Chapter 411 - 345: The Shopkeeper Isn’t Home
Inside the Han Family's house.
A scrawny old woman sat cross-legged on the kang bed, shaking her head and muttering to herself.
The tight bun pinned to the back of her head swayed from side to side as she rocked.
Ma Ling nervously wrung the hem of her clothes, her eyes fixed on Mrs. Han.
At that moment, Elder Han was also quite tense.
The couple had been together for some thirty years and had been through thick and thin. Han Jiang could tell at a glance that something wasn't quite right with his wife.
But with Ma Ling watching from the side, Han Jiang couldn't say anything.
Suddenly, Mrs. Han stopped muttering, opened her eyes, and smiled at Ma Ling.
"Auntie!" Seeing this, Ma Ling hurried closer and asked anxiously, "How is it?"
It was no wonder Ma Ling was anxious. In those days, marriage was a matter of utmost importance. After all, once you were married, divorce was rare. When a woman married into a family, she was expected to grit her teeth and endure it, even if she was beaten, cursed, or bullied.
But who would want to live a life like that? That's why one had to think things over carefully before getting married.
Mrs. Han frowned slightly, but when she saw her old man give her a look, she took Ma Ling's hand and said, "Girl, why don't you step outside and wait for me for a bit?"
"Huh?" Ma Ling was taken aback. She had been to the Han Family's home many times, but nothing like this had ever happened before.
The old woman quickly explained, "It seems our Shopkeeper isn't home." At this, she pointed to the incense burner and said to Ma Ling, "Let me see if I can send a message to the Shopkeeper and call him back."
"Oh!" Curiosity flashed in Ma Ling's wide eyes. She had been here so many times, but this was the first she'd ever heard of the Shopkeeper going out. She desperately wanted to see how the old woman would find her Shopkeeper, but Mrs. Han was telling her to wait outside.
Ma Ling hadn't read many books. If Li Baoyu had been here, he certainly would have been suspicious, because Mrs. Han's words were nearly identical to a line from *Journey to the West*.
In the story, when Tang Monk and his disciples competed against the Three Power Immortals in Chechi Country, the Tiger Power Immortal failed to summon rain and blamed it on the gods not being home.
Seeing that Ma Ling hadn't moved, Han Jiang quickly interjected, "Girl, this is important. You go wait outside for a bit. Let your Auntie ask properly for you."
"Alright then!" Hearing this, Ma Ling no longer had any doubts and turned to leave the room.
Han Jiang walked Ma Ling all the way to the door, gave her a smile, and then shut the door right away.
Outside, Ma Ling was incredibly curious, so she crept toward the base of the window.
But the Han Family's windows had no glass. They were wooden frames that pushed open from the inside, bottom-up, with two layers of paper pasted over the middle.
Even if Ma Ling stood right in front of the window, she couldn't see what was happening inside.
But as she approached the window, the old couple inside could faintly make out a figure outside through the paper.
The old woman gestured for Han Jiang to come closer and asked, "What do we do?"
The old man asked back, "What's wrong?"
The old woman glanced toward the window, then pursed her lips and shook her head. "I can't see a thing."
In truth, Mrs. Han's line of work was simple. People would tell her their problems, she would close her eyes and mutter, and then she would say whatever she saw in her mind.
It was hard to say whether she was imagining it all or something else was at play.
But today, Mrs. Han's mind felt completely empty. There was nothing.
"How can this be?" Han Jiang's heart skipped a beat, but then he remembered something. He said quickly, "Elder Kua, do you think this has something to do with that Zhao Jun?"
Elder Kua was a term men in the Northeast used to call their wives, later replaced by "old partner."
"Huh?" Mrs. Han raised an eyebrow and asked, puzzled, "What about the Zhao Family's eldest son?"
Han Jiang also glanced at the window, then sat sideways on the edge of the kang bed. He said to his wife, "That kid is a menace! He even captured the Mountain God and knocked out the Great Pig God! You're trying to look into him, you think our Shopkeeper would dare show up?"
"Aiyah!" The old woman slapped her thigh upon hearing this. But remembering Ma Ling was still outside the window, she quickly lowered her voice and said to her husband, "You're right! And that kid's father is no pushover either!"
"So what are you thinking?" Han Jiang said. "Not a single person in that family is easy to deal with."
"Then what do we do?" The old woman looked panicked. She asked Han Jiang, "We can't just tell the girl the truth, can we?"
"Absolutely not!" Han Jiang said firmly. "Things haven't been as strict as they used to be these past few years, but we still don't get many people asking for help. All year round, we count on this girl to bring us a little money for tobacco, for liquor, for a roast chicken. If we ruin our reputation in front of her today, wouldn't that be like chasing the God of Wealth out the door?"
"This..." PUFF! PUFF! PUFF! The old woman was at a loss and took several quick puffs from her pipe.
Suddenly, the old woman's beady little eyes lit up. She tugged on Han Jiang's sleeve and said, "Old man, what if we just tell the girl they're not a good match? If we say they *are* a good match, and then she marries him and has a bad life, won't that ruin our reputation too? And we'll end up getting blamed for it."
Mrs. Han's logic was sound. If she told Ma Ling that she and Zhao Jun were compatible, and then Ma Ling married him and had a miserable life, it would mean the old woman's reading was inaccurate. That would still ruin her reputation.
But if she said they weren't compatible and Ma Ling believed her, the marriage wouldn't happen, and there would be no way to prove her wrong.
But when Han Jiang heard his wife's words, his expression changed. He quickly shook his head. "Elder Kua, don't be ridiculous."
"What's wrong?" The old woman was getting annoyed. She tapped the ash from her pipe onto the side. "If we don't say that, what else can we say?"
Han Jiang hurriedly explained, "With the Zhao Family's standing, who wouldn't want to become their in-laws? You tell the girl they're not compatible, she goes home and says no, and then Ma Daifu and Wang Cuihua will ask why. The Ma Family can't do anything to us, but can we afford to provoke Zhao Youcai?"
Hearing Han Jiang's words, the old woman gasped. Her eyes went wide, her mouth fell open, and she even stopped puffing on her pipe.
Han Jiang continued, "If you mess up the marriage of Zhao Ergudong's son, do you think he'll let us off easy? Can these old bones of ours handle the trouble he'd cause? Besides..."
At this point, Han Jiang paused before adding, "What about our son? Have you forgotten about him?"
At the mention of their son, Mrs. Han sighed.
The Han Family's son was none other than Han Shang, the doctor at the village clinic.
Because of his mother's profession, Han Shang had drawn a clear line with his parents years ago. They hadn't had any contact in all this time, but the old couple still thought about their son constantly.
Having lived in the village for so many years, the old couple knew exactly what kind of temper Zhao Youcai had.
In reality, Zhao Youcai was a man of strong character. If you didn't bother him, he wouldn't bother you. In fact, he was often warm-hearted and would take the initiative to help the weak.
But if anyone crossed him, Zhao Youcai was absolutely merciless and would pursue them to the bitter end.
"Old man!" The old woman anxiously tossed her pipe aside, grabbed Han Jiang's arms with both hands, and said, "Quick, think of something! What are we going to do!"