Chapter 5

In the brigade, regardless of gender, when people reach a certain age, their families will basically plan for marriage. Nowadays, unlike in later generations, there are not many people who go to school, and most of them will get married and start a family when they reach 17 or 18.

The daughter of the Jian family was considered to have married late. Jian Xin didn't get married until she was 20, but she got engaged when she was 18. Her partner, Meng Fan, had good conditions and was handsome, so the betrothal gift was naturally an amount that Jian Hualin was satisfied with.

However, because Meng Fan was transferred to the militia platoon, the two waited for two years before getting married.

As for the original body, at the age of Nineteen, she was still unengaged, which was considered an anomaly in the team. Many of those younger than her were married. The reason was simple: Jian Hualin was planning to use his most beautiful youngest daughter to find a live-in son-in-law.

Jian Lu thought about it and realized that even if she could resolve the issue of Hong Qiang and avoid ending up like the tragedy in the book, Jian Hualin would definitely be a ruthless person. Instead of just sitting there and waiting for his death, it would be better to take the initiative.

Find a matchmaker yourself and pick a good match.

Her requirements are not high: young and handsome, tall and long legs, broad shoulders and narrow waist, a nice voice, beautiful hands, and good skills...

I just don’t know if I can find something satisfactory.

"Are you going to find a matchmaker to find a partner?" Jian Xin thought that her sister was too brave. Such matters were usually arranged by the elders in the family, so how could she do it herself?

If she tells this to others, she will definitely be criticized by the masters and ladies, who will say that this girl is eager to get married.

"Yes, this egg is a matchmaker gift." Jian Lu smiled at her third sister, knowing that she might not understand, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't wait for Jian Hualin to find another weird son-in-law, could she? "If my parents ask, just say I went to see my eldest sister."

Jian Xin watched the girl leave in a daze, and felt that this person was really different.

In the Xingmin Production Brigade, there was a matchmaker named He Hongmei who had been engaged in the matchmaking business for more than 20 years.

She was in her early forties, but her legs and feet were very nimble. All the young unmarried men and women in the nearby commune were under her control, and even some widows and widowers could find partners through her.

At this moment, there was someone in her room.

There were two middle-aged women sitting at the square table. The one with a square face, drooping eyes and long hair was He Hongmei. She frowned, with wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and looked at Aunt Wang Xia opposite her with an embarrassed expression.

Wang Xia had a calm expression and a casual smile on her round face. "Sister He, please help me find a good match for Shitou. I don't have high requirements. I just want someone who can live a down-to-earth life."

After that, he pushed three fruit candies over.

Fruit candies are good things, but candy coupons are scarce in the countryside, so eating candies has become a luxury. He Hongmei looked at the fruit candies on the table and swallowed her saliva. She was about to accept them, but then she remembered that they were a difficult sell.

"My dear sister, what are you talking about? I also watched your son Shitou grow up. He joined the army at such a young age, how could he be in need of a wife?" He glanced at the candy on the table, looked at it for a while and then looked away. "Don't people say there are many beautiful girls in the army? Some from the art troupe, some military doctors, don't the organization arrange blind dates for them?"

He Hongmei had some experience. She dealt with people from all over the place every day and heard a lot of things. It was true that the army often arranged blind dates to solve personal problems.

However...

There are some rumors about the eldest son of the Cheng family. Although he has become the head of a regiment and is a military officer, he has not been back for almost four years and no one knows what his situation is. Everyone knew that Cheng Zheng was seriously injured before, but later it was rumored that he was missing some arms and legs.

Normally, even if a family loves their daughter, they would not marry her off like this. Even if there was someone willing, who knows what kind of person he would be, and Wang Xia herself would definitely not like him.

Besides, from what Wang Xia said, Cheng Zheng was going to serve on an island. What kind of place is an island? It doesn't sound very good. I heard that they would eat sea food every day and couldn't even grow crops. Who would be willing to follow the army and live such a hard life?

Looking at the photo of Cheng Zheng in Wang Xia's hand, He Hongmei felt a little embarrassed.

