Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 78 Qin Huairu's Thoughts

"Matchmaker Sun, who was that person just now?"

On the way to the Intermediate People's Court, Qin Huairu secretly glanced back at Li Hongbing and couldn't help but whisper to Matchmaker Sun, "What's wrong with me?"

Just now, she almost thought that the person she was going on a blind date with today was Li Hongbing.

After all, as soon as the matchmaker entered the courtyard, she went straight for him.

Moreover, when people go on blind dates, the man's family usually prepares some food to entertain them.

What Li Hongbing just made was even better than what his family ate during the Chinese New Year.

The key is the taste; it's just so delicious.

Qin Huairu had never had the chance to eat this kind of "fine bran" before.

When it turned out not to be true, Qin Huairu could hardly help but be disappointed.

If I could marry Li Hongbing, with his cooking skills just now, I would be happy for the rest of my life.

Through Qin Huairu's observation, it became clear that Li Hongbing's family was not poor.

"Li Hongbing is now an apprentice at Fengzeyuan."

After revealing Li Hongbing's identity, Matchmaker Sun couldn't help but boast: "Have you heard of Guo Youzhong, the head chef of Fengzeyuan? He's their master, someone they've formally served tea to and formally become his apprentice to."

Don't let his current status as an apprentice fool you; his skills are exceptional. I ate at his place once before, and it was truly..."

It's not Sun the matchmaker's fault; the last meal was just too unforgettable.

Moreover, as a city dweller, she also felt a sense of superiority over Qin Huairu, a country girl, though she didn't show it as obviously.

"Fengzeyuan?"

Qin Huairu had never heard of Guo Youzhong, but she knew about Fengzeyuan.

Having rarely been to the city in her life, Qin Huairu was determined to marry into the city and loved listening to the villagers talk about their experiences there.

She's nineteen this year. With her looks and in a rural area where people generally marry young, it's impossible that no one would come to propose marriage to her.

In the past two or three years, matchmakers and suitors have been knocking down the door of her house, but Qin Huairu is proud and refuses to agree, otherwise she wouldn't have dragged it out until now.

Fortunately, hard work pays off, and today she finally got her chance.

only.

Upon hearing that Li Hongbing was actually the apprentice of the head chef at Fengzeyuan Restaurant, Qin Huairu felt even more regretful.

Let alone places like Fengzeyuan, which she'd only ever heard about when others were bragging, she'd never even had the chance to eat at any restaurant in the city.

"Xiao Qin, let me tell you, the people living in this courtyard are not simple."

Wiping away the drool that almost spilled from her mouth, Matchmaker Sun said to Qin Huairu, "Not only do the chef's apprentices from Fengzeyuan Restaurant live here, but also school teachers, film projectionists, and Jia Dongxu's master is a senior technician at the steel rolling mill, earning over 600,000 yuan a month!"

Matchmaker Sun naturally didn't forget her task for the day. She had accidentally mentioned Li Hongbing a few more times, so she quickly brought the topic back.

"A monthly salary of over six hundred thousand?"

Qin Huairu was completely stunned.

They probably wouldn't earn that much even if they farmed in the countryside for a whole year.

If the harvest is bad, they can only eat black bread and drink thin gruel.

It's only in this new society that everyone has been allocated land. In the old society, many people would have starved to death.

If you exchanged all 600,000 yuan for grain, you could buy five or six hundred jin (250-300 kg).

That's fine.

That's just someone else's monthly salary.

Thinking of this, Qin Huairu's desire to marry into the city became even stronger.

"Let me tell you a secret, but you must keep it to yourself. Jia Dongxu's master has no children, only one apprentice. Besides the high salary, he also has two rooms in the courtyard. He'll be there to take care of him in his old age..."

Seeing that Qin Huairu was already tempted, the matchmaker whispered in her ear, adding fuel to the fire.

