Chapter 82 The Matchmaker

Liu Zhixia stroked her chin thoughtfully: "Making pickled vegetables doesn't take much effort. Why don't you two do it yourselves, Mom and Dad? You can save up some money for your retirement while you're still young."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiuying laughed, her eyes narrowing into slits: "My three daughters are all married, am I still young?"

Shen Yi chuckled and teased, "Mother, you have more energy than any of us young people! You don't show any signs of aging on your face!"

Hearing her son-in-law's praise, Zhang Xiuying's face lit up with joy, and the previous dull atmosphere vanished.

The family was chatting and laughing when they saw two familiar figures walking back from the direction of the city.

It's Lu Jianping and Lu Huaiyuan!

Liu Zhixia frowned and muttered under her breath, "This Lu Jianping really has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He got people out of trouble so quickly."

Shen Yi's smile faded, and he calmly analyzed, "Zhao Zhiqing accused you of conspiring to harm you, but you are safe and sound now, so you can't be convicted of a serious crime. Gu Mansheng's absence means that she can't escape the charge of attacking a Zhiqing."

"If even one of them can get in, it's worth it." Liu Zhixia nodded in satisfaction. "A fool like Lu Huaiyuan is nothing to fear."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the father and son stood before him.

Lu Huaiyuan stared intently at Shen Yi holding Liu Zhixia's hand, and said viciously, "Liu Zhixia, you're ruthless! You abandoned me for this man! Let me tell you, don't be so smug! Soon, you'll be crying and begging me!"

After saying that, he snorted coldly, turned around and left, as if it were a heinous crime for her to hold hands with her legal husband.

Lu Jianping also glanced at them with disgust, and said harshly, "Don't think this is over! The Liu family, we've made an enemy of each other!"

Watching the father and son leave, Liu Shouren was worried: "We've offended Lu Jianping. That petty bastard will definitely cause us trouble in the future."

"Afraid of him?" Zhang Xiuying said with a disdainful look. "Let him try if he dares! Lu Kai's report has already been submitted. If he dares to cause trouble again, we'll send someone down to investigate thoroughly!"

Shen Yi frowned slightly and raised a question: "Logically speaking, he should be too busy taking care of himself right now, so how could he still be going to rescue someone? Does the Lu family have such a powerful background?"

"No matter what his background is, he's just a paper tiger!" Zhang Xiuying waved her hand boldly and patted her son-in-law on the shoulder. "Don't think about these unhappy things! Quick, go and call Lao Xu and Lu Kai over for lunch! They're your matchmakers!"

Shen Yi nodded: "Okay, I'll go call them. Honey, you and your parents go back first."

Liu Zhixia didn't want to get any closer to the Lu family's bad luck, so she went home with her parents.

It was almost noon when Shen Yi, Xu Zhigang, and Lu Kai finally arrived late.

Accompanying them was Lu Kai's mother, Aunt Zhou.

As soon as she entered the door, Aunt Zhou seemed a little embarrassed and awkward.

Zhang Xiuying saw through her thoughts at a glance and warmly greeted her, grabbing her hand and saying, "Sister Zhou, we've been waiting for you! Come in and sit down! My daughter cooked lunch today herself; her cooking skills have been amazing lately!"

"Of course!" Xu Zhigang chimed in with praise, "Your sister-in-law's cooking is even better than the chefs at state-run restaurants! Auntie, we're in for a treat today!"

Aunt Zhou then nodded with a smile: "Alright! Then we won't stand on ceremony!"

At this time, Liu Xuejun also returned with Zhao Dongmei, Xu Zhihong and several other educated youths.

"Auntie, we've come to freeload a meal!"

"Welcome, welcome!" Zhang Xiuying was overjoyed. "Thanks to everyone's help yesterday! You've all worked so hard!"

"It's not hard work at all!" Xu Zhihong exclaimed happily. "We even benefited from it and received commendations! It's all thanks to Battalion Commander Shen and Comrade Xu!"

"Don't stand there, everyone, come sit down at the table!"

Liu Zhixia walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of fragrant braised fish.

"Sister-in-law, let me take this!" As soon as Xu Zhigang saw the food, he rushed over and eagerly took the plate.

Shen Yi smiled and followed him inside: "Alright, I'll help too. Please, everyone, have a seat, don't be shy!"

Soon, a series of sumptuous dishes were served.

Two large tables were packed with people, who ate amidst laughter and cheerful conversation.

After a hearty meal and drinks, everyone was chatting happily.

Xu Zhihong looked at the somewhat shy Liu Xuejun beside her and asked, "Comrade Liu, have you registered for the elementary school teacher exam? The deadline is tomorrow."

Liu Xuejun nodded repeatedly: "I've signed up! Thanks to the materials you gave me last time, I've been reviewing them at home."

"That's good!" Xu Zhihong encouraged. "The written test isn't difficult; the interview is the hard part. We'll be holding a mock interview at our youth settlement in a couple of days. You should come along too."

"Really? I can do it too?" Liu Xuejun was both surprised and delighted.

"Of course!" The leader of the educated youth settlement nodded with a smile.

Not far away, Lu Kai took a sip of his drink but frowned. He looked up at Liu Zhixia and asked, "Xia, did you see Lu Huaiyuan today?"

Liu Zhixia nodded: "Yes, his father got him out of trouble. Judging from his arrogant attitude, he's probably fine."

"How could this be!" Zhao Dongmei exclaimed angrily. "He deliberately tried to murder me! I'm a witness!"

“Having witnesses isn’t enough; we also need physical evidence,” Shen Yi said slowly.

Xu Zhigang also sighed: "Your sister-in-law is fine, so it's really hard to convict him of a serious crime based on that alone."

"However, at least we got Gu Mansheng in, which is a great achievement." Lu Kai looked at Zhao Dongmei with a smile in his eyes, "This time, we owe a lot to Zhao Zhiqing."

Zhao Dongmei's cheeks flushed under his gaze. She lowered her head in a fluster and stammered, "This...this is what I should do!"

Looking at her like this, and recalling Gu Mansheng's words, Liu Zhixia immediately understood.

Just then, a male educated youth suddenly dropped a bombshell:

"Have you heard? Lu Huaiyuan has also signed up to take the elementary school teacher exam!"

These words shocked everyone present!

Seeing everyone staring at him, the educated youth said somewhat embarrassedly in a low voice, "When I went to register last time, I happened to run into Captain Lu, and he told me himself..."

The Liu family members' faces instantly darkened.

They finally understood what Lu Huaiyuan meant when he said, "You'll be begging me soon!"

Liu Zhixia immediately asked Xu Zhihong, "How many people are you recruiting this time?"

Three!

"Three?" Liu Xuejun's face turned grim. "Including people from the neighboring brigades, three out of more than twenty people... Do I even have a chance of passing the exam?"

"It's okay, son! You're the best, you'll definitely pass!" Zhang Xiuying patted his shoulder hard.

Shen Hongmei, however, asked with schadenfreude, "More than twenty? That's fierce competition!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xuejun's face turned even paler.

He was very clear about his own abilities.

If he were truly that outstanding, he wouldn't be making excuses to stay home every day studying; he would have already found a clerical job in the brigade.