Chapter 35 Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng, Luo Huan and Zhu...
Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui, the two young men, sat down, looking at Ming Xi warily.
Zhu Zhaohui: "Anyway, no matter what you say, Luo Huan and I will not break up. If you force us to break up, then we'll die!"
Luo Huan, who was next to him, nodded emphatically to show his agreement.
Mingxi wiped her sweat: "It's not that serious, it's just dating, there's no need to make such a big deal out of it."
Zhu Zhaohui: "No! You don't understand. This is the value of love. Haven't you heard the saying, 'Life is precious, but love is more precious'?"
Mingxi: "..."
Isn't there a second half to that sentence?
How did the second half of the sentence get eaten?
Zhu Zhaohui glanced at Mingxi with pity: "However, it's normal for someone like you who has never experienced love not to understand this sentence."
Mingxi scratched his head. That sounded familiar; he felt like he'd heard it before.
Oh, I remember now.
The last person to say this to her was Huang Pingping.
She said those words because she believed Feng Fancai.
Thinking of this, Mingxi's gaze towards Zhu Zhaohui became complicated.
Young man, you have no idea what happened to the last person who said that; the result was a breakup...
Luo Huan was much more perceptive and eloquent than Zhu Zhaohui. She pulled Zhu Zhaohui behind her and said to Mingxi with a sincere expression, "Sister, he can't speak properly, just ignore him."
Zhu Zhaohui was obedient and shut up without uttering a single rebuttal.
Seeing his reaction, a hint of appreciation flashed in Mingxi's eyes.
It seems that although Zhu Zhaohui is impulsive and simple-minded, he is obedient and responsible.
When he stood up to express his opinion before, he took the lead and was much better than some men who would only run away and hide behind women after something happened.
Considering this, Mingxi smiled and said, "It's alright, I didn't mind."
"Besides, it's love, I can understand. It's not surprising that you two, a couple deeply in love, would say anything," Mingxi teased with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Luo Huan's eyes reddened.
These past few days, her parents, relatives, and friends have all disapproved of her relationship with Zhu Zhaohui, especially after her failed attempt to run away from home and her subsequent arrest. Everyone is saying that she and Zhu Zhaohui are immature and advising them to break up.
Mingxi was the first person to say that she could understand them.
Regardless of whether Mingxi was joking or not, she couldn't help but want to cry.
Mingxi couldn't stand seeing others cry, so when she saw Luo Huan's red eyes and the way she looked like she was about to cry, she patted her hand to comfort her, "It's okay, it's okay~"
Upon hearing this, Luo Huan's tears, which had been welling up in her eyes, immediately fell.
Mingxi: "Hiss—"
What's going on? Why is she crying even harder the more I try to comfort her?
Zhu Zhaohui panicked as well, and he stepped forward to put his arm around Luo Huan and comforted her in a low voice.
Mingxi's teeth ached from the two of them being so affectionate.
Zhu Zhaohui comforted her for a long time before Luo Huan finally calmed down a bit. She raised her watery eyes and forced a smile: "I'm sorry, I lost my temper."
Mingxi waved her hand: "It's nothing. If you don't mind, you can tell me about your situation, and I'll see if I can help you think of a solution."
Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui's eyes lit up. Although Luo Huan didn't have high hopes, she still spoke in a slightly hoarse voice about her relationship with Zhu Zhaohui.
After listening to the conversation, Mingxi realized that the two people still had a warm and loving relationship.
Zhu Zhaohui and Luo Huan grew up in the same courtyard. Although their mothers didn't get along well, children don't care too much, so they played together since they were little and could be considered childhood sweethearts.
As they grew older, the two gradually became aware of their feelings for each other and fell in love. Zhu Zhaohui confessed first, and coincidentally, Luo Huan was also interested in him, so the two started dating.
Their relationship was quite stable; they hadn't argued or even had a serious argument in the year they'd been together.
