Chapter 8 Lie to ghosts
My goodness, the matchmaker didn’t know that her words made Old Man Qin even more determined.

Old Man Qin winked at Aunt Qin, but Aunt Qin refused to move. She coughed loudly again, and then Aunt Qin reluctantly went into the house and took out another package, which contained the two pounds of flour that the matchmaker brought last time.

"Her aunt, you came to us last time to arrange a marriage for our Huairu, we have to thank you."

"But who would have thought that when she came back from work at night, we asked her and found out that this damn girl actually had someone in her heart."

"You refuse to go to the capital to see me no matter what."

Aunt Qin said with a bitter face, "Please take the flour back. I am sorry to bother you with this trip."

When the matchmaker heard this, she was like, "What? You said last time that I should take your daughter to the city to meet her next time, but now I have to make a wasted trip? My round trip fare is only 2 cents, how can this be possible?"

Do you know what I, Bai Gushi, did in my early years? No matter which family a chaste and heroic woman came from, she would be completely obedient in my hands, right?

The matchmaker raised her triangular eyes and slammed the table with her left hand, "You guys don't do things this way!"

He looked down at the rose cake in his right hand, and a sneer suddenly appeared on his face: "Oh, I see, whether it is the steamed buns from Qingmingzhai or the roasted meat from Tianfuhao, they were all brought back by Qin Huairu's lover, right?"

"Tsk tsk, so after I praised you guys a few times just now, have you lost your way?"

"So you're thinking of giving your daughter away for just a two-dollar item?"

"You are so short-sighted and have never seen the world!"

The matchmaker slowly ate the last bit of the rose cake, took a sip of water from the bowl to moisten her throat, and immediately raised the stakes: "They are willing to pay 10 yuan for the betrothal gift alone!"

"This is ten dollars. Your family in the countryside can only get ten or eight dollars a year, right?"

"Don't you think about it? Which family in the city is willing to find a wife from the countryside?"

"It was me who persuaded her earnestly, saying that my distant niece was pretty, skillful, well-behaved, and well-educated."

"So, you have such a tutor? You are ready to run away with a wild man when you are just reaching the age of maturity?"

"Wouldn't it be embarrassing if it got out?"

Qin Huairu couldn't stand it anymore and retorted loudly: "He's not a wild man. We've known each other for many years!"

The matchmaker curled her lips and said, "Humph, that's why I say your family is short-sighted, right? You are an apprentice in the capital, right?"

"It's not that I look down on him. There are so many apprentices in the capital. Even if they become apprentices, they still have to make a living on their own. How many of them can stay in the capital? In the end, they still have to go back to the countryside to farm."

"This capital city is full of mixed people, is it really such an easy place to stay?"

"I told you last time. First, you need to have a house. The Jia family has their own house in Nanluoguxiang, Dongcheng District. Second, you need to have a formal job. Jia Dongxu works in a factory in Loubancheng. He only makes 30 yuan a month. He doesn't have to worry about food and drink, and he has savings."

"Have you heard of Lou Bancheng? He only called the wrong name, not the wrong nickname. That's making money while you're old!"

"Jia Dongxu's master is a senior technician in the factory. He has a say in front of Boss Lou. As a result, Boss Lou thinks highly of Jia Dongxu. Maybe one day he will earn 50 or 60 yuan a month."

"It's because Jia Dongxu's mother is also from the countryside. She thinks that country people are simple and honest, so they don't look down on us country girls. Oh, it's because we are related that they thought of you right away when there was such a good thing. Your family is so lucky."

These rapid-fire words made the faces of the old man Qin and his wife turn pale and blue.

The matchmaker drank some water to moisten her throat, pulled out a handkerchief from her chest and wiped the corners of her mouth, and said to Old Man Qin and Aunt Qin with a look of deep sorrow: "Brother, sister-in-law, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you spoil the child too much."

"This child is ignorant? You two are also ignorant?"

"This..." The matchmaker's exaggerated speech shook the Qin family again. The eldest brother of the Qin family couldn't stand it anymore and murmured, "Aunt, my sister's friend is studying in Beijing and just graduated from high school."

"Hey, how many years did you study there? I'm from Beijing, can you tell me which school did you go to? I want to hear it. Is there any?" "Two years, it was said to be the Fifth Middle School in Dongcheng District."

