Even though Shen Rui had lived two lifetimes, he had never witnessed poverty with his own eyes.

Not to mention my previous life, even if I have suffered some hardships in this life, neither the fourth room of the Shen family nor the Xilin Temple can be associated with the word "poverty." Originally, according to the official media, this carpenter's family should be poor.

Life was good here, but Shen Rui didn't know what it meant to be poor until he saw it with his own eyes.

The yard is quite large, measuring several feet in diameter. The first thing you see is piles of wood. They are not new wood, but mostly old furniture that has been dismantled. The pungent smell of tung oil and the rotting smell of wood rushes towards you.

In the yard, several generations of men, old, middle-aged and young, were leaning against the wood. When they saw a visitor coming, the old man came up to say a few words. The middle-aged man and the two young men all looked shy. Generations of grandparents and grandchildren were all wearing patchwork clothes.

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The wooden lady looked at Wu Xuan and Shen Rui curiously, and happily called the matchmaker into the house.

This house is not a serious house. The yard must have been used for storage before. The few rooms are not much higher than sheds, so it is not a long-term residence.

In the house, two little girls who looked about the same age as Lu Ya were standing next to an old woman, winding thread. When they saw guests coming, they all hid behind the old woman. The smell in the house was heavier than outside, with a very strong smell of urine.

taste.

Shen Ruixun fell over and wanted to leave immediately. He resisted and refused to go out. The corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch. Is this a room or a toilet?

I heard an old woman in the back room say: "Brother and wife, who is here?"

The carpenter's wife said: "Grandma, it's Mother Wu who's here."

The person in the back room said: "Don't neglect the guests and make some sugar water for mom."

The carpenter's wife responded. There was no movement from the old woman inside, and the child was crying again. The carpenter's wife hurriedly said to the two girls: "Fifth brother is making trouble again. Go and comfort your brother."

On the way here, Shen Rui and Wu Xuan both heard about the situation at the carpenter's house. The people who didn't show up in the house should be the carpenter's grandmother and the carpenter's young son. The old lady was old and collapsed on the bed. Because of that

The house was dirty, and even the tallest elder of the family was not allowed to bring guests in. However, these several rooms were connected, separated by thin wooden boards. The inside was stinky, but the outside was not much better.

The two little girls trotted away, and the wooden lady gave the matchmaker a seat, and invited her mother-in-law, the thread-winding woman, to accompany her, while she went to prepare tea with her big belly.

Shen Rui and Wu Xuan looked at each other, already rejecting this family in their hearts.

The carpenter's wife looks kind, and the grandparents and grandchildren outside also look honest. They are indeed a responsible family. But what is the best way to make a daughter-in-law in this family? There are three elders above, a sister-in-law of a similar age below, and an infant brother-in-law.

Whether a ten-year-old child or an adult woman can survive entering this house is a matter of two opinions. Unfortunately, this miserable life has no end, and it has taken more than ten years for her to be out of breath.

Since they were anxious to visit the next house, the two of them did not waste time, and Wu Xuan winked at the matchmaker.

When the tea was served, the matchmaker found an excuse and took Shen and Rui out to say goodbye.

The carpenter's wife brought it out in person, said a lot of nice things to the matchmaker, and stuffed the matchmaker with twenty coins. It seemed that the matchmaker was very enthusiastic about the marriage.

After leaving the carpenter's house, the matchmaker said: "You two guys didn't like it? This carpenter's wife is looking forward to her daughter-in-law day and night. Although her family is poorer, she is a kind person. The old lady has been paralyzed for more than ten years, and her children and grandchildren

He is still filial, such a character is rare."

Wu Xuan said: "It's rare, but it's really hard. If Lu Ya were older, she wouldn't be afraid of hardship. This family is waiting for labor, how can Lu Ya bear it? That lady hasn't met Lu Ya yet.

If we meet her, she is as big as her two sisters and cannot stand being driven, and I am afraid she will not be willing to do so in her heart."

The matchmaker thought that this was also the case, so she stopped arguing with the carpenter's family and took the two of them to the next house.

The two houses are not far from each other, on the front and rear streets, and we arrived in a short walk.

The courtyard of this house is very narrow, similar to the small courtyard where Shen Rui "rested" when he first came to Daming. There are two rooms in the north and south, with drooping eaves, and one wing, whose roof has collapsed, exposing the wood inside. But it is dilapidated.

, the yard is kept clean and tidy. Even if chickens and ducks are raised, they are all kept in the fence in the northeast corner.

The family's surname is Zheng. Although the clothes on Mr. Zheng and Mrs. Zheng's bodies are washed white, they are still clean.

When the three of them arrived, the old couple were sitting at the table in the yard. The old man was holding scissors, and the old woman was holding needle and thread, working over a pile of rags.

When the matchmaker arrived, the old woman looked happy, but she was not as impatient as the carpenter's wife. After the three of them were seated, the old woman was curious about the identities of the two young men, but she didn't ask any more questions. She just said: "His aunt

, where can I see you?"

It turned out that although the old man was a little moved when he heard about the marriage, and it would be fine if they were married, he still insisted on seeing Lu Ya before making a decision.

The matchmaker only flattered the inn and forgot about this incident. After hearing this, the matchmaker glanced at Wu Xuan and Shen Rui and said, "Either these two brothers are here, or they want to take a look at their nephews."

