Chapter 26 Ge Heping, the Long-Term Problem "You are..."
Do you have feelings for him?
Mingxi's simple question made Huang Pingping blush. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger and stammered, "I think... I think he's a pretty good person..."
Wu Zhensheng gave her a different feeling than Feng Fan; she felt that Wu Zhensheng was more reliable.
Feng Fan has a silver tongue; she's good at sweet-talking and can make people talk a good game even if she only does one thing. She was initially fooled by Feng Fan's smooth talk. But Wu Zhensheng is different. He's not as eloquent as Feng Fan, but he gets things done.
Yesterday we went to the movies together. Wu Zhensheng proactively bought the tickets, considered her wishes and bought her snacks for the movie, noticed that she thought her hands were dirty and prepared a handkerchief for her, and thoughtfully took her home after the movie...
Huang Pingping was delicate by nature, but after spending a day with Wu Zhensheng, she was taken care of so comfortably and completely that she felt that Wu Zhensheng was someone she could rely on.
Thinking of this, Huang Pingping became troubled again. She had feelings for Wu Zhensheng, but she didn't know what Wu Zhensheng thought!
She pouted, "Mingxi, go ask him what he thinks for me. But you can only ask him what he thinks, you can't tell him what I think!"
"You absolutely mustn't tell him that I'm interested in him, you understand!"
Mingxi: "Oh, you're so domineering?"
Huang Pingping, hands on her hips, said defiantly, "Yes, that's how domineering I am!"
Mingxi's eyes crinkled into crescents, her chin clenched, as she tried hard to suppress a laugh.
"Okay, okay, I won't tell Wu Zhensheng what you're thinking, alright?"
Huang Pingping was finally satisfied.
After talking for a while, Huang Pingping wanted to go home. Mingxi saw her to the door and turned to go home when he saw Aunt He leading a girl with two big braids walking over.
Mingxi asked curiously, "Aunt He, who is this...?"
Aunt He: "Hey, Xiaoming, what a coincidence! I was just looking for you. This is my niece, He Yan, the one I told you about before."
"Oh!" Mingxi nodded and smiled politely at the young woman next to Aunt He: "Hello, Comrade He."
When Mingxi looked at He Yan, He Yan's eyes were also sizing up Mingxi.
When she first heard from her aunt that she had found a matchmaker to introduce her to potential partners, she was initially reluctant. It wasn't like she hadn't used matchmakers before; what kind of people had they introduced her to?
There were divorced men with children, but when they heard she was from the countryside, they looked down on her. There was another man from a very poor family who asked her on their first meeting if she could bring a dowry of 200 yuan. When she said no, he asked her directly why he should marry her. The last man she met was quite well-off, never been married, and seemed polite and refined, but he was not good enough. He was honest and said that he was not good enough and that she would have to have children with his younger brother after marriage.
No matter how bad He Li was, she was still a respectable young woman from a good family, and as one of the few girls in the production team who went to high school, she naturally had a lot of pride.
Of course, I can't stand such mistreatment.
After several meetings, He Li had given up on finding a partner and getting married.
She thought indifferently: "At worst, I won't get married. Let the people in the team laugh. It's not like I'll lose a piece of my flesh."
It was at this time that Aunt He told He Li that she had found another matchmaker to introduce her to a potential partner.
He Li wasn't interested in this until she heard from Aunt He that the matchmaker they had found was a woman around her age, which piqued her interest.
Because of this, He Li agreed to be introduced to someone, not for any other reason than to meet Mingxi.
However, she was busy with spring plowing in the fields a while ago and didn't have time to come to the city. It was only recently that she was able to find some time to come over.
When He Li saw Mingxi in person, she was only surprised.
Mingxi looked too young. She was beautiful, with red lips and white teeth, bright eyes and a pair of bright, sparkling eyes. She looked like a young girl and didn't seem like a matchmaker at all.
She paused for a moment before responding to Mingxi's greeting: "Hello, Comrade Ming."
Mingxi smiled and asked curiously, "You came here today...?"
