Chapter 1157 Practical Considerations
As soon as Chen Yixin entered the room, Tian Yeyou stood up with a smile and said: "Say Cao Cao and Cao Cao are here, then you can chat slowly, I have to take one step in advance."
A middle-aged man wearing a sapphire blue silk robe sitting next to him quickly stood up to see him off, then cupped his hands to Chen Yixin and said, "Master Chen, you are polite!"
Chen Yixin waved his hand and said: "I told you not to call me a senior official or anything like that! Call me chief!"
"Yes, yes, I made a mistake. I hope you can forgive me, Chief Chen!" The middle-aged man apologized quickly.
"Mr. Jiang, did you come here to visit today because of the previous matter?" Chen Yixin's tone was obviously impatient. He was just supervising the construction of a reservoir on the mine site. It was Tian Yeyou who sent someone to inform him that someone was visiting, so he hurried back. But when he saw this Confucian scholar named Jiang Sheng, he guessed the purpose of his visit.
Jiang Sheng smiled and said: "Chief Chen, on behalf of Ma Daguan, today I am sending you a batch of gifts for your army, including two thousand kilograms of white flour, two thousand kilograms of japonica rice, ten fat pigs, two cattle, and five hundred taels of silver. . Chief Shicai Tian has already accepted the gift list and things.”
Chen Yixin now knew why Tian Yeyou hurriedly asked someone to inform him that he was back. He was soft-spoken and short-handed, and he did this because of Jiang Sheng's benefit. But having said that, these things are definitely considered a heavy gift in Fushan County. Many people may not even be able to bring twenty kilograms of food to their homes, but here they send thousands of kilograms in one go, and even livestock and cash. The move can be said to be very generous. The Fushan Copper Mine is far away from Zhifu Island, and daily supplies are not so convenient. The gifts given by the other party are indeed very practical. It is no wonder that Tian Yeyou did not refuse them.
Of course, Chen Yixin believes that this does not rule out the fact that Tian Yeyou did this deliberately to "sell out his friends for glory." After all, Tian Yeyou has always advised him to try to make contact first before making a decision about the squire's proposal of marriage. Accepting this gift actually had the effect of forcing Chen Yixin to contact the Ma family in disguise.
As for the "Ma Daguan" who paid for the gifts, he is the real owner of this matter, Ma Dongqiang, a local squire in Fushan County. Jiang Sheng's sister married Ma Dongqiang as a concubine. The daughter Ma Dongqiang wanted to marry to Chen Yixin was Jiang Sheng's niece. Ma Dongqiang had some sense, and instead of asking the three aunts and six wives to come forward as matchmakers, he asked Jiang Sheng, a Confucian scholar with a reputation as a scholar, to come forward to contact Haihan. If not, he might not have been able to get the chance to interview Chen Yixin at all.
Chen Yixin was also invited to Majiazhuang as a guest before, but Chen Yixin politely declined the marriage at that time. Afterwards, Jiang Sheng came to the mining area twice and mentioned marriage again, but failed to get a positive response from Chen Yixin. But Ma Dongqiang was not discouraged. He believed that it was necessary to let the Haihan people see his sincerity and financial strength. He could not let the other party feel that he just wanted to get rich by marrying his daughter, so he sent Jiang Sheng again this time. He came forward as a lobbyist and spent a lot of money to prepare a big gift.
Don't hit the smiling person. Even if Chen Yixin is not interested in this kind of sales method, he is really giving a generous gift, and his companion has already accepted the gift. It is not easy for him to talk to Jiang Sheng with a dark face. , and his tone softened a lot at that moment: "I am also very grateful to Mr. Jiang and Ma Daguan for their kindness. However, this gift is too precious and I really deserve it."
"Chief Chen's words are unheard of!" Jiang Shengneng was sent as a lobbyist by Ma Dongqiang. Naturally, his eloquence was not bad. He immediately responded: "After the Haihan Army comes to Dengzhou, it will wipe out the local bandits and rescue the local people." , paving roads and building bridges, spreading relief, these things are all seen by everyone, so naturally they must fully support it. My brother-in-law Zhang Luo sent these things just to express his feelings. Chief Chen must not refuse. .”
Of course, Chen Yixin would not be fooled by his pretentious words. He smiled and said: "This is not the first time we have dealt with each other. People don't tell secrets. Please explain Mr. Jiang's true purpose."
