By Ma Yi

In the summer of 1986,my father who just turned 20 worked as a general contractor on a construction site in Wuhan,while my mother,at the age of 22,had cooked for the laborers there for half a year.They had already been deeply in love with each other at that time,though both families were oblivious of it.By established conventions,a matchmaker is required to call at the girl’s house and propose officially on behalf of the boy.For that reason,my father paid a visit to his wouldbe parents-in-law for a brief span that summer vacation.

Without revealing his true purpose,my father first asked whether or not there was a daughter of marriage-age in this house.When his wouldbe mother-in-law answered positively,my father went on to add that he would like to be a matchmaker for their daughter.Matchmaking out of kindness could not be declined without any justifiable reason,as was the custom.

“Well,what does he look like?”asked my grandmother.

“The same as me.” answered my father.

“Is he strong enough?”

“The same as me.”

…

The couple ultimately got married at the end of that year.Nevertheless,this dramatic episode of my father being his own matchmaker is related widely as an amusing anecdote,which is brought up now and again for the sake of encouraging any diffident boy like me who is nervous about meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time.