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The old woman was afraid that her granddaughter-in-law would be bad, so she wanted to see her with her own eyes. She was talking about looking at her own family, but where was she talking about looking at her own family? But as soon as the matchmaker opened her mouth, the two young men looked at her grandly, so the old woman said: "The eldest brother went to the shop.

Here, ask his grandfather to call him back." After that, he asked her old man to go out and call for someone.

Of the four families mentioned by the matchmaker, this was the last one left. The matchmaker also hoped that the marriage could be consummated and that Xie Xie, the matchmaker, could get married as soon as possible. In front of the old lady, she praised Lu Ya very well: "This sister Lu's appearance is really unbeatable.

, I have suffered a lot in the past few years, and I look thinner, but my body is strong and I am good at washing and cooking."

The old woman just smiled and said: "His aunt said yes, so of course it's great. But this person is also destined to be with each other, so we have to meet him."

The official media were just spreading the news, so they turned to the Five Propaganda.

Wu Xuan smiled and looked at the torn sermons on the table and said, "Grandma, what are you doing?"

The old woman said: "Being a sachet maker is just a matter of making a few small bucks, but you can't afford to have free rice."

There are a few ordinary people who wear sachets every day, but they just buy them for the occasion around the Dragon Boat Festival. Wu Xuan exclaimed: "It's only February."

The official media said: "Auntie, please don't work too hard. My nephew has become a clerk, and my nephew's wife has also entered the house. Auntie and uncle can enjoy the blessings."

The old woman shook her head and said, "I don't want to live a happy life. While I can still move, I have to save some money for my eldest brother."

The matchmaker and the old woman had a date, but they were talking. Shen Rui and Wu Xuan also made eye contact. Although they haven't seen the grandson yet, with the diligence and rigidity of the grandparents, this upbringing

The grandson who came out should be unmistakable.

After a while, the old man brought back the boy from the Zheng family. This boy from the Zheng family was not tall and had a loyal face, but there was also a bit of cleverness between his eyebrows. He was able to become an apprentice at a young age, which shows that he was not

He is a dull person. When he meets the guests, he is not shy and his conversation is quite straightforward.

Wu Xuan was naturally satisfied. Seeing that Mrs. Zheng repeatedly emphasized the matter of "seeing each other", he did not want to make the old man feel grudge because of this, so he said: "If grandma doesn't mind the crowd in the inn, just come with us to have tea."

Mrs. Zheng was stunned for a moment, then looked at the matchmaker with joy.

The matchmaker would not stop her, so Mrs. Zheng hurriedly said: "My arms and legs are old, please ask my elder brother to help me go with you."

The boy from the Zheng family must have known what he was going to the inn for. His face turned red and he showed a bit of childishness. Shen Rui looked on coldly, feeling a little unsure. As for the boy who had reached the age of young admiration, Lu Ya was seven or eight years old. With a shriveled appearance, what if the Zheng family doesn't like it? Wouldn't it mean that they will continue to stay here?

He really thinks too much.

Even if the Zheng family had known that she was a child bride, they had no hope of marrying a grown-up girl. Seeing that Lu Ya was clean, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and she was honest in her responses, Mrs. Zheng immediately took off a silver bracelet and gave it to Lu. Ya put it on and pulled the matchmaker aside to ask for the betrothal silver.

Seeing that the Zheng family was poor, the matchmaker originally wanted two taels, but when she saw that Mrs. Zheng had given her a bracelet, she doubled the price. She was not deliberately trying to please the inn, but was deliberately trying to win over the Zheng family. Her fiery eyes naturally saw that Lu Ya It was because they met a truly kind person. I also heard the waiter at the inn privately mention that Wu Xuan and Shen Rui had bought a lot of things from outside in the past few days, most of which were dowries for the little girl.

When he heard that it would cost four taels, the old man hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

That afternoon, Mrs. Zheng and the old man of the Zheng family collected some money, which was all broken silver and a few strings of money.

The previous commitment letter between Wang Shouren and Lu Ya stated that the relationship was an adoption relationship, and Wang Shouren had the final say in marriage. Now to sign the engagement letter with the Zheng family, Wang Shouren needed to come forward, the matchmaker acted as the matchmaker, and the innkeeper was hired as the matchmaker. , the marriage contract was officially signed, and because two days later was an auspicious day, they decided to get married on that day.

The Zheng family's betrothal silver was four taels, so Wu Xuan prepared things for Lu Ya according to the standard of eight taels. Shen Rui also saw the purchasing power of silver at this time. Except for a dressing table and a pair of large boxes, the rest It was just odds and ends, four pieces of cloth, four new beddings, four new sets of clothes, and the rest were silver bracelets, silver hairpins, silver earrings, and pairs of silver rings. At this time, silver was a hard currency, and it was extremely cheap to carry around. The above items only cost more than five taels of silver. Wu Xuan added some more to the remaining two taels of silver and exchanged them for two guan of money, which were used as money for pressing boxes.

When the wedding day came, Wu Xuan still came out to take care of the wedding. Although the Zheng family was tight, Sun Xi, the only one, still invited a sedan chair to carry the bride. Unexpectedly, not only did she bring back the young bride, but she also brought back a full eight-carat load of dowry.

How many people envy the idea of ​​marrying a daughter from a middle-class family, that's all.
Chapter completed!