The old bachelor in his thirties was called Chen Chuangen. His youth was spent in poverty, which made finding a wife untenable - a situation made worse by the need to feed and clothe his many younger brothers.
Years later, with his life back on track, Chen Chuangen was too old for the village girls who wanted younger men for husbands. Widowers or divorcees were his only options. However, such people were rare. Everything was made worse by Chen Chuangen's bad reputation. Not even matchmakers could convince women to put up with him, and they would sooner go unmarried than marry him.
Being the sort of man he was, in the particular situation he found himself in, Chen Chuangen had all but given up on finding himself a suitable match. All he could do was watch those younger than him marry and have children, some of whom already have children in school! Widowers did not like him, divorcees shunned him, and the village's young women looked down on him. It was not fair!
