Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

Chapter 651 Don’t let the wealth go to outsiders

The matter of Jia Dongxu has finally come to an end, and his death has delayed the things everyone wanted to do for quite some time.

The courtyard returned to peace and quiet, and the busiest time since construction began has passed.

It's time for everyone to take care of their own important matters, such as finding a partner.

Seeing Bai Xiuwen and Xu Sinan being so affectionate together, Cui Yuan was filled with envy, especially with his aunt urging him to get married.

Before the Lunar New Year, I asked a matchmaker named Wang to introduce me to a potential partner. I thought I had found a good one, but it turned out to be a huge problem.

This made Cui Yuan suspicious of Wang the matchmaker.

"Matchmaker Wang has so many things to do, she can't possibly take care of me. I shouldn't keep bothering her. If I want to find someone suitable, I have to rely on myself."

Cui Yuan thought and thought but couldn't come up with a good solution, so he immediately thought of his master, Liu Huazhong.

"Why don't we ask our master to help us get in touch? He must have some connections."

With this in mind, Cui Yuan arrived at the electrical workshop early in the morning, waiting for his master, Liu Huazhong, to come to work.

Finally, he arrived, and she immediately got up to go find him: "Master."

Good morning, Xiao Cui.

"Good morning, Master. I... I..." Suddenly, Cui Yuan didn't know how to start the conversation.

"What's wrong? Did something happen? If there's anything you don't understand, just tell me."

Liu Huazhong thought Cui Yuan was having trouble with the repairs.

After hesitating for a moment, Cui Yuan finally spoke: "Master, I'm thinking of finding a partner. Could you please help me take a look?"

"Find a partner? You should find a partner first?" Liu Huazhong was also stunned, not expecting his honest apprentice to say such a thing.

"Master, am I not good enough?"

"No, why can't my apprentice date? I just never expected you to say that, it's too shocking."

Liu Huazhong was taken aback by the shock as soon as he started work.

Looking at his honest and simple apprentice, he said, "Yes, you're not getting any younger, it's time for you to get married. I've agreed to it, I'll take a look for you in the next few days."

"Thank you, Master!" Cui Yuan said gratefully.

"No need for thanks, go ahead and get busy."

Watching Cui Yuanyuan's departing figure, Liu Huazhong nodded. His apprentice was no less capable; he deserved to marry a good wife and settle down.

"Xiao Cui is a pretty good person. We shouldn't let the good stuff go to outsiders. Let me think of someone suitable."

Liu Huazhong immediately began searching within his social circle, starting with his relatives.

My younger brother's daughter is of marriageable age, so let's try introducing her to someone.

He acted on his thought immediately, and after work, he went straight to his younger brother's house.

"Hua Guo!"

"Brother, what brings you here?" Liu Zhiqiang looked at his brother with surprise.

"Great news! Is your niece home?"

"An'an! Come out quickly, your uncle is looking for you?"

"uncle!"

But then a beautiful figure ran out.

A blue cloth shirt wrapped around her still youthful and slender frame, and two jet-black braids swayed between faded bows.

She had a pair of bright, watery eyes and a bit of baby fat, and her cheeks were rosy.

Looking at his niece and thinking of Cui Yuan, he thought that it wouldn't be bad for the two of them to be together. They were close in age and would make a perfect match.

"Uncle, what good news did you come to see me about?" Liu An asked curiously.

"There is indeed some good news. Let's sit down and talk about it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhiqiang looked at his brother curiously, wondering what good news it was.

“An’an, you’re not young anymore, you’re 18 now, right?”

"Mm." Liu An nodded.

Liu Huazhong explained: "It's like this, I have an apprentice who is 22 years old this year. Although he is not that handsome, he is still good-looking and he is a good person to live with."

"His skills are quite good. Although he's currently an apprentice, if the assessment were to be reopened, he'd definitely be a top-two, if not a top-three finisher."

Liu Huazhong gave a detailed account of Cui Yuan's situation, including his skills, family, character, and most importantly, his ability to make money.

“My apprentice is great. If I didn’t not have a daughter, I would have my daughter try dating him.”

"There's a saying that goes, 'Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders.' That's why I thought of An'an. I was thinking of having you meet him and see if you like him. If you do, how about you try dating?"

After listening to Liu Huazhong's explanation, Liu Zhiqiang and Liu An exchanged a silent glance.

If anyone else had said this, the two would have been very skeptical, but since it was the older brother/uncle who said it, it was a different story.

Liu Zhiqiang asked skeptically, "Brother, is your apprentice really as good as you say?"

Liu Huazhong said sincerely, "What? You don't actually think I would lie to you two, do you? An'an is my niece, we're all relatives, would I harm you?"