As an experienced matchmaker, she could naturally see through Qin Huairu's thoughts and knew that among rural girls, she was the kind with high aspirations. However, no matter how ambitious she was, Qin Huairu was still a rural girl who only wanted to marry into the city, so she was easily manipulated.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you, that Li Hongbing from the front yard is only sixteen years old this year. This yard is full of talented people, which means it has good feng shui. She will definitely enjoy a good life after marrying into the family."

With her sharp eyes, Matchmaker Sun could easily see that Qin Huairu had probably developed feelings for Li Hongbing, so she added insult to injury.

"Only sixteen!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.

The marriage law promulgated after the founding of the People's Republic of China stipulated that the legal age for marriage was 20 for men and 18 for women.

Because the policy hasn't been fully implemented yet, and due to past customs, the actual age for marriage in rural areas is often earlier than this.

However, if you're in the city, it will be a bit later.

Although there are quite a few people who get married earlier than the legal age nowadays.

But when Qin Huairu thought that Li Hongbing was three years younger than her, she gave up many of her ideas.

The issue is.

The person she's going on a blind date with today isn't Li Hongbing, and the secret that Matchmaker Sun just revealed has really piqued her interest.

Seeing Qin Huairu's reaction, Matchmaker Sun was very satisfied.

Although I also want to do business with Li Hongbing, it's not the right time yet. Right now, the most important thing is to settle this marriage for the Jia family.

soon.

Qin Huairu and Matchmaker Sun arrived at the central courtyard.

at the same time.

Knowing that Jia Dongxu was going on a blind date today and that the matchmaker would bring the potential partner to his door, Liu Guangqi and Xu Damao, along with other young men in the courtyard, were already waiting there early on.

They had originally planned to watch the show, or even continue to see Jia Dongxu make a fool of himself, since they had all heard that the blind date this time was a country bumpkin from the countryside, which inevitably made them look down on him.

When they saw Qin Huairu, they were immediately awestruck by her beauty, and almost drooled.

Young boys, at the age when their hearts begin to flutter with romantic feelings, are not completely ignorant of the world, and their hearts are suddenly filled with longing.

They had initially hoped to see a joke, but Qin Huairu's appearance made them feel envious and jealous.

How come Jia Dongxu is so lucky?

Feeling the gazes of Liu Guangqi and Xu Damao, Qin Huairu lowered her head shyly, but secretly felt a little pleased.

Although she came from the countryside, Qin Huairu believed that her appearance was no worse than that of girls from the city.

What she can be most proud of right now is her youthful age and appearance.

Seeing this, Sun, the matchmaker who had been through it all, couldn't help but smile knowingly, and did not scold or drive away Liu Guangqi and Xu Damao.

Led by Matchmaker Sun to the front of the Jia family's house, Qin Huairu immediately saw Sha Zhu cooking outside. She was stunned and quickly grabbed Matchmaker Sun, whispering, "Matchmaker Sun, didn't you say Jia Dongxu is twenty-two this year? I think he's more than that!"

Mistaking Sha Zhu for Jia Dongxu, Qin Huairu felt like she had been tricked and deceived.

Don't let Sha Zhu's age fool you; he's only seventeen, five years younger than Jia Dongxu. But because of his inherited genes, he looks older than his age, appearing to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. No wonder Qin Huairu has such strong opinions about him.

When the matchmaker saw this, she was delighted.

"Hey! This is Sha Zhu, Jia Dongxu's neighbor."

"Then why is he cooking here? Isn't this the Jia family's house?"

You didn't know that, did you?

"This Sha Zhu is now an apprentice at Emei Restaurant, learning from the head chef. His father used to be a big shot in Beijing, but he ran off with a widow... Sha Zhu has learned a lot from his father and his current master. Although he hasn't officially graduated yet, his skills are already quite good."

"Today is a blind date, right? The Jia family specially invited him over and prepared a delicious meal just for you. It's clear they value you and don't look down on you just because you're from the countryside..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)