Chapter 042: Decided
Saturday arrived quickly. As soon as he got off work, Zhou Zhixing winked at Jiang Nan. "This gigolo, starting tomorrow, I can legitimately eat this." Just thinking about it made him a little excited.
Jiang Nan's eyes twitched, and she stood up expressionlessly, going to the garage to retrieve her car and take it home. She should leave this shamelessness to her father. She, Jiang Nan, still hasn't mastered it enough.
Both parties had a tacit understanding, so Sister Tang, the union's veteran matchmaker, was just a formality. A veteran of the union, she loved matchmaking. It was she who had been pestering Chen Jinhua a few days ago, wanting to introduce a date to her daughter. Now that Jiang Nan was getting engaged, Chen Jinhua immediately thought of Sister Tang, after all, she was the most enthusiastic.
Sister Tang's full name is Tang Lanhua. She's almost forty this year. She didn't go home after work, but returned with Chen Jinhua. This marriage proposal isn't free, so a meal is a must. Jiang Mancheng knows how to enjoy life, so the meal will definitely be good, and the thank-you gift will be no small amount. Sister Tang's smile curled up in her face, and she never left after work.
Jiang Mancheng had stir-fried bean sprouts and pork, vinegar-spicy cabbage, a cold-mixed dried tofu, and tomato and egg drop soup—four dishes in total, including the soup. Tang Lanhua nodded repeatedly as she ate. She looked at Jiang Nan and praised him endlessly, "As expected of someone specially recruited to the police station, you look so energetic. Don't worry, Jinhua! I'll definitely talk to Aunt Cao about this today. We'll get engaged in September, for sure."
She wiped her mouth and waited for a while. When she figured everyone had finished dinner, she stood up and staggered to Cao's house.
At the Cao household, Old Lady Cao, Zhou Yuanqing, Huang Yuxiu, Zhou Zhidao, and Zhou Zhixing were all home. Old Lady Cao sat in a chair with a sullen expression, looking unhappy. Although she had agreed, she hadn't expected it to happen so soon. His grandson had only been home for a few days, and already the marriage was being arranged. How could her life be so miserable? Zhou Yuanqing felt a little embarrassed. To avoid further embarrassment, he hadn't even informed his eldest son's family or his daughter's family, thinking he'd tell them before the engagement party.
The most relaxed member of the family was Zhou Zhixing, humming a song and wiping the table, looking incredibly relaxed. Zhou Zhixing, a fifteen-year-old boy, was incredibly impressed by his cousin. He was about to become a live-in son-in-law, yet he remained so calm. He truly deserved to be a police officer. In one word, awesome!
After dinner, the door was left open, with a screen in front to keep mosquitoes out while still allowing for ventilation. Almost every household would open their door after dinner. Tang Lanhua had just left the Jiangs' door, before she even reached the third floor, when she giggled and congratulated them, a sound that could be heard throughout the entire building. Everyone knew someone from the Jiangs had come today, most likely for something, and they were all peeking out the door, listening intently to what was going on.
"Oh, Aunt Cao, congratulations! Your boy is both talented and handsome, and he has a noble character. He has fallen in love with Officer Xiaonan from the Jiang family. The Jiang family asked me to propose marriage to your family. It's a good combination of the two. They want to let your Xiaoxing marry into the family." Tang Lanhua said in a high voice and smiled, "This doesn't mean a live-in son-in-law. Don't misunderstand. In the future, there will be a child with the surname Zhou. Xiaoxing's parents are gone, and the Jiang family's house is spacious. It will be convenient for the young couple to live in the Jiang family. Aunt Cao, you can't always think..."
Tang Lanhua is indeed an experienced matchmaker. Her words are as sweet as honey, and she insisted that it would be more convenient for the son-in-law to live together.
Old Lady Cao was also the old matchmaker in the building. She knew that matchmakers were always deceitful. After all, they could make the dead look alive. Although Cao Chuncao didn't do that, there were still some unruly people who liked to match people up.
