Chapter 2 Blind date with the most handsome guy?

Lin Xiang was shocked. She had been an orphan since she was a child. She had no parents and no one loved her. She had infinite longing for her parents and family. In her imagination, parents always loved their children. But at this moment, Lin Guangming was furious and looked like he was going to hit someone. It was scary. No wonder the original body did not dare to disobey this father at all.

She carefully searched her original body's memory, and found that Lin Guangming really was a violent person, a complete tyrant at home.

It was also at this moment that she completely understood that she had really traveled to an unfamiliar era, without any support, fighting alone and surrounded by enemies on all sides.

"Oh, Lao Lin, Xiangxiang must be confused." Qiu Aiying tried to persuade him. She had always been a good wife and mother in this reconstructed family, so she had to stand up and say, "Don't get angry with the child."

Besides, Lin Xiang only has this face to look at, and she is still hoping that Lin Xiang will marry a good family and bring benefits to her family. How can she let Lin Guangming do it? If he really hits her face, the factory director's son might not be willing to marry her.

Lin Guangming was persuaded and when he looked at Lin Xiang again, his eyes were still burning with anger. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he was called out by his neighbor. A cigarette was passed into his hand, and the two grown men smoked and talked at the end of the corridor. The matter was temporarily over.

After Lin Guangming left the house, Qiu Aiying planned to approach Lin Xiang and persuaded her gently, "Xiangxiang, mom and dad are doing this for your own good. Hurry up and give up your job. Mom will find you a good marriage. You don't know that the factory director's son has taken a fancy to you! He wants to marry you!"

Lin Xiang knew her stepmother's evil intentions, but before she could say anything, Lin Chuchu stood up, pointed at Lin Xiang's nose and angrily scolded: "Mom, you gave Lin Xiang such a good marriage as marrying the factory director's son? I am your biological daughter!"

Stepsister Lin Chuchu was wearing a pink plain cotton jacket that she bought at the supply and marketing cooperative. She looked excited and spoke with great confidence.

This person is just not very smart. If it was really a good marriage, would Qiu Aiying give it to the original body instead of her own daughter? Lin Xiang said to Qiu Aiying: "Mom, is this really a good marriage? If there is a marriage, would you tell me instead of Sister Chuchu?"

Lin Xiang's words left Qiu Aiying speechless. She didn't know why this man suddenly said something so choking. Qiu Aiying could only drive her daughter away.

"Chu Chu, what are you talking about!" After Qiu Aiying remarried Lin Guangming with her daughter from her previous marriage, she changed her daughter's surname to Lin. She had nothing to say about her child, especially knowing that the factory director's son was lustful and loved to fight, especially to beat women. How could she let her daughter marry him? "This is to propose marriage to your sister."

"Mom, you are biased!" When Lin Chuchu heard that this annoying step-sister was going to marry the factory director's son, the bitterness in her heart instantly surged out, "I am your biological child."

After Lin Chuchu's disturbance, Lin Xiang managed to escape temporarily and hurriedly got up to hide in the corridor.

====

In the evening breeze, Lin Xiang smelled the odor of the neighbors cooking on the coal stove in the corridor and thought about the future.

The scumbag father and stepmother of the Lin family, one is cruel and the other is calculating, neither of them is easy to mess with, not to mention that she is still registered in this family's household registration book and is restricted in every way. She has to make plans early, otherwise she will definitely be eaten up without leaving any bones.

The original body's memory of child marriage was very vague, it should have come from childhood, and it seemed that he heard his mother mention it.

If there really is a childhood sweetheart who is a good person, reliable and capable, Lin Xiang would still be willing to try to get to know him.

However, when I looked deeper into my original memory, I found that I had no idea of ​​the name of this childhood relative or where he lived.

Where can she find this?

Since she couldn't find or see the illusory childhood sweetheart, Lin Xiang decided to arrange a blind date on her own!

