Smoke curls from the kitchen, dogs bark and roosters crow; the sun sets in the west and the sky is filled with red clouds.
The dusk in Xiahe Village gives people a warm and comfortable feeling, and you will never get tired of it no matter how many times you watch it.
Zhu Ping'an returned to Xiahe Village from Rich Man Li's house in the setting sun. Before he reached the door of his house, he heard a commotion and noise. From a distance, he saw that there were many villagers surrounding his door.
What's wrong?
Zhu Pingan walked over with doubts. When the villagers watching the excitement at home saw Zhu Pingan coming, they all said hello and made way for Zhu Pingan. Zhu Pingan also responded one by one and said, "Get out of the way."
Went in.
Then I saw my grandparents, uncle, and family in front of my house. My mother, Chen, and my father Zhu were also there. My mother, Chen, looked a little uncomfortable.
The uncle's family is making a noise, but it's not with his own family.
After Zhu Pingan said hello to his grandparents, he walked to his parents, looked at the noisy uncle's family, and then looked at the villagers who were full of boos and laughter, and then walked to the noisy uncle's family to try to persuade him.
"Uncle, aunt, and brother Jun, what are you doing standing at the door? Go inside. If you have anything to do, let's sit down and have a cup of tea to talk about it slowly."
As the saying goes, family ugliness should not be publicized. Even if the family is separated, there is not a single word of ink in it.
The eldest aunt was teaching Zhu Pingjun to work hard and didn't want to go into the house. The eldest uncle listened to Zhu Ping'an's advice and nodded politely. Grandma said something to the eldest aunt, and then the eldest aunt took Zhu Pingjun's arm and followed.
Grandma entered Zhu Ping'an's house.
As the uncle's family entered Zhu Ping'an's house, the onlookers also said hello to Chen and others in an interesting manner and then went home.
Zhu Ping'an followed his parents to the last home he entered. When he got home, he found that his uncle's family was still arguing among themselves in the house, and no one could stop them.
From the commotion in the eldest uncle's family, Zhu Ping'an roughly understood what was going on. It was mainly about the internal disputes caused by proposing marriage to Zhu Pingjun. A few days ago, a matchmaker found his eldest aunt and wanted to tell Zhu Pingjun.
It was a marriage. It was said that the woman’s family was not bad, her father was a scholar, and there was a lot of farmland in the family. She was also very wealthy. The eldest aunt was very happy when she heard it, but she did not agree directly. She waited until she found her uncle and talked about it.
When the uncle heard that the woman's father was a scholar, he was naturally very happy. Having a scholar in the family would be of great benefit to him in the future.
In addition, these days, the uncle and aunt are overwhelmed by the happy events of Zhu Ping'an's family, and finally their own family has great things. Look, it's so honorable for the scholar's family to take the initiative to marry their own family. This is all high-profile.
The uncle and aunt were both very satisfied, and the grandparents also agreed. However, they didn’t expect that Zhu Pingjun was not right, so he disagreed.
In ancient times, the matchmaker's words and the parents' orders were important. The uncle and aunt agreed to the marriage using their parents' names. Even the parents' orders required Zhu Pingjun's cooperation. But this guy refused to cooperate and didn't agree, so
This resulted in this noisy scene.
"Jun'er, just listen to my mother's advice and follow Matchmaker Wang to accept the money." The eldest aunt advised her earnestly.
"If you don't want to go to Nacai, you won't go!"
Zhu Pingjun raised his head, folded his arms, tapped his feet on the ground, and his whole body swayed.
Nacai is similar to today's blind date. In ancient times, Chinese women were often "born in a boudoir unknown to anyone, and no one knew whether they were beautiful or beautiful." After being arranged by a matchmaker, the man went to the woman's home for the first time with the help of the matchmaker.
This activity is called "marriage watching". It is also known as "blind date". Marriage watching is a key link in the success of a marriage. Especially the man, he must treat it with caution, perform well, strive to impress the heart of the woman's parents, and win the woman's love.
Afterwards, the man prepares a gift and goes to the woman's house to propose marriage to complete the marriage.
If Zhu Pingjun was so determined not to accept his offer, the marriage would naturally not take place. The uncle and aunt were really hoping that the marriage would make their eldest brother angry, so they naturally treated Zhu Pingjun both softly and hard.
"Jun'er, why would mother harm you? The girl's family is doing well. Her father is a scholar, and there are dozens of acres of fertile land at home. If you marry this girl, you will have no worries about food and clothing in the future. Mother has approved it.
, you are a literary star who came to earth, maybe you should be here, your father-in-law is a scholar, and he can also help you with your studies, so you can take the first prize in the future." The eldest aunt persuaded Zhu Pingjun with sincerity.
