"Mother, where are you going?" After she went back home, Rachel put the basket on the table, poured herself a cup of water and gulped it down.
Just now she had a verbal fight with Hiram, so she felt very thirsty.
Fannie stood in front of the mirror and adjusted her clothes. She then smiled and said to Rachel, "Rachel, that old ancestral temple is indeed a divine place. It is the best place to seek blessings from gods. We went to the temple today and outside the temple I met the Rong family."
On hearing Fannie mention the Rong family, Rachel almost choked on the water she was drinking. She wiped the corners of her mouth and immediately questioned, "The Rong family? Did you meet aunt Joanna? What did you two talk about?"
Seeing Rachel look seemingly excited, Fannie smiled and said, "Of course we talked about your marriage. You have never succeeded in any blind dates before. I believe that the ancestors of the Ruan family and Rong family died with an everlasting regret that the members of the two families weren't related by marriage. So I have to meet up with the Rong family and discuss the same."
"Meet the Rong family? You last talked to them some twenty years ago, no?" Rachel clearly didn't know what happened between the two families of the last generation. However, she knew for sure that if there was a son in the Rong family, he would surely become her man, or to be more precise, her husband.
"Yes. Joanna has invited me for a chat. I will ask her if there is any suitable man in the Rong family for you. She can select a suitable man, maybe one of their collateral relatives to get married to you."
After she finished speaking, Fannie took her handbag and walked out of the house.
Without turning her head around, she added, "Stay at home and wait for a good news from me."
Rachel got up from the sofa and realized that something was amiss. She quickly walked towards Fannie.
"Mother! Wait a minute..."
Before Rachel could say anything, the door slammed.
Rachel restlessly stood in front of the door. She was now getting even more upset.
There was a historic four-corner pavilion in the XH Village. Fannie used to go there to play when she was young. With time, the number of young people living in the village decreased. As a result, the pavilion was usually deserted.
"Joanna, I'm glad to see you here. I didn't expect that you would invite me to come here." Fannie was surprised to know that they would have a chat at the pavilion. Now it looked like she knew nothing about Joanna from the past.
"Fannie, come here and have a seat. Although I'm not a native of this place, I have been married into the Rong family for thirty years. I come here for a walk every time I am home."
Joanna Fang noticed the unchanged scenery here. There was still an uneven dirt road leading to the village. The reason they never built a wide main road here was because they didn't want people to drive with their cars into the village. They wanted to protect the environment from being polluted.
Fannie was a bit surprised to see Joanna Fang. She felt that Joanna was a noble woman from an elite family. There was no arrogance or pride in her.
She was also very easy-going and friendly.
"Joanna, I like staying here too. I enjoyed playing here when I was young. Even though I moved to the town later on, I still love the landscapes of this village." Hearing Joanna's words, Fannie knew since Joanna Fang was a nice person, she could easily talk to her about her daughter's marriage.
Joanna Fang kept nodding while she was listening to Fannie patiently, but she immediately frowned the moment she heard Fannie mention the marriage.
"Fannie, now that you have mentioned this, let me tell you the truth. In fact... I have a son. He is just a few years older than Rachel..."
Before Joanna Fang could finish her words, Fannie suddenly stood up.
She then said in a trembling voice, "What are you saying? You have a son? I always guessed that you have a son to take over the family business of the Rongs.
But, but why didn't you tell me before that you have a son who is suitable for Rachel?"
Fannie was astonished that this fact was hidden from her for more than twenty years.
She thought that if she knew that before, she wouldn't have ever asked her daughter to attend so many blind dates! !
"Fannie, it is difficult for my husband and me to persuade our son. He is an independent and assertive boy and always deals with things on his own. He has been the same since his childhood days. He never really allows us to meddle in his matters. A couple of times in the past, we mentioned marriage to him, but he just ignored it. He will never agree to the decision made by me and my husband, let alone our ancestors' arrangement of marriage for him, "
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