"This is still my apprentice! I'm just trying to keep the benefits within the family."

"Don't underestimate him just because he's an apprentice now. He's got potential. He might not be doing well now, but things will be different later. When he's more discerning, he won't be interested in you anymore."

Hearing Liu Huazhong's confident assertion, the two couldn't help but believe him to some extent.

Liu Zhiqiang quickly replied, "Of course I believe you, brother, but An'an is still studying."

"Look how nervous you two are. I didn't say anything about marriage. Let An'an meet my apprentice first. We'll definitely have to wait until An'an graduates before we talk about marriage."

Upon hearing this, Liu An felt relieved; she had thought she was going to get married right now.

“My apprentice is a good man, with decent character and skills, and he can even earn extra money. If you don’t want to meet him, I’ll introduce him to someone else.”

Hearing Liu Huazhong speak so highly of his apprentice, Liu Zhiqiang was unwilling to give up such a good son-in-law.

"An'an, what do you think?"

"Ah?" Liu An lowered her head shyly, not knowing what to do.
How was she, a young woman in her prime, supposed to handle this?

Liu Huazhong continued, "An'an, what are you afraid of? This isn't about you and my disciple, it's just a meeting. If it doesn't work out, that's fine. Don't worry about my feelings."

Liu An lowered his head and thought for a while, then nodded: "I believe Uncle won't harm me. I'll listen to Uncle and meet with him."

"Alright, don't worry, my apprentice will definitely not let you down. How about we meet this weekend?"

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Uncle."

"Alright, let's meet this weekend. I'll talk to my apprentice about the details and give him an answer tomorrow."

"to make."

"Alright, let's go." Mission accomplished, Liu Huazhong waved and strode away.

He was very optimistic about this marriage that strengthened family ties, mainly because he had a good opinion of Cui Yuan.

"An'an, do you really want to go for a relationship? Your uncle hasn't gone far yet, it's not too late to back out," Liu Zhiqiang comforted her.

Liu An said, "No need. It's just a meeting, I won't lose anything. Uncle said if it's not suitable, then forget it. If it is suitable, then we can give it a try."

"But aren't you in school right now? Won't dating interfere with your studies?"

Liu An smiled bitterly: "Dad, look at what you're saying. Even if it didn't interfere with my studies, I still wouldn't get into university. You know my grades; I'm not cut out for it."

"Besides, you'll either be looking for a partner at school or outside."

"Anyway, we all need to find a good partner to settle down with. Uncle won't harm me. Since he introduced me, why not give it a try?" "If he really is a perfect son-in-law, as Uncle says, if I don't seize the opportunity now, I won't be good enough for him later."

Senior year of high school is similar to junior year of high school; those who don't get into high school start looking for partners and preparing for their future lives.

We've been together for three years and know each other very well. We couldn't date before because of our studies.

Now that it's the final semester, everyone knows whether they can get into university.

Those who fail the exams are now starting to prepare for graduation, such as getting married or finding a job.

If you hit it off, you can basically get married right after graduation; now it's just a matter of starting to date earlier.

The teachers are aware of these things, but as long as it doesn't interfere with other people's studies, they turn a blind eye.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhiqiang nodded: "As long as you have your own ideas, Dad will support you. Don't wrong yourself. As your father, I can still support you."

"Thank you, Dad." It was precisely because of Liu Zhiqiang's support that Liu An dared to agree.

After Liu Huazhong left, he went straight to Cui Yuan's house and told him about Liu An's situation.

"Xiao Yuan, let me introduce you to my niece. She's a senior in high school and hasn't graduated yet. She's quite pretty and a nice person."

"She can do housework like boiling water, cooking, folding clothes and making beds. She's a good girl, you can't let her down."

"Thank you, Master, but isn't it inappropriate to introduce your niece to a blind date before she's even graduated?"

Liu Huazhong waved his hand: "Don't worry, my niece agreed. Why would I introduce her to you if she didn't agree?"

"You two can meet up on the weekend and see if you get along. If you do, you can get married after she graduates."

"Take advantage of the time before graduation to prepare your things. With more time, you two can see what shortcomings there are. If it's not a good match, you can talk it over and break up amicably."

Although Liu Huazhong thought highly of the two, matters of the heart are unpredictable; they might break up if they didn't do something right.

He patted Cui Yuan on the shoulder and said, "You don't need to feel so much pressure. Although she is my niece, you are you. This is someone you'll spend your life with, so you can't be careless."

Liu Huazhong patiently instructed him, trying his best to reduce his influence, so that Cui Yuan would not feel embarrassed out of face.

After hearing what he said, Cui Yuan felt much less pressure: "Okay, I'll listen to Master. What are your plans, Master?"