The next day at work, Lin Xiang heard that there was an older sister at the steel rolling mill who loved to arrange blind dates. She was warm-hearted and had a wide network of contacts. However, Lin Xiang did not plan to look for someone in the factory. After all, this matter had to be done quietly, otherwise if her scumbag father and stepmother found out, it would definitely not work out.

In the 1970s, as in later generations, there was no shortage of older sisters and older women who loved to act as matchmakers. Lin Xiang heard from Sister Li in the factory that the person who arranged blind dates for her relatives was the matchmaker Aunt Zhang who lived in a large compound in the alley outside.

Xifeng City is an industrial city with numerous factories of all sizes. However, there are not many factory courtyards that can be allocated housing, and most employees can only rent houses from the street offices in bungalows outside.

The crisscrossing alleys are dotted with bungalows, but unlike the bungalows in the countryside, which are one for each family, although a little poor, at least they are spacious. The bungalows in the city are almost large courtyards, often with four or five families living in one courtyard. Each family is lucky to rent one or two rooms, so that a large family can live in it.

After living in a bungalow for a long time, everyone yearns for a building. Many people, young and old, line up to apply for a tube-shaped house in the factory compound. Everyone is eager to do so.

This is the case with Mrs. Zhang who lives at No. 31 Qingshui Lane.

There were a total of six people in Zhang's mother's family, all squeezed into the east wing of the large courtyard. There were two rooms in total, and even the place for receiving guests served as a living room during the day and a bedroom at night.

In her early years, Aunt Zhang loved to matchmake young men and women. Firstly, if it turned out well, she would get some benefits to supplement the family income. Secondly, she just liked doing it. It could be said that it was a hobby and she was very active in it.

In the past, she still acted as a matchmaker in addition to her work. Until the year before last when her youngest son graduated from junior high school and could not find a job, Aunt Zhang gave her job in the meat processing factory to her son, so that her son could get married. After losing her job, Aunt Zhang did odd jobs at home, such as pasting paper boxes to earn money for the family, and she also got some benefits from being a matchmaker, so she could live a decent life.

Recently, a policy was introduced to force young people to go to the countryside to work as educated youth. Aunt Zhang was so busy that she had no time to rest. She almost searched all the young men and women in the neighborhood, and she was so tired that her eyes were blurry.

Today, under the scorching sun, I took the female comrade who was going to the countryside to meet three male comrades. My cloth shoes were almost worn out, but finally it worked out. Now both parties went home to discuss the engagement arrangements. Aunt Zhang received a dollar as a thank-you gift for each of them, and she can finally take a break.

She took a few gulps of cool water from the enamel cup with "Serve the People" printed on it. Only then did she feel her ears and eyes were clearer. But when she turned around, she felt as if she was dazzled.

A young girl walked into the large courtyard. She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. She was wearing a dark blue coarse cloth dress with two patches on the cuffs and a pair of bulky black trousers with worn hems. Her family conditions did not seem to be very good, but she looked really good.

The porcelain-white face looked even more charming against the backdrop of shabby clothes, especially her eyebrows and eyes which were like paintings. When she looked at herself, the corners of her lips slightly raised. Even Aunt Zhang, the matchmaker who had met most of the young men and women in Xifeng City, was stunned.

Where did this angel-like girl come from?

"Hello, are you Aunt Zhang?" The young girl's voice was crisp and pleasant to the ears.

"Hey!" Aunt Zhang also liked handsome boys and pretty girls, and she was happy to see them. She hurriedly greeted them, "Young comrade, you came to see me? Do you want to go on a blind date?"

Most of the young men and women who come here to find themselves are here for blind dates, and Aunt Zhang is used to it.

Lin Xiangchong smiled at the slightly plump matchmaker in front of him, who had a very friendly smile: "Yes, Aunt Zhang, please help me arrange it."

Lin Xiang's qualifications are pretty good. She is very pretty, well educated, graduated from high school, and currently has a formal job in a steel rolling mill. With such qualifications, she would definitely be highly sought after in the blind date market.

