Chapter 145 Blind Date in the Compound

Ever since Zhu Ziqiang was featured in the big-character poster, their compound's reputation has once again...

Aunt Hao was really worried!

I'm so worried that my hair is starting to fall out in clumps!

Will her son, Qing Shu, really end up a bachelor?

At this time, the arrival of matchmaker Aunt Qian was like a timely rain after a long drought, quenching Aunt Hao's thirst.

Although Aunt Hao had always entrusted her affairs to Aunt Zhang, whom she was quite familiar with, and had never dealt with Aunt Qian before, she had heard of her reputation and knew that she was quite famous for matchmaking and had helped many couples get married. Therefore, as soon as Aunt Hao saw the visitor, she greeted him with a smile and warmly welcomed him into the house, and even poured him a cup of cloyingly sweet sugar water.

In this era where finding a partner almost entirely relies on matchmaking, you absolutely cannot afford to offend the matchmaker.

There's no other reason than that if you offend the matchmaker, they might gossip and spread rumors, making it impossible for your child to find a partner.

"Oh, I feel so close to you, sister! Come, sister, have a cup of sweet soup to warm yourself up!"

Although Aunt Qian didn't say it to her face, she secretly enjoyed Aunt Hao's flattery and thought that this person was sensible.

He took another sip of the hot sugar water, savored the sweetness in the cup, and nodded. He was very generous.

Then, with those shrewd little eyes, she looked around. The furnishings of the house showed that the family was well-off. She heard that the man and son were both workers in a machine factory, earning a considerable salary each month. The couple seemed kind and friendly, making it a good place to live.

Aunt Qian took two more sips of the sweet soup before cheerfully saying, "My dear sister! I've come today to tell you some very good news!"

Although Aunt Hao knew what the matchmaker was there for, she didn't want to appear too eager because she wasn't very familiar with Aunt Qian, so she pretended to be confused and asked, "What happy occasion is it, sister?"

Aunt Qian scoffed inwardly at her pretentious act, thinking, "Everyone knows you're practically going crazy trying to find your son a partner, and you're still pretending."

On the surface, she held Aunt Hao's hand intimately, as if they were old sisters confiding in each other, "Is your second son looking for a partner lately? I have a nice girl here to introduce to your second son!"

Aunt Hao was overjoyed; it really was someone trying to introduce a potential partner!

She quickly asked carefully, "Big sister, what's the situation with that girl? Tell me in detail."

Aunt Qian mumbled, "The girl's parents both work in a shoe factory in the west of the city. She's twenty this year, pretty, went to high school, and has a job."

"The girl is a good girl, talented and educated, but her family is not as well-off as yours. Also, she has a lot of brothers and sisters, but that's not a big problem. More brothers will help the young couple more in the future, right?" After saying that, she smoothed her hair behind her ear, not daring to look into Aunt Hao's eyes. Was she lying?

Aunt Hao was listening carefully to the girl's conditions. To be honest, she was quite satisfied. Nowadays, people believe in having many children and many blessings. Which family doesn't have several children?

Therefore, they were completely unaware of the other person's gaze.

Upon hearing this, Aunt Hao sighed and said, "Having many brothers and sisters in the family isn't a big problem. Just like you said, the young couple can help each other out in the future."

"As for our family's financial situation, we don't care about that. As long as the person is good, that's enough!"

Aunt Hao was speaking from the heart. She and Lao Zou were not mean-spirited people to begin with, and now that they have been through so much, her standards for a daughter-in-law have long since been lowered to just that the girl is a good person and willing to marry into the family.

Parents all over the world have the same heart; it's not that she didn't want to find a better wife for her son.

After all this commotion, their compound has become notorious, its reputation spreading like wildfire. The entire matchmaking market in the northern part of the city avoids this peculiar compound like the plague. The girls and their families shake their heads like rattles on end at the mere mention of their compound, number 35 in the machinery factory's residential area, terrified of having anything to do with them.

She had no choice; she was afraid that if she continued to be picky, her second son would be a bachelor for life.

Therefore, her standards for a daughter-in-law are now extremely humble, with only two requirements: she must be a woman and willing to marry into the family.

Zou Qingshu: ...Mom, did you ask for my opinion?

Hearing that Aunt Hao had such low requirements for a partner, the matchmaker was delighted. She immediately squinted her eyes and said happily, "That makes things easier. How about this, I'll bring him over tomorrow and let the two young people chat!"

If she gets this done, she'll be able to collect two payments!

