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Chapter 108:103 Chapter Matchmakingi
Chapter 108:103 Chapter Matchmakingi
Chapter 108:103 Chapter Matchmakingi
Translator: 549690339 I
Xiao Nui had two main skills, one was brute strength, which goes without saying, every bull should have this skill.
It’s just that it was lazy, so the proficiency level of this skill was almost zero.
No wonder during the flood, it drifted with the waves, hardly struggling at all.
The other skill was fertilizer production.
According to Qin Niu’s understanding, it should be the cow dung and urine it excreted after eating. This skill did not require practice, as there would always be a few piles every day. It was a skill that naturally improved proficiency.
Qin Niu looked at the few piles of cow dung in the cowshed and decided to collect them and use them to fertilize the more than twenty medicinal herbs in the backyard.
Before, he hadn’t been able to prepare humus, so cow dung was considered one of the best kinds of household fertilizer.
To buy a basket of cow dung would cost around ten Wen Money.
This price really wasn’t cheap; it was equivalent to the daily wages of an ordinary adult farmer.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take you to graze on the mountain in a bit.”
After shoveling out a few lumps of cow dung, Qin Niu applied it to the roots of the medicinal herbs in the backyard.
His proficiency level in fertilizing and labor points both rose a bit as a result.
Looking at the cow dung in the soil, he didn’t have much expectation. It was just the effect of ordinary household fertilizer, probably not as good as the humus he made himself.
“Alt Niu, are you at home?”
A middle-aged woman’s voice came from outside the house, sounding very familiar.
It was somewhat like the village’s Flower Auntie.
“Yes, I am!”
Qin Niu quickly went out to see.
lie saw Flower Auntie bringing a middle-aged woman with thin lips, eyebrows penciled in and features painted, dressed to attract attention.
This middle-aged woman, Qin Niu did not recognize, somewhat like she was from Daoyuan Village.
Iler eyes fastened on Qin Niu and sized him up.
“Flower Auntie, what brings you here?”
Qin Niu couldn’t quite grasp the other party’s intention.
Flower Auntie was eloquent and was a well-known matchmaker in the village. When the village’s young men reached the age to marry, they would ask Flower Auntie to help mediate.
If there was a suitable girl, it would be left to Flower Auntie to go directly to the family to ask for her hand.
Of course, since Shuangfeng Village was famously poor, the success rate of matchmaking wasn’t high.
This wasn’t because Flower Auntie lacked matchmaker skills, but because most of the young men in the village lacked competitive edge.
Many of them didn’t have any special skills and could only do ordinary farm work or manual labor.
Add to that their laziness and poverty at home, and naturally no girl would wish to marry into the family.
“Alt Niu, today your ancestral grave must be smoking with fortune! This is Sister He, the matchmaker from Daoyuan Village, who said there is a girl from their village who has taken a liking to you and has asked her to come over to inquire.”
Flower Auntie introduced the situation with a face full of joy.
Seeing the village’s youth getting married made her, as a matchmaker, particularly happy.
It also meant she could earn a fortune in celebration money.
“Which girl is it?”
Qin Niu was somewhat surprised; his own prospects weren’t good, and the girls in his own village looked down on him, not to mention the girls from a prosperous village like Daoyuan Village.
“It’s the youngest daughter of the Tang Wenhan family from our Daoyuan Village. His son is already married, and now that the youngest daughter has reached marriageable age, she is also willing to look for a husband. Their family conditions are not bad at all.”
Sister He said, heading inside on her own.
“Alt Niu, quickly move a chair for Sister He to sit!”
Flower Auntie prompted Qin Niu with a meaningful look.
In her view, this was a godsent matrimonial match, a great opportunity knocking at his door.
“Auntie, please have a seat!”
Xiao Qing moved a chair for the two matchmakers to sit.
“Who is this?”
Flower Auntie had already been curious, as she hadn’t heard about Qin Niu having a sister!
“Oh, this is my maid, named Xiao Qing.”
Qin Niu introduced the two.
After hearing this, Sister He looked at Xiao Qing and her expression became slightly troubled.
“Flower Sister, 1 hadn’t heard that Qin Niu had taken a maid!”
“Perhaps it’s a recent thing! Having a maid is good, as she can help with washing clothes, cooking, and taking care of the household. Look at how clean the floor inside the house is!”
Flower Auntie pushed for the match as much as possible.
Hiring a maid wasn’t a big deal, but supporting a maid meant one more mouth to feed.
Every year she would need new clothes, shoes, and so on, which added up to a significant expense.
“I’ll mention this to the Tang Family later; they had inquired knowing Qin Niu lived alone.” Sister He’s gaze flickered; she wouldn’t dare make this decision on behalf of the girl.
“Qin Young Brother, let me first tell you about the girl’s family. Tang Wenhan’s family owns over twenty mu of good land and they only have a son and a daughter. The older son got married last year, and his wife is very virtuous, hardworking, and diligent. The younger daughter, Tang Caixian, just turned of age in February. She has fair and delicate skin, a very good figure, and even if she’s not one in ten thousand, she’s definitely one in a hundred kind of beauty.
She has been literate since she was young. She’s a bit skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and in singing and playing instruments too.
I went to her house once and saw her dance; her waist was so flexible, it seemed as though it was boneless.
She also took a liking to you a couple of days ago after seeing you dive into the flood to save a young bull. She thought you had a heroic air about you and felt admiration for you. If you’re willing, Tang Wenhan is willing to build a new brick and tile house for his daughter in Daoyuan Village and give you five mu of good land as well. If you’re unwilling to move in, both sides can discuss further.
