Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 179 Sha Zhu Returns Disappointed, Li Hongbing Makes a Joke About the Courtyard

Li Hongbing is not Yi Zhonghai, and he had no intention of becoming Sha Zhu's father. Moreover, Sha Zhu's dating and finding a wife had nothing to do with Li Hongbing.

Now that He Daqing, his biological father, is back, even if Sha Zhu doesn't bring it up himself, he will definitely make arrangements for him.

Looking at Sha Zhu, Li Hongbing couldn't help but say, "Leaving aside your father, just look at your master and all your senior brothers. If you want to find a partner, you shouldn't have trouble finding someone to introduce you to someone, right?"

"I don't want to rely on them right now; I want to find things on my own first."

Sha Zhu said somewhat embarrassedly.

In fact, Dong Congyou, as Shazhu's mentor, had tried to help him find a partner, but he rejected her because he thought she wasn't pretty enough and had a low level of education.

Knowing what Sha Zhu was thinking, Dong Congyou felt somewhat helpless.

By arranging blind dates for Sha Zhu, he was wasting his own personal connections.

Moreover, dating through blind dates is a matter of mutual consent. If Sha Zhu is interested in someone, then the other person has to be interested in Sha Zhu as well.

What kind of horse deserves what kind of saddle?

As a master, even if Sha Zhu is his apprentice and his conditions are not bad, Dong Congyou will help him choose a partner and he won't cheat him. However, the conditions are still similar, maybe a little higher, but not by much.

Even if Sha Zhu wanted a fairy from heaven, he would have to be worthy of her.

Faced with Sha Zhu's unrealistic demands, Dong Congyou agreed to continue helping him search, but also gave him a lecture.

In the eyes of the older generation, the most important thing when looking for a wife is that she is a good person, good at managing the household and doing housework, and able to bear children. As for appearance, it is good if she is good, but it is not the most important thing.

This standard is naturally different from Sha Zhu's.

Realizing this, Shazhu stopped placing his hopes on his master.

As for his biological father, He Daqing, Sha Zhu dared not let him interfere in his marriage.

No one knows a father better than his son. He Daqing's criteria for choosing a daughter-in-law are most likely the same as his master's. The key is that once He Daqing has a satisfactory candidate, Sha Zhu will disagree and will probably get a beating.

In order to make his own decisions and find a wife he was satisfied with, Sha Zhu had no choice but to find one secretly.

Having roughly guessed what Sha Zhu was thinking, Li Hongbing felt somewhat helpless and could only wish Sha Zhu well, saying, "You've got ambition, Sha Zhu. Well then, I'll stay here and wish you find your ideal partner soon."

"No, Red Soldier!"

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's words, Sha Zhu immediately became anxious and hurriedly said, "If it's inconvenient to introduce relatives, then forget it. Your wife's friends are fine too, like Xu Huizhen from yesterday."

"Silly Zhu, she's a married woman. You're trying to steal her away. Isn't that going too far? And you want us to do this for you? Who are you trying to disgust?"

Li Hongbing was utterly shocked.

Sha Zhu actually fell for Xu Huizhen?

When Xu Huizhen came to his and Chen Xueru's wedding banquet yesterday, she brought her daughter Xu Jingli with her. Sha Zhu couldn't possibly not know that.

The current "Silly Zhu" doesn't like widows with children; he prefers married women with children.
Is this a family tradition, where everyone is eager to become someone else's cheap father?
only.

Xu Huizhen and He Yongqiang's relationship has broken down, but they haven't officially divorced yet. Even if they did get a divorce certificate, Li Hongbing would never introduce Xu Huizhen to Sha Zhu.

It wasn't that Li Hongbing had any feelings for Xu Huizhen, but in his heart, Sha Zhu was not good enough for Xu Huizhen, even though she was divorced and had a child.

In Li Hongbing's opinion, appearance wasn't a particularly big problem. The main issue was Sha Zhu's reckless personality and temper. He liked to show off his skills, and he easily became arrogant when others praised him. He lacked a clear self-awareness and wasn't very ambitious. Compared to Xu Huizhen, the two of them really couldn't find common ground.

"No... Hongbing, how could you think of me like that? Am I that kind of person?"

Feeling embarrassed by Li Hongbing's misunderstanding and misinterpretation of his meaning, Sha Zhu hurriedly explained, "What I meant was, does your wife have any other friends who look similar to Xu Huizhen? I'm not trying to steal someone else's wife or steal her away. Would I, Sha Zhu, do such a thing?"

Sha Zhu didn't know much about Xu Hui's true situation; he only asked for her name yesterday.

Even though Xu Huizhen is not bad-looking and meets Sha Zhu's criteria for a partner, she already has a child and a husband. Moreover, Sha Zhu is determined to find a virgin, so he would never have such an immoral idea.

Upon seeing Xu Huizhen, Shazhu mainly felt that Chen Xueru's friends were all of high quality and must be beautiful.

"No, that's all. My wife only has this one friend."

