"Mother, you're not going to send me to the Zheng Family, are you?"
On the way, while Matchmaker Wang got off the carriage to buy sour plum soup to quench her thirst, Gu Taohua anxiously sought a definite answer from Tong Huaqiong.
She was almost bewildered by Tong Huaqiong's commotion.
"No. Just talk less and follow my lead when we get to the Zheng Family." Tong Huaqiong responded decisively.
Terrified, Gu Taohua patted her chest and moved closer to Tong Huaqiong.
"Mother, you're not going to..."
Gu Dashu wanted to say "you're not going to offer yourself to Mr. Zheng for good fortune, are you?" but before he could finish, Matchmaker Wang got back on the carriage and generously handed out the sour plum soup to everyone.
Gu Dashu took the sour plum soup and had to stop himself from continuing, feeling uneasy and unsure of Tong Huaqiong's intentions.
The carriage sped along, and before Tong Huaqiong could take a good look at the street scenery, it stopped in front of a large mansion.
"Housekeeper He, I've brought the people."
Matchmaker Wang was the first to jump off the carriage, offering credit to Housekeeper He, who was waiting at the door.
The Gu Family wasn't unfamiliar with Housekeeper He. Last time, he and Matchmaker Wang had gone to the Gu Family to bring Man Er.
He was also the one who promised Gu Dashu a meal at the county's restaurant and offered the position of shopkeeper at Zheng's shop.
"Get off." Matchmaker Wang opened the carriage curtain.
Gu Dashu was the first to jump off, followed by Tong Huaqiong, who held onto his hand as she descended.
Gu Taohua, being too fat and slow, was the last to get off.
Housekeeper He glanced at the Gu Family and saw a charming, beautiful widow, feeling a warmth in his heart.
Indeed, compared to the last time he saw Widow Tong at Qinghe Bay, she seemed like a completely different person.
The waist beneath that pink outfit had an indescribable charm.
Once the matter with Mr. Zheng was settled, Housekeeper He planned to visit around Widow Tong's door at Qinghe Bay more often.
"Housekeeper He..."
Hearing Matchmaker Wang calling him, Housekeeper He steadied himself, and upon noticing the absence of Man Er, he turned away from the charming widow and gave Matchmaker Wang a nod.
"Housekeeper He, the Gu Family brought a bigger girl. As we discussed before, you didn't clarify which girl to the main family, right?" Matchmaker Wang whispered.
Housekeeper He turned to look at Gu Taohua.
Previously, when he visited the Gu Family, he had already taken a liking to this girl. Chubby with a face that seemed to bring prosperity, she was just right for the ailing Mr. Zheng.
But Widow Tong was reluctant to part with her chubby daughter, so she put forward her granddaughter instead.
The emaciated granddaughter with sallow complexion didn't catch Housekeeper He's eye at all, and he feared the main family wouldn't like her either. Reluctant to lose her silver, Matchmaker Wang used her persuasive skills to convince Housekeeper He to agree on Man Er, and even got him to avoid specifying which girl to the main family.
As a result, Mr. Zheng and his wife only knew they were getting a daughter from the Gu Family, but weren't clear on exactly which girl.
After all, at this point, anyone willing to marry their eldest son for good fortune was good enough; they weren't in the mood to be picky!
"So Widow Tong agreed?" Housekeeper He asked in a low voice.
Matchmaker Wang beamed with satisfaction: "Since I've brought the girl, how could she not agree?"
Indeed.
Housekeeper He nodded and gave Gu Taohua a sycophantic smile.
In the future, this chubby girl would be the young mistress, so he intended to leave a good impression.
"Come with me."
Housekeeper He gestured to Gu Taohua, who entered holding onto Tong Huaqiong's hand.
Housekeeper He looked at Gu Taohua's large, plump backside with satisfaction; the eldest young master didn't have much time left. This girl looked like she'd bear children well, maybe even leaving a descendant for the eldest young master.
If that happened, Housekeeper He would be a major contributor to the Zheng Family, since he had chosen her after all.
Tong Huaqiong, full of vigor, followed Housekeeper He through the yard and towards the main house.
Beside her, Gu Taohua was a bit nervous, as the Gu Dashu family followed closely, eyes darting around everywhere.
"Master, Madam, the people have arrived."
As Housekeeper He called out, two delicate maids pulled open the curtain of the main house.
Tong Huaqiong charged in with a few bad bamboo ruffians as if they were bandits entering a village.
Tsk tsk tsk, this feudal aristocratic family's decorations were even more luxurious and formidable than those in costume dramas.
Sitting at the head chair was Zheng Junren, and next to him, a middle-aged beauty with red eyes, presumably Mrs. Zheng.
The Zheng couple sat with a young man who looked sickly, surrounded by a circle of maids. At a glance, Tong Huaqiong predicted that this young man had tuberculosis from his pale face.
