Volume One, Chapter 14: Her Cousin Introduces a Match for Her

At that moment, she felt utterly inferior upon hearing those words. But after a lifetime of experience, she finally realized that the old lady was manipulating her emotionally. The grandmother never truly valued her granddaughter; her eyes were only on her grandson and that wretched Jiang Weiyue.

Jiang Weiyue was unemployed and had a dishonorable past—how could she possibly deserve a man with good prospects? It was laughable. She knew well about Jiang Weiyue’s sordid history; did she think Qin Mu was blind? Moreover, she clearly remembered that in the previous life, Qin Mu detested Jiang Weiyue and would never be with her.

Though she thought this inwardly, she outwardly lowered her gaze and obediently replied, “Grandma, you’re right. Once Brother Chuanhe and I are together, I’ll ask Minister Qin if he has a partner. If not, I will certainly introduce him to my sister.”

Seeing Jiang Weili so compliant, the old Mrs. Jiang smiled broadly. “Very good, very good. Then, one of you will be the factory director’s wife, and the other the minister’s daughter-in-law. Who in the whole factory can match us?”

“At that time, we can walk around the factory with pride, no one will dare say a word. Ha ha ha, it’s wonderful—my old lady days are coming. I’m going to enjoy life.”

Enjoy life? Go enjoy it in the afterlife.

Jiang Weili, just like yesterday, was already waiting early at the director’s office door. Everyone working at the steel mill lived in the dormitory compound assigned by the factory—just a few buildings where everyone knew each other well, constantly crossing paths.

Some workers who saw Jiang Weili standing outside the director’s office asked curiously, “Weili, why are you standing here so early? You’re not even working in the factory, what are you doing here?”

Jiang Weili smiled shyly. “I’m bringing breakfast to the director.”

“Breakfast for the director? But isn’t your family at odds with him?”

“Yes, I heard that your uncle’s eldest daughter once had a scandalous past with the director,” another chimed in.

“That’s all in the past now. The director has let it go. In fact, he even visited our home yesterday and drank with us. Our families have reconciled.”

“Really?”

“If you don’t believe it, ask our neighbors in the same building—they saw the director personally visit our home.”

“That’s true, I also saw the director go to Jiang Weili’s house.”

With someone confirming, the crowd was shocked. “Wow, the director really has a big heart.”

“Of course, if he were petty like you, always calculating and narrow-minded, how could he be the director? I always said the director wouldn’t take these things too seriously.”

“Hey, Old Zhang, why bring up the director just to criticize me?”

“Oh, I was just giving an example. Look, you got mad, but since the director has reconciled with the Jiang family, we can now buy Jiang Weiyue’s breakfasts without worry.”

“Damn it, my wife and I both work in the mornings and don’t have time to make breakfast. These days, out of respect for the director, we avoided buying Jiang Weiyue’s breakfasts, making mornings unbearable.”

Jiang Weili’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing this. She admitted that she had deliberately said those things to mislead people into misunderstanding her relationship with Song Chuanhe. However, she never expected that unintentionally, it would help Jiang Weiyue.

That was not her intention at all.

“I don’t even know when the director will arrive. The breakfast I made is almost cold.”

“Is that breakfast really made by you? Didn’t you just take it from your cousin Jiang Weiyue?”

“Of course not. Even though the director has let go of our family’s past grievances, what my cousin did was too much.”

“The director wouldn’t even eat her breakfast; just seeing her makes him uncomfortable. I definitely wouldn’t dare let the director eat food made by my cousin.”

Hearing Jiang Weili say this, the crowd whispered among themselves.

“What does Jiang Weili mean? Didn’t she just say the director was over it? Why now say she’s disgusted by Jiang Weiyue?”

“I guess the director doesn’t hold a grudge against Jiang Weili’s family because the main problem was really caused by Jiang Weiyue, not her family.”

“Now that you say it, it makes sense. Though they’re relatives, the blame lies where it should. Looks like we shouldn’t buy Jiang Weiyue’s breakfast from now on.”

“Ah, I’ll be hungry again in the morning.”