Sure enough, her decision to act as matchmaker was the right one! This family is really going crazy trying to find a partner for their son; they're not picky about anything!

Afterwards, Aunt Hao asked Aunt Qian some more details, and the two of them finalized the blind date.

Aunt Hao escorted Aunt Qian all the way to the alley outside the compound before turning back into the compound.

Perhaps because she was about to resolve her biggest worry, Aunt Hao had a smile on her face when she returned, and her rosy complexion suggested that something good was about to happen.

This made Old Mrs. Zhu, who lived in the front yard and had recently been having a lot of bad luck, very unhappy.

Old Mrs. Zhu sat at the doorway, her face gloomy, and said in a sarcastic tone, "Oh, Aunt Hao, what happy occasion is there at home?"

Overjoyed, Aunt Hao blurted out, "Oh, my Qingshu, cough cough... it's nothing, just an old friend of mine came to visit." Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly remembered the time Qin Ziwen had snatched her away, and she immediately stopped talking. "Pah, pah, pah, that's not the time to talk about it!"

He chuckled twice, "Auntie, you must be busy!"

Because of Zhu Ziqiang's incident, Aunt Hao didn't really want to have anything to do with this family. She didn't say much, greeted them, and went home.

Grandma Zhu was left with a gloomy expression.

Although Aunt Hao only told half of the story, the tone and expression of the woman made it easy for Grandma Zhu to understand what this person was there for.

A sense of unease instantly arose in her heart.

Why should I?!

Why is it that her son's wife ran away, while the Zou family's son has people offering him potential partners?

That little bitch Fu Jiaojiao ran off with all the money in the house and left a mountain of debt for her and her son. And for some reason, they didn't dare to report it to the police. These past few days have been incredibly frustrating for Old Lady Zhu.

She was a formidable old lady in the village, no less so than Chang Dafeng, and was never one to back down. The reason she hadn't been too assertive in the yard before was simply because, as an old woman from the countryside, she lacked confidence in front of these city aunties.

But now that Fu Jiaojiao has done this, she's finally given up on pretending. She's even become more mean and mean than before, and her first instinct is to not be happy for others.

Why is it that her family is having such a terrible time while other families are having happy occasions?!

Grandma Zhu spat at Aunt Hao's retreating figure, "Pah! What's with the attitude!"

Then, her mind raced, and she immediately came up with a plan.

...

Aunt Hao had no idea that even though she had only said half of what she wanted, she had given herself away and was now being targeted and plotted against.

She was barely containing her excitement when she arrived at the Second Hospital.

While this matter should be kept secret from others, it's unnecessary to do so with Cheng Jiajia and her husband.

Firstly, Aunt Hao trusted the two of them and believed they wouldn't gossip; secondly, she wanted Cheng Jiajia to help her assess the girl's character tomorrow.

In the six months since Xiao Cheng married into the family, she hasn't gotten involved in any of the messy things in the courtyard, nor has she suffered any losses. On the contrary, she's living a prosperous life. Aunt Hao could tell that she's a clever and insightful girl.

Of all the young wives in this courtyard, she is the most clever.

None of the other young wives are as good as her!

Tomorrow is my day off, so I'll definitely ask her for advice; it'll be perfect.

People are in high spirits when they have good news. As soon as Aunt Hao entered the east wing, she cheerfully called out, "Xiao Cheng, Xiao Cheng, are you home?"

"Hey, Aunt Hao! Did you need something?" Cheng Jiajia poked her head out from the kitchen and answered.

Unlike some families who build a shed under the eaves outside the house to save space, the Yu family's kitchen was a small room partitioned off from the main room, located on the left-hand side as you enter the main room. So when Aunt Hao first came over, she didn't see Cheng Jiajia inside at all.

Seeing Cheng Jiajia come out with her hands covered in mud, Aunt Hao asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Cheng Jiajia smiled sheepishly, "Oh, I ran into a fellow villager selling duck eggs on the street yesterday, so I bought some to pickle." Actually, she was craving salted duck eggs, and when she saw someone selling them yesterday, she couldn't resist buying them all. Orange-yellow, sandy, and oozing oil when poked—slurp!

Aunt Hao sighed inwardly, thinking that the two children were living a really good life. For ordinary families, duck eggs were considered a kind of meat, so who would be willing to pickle them?

However, she has a strong sense of boundaries. She is just a neighbor with a good relationship. The young couple lives their own life, and she will not put on airs as an elder to annoy them.

After a brief sigh, Aunt Hao explained the purpose of her visit.