Jiang Sheng also smiled knowingly: "Since the chief understands, I will tell you directly. My niece is only twenty-eight years old. Although she does not dare to brag about her beauty, she is also well-known as a beauty in this country. She has been studying and literate with me since she was five years old. She has read a lot of poems, books and classics. She is a daughter of both political integrity and talent. It can be said that she has an impeccable background. My family's proposal to marry the chief is out of good intentions. Why does the chief always reject her? Thousands of miles away, could it be that you look down on my niece?”
Chen Yixin denied: "This is a misunderstanding, sir. We have never met each other before. It can be said that we are strangers. I did not mean to look down on Miss Ma's family. In our country of Haihan, when men and women get married, they must have a certain emotional foundation. Things that will be considered later cannot be decided by the words of a matchmaker or the fate of parents.”
Jiang Sheng said thoughtfully: "Then what Chief Chen means, the Haihan custom is that the man and woman must meet and get to know each other first, and then talk about marriage? This is not impossible. We can make arrangements for Chief Chen to meet him after he returns. It depends on when it is convenient for you to meet my niece.”
Chen Yixin waved his hand and said: "I just said that this is only one of the reasons, not the whole reason."
"I would like to hear the details." Jiang Sheng naturally refused to give up and continued to seek a reasonable explanation from the other party.
Chen Yixin said: "Let me make it clear that Ma Daguan wants to marry his daughter to me. If you say that he just likes me, I don't believe it. Ma Daguan wants to use our power to annex Fushan County This is the real reason, right? And your Miss Ma was betrothed to me without even knowing the inside story.”
Jiang Sheng looked embarrassed. He didn't admit it, and he didn't admit it either. Although this kind of purpose based on profit considerations is not completely invisible, it is still a bit embarrassing to be pointed out so bluntly in front of the other party.
Chen Yixin continued: "People die for money and birds die for food. It is understandable that Ma Daguan wants to expand his family business. It is just in exchange for his daughter's lifelong happiness. This is a bit inhumane. I also I know that you Ming people have different ideas about marriage, but I will not force you to accept my point of view. Similarly, I also hope that you will not impose your own point of view on me.”
Jiang Sheng said: "I don't dare to impose my views, but Chief Chen doesn't need to be too biased in his view of this matter. My niece's happiness in the future is not entirely dependent on the success or failure of this marriage. Chief Chen believes that she does not If she marries you, she will be able to find her right husband and live a happy life in the future? In fact, even if she does not marry the chief, her future marriage partner will most likely be someone she has never met, and most likely she will be lucky. A well-established Confucian scholar in the county, or a squire and landowner in Linxian County, could be favored by an official in Dengzhou City, and marry into an official's family and become a noble woman. If this was the fate, Chief Chen felt that it was the right choice. Did she enjoy the happiness? ”
Chen Yixin was speechless at the moment. He had no right or obligation to interfere with the marriage of children of ordinary people, nor did he have the energy to take care of such civil affairs. But as Jiang Sheng said, the future marriage partner of the eldest daughter of the Ma family would also be She may not be better than Chen Yixin, but she will probably marry someone she doesn't know out of consideration for the family's long-term interests. As for whether married life can be happy, it can only depend on personal luck.
Jiang Sheng continued: "As Chief Chen said just now, my brother-in-law does have practical considerations in wanting to facilitate this marriage. If we can use this marriage to strengthen the family, it would be the best. But there is no point in saying that. It's not necessarily true that I'm thinking of my niece. Otherwise, there are several leaders of Haihan on Zhifu Island. Why did I choose Chief Chen? Of course, I chose Chief Chen because he is young and promising. He is about the same age as my niece and will be able to live a good life in the future. Be more harmonious. Aren't these thoughts just for her?" Chen Yixin said: "That said, the customs of the two countries are different, so I always feel that something is wrong."
Seeing that his tone had softened, Jiang Sheng changed his angle and persuaded him: "Before Chief Chen came back, I also chatted with Chief Tian for a while and learned that he was married to a wealthy businessman from the Ming Dynasty in the south, and that he had already married me. With children and a happy family, isn’t this the best example of cross-border marriage? According to Chief Tian, Chief Haihan often married women from the Ming Dynasty as his wives and concubines. Why is Chief Chen so resistant?”
