The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanyang Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Double Fifth Festival, Tianzhong Festival, etc., is held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year. It is a major folk festival that combines worshiping gods and ancestors, praying for blessings and warding off evil spirits, celebrating, entertaining, and eating.
Eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival has become a deeply rooted custom among the Chinese people.
Every year when people eat rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, there is always a hot topic that pops up: salty rice dumplings or sweet rice dumplings, which one is the real king of rice dumplings?
Southern netizens who like salty rice dumplings say that sweet rice dumplings are heresy, while northern netizens who like sweet rice dumplings say that salty rice dumplings are extremely unpalatable. The two sides are fighting fiercely online, and neither of them is convinced by the other.
Even if big data statistics show that the sales volume of salty zongzi is four times that of sweet zongzi, and the southern netizens who support salty zongzi win by a large margin, the northern netizens who support sweet zongzi are still not convinced. They think there is a reason why the sales volume of sweet zongzi is small, because sweet zongzi is easy to make and everyone can make it at home, while salty zongzi is difficult to make and of course can only be bought online.
Of course, southern netizens would not agree with this statement, so a new round of battle began.
The strange thing is that zongzi is salty in the south and sweet in the north, but if you replace it with tofu pudding, it becomes sweet in the south and salty in the north. The same thing, the taste difference between the north and the south is really amazing.
In a compound in Yulin City, Guangxi Province, Yan Shuya was making rice dumplings with her mother.
When Yan Shuya was still a girl, she was 1.60 meters tall and weighed only 84 kilograms. She was indeed too thin at that time. It was not until she was introduced by Master Jiang and married Shi Yinghao, a rich second-generation who ran a high-end private club, and gave birth to a son that her figure became plump.
Now, her weight has risen to 98 kilograms, but she is still thin where she should be thin, and the flesh has basically grown to the right places. Her figure is much better than when she was a girl. Anyway, her husband is very satisfied with her current figure.
At this time, the mother and daughter were making rice dumplings while chatting about family matters.
Yan's mother mainly asked her daughter whether she was living well in her husband's family. Although her daughter always said on the phone or WeChat that she was living well, her husband loved her, and her parents-in-law were very good to her, Yan's mother was afraid that her daughter only reported good news and not bad news, so she had to ask again and again before she could feel at ease.
Yan Shuya said happily: "Mom, don't worry, I am really living a good life in the Shi family now. My mother-in-law is not the kind of person who is difficult to get along with. She is quite open-minded and basically doesn't interfere with our lives.
Moreover, my mother-in-law and I have the same opinion on the issue of children's education. I am really lucky to have such a sensible mother-in-law who has no generation gap. "
Upon hearing this, Yan's mother smiled with satisfaction and said, "I am relieved now. Master Jiang is really good at matchmaking. He not only considers whether you two are compatible, but also whether you can get along with your parents-in-law. It is hard for a match made in this way not to be happy."
Yan Shuya smiled and nodded, "Master Jiang is really amazing. When he first came to my design studio and wanted to introduce me to someone, I rejected him. Fortunately, he didn't give up on me and came back to you, and finally brought us together."
Mother Yan recalled the scene when she first met Master Jiang, and said with a smug smile: "The fact proves that I have a good eye for people. If I had rejected him like you did, then you would have basically no chance of marrying into a family like the Shi family.
In this case, your father will probably still stay in Bailiang County as his county leader, and there is no chance for him to be promoted to a city leader!"
Yan Shuya flattered her mother for a few words before asking, "Mom, I remember that Master Jiang's uncle also works in a certain bureau in Bailiang County?"
Yan's mother said, "Yes, it happened. I heard your father mention it. What's the matter?"
Yan Shuya said, "It's nothing. It's just that Master Jiang has a lot of connections now. You asked my dad to take care of Master Jiang's uncle and maintain this relationship. It will only benefit my dad."
Mother Yan smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. In this regard, the two of us, mother and daughter, combined, cannot compare to your father. Last year and this year, your father invited Master Jiang's uncle to his home for dinner a few times. The relationship should be pretty good."
Yan Shuya smiled and stopped talking about this topic and started talking about the children instead.
…
"The richest place in the country is in Guangdong, and the poorest place is also in Guangdong." Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, it also shows how big the gap between the rich and the poor in Guangdong is.
