Chapter 279: Meeting a Prospective Match
In the evening, Luo Honglan and Fang Pingying slept together.
Fang Pingying, thinking about the prospective groom inspection tomorrow, asked Luo Honglan, "Hong Lan, what did mom tell you about tomorrow's arrangement?"
Luo Honglan didn't seem too concerned and said nonchalantly, "My mom didn't pressure me. She just said to have a look. If it's not suitable, we can just treat it as if a relative came to visit, no big deal."
Hearing this, Fang Pingying let out a sigh of relief.
But she still asked Luo Honglan, "What do you think about it yourself?"
Luo Honglan shyly smiled, "I didn't plan on getting married so soon. Regardless of how the guy turns out tomorrow, I will just tell my mom he's not suitable. I'm thinking of waiting a few more years before considering marriage."
"Right, you should think that way. You're still young; there's no need to rush into finding someone," Fang Pingying laughed as she looked at her, "I wanted to find someone for you in the army. Your big brother agrees too."
Thinking about how impressive her own big brother looked in his military uniform, Luo Honglan thought that marrying a soldier wouldn't be so bad, and without rejecting the idea, she chuckled softly, "Sister-in-law, we can talk about it when we go back to the provincial city."
Seeing Luo Honglan like this, Fang Pingying felt in her heart that Luo Honglan might be keen on someone from the army, and probably wouldn't be interested in that Li Shunsheng. This made her feel more at ease.
She thought that no matter how satisfied Zhou Yunmei was, if Luo Honglan herself disagreed, and with Luo Zhiyong also having heard what she had said, they probably wouldn't make an early decision. No matter what, the matter would definitely not be settled tomorrow.
The next morning, Zhou Yunmei really did tell everyone in the family to wake up early and even tidied up the yard, announcing that the visitors were coming for the prospective groom inspection.
Their customs were quite strange; they said that when the younger sister-in-law was having an inspection, all the other sisters-in-law and older sisters couldn't be there, so Zhou Yunmei told Fang Pingying and Fang Xiu to go out for the morning and come back after the inspection was over.
Fang Xiu naturally said she would go back to her mother's house, but in actuality, she went to Xu He's house.
Fang Pingying went to her second uncle's house next door.
Second Uncle's family was quite happy to hear about Luo Honglan's inspection. Luo Dahu even specially used crutches to go next door to take a look.
Fang Pingying sat with Qiu Xiu and the others on the kang (a traditional heated bed).
Yu Fen had given birth to a son, the first grandson in their family. Naturally, Qiu Xiu held the baby with joy, not wanting to let go.
As if she had made a great accomplishment, Yu Fen relied on the kang during her postpartum recovery period, ordering her two kids Yu'er and Cheng Fei around. One moment she would want water, the next a chicken egg.
Whenever Yu'er was unhappy, Qiu Xiu would coax her, saying it was only a matter of a few days. Once she went with Fang Pingying to the provincial city, she wouldn't have to manage anything at home.
Knowing that the family was happy with the new nephew in the house, Yu'er was too lazy to bicker with Yu Fen.
Perhaps because she felt empowered now, upon seeing Fang Pingying, Yu Fen started to bring up the idea of having Cheng Fei work in Fang Pingying's shop again. Fang Pingying didn't engage in the conversation and went straight to the kitchen to help Yu'er make the fire. M|V|LEM*PYR is the home of this chapter
After staying at Second Uncle's house for about half the morning, Fang Pingying saw Luo Dahu returning, all smiles, and she had a bad feeling. She quickly asked, "Uncle Zeng, is that young man really good?"
Luo Dahu clicked his tongue and sighed a few times, "Not bad, really not bad. He's tall and strong, honest, has a good skill, and his family is decent too. There's absolutely nothing bad you can say about him. Your parents are satisfied."
Actually, Luo Dahu saying this was somewhat within Fang Pingying's expectations because Li Shunsheng had indeed made a good first impression, and it was tough for anyone to find fault in him.
But upon seeing Luo Dahu so happy about it, she couldn't help but ask, "Has everything been settled so quickly?"
Luo Dahu smiled, "Not yet. Hong Lan doesn't quite agree. She's currently working in the provincial city and generally won't come back. She doesn't want to start a relationship so soon."
"Well, Luo Honglan is still young." Fang Pingying sighed in relief upon hearing this.
But in the next moment, the words of Luo Dahu tensed her up again, "But her parents are speaking with that lad, saying that he could simply go work in the provincial city too, to be with Hong Lan. If they see each other every day, the matter would be easier to settle."
"Ah?" Fang Pingying's eyes widened in disbelief.
Luo Dahu probably sensed that it was too hasty, so he didn't say much more, only telling Fang Pingying, "You can go back now. They should be almost done talking, and that lad is probably gone by now."
Fang Pingying immediately returned home.
Back home, she saw the whole family beaming with joy, truly like the New Year festive spirit.
Even Luo Honglan, who had vociferously stated she didn't want to marry so soon, was now blushing with a shy look on her face, clearly moved.
Seeing her come back, Luo Zhiyong walked over with a smile and said to her, "Pingying, that Li Shunsheng today is indeed a good man. He looks honest, and his character is good as well."
Fang Pingying silently sighed. She didn't know whether to say that Li Shunsheng was good at pretending or if he was genuinely kind but later changed. With even Luo Zhiyong praising him, no wonder the Luo Family chose him for Luo Honglan in the past life.
If she hadn't lived this life all over again, she probably would have thought he was a good person too.
Seeing her family so happy, she naturally wouldn't pour cold water on their joy, simply saying with a smile, "If he's a good person, then that's great."
After speaking, she casually sat in the yard before returning to her room.
In the room, Fang Pingying seriously considered that if she really wanted to stop Luo Honglan's marriage arrangement, they would probably need to leave earlier. As long as the engagement wasn't set in stone, there was room for negotiation. Even if Li Shunsheng really followed them to the provincial city, Fang Pingying had ways to separate them.
But once the engagement was settled, it would be a different story.
Although an engagement at that time had no legal force, in the eyes of ordinary people, it was very significant. Once engaged, without a special reason, the engagement couldn't be broken, and even with a special reason, a girl who broke off an engagement would be gossiped about.
People would say that this girl had been engaged, and who knows what she did with the man. So once engaged, it was difficult to break it off.
So, originally they planned to leave on the eighth, but then Luo Zhiyong said they should stay for two more days, to spend a bit more time at home. But now she decided not to postpone it anymore, and simply settled on leaving on the eighth.
When Luo Zhiyong came back to the room, Fang Pingying discussed with him, "Zhiyong, let's set out for the provincial city tomorrow. The shop can't afford this much delay, and I'm afraid Uncle Zeng has already prepared the goods for the store, we can't hold it up."
Luo Zhiyong was somewhat disagreeable upon hearing this, "If we really leave tomorrow, the affairs of the house aren't settled yet."
Fang Pingying didn't know how to explain to him, so she simply threw a fit, pretending to be angry, "If you really don't want to leave, then tomorrow I can take Hong Lan and Yu'er and go first. My shop can't afford any delay, and if you'd like, you can stay home and spend more time with your parents."
"Okay, okay, we'll leave. I never said we wouldn't." Since Fang Pingying became pregnant, her temper had grown larger and Luo Zhiyong seemed to have become accustomed to it. He gave a resigned smile and soothed her, "Your temper is really something now, getting angry at the drop of a hat. If in the future we have a daughter with a temper as fiery as yours, it will be difficult to marry her off."
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) by giving recommendation votes or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)