"Okay, come to my house this weekend morning, you two can meet up."

After agreeing on the time and place, Liu Huazhong went to his younger brother's house again.

Both of them were looking forward to their weekend date.

the other side.

Night school.

It's time to go to school again.

On the first day of school, the first thing to do was naturally clean up and get the books, and then we said a few words and that was it.

After the cleaning was finished and the books were collected, Yan Wanbin looked at everyone.

"A new semester brings a new atmosphere. If we graduate smoothly, this will be our last semester."

"This semester is more difficult than ever before, with both theoretical and practical aspects being very rigorous. I hope everyone will work harder; whether we can graduate smoothly depends on this semester!"

"You are the first batch of graduates from our night school, the pride and honor of our school. If you do well, we will share the glory and the shame."

After Yan Wanbin's words of encouragement, everyone felt a greater sense of responsibility and were filled with passion.

But the next moment, a bucket of cold water was poured over him, chilling him to the bone.

"Winter break is over. I wonder if you students have continued your studies, especially those who didn't pass the exams last semester. Are you ready?"

"Next weekend, those who fail will have to take a make-up exam. This is your last chance to take a make-up exam, so seize the opportunity. If you fail, be prepared to repeat the year."

The words had barely left his mouth when they immediately drew complaints from several people.

This caught them completely off guard.

"Huh? So sudden?"

"So fast? Just one day on the weekend, is that enough time to practice?"

Upon hearing several classmates complain, Yan Wanbin reprimanded them.

"Now you know you regret it. If you had known, why didn't you do this? I told you before the semester ended that you would have to take a make-up exam after school started."

“If you don’t make any progress during the winter break, you can only blame yourselves for not being attentive enough, and you can’t blame anyone else.”

"By the way, don't think that just because you didn't pass the exam you can skip this semester, or come every few days. That's impossible. We've already made preparations."

These words made the students who had to retake the exam feel a lot of malice.

But there's something even more disgusting about this.

"By the way, given this situation, the results of the make-up exams will not be announced after the exams, but at the end of the semester."

These words sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

This is a really ruthless move. You don't even know if you've passed the test. If you have passed but don't study hard, you'll be in big trouble.

If you fail the exam and don't study hard, night school is also prepared to handle it.

Now they're facing a dilemma. In order to graduate smoothly next year, they have to study hard.

"Alright, that's the gist of it. Do any of you have any questions?"

Everyone raised their hand.

"Okay, if there are no problems, then school is over. Everyone, remember to preview the lessons when you get home. We'll start formal classes next week."

After saying that, Yan Wanbin left first.

The crowd was left looking at each other in bewilderment.

Qi Mengru patted her chest and said with relief, "Luckily I passed and don't have to retake the exam, otherwise I don't know what I would do. Not knowing the results would make me anxious every day, and it would be so tiring."

"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to Li Kailang. Luckily we had you, otherwise we would have been in big trouble," Yu Xingmei chimed in.

Kim Geon-hyun joked, "If you're so grateful to Little Li, does that mean I didn't do anything at all? That would be really heartbreaking."

Yu Xingmei joked, "Oh, is Xiao Jinzi jealous? That's rare. Of course, we won't forget you, our great contributor. If it weren't for you, we would both be in big trouble."

"How can I thank you? Should I kowtow to you in gratitude?"

"It's not impossible," Kim Geon-hyun said with a smile.

Yu Xingmei changed her expression like a Peking Opera face-changing act: "Dream on! You're lucky if I don't smash your head in, you know that!"

Seeing Yu Xingmei's irritable state, Jin Jianxian dared not act rashly again.

Yu Xingmei is still the Yu Xingmei everyone remembers; she hasn't changed at all.

On the contrary, Qi Mengru did indeed bow slightly, like a palace maid, delicate and charming:
"Thank you for your help, sir. I have no other way to express my gratitude but to offer myself in return. I hope you will not find me unworthy."

The three looked at Qi Mengru in surprise; this was the first time they had ever seen her like this.

Feeling embarrassed by the three people staring at her, Qi Mengru immediately snapped, "What are you looking at! Haven't you seen this before?!"

"Jin Jianxian, how's my thanks? Is it enough?"

Seeing Qi Mengru suddenly become more open and confident, the three nodded. "That's more like it. I thought you were possessed by a ghost."

"Don't talk nonsense." Yu Xingmei gave Jin Jianxian an elbow strike, making his face turn a deep shade of purple from the pain.

The three of them are still the same three as before, unchanged because of the New Year.

"Alright, let's go. What are you still doing in the classroom? Are you going to study?" Li Kailang said.

The four packed their things and left the night school; it wouldn't be so easy coming back next week.

(End of this chapter)