After mediating so many matches, I’ve really never seen such generous conditions offered by the girl’s side before.”
“Alt Niu is indeed a lucky man!”
He Jie repeated the conditions offered by the woman’s side.
When a man visits their house, it signifies an intention to take a son-in-law.
The children born would take the mother’s surname.
In many men’s view, this is a matter of shame.
Normally, it is the man who marries a wife into his family. A man being married into the woman’s family is referred to as “marrying upwards,” and it’s easy to become the butt of jokes.
“Please convey to Miss Tang, thank you for her kindness, but I have no plans to marry for the time being,” he said.
Qin Niu declined the marriage proposal.
In his heart was Wang Wanyan from next door.
The conditions offered by the Tang Family for a reverse marriage were indeed attractive but only to the ordinary person.
In Qin Niu’s eyes, those conditions held no appeal whatsoever.
He was now capable of building a grand brick house.
Acquiring good farmland should also not be difficult.
An acre of ordinary good farmland is about seven or eight Silver Money, and the more expensive ones are only around ten to eleven.
Mainly it depends on the market situation.
During years of chaos and major disasters, the price of land is generally low; during stable and prosperous times, the price of fields goes up.
Yesterday, Qin Niu sold insects, and that terrifyingly powerful old man had said that as long as Qin Niu still had those green giant hornets, he was willing to buy one for 150 Silver Money.
Just by selling one insect, he could become one of the richest men in the village.
The net worth of the two wealthy men in the village, Wang Furen and Xu Zhenchang, was estimated to be around two hundred taels of Silver Money.
Wang Furen should be a bit wealthier, but Xu Zhenchang’s earning power was stronger and more sustainable, with great potential. In a few years, it was quite possible for him to surpass Wang Furen.
After all, in terms of annual income, Wang Furen, who loitered at home, could no longer compare to Xu Zhenchang, the super tenant farmer.
“All Niu, don’t be foolish; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 1 have seen Tang Wenhan’s daughter; she can sing and dance, and she is intelligent and beautiful, with excellent conditions in every aspect. There have been several young masters who sent matchmakers to propose marriage, and the lines of suitors from slightly wealthy families are even longer. He Jie also said that if you don’t want to be a son-in-law who marries into a family, you can discuss it further,” said Auntie Hua fervently seeing such a good match going unappreciated by Qin Niu.
“That’s right, that’s right, if you disagree with the matrimonial residence, it can still be discussed. The young lady has taken a fancy to you, and as long as you give the nod, it’s highly likely to happen. It’s even easier for you than those young masters who come with hefty gifts to propose,” Fie Jie also persuaded on the side.
In her heart, she was muttering, could this boy be a little foolish?
So many men dream of such a girl, yet he declined without even seeing her face.
And he doesn’t even consider his own circumstances, with two dilapidated rooms full of leaks, where it leaks even when it rains. The Tang Family’s young lady doesn’t mind, that’s such a stroke of fortune!
But now the man is putting on airs.
He truly doesn’t know when he’s well off.
“Thank you for your kind intentions, Aunties, but I really have no thoughts of marriage for now. I want to establish my business first, and once 1 have an economic foundation, I’ll get married and have children. Otherwise, my wife and children shall suffer with me,” Qin Niu excused himself, an excuse many a young man pressured into marriage had made.
It wasn’t wrong in itself, for the happiness of a marriage should indeed be based on a certain economic foundation.
Poverty brings a thousand woes to a marriage.
Living a life in poverty is manageable for a year or two, but truly being perpetually poor—not to mention happiness—makes even the basics of food and shelter a problem.
“Alt Niu, don’t rush to refuse this offer. I’ll go talk to the Tang Family again and come back next time,” He Jie, who made a living as a matchmaker, naturally wasn’t willing to give up easily.
Based on her years of experience as a matchmaker, the probability of this marriage taking place was very high.
If she managed to make it happen, how could the Tang Family shortchange her?
Having sent Auntie Hua and He Jie away, Qin Niu shook his head with a wry smile, saying that the harder you work, the luckier you get; his luck seemed to truly be improving bit by bit.
Now, even marriage was coming to his door.
Getting a smart and beautiful woman who can sing and dance as a wife is the desire of many men!
But his ambition was not to indulge in the pleasures of love but to seek immortality.
Now that Fourth had successfully evolved, he could once again freely enter and exit beneath the Ancient Banyan Tree. He definitely needed to seize the time to cultivate and raise his cultivation level.
After breakfast, Qin Niu prepared to go out and handle serious matters.
“Xiao Qing, I need to go out and find a tile worker to build the house. The house doesn’t really need much tidying; it’s going to be demolished anyways. You sit and rest awhile!” Qin Niu said, watching her small figure busily moving about, feeling a sense of tenderness for her.
“No problem, 1 need to clean up the front yard anyhow; otherwise, the sister who visits might be scared away right at the doorstep,” she replied, showing surprising maturity and concern for her age.
Qin Niu didn’t say anything more.
He left the house.
There are two tile workers in the village, but they only knew how to build earthen houses. To construct a grand brick house, he needed to invite craftsmen from Daoyuan Village.
He was now bracing himself for a visit to Daoyuan Village.
Because Miss Tang Caixian had just sent a matchmaker to propose marriage, and if he went there now, it would be too awkward if they met.
The village of Daoyuan Village was much bigger than that of Shuangfeng Village.
Since there were many wealthy families here, almost every household had a brick and tile house, so the craftsmanship was a cut above Shuangfeng Village’s.
An old man carrying a load came towards him, and Qin Niu promptly went up to greet him and inquire..