After leaving the house, Li Xiuxiu was afraid of being seen and felt embarrassed, so she quickly walked to a less crowded area.
Although Sha Zhu didn't understand, he didn't dare to ask and just followed along.
Soon, the two arrived at a deserted riverbank, where Li Xiuxiu stopped.
Seeing that no one was around, both of them blushed instantly, and it was Sha Zhu who broke the silence first.
"Comrade Li Xiuxiu! Let me introduce myself first. My name is He Yuzhu, I am 28 years old, and I am a cook at the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill in Sijiu City. My monthly salary is 32 yuan..."
After Sha Zhu finished speaking, Li Xiuxiu explained her own situation.
Their family didn't have as many problems as the He family; their only drawback was their bad class background.
However, the two are evenly matched in this respect, and neither has the right to look down on the other.
Perhaps because they had similar experiences, the awkwardness eased considerably after they introduced themselves, and they started talking more.
Sha Zhu then recounted some interesting stories about his time as a chef, and Li Xiuxiu was happy to listen.
Gradually, the two got along better and better, and finally found a clean place to sit down and chat.
"Xiuxiu, I liked you the moment I saw you. What do you think?"
Seeing that the time was right, Sha Zhu didn't hesitate and decisively confessed his feelings.
"This...this...?"
Li Xiuxiu stammered, unsure of how to answer.
Thinking to myself, are city people really this direct? Shouldn't the matchmaker be the one asking this?
Although it was difficult to answer, she couldn't let go of a man who wasn't crippled or blind, since she had finally met him.
To avoid any misunderstanding, she could only blush and nod, thus expressing her stance.
"real?"
Whether Sha Zhu was genuinely excited or pretending, he grabbed Li Xiuxiu's hand.
"Be gentle," Li Xiuxiu said coquettishly, her hand hurting from being gripped.
"oh oh!"
Sha Zhu quickly let go, afraid of offending the other party.
"Shall we go back?" Li Xiuxiu stood up and prepared to walk back.
Shazhu stood up as well. "Xiuxiu, are you angry?"
"I'm not angry. Since neither of us has any objections, why are we still sitting here? You're so stupid."
As Li Xiuxiu spoke, she turned and walked home.
Sha Zhu, that simp, finally realized what was going on and followed after them eagerly.
"Xiuxiu, wait for me."
As the two were walking back, the people inside the Li family's house were chatting and laughing, talking about some interesting things.
Because He Daqing and Li Fugui shared a remarkably similar goal—that as long as their children didn't object, they wouldn't object either—they were able to chat so pleasantly.
As they chatted, Li Fugui remembered some unpleasant things and started complaining.
"Ouch!"
"Tell me, my daughter isn't ugly, so why would those unscrupulous matchmakers introduce her to lame and blind men?"
"Yes, I admit it, it's true my family used to be landlords, but I've never done anything immoral, much less harmed anyone. Dajiang, you know that!"
Hearing Li Fugui getting more and more excited as he spoke, Sun Dajiang was afraid that he might make a mistake if he continued, so he quickly stopped him.
"Brother Li, be careful what you say, be careful what you say."
"Oh oh oh!"
Li Fugui realized something was wrong, immediately stopped complaining, and then gave an embarrassed smile.
Then he gave He Daqing an apologetic look and said embarrassedly.
"Brother, I'm sorry to have made you laugh."
"It's nothing, it's nothing. What joke could I possibly have? It's all the same," He Daqing said self-deprecatingly.
How could he not be angry? These past few years have really ruined him; he doesn't even have a decent job anymore.
Tell me, who can he complain to?
Just then, Li Xiuxiu and Shazhu walked in from outside, one after the other.
Seeing the expressions on their faces, Lin Wencui sensed something was up and was about to call Li Xiuxiu into the room to ask her when Sha Zhu spoke up first.
"Dad, Xiuxiu has agreed to date me."
"What?"
He Daqing's eyes widened in shock, his face filled with disbelief.
He never imagined that his foolish son would have such a skill.
"Dad, you heard me right, Xiuxiu has already agreed to date me." Shazhu repeated again.
This time, He Daqing heard it clearly. That unchanging zombie face, which had been laughing so hard for a hundred years, had completely turned into wrinkles.
Li Fugui was also very happy. His eldest daughter was finally going to get married, and to a city man at that.
So he immediately instructed his daughter, "Xiuxiu, what are you waiting for? Go kill a chicken. I'm going to have a good drink with your future father-in-law at noon today."
Li Xiuxiu hadn't expected her father to be so direct. Her face flushed, she nodded and prepared to leave.
He Daqing then realized what was happening and pushed his son.
"You rascal, you're a cook, what are you standing there for? Go help!"
"Okay, okay! I'll go right away."
Sha Zhu scratched his head sheepishly, then followed Li Xiuxiu outside.
After the two left, He Daqing and Li Fugui both felt that the matter could not be delayed any longer. The two good buddies almost immediately agreed and began to discuss the children's marriage.
Even Lin Wencui found it unbelievable that the two of them went on a blind date that same day and then started discussing their wedding date. That was too fast!
At lunchtime, despite the lack of seasoning, Sha Zhu's cooking skills still received unanimous praise.
This made the guy so smug that he kept winking and making faces at his future wife.
If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, He Daqing would probably have made him try out those size 43 rubber shoes.
After finishing their meal and clearing the table, the group sat down again, and Li Fugui then began discussing marriage with his daughter.
"Xiuxiu, while you were cooking, we discussed it and decided to set your wedding date. You don't have any objections, do you?"
Li Xiuxiu knew what her father was worried about, so she didn't object and simply nodded.
Seeing that his future daughter-in-law had no objections, He Daqing then asked his son.
"Zhu Zi, what are your thoughts?"
"Hehehe! What ideas could I possibly have? It's all up to you, sir."
After being stunned for a moment, he suddenly thought of a crucial question and pressed on with it.
"Dad, what day did you and Uncle Li agree on? I'd like to prepare in advance."
"Haha!" He Daqing laughed. He understood his son's little scheme perfectly well, so he said.
"On the 8th of October, your father-in-law will bring Xiuxiu over himself. We won't hold a banquet. We'll just invite your master and your Uncle Sun and his wife over, and we'll have a little fun by ourselves."
After He Daqing finished speaking, Sha Zhu, that simpleton, even counted on his fingers and realized that the time hadn't been long, which made him extremely happy.
However, He Daqing didn't care what his son was doing. He then took out two large black coins from his pocket, wrapped them in red paper that he had prepared beforehand, and solemnly handed them to Li Fugui.
“Father-in-law, although you didn’t mention the bride price, we still have to pay for it. In a couple of days, when you come over, my family will give you a supplementary betrothal gift. We hope you will accept it.”
"this…?"
Li Fugui hesitated for a moment, but finally accepted the money.
Although his family is not short of money, since his in-laws are such discerning people, he couldn't afford to embarrass them.
After discussing the bride price with his in-laws, He Daqing looked at his future daughter-in-law.
"Xiuxiu, you've suffered since marrying into our family, but I want to explain something to you. The reason we're not holding a banquet isn't because we're stingy, but because we want to keep things low-key. I hope you can understand."
"Dad, I'm not wronged, I understand all of this."
"Alright!" Li Xiuxiu called out "Dad!" and He Daqing spent money again, pulling out a large black ten-yuan note and handing it to Li Xiuxiu.
Li Xiuxiu wanted to refuse, but she couldn't find a reason, so she had no choice but to accept it.
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