Before He Li could speak, Aunt He interrupted, "Hey, didn't you say last time you wanted He Li's photos to look at? He Li didn't have any photos, so she thought she'd come to the city to have one taken."
Mingxi: "Oh, I see."
She looked at He Li, thought for a moment, and said, "Comrade He, since you've come to the city, if it's convenient, let's have a chat?"
He Li and Aunt He were both taken aback.
Aunt He: "Xiaoming, what do you and Lili want to talk about?"
He Li readily nodded: "Okay!"
The two spoke at the same time.
Aunt He subconsciously turned her head: "Oh, no, Lili..."
Mingxi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Aunt He. I just wanted to ask Comrade He what she thinks. After all, it's her who's looking for a partner, so I still want to ask her what she herself thinks."
He Lili patted Aunt He: "Aunt, it's alright, I'll have a chat with Comrade Ming."
Aunt He: "Oh, well, okay then."
Mingxi took Heli home, asked her to sit down, and then went to the kitchen to pour two glasses of water, handing one to Heli.
Mingxi: "Actually, Aunt He came to see me before and told me about your situation. You graduated from high school, couldn't find a job, and went back to the production team, right?"
He Li nodded; there was nothing wrong with admitting it.
Mingxi: "So what did you do in the production team? Did you just work in the fields?"
This was what Mingxi was most curious about. Logically speaking, as one of the few high school students, even if he returned to the production team, the production team wouldn't leave him with nothing, right?
He Li: No, I'm currently working as a substitute teacher at the elementary school in the team.
Mingxi changed her posture: "Your production team is quite well-off, there's even a primary school?"
Not every production team in rural areas has the resources to run a primary school. Firstly, building a school is a significant expense. Secondly, paying teachers' salaries and maintaining the school's operation is another major undertaking. Finally, in poorly equipped production teams, even feeding the members is a challenge, making it impossible to afford to send their children to school. After all, in rural areas, anyone who can work in the fields and walk is considered a laborer, and a six- or seven-year-old child can earn at least one work point a day.
Although it wasn't much, for families with average means, even one work point was better than eating for free.
Therefore, only production teams with good conditions could open primary schools.
He Li: "It was pretty good. Our production team set up a vermicelli factory, which was quite profitable. The brigade had money, so they set up a primary school. After I graduated from high school and returned to the team, I was recruited to be a substitute teacher. I didn't have a formal position; I was just a privately hired teacher."
"That's not bad either, Teacher He," Mingxi said jokingly.
He Li quickly waved her hand: "No, no, I'm just a private school teacher."
Mingxi smiled but didn't speak. She remembered that in the last two years, the higher authorities would issue a policy on the formalization of private school teachers. If there were no unexpected events, private school teachers like He Li could basically become formalized as long as they passed the exam.
In her past life, her orphanage director was one of those privately-run teachers who were promoted to permanent positions. After becoming a permanent director, she worked at a primary school until retirement. After retiring, she couldn't stay idle, so she went to work at the orphanage.
Thinking of this, Mingxi said frankly, "Then I don't think you need to rush to find a partner. Looking at the present, you don't have a city household registration and you don't have a formal position, so you are at a disadvantage when looking for a partner. But given the country's current emphasis on education, it's only a matter of time before private school teachers are officially employed. When they have formal positions, your situation will be incomparable to what it is now."
He Li, however, was not so confident.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch."
However, she did agree with Mingxi's statement that she wasn't in a hurry to find a partner: "I've come to terms with it now. I'll just leave it to fate when it comes to finding a partner. If I can find one, I will; if not, then so be it."
Mingxi: "Then tell me your conditions, and I'll help you look around."
He Li: "Conditions? I don't have any conditions or requirements."
Mingxi: "So you don't have any expectations for the person you want to find? Do you want someone tall or short, fat or thin, employed or unemployed?"
He Li frowned and pondered for a while: "Anything is fine, just not too tall, not too short, not too fat, not too thin, just average."
This sounded strange. Although Mingxi hadn't been in this line of work for long, she could tell that He Li was different from the people she had introduced before; He Li genuinely wanted to find a partner.
