Chapter 12 Formal Meeting: Mingxi tidied herself up...
After Mingxi finished tidying herself up, she didn't hear Zhao Sulan's voice again. Feeling uneasy, she went into Zhao Sulan's room and found her with her arms crossed, pouting, and looking very unwilling.
It's like throwing a tantrum at a child.
Mingxi patted Zhao Sulan on the shoulder and coaxed her, "Mom, you should rest in bed today. I'll bring you something delicious when I come back this afternoon."
Zhao Sulan: ...
"You even brought me treats? Are you trying to fool me like a child?"
Even so, seeing Mingxi about to leave, she still felt uneasy: "Xibao, are you sure you can manage alone? Or should I go with you?"
Mingxi waved her hand: "Hey, Mom, don't worry, I can manage on my own. Besides, have you ever seen a matchmaker bring an old woman along when she takes someone to meet potential partners?"
"Alright, Mom, I'm leaving." Mingxi said, slung her small bag over her shoulder, and swung her ponytail as she went out.
She went out today to pick up Zuo Ying to meet Du Hai.
Mingxi was quite nervous as she introduced someone to a potential partner for the first time, even more so than the person being introduced.
Before going out, she dressed up specially, wearing a light gray jacket over a red sweater, paired with dark gray trousers, and her hair was styled in a high ponytail, looking both youthful and capable without overshadowing the outfit.
Mingxi carried a crossbody bag and went straight to Zuo Ying's house. After picking up Zuo Ying, the two of them walked together towards the cultural palace behind the steel rolling mill.
The distance from Zuo Ying's home to the Cultural Palace wasn't far, and since Mingxi left early, she arrived at the Cultural Palace a little after nine o'clock.
She had previously agreed with Du Hai that the meeting time would be 10 o'clock.
Realizing she was early, Mingxi wanted to take Zuoying to find a place to sit first, but before she could speak, she heard someone calling her from not far away.
"Comrade Ming!"
Mingxi looked in the direction of the sound and saw Du Hai, dressed neatly, standing not far away.
Mingxi quickly led Zuo Ying over: "Comrade Du, you've arrived quite early! I was just thinking we were early and waiting for you, but I didn't expect you to be here already."
Du Hai scratched the back of his head and said with a sheepish smile, "I'm fine, so I came over."
Mingxi nodded and turned to introduce Zuo Ying: "This is Comrade Du Hai."
"Du Hai, this is Comrade Zuo Ying."
Du Hai immediately extended his hand: "Hello, Comrade Zuo Ying, I am Du Hai."
He got up very early today to take a bath at the public bathhouse and then got his hair cut at the barbershop. When he got home, he changed into his best clothes—a neat black suit. He looked clean and tidy, not at all like a fitter working in a factory.
Zuo Ying extended her hand to shake hands with Du Hai and greet him briefly.
After just one meeting, Zuo Ying had a good impression of Du Hai.
Regardless of Du Hai's usual behavior, the fact that he made a special effort to come today shows that he takes today's matchmaking seriously and respects me enough.
Zuo Ying had a good impression of Du Hai, and Du Hai also had a good first impression of Zuo Ying.
After all, they were both employees of the steel rolling mill, and Du Hai was a well-known figure. Zuo Ying had seen Du Hai before and knew what he looked like. However, this was the first time Du Hai had met Zuo Ying.
Zuo Ying was thin, but not in a frail way; her arms, wrapped in a white sweater, were slender yet strong. She had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and her whole being exuded a heroic spirit.
It was pretty much as he had imagined.
Since it was their first meeting, they were both a little embarrassed. After exchanging greetings, they didn't know what to say next, so they just looked at each other, their eyes darting around.
Now it was Mingxi's turn to appear.
She introduced the two men: "This Du Hai is a fourth-level fitter at the steel rolling mill. He only has an eight-year-old sister left at home, who is currently in the second grade at the steel rolling mill's staff primary school."
"This is Zuo Ying, who also works at the steel rolling mill. She is currently a level two worker and has only one younger sister who is in fifth grade this year."
Actually, we had already found out about both sides' situations before we even met. Mingxi was just repeating it now to find something to talk about.
She smiled and said, "It's quite a coincidence that you two both work at a steel rolling mill."
Du Hai: "It's quite a coincidence. I had heard of Comrade Zuo Ying's name before."
Zuo Ying: "Huh?"
She was somewhat surprised.
Du Hai: "Last year during the skills competition, you also signed up for the fitter competition. When the results were announced, I saw your name on the list."
After being reminded, Zuo Ying remembered this incident. She shook her head and said, "I didn't perform well that time and didn't even make it into the top ten."
Du Hai: "I think you're already very good."
Zuo Ying had heard these words many times, and she could easily tell whether the other person was saying them to comfort her or because they really thought so.
Du Hai belongs to the latter category.
His expression was very sincere.
Zuo Yingli returned the favor with a reply: "You're very capable too."
Hearing this, Du Hai smiled.
The atmosphere between the two eased up a bit, and Zuo Ying thought for a moment before speaking: "You know my family situation, right? If I get married in the future, I want to bring my younger sister with me. Can you accept that?"