Even without the misunderstanding, Li Hongbing couldn't fulfill Sha Zhu's request.

If you want to make a wish, go to the temple to burn incense. Why are you using this as a wishing well?
Xu Huizhen's appearance is not bad at all, and she is an unmarried virgin. Why doesn't that idiot Zhu go to heaven?
"No, really not? Hongbing, you're not lying to me!"

Realizing it was hopeless again, Sha Zhu became quite agitated.

Li Hongbing was speechless and retorted, "Shazhu, even if we did have some, it's not like we can just introduce them to you like that. Do you think you're buying cabbages? You can just pick whichever one you like?"

When introducing someone to a potential partner, you have to be responsible to both parties.

Even if Li Hongbing were willing to do this kind of thing, it wouldn't be something he could just arrange with a few words.

This silly Zhu kept saying he didn't want to rely on his father and master and wanted to find a partner on his own, but when he actually tried to find one, he came to ask him to introduce him to someone.
"That's not what I meant, it's just..."

"Don't explain to me. If there really is someone suitable for you, I'll introduce you to them, no problem. But there isn't one right now. You can't expect me to conjure one up for you, can you?"

"Then you'll have to keep an eye on this for me, I..."

“Shazhu, if you want to find a partner on your own and not worry your dad and your master, I can give you an idea.”

"what?"

"..."

Seeing Sha Zhu's expectant look, Li Hongbing said directly, "Find a matchmaker! You're not short of money now. Spend some money to hire a matchmaker to arrange blind dates for you, and then you can go on your own!"

If it were just Sha Zhu on his own, finding a pretty wife in the city would be quite difficult, but now He Daqing is back.

He Daqing's salary is not low, almost the same as Li Hongbing's. The combined income of the father and son is more than that of Li Hongbing.

Sha Zhu himself is of average appearance, but he wants the woman to be outstanding in that aspect, so he has to be more lenient in other aspects.

Just like Jia Dongxu back then, he wanted a beautiful wife, but his own conditions weren't good enough, so he could only look for one in the countryside.

Right now, Sha Zhu doesn't need to go to the countryside to find a partner. After all, with the support and benefits of the Qing Dynasty, and the advantage of family income, finding a good-looking city wife isn't necessarily that difficult.

What Sha Zhu lacks now is nothing more than good matchmaking resources, which is exactly what the matchmakers have.

"That won't do."

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's idea, Sha Zhu immediately shook his head. "Such a big thing, if I keep it from my parents and secretly find a matchmaker to arrange a blind date, wouldn't they beat me to death if they found out?"

If He Daqing hadn't returned from Baocheng, things would have been fine.

Now that they're all living together, it's such a big deal for them to go on blind dates and find partners. If they deliberately keep it a secret, not only will they become a laughing stock, but He Daqing won't let them off the hook once it's discovered.

Anyone who didn't know better would think that there had been a rift in the relationship between the father and son, or even that they had become enemies. But if he had found her himself, or if Li Hongbing had helped him introduce her, even if He Daqing knew, he certainly wouldn't say anything.

"Then there's nothing I can do."

Seeing this, Li Hongbing simply shrugged.

Obvious.

Sha Zhu wants to find a partner, but because of his previous blind date experiences, he is afraid that He Daqing and others will interfere with his choices, so he dares not rely on their connections and influence.

There's a generation gap between the two generations, or rather, Sha Zhu's standards for finding a wife are different from theirs.

He Daqing has a strong personality. If he were to handle this matter, Sha Zhu would be afraid that he wouldn't be able to find a partner according to his own wishes.

Honestly, if Sha Zhu wants to find a beautiful city wife and doesn't use his existing connections, he'll have to find a matchmaker.

But Sha Zhu didn't dare.

Not long after Sha Zhu left, Chen Xueru from the next room came over and asked Li Hongbing, "Hongbing, do you want me to help arrange this? Xiao Hong in the shop is about the same age as Sha Zhu. She works hard and has a good personality. I think we can give it a try."

Separated only by a wall, Chen Xueru overheard some of the conversation between Sha Zhu and Li Hongbing, if she paid close attention.

Chen Xueru was aware of Sha Zhu's situation.

Chen Xueru had been dating Li Hongbing for quite some time, and she was not completely unaware of the people in the courtyard.

Chen Xueru also knew a lot about what had happened in the hospital in the past.

Aside from his appearance, Sha Zhu's other conditions are acceptable; he has a house and a stable job, and importantly, he also has He Daqing.

People may have some flaws, but they're still passable.

Faced with Chen Xueru's idea, Li Hongbing shook his head and said, "It's not suitable. I don't think we need to bother. This silly Zhu definitely won't be interested."

The "Little Red" that Chen Xueru mentioned earlier is one of the two female shop assistants in the silk shop, whom Li Hongbing also knows.

"why?"

Hearing Li Hongbing's words, Chen Xueru didn't understand and said somewhat unconvinced, "The He family's situation is good, but Xiao Hong's conditions are not bad either. There are five people in her family, four of whom have jobs. Besides herself, there is her father and her brother and sister-in-law. Moreover, Xiao Hong's monthly salary is no less than Sha Zhu's."

