After the whole network was hacked, she traveled through the small fishing village of Datang

Chapter 42 A matchmaker is here (please vote)

Su Qingqing carried a bunch of gourds on her back and led an otter on a country road in a small fishing village.

From a distance, I saw a group of people gathered around Zhang's yard, making a lot of noise.

Su Qingqing frowned and had a bad feeling in her heart, feeling that it might have something to do with herself.

She walked closer, pushing away the crowd, and said, "Please give way."

The onlookers on the side turned around and saw Su Qingqing, and immediately shouted: "Cousin Su is back! Give in!"

"Aunt Su, you are finally back. The little pomfret from Elephant Village invited a government matchmaker to propose marriage to you!"

This was one of the melon-eating people. Su Qingqing knew that the voice came from Chen Erlang's daughter-in-law without even looking.

Little Pomfret is known by his nickname, and even Chen Erlang's wife, who lives in a different village, knows it. It seems that this person is a bit different.

"I don't know where I saw this person, but I came here to propose marriage. I've only been here a few days." There is something in this.

Su Qingqing felt no fluctuation in her heart. She walked through the crowd and saw a woman in pink silk clothes talking to Mrs. Zhang and her mother-in-law Tian.

The attitude of the two Zhangs towards the matchmaker seemed quite polite and respectful.

In ancient times, "there is no marriage without a matchmaker". It is recorded in the Zhou rites that "the matchmaker is responsible for the judgment of all peoples", which shows the importance of matchmakers in ancient marriages.

The Tang Dynasty was even more unique. Most of the matchmakers in this dynasty were official media, that is, "civil servants."

There were even many great matchmakers in the upper class of the Tang Dynasty. For example, Yang Guifei's sister, Mrs. Guo Guo, was an aristocratic woman who loved gossip and matchmaking.

As an important part of the six steps of marriage etiquette, the matchmakers of the Tang Dynasty participated in the entire process and were legally responsible.

For example, you must ensure that the introduced parties "do not marry if they have the same surname, do not marry if they are good or bad, do not marry if they have a wife," etc. Otherwise, you will be responsible for the consequences.

Since they have so many responsibilities, of course they have to charge agency fees for being matchmakers.

For example, Mrs. Guo Guo would receive a huge matchmaking fee of [-] yuan every time she introduced a successful marriage, so she was happy to do this.

The current matchmakers in the Tang Dynasty are not as annoying as those in later dynasties, and they still have some social status.

The person in front of me is the official media.Therefore, although Mr. Zhang and Mr. Tian were surprised by the uninvited guests, they were not embarrassed to show off.

The arrival of the principal, Su Qingqing, relieved the embarrassment between Zhang and Tian. The former looked at Su Qingqing, quickly got up and came over, and explained the whole matter to her in a few words.

It turns out that the "little pompano" who proposed to Su Qingqing was the wretched man selling wild geese that Su Qingqing and Zhang met in the back room of Yaliu Villa a few days ago. He was obviously interested in Su Qingqing.

That man is now a delinquent in the county government. This time, Su Qingqing made Qian speed up the process of registering. He happened to meet him, found out his origins, and hired a matchmaker to catch up with him.

The delinquents of the Tang Dynasty were mainly hustlers and idlers in the market. They daily traveled through fireworks alleys and places of various religions and religions, so they were called "delinquents", which shows their status in the hearts of the people.

Although they are official servants, they are low-ranking petty officials.Their status is lower than that of agents and sergeants. Let alone officials, any agent can dispatch them.

As a low-level violent organization with direct contact with the people, what they do is often outrageous.

For example, during times of war, soldiers would go to people's homes in the middle of the night to recruit soldiers, because people could not think of going out to escape at this time.

Another example is that during the great famine and disaster years, people went to the homes of miserable people to demand payment of taxes. If they could not pay, they would levy and plunder them.The common people both despised them and were afraid of them.

So when I heard that a bad person came to propose marriage, it immediately ignited the fire of gossip in the whole village. Everyone was talking about it, guessing when Su Qingqing fell into the eyes of such a person.

After listening to Zhang's words, Su Qingqing immediately thought of the wretched-looking man who carried the wild goose at Yaliu Villa in her mind.

It wasn't that she was deeply impressed by him, but that Su Qingqing was born with a good memory.People who have seen her will still be impressed by her when they see her again, even after several years.

Such a good memory also brought her pain. She couldn't forget the hardships she experienced as a child, so she could only force herself to keep them in the dust.

Facing such a person to propose marriage, what else is there to say?
Su Qingqing told the matchmaker bluntly: "No interest, please come back."

The matchmaker was stunned by Su Qingqing's attitude. After all, even if she refused, there was no way a young lady would refuse in front of the matchmaker.

In China, a country of etiquette, such things must be communicated through relatives and friends, otherwise it will be inconsistent with etiquette.

So she had no choice but to say: "I heard that Aunt Su has just settled here and is now seventeen years old. If she doesn't get married, she will have to pay more taxes in the summer!"

It was a threat in disguise, and of course she was telling the truth.

Now the late Tang Dynasty is experiencing chaos such as the Anshi Rebellion, powerful separatism, production is declining, and the population is insufficient, so it has always adopted an attitude of encouraging and forcing marriages between men and women.

Widows and widowers will have special government matchmakers come to their homes every three days to make introductions, and they will never let you stay single in peace and contentment.

In the past, under Li Shimin, the legal age for marriage was still based on the ancient tradition of "twenty for men and fifteen for women." During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, it was changed to "fifteen for men and thirteen for women."
Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, if you do not get engaged or get married when you reach the marriageable age, the cost of living will skyrocket.

Therefore, poor families must make engagement arrangements for their children early and get married on time.

But Su Qingqing doesn't care. Although she is burdened with hundreds of millions in compensation debt in modern times, she was not short of money in ancient times.

Isn't it just a single tax? Buy a piece of silk in modern sizes and charge whatever you want!

Regarding the matchmaker's words, Su Qingqing responded coldly: "Oh."

"Does Aunt Su look down on Lu Jiazi?" the matchmaker asked again.

Mrs. Zhang hurriedly spoke before Su Qingqing could answer: "I'm kidding, my cousin doesn't even know Sanlang of the Lu family. How could she be so disdainful? It's just that her family has undergone a huge change, so she has no intention of doing so for the time being. It’s a waste of time for you to make this trip.”

As he spoke, he took out a few copper coins from his sleeve and gave them to the matchmaker.

"Okay, that being the case, I don't need to persuade you any more. If there is a more suitable husband, I will come back to you and talk to you as a matchmaker."

The matchmaker took the copper coin and looked Su Qingqing up and down. He had to admit that Ashisaburo who asked her to be a matchmaker was a toad who wanted to eat swan meat.

Such a beautiful woman is beyond the imagination of a bad person like him.

She has been a matchmaker for more than ten years, and even in the houses of landlords and gentry, she has never seen a more tender lady than the little lady in front of her.

This girl with thin skin and tender flesh definitely does not look like a farm girl, and judging from her aura, she does not seem to have seen the world, but she is temporarily down and out and living in the countryside.

(End of this chapter)