Although her words were phrased as a question, Ding Ximei’s tone carried certainty.
At first, Cheng Fangqiu quickly shook her head, but after hesitating for a moment, she then nodded slightly, as if she had struggled internally before finally making up her mind to admit it.
“Mm… there is someone I kind of like.”
Hearing her daughter speak so cautiously, Ding Ximei was undeniably surprised. She quickly ran through the names of all the eligible young men in the village, but one by one, she dismissed them in her mind. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with an answer, so she couldn’t help but ask, “Who? Is he from our village?”
“Aiya, Mom, don’t ask yet. I haven’t even figured out his thoughts.”
Cheng Fangqiu playfully rolled her eyes at Ding Ximei and acted as if she didn’t want to be questioned further. Then, with a bit of shyness, she slipped away into her room.
Ding Ximei stood there, anxiously pacing in circles. This child wouldn’t say a thing—how was she supposed to help her make a proper judgment? Young girls were easily deceived. What if the person she liked wasn’t reliable?
Gritting her teeth, she was about to go investigate further when a voice called from outside the courtyard.
“Ximei-meizi, are you home?”
An outsider had arrived, and Ding Ximei had to temporarily suppress her thoughts. Forcing a smile, she stepped out to greet her guest.
“You’re here?”
“I just put away the dishes and came straight over.”
Li Lifen responded with a smile as she made her way toward the house. “Come on, I haven’t finished telling you about the man yet.”
That day, as soon as Ding Ximei had left, the prospective groom’s family had shown up at Li Lifen’s door. They were looking for a bride who was beautiful—whether she could do farm work or not didn’t matter. The most important thing was that she had a delicate and attractive face.
It was as if fate had aligned perfectly. The two families’ expectations matched up almost exactly.
Thinking this was a perfect match, Li Lifen had immediately taken out the photo that Ding Ximei had sent her and showed it to the man’s parents. The couple had barely taken a glance before agreeing on the spot, saying that if the marriage worked out, they would give her—a matchmaker—a generous red envelope.
Upon hearing the words “generous red envelope,” Li Lifen had been unable to sit still. Fearing that delays would cause problems, she took the man’s photo and immediately came looking for Ding Ximei.
She had only taken a few steps before realizing that Ding Ximei hadn’t followed, so she urged impatiently, “Come on!”
“Wait a moment.”
Ding Ximei quickly stopped her. After a long internal struggle, she finally spoke hesitantly, “This matter… we need to put it on hold for now.”
“Huh?”
Li Lifen’s smile froze instantly. Her brows furrowed slightly, and she halted her steps, raising her voice in surprise.
“Why?”
When Ding Ximei had initially approached her, she hadn’t seemed too rushed, but she had expressed that the sooner, the better. Why had her attitude suddenly changed?
“Qiuqiu said she isn’t thinking about marriage for now…”
Since it was her daughter’s private matter, Ding Ximei couldn’t openly explain, so she kept her answer vague and apologized, “This is my fault. I didn’t discuss it with her beforehand, and now I’ve made you come for nothing.”
“What?”
Li Lifen felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. If the Cheng family wasn’t in a hurry, this would become difficult to arrange. The man’s family had explicitly stated that they wanted to settle things within half a month.
Seeing Li Lifen’s displeased expression, Ding Ximei assumed she was worried about the basket of soybeans she had given her as a thank-you gift. She quickly reassured her.
“There’s no one around here as skilled at matchmaking as you, Sister Lifen. I’ll definitely need your help in the future. You can keep the soybeans.”
She thought that would put an end to the conversation, but unexpectedly, Li Lifen started persuading her in earnest.
“That’s a small matter. Let’s not talk about that now. Ximei-meizi, you can’t just let Qiuqiu fool around like this!”
“Marriage should happen early. Look at the other girls in the village around her age—they’re all married already. Some of them even have children! Why aren’t you worried? To put it bluntly, if she waits too long, she’ll become an old maid. By then, she won’t be the one choosing men; it’ll be men choosing her.”
“Besides, this is such a good opportunity! If you don’t settle things quickly, what if another family snatches him away? You’d regret it! Your daughter might not understand this, but you, as a mother, should know better!”
Li Lifen spoke so fervently that her saliva almost flew.
But the more Ding Ximei listened, the more uncomfortable she felt.
What was the big deal about marrying early or late?
Marrying early didn’t necessarily mean a happier life. Marrying late didn’t necessarily mean an unhappy one. A good life was something both partners built together.
If someone didn’t meet the right person, what was wrong with waiting a little longer?
And the way Li Lifen spoke… it was as if missing this one man meant her daughter would never find anyone good again!
Ding Ximei’s temporary guilt over going back on her word vanished instantly. She lowered her expression and said calmly, “Sister Lifen, in our family, everything is based on my daughter’s wishes. She’ll get married when she wants to—we’re not in a hurry.”
Hearing this, Li Lifen felt like she had just thrown a punch into a ball of cotton—it completely absorbed the impact, leaving her frustrated and disoriented. Most families, upon hearing her words, would have been tripping over themselves to lock down a marriage as soon as possible.
So why wasn’t it working on Ding Ximei?
Thinking it through, Li Lifen suddenly smacked her forehead. That’s right—how could I forget?
The Cheng family was famous for being protective of their daughter. If she pushed too hard, not only would it not work, but it might also backfire and make them even more resistant.
Realizing this, Li Lifen quickly put on a gentle smile, softened her voice, and changed her approach.
“Qiuqiu is such a beautiful girl—she can find any husband she wants. It’s fine if she’s not in a hurry.”
As expected, as soon as those words were out, Ding Ximei’s expression relaxed a little. Seeing this, Li Lifen immediately struck while the iron was hot.
