Chapter 35: The Ugly Ger’s Farming Story

“May I ask who came to your house on behalf of Chen Hong’s marriage proposal?”

Xu Qing didn’t know what expression to make. After all, the Chen family had already agreed to this marriage proposal. If his family knew about Ma Fugui and Xie Yu’s situation and still agreed to this marriage, he didn’t know what to say. However, if Chen Qi’s family didn’t know about this and married off Chen Hong, he couldn’t bear to see a good and innocent ger being married into such a family!

“It was Xia Ama from our village who came to propose on behalf of the Ma family. Oh, you don’t know Xia Ama from our village, but Li Changfeng does, right?” Chen Qi adjusted the umbrella on himself. His wife’s umbrella was really not useful. If he had known, he should have listened to his wife and changed to another umbrella!

Li Changfeng explained to Xu Qing, “Xia Ama is a reputable matchmaker in Jixiang Village. The young gers who have been matchmade by him have relatively happy and stable lives. But this matter…” Li Changfeng didn’t continue speaking. Even if Xu Qing didn’t know this Xia Ama, he could roughly understand the person’s character. Since he was a matchmaker with a good reputation, he wouldn’t accept such a marriage proposal to ruin his own reputation. There was a problem with this matter.

“This isn’t a good place for a conversation. How about we find a place to sit down and talk properly?”

Xu Qing knew that a simple conversation wouldn’t be enough to understand what was going on. So, he sought Chen Qi’s opinion, to see if he had the time to sit down and have a proper conversation.

“Yes, if you don’t have any other business, we can sit down and talk.” Li Changfeng had seen Chen Hong grow from a little child to the age of getting married. He saw him as his own younger brother, just like Li Xiao’er. Since both Xu Qing and himself knew about the character of the Ma family, they wouldn’t just let Chen Hong marry into it.

Although Chen Qi was a carefree person, he could still sense from Xu Qing and Li Changfeng’s expressions and tone that they had something important to discuss with him. “Alright, let’s go to the tea house ahead. It’s cheap and clean.”

“Let’s go.”

Li Changfeng put his arm around Xu Qing’s shoulder so that the umbrella could cover both of their heads. Chen Qi watched their departing figures and suddenly felt that they were a good match.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Boss, three bowls of hot tea, please!”

“Alright, I just brewed a pot. Here, take your time and enjoy!”

Due to the rainy weather these past few days, most people were staying at home and enjoying their leisure time. As a result, the tea house was not crowded, making it convenient for the group to have a conversation.

Xu Qing held the bowls of hot tea with both hands, feeling the warmth in his palms, and listened to Chen Qi talk about Chen Hong’s sudden matter.

“To be honest, we need to start from the time you visited Brother Qing’s house,” Chen Qi said, taking a sip of the hot water from the tea bowl and pointing at Li Changfeng, who was folding the umbrella.

“Me?” Li Changfeng looked puzzled. He couldn’t understand how this matter could involve him.

“Yes!” Chen Qi replied decisively. Xu Qing began to look at Li Changfeng with a pensive gaze, and Li Changfeng felt a tingling sensation on his back. He quickly shook his head at Xu Qing and said, “I didn’t do anything! I really don’t know about this matter!”

Only then did Chen Qi realize that his words were misleading. He quickly clarified for Li Changfeng, “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that after Changfeng visited your house, my Ama started paying attention to potential suitors for Xiao Hong.”

When Chen Ama saw that Chen Hong still couldn’t forget about Li Changfeng even after his marriage, he felt uneasy. If Chen Hong insisted on squeezing himself into Li Changfeng’s life, it wouldn’t be good for anyone. So, Chen Ama started inquiring among the matchmakers he knew about the situation of eligible bachelors who could match his son.

However, after all the inquiries, Chen Ama couldn’t find anyone suitable for Chen Hong. It was at this time that Xia Ama, who had a good “reputation” in the village, came to propose a marriage.

***

“Hey, you are all here. I have some good news to share with you!”

Not long after the Chen family finished their lunch, Xia Ama came to share the good news. Chen Ama, in particular, reacted quickly upon hearing the news. “Come in! Come in! Xiao Qi, go pour a cup of hot water. Xiao Hong, you go back to your room.”

Chen Qi’s wife immediately understood something from Xia Ama’s mention of “good news.” He quickly stood up and hurried to the kitchen to pour the water. Chen Hong naturally understood as well and followed along. He looked at Chen Ama, who asked him to go back to his room, with disbelief.

“Hey, go inside! It’s not suitable for you to hear about this now. Go inside, go inside.” Chen Ama didn’t respond to Chen Hong’s gaze but urged him to enter the room.

“Ama…” Chen Hong stood up but didn’t move. He didn’t know what awaited him once he entered the room. No wonder his Ama looked at him so strangely when he wanted to see Li Changfeng and Xu Qing at the back door that day.

“Go in, listen to me!”

Seeing Chen Hong hesitate and look back multiple times, Chen Ama quickly explained, “He’s just shy!”

