Shun Geer glanced at Hai Youtian again, unable to sit still.
“Let’s leave it at that for today! Wait for my elder brother’s message!”
He got up and dashed off.
Hai Youtian called after him, but he couldn’t catch him—and didn’t dare to pursue.
Shun Geer stepped out of the teahouse, letting the cold wind hit him. His cheeks were still flushed.
After a few steps, he saw his elder brother and sister-in-law sitting at a noodle stall, eating wontons slowly and waiting for him. His face heated up again.
Li Feng looked on in amazement.
“Wow, he actually blushes!”
Lu Liu chuckled. “Da Feng, look, it’s just like before—he was like this during the matchmaking too.”
Shun Geer: “…”
He had said he wouldn’t come! Why were they here?
Still, he sat down and ordered a bowl of wontons.
When asked about the matchmaking, he only said, “I’ll follow your lead.”
His family was satisfied with Hai Youtian, so this was essentially him giving his tacit agreement.
Li Feng said, “You two eat here; I’ll go over and talk to Hai Youtian.”
Now that the matter was out in the open, it was easier to discuss. As the elder brother, he should properly speak with Hai Youtian.
Shun Geer agreed and quietly chatted with Lu Liu about minor matchmaking details, making Lu Liu blush and cover her face in amusement.
Shun Geer shook his head in admiration at her.
With the matchmaking proceeding smoothly, it was time to discuss the marriage arrangements.
Hai Youtian’s family would handle the formalities themselves, setting a date and arranging a meeting between the elders of both families.
According to his account, his family felt guilty toward him. They had long assumed he would spend the rest of his life in the jade shop. Now, being able to marry in his early twenties, and with the prospective match being healthy, well-behaved, and from a good family, was almost unimaginable. The idea of him entering as a son-in-law would only increase their sense of guilt, so they would need some persuasion.
He arranged everything so that the meeting would be celebratory.
Li Feng brought the news home, and Chen Guizhi got out the calendar to pick a date.
With the matchmaking set, the wedding date wasn’t far off. They weren’t from a wealthy or influential family, so things moved quickly.
Typically, they would just pick a date, mark an auspicious day, and decide whether to marry before or after the New Year, sooner or later. This could all be negotiated.
Lu Liu stayed with Shun Geer, asking if he preferred a wedding before or after the New Year. Shun Geer said he didn’t know.
She teased him, “You’re grown now, make your own choice.”
Shun Geer asked her, “Then what do you think—before or after the New Year?”
Lu Liu preferred before the New Year: the family would be lively, everyone together for the festival, helping the newlyweds adjust.
After the New Year would be less exciting—after the wedding, chores would pile up. Without the New Year festivities, staying home would feel different.
Shun Geer didn’t understand. “Doesn’t it all involve work and chores anyway?”
Lu Liu thought for a moment. “You’re diligent, you know household chores never end. Take me—if I married Da Feng after the New Year and wasn’t used to the household, I’d keep busy to avoid idleness. Since work never ends, I wouldn’t know when I could rest, always exhausting myself.
“Before the New Year is different. Everyone is preparing: cleaning, washing, buying New Year goods, making preserved meats, steaming buns. Everything is orderly, done on the proper days. By the holiday, after a few days of visiting, I’d already be familiar with everyone. After the New Year, it’s easier to know what to do and where everything is.”
She continued: “Early marriage benefits him; late marriage benefits you. You should think carefully. If it’s busy around the New Year, returning to the room alone allows some privacy. Otherwise, having someone everywhere might make you anxious. After the New Year, both of you will work, leaving only brief moments together, so fewer awkward moments and slower emotional bonding.”
Shun Geer listened and then asked his mother and elder brother’s opinions.
Li Feng preferred after the New Year. “He’s a grown man—what habits are you talking about? He’s not familiar enough with our family yet.”
Chen Guizhi preferred before the New Year: a pre-New Year match would touch Hai Youtian’s heart, making him treat Shun Geer better in the future.
Li Feng replied, “He won’t dare. He’s already emotional enough. We’ll proceed with the formalities, let him spend the New Year at home. I’ve asked about his deed of servitude; he’s short a little over four taels of silver. He’s reliable, doesn’t waste a day. I’ll first buy his deed, then he can help me at the business for a while. If he wants to return home, he can; if not, he can stay at the warehouse. The marriage can wait until after the New Year.”
He had been reluctant at first but had come to terms with it. Approaching the wedding, he didn’t verbally express it but showed his attachment in other ways.
Lu Liu naturally sided with Li Feng, emphasizing the benefits of marrying after the New Year.
Shun Geer nudged her. “Didn’t you say he might not be used to it?”
Lu Liu supported Li Feng. “He’s not like me. I’ve never been to the house before. He’s familiar with our family; why wouldn’t he adapt?”
Shun Geer: “…”
They reached an agreement. His mother was swayed, but the final decision would still consider him.
Shun Geer thought, with the New Year approaching, it was best to spend it with his family first.
Chen Guizhi marked a post-New Year date, aiming to complete the wedding before spring planting, so as not to delay Hai Youtian’s family’s agricultural work.
Shun Geer muttered quietly, “The first month is fine.”
If delayed to February or March, it would drag on too long.
The whole family looked at him; his face turned bright red. Unable to sit still, he stomped and ran off.
With somewhere to go, he couldn’t stay at home. He went to the next room to chat with Lu Yang. Finding him busy, he stayed at the shop.
Having just finished the matchmaking, he would surely be embarrassed to see Lu Yang now, so he chose the shop. Unexpectedly, He Qingzao was also there, curious about the upcoming marriage, and asked him a few questions.
Shun Geer: “…”
No matter where he went, he couldn’t escape.
With only a few days left in the twelfth lunar month, and the marriage postponed until after the New Year, everyone still had business to attend to.
The next day, Li Feng went to the jade shop and purchased Hai Youtian’s deed, arranging it with the steward Cai, who Hai Youtian often mentioned. Li Feng explained that the purchase was to free Hai Youtian, with the marriage already agreed upon, asking Cai to bless the union.
Cai was astonished. He brought Li Feng inside, asked many questions, and then summoned Hai Youtian to verify. “It’s amazing that such a good thing exists in this world…”
Hai Youtian had grown up under him for over ten years. Cai suggested adding a bit more to the price so Hai Youtian could buy his own freedom.
He had a point. Li Feng explained: “With the deed in his hands, he’s free. Marriage or becoming a son-in-law is a mutual choice. If you let me buy him now, even tearing or burning the deed, he’d still feel like you held his life in your hands. Keep the money, and put some in the dowry chest.”
Hai Youtian was so moved that he couldn’t hold back tears.
He wanted to stay a little longer at the jade shop, and could manage the rest of the silver on his own, but Cai didn’t agree.
“Good things come early, not late. Take him away now. Delay it, and your opportunity could be ruined—he’d spend the rest of his life as a servant.”
Most people in the jade trade were sly and cunning. They’d sell here, sell there—a living person was just silver to them, and sentiments were weak. Hai Youtian was kind and diligent, never drawing attention.
This time, fortune smiled: he would be treated as a future son-in-law, bringing business and winning his master’s favor—sure to incite jealousy.
The deed was taken that very day. Cai chatted with Li Feng further about the marriage arrangements, sending Hai Youtian out to buy two jars of wine and some side dishes to treat the shop staff to a farewell meal.
