inspire-indiana Chapter 645 Zhao Family
Chapter 645 Zhao Family
Li said: "There is no other way. The children's father is gone, and their mother is like this. I have to find a good wife for them. This is a lifelong event and cannot be taken lightly. Once I am gone, it will be a lifetime. I have to let them live a good life.
If they are well fed and well clothed, and happy every day, just like when they are at home, then my mission is accomplished, and I will have the face to meet the children's father, their grandparents, and the ancestors of the Zhou family in the underworld, don't you think?"
Matchmaker Wang said, "Yes, that's why I admire you the most in this village. I know you are really doing this for the good of the children and treat them as your own children. You are not like other aunties who are afraid that the children will eat one more bite and either beat or scold them. Oh, the way they live is unbearable for anyone to watch."
Zhou Guo was getting anxious waiting in the back, wondering why the speaker never got to the point? She still had work to do in the fields.
I looked into the inner room. The window was open. Zhou Xingmao was doing needlework under the window, but she hadn't moved the needle for a long time and her ears were erect.
Li waited for a long time but couldn't wait any longer. She waited patiently for the matchmaker to finish her words and then said, "Then tell me about those two families. Where are they from?"
Matchmaker Wang said with a smile, "You also know this first family. You know the landlord Zhao from the neighboring village, right? He is the big landlord who owns thousands of acres of land. He only charges 50% of the rent while others charge 60%."
Li nodded. She had heard this before.
Zhou Guo thought of the large piece of land that she and the old man passed by. It belonged to the landlord Zhao. It was so flat, so fertile, and there were pieces of land everywhere. Horses and carriages could come and go freely. It was such good land, but their family didn't have it.
Matchmaker Wang continued, "Their family has only one son for three generations. He only gave birth to a son, and his son only gave birth to a grandson. The little grandson has no worries about food and clothing since he was born, and the family is not short of money. Master Zhao hired a teacher for him since he was a child, and he studied at home. He is now eighteen years old, and these years he has wanted to find him a daughter-in-law who can read.
Naturally, the wealthy families looked down on their family, and the small landlords did not allow their girls to learn to read. The daughters of the scholars did have some who could read, but they were all too aloof and looked down on these landlords and gentry, so they searched for a long time but could not find a suitable person.
So, I don't know where I got the news that our eldest daughter can read, manages the household in an orderly manner, and is also good-looking. In addition, our family has been getting better and better in the past two years, and the second daughter's business is getting bigger and bigger. Mr. Zhao quickly asked me to be the matchmaker, saying, why don't we find a good day for the two to meet each other?"
Li was a little hesitant. As for landlord families, in her impression, there were few good ones among them.
Matchmaker Wang said, "Why are you still hesitating? That's the Zhao family. They have thousands of acres of land. They are the largest landlords in the surrounding villages. How can a young lady be short of food after marrying into the family? They also use slaves and maids to order around. They don't even let her cook. She just stays in the house as a young lady. If she gives birth to two big fat sons for the Zhao family next year."
Speaking of the two fat sons, Matchmaker Wang clapped her hands excitedly and said, "That's settled. Not to mention her husband, even Mr. Zhao and his wife will love this granddaughter-in-law to the core. She is a great contributor to their family. From now on, she will enjoy endless wealth and glory, endless gold and silver jewelry, and endless silk and satin. How can she go hungry? Even if they flee, they will be the first to flee, so they won't starve!"
"Okay, then let's meet each other." When Li heard that she wouldn't go hungry if she fled, she agreed immediately.
She thought of the more than ten packed convoys of Zheng Xiucai's family when they were fleeing. At the back, they could only eat wild vegetables, but they could always smell the mouth-watering aroma of meat at Xiucai's house. They would never go hungry and would not suffer.
How much land does Zheng Xiucai's family have? It is definitely not as much as Zhao the landlord's.
Matchmaker Wang was very happy and said, "That's right. We can't let her get married right away. We still need to see each other."
When Zhou Guo heard this, he stood up and walked into the house. He was not even interested in hearing about who Zhou Gu was dating.
Zhou Xing in the room started sewing again after hearing what was said. Zhou Guo looked over and saw that it was a handkerchief. He looked at her expression and asked, "Sister, did you hear that?"
Zhou Xing nodded, "I heard it. It's just to meet the grandson of the landlord Zhao. I've wanted to meet a lot of people this year. It's nothing."
I was quite embarrassed at the beginning, but later, as the number of times increased, it became as frequent as going to the county town to buy cloth. I became numb and didn’t feel anything anymore.
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "You're right. We can only tell whether he's good or not after seeing him. I'll ask someone to find out about this guy's character. If he's a den of wolves, we can't go there even if his family is rich."
But Landlord Zhao’s family is indeed the best-off family among all the families we have met.
He added, "I have asked Hu Zi and others to inquire in the county to see if there are any good families with education. If there are, we will send a matchmaker to their door."
Zhou Xing was shocked. "Why is there a woman coming to my house? Isn't this too much?"
Zhou Guo said: "Oh, what's the big deal? Who doesn't ask around for good men before getting married? Do you think there are many good men? There are only a few, and there are so many people eyeing them. If you don't act early and someone else grabs them first, you will regret it for the rest of your life!"
Zhou Xing hesitated.
She added, "Sister, this face is nothing compared to a lifetime of happiness. We have to fight for it now. The high-ranking officials and wealthy families will also select sons-in-law from the list. How can a family like us compare with the high-ranking officials? You are right to listen to me. I will watch over this matter for you."
Zhou Xing thought about it, gritted her teeth and nodded, "Okay, you make sense."
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go to the field first. I haven't finished weeding yet."
Zhou Xing hurriedly asked, "Didn't you hear which girl your elder brother wanted to see?"
Zhou Guo waved his hand, "That's not urgent. The work on my farm is more urgent right now."
She walked to the yard and waved to matchmaker Wang, "Aunt Wang, please have a good chat with my mother and stay at home for a while. I can't accompany you anymore. I have to go to work in the fields."
Matchmaker Wang was delighted. "Well, go ahead. I'll talk to your mother for a while. Look, she's so talkative. She must have inherited it from you."
Li smiled and said, "She didn't take after me. I'm not good at talking. She took after her father. Her father can talk."
It took Zhou Guo two days to weed all the weeds in the two acres of field, leaving only some small and tender ones that would not grow big, as snacks for the crab seedlings in the field.
By the time she raised her head from the field, Wu Jiang had already found out everything about the Zhao family.
"Master, we have heard that the grandson is eighteen years old this year and is a scholar, but he has not passed the imperial examination for so many years. It seems that he is not good at studying and does not like studying. He likes farming. The Zhao family is also very simple. The most important thing is that the Zhao family has only had one wife for the past two generations, let alone concubines. There is even a rule that a man can take a concubine if he is forty and has no children."