Back to my 1980s

"Just a few dollars."

He realized that everything had changed since the bicycle appeared. In Shuanghuai Village, the villagers had watched him grow up, and their impression of him was already fixed.

Although he bought a bicycle, in the eyes of the villagers he was still the same person. At most, they would be surprised for a while and then it would pass. They might even secretly curse him for being a show-off.

But it was different in Hongguang Village. Nobody there knew about his many misdeeds; all they saw was him riding a brand-new bicycle.

It was a huge sum of money, a business card that didn't need words, a key that broke down the barriers between urban and rural areas. With a bicycle, the distance between villages and towns disappeared. He could go to the county town in the morning, go home at noon, and go to another town in the afternoon.

He was used to cars, electric bikes, and motorcycles. In his eyes, a bicycle was just a tool to carry fish to the county town and make it easier to visit Song Xueping. But in the eyes of these villagers, it was a mobile proof of upward social mobility.

Zhao Hua wrung out his wet sleeves, feeling a mix of emotions. He suddenly realized that everything had changed, and he had really changed a lot of things. Originally, he just wanted to save some money and live a good life with his wife.

Song's mother didn't quite believe Zhao Hua's words. The two fish that were delivered yesterday were only worth a few dollars. However, she didn't ask any further questions. She only took the initiative because she couldn't stand the commotion and couldn't refuse to acknowledge the feelings of her relatives and acquaintances.

She smiled slightly, clasped her hands together between her legs, and looked at Zhao Hua, saying, "Little Zhao, seeing how capable you are, and that you're of marriageable age, have your family elders helped you arrange a marriage?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Hua suddenly felt itchy all over his body, and it was so uncomfortable that he wanted to scratch.

Everyone looked over, except for Song Xueping. Zhao Hua, being stared at by so many people, didn't dare to look around. He scratched his neck, shook his head, and laughed, "Not yet."

Song's mother smiled and looked him over, saying, "What's going on? Aren't the elders in the family worried yet?"

Zhao Hua tightened his legs. He needed to clarify this matter quickly, otherwise people might think he had a hidden illness, which would be troublesome. He chuckled and said, "I have mentioned it a few times, but I've been busy lately and haven't had time to think about it."

Before Song's mother could ask any more questions, several women nearby quickly stepped forward and said, "No matter how busy you are, you can't delay getting married. Making money is one thing, but getting married is the most important thing for us ordinary people."

"If you're not married yet, there are several beautiful young women in our village. Would you like me to introduce you to someone?"

"Yes, you're at the age where you should settle down and start a family. Your parents must be eager to have a grandchild."

"Well, as the old saying goes, of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no offspring. If you can hurry up and start a family, your parents will sleep soundly."

One of the women offered him a cigarette, then changed the subject, saying, "Young man, aren't there two perfectly good ones sitting right here in this room? See if they're to your liking. If not, I'll find some for you outside. Just tell me what kind of girl you like, and I'll make sure you're satisfied."

In an instant, Zhao Hua felt a chill run down his spine. The chattering crowd around him fell silent. Unsurprisingly, the person in front of him was a matchmaker hired by one or more families.

As soon as she spoke, Zhao Hua intuitively guessed that a family that could send their daughter here couldn't be very well-off.

Because theoretically, they wouldn't openly and directly meet like that. It's more like they're taking a chance, like they're burning their bridges. Maybe their families are really struggling to make ends meet, which is why the matchmaker isn't afraid of offending such families.

In an instant, he smiled faintly and looked at the two girls next to Song Xueping. It was already summer, but one of them was wearing a thin old cotton coat, while the other was wearing a summer shirt without sleeves. Their clothes looked a little damp, and there were faint water stains on their shoulders. When they saw Zhao Hua looking at them, the two of them became uneasy, as if they did not know whether to stand or sit.

Although the two girls were shy, their eyes did not dodge; they looked at him expectantly.

He took a closer look at the two girls. They were thin and pale, both with short hair, about 160 cm tall, and slender but not exactly graceful. He felt a pang of sadness.

If he refuses, this matter will have no impact on him at all, and may even give him an extra reputation for being a charming and outstanding womanizer.

But this could leave a psychological scar on these two girls, a stain that will last a lifetime. They'll be easily gossiped about when they go out in the future. But he can't just accept it like this. What about Song Xueping? Besides, he can't accept two girls at once.

He already regretted coming to Hongguang Village, but since he was already there, he had to find a way to deal with it. His future mother-in-law was useless and didn't even try to stop him.

Seeing the two girls living like this, he couldn't bear it. He frantically searched for a solution, and in his distress, he rubbed his face with his hands.

