Chapter 34 Du Hai's wedding successfully whetted Mingxi's appetite...

Mingxi's appetite was successfully whetted by Aunt He. She moved over a stool and began to listen to Aunt He's story.

This story actually started with Du Shuying's in-laws' niece, Shi Man. As mentioned before, Shi Man had a boyfriend she'd been dating for several years, and they were planning to get married. However, at the beginning of this year, he started dating someone else and dumped Shi Man. After breaking up with him, Shi Man discovered she was pregnant.

Shi Man is a girl who is love-struck. Her first reaction after learning about this was to go to her ex-boyfriend and try to win him back by saying she was pregnant.

If the other person can do something like cheating, they definitely won't change their mind just because of a child. But he's a really ruthless person. He pretended to love Shiman deeply and told her that he didn't actually like his new partner at all, only Shiman, and that he broke up with Shiman and got together with the other person because of the new partner's family's power.

Simply put, they were forced into it.

Shi Man readily believed the other party's words and followed their advice, deciding to find a "scapegoat" to cover for giving birth to the child.

But as everyone knows, Du Hai, the chosen one to take over the deal, didn't accept it and even swindled a large sum of money from Du Shuying.

Because of this incident, the Shi family, especially Shi Man, harbored a lot of resentment towards Du Shuying and often targeted her at home. Du Shuying was not a good-natured person. Although she could tolerate it at first because her husband's family was well-off and her brother-in-law was a minor leader with some status, as time went on, she became unhappy and showed no kindness to Shi Man, who was a younger generation member. As a result, the two often quarreled at home.

Yesterday, Du Shuying and Shi Man got into another argument over a trivial matter, but this time it escalated significantly, and the two lost their tempers and started fighting. During the scuffle, Shi Man wasn't paying attention and hit her stomach on the corner of a table, causing her to bleed profusely. By the time she was taken to the hospital, she had already miscarried.

When Shi Man's ex-boyfriend found out about this, instead of comforting her as she was heartbroken and still trying to reconcile, he mocked her for being delusional. He said that Shi Man had neither a good family background nor good looks, and that the only reason he had spent time coaxing her before was because of the child in her womb. Now that the child was gone, he couldn't be bothered with her anymore.

Upon hearing this, Shi Man was furious. She loved him deeply and had even compromised herself to be his mistress in secret so that she could have his child. But he had no feelings for her at all.

She climbed off the hospital bed and immediately started fighting with the other person.

That's why they say you shouldn't easily anger a woman. When Shi Man is angry, her fighting skills are off the charts. Even though she had just had a miscarriage and was still weak, her ex-boyfriend, a grown man, couldn't handle her. Du Shuying, fearing something bad would happen, stepped in to break up the fight, but ended up being dragged into it by Shi Man and beaten up as well.

The commotion caused by the three of them fighting was so great that it attracted the attention of other patients and their families on the same floor. Coincidentally, Shi Man's ex-girlfriend's current partner and her family came to the hospital to visit her and just happened to witness the scene.

When the girl across from him learned that the man was having an ambiguous relationship with Shi Man while he was dating her, and even made up lies in front of Shi Man saying that he was forced by his family, she was furious and immediately joined the fray.

According to reliable sources at the scene, the battle was extremely fierce. Sand and stones flew everywhere, obscuring the sun. Onlookers couldn't even see what moves the fighters were using; all they could see were flying limbs and severed bodies...

"Wait, Aunt He, wait a minute. Are those severed limbs that flew out like this?" Mingxi said with a dark expression.

Aunt He paused, then chuckled dryly and said, "It's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's close enough. There were no severed limbs, but the man didn't fare any better. Apparently, his nose was broken."

"In the end, because the commotion got too big, the police came and took everyone away. But I heard that even after being taken to the police station, Shi Man still wouldn't calm down. Even while being handcuffed by the police, she was still jumping around and trying to kick the man."

Mingxi: "Serves you right."

That guy deserved it.

