Courtyard House: I, the eldest son of the Jia family, have returned from the battlefield.

But these days, Madam Jia seems like a different person, so she just smiled faintly and said, "Mom, she's much milder now. Even if she knows, she'll only grumble a little at most."

The mother finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked at her daughter, then suddenly leaned forward and lowered her voice: "Isn't your uncle still single? How about... we arrange for Jingru to marry him? If it really works out, it would be a double blessing for the family."

Qin Huairu shook her head upon hearing this: "Jingru is only fifteen."

Even if he reaches a certain age, my mother-in-law will never agree—my husband is the only cadre in the compound, earning just over a hundred yuan a month; how could he marry a country girl?

The father, whose eyes had briefly lit up upon hearing this, looked down at his wife and said, "Don't be so delusional! He's a section chief, why would he be interested in a peasant like us?"

The mother awkwardly shut her mouth.

She looked at her daughter's downcast profile, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Huairu, Dongxu has been gone for over a year... Haven't you thought about the future?"

Qin Huairu unconsciously gripped the lunchbox handle with her fingertips.

A certain figure suddenly flashed through my mind—this morning when he pushed his cart out, he was wearing that blue Zhongshan suit.

Her lips twitched, her voice as soft as a sigh: "I'm already a mother of three, who would want to marry me? Raising Bang Geng and the others is enough to keep me busy enough."

When her mother noticed the barely concealed sadness between her brows, her heart suddenly felt a little brighter.

She moved closer to the bedside and whispered, "If you... if you really have feelings for Uncle Bang Geng, you might as well give it a try."

Even if I can't be the main wife, being a concubine is better than being left without a home.

The clanging of the early morning tram drifted in through the window, filtering through the thin sunlight of an autumn morning.

Qin Huairu didn't reply, but simply reached out and closed the lunchbox lid with a soft click.

Jia Dongming first went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some snacks, then picked out some fresh vegetables at the market. Afterwards, he rode his bicycle into a quiet alley, took out two catties of pork belly, a cleaned hen, two silver ribbonfish, some fresh fruit, and canned fruit that his mother had been talking about from his system space, and then got back on his bicycle and rode towards Luogu Lane.

The wheels rolled over the bluestone road, and soon we were back in that familiar courtyard house.

Just as I was about to push the cart into the courtyard, I saw a mother and daughter come out from inside.

The older man, upon seeing him, immediately broke into a smile: "Section Chief Jia, good morning! Did you just get back from your shopping trip?"

Jia Dongming stopped and looked at Yu Li, replying gently, "Good morning, Yu Li."

The weather's nice today, are we going out?

Yu Li quickly tugged at the girl beside her: "This is my younger sister, Haitang. She's off today and insisted that I go shopping with her."

Jia Dongming nodded: "Then you guys take your time, I'll head back now."

After he pushed the cart into the courtyard, Yu Haitang tugged at her sister's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Sister, which unit does this section chief work for? I've never seen him here before."

As Yu Li walked out, she explained softly, "He is the eldest son of the Jia family in the Intermediate People's Court. He recently returned from military service and is now the head of security at the steel rolling mill. His monthly salary is this much—"

She held up three fingers and waved them, "One hundred and thirty-five yuan."

"One hundred and thirty-five?"

Yu Haitang's eyes widened slightly. "That's almost half a year's income for Dad..."

As soon as Jia Dongming entered the courtyard, a small figure with pigtails came running up to him, grabbed his leg, and looked up at him, exclaiming, "Uncle! Where did you go? I've been looking for you for ages!"

He smiled and picked up the little girl, letting her sit on the front bar of his bicycle: "Little Dang, be good, Uncle is going to buy you something delicious."

"What's so delicious?"

Little Dang blinked her eyes and clenched his clothes tightly with her little hands.

Hearing the noise, Jia Zhangshi, who was sitting by the door sewing shoe soles, looked up and asked, "Dongming, what did you buy?"

Several middle-aged women who were sunbathing in the courtyard also turned their attention to them.

Jia Dongming parked the car and answered loudly, "I happened to have some fresh ribbonfish at my comrade's place, so I bought two. I also bought two pounds of pork belly and an old hen."

A smile spread across Jia Zhangshi's face: "Hurry up and take it inside, so Huairu can take care of it when she gets back."

