5. Introduction of the Person

Wei Haibo thought Lin Xiujuan was crazy to suggest his mother marry Old Niu, especially since she was no longer single.

“How can it not work? Frankly, your stepfather isn’t your real dad. Marrying a stepfather is still marrying; marrying Old Niu is still marrying. What benefits would we get if Ye Qingzhi were married off to Old Niu? Half a kilo of meat? A kilo? At most two kilos! If our mother married him, with her skills, forget the meat, wouldn’t she have Old Niu’s salary right in her hands? You’re her biological son, and I’m her real grandson. Even spilling through her fingers, there’d be plenty for us.” Lin Xiujuan felt more convinced as she spoke.

Wei Haibo remained silent, but Lin Xiujuan, who knew him well, saw that he was already tempted.

“Haibo, what do you think? Whether it’s Wei Youliang or Old Niu, neither is your real father. You can call either one ‘dad’ if you want.” She nudged his arm.

Rolling her eyes, she decided to push further, “Old Niu is about to retire. If Mom could coax him into handing over the job to you…”

Wei Haibo took a deep breath. “Mom, go make the meal. I still have some ground left to dig here. Work hard for a bit; I’ll head home soon.”

In the past, Wei Haibo would have dared to make her work harder while she was pregnant, and Lin Xiujuan definitely wouldn’t have agreed. But today was different—she even urged him to hurry home.

From the patch of land above, Ye Qingzhi watched Wei Haibo leave and smirked to herself, thinking the real show was about to begin.

After work in the morning, Ye Qingzhi dragged her weary body home. Seeing Wei Anmin had prepared a meal, she patted his head and didn’t bother with any polite refusals.

After a full morning’s labor, she was utterly exhausted and had no strength to cook. Besides, the two brothers were even more skilled at lighting fires and cooking than she was.

No sooner had she put down her bowl than she had Wei Anjie clear the dishes into a bucket to wash together in the evening. She only wanted to lie down for a while now.

“Qingzhi, Qingzhi, are you home?”

Hearing her name called, Ye Qingzhi took a deep breath, suppressed her anxiety, and rose with as gentle an expression as she could muster.

“Yes, who is it?” She saw Old Lady Zhang enter and stepped aside to let her in. “Aunt Zhang, what brings you here?”

“Anmin and Anjie are here too?” Old Lady Zhang saw the two boys and pulled Ye Qingzhi into the backyard, lowering her voice. “Qingzhi, Jiancheng has found a match outside. Aren’t you thinking of finding one too?”

Ye Qingzhi paused, realizing this was a matchmaking visit.

She sighed softly, a hint of sadness in her voice. “My children’s father just passed. I’m not ready to look yet.”

Not ready? So she was considering remarriage?

If she had the thought, that was enough. It didn’t mean she had to marry immediately. They could quietly arrange it first and marry after the hundred-day mourning period. Three months was nothing; it wasn’t like she couldn’t wait.

“Qingzhi, you’re still young, and life is long. You should find a man to rely on.” Aunt Zhang held Ye Qingzhi’s hand and gently patted the back. “I found someone for you, from my natal village. He’s honest and hardworking. After marriage, he’ll definitely listen to you and won’t mistreat Anmin and the others. How about meeting him?”

The only praise—honest and hardworking—suggested the man had no other notable qualities.

“Aunt Zhang, I really don’t plan to look so soon. Let’s talk about it later,” Ye Qingzhi declined politely.

No matter how nicely it was put, it didn’t change the fact that the village was remote and poor. After marriage, life had to be better than now. If it was worse, why marry at all?

Old Lady Zhang sensed the reason and held Ye Qingzhi’s hand tightly.

“Qingzhi, this man is my nephew. He’s very capable, earns ten work points daily, and during the off-season repairs roads. He also hunts—rabbits, wild chickens, and muntjacs. Maybe not daily meat, but once or twice a month is easy.”

“Aunt Zhang, I honestly don’t want to hurry. Let’s talk later,” Ye Qingzhi repeated.

No matter how well it was said, it couldn’t change that the place was poor and remote. Girls rarely wanted to marry there.

Old Lady Zhang grew angry, thinking Ye Qingzhi was ungrateful. Her nephew was a first marriage and willing to accept a widow with two children; she should be thankful.

“Qingzhi, Qingzhi, are you home?” Aunt Ye’s voice called from inside.

“Aunt Zhang is here. I’ll see what she wants,” Ye Qingzhi nodded, withdrew her hand, and went inside.

“Qingzhi, oh, Aunt Zhang is here too. What brings you?” Aunt Ye greeted warmly.

“Nothing, Qingzhi, think it over. I’ll be going,” Aunt Zhang smiled and said.

Once Aunt Zhang left, Aunt Ye lowered her voice and asked, “What did she want?”

“She came to matchmake. It’s her nephew from Dayang Village, not far from town. Aunt Ye, do you know him?” Ye Qingzhi didn’t hide anything.

Since arriving in this world, Aunt Ye had helped her a lot. Combined with memories of her original self, Ye Qingzhi trusted her.