Mingxi sighed more and more as she listened. She had to admit that if it weren't for the bad relationship between Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng, Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui would have been a perfect match, childhood sweethearts who eventually became a couple.
Luo Huan: "Comrade Ming, we've finished talking. Can you help us think of a way to persuade my mother and Aunt Zheng? I really can't bear to part with Brother Zhaohui and don't want to break up with him."
Zhu Zhaohui also lowered his head, his face pleading: "Comrade Ming, please, help us. If you can help us persuade my mother and Aunt Fu, we'll definitely give you a big red envelope!"
Big red envelope?
Then Mingxi has no choice but to intervene.
Well, of course, she doesn't care about the money; she just likes doing good deeds and is happy to help others achieve their goals.
Mingxi crossed one arm and stroked her chin with the other: "To be honest, this matter is a bit difficult for you, but I'm a matchmaker, and my job is to act as a go-between for people, so I'll take on this task."
You have to admit that Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui are both very innocent. As soon as they heard this, they got excited. Zhu Zhaohui stood up and bowed deeply to Mingxi at a 90-degree angle, saying thank you repeatedly.
Mingxi waved her hand: "Get up first. I have a question for you two. Do you know what kind of grudge exists between Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu?"
Zhu Zhaohui and Luo Huan are a good match in terms of both feelings and circumstances. The only problem is that Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu have a conflict, which makes both families disapprove of each other and reluctant to let their children marry each other's children.
Therefore, the key to the matter lies in resolving the conflict between the two middle-aged women.
Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui remained silent for a while after hearing Mingxi's words. Finally, Zhu Zhaohui spoke up: "I don't know what the conflict is between my mother and Aunt Fu. I only know that as far back as I can remember, my mother has disliked Aunt Fu. The two of them argue every few days, but it's always over trivial things, like Aunt Fu throwing garbage in front of our house, or our things blocking Aunt Zheng's door. None of them are serious matters."
Luo Huan added: "I remember when I was a child, the conflict between my mother and Aunt Zheng was not this deep. During the years of famine, when my family ran out of food, Aunt Zheng even gave my family a pound of cornmeal."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhaohui also remembered the matter: "Yes, yes, there is such a thing."
Mingxi touched his chin.
So, the conflict between the two women wasn't irreconcilable.
That was at least the case back then.
However, we still need to inquire further.
Mingxi: "Okay, I understand. Leave this to me. I'll ask around and see if there's any way to mediate the conflict between Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu. You two can go back and wait for news."
Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui immediately nodded gratefully, their clear, naive eyes filled with trust in Mingxi.
After Mingxi finished her conversation, Zhao Sulan also came out of the house with the two older women. When the four of them left, although Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu did not continue arguing, you could tell from their displeased expressions that they still looked down on each other.
After seeing the four people off, Mingxi told Zhao Sulan about Zhu Zhaohui and Luo Huan's request.
Zhao Sulan frowned: "This is not a good matter. Lao Fu and Lao Zheng have been mortal enemies for many years. It's not something you can mediate so easily."
Mingxi shrugged indifferently: "Let's give it a try. If we can mediate, great; if not, then forget it. Anyway, my goal is to get both families to agree to Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui's marriage."
Mediation is the best course of action to get both families to agree to the marriage of the two children. If mediation fails, she has other options.
For example, letting two children threaten suicide or hunger strikes... When it comes to marriage, once the children are determined and make a big fuss about it, the parents can't win against them.
Of course, this is a poor choice.
After all, if things get out of hand like this, even if they get married, there will inevitably be plenty of chaos after marriage.
Seeing that Mingxi had made up her mind, Zhao Sulan had nothing to say. She helplessly tapped Mingxi's forehead: "You, you, you're just after that big red envelope they mentioned, aren't you, you little money-grubber!"
Mingxi stood with her hands on her hips, not shy at all: "Hehe, I'm just a money-grubber."
She's a money-grubber and she's proud of it.
