https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-51-Not-Everyone-Falls-in-Love-at-First-Sight/12849155/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-53-To-Be-Honest-I-Have-My-Eye-on-Your-Daughter/12849157/
Chapter 52: Gathering Information
Chapter 52: Gathering Information
At the end of the month, Deng Changbao began sending workers to deliver blue bricks to Deng Shirong's home. Since the distance wasn't far, they didn't waste money on hiring trucks. Instead, they used ox carts to transport the bricks one by one.
With the continuous arrival of blue bricks, construction on Deng Shirong's house resumed. Relatives and idle young men from the village came to help, each taking on their assigned tasks—some laying bricks, others carrying them, and still others mixing lime mortar. The work was carried out with great enthusiasm and efficiency.
Despite the bustling activity at home, Deng Shirong had no intention of staying to help. After preparing the meat for the day, he said to his eldest daughter, "Aizhen, the house is in your hands now!"
Deng Yunzhen knew her father was going to Poxin Village to gather information about his future daughter-in-law. She nodded and replied, "I understand, Dad. You can count on me to take care of everything here!"
Deng Shirong was confident in his eldest daughter's culinary skills, which he had trained her to handle. After giving her a quick instruction, he rode his bicycle to Poxin Village in the Xinghua Brigade of Longtan Commune, intending to find out what the villagers thought of the potential bride he had in mind, as well as the dynamics of her family and how well they got along with their neighbors.
A few days earlier, Deng Shirong had taken his two daughters to Longtan Market, which took an hour and a half. This time, riding alone, he was much faster and arrived at Poxin Village in just over an hour.
Seeing someone at the door of a house near the village entrance, Deng Shirong rode over.
He parked his bicycle at the house and approached a middle-aged farmer, who appeared to be around fifty, repairing a farming tool. Smiling, Deng Shirong greeted him, "Aibiao, do you happen to have a water pipe?"
In the rural areas of Bobai during this era, the most common social gesture was to borrow a water pipe for a smoke, similar to offering a cigarette to someone in modern times.
The farmer responded affirmatively, got up, and fetched a water pipe from the corner of the door. As he handed it to Deng Shirong, he asked, "Aibiao, your accent doesn't sound like you're from Longtan Commune, does it?"
In Bobai County, there were three main languages in use: Mandarin, Diao Language, and Hakka. Diao Language, also known as the local ancient dialect, was described by Professor Wang Li as "the original dialect of this region."
Bobai Diao Language belongs to the Cantonese dialect system and is primarily spoken in the northern part of Bobai, including the communes of Bobai, Jingkou, Langping, and Shuangfeng. It is also spoken in the central communes of Wangmao, Yashan, and Santan, the western communes of Shuiming, Yongan, Dungu, Nalin, and Jiangning, and the villages of Changyuan and Lian in the Shuhe commune. It has the highest number of tones among Chinese dialects, with up to ten tones.
Hakka (Xinmin Dialect) is called "Yahua" or "Maiziehua" because the word for "I" is "Yah" and the word for "what" is "Maizie." Xinmin refers to new immigrants.
Xinmin Dialect is mainly spoken in the southern communes of Longtan, Daba, Shuangwang, Songwang, Dongping, and Lingjiao, the eastern communes of Fengshan, Xintian, Dake, Shabi, Nabo, Yingqiao, and Wendu, and the northern communes of Huangling, Jingkou, and Santan.
In modern times, Bobai County is known as the world's largest Hakka county, with nearly two million people, of whom 77% are Hakka speakers.
However, even among Hakka speakers, there are slight differences in accent between different communes, which is how the farmer immediately recognized that Deng Shirong was not from Longtan Commune.
Deng Shirong took the water pipe and smiled, "You're right, I'm not from Longtan Commune. I'm from Bangjie Brigade in Songshan Commune."
The farmer sat back down and continued repairing his tool while asking, "Aibiao, are you visiting relatives in our village?"
Deng Shirong took out some tobacco and a match, shook his head, and smiled, "No, I'm a matchmaker. Today, I have some free time, so I came to your village to look for suitable young men or women to introduce to each other."
The old farmer’s interest was piqued. Whether in this era or in the future, whenever a family’s children reached a suitable age for marriage, parents couldn’t resist chatting with matchmakers.
The old farmer, who had a young son not yet married, smiled and said, “Our village has quite a few eligible young men and women. Speaking of which, I still have a young son who hasn’t found a wife. If you come across a suitable match, could you introduce her to my son, Cousin Deng?”
Deng Shirong, as he stuffed tobacco into his pipe, replied with a smile, “Of course, no problem. Tell me about your son, and I’ll see if there’s anyone suitable in our village. If I find a match, I’ll help arrange it.”
The old farmer paused his work and eagerly began to describe his son, “My young son is 23 this year, and he...” He went on to list his son’s qualities and attributes.
Since this was a potential client, Deng Shirong listened attentively while smoking his pipe. Once the old farmer finished, Deng said, “Cousin, I’ll keep an eye out for a suitable match for your son. If I find someone, I’ll help arrange it.”
The old farmer nodded and sighed, “This boy is a bit wild. I hope he’ll settle down once he gets married.”
Deng Shirong smoked a few more pipes and chatted with the old farmer for several more minutes before asking the question that had been on his mind, “Cousin, I heard that there’s a very beautiful young woman in your village, only 20 years old. Do you know whose daughter she is?”
“The one you’re talking about must be Zhang Zhenfa’s daughter.”
The old farmer smiled confidently, “In this area, I haven’t seen a more beautiful girl than Zhang Zhenfa’s daughter.”
“Is she really that beautiful?”
“Indeed, she’s as pretty as the actresses in the movies.”
Deng Shirong blinked and asked, “What’s her name? Has she been promised to anyone yet?”
The old farmer replied, “Her name is Zhang Xiuping, and she hasn’t been promised to anyone yet.”
Deng Shirong’s heart settled, and he said, “If she’s really that beautiful, matchmakers must have been flocking to her door. Why hasn’t she been promised to anyone yet? Is it because of her personality or because she’s too picky?”
“Neither,” the old farmer waved his hand and praised, “This girl has a good personality. She’s not only filial but also skilled in farming, raising chickens and pigs, and doing household chores. The only reason she hasn’t been married off is that her parents are determined to find her a good match, so she can help her two younger brothers get married. Otherwise, she would have been taken away by some family long ago.”
Deng Shirong furrowed his brow and said, “Cousin, are you saying her parents are putting the responsibility of her brothers’ marriages on her?”
The old farmer sighed, “It’s not entirely their fault. Their family’s conditions are not good. She has five siblings—two older brothers and two younger brothers. Her parents have already drained their savings to marry off her older brothers and are in debt. If they don’t put the burden on her, they won’t have the means to help her younger brothers get married.”
Deng Shirong understood. Although Zhang Xiuping’s parents were being unfair to her, in many families, daughters were never as important as sons. To marry off their two younger sons, Zhang’s parents, who had little earning power, had no choice but to rely on their daughter.
Dear readers, please leave more comments to let me know you’re still with me. Playing solo can be quite torturous.
(End of Chapter)
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