She looked at Tang Lanhua suspiciously, and thinking that her grandson had agreed, and the Jiang family had been neighbors for many years, she finally stood up stiffly and welcomed her into the house. She said stiffly, "Let my family talk, let my family talk." With that, she slammed the door shut.
The people who were listening to the commotion at the doorsteps of their homes all shuddered.
I never thought that Zhou Zhixing was marrying into the wife's family.
Who could have thought of this? An only son could marry into another family. Zhou Zhixing, aren't you afraid of being criticized, looked down upon, or being beaten by both your parents after you die?
"No, doesn't Zhou Zhixing have a proper job? Why would he want to marry into his family?"
"What do you mean by marrying into the wife's family? They said it means living with the father-in-law and mother-in-law, but they didn't say marrying into the wife's family."
"It's all the same. Who would live with their parents-in-law if they were decent people?"
Anyway, the people in this building don’t understand, they really don’t understand.
Or maybe it's because he's thick-skinned that he can get away with things. Zhou Zhixing acted as if nothing had happened, as if he wasn't the one who was going to marry into the family.
Some didn't understand, and some had other thoughts. This was Uncle Lin. His son Lin Bing had been having an affair with a widow for so long, and finally found a woman with good conditions and a job willing to go on a blind date with him, but he didn't expect to be laughed at. Now Jiang Nan, who was ten years younger than him, was engaged, but his son Lin Bing still had no wife. How could Uncle Lin not be anxious?
The result of this haste was that just as Tang Lanhua left Cao's house, Uncle Lin followed her in on crutches. He had no other reason than to offer a generous gift to any of the two matchmakers who could find a wife for his Lin Bing.
"Sister, please don't leave yet. Sister Cao, please sit down. I have something to talk to you two about." Uncle Lin, whose real name was Lin Youliang, found a bench after entering the house and sat down, saying a little stiffly, "Sister Cao, please don't blame me for coming to your house at this time. I have no choice. My Lin Bing is already 26 years old and still single. Now that you are here, can you two think of a way to introduce my Lin Bing to a partner? My requirements are not high. A widow without children is fine. As long as she has a city hukou, good character, and not too heavy a family burden, I have no objection."
This requirement is indeed not high. It's not that rural people are not considered, but these days, a child's household registration follows the mother. If the mother has a rural household registration, there is no food quota. If there is no food, she must go to the black market to buy food. When the child is born in the future, no matter how much salary she earns, she will have to spend it on buying food on the black market, and the family will live a tight life.
So, these days, when workers are looking for a partner, unless there are special circumstances, they will definitely not consider rural girls. Only those families who are really unable to find a wife will consider it. Although Lin Bing is not very good, he is not really that bad.
Despite this, Old Lady Cao felt a little embarrassed. She said, "Xiao Lin, it's not that I don't want to introduce Lin Bing to you, but didn't you tell Lin Bing about these conditions you mentioned? Don't tell the girl and your Lin Bing still doesn't agree."
"How dare he!" Lin Youliang was furious. He had also been provoked today. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'm putting it out there today. He has to agree even if he doesn't want to. The three unfilial acts are not having descendants, and the worst is not having descendants. Our Lin family can't let him be cut off from us. Don't worry, introduce me to someone. I'll beat him to come and see him."
Tang Lanhua didn't say much. She knew full well that Lin Bing was having an affair with a widow, and that people like him were not in their right minds. Most of the women she dealt with were employed, and if she introduced Lin Bing to anyone, her reputation would be ruined.
Seeing that Lin Youliang's words fell on the ground and no one took over, Old Lady Cao had no choice but to say, "Okay, I'll help out for the next few days. But Xiaolin, let me be frank. I can't guarantee it will succeed. You know your Lin Bing well. Even if he is willing, there might be some bad guys, right? You can't always be by his side."
Lin Youliang, of course, knew what this meant. He said, "Don't worry, I'm the one collecting that brat's salary now. I've already told the team leaders that no one can lend him money. I've even told the cashier that he can't touch his salary, no matter what."
"Okay, that's fine." Mrs. Cao made the decision.
Lin Youliang left the Cao family with peace of mind. When he went upstairs, he saw the Fang family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law leaning on the railing in the corridor looking down, and he snorted heavily.