Aunt He: "Absolutely! He dated that girl for years, then climbed the social ladder and broke up with her just like that. The worst part is, he broke up with her so easily, but then he found out she was pregnant, and kept her hanging on, even trying to trick her into having the baby. Then he found out the baby was lost, and he turned on her like a monster. He's even worse than Chen Shimei from the opera, utterly despicable..."

“That’s right…” Mingxi echoed.

Mingxi didn't think Shiman was entirely innocent; Shiman definitely had problems. She concealed her pregnancy and tried to find an unsuspecting sucker to take the fall—that was problematic. Shiman's current predicament was simply the result of her own choices.

But compared to that man, Shi Man could be considered a human being.

Aunt He and Mingxi cursed and swore for a while, then she said gloatingly, "But that guy is finished now. His girlfriend's father is the top boss in his company. He deceived the girl like this. Do you think her father would be happy? He can forget about working at his company in the future."

Whether he can continue working at the company is another matter. If either Shi Man or the other woman really wanted to make a fuss about what he did, he would be jailed for a while for hooliganism.

Aunt He: "Oh, right, I suddenly remembered, isn't the Du family boy's wedding coming up soon?"

She was referring to Du Hai.

Mingxi nodded: "Yes, the day after tomorrow."

Speaking of this, Mingxi couldn't help but sigh at Du Hai's good fortune.

The day after tomorrow was supposed to be Du Hai and Zuo Ying's wedding day. Although Mingxi had heard from Du Hai that he didn't plan to invite Du Shuying, if Du Shuying insisted on causing trouble on the wedding day because of her status as an elder, it was destined to be anything but pleasant.

But now things are really messed up.

With the Shi family in such a mess, Du Shuying probably won't have the energy or inclination to cause trouble at Du Hai's wedding.

When Mingxi told Zhao Sulan about it when she got home, Zhao Sulan also remarked that Du Hai was lucky, as the wedding was missing an unstable factor like Du Shuying.

As long as Uncle Zuo Ying doesn't cause any trouble, the wedding is guaranteed to be fine.

On the wedding day, Mingxi and Zhao Sulan arrived at the Du family home early in the morning. In those days, weddings weren't usually held in restaurants; most were held at home, with a chef setting up a few tables in the yard for the banquet. Du Hai and Zuo Ying's wedding was no exception.

Mingxi and Zhao Sulan arrived early, but the courtyard was already set up. Since neither the Du family nor the Zuo family had many relatives, not many people were invited to the wedding. There were only five or six tables set up in the courtyard. Mingxi glanced around and found that the people sitting at the tables were either neighbors or colleagues and friends from both sides.

"Comrade Ming, Aunt Zhao, you've arrived!" Du Hai greeted them warmly.

Du Hai, the groom, looked exceptionally smart today, dressed in a sharp black suit with a large red flower pinned to his chest, his face beaming with joy. Beside him, Zuo Ying wore a bright red shirt and a red skirt, her hair styled in specially curled waves, looking fashionable and chic.

Mingxi cupped her hands in congratulations: "Congratulations on your marriage, Comrade Du and Comrade Zuo!"

Du Hai grinned, showing his big teeth: "Thank you, thank you."

Zuo Ying stepped forward and handed Ming Xi a red envelope: "I still have to thank Comrade Ming. If it weren't for your introduction, we wouldn't have gotten together."

Mingxi: "Well, it's fate that brought you together."

Mingxi glanced at the table in the courtyard several times, then asked curiously, "Comrade Zuo, didn't your family come over?"

She was asking about Zuo Ying's uncle's family.

Zuo Ying burst out laughing when she heard this: "You mean my uncle? Don't even mention it, they don't dare to come over."

Mingxi: "Huh?"

Zuo Ying: "You must have heard about the accident that happened to Aunt Du Hai's family, right?"

Mingxi nodded.

The news has spread far and wide now.

