Chapter 184: Marrying Into the Family?

Chapter 184: Marrying Into the Family?

The family that the Li family had found for Li Donghua to marry into as a son-in-law was surnamed Zhan. As Li Donghua had mentioned, there were three brothers in the family. The second son, Zhan Zhicheng, was the one set to marry into the Li family as Li Donghua’s husband.

Yu Laotou sat with the men of the Yu family, eating and drinking at several tables, while Wei Pozi and the other women sat at two separate tables.

When the meal was almost finished, Wei Pozi started chatting and took the opportunity to ask the relatives from Beimanggou about the Zhan family's situation.

A relative exclaimed, "Ah, are you talking about the old Zhan family from the eastern part of the village?"

Wei Pozi said, "I'm not exactly sure where they live, I just heard that there are three brothers in the family..."

The relative who had responded slapped his thigh and said, "That’s the family. I know them well—they’ve had a tough time!"

Wei Pozi’s interest piqued, "A tough time?"

Xingxing, who had been sitting beside Wei Pozi and quietly shelling peanuts, also looked up.

The relative sighed, "Yes, a tough time indeed. A few years back, during the famine, the patriarch of the Zhan family, already frail, didn’t survive. His wife fell seriously ill, and they spent all their money to save her. Thankfully, she lived, but she’s still weak and bedridden, unable to get out of bed even now."

"The three Zhan boys, the eldest was married, but the money was all spent on medical treatments for the patriarch and his wife. The eldest son’s wife ran away."

"The second son, Zhan Zhicheng, was supposed to be matched with someone. But when the girl’s family found out that the eldest daughter-in-law had run away, they saw the Zhan family as a pit of fire and refused the match."

At this point, another relative chimed in with a sly smile, "Why not just tell them that the girl who was supposed to marry the second son is your niece? And it wasn’t just a match—they had already exchanged betrothal gifts, which were returned."

The first relative’s expression changed, a mix of anger and defensiveness, "Watch your mouth! You’ve had too much to drink and are talking nonsense! My niece never betrothed Zhan Zhicheng! If my sister hears this, she’ll tear your mouth apart!"

"Ha! I’m not afraid of her!"

The other relative responded with equal defensiveness.

They glared at each other for a moment before awkwardly falling silent.

Wei Pozi had a rough idea of the situation and didn’t ask any more questions.

Xingxing, having listened for a while but unable to understand, lowered her head and continued peeling her peanuts.

After the birthday feast was finished, the sun was still high, and many people, being from the same village, lingered to eat peanuts and sunflower seeds.

Yu Laotou went to chat with the elder cousin whose birthday was being celebrated.

Wei Pozi, holding Xingxing’s hand, decided to go out for a walk.

Ideally, they would stop by Zhan Zhicheng’s house to take a look.

But just a few steps after leaving the house, someone called out to her urgently from behind, "Hey, Ms. ahead, wait a moment."

Wei Pozi turned around and saw a woman quickly walking toward her, confirming that she was indeed being called.

Wei Pozi, finding the woman unfamiliar, hesitated, "You are..."

The woman coughed, also subtly sizing up Wei Pozi, and slowly said, "I'm from this village. I live next door to the Zhan family you were asking about."

Wei Pozi responded with an "Oh."

The woman stepped closer and said in a low voice, "I just found out that you’re from Nan Tuo village?"

Wei Pozi nodded.

The woman hesitated and said, "I heard that the Zhan family’s second son is talking about marrying the youngest daughter of another family. Someone mentioned that the eldest son of that family married into South Tuo Village..."

Wei Pozi didn’t hide anything and nodded in confirmation. "Yes, that’s my eldest daughter-in-law."

The woman’s smile grew even more enthusiastic. "Old sister, if you want to inquire about the Zhan family, I’m quite familiar with them. I’m their neighbor. The three Zhan children are all excellent. You can rest assured. Now that the hard times have passed, the Zhan kids are all hardworking. Your daughter-in-law’s younger sister will live a good life when she marries into the family!"

Wei Pozi felt a bit puzzled. "Marry into the family?"

Wait, wasn’t the discussion about a live-in son-in-law?

But since this was a private matter, perhaps the Zhan family didn’t want to make it public?

Wei Pozi didn’t say much more, just paused for a moment before changing the subject. "If what you say is true, is the Zhan family’s marriage a good match?"

"Absolutely!" the woman said firmly. "I’ve watched those three children grow up. They are all good kids. Your daughter-in-law’s younger sister will definitely have a better life."

The woman emphasized again, "marry into the family."

Wei Pozi frowned slightly, wondering if the Zhan family was hiding the fact that the second son was going to be a live-in son-in-law. Would he have some emotional baggage if that were the case?

Wei Pozi asked the woman, "Did the Zhan family tell you they are going to marry their son?"

The woman seemed puzzled as well. "They didn’t say they are marrying their son, but if the two families come to an agreement, wouldn’t they need to marry her in?"

Wei Pozi pondered for a moment and then asked the woman, "I’d like to visit the Zhan family. Could you do me a favor and show me the way?"

The woman was quite straightforward. "That’s nothing. I’m heading home anyway, old sister. Just follow me, and I’ll take you there."

The woman led the way, guiding Wei Pozi towards the Zhan family’s home.

Xingxing followed obediently beside Wei Pozi. The woman couldn’t help but glance at her several times. "I was meaning to say this during the banquet, old sister, but your granddaughter is such a sweet girl."

Wei Pozi loved hearing others praise Xingxing. She smiled. "My granddaughter is not only cute but also very obedient and filial."

Xingxing blushed slightly, her lips curling into a shy smile.

The woman nodded. "She’s really well-behaved!"

Wei Pozi’s smile grew even brighter.

Beimanggou wasn’t very big, and they soon arrived at the Zhan family’s home.

The Zhan family’s yard was small. A half-enclosure of fence surrounded it.

Wei Pozi stood outside the fence, observing the Zhan family’s home as objectively as she could.

Their house looked a bit run-down.

Just as she had heard, the Zhan family wasn’t well-off.

However, the yard was well-kept, showing that they were hardworking.

Wei Pozi had intended to just observe from outside, but the woman was so enthusiastic that she went and knocked on the Zhan family’s door, calling out, "Zhicheng, Zhicheng, are you home?"

Wei Pozi was startled and almost stopped her.

But by then, someone inside had already answered. "Yes, who is it?"

As the voice faded, someone opened the door and came out.

That must be Zhan Zhicheng, who’d been talking marriage with Li Donghua.

The fence was low, and Wei Pozi could see that the young man was a bit sun-kissed, with thick eyebrows and bright eyes—pretty good-looking, actually.

The woman waved at Zhan Zhicheng from outside the fence. "Zhicheng, come out."

Zhan Zhicheng responded and walked towards the yard’s entrance. "Aunt Wang, what’s up?"