Back to the Countryside
Chapter 12:说亲 (to act as matchmaker)
Lin Sheng’s mood when he returned home was completely different from when he went to find Qi Yue. It was really sunny after rain*, ten thousand li ( li, a Chinese unit of length = one-half kilometer) without clouds.
[雨過天晴* :yǔ guò tiān qíng
sky clears after rain / new hopes after a disastrous period (idiom) ]
When he arrived at home, he saw Wu Yulan drying clothes in the yard, he ran over on tiptoe, “Wife, I will help you!”
Wu Yulan gave him the clothes according to his strength. When he wrung it dry, she took it and hung it on the rope. “Have you made it clear?
“Yes!” Lin Sheng took out another one from the tub, “Guess what Brother Qi said? “
“He has no feelings about He Zhen!” Wu Yulan carefully pulled the clothes on the rope neatly.
“Wife, you are so smart!” Lin Sheng handed her the twisted clothes and said, “Then who do you think he has thought of?”
” He Ling!”Wu Yulan said a name without even thinking about it.
The clothes Lin Sheng had just taken out of the basin fell back again, “Why do you even know this?”
Wu Yulan gave him a blank look and stopped her busy work. “If I guessed correctly, the purse was most likely* embroidered by Ling Ge er then it was taken by He Zhen to use!”
[十有八九* :most likely / mostly (in 8 or 9 cases out of 10) / vast majority ]
” Wife, you are amazing!” Lin Sheng was stunned, “How do you know everything?”
Wu Yulan also came near He Ling, she naturally knew what’s on the bed, and she had said a few words to He Zhen before, thinking that he was not very familiar with embroidery. Regarding Qi Yue who would abnormally accept his purse,even if she hadn’t seen the purse, she could almost guess it.
“If He Ling can really marry him, he’ll make it*(熬出頭)! “Wu Yulan took out a piece of clothing from the basin and wrung it out and put it on the rope to arrange it.
[ 熬出頭 (áo chū tóu) :to break clear of all the troubles and hardships / to achieve success]
Lin Sheng recovered his senses and continued to help her by twisting the clothes. “When my mother comes back, I will tell her!”
*****
He Tian’s family had an unexpected guest come early in the morning. It was Lin Sheng’s mother, Fang.
“Oh, from the Lin Shan family, what wind bring you here?” “When she opened the door and saw her coming, Qian opened her mouth in a strange way.*(陰陽怪氣)
[陰陽怪氣* :eccentric / peculiar / mystifying (Describe : attitude quirks, cold words, unpredictable) ]
Originally, the two families did not meet much in the village, so they just nodded their heads every time they met, that kind of relation. Later, Lin Sheng always helped He Ling speak from time to time, then Qian did not like him much, even her family members also joined to not to like him. Lin sheng’s family, on the other hand, felt that He family was rather mean and didn’t like to communicate with them.
“Without something, naturally I’m not going to come, be a nuisance, but today I have proper things to talk about right? ” No matter how much in her heart she doesn’t want to see her, Fang still has a smile on her face. If it weren’t for Boy Qi’s request, she wouldn’t have come here to see her face. Don’t think she didn’t know how their family set her son up behind her back!
“What’s the matter? Between you and our family, what matter could it be?” Qian rolled his eyes disdainfully.
Fang felt a little annoyed, she wanted to curse, but she still resisted , “Let’s go in and talk about it. It’s not convenient here!”
“What’s the inconvenience? Let everyone listen to it, why? Could it be that your son really intends to marry our Ling Ge’er back to be ‘his little wife’? Qian didn’t mean to let the person in at all. She stood at the door with a loud voice, which attracted the surrounding neighbors to poke their heads out to see the situation.
Fang grit her teeth*(咬牙) that she don’t even take He Ling’s reputation into consideration , deliberately blocked in front of the door and not giving face to her right? Then she would like to see who is going to be more ashamed.
[咬牙(yǎo yá )could mean also to describes extremely angry or determined.]
With a smile, she said, “Since you want to say it here, that is also okay. Anyway, it’s a happy event. I’m here today to act as matchmaker for Qi Yue!”
“Are you serious?” Before Qian’s able to react, He Zhen ran out of the yard. He had been in the yard before.
He didn’t care, when he saw that the visitor was Lin Sheng’ mother but who would have imagined hearing her say something like this!
“Aiyo, my Zhen’er, this Qi xiao zi (Boy Qi) actually come to propose a marriage to you so soon,it’s truly a good insight” Qian also returned to her senses, and took He Zhen’s hand with a smile on her face.
He Zhen’s heart is simply exciting,
that person actually came to propose a marriage with him! He said, such an excellent ger as himself, how is it possible, if that person didn’t like him? That’s good. In the future, he will wear satin clothes and beautiful jewelry, when he goes to the city, he will also be able to take a carriage. He will also be loved and spoiled by a gentle and handsome husband. He will be the happiest ger in the village!
“This Qi Yue really want to marry He Zhen ne?”
