Chapter 12
In Taipei City, the paint on the walls of an old courtyard house is mottled, and there are crooked marks in the corners. I wonder which child's naughty graffiti they were.
Chen Guixiang broke the cold steamed buns into pieces and scattered them on the stone floor in front of the door. Not long after, a few chubby little sparrows bravely landed here, their eyes bright, their tails wagging from side to side, and they began to devour the food.
The woman sat on a bench, picking vegetables while watching the sparrows pecking at the food.
Ever since her daughter Qin Yaonan went to the island, there is always one extra portion of food left over at home. Her daughter-in-law asked her to steam fewer buns, but she always forgot and always thought about her daughter Yaoyao's portion.
"Hey, Guixiang, the sparrows in front of your house are much bigger than those in front of other houses." Xu Huiling, with a rosy face, walked past Chen Guixiang's door with her daughter Ju Yingxiong in a proud and confident manner. Her daughter was holding a pair of brand new leather shoes in her hands and wearing thin Dacron clothes.
As her voice fell, the little sparrow was startled and flew away, and the uneaten steamed bun was left there lonely.
Shen Guixiang's face fell.
Xu Huiling and Shen Guixiang were both female workers in the same factory and lived in the same slum. Over the years, they had never gotten along well. They had quarreled several times openly and had often competed secretly with each other.
Chen Guixiang's husband Qin Chuanrong is a cook. Chen Guixiang is good at managing the household. They have four sons and one daughter. Even during the most difficult years, they never lacked food and could help their neighbors. The couple were very popular in the compound.
Xu Huiling's facial features are more distinctive than Chen Guixiang's. Chen Guixiang has fair skin, thin eyebrows and eyes. She is not pretty, but not ugly either. Her advantage is her fair skin.
Back then, Xu Huiling first went on a blind date with Qin Chuanrong, but she didn't like this cook who only worked around a spatula. Not long after, Qin Chuanrong married Chen Guixiang who worked in the same factory.
Even if she doesn't like him, Qin Chuanrong's conditions are the best. If you marry a man, you will have clothes to wear and food to eat. If you marry a cook, will you not have anything to eat?
From then on, Xu Huiling couldn't help but compare herself with Chen Guixiang. Although they lived in the same slum, Qin Chuanrong loved his wife and children, while Chen Guixiang ate well and her children were plump and white. She felt that Chen Guixiang had robbed her of her good life.
Xu Huiling got married two years later, and her daughter Juying is one year older than Chen Guixiang's youngest daughter Qinyao.
Chen Guixiang and his wife loved their only daughter extremely much. Qin Yao often ate candies and biscuits that other children rarely got to eat during her childhood. Her daughter Juying watched Qin Yao eating jerky and swallowing her saliva, and this scene hurt Xu Huiling's eyes.
Qin Yao was plump and fair since childhood, while Juying was as thin as a bean sprout. But after they became teenagers, they grew up and became like flower buds about to bloom.
As her daughter becomes more and more like herself, Xu Huiling cares more and more about her daughter and likes to compare her daughter Juying with Qin Yao.
Although Qin Yao has pretty eyes and eyebrows, she is a fat girl. This time, her daughter will definitely marry well!
"Our Juying has been getting a lot of matchmakers knocking on her door these days. Director Zhou's son is well off, right? After they get married, the couple can get two small rooms each, and they don't have to squeeze in here."
"As the children grow up, the house becomes smaller and smaller."
"If it weren't for this, your Yaoyao wouldn't have gone to a place thousands of miles away. What's wrong with marrying an officer? It's too far away. Your Qin Yao is not like the girl from the Chen family. Who is her grandfather? The person she went to the island for a blind date is the grandson of her grandfather's comrade-in-arms."
…
After Xu Huiling showed off for a while, she left. The little sparrow flew back again, still as plump and chubby as before. Chen Guixiang frowned and picked up the broom to sweep the broken buns into a pile. The sparrow flew aside, but was eager to eat. Regardless of Chen Guixiang standing beside her, it took light steps to peck at the broken buns in the dustpan.
Chen Guixiang watched and laughed again.
When her husband Qin Chuanrong came back, Chen Guixiang was about to speak up and wanted to ask Qin Yao to come back. But before she could finish her words, her second son and his wife came back chatting and laughing, holding a brand new Dacron fabric in their hands. "Mom, I bought this for my little sister. It's hot over there, and she's comfortable wearing this. Bring it along with you."
After Qin Yao left, there was room for him in the house. The eldest and second couples were so happy in their hearts, although they didn't say it out loud.
Qin Chuanrong was also happy.
"Dad, you are going to have an officer as your son-in-law."
Qin Chuanrong's eyes wrinkled with laughter: "Let's see what Yaoyao can do."
Qin Chuanrong is a cook who has seen a lot of the world over the years. The leaders of the factory also give him some face, all because of his cooking skills. He knew very well in his heart that although people were polite, they still treated him as a cook and a craftsman.
He hopes that his sons will have a bright future, but at the moment, it seems that his sons are not destined to become leading cadres.
His daughter Qin Yao got along well with the daughter of the Chen family. Chen Baozhen traveled thousands of miles to an island to have a blind date with the grandson of her grandfather's comrade-in-arms. Qin Chuanrong was very envious, but his wife Chen Guixiang pouted, thinking that there was nothing to be envious of.
"What do you know? He is Mr. Gu's grandson."
Although it didn't work out, Chen Baozhen married a young and promising naval officer, which made Qin Chuanrong very jealous.
