A crowd had tightly blocked the doorway of the house.
Shen Wei frowned inwardly.
The elderly woman was the village matchmaker, often arranging marriages for the local girls. With a beaming smile, she beckoned Shen Wei, "What are you standing around for? Hurry inside and fetch us some water."
Yuan Fu refused to open the door.
Shen Wei said, "I don't wish to marry. Please don't linger at my doorstep."
The matchmaker pointed at Shen Wei and said to the middle-aged man, "Look, Xi'er is just shy. All girls act this way before marriage."
The middle-aged man was a fellow villager, known to everyone as Old Huang.
Old Huang's shifty eyes roamed over Shen Wei, gleaming with calculation.
Two years prior, Old Huang had taken a wife. During childbirth, his wife suffered complications, and the family chose to save the child. The result was a fatal hemorrhage, leaving behind two frail sons.
