Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After shooing away the guest who had walked into our trap, Ye Zhan earnestly advised her father, "What if we accidentally deceive a noble? What if they beat you up?"

In Bianjing, you could throw a brick and hit three royals.

At this, Ye Dafu fell silent.

Even the prefect of Kaifeng wouldn’t care if a noble took out their frustrations on a commoner.

Ye Zhan didn’t want her father to embark on a path of illegal activities, "Besides, isn’t this hurting people?"

"This isn’t hurting anyone," Ye Dafu said, feeling wronged, "The customer buys happily, and I sell contentedly. How is this harmful?"

"But it’s a fake!"

"It’s a fake, but I’m selling it at the price of a fake!" Ye Dafu was even more wronged, "A real bronze ding would cost at least several hundred taels of silver. Mine is only 80 wen; the customer isn’t a fool."

"The customer will deceive themselves. Besides, do you dare to tell the customer it’s fake?" Ye Zhan shook her head, "That bronze ding of yours was soaking in filth!"

"I haven’t deceived anyone before! This is my first deal." Ye Dafu said, hanging his head.

"I just wanted to help out since we have another mouth to feed at home," he mumbled, taking out her palace silk cord from his pocket, "How could I sell your waistband? I paid your mother to get it back."

Was everything her father did really for her?

Ye Zhan’s hands paused as she packed the fake antiques.

She took the palace silk cord and licked her lips.

The words of advice she had prepared couldn’t be spoken, "Thank you, Father. But if you go down the wrong path for my sake, how can I be at peace? I’m trying to figure out a legitimate business. Then, we won’t have to worry about our livelihood."

"Why go through all that trouble to start a business?" Mi Fengniang interjected.

"Now, your father has his stall, your older brother and sister help at the tavern and bring home snacks. Your younger sister has found favor with a shaman, so we don’t worry about food and drink."

Mi Fengniang was quite satisfied with their current life, taking a sip of her wine,

"My child, why don’t you become my apprentice as a matchmaker? In the future, we’ll have a family-owned, long-standing business."

Become a matchmaker?

Ye Zhan’s hands, which were tying the palace silk cord, stopped.

"Being a matchmaker is profitable!" Mi Fengniang counted on her fingers, "A fee for matchmaking, a betrothal thank-you gift, a reward when I urge the groom during the wedding, and a red envelope at the wedding."

Going back and forth, earning rewards, one could make about 200 wen per deal, which was a great thing!

"As a matchmaker, I rely on my legs for diligence. Wearing auspicious flowers on my head and carrying wedding cakes and ingots in my sleeves." Mi Fengniang sipped her wine, reciting a folk song from the streets,

While kindly sharing her professional secrets with her daughter:

"There are tricks to it! For a girl who loves food, say she has a big appetite; for a chubby girl, say she’s prosperous; for a divorced woman, say she’s charming. This always works!"

"Isn’t that... lying?" Ye Zhan asked, eyes wide.

"Your mother only tells the truth, unlike those deceitful matchmakers." Mi Fengniang defended herself, "I just add a little spin. Is that really lying?"

Ye Zhan still didn’t want to be a matchmaker, "Mother, I don’t want to do this."

She was skeptical about marriage herself, so how could she possibly be a good matchmaker?

Besides, after understanding the Ye family, she had an idea: to first rescue her family from the edge of criminal activity.

The occupations in the Ye family—matchmakers, runners, performers, and low-ranking officers—were all part of the lower nine ranks.

In ancient times, the lower nine ranks had a bad reputation and were referred to as "despised people."

Being a despised person was only slightly better than being a slave; other than that, their lives were utterly miserable:

the disdain of strangers, neighborhood discrimination, inability to take the imperial examinations, and discrimination in marriage.

When disputes arose with others, officials would first find fault with you. In lawsuits against law-abiding citizens, you were likely to suffer heavier penalties.

Although every profession is just a division of labor without any distinction of nobility or inferiority,

in the hierarchical ancient society, the lower nine ranks were firmly at the bottom, and anyone could trample on your family.

Therefore, Ye Zhan's first goal was to lift her family out of their status as despised people.

Her second goal was to help the Ye family buy back their lost farmland and lead them to prosperity.

Ye Zhan didn't have the mindset of "self-preservation" that some transmigrators had.

After all, the Ye family was once a prosperous farming family. They had exhausted their family fortune searching for her, falling from upper-class farmers to the lower nine ranks. Naturally, she felt a need to repay their kindness.

As she was pondering ways to achieve wealth, someone knocked on the door: "Is this the Ye family's residence?"