But when Aunt Zhang heard her talking about giving up her job, she immediately understood the girl's difficulties. It was not uncommon for families to force girls to give up their jobs to their sons. She had seen several such cases.

"It's not a big problem if you don't have a formal job. Just tell me what you want and I'll help you arrange it."

Lin Xiang had already made plans in her mind, and she didn't show off at this moment. She frankly stated her blind date requirements: "The man must have a stable and formal job, be reliable and capable, and his family relationships should not be too complicated. The last and most important point..."

Zhang Dama listened to Lin Xiang's first words and agreed deeply. This girl is so beautiful and well educated, so naturally she has higher requirements, until she heard the second half of her sentence...

"The last and most important thing is that the person has to be good-looking. I don't like ugly people."

Marriage is a lifelong thing, especially in this era, so Lin Xiang naturally wants to find someone she likes, otherwise she won't be able to live with an ugly-looking person every day.

Besides, she has been working so hard to save money all her life and has not enjoyed anything yet. Whether it is a little wolfdog or a little milk dog...she must find a handsome one.

Aunt Zhang never expected this girl to be so straightforward. It's no exaggeration to say that she has been arranging blind dates for people for more than ten years, but this is the first time she has heard a little girl seriously say that she wants to find a handsome guy.

Aunt Zhang's face wrinkled with laughter. She grabbed Lin Xiang's hand and said excitedly: "Comrade Lin Xiang, you are right. You have good conditions. In addition to those requirements, you also want to find a handsome guy! My old man was a little ugly when he was young, and now he has become an old man. It has caused my three sons to look average. If it weren't for Auntie who made me a pretty flower since I was a child, otherwise my sons would be uglier!"

Lin Xiang: "..."

I didn’t expect that Aunt Zhang is quite fashionable!

The two of them agreed. Lin Xiang knew the rules and gave Aunt Zhang a dollar as a thank you gift: "Aunt Zhang, I'm sorry to bother you with this matter. Please take the trouble to help me."

She also knew that there were too many people looking for matchmakers to arrange blind dates recently. If you don't give them some sweet treats, how could people keep the good ones for you?

Aunt Zhang held a piece of money that was hot in the sun, feeling relieved. Looking at the slim figure of Lin Xiang from behind, she thought that this girl was bright, sensible, and especially generous. She secretly made up her mind to find a good match for her!

......

The heat in July was unbearable. Even at around five in the afternoon, the sun had not set yet and it was still hot and humid.

Lin Xiang felt the scorching sun burning her cheeks. There was no sunscreen in those days, so she could only quicken her pace and return to the Lin family.

At around five o'clock in the afternoon, the tube-shaped building was surrounded by wisps of smoke, and the tall and majestic blue brick buildings were vaguely visible in the white mist.

There are a total of eight tube-shaped buildings in the steel rolling mill's compound. Each building has five floors, and there are eighteen households distributed in a circle on each floor. There are two staircases on each side. Standing in the corridor and looking down, you can see a circular courtyard. After dinner, everyone likes to go to the courtyard to chat and cool off with a palm-leaf fan. It is very lively.

The Lin family lived on the third floor. Lin Xiang walked up the stairs from the first floor and could smell the sultry smell of cooking. She could see cabbage being stir-fried in the densely packed coal stoves in the corridors of each floor. The neighbors were preparing dinner and chatting loudly from a distance. She could also exchange a few words with the neighbors who were cooking in the opposite corridor seven or eight meters away.

"Xiangxiang, are you off work?"

People of this era are extremely enthusiastic, which is something Lin Xiang had never experienced in her previous life when she worked hard in a big city for many years.

"Yes, Aunt Liu, I just got back from get off work." Lin Xiang replied with a smile, "You are busy, I will go upstairs first."

The one who greeted Lin Xiang was Liu Qiuping, a female worker in the steel mill canteen who was frying cabbage in the corridor on the second floor. She had a good relationship with the original body's mother and liked Lin Xiang as well. She didn't like Qiu Aiying, whom Lin Guangming later married.