There is no need to mention the richest place, but do you know about the famous Pearl River Delta region?
As for the poorest place, Shanwei is definitely on the list, not to mention other cities.
Yang Qinglian is a native of Shanwei. She currently works as a clerk in a company in Shenzhen. Although the salary is not high, she works from nine to five every day, does not have to work overtime, and has weekends off. This kind of easy job is still suitable for a girl.
Anyway, Yang Qinglian is quite satisfied with her current job.
Yang Qinglian was born in an ordinary family in Shanwei. Her father died of illness when she was a few years old. Her mother raised her alone with great difficulty. The year she started working, her mother fell ill due to overwork.
Therefore, the filial Yang Qinglian did not let her mother stay in her hometown to do hard work, but took her to Shenzhen to slowly recuperate.
After more than a year of recuperation, Yang's mother's health gradually recovered.
However, Yang Qinglian never let her mother do heavy work. Although her salary as a clerk was not high, if she spent it frugally, it was enough to support her and her son.
However, Yang's mother was only in her fifties and not yet of retirement age. She did not want to be raised by her daughter so early, so she insisted on going out to do odd jobs.
Seeing her mother's firm attitude, Yang Qinglian made three rules with her: she could do odd jobs, but she could only do easy work, even if the income was low. She could not ruin her health just to make money like before, because that would be counterproductive.
Yang's mother naturally had no objection to this. Her purpose of going out to do odd jobs was to reduce her daughter's burden, not to increase it. She certainly couldn't ruin her health.
In this way, several years passed, and the mother and daughter had been living in an international metropolis like Shenzhen, leading an ordinary life with no worries about food and clothing.
Although they haven't saved much money after working for several years, the mother and daughter are content.
The only thing that worries Yang's mother is her daughter's lifelong affairs.
Her daughter is 28 years old this year, but except for one boyfriend in college, she has never had a second boyfriend after they broke up after graduation.
Yang's mother knew that with her daughter's figure and appearance, it would not be difficult for her to find a good marriage partner. However, in order to let her daughter live a good life, her daughter insisted on two conditions:
1. The man is required to have a house.
Second, after marriage, she should live with her mother and provide her with care and support until the end of her life.
Just because of these two conditions, no one has been interested in her daughter until now.
The first condition is not surprising. In this day and age, it is basic practice to require the man to have a house and a car before getting married. The problem mainly lies with the second condition.
As an only child, it is his duty to provide for the girl's mother in her old age and till the end of her life. There is nothing to say about it. What the man cannot accept is that his mother-in-law has to live with them forever.
After all, many children nowadays are only children. It is impossible for them to live with only the girl's mother without bringing their own parents, right?
If we bring them all to live together, the scene would be overwhelming just thinking about it. It would be too restrictive, and living together would easily lead to conflicts.
In order not to affect her daughter's marriage, Yang's mother talked about this matter with her daughter and decided that she would return to her hometown to live after her daughter got married.
But her daughter was filial and didn't want her, as a mother, to go back to her hometown to live a hard life. She insisted on living with her after marriage and taking care of her to enjoy a good life.
Yang's mother was both relieved and helpless and could only let it go.
Today, Yang's mother took a job distributing flyers for a restaurant that was holding a tenth anniversary event to give back to new and old customers. She had done many similar jobs in the past few years and was very experienced.
After distributing flyers for two or three hours in a row, Yang's mother breathed a sigh of relief only after she handed the last flyer to a handsome young man with an extraordinary temperament.
Nowadays, distributing flyers is not an easy task, and the requirements of businesses are getting higher and higher. In the past, when distributing flyers, you had to give one to everyone passing by, whether they were human or ghost, and you could get paid as long as you distributed all the flyers.
But things are different now. Flyers should be distributed to potential customers. The old way of stuffing flyers to the elderly and children no longer works.
Just as Yang's mother was about to go home for lunch, the last handsome young man who got the flyer suddenly said, "Auntie, wait a moment."
Mother Yang smiled and said, "Handsome boy, if you have any questions about the event, feel free to ask me."
"Auntie, I don't want to ask about the event."
"Handsome guy, who are you?"
