Second watch, seeking pink.
"...We usually don’t interact." Lian Manman told Lady Li, but didn’t know why they ca to the old house at this ti.
"They must have heard the Old Master is throwing money around." Lian Shouxin responded quickly this ti.
In order to arrange a marriage for Lian Shouren, Old Master Lian spent a fortune. The families he contacted received silver coins and were told it was for their trouble, whether the matchmaking was successful or not, the money would not be taken back. And if the matter succeeded, a substantial reward would follow. The Woo Family Brothers must have seen the potential profit and therefore ca forward to propose a marriage for Lian Shouren.
"Yeye, did you see it, or did soone tell you?" Lady Zhang asked Lian Yeye.
Lian Yeye rarely visits the old house anymore.
"I heard it. Yaya’s mother was at our house; she told .... She was there at the ti." Lian Yeye said.
So it was Lady He who saw it with her own eyes and later gossiped at Lian Yeye’s house, making it sound very credible.
"Did your grandpa let them in without driving them away?" Lian Shouxin asked Lian Yeye.
"I don’t think my grandpa drove them away." Lian Yeye said, "As soon as Woo Ergou and Woo Sangou entered the room, they kneeled before my grandpa..."
Then, Lian Yeye recounted the scene Lady He saw in the Upper Room East Room at the old house.
Woo Ergou and Woo Sangou went straight into the Upper Room East Room. Once inside, they knelt with a plop by the edge of the kang bed and kowtowed three tis loudly to Old Master Lian.
In a tenant farr’s household, outside of holidays or festivals, three loud kowtows are considered a grand gesture.
At that ti, both Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou were sitting on the kang bed. Seeing Woo Ergou and Woo Sangou suddenly appear, they were both shocked. By the ti they reacted, the brothers had finished kowtowing and hurriedly addressed Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou as uncle and aunt.
Although Old Master Lian was puzzled, he couldn’t bear seeing people kneel and kowtow to him, so he quickly called the brothers to stand up.
"What are you two here for, and why are you kowtowing for no reason?" Old Master Lian asked kindly.
Woo Ergou and Woo Sangou then stood up but did not dare sit as Old Master Lian hadn’t invited them to. They just stood by the edge of the kang bed, smiling apologetically at Old Master Lian.
"...We heard uncle wants to arrange a marriage for Elder Brother Shouren, and the two of us planned to be matchmakers for him." Woo Ergou said.
"Uncle, you’ve been arranging this matter, and we’ve known for a while. We’ve been afraid to co forward because we feared you were still mad at us for past issues." Woo Sangou added with a smile, "Besides, with you managing things, many people must have rushed forward to help; you didn’t need us."
"But then we heard Elder Brother Shouren’s matter hadn’t succeeded, so we dared to co." Woo Ergou added.
"Uncle, your kindness to us is deep in our hearts. We’ve always wanted to repay you, to do sothing for you. For Elder Brother Shouren, we happen to be able to help." Woo Sangou continued.
The brothers took turns explaining the purpose of their visit.
Old Master Lian, seeing they were there to propose a marriage for them, was a bit moved. However, he still felt uneasy, having been tricked by the Woo Family just last year.
"Second bro, Third bro," Old Master Lian looked at the Woo Family Brothers and slowly said, "You say you rember my kindness and want to repay , but I don’t like to hear that. I’ve never expected you to repay . You should search your conscience, have I ever wronged you? But how have you treated ? Last year, wasn’t it you two over that land rent issue? How did you treat then?"
"Uncle," seeing Old Master Lian bringing up old grievances, Woo Ergou and Woo Sangou hurriedly knelt again, kowtowing three more tis to Old Master Lian. "Uncle, we didn’t want to do that either. We were just driven mad by poverty. Uncle, you know the kind of life our family leads. You renting land to us was to help us. We just wanted more. We were stupid to do that to you; we shouldn’t have."
Woo Ergou and Woo Sangou began slapping their own faces.
"We’re worse than pigs and dogs,... all forced by poverty and illness. You are so kind and generous, rciful and great-hearted, please don’t bear a grudge against us."
"We are human too; our whole family rembers your kindness. Every al at the table, when my mother serves us, she always says it’s by your grace that we can have a full al."
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