Jia Dongming pushed the stroller into his small courtyard, stopped it, and picked up Xiaodang, asking casually, "Where's your brother? Why isn't he doing his homework in the house today?"

Xiao Dang pouted, "My brother went out to play by himself without taking me! Uncle, don't share any of the good food with him."

Jia Dongming smiled and shook his head, took the cloth bag off the back seat of the car, and led Xiaodang into the main room.

He laid out the winter delicacies on the table one by one: pork belly, hen, green vegetables, peanuts and melon seeds, two shiny cans of fruit, and finally a few red apples and a bunch of crescent-shaped yellow bananas.

Little Dang pointed curiously at the banana: "Uncle, what's this curved, yellow thing?"

Jia Dongming broke off a banana, carefully peeled it, and handed it to her: "This is called a banana. It's soft and sweet. Try it."

Xiao Dang carefully took a small bite, the sweet and glutinous taste melting on her tongue, and her eyes immediately lit up: "Uncle, I've never eaten such delicious winter melon before!"

Jia Dongming ruffled her hair, his voice chuckled, "Xiao Dang, how old are you to know about 'a lifetime'? When you grow up, these Dongxi snacks will probably be everywhere, and you can eat as much as you want."

Around 10 a.m., Wang, the matchmaker, led a young woman into the courtyard house.

When the girl saw Jia Zhangshi sitting at the door doing needlework, she smiled and said, "Sister Zhang, I've brought Miss Qiuyue to you."

When Jia Zhangshi looked up, she saw a pretty young girl standing next to Wang the matchmaker. She immediately put down the shoe sole in her hand and stood up from the stool.

She first glanced at Lin Qiuyue, and her face immediately lit up with joy. She hurriedly greeted her, "Aunt Wang, Miss Qiuyue, please come in."

Sha Zhu had heard that Jia Dongming was going to do a matchmaking today, so he didn't leave the house all morning, listening intently for any news.

Hearing voices coming from the courtyard, he rushed out in one stride.

When his gaze fell on Lin Qiuyue beside Matchmaker Wang, his eyes widened, and he quickly stepped forward to speak warmly: "Aunt Wang! Please keep an eye on things for me too, my life's most important matter is counting on your help."

Upon hearing this, Wang the matchmaker recalled the unpleasant incidents she had caused him in arranging marriages, and her face fell: "Zhu Zi, I'm not trying to be mean, but..."

The ones I mentioned earlier, you complained that they weren't good-looking, but they didn't mind that you were poor, and you complained that they weren't handsome.

"This is neither good enough nor bad enough, how am I supposed to help you find someone?"

When Jia Zhangshi saw Sha Zhu intercept them halfway, her face immediately darkened, and she scolded him impatiently: "Sha Zhu! How can you be so clueless? Today is Dongming's special day. If you have something to say, wait until you're done here before you talk to Aunt Wang."

Sha Zhu then came to his senses and apologized to Matchmaker Wang with an embarrassed smile: "Aunt Wang, I'll come back to find you later."

As he spoke, he stole glances at Lin Qiuyue's graceful figure as she walked into the courtyard, thinking to himself: "The woman Aunt Wang brought today is even more beautiful than Qin Huairu. I wish she could introduce me to her."

A few nosy neighbors saw that the matchmaker, Wang, was leading a beautiful young woman to the Jia family's courtyard, and they followed in twos and threes, wanting to see what was going on.

Madam Jia led the two into the courtyard, her face beaming with undisguised pride. She said to Lin Qiuyue, "Miss Qiuyue, look, this courtyard has a total of five rooms, all of which belong to Dongming himself."

Once you're married, you'll never have to worry about where to live.

After saying that, she turned her head and called out loudly into the house, "Dongming! Come out quickly, your Aunt Wang and Miss Qiuyue have arrived."

When Wang, the matchmaker, heard that the courtyard was actually the private property of the Jia family, she was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Sister Zhang, you mean this courtyard is your own? What about that room in the middle courtyard...?"

Jia Zhangshi's smile deepened, and she said slowly, "Her Aunt Wang, to be honest with you..."

A while ago, Dongming did a good job at the factory and the factory wanted to give him a bonus, but he refused to accept it. He only asked to buy the two houses we live in at a discounted price.