The handsome young man said, "Auntie, I want to ask you if there are any beautiful girls of marriageable age in your circle?"
Yang's mother was startled when she heard this: "Handsome guy, why are you asking this? Are you looking for a marriage partner?"
The handsome young man shook his head and smiled: "Auntie, I'm already married, I'm helping others find a partner."
"Helping others find a partner?"
An idea suddenly flashed through Yang's mother's mind, and she blurted out, "Handsome guy, are you the matchmaker?"
The handsome young man nodded and smiled: "Yes, my name is Jiang Feng, and I am the matchmaker of the Happy Marriage Agency."
Mother Yang was surprised and said, "You really are a matchmaker. Usually, matchmakers are middle-aged or elderly people. It's rare to be a matchmaker at such a young age as you."
Jiang Feng smiled and said, "Matchmakers are actually similar to doctors. They are both older and look like they have a lot of experience, so they can be trusted."
Mother Yang nodded in approval, and then asked curiously, "Matchmaker Jiang, what's the situation of the man who asked you to help him find a partner? Tell me about it and see if there is any girl suitable for him in my social circle."
Jiang Feng smiled slightly and introduced: "My client is 34 years old, 1.74 meters tall, and his hometown is Zhu City. When he was a child, he moved to Shenzhen with his parents and settled there. His family is well-off.
Unfortunately, misfortunes can happen at any time. Before he was 18, his parents had an accident and both passed away, leaving him an orphan.
After hearing this, Yang's mother felt more sympathy and closeness to the child, because she was also an orphan, her parents also died in an accident, and her husband also died of illness when her daughter was still young.
Jiang Feng continued, "Although his parents' unexpected death dealt him a heavy blow, he did not give up on himself, but chose to study abroad. Just ten years ago, he returned from studying in the United States, and then sold the house his parents left him and started his own business.
Now, ten years later, his company has made some money, he has bought back the house he sold, and he owns a thriving company. His financial situation can be said to be very good.”
Originally, Yang's mother asked about Jiang Feng's situation as a client out of curiosity, but as she listened, she suddenly felt moved. He was an outstanding man and a good match for her daughter.
Thinking of this, Yang's mother couldn't wait to ask, "Matchmaker Jiang, I wonder what your client's requirements are for a marriage partner?"
Hearing this question, Jiang Feng knew that Yang's mother was moved, so he said with a smile: "My client's requirements are very simple. He doesn't ask for how good the woman's family background is, how high her education is, how beautiful she is, or how strong her work ability is.
He just wants to find a gentle and virtuous woman, hoping that when he gets tired outside and comes home, there will be a gentle harbor waiting for him, instead of quarreling over trivial matters. "
Thinking of her daughter's personality, Yang's mother couldn't help but get a little excited and said, "Matchmaker Jiang, this is a coincidence. I actually have a girl who meets your client's requirements."
Jiang Feng naturally knew who she was referring to, but he still cooperated and said, "That's great. It's getting late now. Auntie, I'll treat you to a meal. Can you introduce this girl to me later?"
Mother Yang said embarrassedly: "Matchmaker Jiang, if anyone wants to treat you to a meal, it should be me who should treat you, because the girl I just mentioned is none other than my daughter Yang Qinglian."
"That's such a coincidence!"
Jiang Feng said with a smile on his face: "Auntie, there is a fast food chain in front. How about we go over there and have some fast food while we chat?"
Naturally, Yang's mother had no objection, and the two of them walked straight to the fast food chain.
After they each ordered a fast food meal, Yang's mother, who was usually very frugal, rushed to pay the bill. It was only about twenty yuan, so Jiang Feng did not compete with her.
After they got their respective fast food and found seats, Yang's mother sighed, "Matchmaker Jiang, to be honest, my daughter is already 28 years old this year, and I have been having a headache recently about her lifelong event!"
Jiang Feng smiled and said, "Aunt, I saw that you were also a beauty when you were young. With a mother like you, your daughter must be a beauty too. Are you still worried that she can't find a partner?"
"Matchmaker Jiang, you are really good at talking."
Mother Yang praised her and then said with emotion: "If the goal is just to get married, I won't have any trouble finding a husband. The key is that I am filial. She wants to take me to marry and let me live with her. That's why I haven't found a suitable partner until now."