Chapter 19 Aunt He Slaps the Face of the "Matchmaker?!..."
"matchmaker?!"
"You're just a little girl?!"
The neighbors were all stunned when they heard this.
Some people looked at Du Hai with suspicion. Could there be something wrong with this young man? Otherwise, why would he ask such a young girl to be his matchmaker?
It wasn't until someone recognized Mingxi, "Hey, wait a minute, you look familiar, aren't you Zhao Sulan's daughter?"
Mingxi curled the corners of her lips into a slight smile: "Yes, I am Zhao Sulan's daughter."
"Wow, it's Zhao Sulan's daughter!"
Someone nearby asked, "What happened to Zhao Sulan's daughter?"
"You don't know? Zhao Sulan, the Zhao Sulan from the steel mill canteen, her daughter recently went to Du Hai's house and directly asked him if it would work out..."
"Oh, the one who discovered Du Hai's aunt's mischief, right!"
"Yes, yes, that's her..."
The people around were talking all at once, never expecting that Mingxi, a young, pretty, and seemingly naive girl, would do such a big thing.
At this moment, everyone recognized that the person who came to propose marriage with Mingxi was none other than Du Hai!
Curious and gossipy glances swept over Du Hai, and then the crowd gathered together to whisper among themselves. Ming Xi and Du Hai, however, paid no attention to these glances and strode away from Zuo Ying's courtyard.
The news of Du Hai's marriage proposal could not be kept secret and quickly spread throughout the steel mill area. The next morning, when Mingxi got up to wash her face, she heard Aunt He in the courtyard discussing the matter.
"Hey, Xiaoming's here!" Aunt He waved to Mingxi, who was carrying a washbasin and toothbrush cup, and asked gossipily, "Xiaoming, did you introduce Du Hai and Zuo Ying?"
Mingxi yawned and nodded.
Someone asked curiously, "Xiaoming, how much dowry did Du Hai give Zuo Ying? It must have been quite a lot, right?"
"I estimate it's quite a lot. Du Hai can earn it himself, and didn't Du Shuying give Du Hai 500 yuan in compensation last time?"
"I'm asking Xiaoming, Xiaoming, tell me, how much dowry did Du Hai give..."
Mingxi: "I didn't give it to you."
She rubbed her hair and said sleepily, "Du Hai didn't give Zuo Ying any betrothal gifts or ask for any dowry."
Huh? Everyone was stunned when he said that. No bride price? Although they weren't the kind of people who would sell their daughters for money, it wasn't right to get married without giving a bride price.
Mingxi: "Du Hai and Zuo Ying have no elders in their families. The betrothal gifts and dowries would just pass from one hand to the other and eventually end up being taken back to their own families. After discussing it, the two decided to skip the whole process and not bother with the betrothal gifts and dowries."
This wasn't a secret; anyone could find out by asking around. So Mingxi didn't hide it and told her directly.
Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
You know what, that makes perfect sense. Zuo Ying and Du Hai don't have any elders in their families, and the betrothal gifts will eventually have to be taken back to their own little home. It would be too much trouble to just throw them away for nothing.
However, while they nodded in agreement, it was definitely not acceptable for them to ask for no dowry when their daughters got married.
After all, not every family is like Du Hai's family, where there are no elders above them and no brothers of the same generation, so that they can take charge of the household as soon as they marry into it.
Thinking about it this way, everyone felt a little regretful.
It's a pity they missed each other when Du Haituo and Mingxi introduced them to potential partners!
Aunt He was the one who regretted it the most. She had already approached Mingxi, but unfortunately, she was too late. By the time she found Mingxi, Du Hai and Zuo Ying had already fallen for each other!
She was filled with regret.
When Mingxi finished washing up and was about to go home, Aunt He quietly followed her.
Mingxi noticed Aunt He's subtle movements, stopped in her tracks, and asked in confusion, "Aunt He, is there something you need?"
Aunt He chuckled dryly, "Well, there's something I need to do..."
Seeing that she was embarrassed to talk about it, Mingxi nodded: "Okay, let's go inside and talk."
She led Aunt He back into the house.
Aunt He sat down inside the house. Mingxi asked, "Aunt He, what brings you here?"
Aunt He chuckled dryly: "Hehehe, um, Xiaoming, do you remember when I told you last time that I have a niece on my mother's side?"
Mingxi nodded: "I remember."
Aunt He: "Well, my niece is twenty years old this year and still doesn't have a boyfriend. I'd like to ask you to introduce her to someone."
Aunt He was quite embarrassed when she said this.
After all, she had refused when Mingxi offered to introduce her to someone else last time. Now that Mingxi had successfully introduced her to someone else, she was eagerly coming to him again, which was really a bit embarrassing.
Aunt He felt her face burning.
Fortunately, Mingxi understood what he meant and did not bring up the past. Instead, she said naturally, "Then Aunt He, please tell me about your niece's situation and what kind of partner she wants to find."
Aunt He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully Mingxi didn't mention what happened before.
If Mingxi knew what Aunt He was thinking, she would definitely tell her that she was overthinking it.
Those who come to her asking her to introduce them to potential partners are all customers who give her money. Even if she felt embarrassed by Aunt He coming to her door, she couldn't just say it out loud.
Aunt He: "My niece is twenty this year. I'm not trying to brag, but she's beautiful and has a great figure. She's one of the most beautiful girls in my family. The reason she's still unmarried at twenty is because she has high standards."