This time Chen Baozhen invited Qin Yao to come over to play, and Qin Chuanrong thought this was an opportunity. He wanted Qin Yao to find a naval officer as his son-in-law.
Qin Yao called and said she wanted to stay there as a nurse. Qin Chuanrong immediately ran around to handle the formalities. He had some connections, so he quickly got all the materials done.
Qin Yao found a job there, which made it easier for her to find a good partner.
Qin Chuanrong was in a good mood these days. He was busy running around and wanted to send things to his daughter Qin Yao, all of which were delicious food.
The eldest son's wife said, "Dad, Yaoyao wants to find a partner, so she needs to be thinner to look good. Don't send her so much food."
The eldest son's wife is not looking forward to her sister-in-law coming back, but she also hopes that her sister-in-law can marry someone better. Men like beautiful girls, and Qin Yao will look better if she loses weight.
"No." Qin Chuanrong shook his head: "Yaoyao is hungry and uncomfortable."
The second son's wife turned her head away, pouted her lips and said nothing.
This person is really strange. He wants his daughter to marry well, but he doesn't want to let her starve and become thin.
Waiting to see what kind of partner my sister-in-law finds, my father-in-law will probably be disappointed.
"Yaoyao, how are you doing over there?" After asking someone to send something over, Chen Guixiang called Qin Yao.
"Very good." Qin Yao on the other end replied simply.
She couldn't resist Chen Guixiang's concern. Qin Yao's relationship with her parents was average before. They all focused on her younger brother, and her relationship with her relatives was dull. So after traveling through the book, she didn't think about returning to Taipei. She didn't want to see Qin Yao's family and chose to stay on the island alone.
Recently, in order to handle the formalities and contact her family, her parents were busy helping her to go through the motions and get stamps and organize the materials. Her mother Chen Guixiang kept expressing her concern for her on the phone. Qin Yao felt warm in her heart, but also very uncomfortable.
She really wanted to know how much Chen Guixiang really liked her, but she was afraid to find out. It was a very strange mentality.
Fortunately, we were separated by great distances at that time, so we couldn’t touch each other and didn’t know about it.
"Your father asked someone to bring you a lot of delicious food. You can enjoy it slowly. There is also a big jar of wild honey. Your grandfather got it for you when he went up the mountain..." Chen Guixiang said slowly.
Qin Yao: “Ah?”
She didn't finish what she brought this time, so she came again.
"Your second sister-in-law bought you some Dacron. This kind of fabric can only be bought in big cities. I won't make clothes for you yet. You can find a tailor on the island yourself."
Listening to the instructions and concerns, Qin Yao felt a sore nose and inexplicable heat in her eyes while holding the microphone.
Her voice was hoarse and a little nasal, and she said softly, "Mom, when I'm stable here, I'll go back to see you."
"Oh, okay."
Chen Guixiang asked one more question: "Are you looking for a partner?"
"Head Nurse Ge from the military hospital here said she wants to introduce someone to me. I'll go meet him in two days. He should be an officer here."
"If there is any situation, please call us and we will help you with some advice."
There was a loud voice from my second sister-in-law on the other end of the phone.
Qin Yao hung up the phone.
She knew that the Qin family hoped that she would marry a naval officer, but sorry, she had no plans to get married for the time being.
You should go and meet the person introduced by Head Nurse Ge, and then find a way to fool her. If you don’t like her, then you don’t like her. You can’t force her to get married.
*
The blind date took place at the home of Head Nurse Ge. She had a small two-bedroom apartment on the third floor of the hospital's family compound. It was a newly built house that faced south and had plenty of sunlight. There were two pots of onions and leeks planted at the door.
The chives here grow fast and are easy to grow. The roots stand upright and will get old if they are not cut.
"Comrade Qin, come in and sit down. I'll pour you a cup of tea." Ge Yunxia asked Qin Yao to sit on the sofa, placed two pine and crane teacups and a red teapot with a large peony flower on the sofa, and poured her a cup of hot tea.
The house is paved with terrazzo floors and the walls are white on the top and green on the bottom, which is the most popular color combination at that time. The kitchen and bathroom are covered with white square tiles.
Qin Yao looked around, thinking about nothing else but when she would be able to get a small single room like this in the hospital in the future, even a tiled house would do.
Head Nurse Ge exchanged a few pleasantries with her and said, "Wait in the room. Someone will be here soon."
Nurse Ge came to the corridor, stretched her head out to look, but didn't see anyone. The Deputy Director Xiao she was going to meet today was someone she found to help her. If Qin Yao met Deputy Director Xiao and then Doctor He, the success rate should be doubled.
Whether this person is good or not can only be determined through "comparison".
Dr. He is good in every way except that he is a little dull. But that is also his advantage, so strategy is needed.
After helping people introduce potential partners for a long time, Head Nurse Ge believes that she can understand young people's thoughts very well. Some people go on blind dates, and even if the person they meet for the first time is very good, they always feel that there will be better ones later.
Compared with Deputy Director Xiao, Dr. He's advantages are highlighted, and she, as a matchmaker, has her reasons for speaking well.
Head Nurse Ge folded her arms and lowered her head, pondering as she went over the plan in her mind. She did not notice what was happening downstairs. By the time she noticed any movement, she heard the footsteps of Nurse Xiao Ma climbing up the stairs.
"Head nurse..." Xiao Ma ran up quickly, her two braids swinging back and forth, and she spoke hesitantly.
Ge Yunxia scolded: "So rash."
Xiao Ma didn't have time to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He leaned in closer and whispered, "Deputy Director Xiao wasn't there when we went there, so they, they, they replaced him with someone else."
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