The two girls pursed their lips and slowly lowered their heads. The matchmaker, seeing this, assumed he was impatient with the two girls and her face lit up with joy. These two families had no money to be made, so she wouldn't stop them from getting together if it worked out. But if it didn't work out, there were many other families outside who had promised her a lot of benefits.

Just as she was about to speak, Zhao Hua said, "My parents aren't here right now. I can't make such a big decision on my own. Let's forget about marriage."

Those inside and outside the house exchanged glances upon hearing this. The two girls slowly lowered their heads, their eyes reddening slightly. They also had self-respect; having endured so much here, they naturally wanted a good outcome. Now, not only did they not have a good outcome, but their parents forced them to stay here, making them the laughingstock of so many people.

The matchmaker just smiled and said, "You're so capable, buying a bicycle so easily, and you're even making money now. You'll be able to start your own household in a few days. As long as you like it, your parents will be happy. What's there to say they can't make the decision?"

Zhao Hua was too lazy to pay attention to her anymore. The situation was too complicated to describe. There were a bunch of people inside the house and a bunch of people outside. There were two girls who had appeared in Song Xueping's house, a matchmaker who was causing trouble, Song Xueping who kept her head down, and Song Xueping's best friend. Although she might have stayed under the pretext of visiting Song Xueping, it would be unrealistic to say that she had no intention of doing so. It was truly a complete mess.

He slowly exhaled, glanced at the two girls, and said, "Wait for me a moment."

He then got up and walked to the bedside, with his back to everyone, and took out the money he had earned from selling fish that day. Everyone heard the clinking sound of coins and, not knowing what he was going to do, waited quietly without making a sound.

There was more banknotes in the county town than in the countryside. He counted out twenty yuan, walked up to the two girls, and said, "This is our first meeting. I am a little older than you."

Then one of them handed over ten yuan and said, "I'm being a bit presumptuous and giving the two kids some pocket money as their older brother. Keep it for yourselves to buy some odds and ends. Just pretend nothing happened and I won't say anything more."

He never cared about these things; he was always a carefree person. Every time his coworkers went to the alley and spent a day's wages, they would come back and say that money was worthless, and that they could earn more if they lost it.

Although he doesn't go into those alleys, these words still affected him.

He didn't care about any of that, but the matchmaker beside him was green with envy. She said that if a marriage was arranged, the man's family would only give a few dollars or a dozen dollars, and if it wasn't arranged, they would give nothing, at most a pack of cigarettes. And this young man was taking out twenty dollars for a girl he had only met once? How much would the matchmaker have to give if the marriage was arranged? Her breathing became a little heavy.

Looking at the money in Zhao Hua's hand, Song Xueping was speechless for a moment. She felt a pang of heartache, but the money had nothing to do with her, so she couldn't figure out why she felt sorry for it.

Song's mother quickly reached out to stop him, saying, "Xiao Zhao, what are you doing? This is all money you've worked hard to earn. We just invited you here to look at some potential partners. What's the point of making you spend money? What will your parents think of us if they find out? Put it away quickly."

Zhao Hua smiled and said, "It's alright. I can still make my own decisions about money. I've already kept the money I earned myself." After saying that, he walked past Song's mother. Song's mother wanted to stop him, but she was no match for him in strength. Besides, she didn't really have any right to stop him.

The two girls were stunned. They really wanted the money, but they also felt they shouldn't take it. Their faces turned red as they stared longingly at the money in Zhao Hua's hand.

Zhao Hua stuffed the money into their hands. He had no better ideas, so he decided to use force. He didn't know the root cause of their difficult lives, but ten yuan should improve things a lot.

The feeling of a failed blind date will be lessened, at least verbally it will become the elder taking care of the younger generation, and the villagers' attention will be diverted by the ten yuan, and even if they talk about it, their eyes will be focused on the money they received.

He let out a breath and said to Song's mother, "Auntie, the fish I brought today are still in the fish basket. Shall we take them out first? They'll suffocate and become stale if left too long."

Mother Song sighed, nodded, and turned around, saying, "Let's go then. Let's put your fish away first."

Afterwards, Zhao Hua followed Song's mother out of the house. The villagers who were blocking the doorway hurriedly made way for them, their eyes switching back and forth between the money in Zhao Hua's and the two girls' hands.

Song's mother carried the fish basket to the kitchen, then pulled Zhao Hua aside and said, "Even if you're going to give money, you don't need to give so much. Two or three yuan would have been enough. Why did you give so much all at once?"

Seeing that Zhao Hua just chuckled and didn't take it to heart, she didn't say anything more. After all, he was just her son's friend, and saying too much would only annoy him.

