Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

Just then, several women carrying laundry basins and vegetable baskets gathered by the communal water basin, chatting idly as they worked. Their voices, neither too loud nor too soft, drifted on the breeze to Sha Zhu's ears.

"...Speaking of which, Master Chen's wife is a really good match! She's good-looking, efficient, and a full-time employee at the towel factory! She's also very honest and hardworking at home." A loud-voiced middle-aged woman said, her tone full of envy.

"That's right! At this time last year, Xiao Chen was just like our Zhu Zi (this Zhu Zi is not the same as that Zhu Zi, but another single young man in the courtyard), so worried that he had blisters on his lips! How long has it been, and now he's pregnant, and I heard he's already carrying a baby!" another voice chimed in.

"Hey, I remember Xiao Chen said he didn't have any connections, right? His family is from out of town, and he doesn't have any relatives in Beijing to help him find someone. How did he suddenly find such a good partner?" the third person asked curiously.

The loud-voiced woman immediately lowered her voice, but the air of "I have exclusive news" was still clearly conveyed through her tone: "Hey, you guys don't know this, do you? Little Chen didn't use any outside matchmakers! He went through the 'official channels'!"

"Official channels? What do you mean?"

"It's in their factory! The steel mill union!" The woman said confidently. "Last autumn, didn't the steel mill union and the towel factory union organize some kind of 'Youth Workers' Social Event'? They said it was to help older single workers with their personal problems, but it was really just a disguised matchmaking event! That's where Xiao Chen met his wife!"

They both felt the other was a reliable, honest worker, and they quickly became a couple! I heard the union even helped pass on messages and arrange meetings! Isn't that much more reliable than those busybodies who just take money and do nothing? That's a legitimate company facilitating the matchmaking—so trustworthy!

"The union is involved in this?" someone asked in surprise.

"Why aren't they doing anything? They say it's to 'help employees solve practical difficulties,' but isn't being a single older single person the biggest life difficulty?" The older woman was clearly well-informed. "I heard that many large factory unions have this task now, organizing activities from time to time, or keeping an eye out for employees. After all, they're from the same factory, they know each other well, which is much better than random introductions from outsiders!"

……

Sha Zhu couldn't hear what they said after that. He stood there dumbfounded under the locust tree, as if struck by lightning, the keywords echoing in his ears repeatedly—"steel mill union," "young workers' association," "caring for older single employees," "formal channels," "more reliable than outside matchmakers," "company matchmaking"...

These words were like a key, clicking open his mind that had been blocked by anxiety.

That's right! The labor union! How could he not have thought of that! Those matchmakers on the street are all money-grubbing old foxes who talk a big game; you can't trust them at all!

But the trade union is different! The trade union is our workers' organization, our "home"! When leaders speak and act, they have to adhere to policies, principles, and the truth! Since the trade union could help Xiao Chen from the next courtyard find such a good wife, it can definitely help He Yuzhu solve this "biggest life difficulty"!

Moreover, judging from what that woman said, the union was doing this through "official channels" and "a legitimate organization acting as a matchmaker," which sounds much more prestigious and secure than a private matchmaker! And if... if it works out, it'll be said that it was "introduced by the organization"—how prestigious! How reliable!

A warm current, a mixture of sudden enlightenment, rekindled hope, and a sense of security from "finding a group to rely on," instantly washed away Sha Zhu's depression and confusion of the past few days.

In his simple mind, a clear and self-righteous logical chain immediately formed: I, He Yuzhu, am a formal employee of the steel rolling mill, an older single man, and struggling financially → The labor union has a responsibility to care about the lives of its employees and help them solve their difficulties → Asking the labor union to introduce me to a partner is reasonable, justifiable, legal, and compliant!

As for the details of "how to find them" and "how to say it," these were no problem at all in Sha Zhu's currently turbulent thoughts. Did he need to beat around the bush when seeking help from the organization? Of course, he should just go and say it directly! He'd speak frankly and directly—the working class is all about honesty and straightforwardness!

He could almost see the union leaders listening kindly to his demands, flipping through the list of female employees, and then playing matchmaker for him. Soon, he would be able to bring a dignified, beautiful, hardworking wife back to the courtyard, making that grandson Xu Damao envious and letting everyone in the courtyard see that he, He Yuzhu, was no coward!

"It's settled then!" Sha Zhu slapped his thigh, his face regaining its former radiance, even showing a hint of excitement and determination as he prepared to head to the "battlefield."

Without further hesitation, he turned and walked back, his steps firm and powerful, as if he had already embarked on the broad road to happiness. His mind was now filled with the "lines" he should say to the union tomorrow, making sure that his "difficulties" were clearly, sincerely, and movingly stated.