After chatting with Zhao Sulan, Mingxi went to Aunt He's house.
She wanted to find out more about the relationship between Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng.
The first person she thought of when this happened was Aunt He.
Mingxi didn't intend to let Aunt He work for nothing, so she gave Aunt He two yuan.
Don't underestimate the mere two yuan; to Aunt He, it was like finding a free lunch. Without a moment's hesitation, she readily agreed to the job, patting her chest and telling Mingxi to wait.
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As expected of Aunt He, who is known as the most informant in the area, brought back the results to Mingxi in less than two days.
There weren't any major conflicts between Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu, but there were quite a few minor frictions. The earliest ones can be traced back to when they were children. Kids like to compare themselves to each other, and both Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu had strong personalities. When they were little, they would often quarrel because one of them had an extra red ribbon or an extra new piece of clothing.
However, these were all minor squabbles and not a big deal. The real reason why the two of them had such a big fight was because of the time they met.
Contrary to the popular version, the truth is that the man Aunt Fu had her eye on didn't actually like Aunt Zheng, and she was jealous of Aunt Zheng, which caused the discord. On the contrary, Aunt Fu initially didn't like the man at all, even thinking he was glib and not a good person. But Aunt Zheng did fall for him.
Later, Aunt Fu discovered that the other party was flirting and entangled with someone else, and even went to remind Aunt Zheng. However, Aunt Fu's way of speaking was problematic. Although she meant well, what she said sounded like mocking Aunt Zheng's poor eyesight.
Although Aunt Zheng broke up with the man later, she still harbored a grudge against Aunt Fu.
The two women later married into the same courtyard. Aunt Zheng's husband was slightly better off, and she gave birth to a boy the following year. Aunt Fu's husband, on the other hand, was from a less well-off family, and she only had a girl. Although she wasn't a sexist, the neighbors in the courtyard always used her as a comparison point with Aunt Zheng. Being constantly compared and criticized like this was unsettling for both of them.
The relationship between Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng deteriorated further and further, and they gradually became complete mortal enemies.
Mingxi fell silent after hearing this.
There was no real animosity between the two women.
But it is precisely this long-accumulated dissatisfaction that is more difficult to resolve.
"Oh, by the way, I heard something else."
Mingxi looked up: "What?"
Aunt He whispered, "The Jia family has been sentenced."
Mingxi: "Huh?"
She thought Aunt He was going to talk about Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu, but it turned out to be about the Jia family.
Aunt He: "The old woman from the Jia family was sentenced to one year of labor reform, and the old man and the second son of the Jia family were sentenced to seven days."
She curled her lip and said, "That old man and the second son of the Jia family are really no good. The three of them clearly attacked Xiao Qin together and kicked her out of the house. But after they got to the police station, they blamed everything on the old woman from the Jia family, saying that his wife was too sad because her son died, so she attacked Qin Qiaorou, and that it was his wife who suggested kicking Qin Qiaorou out. Basically, they put all the blame on his wife. That old woman is stupid, she just admitted it, so she went to jail for a year, and the other two were locked up for seven days."
Mingxi wasn't surprised by this result.
The Jia family members are not human, but if we really have to say what they did that truly violated the law, it was only the act of injuring Qin Qiaorou.
The Jia family pinned the blame on Jia's wife, so only she went to jail. The fact that Jia's father and Jia Jianxin were only detained for seven days is probably because the police station saw them causing trouble at the Women's Federation.
Mingxi: "I guess that old woman from the Jia family didn't want her husband and son to lose their jobs."
Both Old Man Jia and Jia Jianxin have jobs. If they really go to jail, they will definitely lose their jobs. If Old Woman Jia takes all the blame, at least she can keep the jobs of the other two people in the family.
Aunt He: "She's dreaming. I've heard that because of this, the cannery leaders felt they lost face and fired Jia Jianxin directly. Anyway, he was just a temporary worker, so the factory could fire him whenever they wanted, and it didn't involve anything. It's not easy to fire the old man Jia, who was a permanent employee, but the factory didn't let him off the hook either. They gave him a serious punishment and even transferred him to clean toilets."
