Chapter 22 The Self-Awareness of a Mistress The bustling courtyard...
The courtyard was bustling with noise, filled with the shouts of children and the laughter and scolding of adults. Wu Zhensheng pursed his lips and asked awkwardly.
"Comrade Xiaoming, what does Comrade Huang see in me?"
Whether in terms of work or family background, Huang Pingping was far ahead of him, which made him feel quite inferior.
Mingxi laughed: "Hey, Comrade Wu, don't be so self-conscious. You're still very good-looking."
Wu Zhensheng was stunned for a moment, and then a blush crept up from his cheeks to the base of his neck.
He touched his face. Was he handsome? Did Huang Pingping like his appearance?
Wu Zhensheng felt a strange sense of relief; thankfully, he was quite good-looking.
Otherwise, Huang Pingping wouldn't have liked him either.
In just a few seconds, Mingxi watched as Wu Zhensheng's expression changed several times.
I wonder what this person is thinking.
Mingxi: "So what are you thinking? Do you want to meet with Comrade Huang?"
She said, "If you don't want to meet with the other person, I will go back and refuse."
Wu Zhensheng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's meet."
Mingxi: "Okay, I'll go ask the woman when it's convenient for us to meet, and I'll let you know when we've arranged a date."
Wu Zhensheng nodded. Having finished discussing business, Wu Zhensheng didn't keep Mingxi for pleasantries. His house was too small; he couldn't very well have Mingxi standing outside chatting.
Mingxi didn't mind. She waved and left Wu Zhensheng's house. She didn't go home after leaving the courtyard, but went straight to Huang Pingping's house.
When she arrived at Huang Pingping's house, the Huang family had already finished eating. Huang's father, whom she had visited several times but had not seen, was also at home, sitting upright in front of the sofa, reading a newspaper.
When Mingxi entered, he first greeted Aunt Sun and Mr. Huang.
Aunt Sun's attitude was as warm as ever, and Mr. Huang's attitude towards Mingxi was also good. He didn't have the condescending feeling of a leader at all; on the contrary, he was very enthusiastic towards Mingxi.
Mr. Huang: "Has Xiaoming eaten yet? If not, I'll make you something."
Mingxi quickly waved her hand: "You don't need to trouble yourself, I came out after I finished eating."
Mr. Huang: "Oh, okay. Then have some tea and fruit. You chat with your Aunt Sun first, I'll go cut some fruit now."
After he finished speaking, without waiting for Mingxi's reaction, he put down the newspaper and strode towards the kitchen.
Seeing Mingxi's uncomfortable look, Aunt Sun waved her hand and said, "Don't worry about him, let him do his work."
"By the way, Xiaoming, why are you so late? Is something the matter?"
Mingxi straightened her expression and said, "It's like this. I just went to Wu Zhensheng's house and told him that Pingping wanted to meet him. He agreed to meet, so I came to ask Pingping when it would be convenient for us to meet."
Sun Xiuzhen exclaimed with delight, "Oh my, that's wonderful! Wait here and I'll go call Pingping out!"
She turned and went inside, pulling Huang Pingping out with her.
Huang Pingping was probably planning to go to sleep. When she was pulled out, she still looked sleepy and complained lazily, "Oh, Mom, what are you doing?"
Sun Xiuzhen: "Pingping, wake up! Look who's here!"
"Let whoever comes, it's none of my business." Huang Pingping said, then turned her head and saw Mingxi sitting on her sofa. She immediately became shy and pouted.
"Oh dear, Mom, why didn't you tell me beforehand that we had guests coming over? My hair was still a mess."
Sun Xiuzhen patted Huang Pingping's arm: "What are you shy about? Comrade Xiaoming is not an outsider."
Huang Pingping: "Mom!"
She grumbled as she fixed her hair.
After fixing her hair, she glared at him and said, "Why are you here so late?"
Mingxi smiled and said, "I just went to Wu Zhensheng's house and told him that you wanted to meet him."
Huang Pingping's face instantly turned bright red: "What? I never wanted to meet Wu Zhensheng. You were the one who wanted to introduce us to each other, that's why I agreed to meet him..."
She emphasized, "I don't really want to meet Wu Zhensheng!"
Mingxi had already figured out how to deal with Huang Pingping's arrogant nature, so she smoothed things over: "Yes, yes, you didn't really want to meet him. It was me, I arranged it all."
Huang Pingping: ...
She felt like she was being brushed off!
Before Huang Pingping could speak, Mingxi said, "I asked Wu Zhensheng, and he also wants to meet with you, so I came to ask when would be a convenient time for you to meet?"
Huang Pingping's attention was easily diverted by Mingxi: "When is it convenient for us to meet? Anytime is convenient for me."
She pointed to the cast on her leg and said, "Anyway, I'm not working these days, so I have time whenever I can. I'll see when Wu Zhensheng is available."
Mingxi: "Okay."
After discussing it with Wu Zhensheng, Mingxi decided to meet him on Friday noon, which is the day after tomorrow.
On Friday, Mingxi slept until the sun was high in the sky before getting up.
When she got up, Zhao Sulan had already gone to work, and even the breakfast that Zhao Sulan had left for Mingxi had gone cold.
However, Mingxi didn't mind and grabbed a steamed bun to eat.
Hmm, not bad, it's minced meat.
Originally, her family couldn't afford to eat so well. Even when they bought meat buns, it was only for the original owner of the body; she wouldn't eat them herself. It was only after Mingxi came that she saw Zhao Sulan living a frugal life, reluctant to eat or dress well. She insisted on making a fuss with Zhao Sulan, saying that she wanted to eat the same things as Zhao Sulan, whatever Zhao Sulan ate, she would eat too.