Chen Yixin said to you, Tian Yeyou, that you have sold out your teammates thoroughly, and even exposed your own information to the outside world. If you want to tell Minister Hao later, your confidentiality awareness is too bad.
Jiang Sheng struck while the iron was hot: "My brother-in-law also went to Zhifu Island to meet with the chiefs a few days ago. The chiefs also wanted to support local gentry who were willing to get close to Haihan. If it was just money exchanges, wouldn't it be a cliché? In my humble opinion, from ancient times to the present, marriage has been the best way to reconcile the two countries. If the blood is connected, the people will be connected. This principle is the same whether it is in the royal family or among the people. I don’t know. What does the chief think? ”
Chen Yixin sighed and said: "I am not against the transnational marriage between Haihan and Daming, I just don't want others to interfere with my choice... Alas, you won't understand even if I tell you!"
Jiang Sheng responded quickly: "Understood! How could you not understand! What Chief Chen means is to make the decision himself. This is actually not inconsistent with our initiative to propose marriage! Think about it, if you meet my niece first, what if If you like it and agree with it, it's not too late to talk about the rest. If Chief Chen feels it's not a good match, or if the conversation doesn't make sense, then it's not too late to reject the matter. Chief Chen should not feel any difficulty in forcing the marriage.”
Jiang Sheng's words made Chen Yixin quite comfortable. The main reason why he had been unwilling to accept this arrangement was that he had inexplicable resistance to this old-style arranged marriage. And he doesn't want his life to be controlled by the indigenous residents of this time and space. After all, his purpose in coming to this world is to control his own life, not to be controlled by others. But if he could experience something he had never experienced before, Chen Yixin would not completely refuse to try it.
Chen Yixin said: "But there are a lot of things happening on the construction site here now, and I won't be able to leave for a while. I see this..."
"It's not in the way, it's not in the way. I can prepare my own carriage and horse to send my niece over to meet with Chief Chen." Jiang Sheng saw that the matter was getting better, and he was not willing to let Chen Yixin find an excuse to fool him, so he quickly volunteered to take over the matter. Come down.
Chen Yixin was dumbfounded when he heard this. If someone who didn't know the inside story heard this, they wouldn't think it was marrying off their daughter. It just sounded like pimping. But he could also feel the other party's kindness, and it seemed a bit unreasonable to say it again. He had no choice but to give in: "In this cold winter, how can I let Miss Ma travel far away to this barren mountain place? I think it’s better to do that. I’ll make time to go to Majiazhuang in two days.”
"Are you serious?" Jiang Shengxi asked with a smile, making sure Chen Yixin came up with the right words: "Chief Chen, don't let me have fun!"
"Seriously, we Haihan always keep what we say!" Chen Yixin responded with a wry smile, thinking only of sending Jiang Sheng away quickly.
Jiang Sheng knew what was going on, so he stood up and said, "Then I'll go back to Majiazhuang and wait for Chief Chen to arrive!"
Chen Yixin sent him to the door of the courtyard, and Jiang Sheng turned around and said, "Chief Chen, when you say two days later, are you talking about the third day from today or the third day from tomorrow?"
Chen Yixin sighed and said: "Starting from tomorrow. If there are more questions, don't ask now. I promise to come when the time comes."
"Okay, we'll discuss it in detail then. Chief Chen will stay!" Jiang Sheng said farewell to Chen Yixin triumphantly, then got into the small sedan parked at the door and left in a hurry.
"What... what is this!" After Chen Yixin watched Jiang Sheng leave, his mind was in confusion. He was obviously not interested in the proposal of marriage, so how could he be persuaded by Jiang Sheng and finally agree in a confused way? Then go to Majiazhuang to see Miss Ma. If Tian Yeyou knew this, he would probably laugh at himself again.
As Chen Yixin expected, Tian Yeyou, who soon heard that Jiang Sheng had left, turned back and winked at Chen Yixin: "Xiao Chen, how was the conversation with Jiang Sheng?"
"Brother Tian, are you helping me or harming me?" Chen Yixin couldn't help but smile bitterly: "I came all the way to Dengzhou to lead troops to fight, but ended up getting married here. This news will not be spread back to Sanya. What a joke!”
Tian Yeyou put away his smile and said: "Who is laughing at you? If you say you get married, the executive committee will immediately send a congratulatory message here. Do you believe it? How many people want to arrange a marriage for you, but you have been stationed outside. I don't know. Just these things.”
(End of chapter)