He Li is not.
She herself hadn't decided what kind of person she wanted to date.
To be honest, Mingxi could roughly guess what He Li was thinking. She had finally gotten into high school, and after graduating, she was unwilling to return to the production team. She saw marriage as the only way to move to the city, but in reality, she was still unwilling and didn't want to just marry someone in a muddle.
Mingxi understood perfectly well, but she didn't show it.
She smiled at He Li and said, "I understand. I'll contact you again when I find someone suitable."
Actually, she wanted to tell He Li not to rush or lower her standards to get married. She said that it might not be long before she could be transferred from a private school teacher to a public school teacher, and when her salary increased, her household registration would naturally be changed to an urban household registration.
She couldn't say it directly, otherwise, if He Li asked her how she knew that there would be a policy to convert private school teachers to public school teachers soon, how would she answer?
He Li didn't notice Ming Xi's hesitation and simply nodded: "Okay."
She stood up, then, as if remembering something, turned and asked, "That photo..."
Mingxi: "Oh, take the photos first, and then have Aunt He bring them to me. I'll leave them with you for now."
He Li nodded and said goodbye to Mingxi.
Mingxi saw her out.
Mingxi was quite busy today. She had just seen He Li off when she saw Aunt Lan standing hesitantly at her door, seemingly wanting to go in, but for some reason, she stopped at the door.
Mingxi: "Aunt Lan, is there something you need?"
Aunt Lan turned around and saw Mingxi, her eyes showing a moment of panic.
"Oh, well, I need to talk to you about something..."
"If you have something to say, come in and talk." Mingxi pushed open the door and invited Aunt Lan into the house.
Mingxi hadn't had time to clear the water glass that He Li had been drinking from on the coffee table. As soon as Aunt Lan sat down, Mingxi quickly stepped forward and said, "Aunt Lan, please sit down. I'll get you some water."
As she spoke, she quickly collected the cup that He Li had used.
Aunt Lan felt embarrassed: "No need, no need to trouble yourself, Xiaoming, I drank water at home before coming here, I'm not thirsty, you don't need to pour me water."
Mingxi quickly put the used cup into the kitchen, then poured a new one. She smiled and asked, "Aunt Lan, what brings you here today?"
Aunt Lan held the glass cup, the tea leaves slowly unfurling in the steam of the hot water. She pursed her lips, hesitated for a long time, and then said, "Xiao Ming, I came here because I want you to introduce a potential partner to your second brother, Ge."
The "Second Brother Ge" that Aunt Lan mentioned was her second son, whose real name was Ge Heping.
Ge Heping is 28 years old this year and is recognized in their courtyard as the most difficult person to get married.
However, the reason why Ge Heping is a major problem is not because of his poor conditions.
To be honest, Ge Heping's circumstances are quite good. The Ge family has two sons, one is him, and the other is his older brother. However, his older brother went to serve in the army many years ago and has only returned home a few times during holidays. Although the eldest son is rarely home, he still sends money back quite often. Leaving aside the eldest son, Ge Heping himself is also doing well. He passed the exam and got a job at the steel rolling mill, now working as a fitter in the workshop with his father. He's currently a level three fitter, earning forty or fifty yuan a month with allowances.
Ge Heping is not bad-looking either. Although he is not particularly handsome, he has thick eyebrows and big eyes, which fits the current aesthetic standards.
So why didn't Ge Heping get married until he was 28?
That's a long story.
Ge Heping had a girlfriend before; they were high school classmates and fell in love on their own. After graduating from high school, they didn't break up and were about to get married when the woman's family suddenly made an outrageous demand, asking for a dowry of 888 yuan from Ge's family.
Eight hundred and eighty-eight yuan!
At that time, Ge Heping had just started working at the steel rolling mill and was earning an apprentice's salary of 888 yuan, which was equivalent to several years' salary for him.
When the Ge family couple, namely Aunt Lan and Old Man Ge, heard this, they were not happy.
