Micro-Fiction — The Curse of Matchmaking 微小说——《媒祸》
This is Suzhou Victory Textile Co., Ltd.
The thing Lao Qian regretted most in his life was arranging that marriage for Sanjun.
Sanjun was the third son of his old friend Lao Yi. Tongue-tied and blushing around women, he never took the initiative to talk to them. In those days, there were few young women in the village and many bachelors, so before long he fell behind. Past thirty and still single, Lao Yi was worried sick. Lao Qian was kind-hearted and believed that helping others marry was an act of accumulating virtue. So he offered, “Don‘t worry. I have a relative’s daughter in a neighboring township, Chou‘er — a good person, hardworking and capable, but just hasn’t met the right one. Let me set up a meeting. If it works out, it‘ll be a blessing for both families.” The wedding went smoothly, and Lao Qian drank the celebratory wine with a happy heart. He never imagined that this cup would turn bitter.
Lao Qian’s son Erxiang had saved enough money to build a new house on the southwest corner of the old family plot, which had been vacant for years. Sanjun‘s house was to the east of Erxiang’s house, far away with no connection at all.
Erxiang had just marked the foundation — hadn‘t even started digging — when Sanjun’s family showed up. Chou‘er drew lines on the ground with a stick, shouting, “You can’t build there! It‘s off the line! Your house has to align with ours, or you’ll ruin our feng shui!”
Erxiang was stunned: “Sister, my house is far from yours. How could it possibly cross your line?”
Chou‘er wouldn’t listen. Sanjun added, “You just can‘t build there. If you try, we’ll make sure it never gets built.”
Erxiang was speechless. He went to Lao Qian. Lao Qian swallowed his pride and talked to Lao Yi, who mumbled, “Old men don‘t meddle in young folks’ affairs.” Lao Qian then tried Chou‘er’s family, but they brushed him off: “A married daughter is like spilled water.”
Erxiang squatted on the empty lot, smoking one cigarette after another. In the end, he gave up and found another place to build. The new site alone cost a lot of extra money just to level the foundation.
From then on, the two families became enemies. They stopped speaking, stopped visiting during holidays. Boundary disputes flared up repeatedly; the men nearly came to blows. Village mediation tried to calm things, but nothing lasted. The hatred only deepened.
Lao Qian‘s hair turned white in his fifties, his back bent. Sitting in the sun at his doorstep, his daughter‑in‑law complained, “Father, if you hadn’t arranged that match, would our family be in this mess?”
Lao Qian said nothing. He remembered an old saying: “Don‘t be a go‑between, don’t be a guarantor, don‘t be a matchmaker — three generations suffer.” He hadn’t believed it then. Now he did.
In the early summer of his sixty‑eighth year, Lao Qian passed away. Before he died, he took Erxiang‘s hand: “Remember this: never be a matchmaker for anyone.” On the funeral day, no one from Sanjun’s family came. Chou‘er stood in the distance for a while, then turned and walked away.
Lao Qian was gone, but the curse of matchmaking was not over. Thirty years after his death, Erxiang’s daughter‑in‑law, still weak from a major surgery, dragged herself to arrange a match for the youngest son of San Tuzi‘s family. Against all odds, the marriage was settled. But no sooner had Erxiang died than San Tuzi showed his true colors as a troublemaker, stirring up discord over the phone and cursing Erxiang’s son viciously.
“Being a matchmaker is truly a sin.” If Lao Qian could see this from above, he would surely sigh again.
The villagers said that Lao Qian had been a good man in every way, except for that one match. One match destroyed a friendship, leaving a thorn in the hearts of three generations.
Don‘t be a go-between, don’t be a guarantor, don‘t be a matchmaker — three generations suffer.