"There really is a No. 13 Middle School, it's at No. Xiguan Hutong, just a few steps away from Nanluoguxiang. That school is a public school, but it doesn't charge tuition. If he really went to school there, it's obvious that his family doesn't have much money."

"Who in the capital doesn't send their children to school to learn to read and write? Even the laborers at the gates of the city (a colloquial term in the capital specifically referring to the poor) have to send their children to schools for the common people. Not being able to read and write is the only way! If you can't read and write, no one will even want you to be an apprentice."

"Besides, junior high school and high school take six years, so this guy must be a gifted student."

The matchmaker paused for a moment, letting Old Man Qin and his family think about it, and then asked casually, "I'm not looking down on you, but did the child get into college?"

The eldest brother of the Qin family was already blushing from the matchmaker's rebuttal, and he stammered in reply, "No, no, he said that the teacher appreciated him and wanted him to continue studying, but he himself didn't want to continue studying and wanted to be a Chinese medicine doctor."

"Look!" The matchmaker waved her handkerchief. "Look, what did I say?"

"You can't even graduate from high school? The best outcome is to work in a factory. At first, you only make 15 or 16 yuan a month. You have to work at least three years before you can make more than 20 yuan."

"You want to be a Chinese medicine doctor? That's even more impossible. You don't get paid for three years as an apprentice."

The Qin family looked at each other in bewilderment. They thought, what the matchmaker said makes sense. How can a common school that doesn't charge tuition be a good school? Didn't Wang Deming himself say that he planned to ask someone to join the Chinese Medicine Association and find a class there?

But since he just got in, does he also have to go through three years of apprenticeship? During this three-year period, the apprentice only gets food, and the money depends on the reward from the master at the end of the year.
If Xiaoru really married him, would she have to suffer with him for the next three years? Especially since Wang Deming's family had just built a brick house, and they probably used up all their savings. Did he do this just to marry our Xiaoru?
They are not from the same village. We don't know whether Wang Deming's family borrowed money to build this house.

Who is a matchmaker? She is observant and eloquent. As soon as she sees the faces of the old man Qin and his wife, she knows that they have been persuaded by her.

The matchmaker continued: "Let's talk about the steamed buns from Qingmingzhai. If you are really greedy, you can tighten your belt and spend one dollar to buy one. Which family can't afford it?"

"Brother, sister-in-law, I've been going from house to house a lot, and I've seen too many people who don't have much money in their pockets, but still act like big shots in front of their relatives."

"Especially the bannermen in the capital, who can't even afford to eat at home, have to wipe their mouths with pig skin when they go out, and brag about which restaurant they ate at. People like this are just donkey dung balls with a shiny surface!"

"You two must not make a mistake, this concerns your daughter's lifelong happiness!"

"Not to mention, if this girl marries well, how much can she subsidize her parents' family?"

"What flows from my fingers is enough for you to eat."

Qin Huairu shouted in the inner room again, "His sister is a bannerman who married into the capital, but her husband's family owns five shops, which can support him a lot! He lives with his sister while he is studying."

"Do bannermen know how to do business? They are just living off the fat of the land. It's already past the time when the iron-clad crops get fed by the emperor!" The matchmaker followed Qin Huairu's words and reversed the meaning.

"Even if I have a shop, I must earn some rent, so I can afford to buy steamed buns from Qingmingzhai and roasted meat from Tianfuhao. I'm just pretending to be a big shot here!"

"Let's talk about it again. Even if we post it, it will only cost a few dollars a month at most, right?"

"For a family like ours that has its own land and can produce crops, this is icing on the cake. If we buy a piece of cloth and some coal, won't our lives get better and better?"

"But if I don't have a good job, what good will these few dollars do? I can't even have enough food to eat."

"Won't it be hard work after I get married?"

"Brother, sister-in-law, I have seen too many people who suffer hardships after getting married, just like the poor family below Deshengmen. Oh, the wife dare not rest every day, sewing socks and mending buttons."

"If you don't work today, you'll be hungry tomorrow."

Otherwise, how can she be a matchmaker? Looking at her mouth, she has just changed her mind about marrying Qin Huairu to Wang Deming.
Old man Qin gritted his teeth and shouted to the inner room: "Xiao Ru, come out and wash up. Let your brother accompany you and your aunt to the city tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)