Xia Ama also withdrew his gaze and agreed, “Yes, he’s a shy boy!”

Chen Qi, however, still couldn’t understand why Ama wanted Chen Hong to go back to his room and why it wasn’t convenient for him to listen. He was about to raise his question when Chen Qi’s wife, who had come out with the hot water, pulled his clothes and gave him a look that said, “Shut up!” Instantly, Chen Qi had nothing to say.

Meanwhile, old man Chen, who had remained silent, put away his dry tobacco and moved a stool next to Chen Ama, listening to Xia Ama speak.

“Thank you!” Xia Ama took the cup of hot water handed to him by Chen Qi’s wife and expressed his gratitude before proceeding with the matter.

“I’m here on behalf of the Ma family in the town to propose a marriage for their son to Chen Hong!”

“The town? Ma family?!”

Chen Ama and the others were amazed. They couldn’t imagine that someone from the town would come to propose a marriage. Chen Qi only learned that Xia Ama had come to propose when he heard those words, so he didn’t care about seniority and directly asked Xia Ama a key question.

“What’s the situation with the Ma family?”

Xia Ama’s hand holding the tea bowl tightened slightly. “Well, their family has only one son! They’ve been running a grocery store for several generations. Don’t underestimate it just because it’s a grocery store. It’s located in the town, and they have quite a strong business acumen!”

Old man Chen and Chen Ama were somewhat enticed by these conditions. There weren’t many people in the village who could marry into the town. Even the neighboring village only had someone marrying into the town a few years ago. However, they were not the type of people who liked to follow the crowd, so they didn’t know which family in the town the person had married into.

Xia Ama was also good at reading people’s expressions. Seeing the looks on Chen Ama and old man Chen’s faces, he knew there was hope for this matter. He quickly added, “The Ma family has only three members in total. If Chen Hong marries into their family, there won’t be any complicated relationships like elder brother-in-law or younger brother-in-law. Life will be peaceful!”

With this, both Chen Ama and his father were even more satisfied. They didn’t want Chen Hong to marry into a complicated family. The future wouldn’t be as simple as it seemed.

Chen Qi’s wife didn’t expect that someone from the town would come to propose. He was happy for Chen Hong in her heart. Regardless of whether this matter would come to fruition, having someone from the town come to propose was already something to be proud of.

Chen Qi, however, wasn’t very pleased. Apart from not wanting to see Chen Hong leave so easily, he believed that they were simple and honest farmers. The people in the town, on the other hand, had higher social status. Even if their younger brother was outstanding, Chen Qi felt that something was off about this matter.

“What are their names? I know a few people living in the town. Maybe they know them, and I can inquire about their character?” Chen Qi asked.

Xia Ama’s heart trembled upon hearing this, but when he thought about the reward he would receive from the Ma family if the matter succeeded, he instantly regained his determination.

“I won’t hide anything from you. Their son has been divorced once before. However, rest assured, this matter has nothing to do with the Ma family. It was the person they married who couldn’t conceive, so for the sake of continuing the Ma family lineage, they mutually agreed to divorce.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Ama, Chen Qi, and Chen Qi’s wife felt uncomfortable. The smiles on their faces disappeared.

“Well, we’ll consider it again. Xia Ama, if there’s nothing else, we won’t keep you. It’s almost spring planting season, and we’re all busy!” Chen Qi’s wife caught the signal from Chen Ama’s eyes and politely expressed their intention to see Xia Ama off, subtly indicating that it was time for him to leave. He closed the courtyard gate.

As soon as the gate was closed, Chen Ama exploded, “What is this?! How can my pure-hearted child marry someone who has been divorced before?”

“Let’s go to the fields. We should listen to the whole story before making a decision.” Old man Chen, with an expressionless face, picked up his hoe and prepared to leave. He wasn’t at ease either. Why did this person named Xia have to find someone who had already been married for his child?

“You go ahead. I’ll go and check on Hong.”

Chen Ama thought of how Chen Hong reluctantly went into his room earlier and wondered how he was doing now.

“I told you this matter wasn’t simple,” Chen Qi muttered to his wife as he carried his basket on his back. “Shut up! You’re a jinx!” Chen Qi’s wife glared at Chen Qi, who kept talking non-stop. He was truly bothersome, and he wondered when this man would get rid of this bad habit.

“Xiao Hong, what are you thinking?” As soon as Chen Ama entered Chen Hong’s room, he saw Chen Hong sitting on the bed, head hanging low.

“Ama…”

Chen Hong’s hoarse voice called out to Chen Ama as he entered, wanting an explanation.

“Don’t say anything. I know what you want to say. But you have to understand, Ama has no other choice but to do this to prevent you from having feelings for someone else.”

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Translator’s rant

What’s with people thinking so highly of those from town? A place someone lives doesn’t define their character. What if it’s a criminal or a begger from town come to propose? *smh 🤦 … Go ahead and get your son marry someone from town coz that’s all the information you need when choosing a marriage partner. Bye!