Jiang Weili smiled with satisfaction upon hearing this. Not only did she want to make Jiang Weiyue suffer terribly, but she also wanted to ruin her business and ensure nothing went right for her.

Why? No other reason—she simply disliked her.

Who told her to earn just a pittance and flaunt it buying things for the old lady, causing that old thing to constantly say she was inferior to Jiang Weiyue?

As the murmurs died down and work time began, fewer people remained outside the director’s office. But Song Chuanhe still hadn’t arrived.

From her observations over the past few days, Song Chuanhe usually showed up right around this time; there was no reason for him to be late now.

Seeing the meat bun growing cold—the lard-filled food would lose its taste when cold—Jiang Weili’s heart grew more anxious and irritated.

What to do? She still wanted Brother Chuanhe to taste her cooking.

As the saying goes, to win a man’s heart, first win his stomach.

She really wanted to show off, but fate never aligned.

Just as Jiang Weili was troubled, Qin Mu came walking from the direction of the dormitory compound toward the director’s office.

Seeing Qin Mu, Jiang Weili’s dull eyes immediately brightened with hope.

“Minister Qin, Minister Qin.”

Qin Mu held a notebook in his hand. Seeing Jiang Weili, he responded coolly, “Comrade Jiang Weili, is there something you need?”

“I don’t really have anything. I just wanted to ask—where has Brother Chuanhe gone? He usually comes to the office around this time. Today, I’ve been waiting here for over half an hour and haven’t seen him.”

Qin Mu glanced discreetly at the iron lunchbox Jiang Weili was carrying. Her obvious behavior made it clear even to a fool that she was interested in Brother Chuanhe.

At first, he hadn’t realized this woman was Jiang Weiyue’s sister.

Having eaten her breakfast, he had a favorable impression of her.

But yesterday, he suddenly realized this woman was Jiang Weiyue’s sister.

Had he known earlier, he definitely wouldn’t have eaten.

This was also because Brother Chuanhe’s friendly attitude toward this woman had diverted his attention.

This whole family truly challenged his worldview.

Was this some sign that Brother Chuanhe was doing well and now someone was eager to curry favor with him?

Unfortunately, she chose the wrong approach.

“Sorry, after I left your home yesterday, I lost track of the director’s whereabouts. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be going now.”

With that, Qin Mu quickly walked away, leaving Jiang Weili a cold, indifferent back.

His sudden aloofness was something Jiang Weili never expected.

She stood there dumbfounded, replaying over and over in her mind what mistake she had made to cause Qin Mu to act so coldly.

Failing to see Song Chuanhe and Qin Mu’s changed attitude—these two setbacks left Jiang Weili in an extremely bad mood.

She returned to the dormitory compound looking disheveled and heard someone calling her name.

“Weili, Weili, good news, great news!”

Jiang Weili was already irritated and impatient. She looked up and saw Matchmaker Aunt Qiu running toward her with an excited face.

To be honest, she didn’t like Aunt Qiu either.

In the previous life, if Aunt Qiu hadn’t introduced her to that disgusting, abusive ex-husband, she wouldn’t have suffered such a fate.

She had such a good relationship with her former mother-in-law that she couldn’t believe Aunt Qiu didn’t know that the seemingly honest ex-husband was actually a vicious, ruthless man who bullied the weak and feared the strong behind closed doors.

Aunt Qiu knew everything; she just wanted to match them up so she could get some fruit, pastries, and two big carp from the ex-husband.

If it were her own daughter being introduced to that fool, she definitely wouldn’t agree.

That’s human nature—when someone’s interests are at stake, they want to devour everything for themselves.

Whenever her own interests were threatened, she would immediately flip out and stomp her feet.

Matchmakers like her, whether now or in the future, were far too many.

Eventually, a professional matchmaker industry formed where matchmakers made a living by arranging marriages.

If they succeeded in matching a couple, the groom’s side would pay them a hefty sum.

For that money, they would go to any lengths—lying, fabricating stories, claiming a 1.6-meter-tall groom was 1.8 meters, calling an ugly man honest, an incompetent man a devoted family man, or a delinquent a businessman.