Wang Xia sighed and scolded her son without mercy, "It would be great if Cheng Zheng, that bastard, was willing to go on a blind date! He doesn't listen to his mother, and he even doesn't listen to the army leader! Isn't that frustrating?"

Cheng Zheng, as the eldest son of the Cheng family, has not yet married, which worries Wang Xia. She thinks that the eldest son is very capable, but he just hasn't gotten married. How can this be justified?

He Hongmei smiled along, muttering in her heart that maybe it was really as the rumors said, that he was disabled and couldn't come back, but she couldn't say that, so she could only say casually, "Then I guess it's for the sake of doing a good job."

"Everything is peaceful outside now, what are you waiting for?" Wang Xia was far away from her son and had no control over him. The most she could do was write a letter to urge him, but that wouldn't solve the problem.

My son is about to turn 27 at the beginning of the year, while Tiezhu next door is only 25. His child is already four years old. I am so anxious.

Half a month ago, she had sent a letter, saying that she would end the relationship if he didn't get married.

As a last resort, Wang Xia planned to find a wife for him here and let him get married directly!

Since he is unwilling to fall in love freely and find a wife on his own, just arrange one for him!

Wang Xia pursed her lips and made up her mind this time, "Hongmei, you just need to worry about this matter and take care of it for your elder sister. You know the situation of our Shitou. He looks good, right? He has a promising future now. If he can find a nice girl and get married, I will be satisfied."

After saying that, he stuffed the three fruit candies on the table directly into He Hongmei's hand, then stood up and left.

"Hey, Sister Xia!" He Hongmei looked at the candy in her hand, feeling both happy and worried.

——

Jian Lu hurried and finally arrived at the matchmaker He Hongmei's house.

He Hongmei lives in the south of the brigade. Because of the snow on the ground, it is more difficult for her to walk.

The sky was filled with wind and snow, but fortunately it was now lighter, adding some pure white to the snow-covered world.

Wang Xia came out of He's house and saw Jian Lu walking towards her in the wind and snow.

The little girl was very beautiful, with a fair face and rosy cheeks. Her forehead was covered by a hat, leaving only her fair cheeks exposed. She had a pair of charming peach blossom eyes that made one stare at her at first sight. Her eyes were full of water, clean and light.

"Is this the fourth girl from the Jian family?" Wang Xia didn't have a deep impression of Jian Lu, mainly because she had rarely socialized with others in the past ten years and always kept to herself.

She guessed it based on that little impression and the fact that the girl in front of her looked about 40% like Jian Xin.

"Yes, Aunt Wang, I'm Jian Lu." Jian Lu didn't know much about the other people in the team. She only knew from her original body's memory that this person was called Aunt Wang. No one knew her real name, but everyone called her that.

"Oh, you're getting more and more beautiful. Your Jian family is so lucky." Wang Xia had never seen such a pretty girl. She thought Jian Lu was even prettier than the educated youth raised in the city.

The two men were not familiar with each other, so after a few polite greetings, they parted ways.

Jian Lu went into the He family's house, and Wang Xia walked out. As she walked, she looked back and saw Jian Lu's braided hair swaying as she walked. Her hair was also nice and shiny black.

"What a pity..." Wang Xia murmured. If she hadn't known that the Jian family was looking for a live-in son-in-law, she would have let her son meet her.

Jian Lu didn't know how sorry Aunt Wang was and went straight in.

He Hongmei's husband died early, and she raised two sons and a daughter by herself, relying on her matchmaking skills. Because of this relationship, many people would come to her house with eggs and some candy.

She had just seen Wang Xia off and was about to take a break when she saw a fairy-like figure walk in.

After not seeing her for a while, the fourth daughter of the Jian family seemed even more beautiful, especially when she walked with a brisk pace. She would smile at me when I looked at her from a distance, as if she was the only blooming plum blossom in the barren snowy scene in winter, which made me lose my mind.

"Auntie Hongmei." The voice was pleasant and crisp, and He Hongmei was happy when she heard it.

Who can like a good and pretty girl?

