After welcoming the three aunties into the house, she looked around at the furnishings and couldn't help but sigh, "I don't know why, but your house is just different from the others in the yard."
Yes, they were just ordinary objects. A desk lamp, photos, calligraphy and paintings, two inexpensive vases...
These things are nothing special, but when they're placed in their room, they look very high-end.
The three women looked up at the photo frame and saw a fat man dressed in a chef's uniform and hat, intently cooking.
The bottom left corner of the photo bears the inscription in gilded lettering: "A souvenir from the State Guest House."
After praising the house's furnishings and Yu Li's thriftiness, her third aunt finally revealed her purpose: "Yu Li, you know about Yan Jiecheng's situation. He's a grown man and still single. I heard your sister-in-law moved into our courtyard, so you see..."
Yu Li refused without hesitation: "Third Aunt, please don't bring this up again. My husband's older sister is the apple of our eye. Just because Mom introduced her to a guy without his consent, he got angry and brought her to live with us. She hasn't been home for almost a month and is still angry."
Yu Li's words were half true and half false, and there was a hint of bitterness in them.
After considering the family's circumstances, her three aunts had no choice but to give up.
One older woman had just left when another older woman arrived.
Once inside, there wasn't much formality. Instead, he discussed with Yu Li, "I heard your sister-in-law is 25 and still single?"
Yu Li wanted to roll her eyes: "And which family are you here to represent as a lobbyist?"
The older woman seemed surprised: "Someone has been looking for you?"
"That's right, Auntie San just left. She came for Yan Jiecheng."
An older woman glanced at the fat man's photo and said bluntly, "Hey, I'm here for Zhu Zi."
"Silly Zhu? Are you kidding me, old lady!"
The older woman sighed, "Yu Li, don't rush, let me finish. I know Zhu Zi and your Chen Kang had a falling out, but that's all in the past. He swept the streets for a month and behaved himself a lot. Now he's back in the cafeteria, and the two of them see each other all the time, right?"
Sha Zhu did indeed go back to the canteen. The factory originally intended to reassign him to canteen number one or number two, but guess what happened?
Neither of the two canteens wanted him! They even took the case to Director Yang. The head chef of the second canteen even publicly declared, "If Sha Zhu comes, I'll leave. It's either him or me!"
This shows how bad his reputation is now.
Left with no other choice, they had to let him go back to the third canteen. He had no official position, just a cook.
She earnestly advised, "Yu Li, think about your fat man. He often goes out to cook for others and earns a lot of money! Sha Zhu is also a cook, a master chef at that. He only needs to feed himself and doesn't have to worry about anyone else. He earns such a high salary every month. If your sister-in-law gets together with him, she'll only enjoy a life of luxury. The relationship between your two families can also be completely improved. Don't you think that makes sense?"
Yu Li was speechless and could only push the blame onto the fat man: "I can't make the decision. I'll talk to my husband when he gets back."
That evening, Yu Li told them about it during dinner.
The fat man scoffed, "Idiot Zhu? He doesn't deserve it. A toad trying to eat swan meat, bah!"
Chen Yan shook her head vigorously, "That person is so annoying! He looked at me like a pervert, I don't want to..."
See? Sha Zhu is just delusional.
Seeing the two of them like this, Yu Li felt a pang of jealousy: "Actually, Sha Zhu's conditions are quite good. Besides, she can't stay unmarried forever, can she?"
The fat man snorted, "How could she be any better than me? So what if she doesn't get married? I'll support her for the rest of my life!"
That evening, Chen Yan and Yu Li huddled together and whispered, "I heard that that silly Zhu went on several blind dates in a year, and they all fell through."
"How could it not fail? With Qin Huairu around, even if you went, it wouldn't work out!"
Chen Yan reached out and tickled Yu Li: "You're the one who wants to remarry him!"
Yu Li rolled around on the ground, itching so badly, and begged for mercy, saying, "I won't do it again, I won't do it again."
After the two finished their playful banter, Chen Yan asked her again, "Isn't Qin Huairu a widow? Can the two of them really get together?"
At this point, the fat man interjected, "In the short term, it's impossible."
The two women turned to look at him at the same time. The fat man simply pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, saying, "Haven't we been doing this for the past two years? Washing and cleaning for Sha Zhu, the two of them pulling and tugging at each other in public, constantly ruining Sha Zhu's reputation."
Yu Li asked, "So she's fallen for Sha Zhu?"
The fat man thought for a moment and said, "More than friends, less than lovers."
These were unfamiliar words, but after careful consideration, they all made sense. Chen Yan asked, "So what's she after?"
"What's the point? Just for the food. Sha Zhu used to be a big shot in the cafeteria. He would always scoop up the leftover good food and help Qin Huairu's family improve their meals every now and then, making them all plump and healthy."
Yu Li understood, but Chen Yan didn't; in this respect, the second sister was indeed a bit lacking.
The fat man explained to her, "If Sha Zhu gets married, will he still be able to support their family? Will he still be able to help raise their children?"
Chen Yan still didn't understand: "Doesn't she have hands? Besides, it's a new era, a new country. If she really wants someone to help her, she should remarry!"
"It's not that simple. She's thinking, what about her mother-in-law? Will she remarry along with her daughter-in-law? What if she and Sha Zhu have another child in the future, what about the three children she had with her dead husband?"
This time, Chen Yan finally understood: "Will she marry Sha Zhu?"
"Who knows? Maybe in ten years, when she gets old and can no longer have children, she will be willing to take that step."
Yu Li exclaimed, "Qin Huairu is really something."
The fat man took a sip of tea with a satisfied smile: "Just watch, she'll keep an eye on Sha Zhu. She'll try every means to ruin any woman who gets close to Sha Zhu."
Yu Li was overjoyed: "I know, I know! It's about Sha Zhu's last blind date. The girl was a female worker at a textile factory. She was pretty and tall. They were both quite satisfied with each other after meeting, so they went to Sha Zhu's room to continue chatting. And guess what happened?"
Chen Yan, a master of playing the straight man, exclaimed, "How was it? How was it?"
"When Qin Huairu got home from get off work, she pushed open the door without saying a word and went straight there. Then, right in front of the two of them, she pulled out Sha Zhu's dirty clothes, socks, and even his underwear, put them in a basin, and took them to wash! She acted like the lady of the house, and the other woman's face turned green, haha..."
The fat man spat out tea leaves dismissively: "I'm telling you right now, if he gets married within a few years, I'll do whatever he asks!"
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