Chapter 10 Damaged Reputation: Mingxi Sends Zuo Ying...
Mingxi escorted Zuo Ying to the front gate and watched her leave. After Zuo Ying's figure disappeared from sight, he was about to turn around and go home when he turned around and bumped into Aunt He, who was peeking around.
"Hey, Aunt He, what are you doing sneaking around behind me without making a sound? Do you need something?"
"No, it's nothing." Aunt He smiled. "By the way, Mingxi, who was that just now? He looked unfamiliar and didn't seem to be from this alley."
Mingxi: "Oh, no one, just a woman who came to me asking me to introduce her to someone."
"I'm asking you to introduce me to someone, not your mom!!"
Aunt He stared wide-eyed, her face full of surprise.
It's unbelievable that someone actually asked Mingxi, a young girl, to be introduced to a potential partner.
Mingxi nodded as if she hadn't seen the suspicious look in Aunt He's eyes: "Yes, she asked me to introduce her to someone."
"Hehe, it's nothing, it's nothing."
That's what she said, but Aunt He was secretly complaining.
Whose silly girl is this? So foolish as to ask Mingxi, a clueless greenhorn, to introduce her to a potential partner? What's wrong with her?
You might as well ask her; she's more experienced than Mingxi.
Mingxi didn't care about Aunt He's thoughts and turned to go back to her room to catch up on sleep. She had stayed at the hospital with Zhao Sulan last night and was afraid that something might happen to her in the middle of the night, so she didn't dare to sleep soundly all night and was extremely sleepy now.
Mingxi went back to her room, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
She slept soundly until noon, only waking up when Aunt Ma called her for lunch. After lunch, she went to the hospital to deliver food to Zhao Sulan.
Today's lunch was still a mix of rice and millet with two stir-fried dishes, the only difference being that Zhao Sulan had an extra serving of bone broth.
Aunt Ma went to the market this morning to buy bones and simmered them all morning to make a very nutritious bone broth, which she specially prepared for Zhao Sulan to help her recover.
Zhao Sulan took a sip of the soup, looked up at Mingxi and said, "Your Aunt Ma must have put in a lot of effort to make this soup, did you pay her?"
Mingxi: "I gave it to her. But I originally wanted to give Aunt Ma five yuan, but she refused, saying that the ribs were one yuan and one jin, and that I should only give her one yuan. She didn't want any more. I had no choice but to give her one yuan in the end."
Zhao Sulan nodded: "That's just the kind of person you are, Aunt Ma. You don't like to take advantage of others."
She thought for a moment and said, "Here's what we'll do. When you get back, go to the grocery store and buy two pounds of fruit candy and two cans of snacks. When you get back, don't give them to Aunt Ma. She definitely won't accept them, saying she doesn't like that stuff. Instead, take them back to her daughter, Xiao Jia. Xiao Jia likes these snacks, so let her take them."
Mingxi nodded: "Okay."
After finishing that, Zhao Sulan became curious again: "How did it go with your plan to introduce someone to Du Hai? If it doesn't work out..."
"No, Mom, can't you give your dearest daughter a little trust?" Mingxi pouted. "I'm not afraid to tell you, I've already found someone to introduce to Du Hai."
Zhao Sulan raised an eyebrow: "Oh, whose daughter is this?"
Mingxi: "I can't tell you that."
She said, "I'm not trying to be mysterious with you. I'm not telling you because I haven't told Du Hai yet, and it wouldn't be good if people found out."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Sulan looked at Mingxi with new respect.
She thought Mingxi was joking, but she didn't expect her to be serious.
Mingxi noticed Zhao Sulan's gaze, shook her head smugly, and said, "Mom, just you wait and see."
Zhao Sulan: "Hey, you little rascal."
Despite saying that, Zhao Sulan laughed.
Fine, if I don't want to go to university, I won't. I'll just be a matchmaker and act as a go-between for people.
As long as Mingxi is happy.
Compared to Mingxi, who used to stay cooped up in her room reading all day, rarely saying a word and never smiling, the current Mingxi makes her feel much more at ease.
While Mingxi was having dinner with Zhao Sulan at the hospital, Du Hai from the steel rolling mill was also eating in the canteen.
Du Hai was not exactly an unknown figure in the steel rolling mill. He had become a level four fitter in less than five years since joining the mill, which was quite an achievement for a young worker. Many people in the factory knew him, and when he came to eat, people would often greet him.
But today, he received an unusually large number of stares and greetings.
Just then, Du Hai was eating when he felt a bright gaze fixed on him. He turned his head and asked helplessly, "Wei Ning, why are you looking at me instead of eating?"
Wei Ning: "You seem interesting."
He shifted his position closer to Du Hai and asked in a sly tone, "Hey, no, Du Hai, did your aunt really go to Wang Hongmei's mother on purpose to break up your marriage with Wang Hongmei and say you're not good enough?"
Du Hai nodded helplessly.
Wei Ning: "Wow, your aunt is really ruthless, but she's also really willing to spend money, even spending twenty yuan to bribe your neighbor. Wait, I'm really curious, is your aunt your biological aunt? Are you her biological nephew? I have a feeling she's treating you like a Japanese soldier."
Du Hai remained silent, deeply silent.
Not to mention Wei Ning, even he himself doubted whether Du Shuying was his biological aunt.
