Chapter 18 Proposing Marriage: Mingxi spoke to Sun Xiuzhen again...
Mingxi spoke with Sun Xiuzhen for a while longer before leaving the Sun family home.
After lingering at the Sun family's house for a while, she returned to the courtyard close to noon. As she walked towards the backyard, she pushed open the door and called out to the house, "Mom, I'm back!"
She had barely finished speaking when she heard voices coming from the inner room.
"Mom, who's here?"
Mingxi put down her bag, craned her neck, and peered into the inner room, where she saw Du Hai, a large man, nestled on his small sofa.
Mingxi: "Oh, it's Comrade Du?"
When Du Hai saw Ming Xi return, he immediately stood up, but Ming Xi quickly waved his hand and said, "Comrade Du, please sit down."
She poured herself a glass of water, and while drinking it, she kept glancing at Du Hai with her eyes.
Du Hai was wearing a dark blue overall uniform today, so he must have come from the steel rolling mill. Coming from the factory in the middle of the day must mean something important.
However, judging from his beaming face, it must be a happy occasion.
Mingxi blinked and asked directly, "So, Comrade Du, did you come here today to announce some good news?"
Du Hai raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, and said with a silly smile, "Hehe, well, there's good news. Zuo Ying and I are getting married."
"Getting married?" Mingxi: "That's wonderful news!"
She guessed that Du Hai had come over to talk about marriage.
Although it's a bit hasty for two people to decide to get married after only knowing each other for a short time, that's pretty much how it is these days. If they find each other agreeable and both sides are satisfied, they get ready to get married.
It's rare for couples to date for several years without ever mentioning marriage.
Du Hai chuckled and said, "Zuo Ying and I are not young anymore, and there are people watching our marriages."
He was referring to his aunt and Uncle Zuo Ying.
Du Hai: "In addition, Zuo Ying and I both felt that we were quite suitable for each other, so we wanted to settle the marriage as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected problems if we waited too long."
Mingxi nodded, agreeing with what she said.
Mingxi: "So you came here today to..."
Du Hai: "I would like to ask you to help me propose marriage."
He said, "Actually, Zuo Ying and I had already discussed the bride price and dowry. She didn't want my bride price, and I didn't want her dowry. But even though we had discussed it, we still had to go through the proper procedures."
At this point, Du Hai said with a helpless smile, "We didn't have any elders to help us with the arrangements. If we skip the procedures, people outside will probably say something."
Mingxi nodded, "That's true."
She thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Okay, then I'll go with you. Have you and Zuo Ying agreed on when to propose?"
Du Hai: "It's settled, we'll go to propose this Sunday and have the wedding on May Day."
It's almost mid-April now, and there are only two weeks left until May Day. Although the time is a bit tight, we still have enough time to have a simple wedding.
Mingxi: "Okay."
When Du Hai saw Ming Xi nod in agreement, he was overjoyed and thanked her repeatedly. After thanking her, he gave Ming Xi a large red envelope as a thank you gift for the matchmaking.
Mingxi accepted it, and after Du Hai left, she opened it to take a look.
Goodness.
Du Hai really gave quite a lot; there was a full fifty yuan in the red envelope.
If it were someone else, giving a large gift to the matchmaker would either mean the in-laws were difficult or the other party had high demands, requiring the matchmaker to go through the trouble of mediating. But Du Hai and Zuo Ying had already discussed it, and Mingxi was only going to go through the motions, yet he still gave so much, making Mingxi truly feel embarrassed.
Despite feeling embarrassed, Mingxi still pocketed the money.
She came into the house with the red envelope and showed it off to Zhao Sulan for a while: "Mom, did you see that? Du Hai gave me a matchmaking gift of fifty yuan. Do you think I've ever received such a high matchmaking gift in all my years as a matchmaker? No, right? Hehehe, look at me, I've only been in this business for a few days and I've already received one. Aren't I amazing?"
Her smug little face was quite infuriating. It was only because it was Zhao Sulan in front of Mingxi that she was being beaten; if it were anyone else, she might have been unable to resist hitting her.
Zhao Sulan was quite supportive: "Impressive, as expected of my daughter Zhao Sulan. You are indeed impressive, quick-witted, and eloquent. Even matchmakers who have been doing this for decades are not as capable as you."
Mingxi raised its head and proudly wagged its tail.
Sunday arrived quickly, and Mingxi got ready to leave early in the morning. When she arrived near Zuo Ying's house, Du Hai was already waiting for her.
Mingxi greeted Du Hai, and the two walked together toward Zuo Ying's house. Because it was Sunday, the factory workers were off, and Mingxi and Du Hai were spotted by the people in the yard as soon as they stepped into Zuo Ying's yard.
"Hey, what are you guys doing?"
A short-haired girl looked at Mingxi and the other two warily and asked.
Mingxi smiled and said, "We've come to the Zuo family to propose marriage."
"They've come to the Zuo family to propose marriage?!"
The girl across the street suddenly raised her voice eight octaves, immediately attracting the attention of the neighbors in the courtyard.
The news of Zuo Ying's blind date with Du Hai was kept secret, so the people in the courtyard still don't know that Zuo Ying is getting married.
Amidst everyone's curious and gossipy gazes, Mingxi led Du Hai into Zuo Ying's house.
Zuo Ying knew that Du Hai was coming today, so she opened the door early to wait for the two of them. After all, a marriage proposal is a happy occasion. She was wearing a bright red V-neck vest, which was unusual for her. The bright red sweater made Zuo Ying's face blush.