"This is great news!"
Whatever fate befell the Jia family was of no concern to Ming Xi, but for Qin Qiaorou, it was good news.
If the entire Jia family were fired, they might turn to Qin Qiaorou out of desperation. But now that only Jia Jianxin has been fired, and Old Man Jia is still working, they wouldn't dare cause trouble, even if it's to protect Old Man Jia's job.
The Jia family was punished, and Qin Qiaorou avoided trouble—that's really good news!
"That's not all. I heard from others that Qin Qiaorou's money was also taken back. The Women's Federation and the street office came to her door with the account book and demanded money based on the amount Qin Qiaorou had earned from taking jobs at the street office over the years. Even the money that had been spent was made up with Jia Jianshe's savings. In the end, almost all of Jia Jianshe's savings were taken by Qin Qiaorou, and not a single penny was left for the Jia family," said Aunt He.
Mingxi: "That's how it should be."
Aunt He: "That's right."
The two chatted and gossiped for a while longer. When Aunt He was satisfied, she patted her bottom and left. Mingxi, who was left behind, began to think about how to resolve the conflict between Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu.
The conflict between the two has been brewing for a long time and cannot be explained by one or two things. It has become a deep-seated knot in their hearts, and it is difficult for her to resolve the resentment accumulated over the years with just a few words.
This brings us back to the same point.
They certainly won't agree to the marriage of the two children unless the conflict between them is resolved.
Do we really have to force Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui to do what Romeo and Juliet did, fake their deaths to make the two old ladies soften their hearts?
Mingxi racked her brains for a long time but couldn't come up with a good solution. Just then, Huang Pingping arrived.
When Mingxi opened the door and saw Huang Pingping standing at her door, she was taken aback: "Hey, what brings you here?"
Huang Pingping pouted: "What, you don't welcome me? Humph, are you even a friend? We haven't seen each other for so many days, and you didn't even take the initiative to contact me, nor did you say you missed me. The first thing you said when you saw me was, 'Why are you here?' Do you even know how to behave like this!"
Mingxi apologized repeatedly: "It's my fault, it's my fault. I've been too busy these past few days and haven't had time to come and visit you. Please don't be angry."
Huang Pingping tossed her head arrogantly: "That's more like it."
She pushed past Mingxi and went inside to sit down. Mingxi followed her in. She asked curiously, "By the way, you haven't told me yet, why did you come today? And where's your Xiao Wu?"
"What do you mean, 'my little Wu'? Don't talk nonsense." Huang Pingping blushed and said coquettishly, "I just wanted to come and play with you, is that not allowed?"
Mingxi: "Okay, okay, you can come visit me anytime you want."
She poured a glass of water for Huang Pingping, who held the glass and stared at Mingxi with her big, bright eyes.
Mingxi knew she had something to say as soon as she saw her like this: "Just say what you want to say."
Huang Pingping: "Then I'll tell you?"
Mingxi nodded.
Huang Pingping bit her lower lip: "Actually, it's nothing much. It's just Wu Zhensheng. My parents think he's a good person and that we're a good match, so they want us to get married as soon as possible, but I don't know how to tell him."
Mingxi: "Then what else can we say? Let's just say it directly."
Huang Pingping pouted: "It's so embarrassing for a girl like me to say something like that!"
She twisted her fingers: "And, and... my parents want to buy me an apartment. There's a neighbor in our building whose son just got a big apartment and is planning to move there. He's planning to sell the small apartment he's currently living in, and my parents want to buy it so I can live there after I get married."
The tenement building where Huang Pingping lives is a public housing unit, which, strictly speaking, cannot be bought or sold.
But policies are policies; those below have plenty of ways to solve them.
So it's not impossible to buy it if you really want to.
