Siheyuan: A warm home with wife and children

Or, we could introduce him to someone; they could become relatives and help him out in the future.

This favor must be Yang Jianguo helping his own family.

With such a high salary, and only two people living together after marriage, how could he possibly spend it all?

Each with their own thoughts, Aunt Liu led the girl inside.

Chapter Eight: He's Taken a Pick, But Yang Jianguo's Fortune is Unlucky

"Jianguo, I've brought the person to you." Aunt Liu waved towards the door.

"Come in, young lady, what's there to be shy about?"

Yang Jianguo stared at the doorway, wanting to see what kind of girl Aunt Liu had introduced him to.

He only knows his name, family background, and job; he has never actually met him.

"Come in quickly."

Aunt Liu urged, explaining to Yang Jianguo, "This girl is a little shy; it's her first blind date."

"This is my first time too, what a coincidence."

Once the person entered the house, Yang Jianguo finally saw them.

She had an oval face, big eyes, thick, black hair, and skin that was the normal color for Asians. She was dressed neatly.

Because she was wrapped in a padded coat in the dead of winter, her figure couldn't be seen clearly, but she was slimmer than those big, burly, and fertile women.

"This is Li Ying," Aunt Liu said, pointing at him again. "Yang Jianguo, are you two chatting?"

Aunt Liu sat down on the bench in the corner and picked up some sunflower seeds from the table to crack them open.

Looking at the fruit candies and apples displayed on top, I felt a little regretful.

If she had known about Yang Jianguo's circumstances, she would have prioritized her own niece first.

Seeing the girl staring at him, unsure how to begin, Yang Jianguo quickly invited her to sit down.

"You guys have some candy and fruit first, I'll get the food out, and we can eat and chat at the same time."

"Okay, I'll enjoy the good life with you."

"Look at what you're saying, you're the main character."

After exchanging a few polite words, the dishes were served, and Aunt Liu stopped eating her melon seeds.

His eyes were fixed on the beef on the table. "Gulp."

Li Ying wasn't much better off; her mind was buzzing. Had she really married a capitalist?

The table was laden with chicken, fish, beef, braised pork, and even the stir-fried vegetables looked fresh and appealing.

The aroma wafted into her nose, making her keep swallowing her saliva. It smelled so good!

"Jianguo, isn't this a bit too much?" Aunt Liu said, pointing to the dishes on the table.

This is just too much to live on; going on a blind date has emptied my savings.

"No way, Aunt Liu, I'm just happy."

As Yang Jianguo spoke, he opened the six-year-old bottle in his hand, "Let's drink one together, can Li Ying drink it?"

"I'm not much of a drinker," Li Ying replied.

"Then let's drink one less, the auntie is here!" Yang Jianguo poured drinks for the three of them.

The large tea mug was printed with red characters such as "Labor is the most glorious... Long live..."

They gave Li Ying a full account of the situation: Aunt Liu had an extra ounce, and Yang Jianguo himself had about the same amount.

Li Ying was pleased; this man didn't drink too much.

After finishing one dish, Yang Jianguo urged everyone to eat, saying, "Try my cooking, don't be shy!"

The two of them didn't stand on ceremony and picked up their chopsticks to eat the beef.

Beef is a rare commodity; we must not try it first.

Upon tasting it, Li Ying beamed with joy; it was so delicious!

High salary, good family background, and also a great cook.

He was tall and handsome, and spoke politely...

Li Ying truly had no faults in this marriage.

After a couple of drinks, I felt warm.

Aunt Liu took off her coat, and Li Ying followed suit.

Wearing a floral long-sleeved shirt, with a graceful figure and a magnificent bust, Yang Jianguo was satisfied.

Inside, there was laughter and chatter, and everyone was enjoying their meal.

The two older women, who were standing guard outside Sha Zhu's house, were dumbfounded.

You...have your eye on it?

What kind of taste does Yang Jianguo have? I was even planning to introduce my niece to him. He's such an unlucky guy.

"Second Aunt, Third Aunt, what's going on here?"

“Hey, you’re an old lady, are you going out? Let’s talk here for a bit.”

Laughter came from Yang Jianguo's house. The older woman immediately understood that the two of them were watching him go on blind dates!

"Blind dates are a good thing. Besides, it's best not to get involved in things like building the country."

The old lady was kind-hearted and always stayed away from trouble, saying as little as possible, or not saying anything at all.

The older woman had mixed feelings about Yang Jianguo.

She once told an old man that her family should give him some grain, at least to earn a good reputation.

But the old man insisted on waiting a little longer, saying he needed to test him and offer help only when it was in dire need.

After waiting, the neighborhood committee resolved the issue, and Director Yang received special permission to enter the factory directly.

There was no longer any chance to help them.

Now, instead of things going well, what's the point?

Now that Yang Jianguo's life is better, he doesn't interact much with the people in the courtyard.

