That afternoon, Zeng Ruixiang was going to the old house, and Zi Qing also wanted to follow him. She was really curious about how ancient men and women got to know each other, and this was an opportunity that couldn't be missed. The two of them arrived at the old house together. When Tian saw Zi Qing, he seemed a bit unhappy, but didn't say anything. Moreover, his own son had brought over three big watermelons, so there were hardly any left in Zi Qing's watermelon patch. A few days ago, Zhou Zhuang had come to take away the last batch, and Zi Qing was planning to destroy the vines and plant potatoes in the next few days, so he gave some of the remaining ones to share around.

  Before the person arrived, Ziqing held a melon and said she wanted to give it to her aunt. She still remembered the kindness of that egg and Xiaoxiu's water. However, Ziqing couldn't hold it anymore, so Zhou Shi quickly took over, "Ziqing, your mother's days are also very difficult, leave one melon for me to keep seeds too, I heard you picked one for your eldest aunt's house."

  Ziying didn't wait for her to finish speaking and quickly handed the melon to her.

  Zeng Ruixiang took a melon and followed Ziqing to the back house. Ziqing saw that the wooden wall of the hall was nailed with many paper mourning clothes, green, purple, yellow. Ziqing first saw Zengshi, saying that she had brought a watermelon for her to eat. Unexpectedly, Zengshi still wiped away tears and told Zeng Ruixiang about going to offer sacrifices at her husband's grave during the Mid-Autumn Festival. She also said that Pengshi was now in charge of the household and had to take care of the eldest son's wedding, but the eldest son refused to hand over his father's inheritance, and the family was in a mess.

  Ziying didn't think to listen, but was somewhat puzzled. Didn't the ancients all emphasize filial piety for three years? She went to find Xiao Xiushui, who was busy in the kitchen picking out burnt pastries. Ziying said: "Aunt Xiushui, I brought a big watermelon that I grew myself and put it at Grandma's place. You can go eat it later. I have something to do and will leave first." Mainly because Ziying saw that she was also very busy, and today's main event was visiting relatives.

  Back in the front room, Zeng Rui Xiang was also sitting there. There was also a neighborly old lady, two middle-aged women who were not familiar, one of whom seemed to be a matchmaker, but didn't have the classic attire from movies, just looked neat and tidy, able to speak eloquently. And two young men, both not very tall, less than 1.6 meters, Zi Qing looked at him with a silly expression, relatively tense, this was probably today's male lead. The other one was slightly taller, also less than 1.7 meters, looking quite clever, constantly sizing up everything around him. Next to them was a woman in her forties, who should be their mother.

  The Tian family called out Xiaoyu and said a few words, then let her in. This was the mutual inspection. The matchmaker continued to introduce the situation of the Zhou family's household. They were surnamed Zhou, from Qiaocun Village, about 20 miles away, even farther than Chunyu's home. It's unknown how they found out about them. Their ancestors were originally quite wealthy and were small landowners. Unfortunately, a few years ago, Old Man Zhou fell ill, and after seeking medical treatment everywhere, he was now barely holding on. The family had sold off a lot of their land, and the Zhou family had five children in total. Two daughters had already married out, and among the three sons, two were already married, leaving only the eldest son. He couldn't bear to leave Old Man Zhou behind, so he accompanied him to seek medical treatment, which delayed things year after year. This year, he was already 22 years old. The youngest son had just gotten married at the beginning of the year. Old Man Zhou knew his days were numbered and was afraid that if he didn't hurry, he would delay his eldest son's marriage even further. Therefore, he asked people to help him find a match and promised that after the wedding, they would immediately separate households and not burden their son.

  The Tian family was somewhat displeased, firstly because the other party's age was a bit older, and secondly because there was still a patient at home, who knew how long it would drag on. However, Old Master was more willing, such a filial younger generation is not easy to find, and in the future, he will definitely be good to his own daughter. Moreover, his second daughter's body was not well, and if he didn't find someone kind and honest, how could she get by?

