◎Third update◎
Liang Baozhen was stunned by Xu Shengjie's smile. This man usually looked serious and cold, but when he smiled, he was like a melting iceberg shining with sunshine. She curled her lips and said, "Comrade Xu Shengjie, you are quite ideologically conscious."
"The organization taught me well." Xu Shengjie rarely made a witty remark to his wife.
"Sister-in-law, you are the most powerful one in the family now!" Xu Shengya smiled happily with eyes that turned into crescents, and the corners of her mouth were decorated with pear-shaped curls. She held her sister-in-law's hand and shook it.
"Sister-in-law will be the best arm wrestler in our Yueya Hutong from now on!" Xu Shengwei generously gave his sister-in-law a title, which made Liang Baozhen feel guilty.
After this interruption, she felt much better. She thought her elder sister's situation might not be that bad. She just hoped that her brother-in-law would settle down and go back to pick up her elder sister and Mengmeng.
.....
Liang Baozhen returned to her routine of commuting from the Dazayuan to the National Cotton Mill and from the National Cotton Mill to the Dazayuan. When she had time, she would go back to Damian Village to visit her family. Liang Baoying occasionally heard rumors but she ignored them, which made her feel more at ease.
I heard that Song Jianguo went to work at the soda factory, a job his family bought for 1,000 yuan, and he is still a temporary worker. A few days ago, he received his first month's salary - 19.5 yuan. He kept 9.5 yuan for himself and gave 10 yuan to Liang Baoying.
Things were quite calm inside the National Cotton Mill. After the Chen Siming incident at the beginning of the year, the mill had regained its former enthusiasm and vitality, and the workers were working very hard.
"Night shift pay is 4.5 yuan, high temperature allowance is 3 yuan..." Hong Saner calculated the amount and estimated how much he could get this month. "31 yuan!"
We look forward to the day when our pay is paid for a whole month, and it feels so good to feel the whole family together.
"Shall we go? Let's go to the state-owned hotel for a meal on Sunday." How can we justify this good day if we don't go out to have a good meal after getting paid?
Xu Shengjie shook his head. He was fiddling with his equipment. "I have something to do on Sunday."
"Tsk, you're such a busy person after you get married, you don't care about your brothers' lives at all."
"It's really important." Xu Shengjie cleared the cotton and looked back at Hong Saner who was complaining. "We'll eat it next time."
"What's the matter? Is it so important?" Hong Saner felt that even if he really had something important to do, he couldn't force himself, as there would be plenty of opportunities to have dinner together in the future.
Xu Shengjie didn't even raise his head. "Go to the movies with my wife."
Hong Saner: "...Goodbye!"
Xu Shengjie rejected Hong Saner's invitation, but Liang Baozhen was pulled in by Wang Xin. She participated in a blind date party organized by the factory last month and fell in love with a worker in the coarse sand workshop. The two of them are going to the park on Sunday to hang out and improve their relationship.
Wang Xin asked Liang Baozhen to help her come up with some ideas and pick out some clothes for her.
Nowadays, things are not as strict as they were a few years ago. During the rest time on weekdays, there are more and more lesbians wearing blouses on the streets, and the colors are getting brighter and brighter. Everyone can't wait to take off their repetitive black, blue and gray work clothes and put on red, white, yellow... beautiful clothes.
Liang Baozhen took Wang Xin to the supply and marketing cooperative where Cheng Caili worked, and asked Cheng Caili to help her save the cloth, which was a piece of apricot red cloth.
"Sister Caili, have you been feeling better these past two days?"
Cheng Caili has gotten over the uncomfortable period of the first three months and is no longer having any problems. She looks radiant now, though she has gained a little weight. Her cheeks puff up when she talks, which makes her look better.
Lu Yuan wanted to nourish her body all day long. The air in front of their house was filled with the aroma of chicken soup or pig's trotters, making other people in the yard drool.
"No problem at all. Here, isn't this cloth beautiful? Comrade Wang, you are Baozhen's friend, and I saved it for you on purpose."
"Thank you, Sister Caili. Is it okay for me to call you Sister Baozhen?"
"No problem!" Cheng Caili is now pregnant, and the people in the supply and marketing cooperative take care of her. As long as business is slow and there are not many people, they let her sit down and rest anytime.
Wang Xin tore off five feet of cloth and prepared to take it home to make a beautiful skirt. The day was already getting hot, so it would take her a day to cut a skirt, and then dry it in the water, so that she could wear it on Sunday.
Liang Baozhen also bought some cakes at the supply and marketing cooperative and took them home, a pound of mung bean cakes. When she returned to Yueya Hutong, she heard a commotion in the large courtyard, as if there was some happy event again.
"Baozhen, you're back just in time, come quickly!" Liu Nianhua waved and called her over. Seeing that she had food in her hands, he urged her to go back to the house first, "Put the food back home. There are too many children in the yard. If they keep asking you for food, you will have to give it to them."