Zuo Ying: "I don't know what my uncles and their family are thinking. After hearing about this, they insisted that it was because Du Hai and I were unlucky. They said that we were both born with the fate of being cursed, destined to bring misfortune to our parents and relatives. Our marriage would only double the curse, and those who were close to us would suffer. Du Hai's aunt is an example. So last night they specially sent a message saying that they would not attend our wedding and that we should not have any contact with them in the future, so as not to bring them bad luck."

"Isn't that ridiculous? If we were really that powerful, what would we need the army or the police? We could just throw us onto the battlefield and the enemy would be completely wiped out by us!"

Upon hearing this, Mingxi and Zhao Sulan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Mingxi: "But it's a good thing they don't come. If they did, you'd have to worry about them causing trouble."

Zuo Ying nodded: "That's true."

After Mingxi said that, Zuo Ying came to terms with it.

If her uncle's family doesn't come, so be it. It's just a matter of them not giving her a few cents less in gift money. It saves her a lot of trouble.

Zuo Ying: "Let's not talk about them anymore. Come, Comrade Ming and Aunt Zhao, please have a seat inside."

Zuo Ying led Mingxi and Zhao Sulan to their seats. She led Mingxi to a table with her closer relatives and friends. Mingxi sat down and looked around.

Hey, what a coincidence! There were ten people at the table. Besides her and her mother, there were nine others, and she knew three of them.

First was Wei Ning, who was sitting next to her.

She wasn't surprised to see Wei Ning; she knew that Du Hai and Wei Ning had a good relationship.

To her surprise, there were two other people at the table—Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng, whom she had met at the Women's Federation not long ago.

Although the two women still looked unwell, the anxiety they had shown that day was gone, and it seemed that their children had been found.

Mingxi was incredibly curious.

Urgent! Why didn't Aunt He come with us today?!

If Aunt He were here, she would definitely know the inside story!

It's a pity that Aunt He isn't here today!

Time passed quickly, and soon it was time for the wedding to begin. Wei Ning got up and went to the center of the courtyard; he was the emcee for today's wedding.

I must say, as expected of someone who works at a radio station, Wei Ning is quite adept at hosting. He made the audience laugh with just a few words, and the atmosphere immediately became lively.

The wedding ceremony at that time was relatively simpler than in later times. Wei Ning warmed up the atmosphere, and amidst the cheers of the crowd, the bride and groom were invited out.

Du Haizuo and his wife were beaming with joy.

"Thank you, thank you everyone for coming to our wedding today."

Du Hai continued Zuo Ying's words: "Today, as we stand here, we want to express our special gratitude to one person, Comrade Ming Ximing."

Following Du Hai's gaze, everyone's eyes were drawn to Ming Xi.

Du Hai: "As you all know, I had a minor misunderstanding before, which almost made it difficult for me to find a partner. It was Comrade Mingxi who cleared my name, and it was also Comrade Mingxi who later introduced me to my current wife, Zuo Ying. You could say that without Comrade Mingxi, I wouldn't have this wedding."

"I won't say anything more, just thank you, Comrade Ming!"

Du Hai bowed deeply in Ming Xi's direction, his voice trembling with excitement.

Mingxi quickly waved his hand.

No, not at all.

She didn't do anything.

During the gathering, quite a few people were whispering about Mingxi.

The whispers mostly indicated that Xi was impressive; at such a young age, she had just started doing matchmaking and had already arranged several couples.

Mingxi perked up when she heard this, and proudly gestured to Zhao Sulan, "Mom, did you hear that? Someone is praising me."

"Wow, that's amazing! Our Xiaoming is really something."

Zhao Sulan supported Mingxi without any emotion.

"Hehe." Mingxi grinned.

Mingxi, who was enjoying herself, didn't notice the way Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng at her table were looking at her.

It was as if they had seen some kind of treasure, shining brightly, almost radiant.

After the wedding banquet ended, Mingxi got up to go home with Zhao Sulan, but as soon as she stood up, she was stopped by two middle-aged women on her left and right.

"Comrade Xiaoming, wait a minute!"

"Comrade Xiaoming, wait a minute!"

Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng spoke in unison.

