https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-453-The-Brother-in-Law-s-Cowardice/13079737/
Chapter 452: Refusing to Help
Chapter 452: Refusing to Help
Ye Xian did not approach Jiang Dong, only confirming from a distance before leaving.
She needed to make a phone call to find out the relationship between Jiang Dong and the people of Lei Wu Village.
After dating Jiang Dong for only a few months, Ye Xian was unfamiliar with his family and background, and Jiang Dong never spoke about them.
Even her classmates, who knew about their relationship, never mentioned Jiang Dong's family situation to her.
The person on the other end of the call said, "I don't know. Just ask around in the village. Two jeeps entering the village should be a topic of discussion!"
"Should I go see Jiang Dong then?"
"What's the point of seeing him now? If you see him now, he might think you're haunting him. It's not too late to see him on the night of the 6th."
"Okay."
Ye Xian agreed, feeling a bit excited about the next night.
The children were eating sugarcane, and Auntie was still cutting it, with Zhou Chenglei helping her.
Jiang Dong quickly joined in to assist.
Auntie smiled and said, "A-Lei, it's been many years since you've had sugarcane grown by Auntie, right?"
Zhou Chenglei replied, "More than ten years."
After enlisting, he had never spent a New Year's at home.
Auntie cut down a row of sugarcane and tied them into two bundles, saying, "I intentionally left this row of sugarcane for you. Take these two bundles home, Xia Xia loves them."
Zhou Chenglei said, "We don't need so many. I'll just take two back."
"Take more. You haven't had Auntie's sugarcane in so long, so make up for it. One bundle for you, and one for Xia Dong to take back for your father-in-law and mother-in-law to try. I used peanut bran to grow these two rows, so they're extra sweet."
As soon as Jiang Dong arrived, he secretly gave two red envelopes to Auntie and the old man, each containing a hundred yuan.
Xia Xia also received a red envelope with a hundred yuan.
Every time A-Lei came back on leave, he would visit them and give them twenty or thirty yuan to spend.
Auntie didn't have much to offer, so she gave them plenty of sugarcane to take home.
Auntie divided two bundles of sugarcane for Zhou Chenglei, but only gave two or three pieces to the eldest and second eldest sons.
There were only a few pieces of sugarcane left from the two rows, reserved for other relatives who might visit.
After cutting the sugarcane, Auntie took them to dig for sweet potatoes.
Li Xiuxian held two pieces of sugarcane and walked behind Tian Caihua.
Li Xiuxian kept her eyes on the two bundles of sugarcane that Jiang Dong was carrying on his shoulders.
Auntie's preferential treatment was too obvious!
She whispered to Tian Caihua, "Auntie is so practical! It's as if we're not even related to her!"
Tian Caihua asked, "I saw Xia Xia and Xia Dong give thick red envelopes to Auntie and Uncle. What did you give them?"
Li Xiuxian: "..."
Auntie had planted a field of sweet potatoes, and she dug up a large snake-skin bag of sweet potatoes for them, one bag for each family.
The field was uneven, so Zhou Chenglei held onto Jiang Xia and didn't carry anything.
Jiang Dong carried two bundles of sugarcane tied together on one shoulder and held two snake-skin bags of sweet potatoes in one hand.
If his father had asked him to take a day off from exercise, he wouldn't have been able to carry all this!
Did his brother-in-law invite him just to be a laborer?
After having lunch at Auntie's house, the family finally returned home.
Auntie and Uncle had raised two sons, and each of the two cousins had two or three sons of their own, not to mention the daughters who had married off.
As a result, Zhou Chenglei had a bunch of cousins on this side, and it was inevitable that there would be drinking during the meal.
Five tables were set up to accommodate everyone.
The adults and children sat separately, and those who drank were seated apart from those who didn't.
Zhou Chenglei was used to not drinking when driving, so he made an excuse of having a sore ear to avoid drinking.
Even though he didn't drink, everyone still pulled him and Jiang Dong to the main table, and no one blamed Zhou Chenglei for not drinking. The group of cousins and uncles were the most enthusiastic towards him.
This table was all men, so Jiang Xia sat with her aunts and cousins.
Among her sisters-in-law, Jiang Xia was the most well-liked, especially by her eldest sister-in-law.
As they were eating, the eldest sister-in-law spoke up, "Xia Xia, my eldest daughter, A Zhen, graduated from middle school last year. Do you know any young men you could introduce to her? I don't have high expectations. Just someone hardworking, diligent, and with a good temper. Ideally, he should work in a unit, and if he's from the city, that would be even better."
Upon hearing this, the aunt chimed in, "You want someone from the city and with a job? That's not a low requirement. What kind of conditions do we have? Xia Xia doesn't need to worry about these things. Just find someone hardworking, diligent, and with a good temper. Those from the city or with a job won't look at us! Someone from the village or town is fine."
The eldest sister-in-law was truly exasperated by her mother-in-law's words. If she wanted someone from the village, why not ask Tian Caihua instead of Jiang Xia? Didn't Tian Caihua know the village boys better?
Didn't she want her granddaughter to have a better life? Her daughter was the prettiest in the entire village, and she naturally wanted to find her a good match, someone with a stable job, so she wouldn't have to worry for the rest of her life.
Only those with a job would have a retirement pension when they got old, and there was a chance for her daughter to get a job in the same unit. After retirement, the children could even take over the job! Generations would be guaranteed employment.
Zhou Mu thought of Zhou Guodong, "There's a young man in our village who is very diligent and filial. His family also has a small boat. They're a bit poor now because his father was injured and hospitalized after being kicked by a pig he was catching. They owe some debts, but with the boat, their future looks promising. He's truly a good person! Good-tempered and hardworking! He's not bad-looking either, about one meter and seventy tall. It's just that his father is currently hospitalized, but after he's discharged, I can introduce him to A Zhen."
Zhou Kangping was also a good man, but with his physical disability, Zhou Mu felt awkward about introducing him.
The aunt said, "Good! We can take a look."
"What's good about it? His father is in debt from borrowing money for the hospital. I'm afraid she'll have to help repay the debts if she marries into that family!"
The aunt shook her head, "A bamboo door with a bamboo door, a wooden door with a wooden door. If the gap between our family and theirs is too wide, there will be troubles in the future."
The eldest sister-in-law insisted, "Who doesn't have to endure hardship in a marriage? It's better to marry someone good."
She still wanted her daughter to find someone with a job, "Sister-in-law, forget about the one you mentioned. There's no need to consider him. Xia Xia, please try to find someone with a job. It can be someone from the village or the city, but preferably with a job."
In those days, most marriages were arranged through the help of relatives and neighbors, and few were the result of free love.
Many couples had only met a few times and were still unfamiliar with each other before getting married.
Jiang Xia wasn't surprised that someone would ask her to play matchmaker; it was the norm in their society.
Jiang Xia glanced at Lei Yuzhen, the young girl sitting across the table. She had delicate features and was quite pretty, but her skin was a bit tanned, which was common among village children who worked in the fields.
However, she had just graduated from middle school and was not even eighteen yet. Moreover, Jiang Xia didn't enjoy being a matchmaker and had no interest in it.
Jiang Xia politely but firmly declined, "Eldest sister-in-law, you've come to the wrong person. I don't know many people, and I haven't heard of anyone looking for a match. I'm not good at judging people, and I'm afraid of making a wrong match, creating a troubled couple. I don't help with matchmaking, so please don't ask me. I think Yuzhen is still young, and you can take your time to find her a good match."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