Chen Xueru was willing to introduce Sha Zhu to someone mainly because Sha Zhu had just asked Li Hongbing for help, and also because his father, He Daqing, was a high-ranking cook, so his conditions were indeed very good.

If it were just Sha Zhu alone, Chen Xueru wouldn't even consider it, even out of respect for Li Hongbing.

Xiaohong is an employee at the silk shop, not someone you can give as a gift. As the shopkeeper, she naturally has to consider and be responsible for her.

"She has good qualities and a good personality, but unfortunately she's not pretty enough."

Knowing that Chen Xueru had her own thoughts, Li Hongbing had no choice but to explain: "You don't know, Sha Zhu's master introduced him to a girl before. The girl's conditions were not bad, but Sha Zhu thought she was not good-looking. It's not that she was ugly, but Sha Zhu was determined to find a pretty girl, so he didn't agree."

Logically speaking, Xiao Hong's family is well-off, and her income is not low either. Even if the He family's income is high, it would be enough to match Sha Zhu. However, her appearance is not outstanding, so it's probably a bit uncertain.

That silly Zhu has high standards; he's picky about finding a partner, and besides, he's a bit unreliable. We'd better not get involved in this thankless task.”

How picky is he?

Chen Xueru was speechless.

Although Xiao Hong in the shop isn't particularly outstanding in terms of looks, she's still considered average among most people. In that respect, she's at least a level above Sha Zhu. And you still don't like her?

"Beautiful lady, you understand?"

Seeing Chen Xueru's depressed look, Li Hongbing couldn't help but tease her, "This kid wants to eat swan meat."

Upon hearing Li Hongbing's words, Chen Xueru instantly understood and abandoned her idea of ​​introducing her own shop assistant to Sha Zhu.

Actually, there's one more thing that Li Hongbing didn't mention.

It's even more impossible because the other party is a shop assistant at Chen Xueru's store.

Sha Zhu and Li Hongbing are both residents in the courtyard. Chen Xueru is the owner, while Xiao Hong is the shop assistant. If Sha Zhu marries Xiao Hong, he will be inferior to Li Hongbing.

At least that's how Sha Zhu sees it.

Based on Li Hongbing's understanding of Sha Zhu, he definitely didn't want to.

In terms of cooking skills and salary, Sha Zhu is already inferior to Li Hongbing, so he will definitely want to regain face in other aspects.

Even though their relationship was alright, especially after He Daqing returned, Sha Zhu was a proud man with his own "pride".

In terms of cooking skills, Sha Zhu is completely helpless and knows that he can never surpass Li Hongbing, but he has not given up in other aspects.

To put it bluntly, he's a classic case of being all talk and no action.

“Now that He Daqing is back, Sha Zhu will naturally be kept in check by his father. These things are none of our business. We should just live our own lives.”

Li Hongbing knew that Chen Xueru's earlier suggestion to introduce her shop assistant to Sha Zhu was not only because the He family was indeed well-off, but also because of her own reasons.

He Daqing was of the same generation as Li Hongbing's master, and they had no grudges against each other. They lived in the same courtyard, and Li Hongbing treated him very politely and gave him some face.

As for Sha Zhu, he often tried to get close to Li Hongbing, acting as if he were a close brother to him, which made Chen Xueru think that Li Hongbing and Sha Zhu had a good relationship.

However, Chen Xueru only saw the surface. In reality, the relationship between Li Hongbing and Sha Zhu was far from that of brothers; it was just that Sha Zhu was the only one who was enthusiastic.

“Hongbing, tell me more about the situation in the courtyard and the neighbors, so that I don’t do anything wrong.”

After what happened with Sha Zhu, Chen Xueru clearly realized that her understanding of some situations was not thorough enough, so she took the initiative to speak up.

After all, she was going to marry Li Hongbing and live in this courtyard house. She would inevitably have to interact with the people in the courtyard. Naturally, Chen Xueru had to do her homework in advance and get to know all the neighbors in the courtyard in detail.

"Alright, I'll tell you about it."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongbing also felt it was necessary and immediately spoke up:
"You should already know about the Jia and Yi families in the Intermediate People's Court, their situation and character, because of what happened back then, so I won't go into details."

"Anyway, we don't associate with their family, especially Wang Guihua and Qin Huairu. Sometimes they seem harmless, so you don't need to pay attention to them or bother with them. Just treat them like strangers. But be careful if anything happens."

"Let me start with the three senior professors in our department!"

"This Yan Bugui is usually stingy. Whether it's towards others, his family, or even himself, he likes to scheme and take advantage. He is timid and cautious, prioritizes his own interests, has an unstable stance, and is not worth considering in small matters, nor trustworthy in big matters."

"Liu Haizhong in the backyard is obsessed with officialdom and likes to put on airs, but he's not capable in this area. In reality, he's a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong, and he fawns on his superiors and oppresses his subordinates..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)