Liu Qiuping always felt that Qiu Aiying and her two children loved to bully Lin Xiang, but Lin Xiang was a silly girl who would not say anything when she was wronged. Liu Qiuping asked her several times, but she just said no, so she gave up.

But today the child seemed different. In the past, he would keep his head down when meeting someone and would be timid even when speaking a few words. But today he was talking and laughing. Liu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, but then she thought, this is not bad, it is pretty good.

After returning home and having dinner, Lin Xiang went back to her room to rest, lying on the uncomfortable wooden bed and worrying.

The Lin family's house was crowded, and the house they were allocated was not big, only about 20 square meters in total, with a family of five living in it, so crowded that Lin Xiang was not used to sharing a room with her step-sister Lin Chuchu. The two of them lived in a narrow room separated by a closet and a wall. The door of the room was an old bed sheet. The room could only accommodate two narrow single wooden beds and a small cabinet. The clothes and pants of the two were placed in the cabinet. When the door was closed, it became a desk. It was really a waste of space, but it was also really annoying.

She missed the three-bedroom apartment with elevator that she bought, which was really miserable now. This made Lin Xiang more determined to leave!

——

The next day, Lin Xiang got up early and still had to go to work.

The steel rolling mill workshop is heating up the initially rolled steel at high temperatures. I used to be an equipment operator and needed to wear a blue safety helmet to operate the equipment frequently. The temperature around me was quite high and I would be sweating within a few minutes of entering the workshop.

A few drops of sweat dripped from the smooth and full forehead, lightly sliding across Lin Xiang's fair cheeks, causing a blush due to the rising heat.

Lin Xiang, who had made up her mind to leave, was thinking about how to get away smoothly, and heard her colleagues around her chatting while waiting for the equipment to operate.

"My nephew has no job and has to go to the countryside. What a sin."

"Of course not. I don't know if I can come back in the future. It's so hard to work in the fields."

"My niece was originally going to move to the countryside, but when she heard about the policy, she rushed to find a date. Yesterday, she finally found a man who has a formal job. They got engaged today and will get the marriage certificate tomorrow."

"That's fast."

"Of course, there will be no such shop after this village, so we must seize the opportunity and act early. Fortunately, after getting married, we don't have to go to the countryside anymore."

"Your case is not bad. Our parents have a fourth-level female worker in their unit who doesn't like her. They want to buy a job for her daughter so she doesn't have to go to the countryside. But at this critical moment, who is willing to sell their job? Even if they offer 700 or 800 yuan, they can't find anyone to sell! She is prepared to give her job to her daughter if it really doesn't work out. It's a fourth-level female worker, it's a pity to give it away..."

The casual chats during breaks at work have always been a gathering place for gossip. The employees talked about it in a flurry, and the topics revolved around the policy of sending educated youth to the countryside, which was of most concern to the people of the city recently.

After listening to this, Lin Xiang became more determined. Her best option now was to sell this torturous job and save some money for self-defense. According to the current situation, it would not be difficult to find a home if she sold her job, but the difficulty would be to go to the countryside... She would wait for news from Aunt Zhang and go on blind dates. As long as she could get married before her stepmother planned to marry her to the factory director's son, all problems would be solved.

The next day when Lin Xiang went to work, she heard someone looking for her and had a hunch. When she saw Zhang's mother at the gate of the steel mill, her guess was confirmed. But she didn't expect Zhang's mother to act so quickly.

"Xiangxiang, I've found a really good blind date for you! He works in a cable factory, a second-level electrician, and is very capable. The key is, he's really handsome, literally the most handsome guy in Xifeng City! Many girls are eyeing him, and they're fighting for him."

Lin Xiang was aroused by what Aunt Zhang said. Could it be that she really found the top handsome man in Xifeng City on her first blind date?

During the lunch break, she went out with Aunt Zhang to meet someone.