Chapter 458 - 390: The Marriage Is Settled
In his left hand, which held the cigarette pack, Zhao Jun also clutched a box of matches. After Ma Daifu took a cigarette, he opened the matchbox, took one out, struck it, and lit it for him.
Next was Zhao Youcai. After lighting Zhao Youcai’s cigarette, Zhao Jun pulled out another one and offered it to Wang Cuihua, saying, "Auntie, have a smoke."
Wang Cuihua smiled and waved her hand. "I don’t smoke."
Zhao Jun nodded with a smile, then turned to Liu Tiezui, offering him a cigarette and lighting it for him.
To Zhao Jun, Wang Cuihua was still an outsider, so even though he knew she didn’t smoke, he had to make the offer. As for his own mother, Wang Meilan, there was no need.
As for the young woman, Ma Ling, it didn’t matter whether she smoked or not; she couldn’t smoke on this occasion.
’Zhao Jun knew Ma Ling wasn’t one for smoking or drinking. The Ma Family were all decent people, and her brothers were ambitious and self-reliant, so he wouldn’t need to support them in any way.’
’As for Ma Ling, she was sensible, hardworking, and had a good personality. In life, her only minor flaw was being superstitious.’
’This was something her grandmother, Old Mrs. Ma, had instilled in her. But while Ma Ling was superstitious, it never interfered with what was important. In their last life, after marrying Zhao Jun, she had lived a perfectly proper life. If something came up, she might remember to have her fortune told, but if she didn’t, she’d just forget about it.’
Ma Ling wasn’t offered a cigarette, but Ma Sheng had to be. After lighting a cigarette for Ma Sheng, Zhao Jun sat back down on the stool.
Just then, Xu Xiaoqing came in with two cups of tea. It must have all been prepared in advance; the tea was warm enough to drink but not so hot that it would shatter the glass cups.
Xu Xiaoqing gave one cup to Zhao Youcai and the other to Ma Daifu. She returned with two more, one for Wang Meilan and one for Liu Tiezui. Lastly, she brought a single cup for Zhao Jun.
After serving the tea, Xu Xiaoqing left the room and didn’t come back in.
"Second Brother, have some tea." With this one sentence, Ma Daifu officially kicked off the day’s conversation. Following that, the five elders, including Liu Tiezui, started making small talk.
And it really was small talk, covering everything from inside the house to outside, from spring planting to autumn harvest, from chickens and ducks to geese and dogs.
Meanwhile, Zhao Jun, Ma Sheng, and Ma Ling could only listen from the side.
After they had chatted like this for over half an hour, Zhao Youcai set his cup down on the kang table and said to Ma Daifu, "Big Brother, we should be getting back. We still have work to do at home."
Hearing this, Ma Daifu immediately said, "Stay for a meal. Your sister-in-law has already prepared everything."
"No, let’s do it another day," Zhao Youcai said, preparing to get off the kang from Wang Meilan and Liu Tiezui’s side.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun and Ma Sheng both stood up. Wang Meilan and Liu Tiezui also took the opportunity to rise, and Wang Meilan said to Wang Cuihua across from her, "Sister, we’ll be heading back then."
"Leaving already?" Wang Cuihua also tried to get them to stay. "Why don’t you eat here?"
This was all just a formality. According to custom, the Zhao Family wouldn’t stay for the meal, so the Ma Family’s invitation wasn’t entirely sincere.
By now, Wang Meilan and Liu Tiezui had reached the doorway. Wang Cuihua, who was sitting near the door, pulled Ma Ling up to see them off.
After getting off the kang, Zhao Youcai didn’t rush out the door with Ma Daifu. The two men didn’t have much to say to each other, simply lighting cigarettes for one another in front of the kang.
Zhao Jun and Ma Sheng also remained silent, just following the four women out. This left Zhao Youcai and Ma Daifu as the last ones inside.
"Big Brother," Zhao Youcai finally asked Ma Daifu, "what do you think about the matter with our kids?"
