Making money, taking exams and supporting the family

chapter 83: Investigation and Enrollment

After having lunch, the Jia family left.

Lin Ze didn't stay long at the Lin family's house either. After lunch, he took Zhang Xiu back to their home to summarize the matchmaking event of the day.

Although Lin Ze didn't have any sibling affection for Lin Xiaolian, she was still his biological sister from the original family.

Besides, the young girl was quite sensible, much better than Lin Jianwen in many ways. With no grievances or enmity, he couldn't just stand by and watch a teenage girl jump into a fire pit without doing anything.

Lin Ze was a person who pursued perfection and responsibility in his work. Thus, he made a lot of preparations for today's matchmaking session.

Last night, he had an early agreement with Zhang Xiu. He would ask the questions, and Zhang Xiu would take notes. They would analyze the situation later to identify any problems.

This was a method he often used at work because, many times, people think faster after the event. That's why there's the saying "hindsight is 20/20."

Zhang Xiu had a good memory. Although his notes were full of circles, crosses, and other symbols, he could recall each segment accurately.

On the afternoon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the couple sat in the courtyard, munching on crabs while analyzing the day's matchmaking event.

"Husband, when the Jia family talked about the bride price, their expressions were somewhat off. It reminded me of the wealthy lords in town looking at beggars..."

"Yes, they seemed proud and disdainful."

"Here, when you didn't agree to the marriage immediately and said you had questions, I noticed Madam Jia looked unhappy, and Mr. Jia's expression stiffened."

"I saw that too."

Indeed, observation revealed many suspicious points about the Jia family.

Facial expressions are the hardest to control. Unless someone is professionally trained, an average person easily reveals their inner emotions through their face.

No matter how well the Jia family tried to hide, they couldn't escape Zhang Xiu's attentive observation.

"Also, when you mentioned postponing the wedding to next year, the Jia couple looked as if something terrible had happened. Their reactions were much more intense than the usual surprise or frowning contemplation."

"Even when you said you wanted to prepare more dowry for your sister, their expressions didn't relax. This indicates they are in a hurry to complete the marriage before the New Year. There's something suspicious about that urgency."

"But when you mentioned preparing yellow rosewood furniture and 50 taels of silver as dowry, their expressions visibly brightened. It shows they care more about the money than they let on..."

Zhang Xiu recalled the day's observations in detail.

"And I think their son is the biggest problem. Although he seems honest and simple, always looking at your sister as if he likes her, I don't think he genuinely likes her. Instead, he seems to make her unstable... Husband, I think we need to investigate the Jia family thoroughly."

As someone with experience, Zhang Xiu understood the difference between a genuine look of affection and pretense better than the unmarried Lin Xiaolian.

"We need to investigate deeply. There's a significant problem with the Jia family. Involvement with Chen Shuju is never a good thing. This woman wouldn't even spare her daughter, marrying her off without thorough background checks."