Mingxi: "Hmm?"

Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng turned to look at each other, then spoke at the same time: "Comrade Xiaoming, I would like to trouble you to introduce my daughter/son to someone."

Mingxi: "Hmm?"

Mingxi thought to herself, "Aren't your sons and daughters dating right now? Why are you asking me to introduce them to potential partners?"

Before she could even speak, the two women started arguing.

Aunt Fu: "Hey Zheng, can you please stop copying me? I told you to ask Xiaoming to introduce a boyfriend to my daughter, and you told him to introduce a boyfriend to your son too. What, you can't live without following my example?"

Aunt Zheng: "Hey Fu, can't you be a little fairer? I was the one who approached Comrade Xiaoming first, okay?"

"Bullshit! I was here first!"

"I was here first!"

The two started arguing at the drop of a hat, leaving Mingxi completely bewildered.

Should she go and break up the fight?

Wei Ning: "Comrade Ming, you'd better not go up and break up the fight, or you might get caught in the crossfire."

Mingxi was taken aback, and then realized that she had accidentally revealed her thoughts.

At this moment, Zhao Sulan pulled Mingxi back a step: "Xibao, let's stand to the side, be careful not to get hurt."

Upon hearing this address, Wei Ning glanced at Ming Xi with a smile in his eyes.

After Mingxi and Zhao Sulan stepped aside, they looked back defiantly.

What's wrong with her nickname being Xi Bao?

She is her mother's darling.

You, who aren't your mother's baby, wouldn't understand!

Sensing Mingxi's gaze, Wei Ning tactfully withdrew his bright eyes.

Mingxi ignored Wei Ning's gaze, her eyes glued to the bickering Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng, while gossiping with Zhao Sulan: "Mom, do you remember when I told you about the parents of those two kids who threatened to run away from home that we met at the Women's Federation the other day? These two, they were..."

Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng argued for a while, but in the end they were pulled away. Zuo Ying, who hadn't paid attention to what was happening when she went to toast, came over to ask with concern: "Mingxi, are you alright? Were you scared?"

Mingxi shook her head: "It's nothing, it's nothing, I just didn't expect those two older women to suddenly..."

Zuo Ying sighed and said, "I'm used to it. These two old ladies have been mortal enemies for years. They argue every few days when they're in the workshop. I was just too busy to notice when I was arranging the seats and put them at the same table."

Mingxi: "Hey, you're in the same workshop as those two?"

Zuo Ying nodded.

Mingxi inquired gossipily, "You work in the same workshop as them, so do you know about their daughter and son running away from home?"

Zuo Ying's eyes widened: "You knew about this?"

Mingxi: "Hey, I just happened to find out. By the way, have you found the two kids yet?"

Zuo Ying: "They've been found. They were found that same day. The police found them at the train station. They said it was fortunate that the police found them in time. If it had been half an hour later, the two of them would have boarded the train to go south. The two kids heard that they could make money working in the south, so they planned to go there to work."

Mingxi: We really have to thank them for finding the two children in time.

Although you can make money in the South now, it's obvious from their words that those two kids are naive and inexperienced. They might get scammed so badly they wouldn't even recognize their own mothers as soon as they get off the train.

Losing money is a small matter; the real fear is losing the person too.

Mingxi: "Hey, by the way, what's the grudge between these two old ladies?"

Zuo Ying thought for a moment: "Actually, I don't know either. When I entered the workshop, I heard from the other workers that the two older women didn't get along. It seems like they've been like this since they were little. They were born on the same day and lived in the same courtyard. They've always liked to compare themselves to each other. I heard from another older woman in our workshop that when Aunt Fu was looking for a partner, she took a liking to a man, but that man fell for Aunt Zheng. So the conflict between the two of them deepened. But I don't know if this is true or not. I guess it's probably not true. After all, Aunt Fu got married later, so there's no need for her to make a fuss over something like this for so many years."

Mingxi nodded.

Maybe the two older women are just used to it.