“Isn’t it? This He Zhen is also good enough, able to win over Qi Yue so quickly!”
“That right, that’s right. That Qi Yue is handsome and also rich. He’s going to have a blessing* when he gets married to him!”
[享福 (xiǎng fú) : to live comfortably / happy and prosperous life]
The whispers spread into Fang’s ears. She looked at the proud*自豪 (proud of one’s achievement)and proud of oneself* (得意) expressions of He Zhen and Qian, she lowered her head to cover her mouth and laughed.
“Look at me! Happiness frequently comes, I almost forget about the big matchmaker. Quickly go in and sit down! Let’s talk in detail!” Qian completely forgot how she treated Fang before, and now she changed her face and was about to tug her arm home.
Fang didn’t mean to go in with her. She broke away from her hand and looked at her mockingly and said, “I won’t go in. Let’s finish talking here. Don’t make any mistakes. The person Qi Yue wants to marry is He Ling.”
As soon as she said this, the joyful expressions of Qian and He Zhen froze on their faces, and He Zhen rushed up and grabbed her shoulders, “Impossible! It’s impossible!! How can big brother Qi want to marry him?! He’s going to marry me !! You are a liar!!”
Fang was a little hurt when he caught her. She stepped back one step to get rid of him, with a slightly angry look on her face. “He Zhen, What’s your attitude towards your elders?”
Qian supported He Zhen, who seemed to be a little unstable, and yelled at Fang right in the face: “What’s the attitude of our family Zhen’er? Who told you to talk nonsense in front of other people’s house!”
Fang was made laugh angrily*(气笑) by her and pointed directly to her nose: “I’m telling you, Qi Yue said that he wants to marry your He Ling. previously, you said thirty taels of silver, and he will give you twenty taels more,so fifty taels of silver in total. Such a good thing, are you not happy about it?”
[Laugh angrily*气笑 : Something that you can’t stand it and it made you angry, but after taste it feels funny, so you laughed.]
The villagers watching the excitement, all took a breath. Oh my Lord! fifty taels of silver ah! This much, can buy five cows! Also it can be used to marry a wife for ten sons! This Qi Yue’s shot is really generous! Someone previously said that he came to the village and bought so many things, so he guessed he didn’t have much money in his hands, that person must be looking away!! (tl: it’s because that person didn’t pay attention, hope u understand this joke) He just casually took out fifty taels of silver as a betrothal gift , so he definitely has surplus in his hand!
These ordinary times, no one had ever seen He Ling say a few words to Qi Yue, quietly win over a person without saying a word? In the end isn’t it because he is good-looking ah, someone will come to him even if he doesn’t do anything!
He Zhen’s complexion became more ugly. He gritted his teeth, wishing to strangle that vixen immediately. Unexpectedly seduce Qi Yue when he didn’t notice it at all
Qian was a little moved. That was fifty taels of silver ah! With this silver, her house could be turned into a blue brick house, she could buy a cow, and she could buy a few more acres of land! But she looked at He Zhen, and resisted the impulse to immediately agree. If their Zhen Ge er was the one who got married, she would get more than fifty taels!
“No! Incorrect! Big brother Qi took my purse, he took mine!!” He Zhen suddenly thought of something and shouted at her.
On their side, if a ger or girl is interested in a man, he will embroider a purse and give it to him. If the man accepts it, it means that he is interested in that ger or girl too!
“You said that purse, Qi Xiaozi told me about this!” Fang didn’t feel so angry when he saw him like this. “When he was treating Ling Ge’er, he saw that unfinished purse in his room. When you took it to him, he thought Ling Ge’er was thin skinned and ashamed, so he asked you to help him give it to him, so he accepted it!”
The eyes of the villagers are strange, He Zhen said that Qi Yue had accepted his purse to the whole village, look very affectionate* . It looks like he Ling is the one who embroidered that love purse. He was also seen by Qi Yue. Isn’t this ‘stealing chicken but he instead also lost rice’?
[ 情意綿綿* qíng yì mián mián ;
everlasting love / very much enamored]
So, in the past those things he said he embroidered by himself before were all deceptive, right?
He Zhen paled instantly, no wonder Qi Yue’s eyes at that time were strange, he already knew it all. No charge for medicine, all of that is just for that bitch!
Seeing the appearance of her ger of ‘take a beating’, Qian was distressed. She glared at Fang and said angrily: “He Ling won’t marry!”
After she finished speaking , she didn’t listen to what the other party said and entered the house. The wooden door was closed with a “bang”.
They would have expected this kind of reaction. Fang didn’t care at all, turned her head and left.
××××××××××××××××××
Translator’s comment: Wu Yu Lan is such a charming and smart woman character in BL novels which is very rare, usually, you know…more annoying woman character than the charming one.
This chapter done earlier because a lot of dialogue than description. I am better at daily conversation topics than the idiom and description’ part because although I am Chinese, Mandarin is not my first language and I learned it by myself (autodidact) since I was in junior high school. I can’t write it (only some words).