Chapter 184: Chapter 18 Mr. Gu’s Plan
"Everyone! There’s no need to pay for the room; someone has already paid for us!" Silver put down the bundle in his hands and told them.
"How can that be right? Wouldn’t we be taking advantage of you?" Mr. He disagreed. Receiving someone’s favor means owing them a debt, and such debts are hard to repay.
"Uncle He, please don’t worry about it! Indeed, someone familiar has covered it." Silver also felt a bit helpless.
Sitting on the ox cart on his way home, Silver couldn’t help but think of the Gu Family. It had been ten days since he left, and he wondered if his mother and second sister missed him.
Ye Zhiqiu looked at the forest by the roadside, thinking about his mother and sisters at home. Fortunately, he had not let them down, which made him feel much relieved from the burden he had been carrying.
Although it was just the county examination, it was the first step in the imperial civil examinations. Feeling the five taels of silver in his pocket, he was a bit embarrassed as he hadn’t spent a penny on this trip, always tagging along with Silver for meals and drinks.
"Brother! The teacher asked us to return to the private school the day after tomorrow, which gives us a day to rest at home." Silver also wanted to rest at home; the exams these past days had indeed been a bit tense.
"That’s good! The provincial examination is in April, so we can catch our breath when we return to the private school the day after tomorrow!" Sun Xian was returning home with the Gu Family on the same ox cart.
"Sun family boy, on this trip, did your mother settle in well?" Mr. Gu looked at Sun Xian. Silver had mentioned to Mr. Gu before about wanting to match Gu Wan with Sun Xian.
During this period, he had been observing Sun Xian, who was filial to his mother and socially adept. More importantly, he had potential for a successful future. As a father, he naturally hoped his daughter would marry well. Although Sun Xian’s family was poor, he was ambitious. If given some support, he might even become an official in the future.
He valued Sun Xian’s potential. If Wan’er married him, he would add to her dowry, and life wouldn’t be too difficult. As for Sun Xian’s mother, though she was unwell and often needed medicine, Sun Xian mentioned it was mostly from past overwork depleting her health, which could be managed with care. He had thought about it for many days and felt Sun Xian was a good match.
Da Lang had reached the age to be matched, and Da Ya was already thirteen this year and urgently needed a match. In rural families, it was common to arrange marriages at thirteen or fourteen. But since the little aunt and niece were around the same age, the little aunt would have to be matched first, or it would cause gossip. Therefore, they needed to find a match for Wan’er before anything else.
"My mother is already able to get out of bed and walk around. Before I left, I entrusted my aunt next door to look after her!" Sun Xian spoke of his mother with some concern, as he had been away for many days and didn’t know if she could take care of herself properly.
Sitting on the side, Silver wondered if this was his father’s intention? As for Ye Zhiqiu, he hadn’t considered him. It wasn’t that Ye Zhiqiu was bad, but he was younger than Gu Wan by a year!
Moreover, he was still a young boy and hadn’t settled his personality, so who knew what he would be like in the future? Besides, with three women in the Ye Family, if his second sister married there, given her temperament, she might suffer grievances. Ye’s mother raised Ye Zhiqiu with great difficulty, insisting on his education despite the family’s hardships, suggesting she had high hopes for him. Even the two sisters might be waiting for Ye Zhiqiu to gain success before getting married, placing Ye Zhiqiu under a heavy burden. He wanted his second sister to have an easier life.
"Oh! You aren’t young anymore, right? Hasn’t your mother arranged a marriage for you yet?" Mr. Gu looked at Sun Xian across from him, focusing on his eyes.
"The family’s hard times a few years back made it tough to find a girl willing to marry me. Only in the past couple of years have things eased up, but I’ve been focused on exams and have neglected this matter." Sun Xian gave a bitter smile, as previous poverty had his mother trying to arrange a match through a matchmaker, but no one ever came.
His mother always said she was the burden, that without her sickness, he would’ve married long ago. One time, due to this, she even attempted suicide, with the belt hanging from the beam, only for him to discover and save her when he got up for water late at night.
Conditions improved over the last two years, and matchmakers came, but he wasn’t keen on marriage anymore. Last time, a matchmaker proposed one, but the girl’s family asked for ten taels of silver as a betrothal gift, which he couldn’t afford. They probably saw he worked as a bookkeeper in town and presumed his monthly salary was significant, hence the demand.
However, he still needed money for his studies, making the ten taels unaffordable even if scraped together, so the match fell through. Ever since, he had been indifferent to arranging a marriage.
"The past two years, hasn’t your mother been looking? You’re not getting any younger; don’t you want a match?" Mr. Gu’s sudden enthusiasm caused Ye Zhiqiu to glance at him several times.
"Not thinking about that for now!" Sun Xian felt awkward with Mr. Gu’s persistent questioning about the topic.
Mr. Gu didn’t believe Sun Xian. What young man doesn’t want to marry? It’s just that he hadn’t found the right one yet. With this thought, he had an idea in mind.
"It’s getting late now, and you need to go back and settle down. It’s been ten days since you returned home. After a few days, I’ll let Xiao Bao invite you to our home to play! There’s plenty of nice things by Changling Mountain nearby, let Xiao Bao show you around."
Silver knew his father wanted Sun Xian to visit discreetly for observation. Although they had frequented each other’s places before, it was mostly Silver and Sun Xian arranging to meet at the private school or going to the Sun Family’s home.
"Third Uncle Gu, you’re too polite! I won’t say any formalities. As long as you don’t mind us intruding, I won’t be reserved!" Sun Xian, seeing Mr. Gu’s invitation, assumed it was hospitality.
"At that time, Brother Ye should come too, and let’s also invite Wang Qikai and Brother You. More people make it livelier!" By inviting more people, Sun Xian’s visit wouldn’t stand out too much.
"Then I’ll impose!" Seeing Silver’s genuine invitation, Ye Zhiqiu didn’t hold back his courtesy.
"There’s a nice spot on Changling Mountain at our place, and Xialing Village has a small waterfall. If you bring snacks, you’ll have a great time! Young people enjoy outings, don’t they? Haha!" Uncle Gu chimed in, thinking Mr. Gu was genuinely inviting Xiao Bao’s classmates for more interactions.
"Yes! Little Uncle, make sure to call for me when the time comes!" Hearing about the Gu Family’s plan to invite many classmates, including some from well-off families, Gu Wanhua naturally wanted to join in the fun!
"Isn’t it at our place? You’re free to join! But will your wife let you go? Aren’t you supposed to take care of the kid?" Silver glanced at Gu Wanhua, who was closely related by marriage, having married his cousin from Dayang Village.
Silver recalled how modern times stress that close-kin marriages might produce deformed or mentally challenged children. However, such marriages were common historically, and fortunately, all observed so far appeared normal.
Gu Wanhua’s son was over a year old, and very cute. Silver had brought him a toy from the county, a cleverly made wooden pecking chick toy.