Chapter 195: Matchmaking Turmoil

The news that Sha Zhu was going to a matchmaking spread like wings, reaching every nook of the Siheyuan overnight. That was far more explosive than Jia Zhangshi's shouting about a "big golden grandson"!

The source, of course, was the self‑satisfied comrade He Yuzhu himself. Ever since Li Ping'an promised to take him to see the matchmaker, the kid has been as if he'd been given a shot of chicken blood, walking with the wind. The next day in the cafeteria he flipped the big ladle, somehow sliced the shredded potatoes as fine as dragon‑whisker noodles, and hummed an off‑key "Honghu waters rolling", prompting the assistant cook Liu Haizhong to roll his eyes: "Sha Zhu, are you picking up gold ingots? Or dreaming of marrying a wife?"

Sha Zhu clanged the frying ladle, raised an eyebrow: "Hey! You're right! Buddy, good things are coming! Get ready to drink wedding wine!" With his big mouth, he let the rumor out before the matchmaker even arrived.

Now the courtyard instantly erupted into a frenzy.

In the Front Courtyard, Yan Bu Gui adjusted his glasses, his little abacus clicking: "Sha Zhu wants a matchmaking? That's an opportunity! If he really goes through, the thank‑you gifts can't be skipped, right? Should we give a snack box or just a red envelope? By market rates, it should be at least this much…" He was already rehearsing how to "break even" on Sha Zhu's wedding.

In the Central Courtyard, Jia Zhangshi cracked sunflower seeds and scoffed: "Him? That dimwitted cook wants a partner? Which girl would be blind enough to like him? Unless she brings a shrew back and throws the whole courtyard into chaos!"

She disparaged him outwardly, but felt a sour pang inside; her own son Jia Dongxu had married Qin Huairu, who was already pregnant, yet the household was tight on money, with no spare cash for a wedding. Watching others handle it made her feel uneasy.

Yi Zhonghai stood with his hands behind his back, adopting a parental air: "Zhuzi is not young anymore; it's time to start a family. Find a decent person, settle down, and you'll be able to work peacefully." He saw this as a chance to assert his authority and do a favor for Sha Zhu, calculating that once Sha Zhu truly settled, he could, as First Elder, preside properly.

In the Back Courtyard, Liu Haizhong puffed out his belly, speaking in official tones: "Comrade He Yuzhu's personal issue should have been resolved long ago! This shows his ideological awareness has risen! As leaders, we must care about subordinates' lives…" It was as if Sha Zhu's matchmaking proved his own competent leadership.

Xu Damao displayed classic sour‑grape envy, circling Sha Zhu twice, clicking his tongue: "Whoa, Sha Zhu, impressive! Even a toad wants to eat swan meat now? What kind of person are you looking for? Someone as big‑bodied as you, able to swing a big ladle?" He deliberately provoked Sha Zhu: "Don't end up missing the swan meat and getting kicked by a female toad instead!"

Sha Zhu was at the sink, grumbling as he washed his only decent Zhongshan suit; hearing that, he threw the garment down, glaring: "Xu Damao, you looking for a beating? Believe it or not, I'll splash you with foot‑washing water? Even if I'm not great, I'm still better than some people, who all day look slick like Ximen Qing and only do shady, thieving deeds!"

"Who are you accusing of thievery?" Xu Damao stamped his foot.

"Whoever answers, I'll name them!"

Seeing the two about to clash again, Li Ping'an pushed his cart into the courtyard, furrowing his brow: "Zhuzi! Is the clothes washed? Are we still going tomorrow?"

Sha Zhu immediately called a truce, glared fiercely at Xu Damao, buried his head and kept scrubbing the clothes, muttering: "A good man doesn't fight a woman… no, a good cook doesn't fight a rotten person!"

Li Ping'an shook his head, already accustomed to the courtyard's chaos. He looked toward the Xi Kua Yuan, where warm light spilled from his own window and Lin Xueqing's silhouette swayed before it, sorting the dried laundry. That tranquility, contrasted with the courtyard's clamor, seemed like a different world.

The next day was a day off, and Li Ping'an kept his promise, taking the freshly dressed Sha Zhu to Wang Meipo's house at the entrance of Nanluoguxiang. Sha Zhu was so nervous he moved both hands and feet together, nearly tripping over the doorstep.

