Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Huang Yuzhen warmly took Lin Qin's hand and explained, "Auntie has something I'd like to ask you for help with. I heard you were taking the college entrance exam, but I didn't dare to come until now that it's over, so I've swallowed my pride and come!"

Lin Qin was flattered and said, "Auntie, just tell me what's on your mind, don't be so polite."

“Then I’ll say it!” Huang Yuzhen grinned, “I want to ask you to be my son Shaojun’s matchmaker.”

"Xiao Hong?" Lin Qin thought of her subconsciously.

Huang Yuzhen nodded vigorously, "That's right, that's right, it's her. Shaojun and Xiaohong have been dating for half a year now. She's brought Xiaohong home a few times. I think Xiaohong is a pretty good girl. Our Shaojun is getting on in years, so let's take advantage of the summer when there's not much farm work and get the marriage arranged quickly."

Lin Qin understood and joked, "Don't you think Xiao Hong's family isn't well-off, Auntie?"

Huang Yuzhen chuckled twice, "The Zhao family's situation is indeed quite distressing, but since Xiao Hong's older brother got married and her mother came to the city to help with the stall, their lives have become much better."

I heard that Brother Xiaohong is planning to buy a house in the city, so they are saving money like crazy! If the Zhao family can really settle down in the city in the future, wouldn't we have another in-law in the city?
Even if it doesn't work out, it's not a big deal. Setting up a stall is better than farming; they can make money. I've never thought about marrying a rich man's daughter-in-law, as long as her family won't be a burden to Shaojun.

Lin Qin knew that Huang Yuzhen was a shrewd and sensible person, so since she had taken the initiative to ask, Lin Qin couldn't refuse.

"Okay! When I pick Xile up from school later, I'll talk to Sister Fang first. It'll be safer if Sister Fang speaks to Xiaohong's mother."

Huang Yuzhen was overjoyed, "I knew you were a clever person! Okay! If this is done well, I'll definitely give you a big red envelope later."

Lin Qin readily agreed.

That evening, she specially went to pick up her child an hour early, mainly to chat with Sister Fang.

Now that it's summer vacation, the teachers and students at the senior university are also taking a break, but the study room is still open. As the administrator, Sister Fang doesn't get a vacation.

Without teachers and students attending classes, the teaching building appeared deserted and quiet.

Sister Fang sat there drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

Lin Qin placed the snacks and popsicles on the table.

Sister Fang was startled. She turned around and saw Lin Qin. The scolding she was about to say immediately turned into a happy greeting, "What brings you here? Oh! You even brought me popsicles and snacks? Tell me! What's up!"

Lin Qin gave her a thumbs up, "Sister, you're amazing! I hadn't even said anything, and you already knew I had something on my mind. It's like this..."

Lin Qin told her about Huang Yuzhen asking her to act as a matchmaker.

Sister Fang was overjoyed. She slapped her thigh and stood up abruptly. "This is fantastic news! To be honest, we all know that Xiao Hong is dating, and her mother knows too. But she's not very comfortable with it. She always feels that since they come from the countryside and her family is poor, the man's family will look down on Xiao Hong. She's worried that this marriage will not work out in the end."

Hey! I didn't expect you to bring such good news. Wait a minute, let me see it's still early. Xiaohong's mom's stall isn't far from here, I'll take you there. You can tell her yourself, and also explain the situation with the man's side, so I don't have to run back and forth several times to relay the message."

Lin Qin was thus taken away by the enthusiastic Sister Fang, who also took away her snacks and popsicles.

The two of them didn't return until the daycare center let out for the day.

Lin Qin went to pick up her child, while Sister Fang hurried back to her workstation to tidy up; it was almost time for her to leave work too. After Lin Qin left the senior university on her bicycle with her child on her back, she didn't go back to Nanyu immediately but instead went to Shanglin Village first.

On a hot summer evening, villagers were chatting and enjoying the cool air outside when they saw Lin Qin riding her bicycle back with her child. They all greeted her.

Look, Lin Qin is heading in the direction of Lin Qingxiang's house.

Huang Guihua said enviously to the woman next to her, "Lin Qin is really rich now. Look at what she's wearing and what she has. The Lin Qingxiang family has a good relationship with Lin Yi, and they've taken on a lot of work this year. They're living a better life than us."

The people next to him nodded in agreement and muttered under their breath, "Rich people always hold grudges. Even after Lin Qin became successful, she didn't help her second uncle out."

Huang Guihua pouted, "Come on! I wouldn't even touch those leeches!"

The villagers started talking about Lin Qin and the old grudges and feuds they had. Some even brought up old grievances.

Lin Qin knew nothing of this. Right now, she was sitting in Lin Qingxiang's house, reporting today's battle situation to Huang Yuzhen. "I have already met Xiao Hong's mother and told Aunt Zhao about the situation. They had no objections and didn't even ask for a betrothal gift."

They kept emphasizing that they wouldn't sell their daughter; they just wanted her to marry someone who cared for her and the young couple to live a good life together. I also praised you to Aunt Zhao, saying you have a good temperament, are reasonable, and not the kind of wicked mother-in-law who bullies her daughter-in-law.

"That's right! I've discussed it with my husband, and we've decided to clear the half-acre vegetable plot behind the house and build a new house for them."

They can eat with us if they want, and if they don't like the food, they can cook for themselves. I don't care about their livelihood.

Huang Yuzhen spoke with a strong voice, not because she was particularly sensible, but because she didn't like cooking and ate whatever she wanted. In addition, the men in her family were out during the day and only came back for breakfast and dinner, so a sweet potato porridge was enough to make do.

She didn't know what the situation would be like after marrying her daughter-in-law, and she didn't want to be disliked by her daughter-in-law, so she simply made things clear in advance.

Lin Qin was overjoyed, "That's great! That's how I'll reply then. When would you like to hold the banquet, Auntie?"

This really stumped Huang Yuzhen. After hesitating for a while, she finally said, "If we start building the house now, it will take at least two or three months. We won't be able to hold the wedding banquet until winter at the earliest. How about we give 280 yuan as a bride price?"

The main problem is that we still need to build a house. After that, we won't have much money left. We also need money for the wedding banquet, so we really can't afford any more dowry.

Lin Qin roughly knew Lin Qingxiang's financial situation and was also aware of Huang Yuezhen's sincerity, so she immediately smiled and said, "That's enough! I'm afraid the Zhao family wouldn't even dare to think about such a dowry. I'll go and talk to them later."

The next day, Lin Qin went to see Zhao Xiaohong's mother again and relayed Huang Yuzhen's words to her word for word.

As expected, Zhao's mother was pleasantly surprised and immediately agreed to Huang Yuzhen's arrangement.

The marriage between the two families is almost settled. They are just waiting for the house to be built before Lin Qin accompanies Huang Yuzhen to formally propose marriage.

Once I've finished this,

Lin Qin could finally relax. The days of waiting for the results were really boring. She thought of Liu Ling. If she remembered correctly, Liu Ling was also taking the college entrance examination this year. She wondered if Liu Ling had chosen arts or science, and whether the school had released the correct answers.

With something on her mind, Lin Qin couldn't sit still, so she simply took her things and went to Granny Liu's house. (End of Chapter)