“Aunt Zhang’s nephew? Thirty-five and still single? Besides the remoteness and poverty, the main reason is he’s short—under 1.6 meters, shorter than a winter melon. Qingzhi, don’t believe her,” Aunt Ye said anxiously, gripping Ye Qingzhi’s hand.

I’ve already turned him down, Ye Qingzhi thought. Under 1.6 meters, shorter than me—definitely no.

Aunt Ye studied Ye Qingzhi carefully. Seeing she wasn’t completely against remarriage and knowing about Wei Jiancheng’s affair and how he gave his salary to the other woman, she understood Ye Qingzhi’s feelings.

Indeed, Jiancheng had been gone for years; even the best feelings fade. Besides, he had another woman and now was dead. It was only natural Ye Qingzhi wanted to remarry.

Raising two children alone was not easy. After six years of hardship, she deserved to have a man to rely on.

“Qingzhi, I came to talk about finding someone for you. It’s a relative from Dayang Village, not far from town. The fields are flat, and everyone lives well. He’s a widower; his first wife died of illness. He has two daughters, a few years older than you, but older men are more caring. If you’re willing, I can arrange a meeting. You can trust his character and looks. I wouldn’t deceive you,” Aunt Ye whispered, glancing at the two boys busy in the kitchen.

Compared to Old Lady Zhang, Aunt Ye was more trustworthy. A widower was no problem; Ye Qingzhi was a widow with two sons herself. But how much older was he? What did he look like?

Ye Qingzhi admitted she was a bit appearance-conscious. If the looks were poor, she couldn’t bring herself to agree.

“How old is he?” she asked directly.

“Thirty-two, seven years older than you. I know his parents well; they’re good people. Marrying into his family, life won’t be hard,” Aunt Ye genuinely believed they were a good match.

“Aunt Ye, next time you go to market, show me a picture first,” Ye Qingzhi didn’t reject outright.

Aunt Ye happily agreed, then scolded Wei Jiancheng with Ye Qingzhi for a while, shared some village gossip, and then hurried off.

Once Aunt Ye left, Wei Anmin and Wei Anjie reluctantly came out.

“Mom, did Granny Zhang and the others come to find you a match?”

Ye Qingzhi pulled them close and gently asked, “When you went to cut pig grass this morning, did anyone bully you?”

After finding the two boys that day, the next morning Ye Qingzhi went with them to cut pig grass. She kept an eye on the other children and loudly warned them that if anyone bullied her sons, she’d bring pesticide to their homes. If they survived, their family would be kept; if not, the whole family would go to jail.

“No, they don’t dare bully us anymore,” Wei Anmin shook his head.

“That’s good.” Ye Qingzhi patted their heads and sighed softly. “They want to matchmake, but no matter who I marry, you two get to approve first. If you think it’s not right and have a good reason, I definitely won’t marry.”

She couldn’t marry against the children’s will, so she added the “reasonable reason” clause.

The boys nodded knowingly. If Mom wanted them, they’d agree to remarriage—they also wanted a father.

After entertaining Old Lady Zhang and Aunt Ye, Ye Qingzhi had no time to rest. She washed her face, planning to sit a while before going back to work.

No sooner had she sat down than Fang Xiaomei stormed in angrily.

“Ye Qingzhi, was this your foolish idea? Your stepfather is still alive, and you want to find a match for me? Who ever heard of a daughter-in-law finding a man for her mother-in-law?”

Ye Qingzhi raised an eyebrow and retorted, “And who ever heard of a mother-in-law finding a man for her daughter-in-law just after her husband died? Which of us looks more ridiculous?”

Fang Xiaomei’s anger subsided somewhat. Then, somewhat righteously, she said, “I’m just looking out for you. Although Old Niu is older, he has a job and a good salary. You can eat meat often. With such good conditions, I’m not afraid he won’t want you.”

“Right, if conditions are so good, why don’t you marry him yourself?” Ye Qingzhi appraised Fang Xiaomei from head to toe.

No denying it—Fang Xiaomei was quite attractive. At forty-eight, she still had charm and cooked well.

Ye Qingzhi’s voice became tempting. “Aunt Fang, marrying Wei Youliang means washing clothes, cooking, and working the fields. Marrying Old Niu is different—no more fieldwork, just washing clothes and cooking at home, never exposed to the sun, and frequent meat meals. If you can keep Old Niu happy and get him to hand over his salary to you, wow, thirty to fifty yuan a month—you won’t even know how to spend it all. That would be a life as sweet as honey.”

Fang Xiaomei clutched her pounding heart, eyeing Ye Qingzhi skeptically. “Sounds so good. Then why aren’t you marrying him?”

“Old Niu is good, but he’s way too old. I’m only twenty-five. Aunt Fang, you’re different. You’re closer in age. Isn’t this a match made in heaven?” Ye Qingzhi saw the flicker in her eyes and added fuel to the fire. “Aunt Fang, if you can keep my stepfather happy over his own son, surely you can get Old Niu to give the job to my son. It’s just changing the surname. Wei Haibo didn’t even originally have the Wei surname.”

Fang Xiaomei left thoughtfully, while Ye Qingzhi’s lips curled into a triumphant smile. It was done.