But she didn't expect that this well-behaved girl was actually a little wild.

After asking Jian Lu to sit down, He Hongmei's eyes nearly popped out when she heard her purpose. How could a young lady come to a matchmaker to find a partner? Moreover, the Jian family was very special. "Doesn't your father want to find a live-in son-in-law?"

She had heard about this matter. Although she didn't look for a suitable partner from her own end, it was no secret. To be frank, she knew all the girls waiting to get married and the sons who were ready to get married in the surrounding villages!

Jian Lu had already thought of what to say, and looked at the matchmaker He Hongmei, saying, "Well, it's not going well. Who would want to be a son-in-law with a stutter these days? Not only will it be embarrassing, but people will also gossip about him in the future. My dad didn't find a suitable one, but he couldn't save face, so he asked around privately before. Now he's embarrassed to ask you for help, so I thought it would be better for me to say it myself. After all, you're looking for a partner for me, so why bother passing messages back and forth?"

He Hongmei's eyes suddenly brightened when she heard this. She looked at Jian Lu carefully for a few times and felt that this girl had finally come to her senses and spoke frankly. In fact, she didn't like those who were shy. Anyway, he was her partner, so she wouldn't be able to find one without opening her eyes before getting married!

"That makes sense. I understand your father's difficulties. It's a good thing that he has figured it out now. I'm not bragging, Lulu. With your looks and figure, you can pick any young man in the neighborhood, right?"

As Jian Lu listened to He Hongmei's bold words, she somehow imagined a scene in her mind: people who wanted to go on a blind date with her lined up from the door of Jian's house to the headquarters. It was a huge crowd...

As a result, the people in the queue turned around and saw a lot of weird things...

"Auntie Hongmei, thank you for your help. Please keep this egg." Jian Lu handed over the egg that she had just laid this morning and continued, "Today I mainly want to talk about the conditions I'm looking for in a partner."

He Hongmei accepted the eggs. She had no psychological burden to accept the gift as this was a marriage that was guaranteed to be successful, unlike Wang Xia's son, whose marriage was difficult to arrange.

"Hey, tell me what you think. I'll write it down for you."

Jian Lu had already thought about it, and now she was talking to the man, "My requirements are not high, just these few points. My partner must be good-looking, young and handsome, and tall, at least a head taller than me, over 1.85 meters, with a good figure, and a skinny body is fine, but too strong like a cow is not good either. It's better to have a formal job..."

He Hongmei looked at the little girl in front of her and muttered to herself, her eyes getting wider and wider. Is this what you call not having high demands?

Moreover, the girls in the team usually look for partners who are strong and capable of working in the fields to earn work points. Why does the fourth girl from the Jian family think differently?

But maybe because she is good-looking, it doesn't bother people to talk about it like this. Instead, it makes people feel that only this kind of person should be worthy of her.

"Auntie Hongmei, that's all I ask of you. Please help me find one." Jian Lu didn't actually hold out much hope. She had been walking around the brigade in the past two weeks and had basically met all the unmarried young men in the team, including the male educated youth who had gone to the countryside. Well, their conditions were average, especially their faces. Some of them had good looks, but they were tanned from working in the fields every day. When they grinned, they showed a mouthful of white teeth, which gave them a kind of simple and honest beauty.

It really doesn't meet her aesthetic standards, but she has to try her best and look for it first. Others who travel through time and space can find tall, handsome and richest man partners in period novels, so why not give it a try?

He Hongmei looked embarrassed and suddenly felt the egg in her hand was a little hot. In her left hand were three candies from Wang Xia, and in her right hand was the egg given by Jian Lu. It was difficult to handle the tasks that both of them asked her to do.

"Lulu, don't you think your requirements are too high? To be honest, I have been a matchmaker for so many years, and I have never heard of so many requirements. It would be good enough if one or two of them are met."

Jian Lu smiled sweetly at everyone, and seemed to be open-minded. "Auntie Hongmei, please help me. Whether it succeeds or not is not your fault. Just accept the egg. By the way, don't mention my parents. They didn't come to you for help before, and now they can't save their face."