Just then, Song Zhiqiang burst in, laughing as he entered, "Brother, I heard you gave those two ten yuan each?"

Zhao Hua was very upset and had no energy to deal with him. Besides, she was worried that he might get greedy and cause unnecessary trouble between her and Song Xueping.

After Song's mother brought the fish basket into the yard, he casually nodded and said, "You're useless too. So many people came to block me, and you just stood by and watched? I even taught you how to ride a bicycle, and you got blocked at your own house."

Song Zhiqiang was stunned for a moment, then chuckled twice and said, "I was thinking that all those people were here to introduce you to potential partners, isn't that a good thing? So how can I stop them? Besides, many of them are actually my dad's friends and brothers, and indirectly relatives, so it's not easy to stop them."

Zhao Hua had only intended to give him a casual warning, and was still somewhat agitated, so he didn't say anything more. However, he was curious and asked, "Then why were you dragged straight into the house? And what's the deal with those two girls?"

Song Zhiqiang scratched his head and said in a low voice, "Those people came to wait for you yesterday. Mom said they didn't believe you if you didn't come at night, saying they'd seen you at night before. By the way, your flashlight is still at my house. Are you taking it back with you later?"

Zhao Hua waved his hand and said, "We'll talk about the flashlight later."

Song Zhiqiang nodded, then said in a low voice, "Where was I? Oh right, they didn't leave until very late last night, and they kept pestering my mother to ask about your family situation. My mother doesn't know anything about these things, but she finally gave in to their pestering and promised to ask them if you come over today."

Seeing that Zhao Hua nodded and no longer blamed him for not helping to stop the people, Song Zhiqiang chuckled and said, "One of the two women's fathers had his back injured a couple of years ago while working. He couldn't do heavy work anymore. In the past, they were paid by work points, and they couldn't save any money at the end of the year. They even owed money to the brigade. They didn't have money for treatment, so it's been delayed until now."

"I heard that after her father fell from grace, other families looked down on her family. Her younger brother was still small, and after the land was divided, it was her and her siblings who did the farming. They all bullied her family. Our area is dry and water is scarce, so we have to fight for water to irrigate. Her family couldn't win the fight, so it was pretty miserable."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hua looked at Song Zhiqiang with surprise and said, "You even know that you need to water the crops?"

Song Zhiqiang rolled his eyes at Zhao Hua and said, "How come I didn't know? I've worked in the fields before!" Seeing Zhao Hua glancing at him sideways, he chuckled and said, "Actually, this year, several families in our village got into a fight over irrigation, and I found out when I went to watch the commotion."

Seeing that Song's mother had entered the house, Zhao Hua nodded and changed the subject, saying, "Alright, after everyone leaves, go and push the car up. Just practice casually today."

Song Zhiqiang was overjoyed to hear this. He thought he wouldn't be able to learn today because of the rain, but he didn't expect Zhao Hua to still be willing to teach him. After Zhao Hua finished speaking, he didn't want to say anything more. There was no reason for him to ask Song Xueping to come along today. He had no motivation to go with Song Zhiqiang.

There was no one left in the courtyard. They dispersed when they received the message from inside the house. Fortunately, it was a rainy day, so not many people came.

He slowly walked into the main room, thinking that he had to play the good cop and not even look at these people. If he offended them completely, they would have no idea what to say behind his back when he came to see Song Xueping in the future.

Zhao Hua took out his cigarettes and distributed them around. When he still didn't have enough, he squeezed the cigarette pack and threw it in the yard. People who had cigarettes then took them out and gave them to him. However, while others had economy cigarettes, he had Daqianmen cigarettes. He didn't care about that; as long as he showed the right attitude, he didn't mind.

While chatting and laughing with a few people, Song Zhiqiang was so anxious that he scratched his head and cheeks. He had even taken out a broom to sweep the floor, but the group seemed not to see him and continued talking without paying any attention to him.

Zhao Hua secretly rolled his eyes. The two girls who had received the money came out of the house, followed by Song Xueping and her friend. The two girls walked up to Zhao Hua and whispered their thanks. Everyone in the main room already knew what had happened inside.

No one said anything at this point; they nodded while smoking, and a few even praised Zhao Hua for his kindness and generosity.

Hearing this, Zhao Hua felt much relieved. This was exactly the effect he wanted. He smiled and said to the two girls, "Go back early and be careful on the road."

The two girls nodded like chicks pecking at rice, looking quite cute. The people standing in the yard smiled and watched the two girls rush into the rain.

Zhao Hua hadn't expected that they didn't even have raincoats, and he suddenly understood why there were water stains on their shoulders.