Mingxi was truly envious. Houses within the Second Ring Road will be incredibly valuable decades from now, with even a toilet there selling for millions. If she had the money, she would have wanted to buy one!
Moreover, these kinds of houses are usually only sold to acquaintances. If you don't know anyone and have no connections, you won't be able to find a way to buy one.
So Mingxi looked at Huang Pingping, who was frowning and looking troubled, and asked from the bottom of her heart, "What's the problem?"
"Your parents are buying you a house, and it's even in the same building as your family's. You won't have to live too far from home after you get married. Isn't that great? What are you still worried about?"
Huang Pingping: "It's great for me, but isn't it inappropriate for Wu Zhensheng? Won't he be unhappy?"
Mingxi took a deep breath: "He's unhappy? Why should he be unhappy? If I were him, I'd be laughing so hard I'd be in my sleep!"
Huang Pingping: "Oh dear, it's different. You're a woman, and he's a man. Aren't men usually very proud? If people say he's a gigolo, he'll definitely be unhappy."
"No! Absolutely not!"
Mingxi: "I don't know about others, but Wu Zhensheng would definitely be unhappy to be called a gigolo."
Given Wu Zhensheng's self-awareness, if someone were to say he was a kept man, he might even happily touch his face and say, "How did you know?"
Huang Pingping: "Really not? When I was with Feng Fan, he would get very unhappy every time I spent money on him. He would say that if outsiders knew that he was a gigolo, he would lose face. And I also read that in novels, whenever the female lead wanted to provide material things for the male lead, the male lead would scold her for treating him like a gigolo."
Mingxi: ...
Damn Feng Fan, damn that harmful novel!
Look how much Huang Pingping has manipulated them!
She said helplessly, "When you bought things for Feng Fan before, didn't he always accept them no matter what you said? And in those novels you read, didn't the male protagonists eventually accept the female protagonist's gifts too?"
Huang Pingping thought for a moment and nodded.
Mingxi: "That solves it!"
"Don't look at what they say, look at what they do. No matter how high-minded they talk or how unwilling they are to accept, they still end up taking the gifts. It shows that they also want to be kept men. They just talk to show that they are different from other men who are kept men. It's pure hypocrisy. They still want to be kept men."
Huang Pingping's mind went blank for a moment.
After realizing what had happened, she fell silent.
Mingxi seems to be right.
Mingxi: "Don't worry, Wu Zhensheng isn't that kind of person."
Wu Zhensheng's desire to live off a woman is perfectly clear.
Mingxi: "Just tell Wu Zhensheng directly, and he'll be overjoyed."
Huang Pingping nodded subconsciously.
Seeing Huang Pingping looking silly, as if shocked by her words, Mingxi sighed deeply.
I was once again struck by how captivating the novels Huang Pingping had been reading, how they had managed to manipulate her to such an extent!
Eh, a novel?
Mingxi's glasses suddenly lit up!
Yes, novels!
She had figured out how to resolve the issues between Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu.
To be precise, it's not about resolving the issue between Aunt Zheng and Aunt Fu, but rather about resolving their disagreement with Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui's marriage.
Yes, Mingxi's idea was to write a story based on Luo Huan and Zhu Zhaohui.
Write a tragic story, making the protagonist as miserable and pitiful as possible, to the point that it makes everyone who hears it feel sad and sees it weep, so that everyone who reads it pities the protagonist and wants them to be together.
She wanted to use this story to move Aunt Fu and Aunt Zheng, so that they could temporarily ignore their conflict and face the feelings between the two children.
It's difficult to mediate a conflict between two people, but Mingxi thinks it shouldn't be too hard to get them to temporarily ignore it.
Thinking of this, Mingxi immediately got to work. She turned around, went back into the house, picked up her pen, and started writing. She wrote for the entire afternoon, and by the time she put down her pen and looked up again, the sun had already set.
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Author's Note: Xiao Ming: That brat (Wu Zhensheng) is so lucky!
He's really living off a woman!
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