They were even hoping to take something from him, did they think he was stupid?

Chapter Nine: I've made up my mind, it's him.

Just then, Xu Damao returned, carrying two old hens and some other odds and ends.

Xu Damao had just returned from showing a movie in the commune. As a projectionist in the propaganda department of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, he had taken quite a few needles and thread from the masses.

This kid is full of bad intentions, but he won't say a word when he gets there. He'll just wait and see how you perform.

If there's no benefit, this movie won't be enjoyable.

Nowadays, movies don't have subtitles, and most people in the countryside are illiterate, so adding subtitles wouldn't be useful.

At this point, it depends on the projectionist. If they explain things well, you'll understand the movie.

The people were in high spirits, grateful to the commune, and had plenty of strength to work. They didn't complain when they were tired or thirsty.

The commune invited us to the movies, hoping to broaden our horizons and do some work. Is that alright?

I won't talk about it~

It's all so confusing and hard to understand.

They'll mess with the film a bit more, turning a one-hour movie into a three- or four-hour show.

In the end, forget about receiving gratitude; you'd be lucky if the masses didn't curse your commune.

Even Xu Damao couldn't help it!

That's just how our old machine is; it breaks down from time to time. It's already a miracle if it can play the film completely.

As for narration, there's no requirement for the projectionist to provide narration anyway, and we don't know how to do it!

Therefore, when Xu Damao went down to show movies again, he always came back with a lot of local specialties.

Ultimately, it was the commune's enthusiasm that made this gesture of goodwill, and there was nothing wrong with it!

This guy isn't very honest, but he's really smart and has a shameless attitude.

If it weren't for this, he wouldn't have been able to cause so much trouble during the reform and opening up.

"Auntie, Auntie, Auntie, are you all here?" Following the gaze of the three women, one could see Yang Jianguo's house.

Amidst laughter and the aroma of meat, Xu Damao couldn't help but take a couple of deep sniffs: "How many dishes did they prepare?"

"How many dishes? There are quite a few!"

The three women called out, "Chicken, fish, braised pork... I also bought shrimp, and I think it even tastes like beef."

"Wow, this kid's got some skills!" Xu Damao's eyes darted around, a hint of displeasure in his heart.

I, Xu Damao, earn 38.5 yuan a month and am a projectionist at the factory, yet I haven't found a girlfriend.

"You've come looking for me, a lone resident. No way, I need to hurry too."

Xu Damao left, and Jia Zhangshi lifted the curtain and sat down at the door, staring at Yang Jianguo with a gloomy look in her eyes.

"That heartless bastard, he eats so well every day, but he doesn't even know how to help our family. He's a ungrateful wretch, and even if he gets married, he won't be able to have children."

Hearing Jia Zhangshi's mutterings, the old woman opened her mouth, shook her head with a gloomy expression, and left.

She had been with an old man for over thirty years, but they had never had a child.

This issue……

It was a knot in her heart; hearing it made her feel uncomfortable all over. Jia Zhangshi said this to her face.

That was not only cursing Yang Jianguo, but also slapping her in the face.

You can't reason with this unreasonable old woman...

After seeing the first aunt leave, the second and third aunts followed suit.

Nobody in this courtyard liked Jia Zhangshi; her mouth was like poison.

There was less fertilizer in the dry toilet last month; it seems she probably ate it all.

Otherwise, his mouth would smell so bad all the time.

The door to Yang Jianguo's house opened, and a radiant-faced Aunt Liu came out with Li Ying.

"Jianguo, don't bother seeing her off. I'll make sure she gets home safely. Don't you trust me, Aunt Liu?"

"Alright then, I won't see you off." After glancing at Li Ying's flushed face, Yang Jianguo picked up the small bucket by the door and stuffed it into her hand.

"There's not much to take with you, but you can take these shrimp back for your younger siblings to try."

The bucket contained shrimp, and there was also a plastic bag containing some milk candy, melon seeds, and the like.

Since he had decided that Li Ying was his wife, Yang Jianguo naturally wouldn't be stingy.

Li Ying blushed even more, nodded in agreement, and already considered him her own man.

These days, you can't find anyone better than him.

"Aunt Liu, don't forget what I told you. You'll definitely thank me when things work out."

"Haha, good, good, I won't forget it, I won't forget it."

Aunt Liu was overjoyed, wishing she could move the neighborhood office and the civil affairs bureau over to them so they could get married right there.

This matchmaking trip was definitely worthwhile!

Leading Li Ying out of the compound, Aunt Liu smiled with wrinkles all over her face: "Yingzi, you'd better hurry up."

"Now that Jian Guo has flaunted his wealth, a lot of people are watching. If you delay for a couple of days, we might not even be able to say for sure if you'll be the one getting the marriage certificate."

Seeing that Li Ying was persuaded by her, Aunt Liu pressed her advantage: "Tell me the truth, do you agree to this?"