The entire courtyard, including the room in the middle courtyard, cost a total of 1,500.

She paused, then continued, "Right now, Huairu and I live in the central courtyard, while Dongming and Banggeng live here."

In a couple of days, I'll need to hire someone to clean the house.

"If Qiuyue were to marry into our family, I guarantee you'd be very comfortable."

The matchmaker felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this, and even secretly regretted that if she had known the Jia family was in such a state, she should have arranged for her own niece to marry into the family.

Despite her thoughts, she still smiled and remarked, "Sister Zhang, Dongming is really capable."

They are good at making money and have a solid family fortune.

"Miss Qiuyue's good fortune is yet to come."

Jia Dongming was reading in the room when he heard his mother calling him, so he put down his book and came out.

He looked up and saw the girl next to Wang the matchmaker—her eyebrows and eyes were seven or eight parts like the female star named Gao Yuanyuan in his memory.

When Jia Zhangshi saw her son come out, she quickly introduced him with a smile: "Dongming, this is your Aunt Wang, and this is Miss Lin Qiuyue."

Following his mother's words, Jia Dongming politely nodded to the guests: "Aunt Wang, Comrade Qiuyue, hello."

It's hot outside, please come inside and talk.

Matchmaker Wang sized up Jia Dongming, her smile deepening. She turned to Jia Zhangshi and exclaimed in admiration, "Sister, your son is so handsome and well-mannered!"

Hearing Jia Dongming greet her, Lin Qiuyue blushed slightly. She lowered her eyelashes and said softly, "Hello, Comrade Jia Dongming."

Just then, a boy rushed in from outside the gate, sweat beading on his forehead.

He spotted the unfamiliar girl standing next to Jia Dongming and asked curiously in a high-pitched voice, "Uncle, is this pretty auntie here for a blind date?"

Before her son could speak, Jia Zhangshi chuckled and hugged her grandson, saying, "Our Bang Geng has such sharp eyes! Isn't that right? This Aunt Lin might just be your aunt in the future."

Jia Dongming ushered the two into the main room and invited them to sit down.

He turned around and took a few bright yellow bananas from the table, handing them out one by one: "Aunt Wang, Mom, Comrade Qiuyue, try this."

Little Dang, who was playing inside, heard the word "banana".

Upon hearing those two words, she immediately looked up, smacked her lips, and said to her brother, "Brother, those yellow berries are so sweet!"

Bang Geng perked up at the news, looking at his uncle with longing eyes: "Uncle, I want some too!"

Madam Jia hurriedly peeled the one in her hand and held it to her grandson's mouth: "Here, Grandma has prepared it for you."

Seeing this, Xiao Dang also sidled up to Jia Dongming's leg, tilted her little face up, and pleaded softly, "Uncle, Xiao Dang wants to eat too."

Jia Dongming picked up a banana, gently broke off half of it, carefully peeled it, and handed it to Xiaodang: "You've already eaten a whole one."

If I eat too much, I won't be able to eat lunch.

This half is for you; take the other half to the kitchen for Mom to try.

Bang Geng took the banana his grandma handed him, took a big bite, and squinted his eyes at the soft, sweet taste: "Grandma, it's so delicious!"

Madam Jia Zhang cheerfully greeted the guests, "Aunt Wang, Miss Qiuyue, you should try some too, these bananas are quite rare."

Matchmaker Wang quickly took a bite and exclaimed repeatedly, "Oh my, this tastes so authentic! Where did you find such good winter melon?"

In the kitchen, Qin Huairu was quietly preparing lunch, while the sounds of laughter and conversation drifted in from the main room.

Thinking about Jia Dongming's arranged marriage and recalling her mother's instructions that morning, a faint emptiness inexplicably spread through her heart, as if something she held in her hand was silently slipping away.

Lunch was served, including golden chicken soup, glistening braised pork belly, and fragrant braised ribbonfish.

Looking at the table full of dishes, Wang the matchmaker couldn't help but swallow hard. She nudged Lin Qiuyue with her elbow and whispered, "Qiuyue, look how much Dongming values ​​you. He prepared all these fancy dishes."

Jia Dongming picked up his chopsticks and gestured towards Lin Qiuyue: "Comrade Qiuyue, don't be shy here, make yourself at home."