Chapter 124: Marriage Proposal

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

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After Liu Xu’er left the room, she wanted to stay outside to listen in, but was met with Liu Shu and the rest who had just returned home. Wang shi opened the door and the instant Liu Sen saw her, he smiled and called out to her, “Jie!”

Liu Xu’er smiled and went over to them. She asked how business was doing so Liu Shu and Liu Lin took turns answering her. With all that going on around her, Liu Xu’er was distracted from eavesdropping on the adult’s conversation. 

She stayed for a while with her two gege in the backyard talking when Liu Sen suddenly scrambled over like a little monkey. “Jie!”

Liu Xu’er lowered her head and rubbed his head gently, “What’s up?”

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Liu Shu and Liu Lin both jumped when they heard. “What?!”

Liu Xu’er was also startled. “What did you say? Propose marriage? Senzi, did you mishear?”

Liu Sen coldly hmphed and said, “Such rare visitors suddenly came by. Who wouldn’t be suspicious of their motives! That woman’s speech was so presumptuous! She even said that jie seemed to have good business sense – she would be a good match for her nephew….”

“Peh! What a shameless creature!” Liu Lin had already jumped up in outrage. 

Liu Shu frowned, “What’s going on? Out of the blue…. Why did they think of such a thing? What else did you hear? Dad and mum… Did they just entertain their request?”

Liu Sen didn’t have time to respond when they heard the room door slam open and a furious He shi emerge and stand impatiently at the door looking like a gargoyle. She was followed by an embarrassed Liu Changgui and the woman called Fang Yun. Her face frustrated, Fang Yun had a cold sneer on her lips. When she came out, she stood next to Liu Changgui and gave He shi a derisive look. 

Liu Changgeng followed them both out. His face was dark and his eyebrows were firmly furrowed. He said to Liu Changgui, “Enough. Don’t even think about it! If you’ve the time, go and visit dad and mum more often – remind them that you still exist! No one in the family is trying to take advantage of you, so please don’t behave as though others are out to get you! But the opposite is also true, please don’t try and think of taking advantage of us! Don’t even think of trying to get anything from us!”

Liu Changgui nodded his head, awkwardly. 

He shi coldly said, “We won’t keep you for the meal!”

Ashamed, Liu Changgui walked out, with the woman following behind him. Her face flushed red with anger, she turned to slant an angry glare at He shi, as if deriding He shi for turning down the offer she condescended to make. 

With heavy footsteps, He shi escorted them out. When they had left, she immediately picked up the door bolt and used it to rattle the door loudly. Then she directed her voice toward them saying, “Next time, only family members are allowed to visit. Please don’t bring anyone who isn’t an official family member over! What is that thing’s identity anyway?! We are all simple village folk and don’t understand such complicated conjugal arrangements!”

With that, she slammed the door shut and bolted it behind them. 

Liu Xu’er and the rest were all standing at the door connecting the front and back courtyards. They stared, open mouthed at the entire scene. After a long while had passed, Senzi then said, “Well, you all saw it. Dad and mum drove away that delusional woman!”

Liu Lin laughed at that. “She deserved it! That’s exactly what should be done!”

Liu Shu rubbed his head and said, “Sanshu was also driven away with her.”

Liu Lin retorted, “He deserved it too! Who asked him to bring that woman with him?”

As the children continued to talk amongst themselves, He shi came over. Seeing them, she called out, “Why didn’t you go and wash up when you came home? What are you looking at around here!” 

Liu Sen stuck his tongue out and ran off. Liu Shu and Liu Lin however, were unintimidated by He shi’s tone. Liu Lin asked, “Mum, did sanshu really come here to propose marriage?”

He shi got angry again thinking about it. “What marriage proposal! You are not to talk nonsense!”

Liu Lin wanted to persist, but Liu Shu had already pulled him away, gingerly edging away from He shi. Seeing He shi enter the kitchen, he then pulled Liu Xu’er along with him to look for Liu Changgeng. 

“Dad, did sanshu really bring that woman over here to propose marriage? What did they say?”

Liu Changgeng looked at Liu Xu’er and said, “They didn’t come to propose marriage, just to get a sense of whether we would be interested. Don’t worry. Dad and mum are very clear – what standing does that woman have anyway? How could we agree? We don’t plan on paying her any mind!”

Liu Xu’er relaxed and nodded her head. Her parents were rock solid when it came to crucial matters like these. 

Liu Shu then asked, “Dad, what on earth was said? Why did they think to visit us? Did they find out about Liu Xu’er opening a store and making money?”

Liu Lin hmphed, “They must’ve found out about it! It was definitely because they knew. What other reason could they have for coming?!”

Liu Changgeng paused for a moment. He didn’t nod his head, but he didn’t shake it either. He only said to Liu Xu’er, “It’s alright. Nothing happened. You can relax. Your sanshu won’t come over again.” 

Liu Xu’er nodded her head and said, “I will go and help mum prepare the meal….”

After she said that, she turned and headed for the kitchen. She heard Liu Lin ask behind her, “Dad, what business does sanshu do? Since he has so much money, why would he think of our family? How can our family compare with his? Look at what he was wearing! If that woman wants to help her maiden family’s nephew, then why didn’t she just get him to join sanshu in their business? Instead, they came to look for us?”

