Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Xue were at home washing ginseng seeds when someone walked in—it was the matchmaker, Mrs. Qian. Upon seeing her arrival, Mrs. Chen quickly put down what she was working on and greeted her warmly, "Oh, Auntie, what brings you here today? Please, come have a seat." She then fetched a stool for Mrs. Qian.
After sitting down, Mrs. Qian looked at Mrs. Chen and said, "Sister-in-law, I've actually come on a matter of importance, that Doctor Tao from the town asked me to revisit. You see, initially his mother fancied a girl from the town, but Doctor Tao didn't agree and outright refused, so the match didn't happen. Now he's sent me to find out if your Jingya's betrothal has been settled yet. He said if it hasn't, he would come and propose."
Mrs. Qian felt a bit embarrassed. In all her years as a matchmaker, she had never encountered such a situation.