"Oh..." Ma Daifu seemed to hesitate upon hearing the question. "Second Brother, this is a big deal. I’ll have to discuss it with your sister-in-law."
"What’s there to discuss!" Zhao Youcai laughed. "You’re the head of the household. Do you really need to discuss something like this? Look at my family—I make all the decisions. Big Brother, if you nod your head, we can settle this matter today!"
As soon as Zhao Youcai said this, Ma Daifu met his gaze. When he spoke again, his tone was firm. "Second Brother, if you put it that way, then I’ll make the decision. It’s settled!"
It seemed as though the two men had settled Zhao Jun and Ma Ling’s engagement in just a few sentences. But in reality, that whole exchange was just them putting on a show for each other. If Wang Meilan and Wang Cuihua hadn’t already agreed, they couldn’t have settled a damn thing.
They had lived in the same village for so many years; everyone knew how each family operated. The fact that the Zhao Family had asked Liu Tiezui to be the matchmaker meant they had already decided on Ma Ling. And the Ma Family’s agreement to meet today was as good as accepting the marriage proposal.
In those days, it was just that simple.
It’s just that the final word had to come from the men, since they were, after all, the nominal heads of the household.
Hearing Ma Daifu declare the matter settled, Zhao Youcai laughed heartily. "Well then, from now on, we’re family."
"That’s right," Ma Daifu chuckled. "Come over again another day, and we two brothers will have a good drink."
"Deal!" Zhao Youcai agreed, then started walking out, with Ma Daifu seeing him off from behind.
The two men came out of the house, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries at the courtyard gate, the Zhao Family finally left.
From the moment they left the Ma Family’s home to the point where they parted ways with Liu Tiezui on the road, Wang Meilan was beaming, looking from Zhao Jun to Zhao Youcai and back again.
"Meilan!" Seeing how happy Wang Meilan was, Zhao Youcai took a step closer to her, about to speak, but Zhao Jun pulled him back.
"Huh?" Wang Meilan turned to look at Zhao Youcai, tilting her chin up and asking cheerfully, "What is it?"
Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhao Jun beside him and instantly swallowed the words he was about to say.
Zhao Jun quickly said to his mother, "Mom, Dad was just wondering, on such a wonderful day, shouldn’t we make something special to eat?"
"HAHAHA..." Hearing this, Wang Meilan burst out laughing and waved her hand. "Let’s go, home we go! Whatever good food we have, I’ll cook it all up!"
After saying her piece, Wang Meilan turned and walked quickly toward home. Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhao Jun, only to see his son shaking his head at him.
Zhao Youcai sighed and followed Wang Meilan home with his hands clasped behind his back.
Most of the Black Bear meat that Zhao Jun had brought back the day before yesterday had been given away by Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan to friends and relatives. Besides, the weather was getting hotter, so they had to give it away soon anyway.
All Zhao Jun’s family had left was a thigh piece from the Black Bear, which was kept in a basin, soaking in well water. Moreover, the water had to be changed every few hours.
Besides the meat, Zhao Jun’s family also had a fish that Wang Qiang had delivered that morning. It was a carp, not very big at just over a jin, but the scales near its tail were slightly yellow and reddish.
This would later become the standard for telling wild fish apart, but back then, all fish looked like this.
When Wang Meilan got home, she went next door to the Li Family’s house to get her two daughters, but she ended up chatting with Jin Xiaomei for a good while.
When she returned and opened the door, she was taken aback. There was Zhao Youcai, standing at the stove, scaling a fish.
"Oh!" The smile on Wang Meilan’s face grew even wider as she said to Zhao Youcai, "My, why are you being so proactive today?"
"Heh heh..." Zhao Youcai gave an awkward laugh before saying to Wang Meilan, "Meilan, why don’t you go inside and rest for a bit? I’ll make lunch today."
"Oh, alright!" Wang Meilan, suspecting nothing, happily led her two daughters inside.
In the west room, Zhao Jun, who had just walked to the edge of the kang, took a step back. He glanced at Zhao Youcai outside the door and couldn’t help but shake his head.