After all, they grew up in the same courtyard and were always comparing themselves to each other, and then they both married into the same courtyard.

The more you compare, the more you dislike the other person?

That might be true.

Mingxi, having eaten the melon, went home with Zhao Sulan, completely satisfied.

Not long after she got home, she heard a knock on her door. When she got up and opened it, she found that it was Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng who had come after her.

As soon as Mingxi opened the door, Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu squeezed in, jostling each other.

Aunt Fu: "Comrade Xiaoming, I didn't finish what I was saying earlier. I'd like to ask you to introduce my daughter to someone. My daughter is nineteen years old, graduated from high school, and is currently..."

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Aunt Zheng, who followed her in: "Comrade Xiaoming, wait a minute. Can you introduce my son to someone first? My son is also nineteen this year and has just graduated from high school..."

Mingxi took a deep breath: "Don't be in such a hurry, ladies! Speak one at a time, no rush!"

Fearing the two women would start arguing again, Mingxi directly called on Aunt Fu, saying, "Come on, Aunt Fu, you go first."

Aunt Fu looked at Aunt Zheng with her head held high and a smug expression, while Aunt Zheng turned her head away and snorted disdainfully.

Aunt Fu: "It's like this, I'd like you to introduce my daughter to someone. My daughter is this year..."

Mingxi made a pause gesture: "Stop, ma'am, your daughter has already stated her conditions. Could you tell me what your daughter wants first?"

"I...I don't have any requirements, as long as you introduce my daughter to a normal person!"

Mingxi pursed her lips helplessly.

This is no joke.

Aunt Fu realized she had said something inappropriate and was about to add something when Aunt Zheng pushed her aside: "You're done, it's my turn, Xiaoming, how about this, my son..."

"Mom! What are you doing?!"

An unfamiliar male voice came from the direction of the door. Mingxi looked up and saw a tall, thin man walk in. He grabbed Aunt Zheng's arm and said, "Mom, don't make trouble. Luo Huan and I are doing fine. I don't need you to find someone to introduce me to someone."

Just then, a woman with two braids walked in from outside. She stood next to the man who had come in first, and the two held hands, their expressions serious and firm: "Yes, Mom, Zhu Zhaohui and I are doing fine, I don't need you to find someone to introduce me to someone!"

Seeing this, Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu shouted angrily, "Let go of my hands!"

Luo Huan: "No! Mom, you can't separate us!"

Zhu Zhaohui held her hand firmly: "Mom, Aunt Fu, nothing can separate us except death! If you want to force us to our deaths, then go ahead."

Mingxi: ...

No, you two need to wake up.

Although you share the same surname as Romeo and Juliet, you are not Romeo and Juliet!

Wait, Romeo's last name isn't Romeo, and Juliet's last name isn't Juliet either...

Oh dear, Mingxi was so confused by the noise from the four people that she frowned and squeezed between them to smooth things over: "Comrade Luo, Comrade Zhu, and the two aunties, please calm down. Let's talk this out. There's no need to talk about life and death. It's bad luck."

Hearing the commotion, Zhao Sulan, who came out of the house, also said, "That's right, that's right. On such a fine day, we shouldn't say such unlucky things."

Fearing that the two families might quarrel and cause a fatality in her house, she stepped forward and pulled Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng away: "Two older sisters, come on, let's go inside and talk inside. We'll leave the three young people outside. They have common topics to discuss, and they won't be able to talk to us."

As soon as Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu left, the tense atmosphere in the room instantly dissipated. However, Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui were still a little nervous. They looked at Ming Xi warily, as if they were afraid that she would also break up the couple like their mother.

Mingxi couldn't help but laugh: "Hey, don't be nervous. I'm a matchmaker, not the Queen Mother of the West who breaks up couples. Come, sit down and have a cup of tea."

Luo Huan and Zhu Chaohui remained vigilant, but under Ming Xi's smiling gaze, they still sat down.

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Author's note: Let's give a big round of applause to Comrade Du Hai for finally getting married!

It's not easy at all!