Upon seeing Mingxi and the other person, Zuo Ying immediately greeted them with a smile and welcomed them inside: "Come, come, come in and sit down."
"Xiao Tao, hurry up and pour water for your Sister Ming and Brother Du," Zuo Ying instructed her younger sister.
Mingxi subconsciously turned her gaze to Zuo Tao, who was Zuo Ying's younger sister.
The last time she came, Zuo Tao hadn't returned from school yet, so today was the first time Mingxi had met Zuo Tao. She was a very cute little girl, not very tall, about as tall as Mingxi's belly button, with two pigtails on her head.
Upon hearing Zuo Ying's instructions, the little girl obediently nodded and ran into the kitchen to pour water. Ming Xi sat down with a smile, and Du Hai put his things down and sat down as well.
Since it was his first visit, he brought a net bag of canned goods and a net bag of bananas.
These two things will be worthless decades from now, but they are still quite rare today. Bananas, in particular, are considered a high-end fruit now and are seldom seen in the north.
Du Hai had to pull some strings to get this whole net bag of bananas.
Zuo Ying's eyes swept over the bright yellow bananas, and she immediately knew that Du Hai must have gone to great lengths to prepare them. She glared at Du Hai and said, "Why did you buy so many? We only need two pounds for our own family. Buying such a big bunch is such a waste. These things are so expensive, it's such a pity to waste them."
Despite being scolded by Zuo Ying, Du Hai couldn't stop smiling.
Zuo Ying said she ate at home.
Hehe, Zuo Ying has designated him as part of her own family's territory.
Du Hai couldn't help but grin foolishly at the thought.
Zuo Ying gave Du Hai a light glare, then turned to Ming Xi and said, "Comrade Ming, take some back with you later."
Mingxi waved her hand: "No, no, no, that's not appropriate."
Zuo Ying: "What's inappropriate about this? You were the introducer for me and Du Hai, our matchmaker. Without you, Du Hai and I wouldn't have even met, let alone gotten married. Don't mention a few bananas, you can take whatever you want from my house!"
Mingxi couldn't refuse, so she could only agree to take some bananas with her when she left.
After the pleasantries, it's time to get down to business and discuss the wedding arrangements.
Neither the Du nor the Zuo families had any elders present, so the wedding arrangements were entirely up to the two newlyweds. Du Hai and Zuo Ying had privately agreed that they wouldn't ask for a bride price or dowry. Du Hai would simply contribute five hundred yuan to purchase two large items, which Zuo Ying would bring to the Du family home after the wedding—this would be considered as wedding favors. As for after the wedding, they had also agreed that Zuo Ying and her younger sister would move in with Du Hai. This was mainly because Du Hai's house was spacious and closer to the steel mill where they both worked, making it more convenient for them to commute.
Mingxi's visit today was just a formality, a repetition of what the two of them had discussed.
As for Zuo Tao, although Zuo Ying had told her long ago that she was going to have a brother-in-law, she didn't know that she was going to move to Du Hai's house with Zuo Ying.
Looking at her brother-in-law, whom she was meeting for the first time and who was a complete stranger to her, she timidly hugged Zuo Ying's waist, hid behind Zuo Ying, rubbed her head against Zuo Ying, and made small humming sounds.
Zuo Ying patted her head: "What's wrong? Doesn't Xiao Tao want to move with her sister? Does Xiao Tao want to stay here by herself?"
"No, no," Xiao Tao whined and pleaded.
Mingxi helped to comfort Xiaotao: "Xiaotao, don't be afraid. Sister Ming has been to your brother Du's house. Your brother Du's house is bigger and more spacious. Moreover, your brother Du has a little sister who is about your age so you can play together."
"Little sister?" Xiao Tao's eyes lit up instantly.
Du Hai quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, I have a younger sister who's about your age. She goes to the same school as you."
Zuo Tao peeked out from behind Zuo Ying: "What's her name?"
Du Hai: "Her name is Xiaoyu, Du Xiaoyu. Do you know her?"
“I know Du Xiaoyu, she’s in the class next to mine.” Zuo Tao tugged at Zuo Ying’s arm: “Sister, sister, Du Xiaoyu is the one I told you about before…”
Because of Du Xiaoyu, Du Hai quickly became acquainted with his future sister-in-law. Before long, Zuo Tao was tugging at Du Hai's clothes and talking intimately.
Du Hai: Thank you, sister!
After spending the morning at the Zuo family's house and having a free lunch, Mingxi finished her business and was full, so she prepared to leave.
As she left the Zuo family home, she was surrounded by the neighbors of Zuo Yingyuan.
"Hey, young lady, you came here to propose marriage to the Zuo family, right?"
"Is this a marriage proposal for Zuo Ying?"
Mingxi looked up at the person who had asked the question, wondering what the question was.
There are two people in the Zuo family. If they're not proposing marriage for Zuo Ying, are they proposing marriage for Zuo Tao?
Have some decency! Zuo Tao is still a primary school student!
Those around her also felt the question was problematic: "Pah, pah, pah, what kind of nonsense is that? Let me ask you. Um, young lady, are you here with your brother to propose marriage? Where are your parents?"
elder brother?
Mingxi's face darkened: "What brother?"
"I'm the matchmaker, here with the man to propose marriage!"
A note from the author:
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Du Hai's sister: Now you know who the real hero is, right? [sunglasses][sunglasses]
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