Chapter 236

"ZhiXia, JianWen just said that you wanted to eat bamboo shoots. There happen to be some coming out this season, so I'll go dig up a few later and have my mom make you some stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots to try," Zhou Jianwen's voice came from behind her.

ZhiXia quickly turned around to see him walking towards her, his face full of smiles.

The last time they had seen each other was four years ago.

Over the years, Zhou Jianwen had become even darker and more mature. His sturdy body and solid arms were bulging with muscles. With his short military cut and wearing just a sleeveless shirt with a light jacket in this weather, he really could withstand the cold.

"JianWen, please don't go through the trouble. I just haven't been back home in a long time and missed the scenery here, which is why I was standing outside admiring it for so long," ZhiXia said.

"It's no trouble at all. Now that you're here, it's just like you're back at your own home. Just don't stand on ceremony with us," Zhou Jianwen said. "Hurry inside. Those twins that look just alike are your kids, right? Second uncle is so delighted with them that he hasn't let go of them this whole time, holding one in each arm."

Zhou Family's second uncle Zhou Nan and his wife had given birth to twins, with Zhou Nan being the older one. Zhou Nan later had An ZhiAng and ZhiXia, and now ZhiXia also had a set of twins. It was something quite special for the family.

The Zhou Family home had changed quite a bit over the years. In the past, everyone lived together in a single compound, but now second uncle's eldest son JianYe had gotten married and started his own family, moving into a separate house.

Two new houses had been built to the right of the old family compound, forming a smaller compound. The old house was now occupied by eldest uncle's family, along with grandmother Zhou, but the two brothers still got along well. Usually if anything came up, the whole family would still gather together.

Following Zhou Jianwen to the front gate, ZhiXia could already hear the lively noises coming from inside.

After entering, ZhiXia greeted everyone. The two aunties were busy cooking in the kitchen along with the daughters-in-law. ZhiXia made sure not to neglect them. When she came out of the kitchen, Granny Zhou took her hand and gestured towards the main hall, "Your second brother is in there talking. Let's wait a bit before going in. You don't come back often these years. How have you been doing outside? Is it hard taking care of the kids? It's such a long trip here, you all must be exhausted. Go rest in the west room first."

Granny Zhou had clearly aged quite a bit, with all white hair now and slightly clouded eyes.

She asked so many questions all at once that ZhiXia answered them one by one, reassuring her situation, before asking caringly, "Granny, how has your health been these years?"

"Very good, everything's great..." Looking at her large family and comparing it to earlier days, Zhou granny truly felt life had gotten much better.

Both her grandsons were married now, and her two granddaughters had married out. She didn't need to worry about the even younger generation. If she could live a few more years to see her great-grandchildren forming families too, she could die happy even if she passed away then.

When ZhiXia had first arrived at the Zhou family, Zhou Jianwen's eldest daughter was still a toddler. Now the girl had grown into a little miss, while JianYe's son was two and still walked around bowlegged like a waddling duckling in his little padded coat.

With Wen Qing playing mediator, a group of kids were playing hide and seek at the door, making a ruckus that could be heard from far away and filling the yard with laughter and the smell of everyday life.

That was the best thing about the countryside compared to the cities - the greater sense of liveliness.

Of course, farming was also extremely tiring.

JianYe was two years younger than An Zhiren, but from years of wind and sun exposure, he looked several years older when standing side by side with his cousin.

As for his big cousin JianWen, there was no need to even compare - though only thirty, people might believe he was forty if told so.

Eldest and second uncles weren't that many years senior to An JingZhi either, yet the difference was clearly visible at a glance.

After not much time passed, An Zhiren walked out from inside, followed by a charming young woman.

The girl looked to be twenty at most, but had a somewhat disappointed expression and sorrowful look in her eyes.

Zhiren himself appeared perfectly normal, chatting with eldest and second uncles as he took a cigarette handed out.

Seeing the situation in the yard from the kitchen door, mother Zhou felt a chill inside. Her eyes happened to meet her niece's, so she gestured for the girl to come over to the kitchen.

Afraid too many people would make it inconvenient to talk, she took the girl into the adjacent room and immediately asked, "What's going on? Is he dissatisfied with you?"

She didn't suspect her niece wasn't good enough for Zhiren - with the girl's looks and Zhiren being from her own younger sister's family, if there was an issue, it had to be on his side. The only potential flaw was that he'd been married before, but none of the local girls could have married into their family anyway if not for it being his second marriage. That was clear to everyone beforehand, so there was nothing to nitpick over.

The girl shook her head and sighed helplessly. "I feel like he doesn't seem to like me."

"How so?" Her niece was perfectly fine looking and nice tempered, outstanding in housework, and both families knew each other's circumstances in advance. If Zhiren still didn't like the match under these conditions, what kind of woman was he looking for?

"Maybe he thinks I'm too young," the girl said. It seemed he'd suddenly turned cold towards her after asking her age.

"Then tell auntie honestly, do you like him? You know he's a bit older than you too."

The girl's face reddened slightly. Though she didn't reply, her meaning was obvious.

Zhiren's looks and status were both too outstanding. She understood that missing this chance, it would be nearly impossible for her to find another match of similar standing.

As for him being quite a few years older, she truly didn't mind at all. Even if she found someone her own age in the village, that boy still wouldn't be nearly as handsome as Zhiren.

Seeing her niece's shy manner, mother Zhou understood everything. She instructed, "For marriage, affinity is also very important. As girls, we can't appear too eager either. Other than our own families, no one else knows you came for the matchmaking. Just treat it as a regular family visit for now. Let auntie ask him what he thinks, then we'll decide how to proceed. If it really doesn't work out, don't feel too disappointed. We'll just take it as fate not being there. My outstanding niece will have even better matches awaiting her in the future."

That was easy to say, but they both knew - having no issues finding a husband wasn't a concern, since a great girl would be fought over. But actually marrying exceptionally well was not so simple.

The girl had met another prospect from town previously that others already considered a good match, but he was inferior to Zhiren in looks, background and bearing, even coming across arrogantly.

Her bad impression had led the family to reject him without even considering the match.

She was the only one who came over this time because of her trust in her auntie, as well as her parents recognizing both Zhou Nan and Zhiren's father.

In the past, the Zhou family elders had all sat around the same table, eating and chatting together during visits. That her parents would agree to send their daughter showed their good impression of Zhiren's parents.

Seeing the daughter-in-law take the girl away, Granny Zhou also pulled Zhiren to a corner.

ZhiXia was curious to know the outcome too, so she quickly followed to listen in.

Actually everyone in the yard wanted to know, but since it wasn't finalized yet, it wasn't suitable to talk openly about such matters. They could only hold in their curiosity for the time being.