Wang Meipo was a capable little old lady, her eyes sharp as knives. She sized Sha Zhu up from head to toe, asked about his job, income, family situation (especially whether he owned a house), nodded: "The conditions are passable. A cook won't starve. What kind of person are you looking for?"

Sha Zhu's face flushed red, grumbling for a while: "Just… just decent looking, good temper, able to get by together!"

Wang Meipo smiled: "The request isn't high, but it's still hard to find. Nowadays the girls have high standards." She flipped through a thick notebook: "I have a few candidates: a Textile Factory female worker, a department store sales clerk, and a primary school teacher… Look over them, tell me which fits, and I'll make the arrangements."

Sha Zhu stared at the dense characters until his eyes blurred, randomly pointing: "Just… just the one from the Textile Factory! Working Class, pretty good!"

Leaving Wang Meipo's house, Sha Zhu let out a long sigh, feeling he'd accomplished something big. He rubbed his hands, his face full of anticipation, and asked Li Ping'an: "Brother Ping'an, do you think… this can work?"

"Do your part, leave the rest to fate." Li Ping'an patted his shoulder, "Go back and wait for news. Tidy up your place too; it shouldn't look like a pigsty, or the girl will have nowhere to set her feet."

"Understood! I'll do a big clean‑up when I get back!" Sha Zhu was full of vigor.

However, as soon as they returned to the Siheyuan, the atmosphere felt off.

From the Central Courtyard, suppressed sobbing and Jia Zhangshi's sharp curses echoed from the Jia family.

"Why are you crying? Mourning? You're pregnant and acting all precious? When I was pregnant with Dongxu, I was still working on the day of delivery! And you, golden precious, can't even stand the smell of meat? I think you're doing it on purpose! You don't want to give our old Jia family a grandchild!"

It was Qin Huairu's voice, trembling and weak: "Mom… I'm not… I just feel sick, the smell of oil makes me want to vomit…"

"Vomit, vomit, vomit! I bet you could spit out a gold ingot! Useless thing! You've wasted the white flour that First Elder gave!" Jia Zhangshi's voice was merciless.

It turned out that Qin Huairu's pregnancy symptoms were worsening, to the point she could barely tolerate any oil fumes. Jia Zhangshi, however, thought she was merely putting on an act, deliberately nagging her; instead of showing understanding, he intensified his demands, and his curses escalated. The five jin of white flour and ten coins had long gone into Jia Zhangshi's belly and pocket, while Qin Huairu hadn't even seen a single grain of flour.

Yi Zhonghai stood at his own doorway, listening to the commotion in the Central Courtyard, his brows knit. He had offered his help originally to preserve the "master‑disciple bond" and "courtyard harmony," but Jia Zhangshi's overstep only deepened the family strife. This left him in a bind: intervening would be meddling in private affairs; staying silent would make First Elder appear incompetent.

The senior matron sighed beside them: "Jia Zhangshi is really out of line! That child of Huairu is truly suffering…"

Sha Zhu listened to the curses, pulled his neck back, the excitement from earlier halved, muttering: "Getting a wife… is quite troublesome…"

Li Ping'an gave a blank stare toward the Jia family, a cold sneer in his mind. The people in this courtyard, calculating for their own selfish gains, could perform any ugliness. He felt even more convinced that his decision to shut himself away with Xueqing for a clean life was the right one.

He lifted his foot toward the Xi Kua Yuan, where warm light, a caring wife, and a simple peaceful life awaited. As for the courtyard's petty disputes, as long as they didn't reach him, he was happy to be a spectator.

Yet, watching Qin Huairu's restrained, tearful silhouette, Li Ping'an felt a barely perceptible ripple in his heart. In this era, in this big courtyard, a woman with no support faces such difficulty in seeking a stable life. He didn't know what the Jia family's foul atmosphere would eventually ferment into. And how long Sha Zhu's newly sparked matchmaking fire could burn under this chaotic backdrop remained uncertain.

Night fell, and the Siheyuan gradually quieted amid the lights and whispers of each household. Only the crabapple tree in the Xi Kua Yuan swayed gently in the evening breeze, as if guarding this rare patch of clean land.