Wine House by the Qinhuai River

The Sang family has a daughter, Sang Xiaojiu, who is seventeen and still unmarried.

She’ll be eighteen before long. If she still hasn’t married by then, the authorities can assign her a husband at random.

Sang’s father is frantic, scratching his head and fidgeting. He raised his daughter with such difficulty; there’s no way he’ll let her be matched with just anyone.

But of all the men his daughter has met, she hasn’t liked a single one, leaving the old father in a difficult spot.

Then a scholar moved in across the way, and Sang Xiaojiu thought he seemed all right.

“Daughter, that scholar won’t do. Like they say, scholars are useless. He can’t lift a load or carry a shoulder pole. He doesn’t look like he can make a living.”

“Then what kind of man should I find, Father?”

“Someone like your Brother A Niu, of course. He looks like a good worker.”

Thinking of Brother A Niu’s looks, Sang Xiaojiu shuddered.