Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 137 Visiting to Propose Marriage
Qu Shaoyang was chatting and laughing with a group of young men. He heard what was said on the other end, but he ignored it.

He and the girl from the Wang family only met a few times.

Every time the girl came home, Qu Shaoyang would find an excuse to hide away, and the two of them had no connection at all.

As for who the Wang family's daughter marries and whether the man is good or not, it has nothing to do with him.

Seeing that Qu Shaoyang didn't react, the person who was talking thought it was boring and stopped talking about it.

Just at this moment, the banquet was ready, and Lao Zhou invited everyone to eat, so no one mentioned these things anymore.

After a busy day at Zhou's house on the fifth day of the New Year, Liu Dongshan discussed with Lin Ruolan after returning home that they should set up a few tables at home on the seventh day and also invite the neighbors.

Lin Ruolan agreed without hesitation. It was just a few tables of food, which was easy for their family.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the daughter of the Wang family got married.

Nowadays, few people value their daughters, so naturally there is no such thing as holding a wedding banquet when a daughter gets married.

There are only close relatives, and we will arrange a few people to send the bride off, and that’s all.

There will be a wedding banquet at home on the seventh day of the New Year, and Lin Ruolan is afraid that she can't take care of it by herself.

So Qu Shaoyang and Liu Dongshan helped prepare in advance, and made semi-finished products of what needed to be blanched and stewed, waiting to be put back into the pot to heat up tomorrow.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Liu Dongshan and his wife prepared a sumptuous banquet to entertain some of the nearby families with whom they got along well.

The group spent most of the day at Liu's house and did not leave until it was almost dark in the afternoon.

"Shaoyang, pack up and get ready. We're going to Kuandian in a couple of days.

Let’s settle your marriage first, and then we can go to Yingkou and sell all the things we saved before the New Year.”

After seeing the guests off, Liu Dongshan leaned on the kang, half-closed his eyes, and said to his apprentice.

"I'll feel relieved if you two can get married sooner, so I won't have to worry about it any more."

This winter, the master and his apprentice did a lot of collecting, and they saved up a lot of bear bile, musk, and various skins.

Apart from keeping it for your own use, the rest should be sold first.

Although the family has some money, the business is now expanding and spring planting is about to begin, and the seeds alone will cost a lot of money.

We can’t go hunting after spring starts, and there’s not much income, so we can’t just sit around and do nothing.

If you don't take good care of the skins and furs at home, they will easily get infested with insects. It's better to sell them and save yourself the trouble.

"Oh, okay, I got it. I'll go back and clean it up." Qu Shaoyang had no objection to this and nodded in agreement.

Everything gained from hunting this winter is kept by Qu Shaoyang.

He went home and searched everywhere, except for a few wolf skins and greyhound skins, he collected all the valuables.

Qu Shaoyang was picking up hides and medicinal herbs, while Lin Ruolan was also rummaging through boxes and cabinets looking for something.

Qu Shaoyang is going to propose marriage, so he has to prepare some decent gifts, right?

At this time, all the shops were closed, so there was nowhere to buy things.

Fortunately, Lin Ruolan asked Qu Shaoyang to buy a lot of things before the New Year. Together with the things that the master and disciple brought back from Yingkou before, they could pick and choose and put together most of the things.

Early in the morning of the tenth day of the first lunar month, Qu Shaoyang had people harness the horse-drawn sleigh and load all the things on it.

Then the master and his disciple left home to build their family and business, and walked downstream along the Yalu River.

Spring begins on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month before the New Year. The weather has become warmer after the New Year.

Fortunately, the ice surface of the Yalu River had not changed significantly, and the horse sled was not that heavy, so walking on the ice was not a big problem. There were four people in the group, all carrying guns, and the beards were still hibernating at this time, so even if there were some robbers, they would not dare to confront them when they saw this posture.

So, the journey was relatively safe, and on the afternoon of the 13th day of the first lunar month, the group arrived in Kuandian City.

First, he found a place to stay. Then Liu Dongshan asked the store owner which matchmaker in the city had a good reputation. He prepared gifts and asked the matchmaker for help.

On the morning of the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, both the master and the apprentice put on new clothes and, accompanied by a matchmaker, came to the Chen family with gifts.

It is unlucky to see a doctor during the first month of the lunar year, unless it is an emergency.

Otherwise, most people would not hire a doctor to see an ailment, so the clinic would not open before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Doctor Chen and his wife were both at home. When they saw Liu Dongshan accompanying Qu Shaoyang and a woman dressed in red and green with a red flower on her head, they immediately understood what was going on.

"Hey, Brother Liu, Shaoyang, please come in, please come in."

Doctor Chen and his wife warmly welcomed the guests into the backyard and sat them down in the main hall.

After both parties sat down, the matchmaker stood up and directly explained her purpose.

Qu Shaoyang and Chen Xiuyun were in love with each other, and the Chen couple also nodded in agreement. Naturally, there were no obstacles to this matter, and it was accomplished smoothly.

Only the two brothers of the Chen family were in a state of confusion from beginning to end. What the hell was going on? They hadn't even talked about wives yet, but their younger sister was talking about marriage first?
These two guys, one is a nerd and the other is a martial arts fanatic, and they are not very sensitive to other things.

Doctor Chen and Mrs. Li didn't know when Qu Shaoyang would come to propose marriage, so they didn't reveal any news in advance, and the two brothers were completely unaware of it.

By the time they realized what was happening, the marriage had already been decided and it was useless for them to object.

Chen Yunzhe stood beside his parents and glared at Qu Shaoyang fiercely.

Good boy, it turns out that he had bad intentions when he came home last time. His well-behaved and lovely sister was abducted like that?

Qu Shaoyang noticed that Chen Yunzhe had a bad look in his eyes, but he could only pretend not to know and smiled secretly with his head down.

The Chen family is actually quite interesting. They are very real, not fake, and treat people with sincerity.

This kind of personality is very popular in the village, but in the city, it may not be a good thing sometimes.

Today, Qu Shaoyang came to propose marriage, and the Chen family agreed, but it is not officially settled yet. Another day has to be chosen for the engagement.

Engagement is not a trivial matter, and both families need to be prepared. Moreover, the Chen family also needs to notify relatives and friends.

Doctor Chen doesn't have many relatives, but he has some relatives on Li's side of the family, so he has to inform them and ask those who can come to join in the fun.

Moreover, Maoer Mountain is quite far away from Kuandian, and it is inconvenient to travel back and forth, and the date cannot be too far away.

The matchmaker looked through the almanac for a while and finally said that the 22nd day of the first lunar month was a good day and they could get engaged.

Liu Dongshan and Qu Shaoyang discussed it and thought this day was okay.

It was just right for them to go to Yingkou first, sell all the mountain products they brought, and buy some things as betrothal gifts in Yingkou, thus getting the best of both worlds.

So, the two families discussed it and on the twelfth day of the first lunar month, Qu Shaoyang and Chen Xiuyun got engaged.

Now that the marriage has been decided, the Chen family will have to hold a banquet to thank the matchmaker.

Li called Chen Xiuyun who was eavesdropping next door and hurried to the kitchen to prepare the meal. Doctor Chen and his two sons stayed in the room talking with Liu Dongshan and others.

Li and Chen Xiuyun worked hard in the kitchen and prepared eight dishes.

Everyone accompanied the matchmaker for dinner, and Li even secretly gave the matchmaker a red envelope.

The matchmaker was so happy that she told him that when the engagement was ready, there was no need to invite him, she could come directly.

(End of this chapter)