At this moment, He Ketian had already finished distributing all the gifts.

Tao Shi and Shi Changhui were talking in their room when they suddenly heard someone knocking at the door.

Shi Changhui was just holding Tao Shi’s small hand and speaking enthusiastically when he heard the knocking. He was quite displeased, “Who is it?”

This late at night, they really had no sense of timing.

“It’s me.” Outside, Eldest Brother Shi’s voice could be heard.

“Eldest?” Shi Changhui opened the door, his expression rather unfriendly as he said, “It’s so late and you’re not sleeping. What are you here for?”

Eldest Brother Shi’s scalp tightened, but he mustered his courage and said, “Father, Mother, I have something I want to tell you both.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.” Shi Changhui was somewhat impatient and was about to send him away when he heard Tao Shi say, “Let him come in and speak.”

Well, since Tao Shi had spoken, Shi Changhui could only impatiently “tsk” and let his son enter.

“Speak, what is it?” Shi Changhui sat down beside Tao Shi. Seeing his eldest son standing there like a wooden stake without opening his mouth, he urged impatiently.

Eldest Brother Shi clenched his fists and said, “Father, Mother, I want to marry Jiao Jiao.”

Jiao Jiao was a widow, and moreover a widow with a poor reputation. Even though he thought she was wonderful in every way, the world’s gaze had never been kind to her. He wasn’t sure what his parents’ reaction would be to his words, so after saying this, his heart immediately jumped to his throat… Would they agree? Or would they fly into a rage, then beat him up and throw him out?

“Who was that?” Shi Changhui didn’t immediately remember who Jiao Jiao was.

“The widow from the Duan family?” Tao Shi, however, recalled.

“Yes.” Eldest Brother Shi was extremely nervous.

“Oh, it’s her.” Shi Changhui nodded, then waved his hand and said, “Alright, I know. You can go out now.”

Eh?

Eldest Brother Shi was stunned. In that instant, he had imagined countless possibilities, but he never expected his parents would react like this. So did this mean they agreed or disagreed?

“If you want to marry her, then go marry her. Being able to marry her would be your own ability.” Seeing him standing there dazed, Shi Changhui looked at him strangely, “What, don’t tell me you still want your mother to act as matchmaker for you?”

Eldest Brother Shi’s eyes immediately lit up, “No… no need, I’ll go find A’Ke.”

Having said this, he turned and left as if flying.

“Tsk, really cowardly, not a bit like me in my younger days. Dragging it out for a whole year before daring to speak up.” Shi Changhui said with great disdain, then felt somewhat regretful, “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have named him Qianqian back then. A perfectly good man eight feet tall, yet he does everything as hesitantly as a little girl.”

Tao Shi couldn’t help but laugh. Actually, they had known about that incident a year ago. After all, Shi Changhui and their county magistrate were drinking buddies, and when he heard about the matter that day, he came back and told her about it, even making a bet with her with great interest that Shi Qianqian had definitely taken a fancy to that little widow and would definitely come asking to marry her within three months at most.

The result… he actually held it in for a whole year before making a move.

Eldest Brother Shi didn’t know he was being disdained by his own father, but even if he knew, he probably wouldn’t care, because he was simply too happy. He hadn’t expected that what he thought would be an extremely difficult matter would go so smoothly, so smoothly that it was beyond his expectations.

“A’Ke, Father and Mother agreed.” Eldest Brother Shi’s eyes were bright, “Please help me arrange the matchmaking. I’m asking you to be my matchmaker.”

Shi Fa Ke smiled, “Alright.”

The next day, Jiao Jiao came as promised, and she brought a small jar.

“What is this?” Shi Fa Ke’s gaze was immediately drawn to the small jar. From its appearance… it seemed to be a wine jar?

Jiao Jiao smiled without answering, instead directly lifting her hand to break open the mud seal on the jar. An indescribable fragrance immediately assailed the nose, and Shi Fa Ke’s eyes immediately lit up.

Wine!

She had never smelled such a mellow and rich wine fragrance. Just smelling it made her feel as if she was about to get drunk.

“What wine is this?” Shi Fa Ke asked with bright eyes.

Jiao Jiao was amused by her greedy expression, “This is fruit wine I brewed. It’s very suitable for girls to drink. Would you like to try some?”

“You brewed this wine?” Shi Fa Ke looked amazed.

“Mm, when I was little, I accidentally found a piece of sheepskin in a broken wine jar at home. It recorded a wine recipe. Later, I worked as a helper at a wine shop in town for a while and learned some things. Gradually, I figured out that recipe. After marrying into the Duan family, I often brewed some wine to drink myself. I can now brew about seventy to eighty percent of the wines in that recipe.”

“Self-taught, amazing.” Shi Fa Ke almost admired her.

Jiao Jiao lifted her chin proudly, “This is probably what you call good natural talent.”

Shi Fa Ke was amazed and sighed that the Jiao family was truly blind, selling off a real treasure so cheaply. If they knew that their daughter, whom they considered worthless, actually possessed the lost wine-brewing secret techniques of the Jiao family, they would probably regret it deeply.

“Come, taste it and see how it is.” Jiao Jiao stuffed the wine jar into her arms.