When Liu Xu’er heard, she stopped. She too wanted to hear more, because she too found the situation very strange. Sanshu’s business clearly made a lot of money. So why on earth was that woman trying to get involved with their family?

Liu Changgeng paused for a moment before saying, “Your sanshu didn’t explain what business he was engaged in…. As to the rest, I am as in the dark as you are. But the two of you should heed this lesson. Currently, our family is only a bit better off than before…. And yet people are starting to look for us. So, you must be careful of anyone you interact with in the future. Understand why the person wants to be friends with you; whether it’s because they really like you as a person or whether they have ulterior motives….”

“Dad! We are well aware of this….”

Liu Xu’er headed to the kitchen. When she got there, she was amused to see that He shi was still in a rage. She gave her a few soothing sentences – since she had already chased them away, she should stop dwelling on it. Why should she make herself so angry? What good would that do her?

And just like that, the tiny storm passed in their family. Liu Xu’er did want to tell Shi Cheng about it – after all, it was something that happened so abruptly. She should let him know about this sudden intrusion. 

But the next day was already the 14th day of the eighth month and Liu Xu’er’s family needed to prepare to make their way back to the village to celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival. It was noon by the time she could leave the house, but even after dropping by the two stores, her brothers could only tell her that they hadn’t seen Shi Cheng that day. 

Liu Xu’er thought about it, and decided that the matter could wait till after the Mid Autumn festival. 

Actually, the reason Shi Cheng hadn’t left his home in two days was because his father had returned from Hanzhong city. 

It was an extremely busy time for the restaurant at Hanzhong city. If it weren’t for the Mid Autumn festival, his father would still be there. And all this while, Shi Cheng’s mother had been anxiously waiting for his return! The instant he came back. Shi Cheng’s mother didn’t give him any time to rest, immediately asking him how they would resolve this matter?

Shi Cheng’s father thought about it for a moment, before calling Shi Cheng over for a discussion. 

Shi Cheng had already made mental preparations and knew that the crucial person to convince in this matter was his father. As such, when he heard Shi Qian ask himself about whether he had clearly thought the matter through in this past month, he answered firmly. “Dad, mum. Your son has indeed thought this through carefully and would like to request that you help me engage a matchmaker as soon as possible to propose marriage to the Liu family.”

When Shi Qian heard that, he understood that his son had already made up his mind. Put bluntly, he had hardened his resolve. He nodded and got Shi Cheng to leave, before looking at Shi Cheng’s mother. “Looking at it, Shi Cheng seems very sure of his decision. What are your thoughts?”

Meng shi paused for a moment before saying. “There is nothing bad about Liu Xu’er. I have also watched her grow up. She’s a very intelligent and sharp girl; I really like her myself! It’s just…. That she’s from a humble background, and I am worried that she can’t adjust… It would be difficult for her to mingle with others.” Saying this, she hurriedly stressed, “I am not trying to put her down! You know my nature, I am not someone who is malicious. I am just worried that since she came from the village, that she would be smaller minded when it came to doing things. We will be moving to Hanzhong city eventually and… we would be interacting with many well-to -do families. Most of them would have broad exposures and be very worldly and learned. If we had such a humble daughter-in-law within our family, it might just embarrass you and Shi Cheng doing business outside.”

Shi Qian sighed when he heard. “So, it boils down to the fact that you look down on the Liu family’s humble beginnings. Actually, I too am a villager by birth….”

“Of course I know that!” Shi Cheng’s mother quickly moved to reassure. 

She was starting to feel somewhat frustrated. She felt that she had reason to be concerned, very good reason! She needed to share it so that she could feel appeased. So she quickly said, “I know that I too am a villager by birth! But what I meant to say is that if we could find a better educated family, a more prominent family, then I wouldn’t have to expend as much time and energy teaching her….. When our daughter-in-law marries into the family, wouldn’t I be the one to have to educate her? In the future, when we meet and interact with the rest of the women at Hanzhong city, it might be difficult for her to adjust. And if her conduct is poor or if she makes a misstep, it wouldn’t affect me too much – after all, I am just a married woman – but it could lose face for you and Shi Cheng!”

Shi Qian shook his head, “Can you let me finish? What you said makes sense on the surface, but if you think about it more fully, it’s foolish. Both of us are villagers – this fact is already well known in Feng County. And even if we moved to Hanzhong city, how can we hide our background when others ask? Since we can’t hide it, then let me ask you, if you look down on the fact that Liu Xu’er is from a village family and want to find a more prominent family’s daughter to marry in, then how would you know that the prominent family wouldn’t look down on our own humble beginnings?! That’s just one point. There’s another. When it comes to teachability, I think that it’s more important to look at the individual’s personality. Teachability has nothing to do with one’s family’s background.”

Shi Qian stood up and started to pace around the room. “Let’s take Hao Rongrong as an example. In your mind, she’s a dignified and composed young lady from a good family. She is ideal as a daughter-in-law. But Shi Cheng on the other hand, felt that she was a frivolous young girl, who lacked discipline. I decided to look into this matter when I went to Hanzhong city this time.”