This overheard gossip, like a spark, ignited the dry embers of anxiety in Sha Zhu's heart, leading him directly to the later "union courtship story" that left the entire factory in a state of absurdity.

In his simple and straightforward understanding, this was undoubtedly a bright, upright and absolutely correct path. He never expected that this "practical" action would stir up a storm of public opinion in the steel rolling mill, and provide Xu Damao with "ammunition" for his dark schemes.

At this moment, filled with boundless trust in the "organization" and aspirations for his future happiness, he was eager to launch a crucial "charge" against the union.

So, on an afternoon when the lunch rush in the canteen had just ended and the air was still filled with the mixed smells of cooking oil and food, Sha Zhu washed his face, looked in the canteen's worn-out, slightly blurry mirror used for checking personal hygiene, vigorously ruffled his always messy hair, straightened his relatively clean blue work clothes, took a deep breath, and with a heart pounding with hope mixed with a little trepidation, strode out of the first canteen, heading straight for the union office in the factory's office building.

The union office was on the second floor. The corridor was quiet and filled with a smell unique to government offices, a mixture of paper, ink, and old wood.

Sha Zhu rarely came to places like this. Standing in front of the dark green wooden door with a white sign that read "Steel Mill Union," he hesitated for a moment, which was unusual for him. But then, that righteous indignation of "seeking help from the organization to solve personal problems" surged up again. He raised his hand and, instead of knocking gently, knocked three times on the door with his knuckles. The sound was loud and particularly abrupt in the quiet corridor.

"Please come in." A middle-aged woman's voice came from inside.

Sha Zhu pushed open the door and entered. The office wasn't large, containing four desks and a long table by the window. There were three people present: a female cadre in her forties with short, shoulder-length hair and black-rimmed glasses was writing near the door; an older man in his fifties with graying hair was reading a newspaper; and a male cadre in his early thirties was organizing a filing cabinet. All three eyes turned to the tall, sturdy stranger at the door, whose face was ruddy from years spent in the kitchen and whose eyes held a strange, urgent light.

"Comrade, who are you looking for? What's the matter?" The female cadre put down her pen, adjusted her glasses, and spoke in a gentle but businesslike tone.

Sha Zhu walked a few steps to her desk, stood ramrod straight, as if giving a work report, his hands unconsciously resting on his trouser seams, clearing his throat, his voice loud and clear, carrying a resolute air of "burning one's boats."

"Leader! My name is He Yuzhu, and I'm a cook at the first canteen! I'm looking for the labor union! I have a problem that I need the organization's help to solve! I... I'd like to ask the labor union leader to help me find a partner, to find me a wife!"

"..."

Time seemed to have been paused at that moment.

The office was eerily quiet, with only the faint rumble of machinery from the distant workshop outside the window. The expressions of the three union officials shifted rapidly within two or three seconds: from confusion to bewilderment, from bewilderment to astonishment, from astonishment to disbelief, finally settling on a look of barely suppressed yet still teetering on the brink of collapse—a look of utter absurdity and ridiculousness.

The old man slowly, extremely slowly, put down the "Workers' Daily" in his hand. His reading glasses slid down to the tip of his nose. Through the top of the lenses, he looked at Sha Zhu up and down with the gaze of someone looking at a prehistoric creature, as if trying to confirm whether he was a real person or an actor who had escaped from some comedy troupe.

The male cadre who was organizing the filing cabinet froze. Holding a stack of documents, he turned halfway around, his mouth slightly open, his eyes wide like saucers. He looked at Sha Zhu, then at the female cadre, and the muscles on his face began to twitch uncontrollably.

The female cadre directly facing Sha Zhu was at the center of this "silent storm." Her amiable expression shattered completely; her eyes behind her glasses widened, her pupils seemingly dilated. She opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but found any words utterly inadequate at this moment. Her lips twitched, and the muscles in her cheeks twitched slightly—proof that she was using all her strength to barely maintain a serious expression.

Sha Zhu felt a little uneasy at the sudden silence and the strange looks from the three people. Half of the courage he had mustered in his heart dissipated, but when he thought of the purpose of his visit and his lonely, cold bed, a stronger sense of grievance and urgency welled up inside him.

He leaned forward slightly, placed his hands on the edge of the desk, and added in a more earnest, even pleading, tone, speaking faster:

"Really! Boss! I'm not kidding! I'm 25 this year, 26 by the Chinese age reckoning! I'm not married yet! I live alone, in a house with a main house! My salary is 32.5 yuan a month, I can cook, and I'm healthy! I just want to find a reliable, down-to-earth wife! Isn't our union supposed to be the workers' home? Doesn't it care about the workers' lives? This is my biggest problem! Boss, please help me out, help me find a match! There are so many female workers in the factory, and in other units too, the leaders know a lot of people, please help me find a wife!"