The rich wine fragrance assailed her nostrils, and Shi Fa Ke couldn’t help but swallow. She really wanted to drink it, but she didn’t dare. She knew her own alcohol tolerance – one sip and she’d probably be unconscious, and she still had important business to attend to…

Moreover, if Jiao Jiao became her eldest sister-in-law, wouldn’t she be able to drink as much wine as she wanted in the future? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

So, like a wine lover, she took a deep sniff of the wine fragrance, then reluctantly set the wine jar aside, “No rush, let’s first talk about your marriage.”

Jiao Jiao was stunned, looking somewhat surprised, “You really have someone in mind?”

“Mm.” Shi Fa Ke nodded.

“What kind of person is he?” Jiao Jiao asked curiously.

“This person is over eight feet tall, handsome in appearance, has practiced martial arts since childhood so he’s in good health, has no particular bad habits, and his parents are also kind people.” Shi Fa Ke introduced him seriously, “Oh right, he’s not a scholar.”

“There’s really such a good person, and he’s willing to marry a widow?” Jiao Jiao held a skeptical attitude.

“Mm, I asked him, and he said he’s willing.” Shi Fa Ke said with a straight face.

“His parents also agree?” Jiao Jiao asked with a surprised expression.

“Mm, his parents also agree.” Shi Fa Ke nodded.

“…Did you tell them it was me? Among widows, I’m also the type with a bad reputation.” Jiao Jiao thought for a moment, then said rather unconfidently.

It was rare to see Jiao Jiao, who usually walked with her head held high looking like ‘this old lady is not to be trifled with’, showing such a lack of confidence. Shi Fa Ke couldn’t help but be amused.

“What are you laughing at? If he really has such good conditions, why would he want to marry a widow like me?” Jiao Jiao said, then looked suspicious, “Could it be that this person has some problem? What does he do for a living?”

“He has no problems, he’s a constable.” Shi Fa Ke thought for a moment, then finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “It’s just that his name is a bit strange, but that’s not his fault – after all, he can’t control his own name, it was given by his parents.”

By this point, who this person was had become quite obvious.

Jiao Jiao was stunned.

“How about it? Are you satisfied with this person?” Shi Fa Ke blinked and asked.

Jiao Jiao’s eyes brightened, then dimmed again, “…It won’t work.”

“Why not? Don’t you want to remarry? What’s wrong with my eldest brother?” Shi Fa Ke asked with some surprise. She had just looked quite moved, so why was she refusing right away?

Jiao Jiao bit her lip, stood dazed for a long while, then murmured, “It’s not that he’s not good, he’s too good.”

“Ah? There’s such a thing as being too good?” Shi Fa Ke was stunned.

Jiao Jiao gave her a look, “I’m not worthy of him.”

“Whether you’re worthy or not isn’t for you to decide. My eldest brother fancies you.” Shi Fa Ke said with a baffled expression.

“No, that’s not it.” Jiao Jiao shook her head, looking understanding, “You told him I wanted to remarry, didn’t you? He just wants to take responsibility for me… He’s really foolish. I’m just a widow with a ruined reputation – what’s the big deal?”

Take responsibility?

“What did my eldest brother do to you?!” Shi Fa Ke looked shocked.

How did it involve taking responsibility? Shi Fa Ke felt like she had missed some exciting details. She had thought her eldest brother was an honest man! Turns out he was also full of schemes…

Jiao Jiao’s face turned red, and she refused to speak.

“Fine, if you won’t say, then forget it.” Seeing that she couldn’t pry open Jiao Jiao’s mouth, which was shut tight as a clam shell, Shi Fa Ke was somewhat disappointed as she withdrew her gossiping gaze. Then she propped her chin on her hands, sniffing the wine fragrance while saying carelessly, “But my eldest brother isn’t a pedantic person. If he didn’t like you, he definitely wouldn’t marry you just for the sake of so-called responsibility.”

Jiao Jiao lowered her eyes, looking unmoved.

“Actually, I didn’t know at first that eldest brother wanted to marry you. Originally, the person I wanted to introduce you to wasn’t my eldest brother, but one of his colleagues.” Seeing her unmoved, Shi Fa Ke changed the topic. Seeing that Jiao Jiao finally looked over curiously, she grinned, “However, when I asked eldest brother about this colleague, his reaction was unusually intense, which aroused my suspicions.”

When she said the words “unusually intense,” Shi Fa Ke emphasized her tone.

Jiao Jiao was stunned.

“My eldest brother is an honest man who can’t lie. His expression couldn’t fool me. When I coaxed him by saying I wanted to introduce that Brother Zhao to you…” Shi Fa Ke glanced at her and pouted, “His expression was so fierce. My eldest brother has never been so fierce with me before. He even said I was being improper.”

Jiao Jiao shifted uncomfortably, a blush quietly creeping up her face.

“But marriage is something that requires mutual consent. My brother liking you is his own business.” Shi Fa Ke sat up straight, looking at her seriously, “If you like my brother, then accept this marriage and everyone will be happy. If you don’t like my brother, I’ll go refuse him right now.” She paused, then grinned again, “After all, you approached me first about matchmaking, so it should definitely be based on your wishes.”

She had a very businesslike demeanor.

Jiao Jiao suddenly felt somewhat at a loss. She sat quietly for a while, the expression on her face gradually becoming determined, as if she had made some kind of decision.

“How about it?” Shi Fa Ke asked.

“Fine, it’s Eldest Brother Shi then.” Jiao Jiao bit her teeth and said fiercely, as if making a desperate decision, “If he dares to marry me, then I dare to marry him!”