It's not easy to buy food from any household. It's okay if you're generous and give one away, but there are too many people in the hospital. It's not good to give food to anyone in front of so many people. It's better not to give food to anyone.
Liang Baozhen came out after putting the mung bean cakes away. Everyone in the yard who had finished their meal was enjoying the cool air. Each person sat on a stool, talking noisily.
"Brother Haiyuan has been promoted to a fourth-level worker, and everyone is clamoring for him to treat us to a meal." Xu Shengjie was just drying wood in the yard when he heard a little bit of the talk. Seeing that his wife was very interested, he then mentioned the second important thing, "And Uncle Sun is going to have a blind date."
Mr. Wei's second son, Wei Haiyuan, is a worker in a steel rolling mill. He has been a third-level worker for several years and this time he was finally promoted to fourth-level. It is not easy to move from third to fourth level. The salary, which people are most concerned about, has increased a lot. It is estimated that he can get nearly 70 yuan a month in salary plus subsidies, which makes him a high-income earner.
Liang Baozhen looked at Wei Haiping in the crowd. He was nearly thirty years old, with a ruddy face and a bright smile. He was really happy. He listened to the cheers of the people in the courtyard and responded one by one, saying that he would give candies to everyone.
I can't afford to treat everyone to a banquet. Usually, banquets are only held at weddings, and they cost a lot of money.
However, there is someone in the big compound who is looking forward to a wedding banquet. Sun Zhiqiang, who has been single all his life, is finally going to go on a blind date.
"Who are you talking to?" Liang Baozhen knew that Sun Zhiqiang was a man with a bad fate.
He is just 41 years old this year, has never been married, and is now a butcher at a food station. He was actually a decent person when he was young, and he was a decent person. He was originally going to meet someone when he was 20 years old, but the person died before the wedding. He accidentally choked to death on a date pit while eating a date. A year later, he met someone again, but when it was almost time to get married, the person he was dating before came back, and she regretted it at the time, and wanted to choose a man she grew up with...
In the third time, the woman broke her leg. In the fourth time, she was hit on the head by a flowerpot when she went to buy wedding cloth. It seemed as if Sun Zhiqiang was cursed. Every time when the marriage seemed to be about to be successful, an accident would happen. As time went on, the matchmakers nearby were afraid to arrange marriages for him, as they always thought that he was unlucky in marriage!
Although nowadays people are promoting the destruction of the four olds and resolutely eradicating feudal superstitions, this did not happen back then. Everyone watched one thing after another happen, and even if they didn't say it out loud, they were wondering in their hearts: Who would dare to marry their daughter to Sun Zhiqiang?
Sun Zhiqiang was annoyed after several attempts. After listening to the rumors outside, he finally gave up and simply remained single.
In a blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed. As he got older, he felt sad when he saw the families in the compound were all happy. His family had not escaped the famine, and there were only a few people left. He did not have enough blood relatives, so he still wanted to find a companion.
Especially now that so many years have passed, most people have forgotten what happened back then and no one blames him for being unlucky in marriage anymore.
A while ago, he took his gift to find Aunt Jiang, the matchmaker from the neighboring compound, and asked her to help with the arrangements. Luo Hongmei actually also liked to take care of this matter, but she had a bad temper, so Sun Zhiqiang chose to go far away instead, and was even criticized by Luo Hongmei for this.
"Sun Zhiqiang, what kind of good marriage can Aunt Jiang arrange for you? Don't be fooled, or all your eggs will be wasted." Luo Hongmei felt sour, thinking that Sun Zhiqiang didn't look for someone from the same courtyard for a blind date, but had to go looking for someone else. All his eggs would be wasted.
"Luo Hongmei, Aunt Jiang is definitely better looking than the one you found. She is looking for someone sincerely." Wu Changlong stretched his neck and looked at Luo Hongmei in a sarcastic tone.
"What do you mean? I'm not sincere?"
"I didn't say that! You admitted it yourself!"
"Hey, are you going to fight today?" Luo Hongmei got angry and rolled up her sleeves to curse, but was yelled back by Wei Jinrong.
"Comrade Luo Hongmei, look at your appearance. How can you have the awareness to unite with comrades and make common progress?"
"That's right, Master Wei, Luo Hongmei's family has a low level of ideological awareness. They even have a thief who stole cabbage. They really should be reformed."
When she heard about stealing cabbages, Luo Hongmei wilted. She was an invincible curser in Yueya Hutong, but now she was being held back by her son. From now on, she would bring up this matter no matter what she talked about!
She is so frustrated!
"Who is Brother Sun going on a blind date with?" Liang Baozhen felt that Xu Shengjie must know. This guy didn't look like a gossipy person, but he seemed to know everything.
"The widow Zhou from East Street next door, Aunt Zhang just mentioned it. Widow Zhou's husband died five years ago, and she has a daughter-in-law to take care of her. It's not easy. Now that her child is a little older, she is ready to find another man."