"No, mother, you said that I am a Wenqu star who has descended to earth. Why should I rely on them? Haven't you heard that mountains will fall if you rely on them, and they will flow if you rely on water. You have to rely on yourself."
Zhu Pingjun shook his legs, with a confident and energetic look on his face.
Wenquxing descends to earth?
Looking at Zhu Pingjun, who was swinging his legs, looking high-spirited and confident that he could ride a tiger up the mountain and capture a dragon in the water, Zhu Pingan felt a group of grass and mud horses whizzing past him. By the way, when he visited Old Master Sun last time, Sun
The old master is still lamenting that Zhu Pingjun is a rotten wood that cannot be carved, and the reputation of Zhu Pingjun in the village is quite negative.
Listening to Zhu Pingjun's nonchalant words: The mountains will fall if you rely on them, the water will flow if you rely on them, and you have to rely on yourself.
In his heart, Zhu Ping'an wanted to correct him for no reason: he can fall if he relies on mountains, he can run if he relies on water, and he can't do anything on his own. How can this be good!!! Of course, Zhu Ping'an will not say it out loud.
"On your own? Are you waiting for the northwest wind?" The uncle said the truth in anger.
"Oh, why can't I rely on myself? Isn't it because of me that someone wants to get married to our family this time? My mother just said it, Matchmaker Wang said it herself, saying that the girl fell in love with me at first sight!"
Zhu Pingjun raised his head with pride on his face.
"Then why don't you go?" The uncle looked angry.
"Why should a man be without a wife? I haven't gone on a blind date yet, but the daughter of a scholar's family fell in love with me at first sight. When I go to the examination room next year and pass the exam, I will be selected as a scholar like a pig, and I will be the only one to be elected.
The daughter of a scholar's family"
Zhu Pingjun said, with a look of disdain on his face.
Well, he must have been overwhelmed by the sudden surprise. Zhu Ping'an was a little speechless. Brother Jun took the imperial examination too easy, and said that the imperial examination was like one held by his own family.
Moreover, Zhu Ping'an is still very confused about the matchmaker that Matchmaker Wang told Zhu Pingjun. It's not that he looks down on Brother Jun, but simply analyzes the facts. Brother Jun has accomplished nothing now, and his reputation in the village is not good. Uncle
I haven't been admitted as a scholar every year. The woman comes from a family of scholars and has dozens of acres of fertile land at home. She can definitely find a better one. How could she fall in love with Brother Jun at first sight? Love at first sight and so on are all nonsense in novels.
Yes, especially in the feudal Ming Dynasty, women were raised in boudoir, especially in the scholar's family, and the etiquette must be stricter. Then there would be a chance to catch a glimpse of Brother Jun outside, unless
Thinking of this, Zhu Pingan asked his eldest aunt without leaving any trace, "Auntie, did Matchmaker Wang say that the girl fell in love with Brother Jun at first sight?"
When the eldest aunt heard this, she looked proud and said, "That's not good. Matchmaker Wang swore to God that that girl fell in love with your handsome brother at first sight. She also swore that if she told a lie, she would give me ten taels of silver.
.”
"Auntie, well, before agreeing to this marriage, you should go and inquire about this girl in private. If it's good, I believe Brother Jun will go." Hearing this, Zhu Pingan had a strange look on his face, and he was lustful.
He stopped talking.
The matchmaker was trying to cover up everything.
Zhu Ping'an vaguely guessed that the girl from the scholar's family must have a physical problem. If he guessed correctly, maybe one of her eyes was blind. Otherwise, she should be able to find a better one. Of course, she couldn't say this at will.
In the Ming Dynasty, a woman's reputation is simply more important than her life. She cannot say unfounded words casually and irresponsibly.
If the uncle's family had agreed hastily and later found out that the new daughter-in-law was blind in one eye when she got home, they would have gone to the matchmaker to argue the case, and the following conversation would probably have taken place.
Auntie: "Old Wang, the daughter-in-law you introduced to my Jun'er is blind in one eye! You compensate me for the matchmaker's money and give me an extra ten taels of silver. What you said at the beginning was that you would come to me if you told a lie.
Ten taels of silver!"
Matchmaker Wang: "One eye is blind."
Auntie: "You lied to us, why didn't you tell us and give us the money?"
Matchmaker Wang: "Why didn't I tell you? I told you at that time that that girl fell in love with your Jun'er at first sight!"
After Zhu Pingan reminded the eldest aunt in a kind and subtle way, the eldest aunt looked at Zhu Pingan with a strange look. She felt that Zhu Pingan was jealous that her handsome boy had found a good marriage.
"Um."
So the eldest aunt just dealt with it in a prevaricating manner and did not pay attention to Zhu Pingan's words at all. (To be continued.)