If you could imagine it, there was nothing a matchmaker couldn’t fabricate.

Their tongues were sharper than any deceiver’s.

Under their silver-tongued persuasion, girls were deceived and began miserable lives.

Wasn’t she one of them?

But she hadn’t been deceived herself because usually, the girl’s family cared enough to investigate the groom’s true background.

If the investigation didn’t match the claims, they would refuse the match.

The girl would then be spared from misery, but matchmakers would get upset.

If the girl refused their choice, they would lose their temper, insult the girl, spread rumors, and accuse her of being too picky.

Whether in her past life or now, she hated matchmakers the most.

But now, to make Jiang Weiyue suffer and end up with that disgusting ex-husband, she had to deal with Aunt Qiu.

Forcing a smile, feigning curiosity, she said to Aunt Qiu, “Aunt Qiu, what’s the good news? Tell me so I can be happy too.”

“Come, Weili, let’s go to my place and talk.”

Without waiting for her response, Aunt Qiu grabbed Jiang Weili’s hand and dragged her into her home, pushing her down onto a bench.

Not only that, she generously poured her a cup of brown sugar water.

“Here, Weili, drink this.”

Jiang Weili took a sip and calmly said, “Aunt Qiu, please stop teasing me. Hurry up and tell me. You’re making my heart itch like a cat’s claw.”

“Today, I asked around about the groom’s side and explained your cousin’s situation. The groom’s side said they don’t mind.”

“But because of her past actions, they fear she might be a gold digger. They won’t give a bride price but want some dowry instead. Not too much—just a few pieces of jewelry and 32 pairs of silk stockings will do.”

Though she was aware of the shamelessness of her ex-husband’s family, hearing Aunt Qiu say this still shocked her.

How dare they?

Such arrogance.

Not giving a bride price was one thing, but demanding so much dowry from the bride’s side was outrageous.

They had similar customs locally, but the bride price was always high.

She recalled how, in her previous life, her ex-husband’s family heard she was unemployed and running around all day, and tried to withhold the bride price.

But her family strongly opposed that, forcing the ex-husband to reluctantly pay the customary bride price.

As for the dowry, there was none.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been met with cold disdain from her mother-in-law on her wedding day.

Seeing Jiang Weili silent, Aunt Qiu, experienced in matchmaking, immediately understood her feelings.

“Oh, Weili, I know what you’re thinking, but your cousin’s conditions—if someone wants her, that’s lucky. You can’t ask for too much.”

“If it were you, the bride price would definitely be given, and the dowry wouldn’t be too much. But your sister is different. If she kept demanding a bride price, I wouldn’t have the influence to arrange her marriage.”

“Besides, girls her age are mostly married now. Only your sister remains single. If she keeps refusing to lower her demands, in two more years, no one will want her, even for free.”

“Also, let me tell you, the boy is a formal worker at the steel mill, honest, and doesn’t mess around. He’s a decent man who lives responsibly.”

“A man with a good job like that is hard to find. If you don’t want him, I’ll introduce him to someone else.”

This was matchmaker jargon—lower the bride’s expectations, raise the groom’s value, emotionally manipulate the bride to achieve their goal.

In her previous life, she was crushed by such tactics.

Back then, she was foolish and didn’t know this was called emotional manipulation in the future.

Now she knew better and wouldn’t fall for it.

But Jiang Weiyue didn’t know and would surely be deceived by the matchmaker.

“Aunt Qiu, you’re right. My family thinks the same. As long as the groom’s side isn’t picky, we won’t be either.”

“They want my sister to marry soon. Aunt Qiu, please talk to the groom’s side and arrange a good day to formally propose to my sister.”

Hearing the answer she wanted, Aunt Qiu’s eyes nearly smiled into slits.

“Good, good, that’s wonderful. I’ll arrange it right away.”

———

Jiang Weiyue, struggling to sell at the factory gate, decided to try her luck at the high school where Chen Haodong worked.

She was also curious how Chen Haodong’s negotiation with the school cafeteria manager went.

If she could secure the school’s order, she would have a steady monthly income.