After hearing Aunt Hao explain her purpose, Cheng Jiajia was genuinely happy for Zou Qingshu. "Congratulations, Aunt Hao!"

She felt that the matter was decided too hastily, and that she should have taken a few days to go to the girl's neighborhood to inquire about the situation.

Cheng Jiajia asked curiously, "Where is that girl from? What's her family like? What's she like as a person?"

Cheng Jiajia has always felt that marriage is not just a matter between two people. It is not only about looking at the other person's character, but also about the atmosphere of their family.

If she has difficult parents, she won't be happy even if her partner is a great person.

Aunt Hao said cheerfully, "She lives in a big courtyard in the west of the city. Her parents work in a shoe factory. Her name is Sun Ling. She has four siblings and she is the fourth oldest. After graduating from high school, she found a job on her own. Oh, I forgot to ask the matchmaker what kind of job it was."

Cheng Jiajia was taken aback. The Xicheng tenement?

She vaguely remembered that Qi Baifan seemed to be from one of those big courtyards over there, and maybe the two of them knew each other.

Thinking that Aunt Hao had been good to the couple, and that Zou Qingshu had a good relationship with Yu Junsheng, Cheng Jiajia suggested, "Aunt Hao, I remember that Qi Baifan from the Bai family seems to be from over there. They're old neighbors, so maybe he knows this girl. Why don't we go and ask him?" She felt it was a bit strange for an unfamiliar matchmaker to come to their door and rush to arrange a marriage for the two of them. It would be better to ask around.

Moreover, the name Sun Ling sounded so familiar to her, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

Aunt Hao clapped her hands in delight. "Oh my, this is wonderful! Let's go find Xiao Qi and ask him about it!" Indeed, they should ask him; they couldn't just listen to the matchmaker's side of the story, especially since it was a matchmaker they didn't know well.

Aunt Hao hurriedly dragged Cheng Jiajia to the Third Hospital to ask Qi Baifan.

She would greet everyone she met with a barrage of questions, "Xiao Qi, I have something to ask you!"

Qi Baifan's eyes flickered, and he had some idea of ​​Aunt Hao's purpose for coming, but he asked with a puzzled look, "Auntie, what's the matter?"

"You live in that big courtyard house in the west of the city, right? Do you know a woman named Sun Ling? Do you know anything about her family situation?"

Just as I thought!

Qi Baifan pretended to ponder for a while before suddenly realizing, "It seems to be from the courtyard next to ours. There are five siblings in the family, and their parents seem to work in a shoe factory."

This matches what the matchmaker said.

Having gained some insight, Aunt Hao continued to press, "How do the girl get along with her siblings? Are her parents easy to get along with?"

Qi Baifan shook his head. "I'm not too sure about that. I spend most of my time either at school or at work, so I'm not really familiar with the people around me. But why are you asking her, Auntie? Maybe I should go back and ask my parents to help me find out?"

Aunt Hao was very disappointed and mumbled, "It's nothing, I just heard about her from someone and wanted to come and ask about her." The matter hadn't been settled yet, so Aunt Hao wouldn't reveal anything to avoid ruining the two children's reputations.

"Oh, I see." Qi Baifan nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The blind date is tomorrow, and it's too late to inquire in the West District now. Even if the Zou family finds out something by tomorrow, it won't matter.

Cheng Jiajia narrowed her eyes slightly.

Cheng Jiajia kept her eyes on Qi Baifan. She knew this kid wasn't an honest man and might not tell Aunt Hao the truth, so she kept a close eye on his facial expression.

When Aunt Hao spoke, Qi Baifan's expression seemed genuinely puzzled, but she still noticed the fleeting glint in his eyes.

It was as if this person knew in advance that Aunt Hao would ask him about something.

And now, that slight upturn of the corners of his mouth—it's a smug smile.

What is he so proud of?

Cheng Jiajia raised an eyebrow. Interesting.

I wasn't entirely sure at first, but judging from Qi Baifan's reaction now, Sun Ling might actually have some kind of problem.

But it wasn't a good time to talk to Aunt Hao about it, so I could only go home with her.

When he went back and told Yu Junsheng, Yu Junsheng also felt it was a bit strange.

Even if you're not very familiar with the neighbors in the next courtyard, you should still know their basic family situation. Just like him, he grew up in the courtyard. He might not be very familiar with the people in the next courtyard, but he should at least know a little about their family situation.

It was indeed a bit strange that Qi Baifan seemed to know nothing about the matter.

"Wait, Sun Ling... Lingling?!"

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Cheng Jiajia's mind: Could it be such a coincidence?!