"I think Sun Zhiqiang's plan should work. I heard that the widow Zhou is a capable person with good character. She has a good reputation in that area." Zhang Rong heard the young couple talking and joined in.
The people in the courtyard were naturally happy to see that this bachelor also had his spring.
Liang Baozhen recalled the things in her dream. The bachelor neighbor in the dream did get married. However, Xu Shengjie said at that time that although the two of them lived a good life, the first time, the woman did not like Sun Zhiqiang at all. She always felt that Sun Zhiqiang was unkempt and wanted to look for someone else. It was not until later that the woman met him at the food station when buying meat that the two of them got back in touch. Anyway, the trouble lasted for more than half a year.
Sun Zhiqiang is actually not bad looking, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but he doesn't like to take care of himself. He lives alone as a bachelor, often has an unshaven beard, and forgets to cut his hair. He is not very interested in food, clothing, housing and transportation, and just likes to save money and not spend it. Therefore, everyone in the courtyard calls him Sun Youqian.
This time, Sun Zhiqiang was also prepared to wear his usual blue work clothes to meet the girl on the blind date. At most, he would cut his hair shorter and shave his beard.
"Brother Sun, go get some new clothes and dress yourself up." Liang Baozhen shouted to Sun Zhiqiang, trying to remind him not to waste his time with others anymore.
A lifetime is neither long nor short, so we must cherish it.
"Oh, I'm already this age, how can I dress up like a kid." Sun Zhiqiang waved his hands, feeling a little shy. How could a grown man dress up like that? He was too embarrassed to do it!
"Baozhen is right." Cheng Caili enjoyed Lu Yuan's service of fanning her with cattail leaves and echoed, "Brother Sun, how can you go on a blind date without looking your best?"
Speaking of dressing up, everyone was excited and gave Sun Zhiqiang some advice. As a result, Zhou Jun and Wei Jinrong carried him back to the house and searched everywhere, but they couldn't find any new clothes. All the 9 pieces had been worn for many years and were wrinkled. It was really frustrating.
I'm going on a blind date tomorrow.
"Don't say so much. Go to the department store early tomorrow morning to buy some clothes and pants. Don't get wet. Change into them just in time for the blind date at noon." Master Wei made the decision for him. He saw that this man looked decent but lived in a shabby state.
Being a butcher at a food station is a good job, the salary is not low and there is plenty of benefits. I wonder how this guy makes his living!
It seems that a family without a woman is really not good, blind dates are necessary! And they must be successful!
"Department store? The clothes there are so expensive. No, no, I can't afford them." It's not that Sun Zhiqiang really couldn't afford them. He had saved money over the years, but he just couldn't bear to spend it. It was already a lot for him to spend cloth coupons and money to buy new cloth to make clothes, let alone buy a set of expensive clothes directly.
"Brother Sun, clothes make the man, if you're going on a blind date you should dress up well, then when the girl sees you, she might fall in love with you at first sight."
"Yes, Sun Zhiqiang, listen to these young people, they understand best."
"Do you still want to get married? We are all worried about you." Qian Jingjing remembered that Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie were also on blind dates. "Look at Xiao Xu, he is so handsome. On the day of the blind date with Baozhen, he changed into brand new clothes and looked extremely handsome before going out. How can you look better than Xiao Xu? You should dress up better."
Xu Shengjie was suddenly called out, and he thought about what he wore on the blind date. It was indeed all the newest clothes in the family, but Xiao Wei and Xiao Ya insisted that he change into them. Of course, before entering the state-owned hotel, he unconsciously adjusted the corners of his clothes to make sure there was not a single crease on them. This was his doing. Before leaving, everyone in his family said that he looked handsome and would definitely be successful in the blind date. He also took another picture in front of the glass window of the state-owned hotel, which should be good.
Of course, he wouldn't say any of this.
"Did you really dress up specially that day?" Liang Baozhen turned her head to look at Xu Shengjie, as if she had heard his little secret.
Xu Shengjie almost blushed, but luckily the darkness covered it up, "No."
The two short, low words concealed all emotions. Xu Shengjie looked at Liang Baozhen who was trying to hold back her laughter and asked, "Did you prepare in advance for the blind date?"
Liang Baozhen was wearing a dark blue ruffled shirt that day, looking bright and beautiful. When she smiled, it was as if she was illuminated by the golden sunshine. Xu Shengjie can still remember the pretty appearance of his daughter.
"Of course I took good care of it. Otherwise, what if you ran away?"
Xu Shengjie: “…?”
The author has something to say:
The couple who used the 'honey trap' on each other^O^
Thanks to the cuties who irrigated the nutrient solution: 5 bottles of Fox Sui Sui, 27 bottles of Yao Fei Yu, and 1 bottle of Qian Mo Hong Chen.
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