In modern times, tuberculosis isn't a big deal; a few IV drips and it's cured, but in ancient times, it could be a death sentence!
No wonder Matchmaker Wang said Mr. Zheng didn't have many days to live.
While Tong Huaqiong was sizing up the Zheng family, the Zheng Junren couple was also sizing up Tong Huaqiong and her people.
The focus was on the young Gu Taohua.
Zheng Junren thought, no wonder Matchmaker Wang and Housekeeper He were vague about the girl; she's too fat. Half her body comes in, the entire room feels cramped.
If his eldest son were in good health, she wouldn't even qualify to be a maid in the Zheng family.
But fat or not, their son already had one foot in the grave, so there was nothing much to choose from.
Zheng Junren comforted himself, seeing that the fat girl had quite a decent face, and looked like she would bring prosperity to the family.
"Greetings, madam and sir." Tong Huaqiong spoke up first.
This rural widow was quite the sight. Just the way she dressed made Mrs. Zheng feel gaudy; the way the mother is, the daughter is likely the same.
Some dislike rose in her heart.
After the wedding, she'd have to properly set some rules for this rural fat girl.
Zheng Junren didn't pay attention to these things. He nodded to Tong Huaqiong, offered her a seat, and served tea.
Good tea.
Truly worthy of an aristocratic family.
Tong Huaqiong took a sip of the fragrant tea and clicked her tongue.
"...Now that everyone is here, the two families can join as one and form a good union."
"Sister Tong, you can feel relieved now that you've seen the Zheng family with your own eyes. You know, marrying a man means wearing clothes and eating food; the concern is whether the husband's family can feed you. The Zheng family not only can feed you, but they can offer fish and meat in every meal. From now on, Sister Tong, you're falling into a nest of blessings and won't have to go through days tightening your belt just to get some meat."
Matchmaker Wang grinned widely, praising Zheng Junren and his wife extensively.
The people were delivered smoothly, and soon the matchmaker's fee would be in hand.
"Indeed, I found it nice as soon as I entered the courtyard. Sister-in-law Wang, you truly didn't deceive me. I've always dreamed of living like the Zheng family." Said Tong Huaqiong joyfully after taking a sip of tea.
Mrs. Zheng couldn't hide her disdain on her face.
Dream on, marrying your daughter here just so you can enjoy life with us.
Does a rural widow deserve this?
Your daughter is sold to the Zheng family; don't you know? Do you really think you're in-laws?
How did that fat girl get so big, who knows what she ate. Today she could indulge as she entered, but not tomorrow; the Zheng family's meals aren't so easily enjoyed.
"Well, is this my husband?"
Tong Huaqiong turned and looked at Mr. Zheng, thinking, the pale-faced young man doesn't look bad at all!
Tong Huaqiong calling him husband shocked everyone.
Even Zheng Junren, who had seen many storms, was stunned.
Gu Dashi thought, oh dear mother, are you really going to remarry? Even though when Dad was alive, I secretly blamed him for not having wealth, I don't want to call a pale-faced man my stepfather, even if he gives me meat every day. He's younger than me!
"Husband's complexion is rather poor. But I don't mind; Sister-in-law Wang explained it to me. Given my husband's looks and the Zheng family's status, I wouldn't have had a chance if he were in good health." Tong Huaqiong said.
"What? Sister Tong, don't talk nonsense, this is your son-in-law, where's the husband from?"
Matchmaker Wang raised her voice amid Zheng Junren's stunned expression.
Widow Tong doesn't joke like this.
"Son-in-law? Sister-in-law Wang, what do you mean? You came to my house to arrange a marriage for me, didn't you? I thought, as an aged widow with a family full of children and grandchildren, no one would want me. You said Mr. Zheng needed a bride to bring him luck and couldn't find a suitable girl, and didn't care about the Gu family as long as a woman could negate bad luck, that's why I came with you. Why has my husband turned into a son-in-law at the Zheng family's?"
Matchmaker Wang was stunned by Tong Huaqiong's logic!
When she went to Qinghe Bay, villagers hinted between the lines that Widow Tong was tricky to deal with, always stirring the pot no matter what. She's now experiencing it firsthand, regretting deeply.
But she did not expect Widow Tong to not only be unreasonable but also to have a mental twist!
"No, Sister Tong, that's not what we agreed on..."
"Yes, we did agree that I would bring luck to him. My dear parents, what's going on? I've brought my daughter, son, daughter-in-law, and grandson to meet the in-laws. I even thought about changing my children's family name to ensure they carry on Mr. Zheng's family line. How did things change so suddenly?"
Tong Huaqiong addressed them as father and mother smoothly, inwardly reminding herself this was the widow Tong Dajiao speaking, not her.
The Zheng couple was rendered speechless by how fluidly Tong Huaqiong called them parents.