Tang Lanhua followed behind, secretly curling her lips. Old Lin was such a good man, how could he raise such a son? This scheming widow should not be touched. Such a simple truth, but Lin Bing, a young man, did not understand. She shook her head and smiled as she walked into the Jiang family's door: "Jinhua, it's settled. You can rest assured and prepare for the engagement. I will be the first to sit at the table when the time comes."
"Of course, since you're the matchmaker, you're the chief one." Chen Jinhua handed over a cup of sugar water and pointed to the paper bag on the table, thanking her. "Sister Tang, this is a thank you gift for being the matchmaker. Take it. Thank you so much for making this trip."
Tang Lanhua took a sip of water, a smile reaching her eyes. She said a few more polite words before taking the paper bag and leaving. As soon as she lifted it, she knew it contained pork, probably two pounds. This thank-you gift was quite a bit. She walked down the stairs with ease, hoping that in the future, they would have more conversations like this.
Jiang Nan watched the whole thing like a drama. She had never expected that she would be engaged like this. Although she had made preparations, it still happened so quickly.
【Host, congratulations. 】
"Stop talking nonsense." Jiang Nan was speechless. Perhaps the happiest one was the system. After the engagement, the two tasks were merged into one, which was a relief.
Back then, engagement gifts weren't important. Gifts were given at the time of the wedding, including dowry and betrothal gifts. Nowadays, engagements are simply a family reunion for a drink. Some less particular families don't even give out wedding candy, which they would have done at the wedding. But if they gave it twice, wouldn't they be at a loss?
The Jiang family did buy some candy, but they have to wait until September 16th, which is still early.
Jiang Mancheng grumbled as he washed the dishes, annoyed that someone had snatched up his cabbage so early. Zhou Zhixing, who had snatched up his cabbage, was waiting downstairs the next morning, looking refreshed. Now that they had a clear path, he and Jiang Nan could walk together again, no longer worried about gossip.
"Hey, Xiaoxing, are you waiting for Jiang Nan? It's different before getting married, it's so warm. I just don't know what it's like after getting married." Lin Bing said sourly. His father scolded him yesterday, and now that he saw the real person, he started to be sarcastic.
"Brother Soldier, look at what you said. This has nothing to do with whether you are married or not. For me, this is called respecting women. Even if I am married, I will still go to get off work with my wife." Zhou Zhixing is very good at flattering himself.
Lin Bing turned and walked away. This kind of person has a face as thick as a city wall. You can't afford to offend him, but you can't afford to avoid him either. It's bad luck.
Zhou Zhixing tutted his words. With that kind of skill, he could fight ten people at once, and that wasn't even his full strength. It was really because he'd just returned, and the people in the building didn't know his strength yet, so no one dared to mess with him.
As for why Zhou Zhixing was waiting downstairs so early on Sunday morning, it was because of that educated youth's legal education campaign. Jiang Nan hadn't expected this legal education campaign to be scheduled for the weekend. She'd thought it was a special case, but who would have thought the boss would think the same way?
Back then, there was no such thing as a two-day weekend; work was six days a week, with only one day off. Rural production teams didn't care about Sundays, but the oil fields did. There were all sorts of talk about hard work, dedication, and so on.
Jiang Nan felt bitter, but she accepted it. After all, she was just a nobody, a nobody with a mission to accomplish. This Sunday, she was truanting off to Shan'aozi Brigade to teach about the law. When Zhou Zhixing found out, he naturally wanted to go along.
The two soon met up downstairs and went to the police station together. Director Shen, Lan Qingshan, and other leaders had also arrived. Seeing the two, everyone smiled and congratulated them.
"This is a match made in heaven," Director Shen joked. He was the keynote speaker today, and his clothes were especially neat, making him look energetic.
"Thank you, Director, for your affirmation of our appearance." Zhou Zhixing was very good at taking advantage of others, and his words made everyone laugh.
Shan'aozi Brigade is far away, so everyone took a car to get there. They could see the high platform built on the drying yard from a distance.
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