It wasn't that his family couldn't afford the money, but looking across the entire northern city, they'd never seen anyone demand such a large dowry for their daughter's marriage. This wasn't marrying off a daughter; it was selling her. The bride's family was clearly treating them like suckers.
But there was nothing he could do; Ge Heping had his eye on the girl, so Aunt Lan asked a matchmaker to plead his case.
The matchmaker that Aunt Lan invited back then was none other than Zhao Sulan.
Zhao Sulan went to the woman's house and pleaded with them until her lips were almost worn out, finally managing to get them to reduce the bride price, but they still demanded an exorbitant price of 666 yuan.
Aunt Lan was unwilling to marry him in the first place. When she came to propose marriage, the woman's family gave Aunt Lan and Old Man Ge a hard time and arrogantly said that their daughter was not worried about getting married.
In a fit of anger, Aunt Lan turned her face away and left.
Your daughter has no trouble getting married, and my son has no trouble finding a wife either.
Aunt Lan, in a fit of pique, declared that she would find Ge Heping a new partner. Ge Heping, of course, disagreed. But before Aunt Lan could even persuade her, she heard that the girl's family had found her a new partner, and the two had gotten married.
The sudden heartbreak, especially with his first love, left Ge Heping feeling quite dejected for a while. It took him more than half a year to recover, but everyone could tell he hadn't gotten over his ex.
Several years passed in this way. No matter who introduced Ge Heping to any kind of girl, he didn't like her and was unwilling to meet her. Even if he was forced to go on a blind date, it would only be a one-time meeting and then nothing more.
Aunt Lan didn't dare to really urge him, after all, if she hadn't been so stubborn back then, Ge Heping would have been married long ago, and might even be holding a child now.
Because of Zhao Sulan, Mingxi knew everything about Ge Heping's affairs, so she was genuinely taken aback when she heard Aunt Lan's words.
She smiled and said, "Aunt Lan, why are you suddenly trying to introduce someone to Brother Ge?"
To put it bluntly, Ge Heping has been single for so many years. If she were Aunt Lan, she would have gone with Ge Heping long ago. He can choose whether or not to find a partner.
Clearly, Aunt Lan hasn't given up on helping Ge Heping find a partner.
She sighed and said, "Xiaoming, please help your aunt. Look at your second brother Ge, he's already twenty-eight, almost twenty-nine, and he'll be thirty soon. In our alley, all the kids his age are already out in the fields, but your second brother Ge still doesn't have a girlfriend."
Aunt Lan looked at Mingxi with hopeful eyes: "I heard that you just helped Du Hai get married a few days ago. Du Hai's conditions are not as good as your second brother Ge's. If you can introduce him to someone, your second brother Ge will definitely be fine too, right?"
Mingxi opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.
Although, considering all factors, Du Hai is not as good as Ge Heping.
But Du Hai genuinely wants to find a partner and get married, while Ge Heping is not like that at all!
He still has his first love in his heart. What woman would want to date a man who has someone else in his heart?
As for asking her to introduce Ge Heping to the other woman without her knowledge?
No way, Mingxi can't do something so heartless.
Mingxi thought for a moment and then asked, "Aunt Lan, have you told Heping about your plan to find him a partner?"
Aunt Lan: "I told you, of course I told you. I only came to find you because you and Brother Ping agreed."
Mingxi thought for a moment. Since Ge Heping agreed, he shouldn't be uncooperative like before, so she nodded in agreement.
"Alright, Aunt Lan, tell me what Brother Heping is looking for, what kind of partner he's looking for, and I'll see if I know anyone suitable."
Aunt Lan: "Sigh, your brother Ping is so old and still hasn't found a partner. What else can he ask for? As long as she's a woman and someone who can settle down, that's all that matters. We don't care about anything else in our family."
Mingxi: "...What are you saying? Well, if I introduce a woman in her sixties to Brother Heping, please don't be upset."
"That definitely won't work!"
Aunt Lan glanced at Mingxi and scolded with a smile, "You silly girl, why are you joking with your aunt?"