After all, they were buddies, so Wei Ning patted Du Hai on the shoulder and comforted him, "It's okay, don't be sad. Although your aunt is a jerk, at least the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Everyone knows that you were framed by your aunt, and that you're not really incapable."
Du Hai replied irritably, "Thank you, haha."
Wei Ning's attempt to comfort him was worse than no comfort at all.
Wei Ning: "Hey, no, don't worry, I'm really doing this for your own good. Look, if this misunderstanding isn't cleared up, your marriage with Wang Hongmei will fall through. Now you..."
Du Hai: "I've broken up with Wang Hongmei now too."
He added, "I suggested it. I asked Xiaoming, the matchmaker, to introduce me to a new partner."
Wei Ning: "Oh, oh, that's good. Out with the old, in with the new... Wait, who's Xiao Ming's matchmaker? I've never heard of her."
Du Hai: "It's Mingxi, the daughter of Aunt Zhao who introduces people to potential partners."
Wei Ning immediately realized: "Oh! It's her!"
Although Wei Ning and Ming Xi, both local bullies in the same alley, rarely met, they had grown up together and Wei Ning remembered Ming Xi.
In his memory, Mingxi was somewhat timid and didn't like to interact with outsiders, so Wei Ning was quite shocked when he heard that Mingxi had led the Wang family to confront Du Hai.
Unexpectedly, she actually planned to become a matchmaker.
However, thinking of the bright-eyed, mischievous girl he bumped into this morning, Wei Ning didn't find it so strange.
Not only Wei Ning was shocked, but also Du Haiyuan's neighbors.
After leaving the hospital in the afternoon, Mingxi went to a grocery store to buy some things, and then went back to the compound to deliver some things. As the sun was already setting, it was time to leave work, and Mingxi headed to Du Hai's house.
When she arrived at Du Hai's courtyard, before she could even speak, a resident who saw her screamed.
"Oh! Aunt Zhao's daughter is here again!"
Mingxi: ...
Why did she feel like those words weren't saying she was coming, but rather that the female demon was coming?
Hearing someone shout, the other residents in the courtyard immediately poked their heads out. One of them, a young man with a buzz cut, craned his neck and asked, "Mingxi is here again. Who is she going to send to the police station this time?"
Mingxi: ...
Reputation damaged!
Her reputation has been damaged!
It was a little past 5 p.m., which was the time when the steel rolling mill workers were getting off work.
Du Hai's family lived in a large courtyard with three sections, housing dozens of households. There were already many people coming and going at this time, and because of the shout from the courtyard, everyone poked their heads out.
Mingxi, who was being watched, couldn't help but feel annoyed.
Is she a terrorist?
Fortunately, Du Hai returned at that moment.
He stepped into the courtyard and was taken aback when he saw Mingxi being watched in the middle of the yard. He asked with a puzzled look, "Comrade Ming, did you come to see me?"
Mingxi quickly stepped forward: "Yes, yes, I came to find you."
She lowered her voice: "Things about introducing you to someone are looking promising."
Du Hai looked surprised when he heard this.
He hadn't expected things to improve so quickly.
He quickly said, "Come on, let's go inside and talk."
Du Hai led Mingxi toward the central courtyard. Du Hai's family occupied three main rooms in the central courtyard, which were the best three rooms in the entire tenement. They were not only well-lit, but also large.
Mingxi was extremely envious.
However, she also knew that being envious was useless. Du Hai's house was different from hers. It wasn't a public house allocated by the steel mill; it was Du Hai's private house.
Mingxi followed Du Hai into the house. She glanced around the house and saw that no one was home. Du Hai's younger sister hadn't come home from school yet.
Du Hai: "Comrade Ming, please sit down first. Let me pour you a glass of water."
Mingxi sat down.
To be fair, although the Du family only consists of Du Hai and his sister, their house is still quite clean and tidy, and it looks quite cozy.
It's clear that Du Hai is a very clean person.
Du Hai quickly came over with a water glass: "Comrade Ming, please have some water."
Mingxi took the cup, took a small sip, and then placed it on the table: "Here's the thing, as you requested, I found two female comrades for you. In addition, I have another female comrade here. However, her situation is a bit special."
Du Hai was puzzled. What was so special about this situation?
Mingxi explained, "This woman came to us today on her own initiative, specifically saying that she came for you."
She introduced Zuo Ying's situation: "This woman is also from the steel rolling mill, from Workshop 4, her name is Zuo Ying, I don't know if you know her?"
"Zuo Ying?" Du Hai shook his head. He didn't know Zuo Ying, but he remembered the name.
Last year, during the steel rolling mill's skills competition, Zuo Ying and he participated in a project together, and he saw Zuo Ying's name on the results list.
Zuo Ying's final ranking wasn't high; it was just average. But in a field dominated by men, it was quite remarkable that Zuo Ying, a woman, could successfully establish herself.
Because of this, Du Hai had a very deep impression of Zuo Ying.
Mingxi wasn't surprised to hear Du Hai's words.
If Du Hai knew Zuo Ying, Zuo Ying wouldn't have come to her asking for help in introducing them.
Mingxi laughed: "It's okay if you don't know each other. I'll introduce you and you'll know each other."
She said with a smile, "Okay, let me first tell you about Zuo Ying's situation."
A note from the author:
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