She sighed and said, "My brother and sister-in-law are honest people, unlike those who favor sons over daughters, don't treat their daughters like human beings, and abuse them. So, although my niece is a girl, she went to high school, which is rare in our area. It's just that she was unlucky; she didn't get into university after graduating high school, and her family had no connections or influence to find her a job in the city. She had no choice but to go back to the production team. Because of this, many people in the production team laughed at my brother, saying they wasted money sending their daughter to high school, only to have her go back to the village to farm in the end. After hearing so much gossip, my niece became determined to marry a city man and prove those gossipy people wrong. But..."
Aunt He didn't finish her sentence, but Mingxi understood what she meant.
However, it's not easy for a girl from the countryside to marry into the city nowadays.
Putting everything else aside, let's just talk about quantitative analysis.
We were still in the era of ration coupons. Each person's food ration was fixed, and a fixed number of food coupons were issued each month. What if you didn't have enough food coupons? Then you would buy expensive food on the black market.
Only urban residents have a fixed quota, while rural residents do not. Even if someone marries into a city, their rural household registration remains rural, meaning they don't have a grain ration book and can't receive grain coupons.
Not to mention that nowadays children's household registration follows the mother's. If you marry a woman from the countryside, the children born will also have their household registration in the countryside.
This could have a huge impact.
Because of this, city men are unwilling to marry girls from the countryside.
Mingxi considered for a moment: "Aunt He, so you're saying your niece only has one requirement, which is to marry a city man, and that's all?"
"That's not true," said Aunt He. "My niece definitely wants to settle down with someone, so she still needs to find someone who can live a proper life."
"It doesn't matter if a person is poor or has a difficult family background; the most important thing is to live an honest life. Those who go out to eat, drink, gamble, or whore at the drop of a hat, or who beat women at the drop of a hat, are unacceptable!"
Aunt He looked anxious, afraid that if she spoke too late, Mingxi would introduce such a person to her niece.
Mingxi chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Aunt He, I'm definitely not that kind of person."
She added, "What I mean is, if there were divorced men, or men with disabilities, would your niece be willing to marry one?"
Aunt He looked resistant: "It's best not to."
She licked her lips and said, "To be honest, my niece is a young woman, a high school graduate, and she's very capable at both housework and other household chores. Her family isn't heartless either. If she hadn't been so stubborn and insisted on marrying into the city, her parents would never have even considered it."
Mingxi understood.
Aunt He's niece's requirements seem to only be that the person be from the city, but in fact, her requirements in other aspects are not low either.
She thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll take this job. I'll look for a suitable young man for you in the next few days. But there's something else I need to tell you. When would be a good time for you to send me a picture of your niece?"
Aunt He nodded in agreement.
She took out ten yuan and gave it to Mingxi as a referral fee. Mingxi accepted the money, and the two chatted for a few more minutes before Aunt He got up and left.
Mingxi took the money and turned to Zhao Sulan to show off: "Mom, guess who came to our house just now?"
Although Zhao Sulan recognized the voice immediately, she still played along, saying, "Who is it? Did someone come to our house just now?"
Mingxi: "Hehe, it's Aunt He coming over."
"Aunt He came to me to introduce a guy to her niece." She wagged her tail smugly and grumbled, "I told her last time I'd introduce a guy to her niece, but she didn't want him. Now she's come back anyway."
Zhao Sulan: "That shows that Lao He still has good judgment. He knew you could introduce potential partners to her niece, and it's not too late for him to come over."
Mingxi: "Hmph, that's true."
Mingxi was smug for a while, but then she came to her senses. She rubbed her face and said, "Mom, get up and get ready. I'll go change my clothes, and then we'll go to the hospital."
Zhao Sulan has been resting at home for almost two weeks, and today is the day she has an appointment with the doctor for a follow-up check-up.
Zhao Sulan had been lying in bed for so long that her bones felt weak and she had long wanted to get out of bed and move around, but Mingxi wouldn't allow it.
Mingxi kept a close eye on her. Even though she kept saying that her back was fine and didn't hurt at all, Mingxi still strictly monitored the time she spent out of bed. If she was out of bed for more than twenty minutes, Mingxi would immediately send her back to bed.
She couldn't even go out and chat with the people in the courtyard.
Now that she could finally go out for some fresh air, Zhao Sulan immediately jumped up.
She quickly got ready, and after Mingxi finished, the two of them went out together.
The mother and daughter didn't eat at home; instead, they went out to a state-run restaurant for breakfast before heading to the hospital.
At the hospital, the doctor examined Zhao Sulan. Seeing her expressionless face, both Zhao Sulan and Mingxi were on edge.
Fortunately, the doctor didn't say anything after the examination, only that Zhao Sulan had recovered well and that she should take care of herself in the future, avoid strenuous exercise, and be careful to prevent recurrence.
Hearing the doctor's reply, Zhao Sulan breathed a sigh of relief and left the hospital with light steps.
Mingxi: "Mom, Mom, slow down. Didn't the doctor just say you shouldn't do strenuous exercise?"
Zhao Sulan waved her hand: "Hey, this isn't strenuous exercise at all!"
She pulled Mingxi along, saying, "You've worked so hard taking care of me these past few days. Look how thin you've gotten! Come on, let's go to the department store. Mom will buy you some good food to help you recover!"
Mingxi: Huh?
Her?
Has her face gotten thinner?
Why does she feel like her face has gotten bigger because she's been drinking Zhao Sulan's bone broth every day lately?
However, I'll buy some delicious food.
It's still possible!
A note from the author:
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Aunt Zhao: You've lost weight!
Xiao Ming touches his cheek: Huh? Do I have one?
Aunt Zhao: You do!
Xiao Ming rested his chin on his hand: Then I might have it.
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