She said, "I definitely hope you can introduce a decent girl to Heping. To be honest, we don't care about looks or family background, as long as she's presentable. But there's one thing: her family and she have to be reasonable people. As the saying goes, 'When a gentleman meets a soldier, reason is useless.' You know, your Uncle Ge and I are honest people. If we encounter an unreasonable daughter-in-law or in-laws, we really won't be able to handle it."
Aunt Lan's words were clearly pointed, and Mingxi knew immediately that she was referring to Ge Heping's first love.
When Zhao Sulan went with them to propose marriage, she did say that the family was not reasonable.
Mingxi: It seems that Aunt Lan suffered a lot of injustice back then.
Otherwise, he wouldn't still be unable to forget it after all these years.
As Aunt Lan was speaking, she suddenly remembered something, grabbed Mingxi's arm, and asked curiously, "Yes, I just saw a young girl leave your house. Who is she? Is she someone you asked me to introduce to someone? I think that girl is quite nice. Do you think she and your brother Ping are a good match?"
Mingxi paused for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Hey, Aunt Lan, you don't know that girl?"
"She's Aunt He's niece from her maternal family."
Aunt Lan: "Old He's niece? She looks unfamiliar. Has she never been to our compound before?"
"I think so," Mingxi replied casually.
Aunt Lan, for some reason, suddenly had a bright idea and said, "Old He's niece is perfect. I've lived in the same courtyard as Old He for over twenty years, so I know him pretty well. How old is Old He's niece this year?"
Mingxi: "Comrade He Li is twenty years old this year."
"He Li, what a lovely name, it sounds so elegant." Aunt He praised, "If she's twenty, then my son Heping is eight years older than her. Although he is older, people always say that older people are more caring. Xiaoming, don't you think that makes sense?"
What else could Mingxi say but nod? "Yes, yes, you're right."
Aunt He: "Okay, Xiaoming, could you tell me about Comrade He Li?"
Seeing that Aunt He was determined, Mingxi had no choice but to tell her about He Li's situation: "Comrade He Li's family is from the countryside, and she herself is a rural resident. However, she graduated from high school and is now a substitute teacher at the production team's primary school. She has three older brothers and one younger brother. Her older brothers are all married, and her younger brother has also graduated from junior high school and does not need to be supported by his family."
"A primary school teacher? That's great, that's great."
Aunt He became more and more satisfied as she listened.
Although it's a bit of a shame that He Li has a rural household registration, for Ge Heping, who has been single for so many years, let alone marrying a country girl, even if he married a foreign girl, Aunt Lan would be overjoyed.
Aunt Lan: "So, what are Comrade He Li's requirements for a partner?"
Mingxi: "Comrade He didn't have many requirements. She mainly wanted to find someone with a city household registration so she could live a good life."
“Heping in my family has a city household registration; he’s a good person who lives a simple life!”
Aunt Lan was incredibly excited.
Her eyes lit up as she grabbed Mingxi and said, "Xiaoming, look, my family's Heping has fulfilled all of Comrade He's requests, and Comrade He Li has also fulfilled all of Heping's requests. So, could you find some time to arrange for the two of them to meet?"
Mingxi: "...That's not impossible either."
"However, I need to ask Comrade He's opinion first, to see if she is willing to consider it."
Aunt Lan readily agreed: "Okay, okay, go ahead and ask."
She casually pulled out ten yuan and stuffed it into Mingxi's hand: "This is your introduction fee from your aunt. If the two of you really get together, your aunt will give you a big red envelope!"
Aunt Lan looked very excited, clearly hoping that Ge Heping and He Li would get together.
But Mingxi wasn't so optimistic.
In her opinion, neither of them was genuinely looking for a partner.
But...
After all, she was a matchmaker, earning money through referral fees.
Since Aunt Lan was so eager to give her a referral fee, she was allowed to arrange a meeting between the two people.
So she could only accept the money with tears in her eyes and make arrangements for the two people as instructed.
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Author's Note: Today's no-prize quiz: Do you think Ge Heping and He Li will end up together? [Facepalm emoji]
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