"Working hard, are you?"
The bustling people, upon hearing the coquettish voice, looked up and saw a heavily made-up, plump woman whom everyone who knew her recognized as the matchmaker.
Those who did not know her shivered at the woman’s pretense and were curious about who she might be.
"This old woman, at her age, acting like a madam from a brothel!"
Dressing in such a manner might be called beautiful if she were a young girl, but on an older woman it just looked too ugly!
A middle-aged man who knew the matchmaker, having a little more audacity than the younger folks, cheerfully said to the matchmaker:
"Matchmaker Zhang, what brings you to the Ye family today? Could it be some good news?"
Although the matchmaker was a villager, she was not like the other villagers who would routinely visit each other’s homes for no particular reason; if the matchmaker visited, it was either for a significant marital matter, or perhaps the visited family was related to her, or she might be seeking a favor.
While some people laughed , the matchmaker’s visit to the Ye family might not be for matchmaking, as those of marriageable age had already been wed.
The eldest girl of the Ye family was now only ten, perhaps eleven. The men working in the village wouldn’t think the matchmaker was there for the young girl of the Ye family.
They just assumed Matchmaker Zhang had come for her husband and son, who were working at the Ye family’s construction site, only in regard to her family’s business.
When someone asked Matchmaker Zhang this question, those who were working cast a curious glance her way, just a quick look, and then returned to their work. If they wanted to earn such high wages, they obviously needed to work quickly.
Ye Senhai noticed that the arrival of Matchmaker Zhang was affecting everyone’s work pace. Remembering the project needed to be finished in two or three days, he didn’t want to work overtime until midnight and thus spoke a bit bluntly:
"Matchmaker Zhang, we are all busy here. If it’s not urgent, please leave for now!"
Matchmaker Zhang smiled mysteriously, then with her bright red lips murmured, "Ye Senhai, I’m here because I have business, of course. Have you ever seen a matchmaker visit without a purpose? And, I have a question for you. This construction progressing so quickly, are you hiding something from the villagers?"
It could be said that Matchmaker Zhang had a sharp mind, just like some villagers, who thought the way the Ye family was constructing their standalone home, which would not be necessary if it were just for storage or raising chickens and ducks like the old Ye house. There was no need for such haste.
The gossiping villagers made their calculations. The construction costing several extra taels of silver, even a simple standalone house could end up costing several more taels than usual to complete.
They felt that spending these several taels of silver for no apparent reason, even if the Ye family earned money quickly, there was something strange about it.
Other villagers probably didn’t give it much thought; if their family could eat well and had a wife to take care of the children, it was already good enough.
Once a man became rich, even just an average wealthy individual, it was possible he’d take an additional wife to have more children and enjoy himself more.
People might guess that it could be Hongji who would take a concubine, but no one would suspect his father of taking one. The villagers all felt that Mrs. Li was so gentle and kind that even if her husband took a concubine, she would probably accept it easily.
Ye Senhai had his own suspicions, but he wouldn’t be foolish enough to disclose them to a matchmaker, finding her question bothersome at the moment.
"I don’t know, and it’s none of your business!"
Hearing the blunt tone of Ye Senhai’s response, Matchmaker Zhang was not offended. She smiled mysteriously and said:
"This time my visit is related, isn’t it? Hee, hee hee, hee hee."
Matchmaker Zhang said this while covering her red lips with the handkerchief in her hand and wiggling her hips as she entered the Ye home.
Mrs. Lai had spent the afternoon still sitting in her recliner at the entrance of the courtyard, a seat she hadn’t left since morning, except for going to eat lunch and whenever she had to use the outhouse. She lay there dozing and incessantly cursing people.
Even when her eldest daughter and son-in-law visited, she didn’t bother with them and didn’t have the mood to say much when they left.
She knew her eldest daughter’s eyes were always on her, and she was in no mood to engage in much conversation with her daughter.
Once a daughter is married, she’s like water poured away. If she can’t manage her own sons, how could she expect her daughter to?
She didn’t have the heart to discuss things with her daughter, knowing well that she couldn’t help, and could only continuously vent her frustration with cursing.
She kept cursing at the construction in progress, only hoping that one day the despicable woman entering that house would bring misfortune upon it.