老黔这辈子最后悔的事，就是给三军说了那门亲。
三军是老兄弟老毅家的老三，嘴笨，见了姑娘脸红。那时候村里本就姑娘少、光棍多，他又不会主动跟姑娘搭话，一来二去就耽搁了。三十出头还打光棍，老毅急得满嘴燎泡。老黔心善，认为成就别人姻缘是积德，主动提出：“别急，我邻乡有个亲戚闺女叫绸儿，人好，手脚也勤快，一直没碰上合适的。我给牵个线，要是成了，两家都了了一桩心事。”婚事顺当办了，老黔喝了喜酒，心里美滋滋的。他哪想得到，这杯喜酒日后会变成苦酒。
老黔的儿子二祥攒够了钱，想在老房子西南角盖间新房。那块地是自己家的，多年来一直空着。三军家在二祥家东面，离得老远，八竿子打不着。
二祥刚把地基位置选好，还没动工，三军家就来人了。绸儿拿着木棍在地上比划，嚷嚷着：“你们家房子不能盖在那儿，超线了！得跟我们家的房子在一条线上，不然就坏了我们家的风水！”
二祥愣住了：“嫂子，我家盖房，离你们家那么远，怎么超你们家的线？”
绸儿不听，三军也跟着说：“反正你不能盖，你要敢盖，我们让你建不成。”
二祥气得说不出话，去找老黔。老黔硬着头皮去找老毅，老毅低着头，吭哧半天：“老不问少事。”老黔又去找绸儿的娘家人，人家一句“嫁出去的女儿泼出去的水”，把他打发了。
二祥蹲在空地上，抽了一地烟头。最后没办法，只能认栽，另外找了地方盖房。新宅基地，光平整地基就多花了不少钱。
从此两家结了怨。见面不说话，逢年过节不走动。后来为了宅基地的边角，又闹了几回，两家差点动手。村里调解了几次，按下葫芦浮起瓢，消停不了几天又闹。仇，越结越深。
老黔五十多岁就白了头，腰也弯了。他坐在门口晒太阳，二祥嫂埋怨他：“老爹，当初要不是你说媒，咱家能落得这个下场？”
老黔不吭声。他想起老一辈人常念叨的话：“不做中，不做保，不做媒人三代好。”他当时不信，现在信了。
六十八岁那年初夏，老黔走了。临走前拉着二祥的手：“记住，这辈子别给人做媒。”出殡那天，三军家没来人。绸儿站在远处看了一会儿，转身走了。
老黔走了，可做媒的祸事并没有完。死后三十年，二祥的儿媳拖着病体给三秃子家的小儿子说媒，好不容易成了。结果二祥刚死，三秃子就露出搅屎棍的本色，在电话里挑拨离间，把二祥儿子骂得狗血淋头。
“做媒人，真是造孽啊。”老黔要是在天有灵，怕又要叹一口气。
村里人说，老黔这辈子什么都好，就是不该做那一次媒。一个媒，毁了两家的情分，让三代人心里都扎着一根刺。
不做中，不做保，不做媒人三代好。
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Suzhou Victory Textile Co., Ltd. （苏州维特瑞纺织有限公司）is located in Changshu city(belongs to Suzhou District) Jiangsu,China. 80 Kilometers away from Shanghai Port.
Our team has been working in textile over 18 years.Our mainly products are Tie dyed Fabric,Velour/Velvet,Quilt Fabric,Jacquard Fabric,Single Jersey, Pique,Rib Fabric,Bird Eyes/Mesh Fabric, Interlock, French Terry/Fleece, Polar Fleece, Coral Fleece, Flannel Fleece, PV Plush, Sherpa Fleece,Coarse Needle Fabric etc Fabrics.
Compositions include Polyester,Cotton,Spandex/Lycra,Nylon/Polyamide,Rayon/Viscose,Modal/Tencel,Bamboo,Arcylic,Soybean,Wool,Flax/Linen,etc.
Functional Fabric:Sportswear Fabric(Coolmax,Coolpass,Coolplus,X-dry,Cooldry,Feelcool Ice,Topcool,Sorona,Supplex etc.),Waterproof,Fireproof(Aramid,Polyimide),Heat(Thermolite),Antibiosis(Sanitized),Uvioresistant,Radiation-proof,Recycle,BCI,Organic,Pima/Supima etc Fabrics.
We also have invested a home textiles & garments factory where we move our fabrics to sew many kinds of Garments, blankets etc.
Our marketing team and QC department are checking all the day in every process and keep close contact with customers to make sure customer knows every stage of the production. All the fabrics and blankets are inspected by our QC before packaging and shipping. Also we can provide some certifications Such as Oeko-Tex standard 100, SGS, Intertek etc.
We have production capability 5000 tons of various type of fabrics annually.Our products are mainly transported to China, southeast Asia, Middle East, Europe and America etc.
Welcome to our company. We will highly appreciate any inquiry and question from you and respond asap.We believe you will enjoy one-stop service from us if you work together with us.