Du Hai countered, "I also have a younger sister. Can you accept my sister?"
Zuo Ying replied without hesitation, "Of course."
Du Hai: "Me too."
He said, "Didn't you say that you have a younger sister and I have a younger sister? Neither of us can look down on the other."
Zuo Ying gave a faint smile.
She asked, "When I was looking for a job before, someone told me that it was tiring and hard for a woman like me to work as a fitter, and suggested that I quit my job and go home. What do you think about that?"
"Is he sick?" Du Hai blurted out, then quickly added, fearing Zuo Ying would misunderstand, "I'm talking about the person who said those kinds of things to you."
He said, "It's so hard to find a job these days. It would be such a waste for you to quit your good job and go home like this. Besides, what job isn't hard? Isn't it hard to quit your job and go home to take care of your family? Don't believe his nonsense. You are very talented. You were better than many men in the skills competition, which means you are very suitable for this line of work. If you keep going, you might become the first female fitter with a level six qualification in our factory."
A smile appeared on Zuo Ying's face, but unlike her previous faint smile, this time her eyes were full of laughter.
She took the initiative to ask, "I have a good impression of you, what about you?"
Du Hai paused for a moment, and whether it was from shyness or the sun, a faint blush spread across his face.
He nodded.
Zuo Ying and Wang Hongmei are different types, and they are not the same type as Du Hai's deceased mother either.
Forgive Du Hai, but in his limited life, the two women who were closest to him were his mother and Wang Hongmei, so he could only use these two as references.
From these few words since we met, you can tell that Zuo Ying is more proactive and more straightforward.
It's not that one is better or worse than the other, but Du Hai just feels that Zuo Ying is more to his liking and he is more comfortable with her.
After a few brief words, Zuo Ying's fondness for Du Hai grew stronger. She had encountered too many people who, under the guise of doing what was best for her, advised her to give up her job. Only Du Hai encouraged her to continue, and even believed that she could become the first female fitter at the steel rolling mill to achieve the sixth-level qualification.
Zuo Ying originally thought that Du Hai was about the same as her and should be a good match, but now she really thinks that Du Hai is a good person.
Mingxi, watching from the side, couldn't help but smile, revealing a doting auntie's grin.
She thinks these two can make it work.
Du Hai was willing to continue spending time with Zuo Ying, but to continue, he had to bring up Wang Hongmei's matter.
He said, "Do you know that I used to date someone?"
Zuo Ying: "I know. The woman almost got married to you, but she broke up with you because your aunt spread rumors."
Du Hai nodded. The news had spread throughout the factory; it would be strange if Zuo Ying didn't know.
He added, "The reason my aunt is causing trouble is because she wants me to marry her in-laws' niece. Although I tricked her once before, she might cause trouble again, and she might even come looking for you. You don't need to pay attention to her then. If she causes you any trouble, just tell me."
Zuo Ying nodded. She thought for a moment and said, "If we were together, my uncle and aunt might come looking for you, but they probably wouldn't dare cause trouble. They'd only dare to tell you bad things about me, like how I'm cold-blooded and heartless, how I'm disrespectful to my elders, how I'm immature, and so on..."
Du Hai: "I know, I won't pay any attention to them."
Zuo Ying: "Aren't you going to ask me why they say those things about me?"
Du Hai: "They must have done something wrong."
Zuo Ying laughed again. She wasn't a person who liked to laugh, and every time she laughed, it felt like the snow on an iceberg was melting.
Du Hai: "Actually, it's because I heard from Comrade Ming about your uncle and aunt. I heard that when your father passed away, they tried to take your job. When my father passed away, my aunt also tried to take my job. I had to go to the factory leaders to resolve the issue."
Zuo Ying laughed and said, "Then I'm a little more capable than you. I didn't go to the leaders; I just took a knife and went out to fight my uncle."
Du Hai: "Then you are indeed more powerful..."
左英：“那可不是，不过主要也是因为我叔叔欠揍，当时我还没成年，他就想把我嫁出去。”
It was called a marriage, but it was really a sale. At the time, the old cripple promised her uncle that he would give her two hundred yuan as a bride price, and her uncle agreed to the marriage without thinking twice.
"And my sister, she was only a little over three years old at the time, and he wanted to send her to another family to be a child bride."
Du Hai: "Then your uncle really deserved it."
If Du Shuying had said she wanted to give his sister away to another family as a child bride right after his father died, he probably wouldn't have been able to stand it and would have rushed out with a knife.
Zuo Ying: "He certainly deserved it, but I didn't let him off the hook. I brandished a knife and scared him half to death; he ran away in a panic. The very next day, I went to the women's federation at the factory where he worked and caused a scene. The factory gave him a severe punishment for this and even sent him to do cleaning..."
Du Hai and Zuo Ying got along very well, and they started talking non-stop. Seeing the two of them chatting away, Ming Xi quietly got up.
Let the two of them talk slowly.
She decided not to be a third wheel.
A note from the author:
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Clapping clap! Let's celebrate Xiaoming's successful first matchmaking attempt!
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