s, it’s just that our reputation doesn’t compare to the old doctor’s. But mostly, when marrying a daughter-in-law, you first look at her character."
She smiled, "We’ve known the young lady from the Lu family since she was little, she’s kind-hearted, capable, and also beautiful. If Wulang can marry her, then we’re indeed fortunate. As for having a difficult mother-in-law afterwards..."
Ms.Qian laughed, not too concerned, "Not to mention we’ll be two families, separated by a village, but even if we lived in the same village, there’s nothing to fear. I see that young lady has her own mind."
Old Zhou, reassured, believed it was good that the children had their own say.
Just thinking about becoming relatives with the old doctor’s family, Old Zhou was so excited he couldn’t sleep, "Tomorrow, when we go to the Lu family, we must prepare some nice gifts."
"That’s true. But no need to be too extravagant; just follow the customs. Luckily, we’re celebrating the Winter Solstice, so we have some sweets and pastries at home," Ms.Qian suggested.
The whole Zhou family was happy, all feeling that Fifth Younger Brother’s (Fifth Uncle’s) marriage was finally settled.
But not everyone in the Lu family was happy. Mother Lu began to cry when she learned of Grandfather’s decision; seeing that no one paid her any attention, and even her daughter expressed willingness to enter into this marriage, she just clung to Lu Zhi and sobbed.
She cried while holding her daughter’s hand, "Mother has suffered all her life, and I just wanted you to avoid the same hardships. That’s why I looked for families in the town and the county city, where you wouldn’t need to work the fields after marrying. But your Grandfather, after all his searching... he found you a country bumpkin. Oh, my poor daughter..."
Lu Zhi helplessly said, "Mother, who says marrying into a town or county city means you won’t have to work the fields? Besides, I never thought working the fields was hard. Everyone in the village works the fields from a young age, don’t they?"
Lu Zhi continued, "If this is suffering, then it’s something we all share."
"Oh my, why can’t you and I ever see eye to eye? Just think about it, if you were to marry into the county city, you wouldn’t have to toil in the fields, and that would spare you so much suffering," her mother lamented.
"Not working the fields means doing other chores," Lu Zhi replied calmly, "And I’m quite familiar with those few families. Doesn’t Mother know what kind of people they are?"
Mother Lu was caught off guard and said, "Mother just wants what’s best for you..."
"Grandfather wouldn’t have agreed," Lu Zhi interrupted her mother, "Those families couldn’t even pass Grandfather’s test, but the Zhou family did."