Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Besides the relatives who came to borrow grain, the Zhang family also had frequent visits from matchmakers.

People had heard that Zhang Yang and the other two students had achieved high rankings in the county and Prefecture Examinations. Even if they couldn’t become Scholars in the upcoming academy examination, they were almost certain to succeed next time. Families with eligible daughters began scheming, hoping to arrange a marriage before the young men earned their titles. It was far better than trying to associate with them after they became Scholars, which would look too obvious.

However, most ordinary families, even if they entertained the thought, wouldn’t dare make an offer. They were afraid of being seen as beneath them. The ones who did come to propose marriage were the wealthy households and merchants from Xiatang Market. With their considerable family fortunes, they naturally wanted to find a promising young prodigy for their daughters.

Zhang Dashuan and He were getting headaches from it all. They told everyone, again and again, that they wouldn’t dare arrange a marriage for their son so rashly, for fear it would affect his studies. He hadn’t even become a Scholar yet, and even if he did, he would still need to prepare for the examinations to become a scholar and an Advanced Scholar. They couldn’t risk holding him back, they explained, until their throats were parched.

But those matchmakers were hardly pushovers. They simply refused to leave, afraid that the moment they were gone, the Zhang family would accept another’s proposal. Each one was more silver-tongued than the last, using Scholar Li as a ready example. "Didn’t he get married? And now he’s preparing for his exams with single-minded devotion, all while being cared for by his wife. You see? ’Settle down, then build a career’ is the proper way to do things."

Juhua grew annoyed listening to them. Not wanting to go out and bicker with the matchmakers herself, she was just about to call He inside to give her a few instructions when Zhang Huai returned. With a few words, he sent all of them packing.

"Ladies, if our Yangzi doesn’t pass his exams, would you still be here to propose a match? Besides, we don’t dare distract him. His mind is completely on his books right now; he hasn’t given a single thought to marriage. If we were to force him, he’d be miserable and lose his focus. That would be a disaster. Scholar Li only married after he became a scholar; wasn’t he buried in his studies just the same before that? It’s not easy for a country family to produce a scholar. We ask that you all be a bit more understanding."

After finally sending the women on their way, He let out a long sigh of relief. She grabbed the large teapot from the table, poured a bowl of water, and drained it in one go. GULP, GULP. Wiping her mouth, she said, "All those women have such crafty tongues. You’d think every girl they mentioned was a fairy descended from heaven. They make it sound like if we don’t settle on one right now, we’ll miss our chance forever. Why is it so exhausting talking to them?"

When Huai Zi saw Juhua come out of her room, he rushed over to help her to a seat at the table. "Did all that noise keep you from sleeping?" he asked, annoyed.

Juhua shook her head. "I wasn’t sleeping, just doing some needlework. All that clamoring they were doing in this heat... don’t they sweat?" ’Matchmakers love to wear rouge and powder,’ she thought to herself. ’The sight of their faces, with all that makeup soaked in sweat, must be something else.’

"Of course they were sweating!" said He. "Not a one of them let go of their fan, and all that fanning just made the room stuffier." Suddenly, she remembered something, clapping her hands with a cry. "Oh no! Those women took our fans with them! What are we going to do? Now we don’t have anything to cool ourselves with."

Zhang Dashuan sighed. "It’s alright. If they took them, they took them. As long as they’re gone, we can have some peace. I’ll weave a few more from bamboo strips right now; they’re just as good as the banana-leaf ones. Aigh, I’m still not used to my son being in such high demand."

Huai Zi curled his lip. "Hmph. You think those families are actually interested in Yangzi himself? If he fails to become a Scholar, you just watch, not even a ghost will darken our door. The few farming families who showed interest, though... they actually like him for who he is. Country folk are just more sincere."

The family shared a laugh about it and then dropped the subject.

The high summer air was like a river of fire. After harvesting the early rice, they planted a few acres of the late-season crop, work so exhausting it felt like everyone had shed a layer of skin.

Juhua sat under a tree shelling Huangdou, occasionally waving a bamboo pole near her feet to shoo away the pesky chickens. The flat ground in the center of the courtyard was covered with drying rice, so the birds refused to forage in the grass outside, insisting on feasting on the readily available grain. Eating it was one thing, but they would also leave piles of droppings on the rice, which were impossible to clean off. It was infuriating.

Huai Zi hurried into the courtyard carrying a Lanzi that held a few stalks of tender white lotus root. He smiled at Juhua and said, "I only dug up a couple. The water’s too deep, it was hard to get at them."

Juhua said, "This is plenty. Looking at this weather, I doubt we’ll see rain anytime soon. If it stays this dry, we might be in for a drought. The water in the pond will probably dry up before long."

Huai Zi nodded. "It’s been unusually hot. We have plenty of water around here, so we’re better off. I hear it’s completely dry up north."

As he spoke, he drew water from the well to wash the lotus roots, then splashed some on himself to cool down. "You have to be careful in this heat," he said to Juhua. "I’ve heard of several people fainting in the fields. It’s keeping Doctor Qin busy running in circles."