“It’s just that this Comrade Jia is really an outstanding man. I can’t bear to see your Qiuqiu miss out. How about this—I’ll tell you all the details. If, after hearing them, you still feel the same way, I won’t bring this up again.”
Hearing this, Ding Ximei’s curiosity was undeniably piqued. She had already heard Li Lifen praise this “Comrade Jia” more than once, but aside from the fact that he had served in the military, she hadn’t learned anything concrete. It was hard not to wonder if this was just a typical matchmaker’s exaggerated sales pitch.
But seeing how confident Li Lifen was that she would change her mind, Ding Ximei hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
Seeing her agreement, a gleam flashed in Li Lifen’s eyes as she pulled Ding Ximei closer and began to explain.
“During his time in the army, Comrade Jia performed exceptionally well. Now that he’s retired, he has a guaranteed job at the commune. And from what his parents said, next year, he’s expected to be transferred to the county town. When that happens, he might even be assigned a house—he’ll be a city man! If your Qiuqiu marries him, she’ll live a comfortable life, never having to worry about food or clothing.”
In this era, even a village official was seen as highly respectable. If Comrade Jia really could secure a county-level position, then…
To say Ding Ximei wasn’t tempted would be a lie.
But the moment she thought of Cheng Fangqiu, she hesitated again. She pressed her lips together, struggling internally for a long time before finally sighing and relenting a little.
“Alright… I’ll talk to Qiuqiu. If she doesn’t want to, there’s nothing I can do.”
“That’s fine! I’ll check back in a few days.”
Seeing that Ding Ximei was finally considering it, Li Lifen knew not to push too hard. She smiled and left.
Ding Ximei watched her disappear around the corner, took a deep breath, and turned toward Cheng Fangqiu’s room.
No, I need to talk to my daughter again.
Qiuqiu was clever, but young girls were easily deceived by sweet words. As a mother, she had a duty to watch out for her.
If her daughter didn’t have someone in mind, then this Comrade Jia really wasn’t a bad option.
“Qiuqiu.”
Ding Ximei walked up to the door and gently called out. Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door opened from the inside.
Cheng Fangqiu stood at the doorway, first glancing toward the courtyard entrance, then turning to look at her mother. That small action immediately made Ding Ximei feel a little guilty.
She rubbed her nose awkwardly, wondering if Qiuqiu had overheard her conversation with Li Lifen.
Just as the thought formed, her daughter confirmed it.
“Mom, I already said I’m not thinking about marriage right now. Why did you spend so long talking with Aunt Li?”
Cheng Fangqiu pouted, clearly displeased. She grabbed Ding Ximei’s arm and shook it playfully, half-joking and half-complaining.
“Aiya, that guy lives so far away from us. Who knows if he’s actually that great?”
“And besides, ‘expected to transfer to the county town’ is not the same as actually transferring. You can’t take something uncertain as fact.”
Her words, though blunt, were logical.
Ding Ximei unconsciously nodded in agreement. She hadn’t expected her daughter to pick up on such details so quickly.
“I also heard that he has two younger brothers and two younger sisters. Since he’s the eldest, he’ll not only have to take care of his parents but also support his siblings. That means he’ll be responsible for everything. How could life ever be easy like that?”
“If they were all well-behaved and easy to get along with, then fine. But what if one or two of them were rebellious and difficult? Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”
“Most importantly—I don’t even know him, and I don’t like him. How could I possibly be happy marrying someone like that?”
Her reasoning was so solid and thorough that Ding Ximei couldn’t even think of a rebuttal.
But the more she thought about it, the more she realized her daughter was right.
In this era, it was common for families to have four or five children—some even had seven or eight. It was expected that the eldest child would take on major responsibilities for their siblings.
If Cheng Fangqiu married into that family, as the eldest daughter-in-law, she wouldn’t be able to avoid handling all the household chores. She had never endured such hardship in her own home—why should she go through it in her husband’s?
Moreover, her last sentence hit Ding Ximei right in the heart.
If her daughter herself didn’t think she’d be happy in the marriage, then what was the point?
She might as well stay home and be their precious daughter forever, happy and carefree.
Thinking of this, Ding Ximei patted Cheng Fangqiu’s hand and said, “Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Hearing this, Cheng Fangqiu breathed a sigh of relief. But just as her smile was about to spread fully across her face, Ding Ximei suddenly changed the topic.
“But you have to tell me who you like. I need to at least help you take a look at him.”
“Aiya, don’t worry! He’s definitely not bad—you’ve even praised him before!”
Cheng Fangqiu had no intention of letting a second person know about her plans with Zhou Yinghuai before things were settled. The more people who knew, the more variables there would be, and the final outcome might change.
“I’ve praised him before?”
Now Ding Ximei was even more confused.
She frowned, racking her brain for the young men she had complimented before, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t pinpoint anyone specific.
Curious, she wanted to press Cheng Fangqiu further. But before she could, the little trickster reacted quickly, shutting the door before she could ask more questions.
“I’m going to rest now, Mom. You should sleep too.”
With that, she made it clear that she had no intention of saying anything else.
Ding Ximei could only smile helplessly, shaking her head as she walked out. But as she left, she was still deep in thought, wondering who it could be.
At this moment, she had only considered the young men in the village, never once thinking beyond that—so it was no wonder she didn’t realize that the very person she had just praised was Zhou Yinghuai!
At the same time, inside the excavator, Zhou Yinghuai—who was completely focused on his work—suddenly sneezed.
He rubbed his nose absentmindedly, assuming he had inhaled some dust from the stone debris.
Yet, the momentary distraction caused his mind to drift, and that unfinished answer surfaced once again.
He liked… who?