"The door is ajar, come in and speak," Ye Dafu casually called out.

However, the visitor said, "I won't go inside. Come out, we need to talk."

？

All the Ye family members stood up, and a glance was exchanged between Mi Fengniang and Ye Dafu. They put down their wine cups and headed outside.

At the door stood several people:

A middle-aged, portly man dressed in silk, exuding arrogance, a middle-aged woman adorned with gold and silver, huddled together with shrugged shoulders, a matchmaker holding a sunshade, and behind her, two male servants.

"Wang Si?" Ye Dafu said in surprise, "What a rare and esteemed guest."

He was about to reach out and grasp the portly man's arm.

But Wang Si subtly dodged him, his expression cold. The servant next to him spoke first, "Our master is referred to as Wang Yuanwai."

Ye Dafu's smile stiffened slightly, but he still bowed and smiled, "Wang Yuanwai, long time no see."

Wang Yuanwai nodded arrogantly, acknowledging the greeting.

"What a rare and esteemed guest!"

Mi Fengniang glanced at the matchmaker behind them and instantly plastered on a welcoming smile,

"Please come in and sit, I'll go prepare some tea."

Wang Yuanwai disdainfully surveyed the dilapidated and cramped house, "We'll remain here at the door."

"That works, it's cooler by the door." Ye Dafu forced a smile and brought out a chair to place under the jujube tree by the door. "Enjoy the cool breeze."

Mi Fengniang also brought out a table and, amidst her busy schedule, remembered to give her daughter a knowing look. "Zhan Zhan, go with your sister to fix something to eat."

Confused, Ye Zhan was dragged to the kitchen shed behind the house by Yu Jier. After asking Yu Jier a few questions, she finally understood the reason:

Turns out this family is the one Ye Zhan's arranged marriage is with!

The Ye family were middle-class landlords in Yongqiu County, just outside Kaifeng.

During a year of refugee turmoil, Ye Dafu "found" a person by the fields. That person was Wang Si.

Wang Si had wandered to Yongqiu County and was close to starving to death on the road.

Ye Dafu, with kindness, saved him and, seeing his pitiable state, offered him a way to make a living:

"We need to haul waste to Bianjing City to fertilize our fields. If you're willing to do this job, I'll hire you."

With a population of one million in Bianjing City, the amount of human waste collected from nightsoil buckets could form a mountain each day.

City people thought the waste was disgusting, but to farmers, it was a valuable fertilizer.

Clever Ye Dafu had long been eyeing this business: collecting nightsoil not only earned money from city folks but also provided fertilizer for his fields, with the excess sold to other landlords.

Wang Si quickly agreed and became a tenant farmer for the Ye family.

After several trips to the city, the commissions given by the Ye family were quite generous, and Wang Si's life gradually improved.

He was clever and resourceful, with a sweet tongue. Seizing an opportunity, he married the only daughter of a tavern owner, became a live-in son-in-law, and thus rose to prosperity.

With these assets, Wang Si and the Ye family were considered well-matched in social status.

When Ye Zhan was born, the two families sealed their betrothal with a traditional ceremony.

On the third day of the third lunar month, when the Golden Pool opened, the Wang family invited their in-laws to visit Bianjing City.

On that day, Yin Ge'er had diarrhea, so Ye Dafu stayed home to care for his second son.

Mi Fengniang took her four-year-old twin daughters and Jin Ge'er into the city.

Jin Ge'er, being mischievous, broke off willow branches by the Golden Pool and wove them into little dogs, placing them on his sisters' heads to make them look like puppies.

Yu Jier, known for her fiery temper, grabbed her brother's sleeve and refused to let go. "Take it off!" They quarreled noisily.

Madam Wang frowned and, adjusting her golden hairpin, exclaimed in shock, "My hairpin is gone!"

Mi Fengniang helped her search for the hairpin, which had slipped to the side of her head.

In those few moments, Mi Fengniang turned her head and realized that Zhan Jier was gone.

While the Ye family sold their assets to search for their daughter, the Wang family also took the opportunity to buy some of the Ye family's land at a low price.

As the Ye family became more impoverished, the Wang family's attitude grew colder, and the two families had less and less contact.

"The Wang family lives just behind our street," Xiao Mei whispered to Ye Zhan. "They can hear us even if we drop a bowl."

Yu Jier stuffed a handful of straw into the stove and said nonchalantly, "Maybe they're here to discuss your marriage to the young master of the Wang family!"

Ye Zhan shook her head.

Living so close yet having no contact, the relationship had clearly faded. How could they possibly discuss marriage?

As she stoked the fire, she heard a commotion outside.