  Zhou's old mother thought the conditions of this girl's family were also suitable, although they had divided their household, her two older brothers, one working at the prefecture government office (actually Zeng Ruiqing was just a clerk), and the other teaching at the county town school, would not go wrong. The dowry should also be sufficient. Although she was physically weak, it didn't matter, she could just do less housework. Having made up her mind, her words became more enthusiastic.

  Old Master, Tian Shi, Zeng Rui Xiang, and Zhou Shi went into Xia Yu's room to discuss. Zeng Rui Xiang's opinion was similar to Old Master's, thinking that the other party was honest and had a few acres of land, so they could live a stable life. Zhou Shi said to ask how much betrothal gift they would give first, and how many acres of land they would get after separation. After they agreed, everyone came out again. Tian Shi called the matchmaker aside and asked about the betrothal gift and land. The matchmaker then called Old Mother Zhou aside to whisper, which made Zi Qing laugh. Why not just ask directly?

  In the end, the Zhou family couldn't come up with a betrothal gift. To get a betrothal gift, they would have to sell their land, but the land was divided among Xia Yu's own people, on the condition that Xia Yu married into the family. So Mrs. Zhou's intention was not in vain. They still had 15 mu of good paddy fields at home. The eldest son got 5 mu, and the dry land was 8 mu. When the eldest son got married, he didn't get a betrothal gift, so the eldest son only got 4 mu of dry land. The two younger sons got married and gave out betrothal gifts, so they each got 2 mu less of dry land.

  "Elder sister-in-law, you also want the best for the child, whatever you say goes. If you want a betrothal gift, I'll go back home and sell the land immediately. But aren't we both doing this for the child's sake? Once the land is sold, it won't be easy to buy it back. You're right about that. Elder sister-in-law, do you want a betrothal gift or are you worried that my family will go back on their word? I'll go back to the village immediately and find the village head to draw up the contract. What do you think?"

  The old man pondered for a moment, then said: "Reason is reason, but the usual procedures of meeting the parents, engagement, exchanging betrothal gifts and welcoming the bride can't be skipped. We should at least make a few new clothes for the kids."

  "It's only right, it's only right. Let's just keep things simple for the sake of appearances. We're just farmers after all. Each season we make one set of clothes. For winter, let's make a padded jacket with a satin lining. When winter comes and we're at home idle, visiting relatives will also be more dignified. What do you think?" Old Lady Zhou hastily agreed.

  "The day of getting married can't be rushed, it's better to find someone to calculate carefully." The requirement proposed by Tian Shi.

  "That's no problem, I'll go back and find someone to settle it. However, sister-in-law, can we finalize this before the new year? I'm afraid my old man might say something unpleasant, just in case something happens, I can be at ease."

  "This is not good, the wedding was too rushed last year. Moreover, my family is still waiting for the silver brought by our sons at the end of the year to handle matters. Let's just do it this way for now, and we'll choose a date another day to visit your home and take a look around. We also need to discuss and consider again, and you can also discuss and consider when you return home." Tian proposed sending off the guests, and the visit came to an end. Zi Qing thought they would be treated to lunch.

  Two days later, Tian took Xia Yu and Zhou Shi, Shen Shi to Qiao Village together. When they returned, Tian was still relatively satisfied. Shen said that as soon as he saw the conditions at home, he knew it was right. The house had a courtyard, the main house had one hall and six rooms, and there were also side houses. Xia Yu wanted to marry into the family and would get the large side house on the east side of the main house.

  This marriage is basically considered a success, and next is the engagement. I heard it will be after the autumn harvest, but Tian's stone in her heart has finally fallen to the ground, and she is smiling all day, saying that she wants to start preparing for the dowry. Autumn Jade's needlework is good, and she helps with the preparations.

  After Xia Yu's matter was settled, Zeng Rui Xiang didn't go out either. Zi Qing asked her father to turn over the melon field at home twice, and she had already prepared the potato sprouts. The whole family spent two days planting them, and then it rained lightly, this old sky really blesses people. On the other side of the field, the later-planted cucumbers and beans also sprouted, and they were busy building a trellis for a day. After finishing all these, Zeng Rui Xiang's vacation also ended.