Seeing that Mingxi was serious, Zhao Sulan dared not mistreat herself anymore.
Of course, Mingxi also knows that it's all about money.
If it weren't for the family's tight budget, everyone would want to eat well.
So Mingxi now gives Zhao Sulan thirty yuan a month for living expenses.
Zhao Sulan was naturally unwilling to accept it, let alone accept Mingxi's money. Just the thought of thirty yuan for living expenses was shocking. A pound of pork only costs one yuan, and you're asking for thirty yuan a month for living expenses? Are you planning to eat meat every day? What kind of family do you come from, eating meat every day?
But there was no way around it; Mingxi insisted on giving it to her.
Zhao Sulan couldn't refuse Mingxi's request, so she had no choice but to accept the money. She didn't spend it; instead, she secretly saved it.
Mingxi spends money extravagantly. One day she complains that the food at home isn't nutritious enough and asks me to buy something more nutritious; the next day she says that doing laundry is too tiring and wants to buy a washing machine; the day after that she says that the black and white TV doesn't look good and wants to buy a color TV.
If she hadn't stopped her, Mingxi would have spent all the money she had long ago.
Since Mingxi insists on giving her living expenses, she might as well accept it to avoid the money being in Mingxi's hands and being spent by her.
Mingxi wasn't oblivious to Zhao Sulan's thoughts, but she didn't care at all.
Money can be earned back.
This is the 1980s.
It was a golden age for economic development.
In this era, even a pig can take off if placed in the right place at the right time.
Mingxi, who was well aware of the economic development in the coming decades, was not afraid of not having money in her pocket.
Mingxi ate two meat buns with hot water and then let out a satisfied burp.
I must say, the weight of things these days is really generous, there's no shortage of ingredients.
Two steamed buns were enough to make Mingxi feel stuffed.
After eating and drinking her fill, Mingxi tidied herself up and went out.
This wasn't the first time Xiaoming, the matchmaker, had accompanied someone to a matchmaking event, and she seemed quite adept at it.
Because the meeting was to be held at a Western restaurant near Huang Pingping's house, Mingxi had to go to Wu Zhensheng's house first to pick him up, and then the two of them would head to Huang Pingping's house together.
When Mingxi arrived at the Wu family home and met Wu Zhensheng, she was shocked.
She stammered, "No, you, you, why are you dressed like this?"
It's no wonder Mingxi was shocked; Wu Zhensheng's attire was just too... too elaborate.
He was wearing a sharp black suit and tie, with a folded pocket square in his suit pocket. Of course, what was most eye-catching was his hair.
He sported a slicked-back hairstyle, with all his bangs combed back and his hair slicked back with something, making it look shiny and oily.
Mingxi stared at the top of Wu Zhensheng's head: "What kind of stuff are you putting on?"
She suspected that even flies would have to swat themselves off if they landed on it.
Wu Zhensheng didn't feel anything was wrong and honestly said, "It's my second sister-in-law's osmanthus oil."
Mingxi was full of questions: "Why are you putting that stuff on?"
Wu Zhensheng belatedly noticed something was wrong from Mingxi's furrowed brows, and he asked hesitantly, "Doesn't this look good?"
Mingxi: "It doesn't look good!"
The main problem isn't whether it looks good or not, it's that it's too over-the-top!
It's like going on TV.
Wu Zhensheng: "Isn't that how everyone dresses on TV?"
Mingxi: "That's on TV! Have you ever seen anyone like that in real life!"
She grabbed Wu Zhensheng's shoulder: "Go, go, go! While there's still time, hurry up and wash all this off your head, and take that handkerchief out of your pocket."
Wu Zhensheng hesitated for a moment, but still chose to believe Mingxi's words. He quickly went into the house, washed his hair, and came out.
Mingxi was finally satisfied when she saw Wu Zhensheng reappear.
Wu Zhensheng has droopy eyes and delicate features. With his hair down, he has a clean-cut, puppy-like appearance. Combing it up, on the contrary, makes him look out of place.
As the agreed time approached, Mingxi grabbed Wu Zhensheng and headed out. The two hurried towards the meeting place, while Wu Zhensheng asked worriedly.
"Comrade Ming, do I really look good like this? Don't I need to dress up a bit more? Do I need to style my hair? And could you take a look? Do I have dark circles under my eyes? Should I put on some powder to cover them up? And also..."
After listening to Wu Zhensheng ramble on for ages, Mingxi was getting tired of it. She finally growled, "Enough!"
She turned her head and asked, puzzled, "Why are you, a grown man, worrying about this so much?"
Wu Zhensheng blushed subconsciously and stammered, "Didn't you say that Comrade Huang was attracted to my looks? I was thinking that if I didn't dress up well, she might not want me anymore."
Mingxi: "..."
Mingxi rarely encountered a situation where she couldn't respond to a conversation.
Her mind went blank for a moment. She stared at Wu Zhensheng in silence for a long time before finally managing to stammer, "You...you look pretty good just like this."
Wu Zhensheng touched his face and asked with a smug look, "Really?"
He breathed a sigh of relief after Mingxi nodded.
Huang Pingping's family background was much better than his own, and Wu Zhensheng knew that being with Huang Pingping was just being a kept man.
Since he's living off a woman...
Then one must be aware of the consequences of being a kept man.
Huang Pingping likes pretty things.
Then he has to dress up nicely.
A note from the author:
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