After Guo Qing's aunt heard her sister-in-law's words, she immediately decided to go to Li Jia Village to ask around. Early the next morning, she went straight to Li Village, which was eight miles away from Green Pine Ridge, to meet the matchmaker. The matchmaker was also an honest man who was not good at talking. He was not as glib as a professional matchmaker. He told Li Zhen's parents and family situation in full detail and said,"As long as both families are willing to get married, let the two children meet first.”
"The two of them have been in the same class for six years. How can they not know each other?"”
The matchmaker said," Classmates are classmates, but I'm afraid we haven't talked about marriage yet. When it's convenient for you, let the two children talk together."”
"Tomorrow then. I'll leave it with you. The aunt of National Day is in your village.”
"Alright, alright."
The next day, the meeting and conversation between Zhong Guoqing and Li Zhen was held at the house of his aunt in Li Village.
That morning, her aunt came to Guoqing's house early to personally dress up for the National Day. Li Zhen wasn't the only one waiting for him at the place where he was going to meet Li Zhen on National Day. There might be many people waiting at his aunt's house to see what was going on. Think about it, after Li Zhen graduated from school, she had been rejecting so many matchmakers who came to her house to propose marriage. Now that she suddenly took the initiative to meet one of her classmates, how could those relatives who had always been concerned about Li Zhen's marriage not come to see for themselves what kind of handsome young man Li Zhen liked? What was so special about this young man in terms of appearance or ability? Otherwise, how could she have hooked the heart of Li Zhen, a beautiful, cultured, and educated girl who was liked by so many people?
The aunt smiled and looked at her nephew. No matter how she looked at him, he was pleasing to the eye. However, she felt that his clothes were a little rustic. Black shirt, black pants, black velvet cloth shoes. Not only was he dressed in black from top to bottom, but his clothes and pants were also sewn with boiled black dyed coarse cotton cloth. She shook her head and said," Guohua's mother, bring me the bag I brought. Let Guohua wear those clothes. Today, you must dress up nicely. Don't be a joke."”
The Chinese child's mother came over with a bundle in both hands and placed it on the brick bed on National Day. As she untied the bundle, she said,"Guo Wa, these are some clothes your aunt brought for your brother. You and your brother are about the same size. Try them on and see if they work.”
Guo Qing smiled and shook his head.""Aunt, there's no need to be like this. When I was studying in school, I couldn't even compare to this outfit. Besides, she would never judge a book by its cover.”
"Sigh! Look at you, kid. You don't know that you're not going to meet Li Zhen alone today. Li Zhen's mother, aunt, and friends will all go to see you. If these people don't like you and don't say good things to Li Zhen, it'll be bad. Try changing into your brother's clothes.”
His mother had already raised his cousin's shirt and forced him to put it on. Guoqing had no choice but to do as he was told. As a result, Guoqing immediately became another person. Clothes make the man. Cousin's clothes really added a lot of luster to Guoqing. This blue khaki tunic suit, coupled with a pair of shiny black leather shoes, made people wonder where this young man came from. His aunt brought a mirror for Guo Qing to take a look. It was fine if he didn't take a look. When Guo Qing saw himself in the mirror, he immediately unbuttoned his shirt and took off his clothes."Auntie, please don't be like this. I can't even walk with this outfit. Besides, Li Zhen will say,'I didn't know you were a flower ghost on National Day.' She will definitely laugh at me. I'll just wear my clothes and let them say whatever they want.”
No matter how much his aunt and mother persuaded him, Guo Qing just shook his head. He changed into his own clothes and pushed the new bicycle that he had borrowed in the morning. He urged his aunt,"Aunt, let's go. Whether it's okay or not, let them decide.”Her aunt and mother couldn't argue with her on National Day, so they could only say,"You stubborn ghost, I don't care if his mother-in-law doesn't like you!”
She could only sit on the back seat of the bicycle on National Day and smile as she set off.
The terrain in Li Village was uneven. To reach the gate of his aunt's house on National Day, he had to climb a half-mile-long slope. When they reached the top of the slope, the aunt was so tired that she was panting. She was sweating profusely, and a thin layer of sweat seeped out of Guo Qing's head. She had just turned a corner when she arrived at the door of her period. Guo Qing wiped his sweat. Just as he raised his head, he saw a few heads sticking out from his aunt's door. They disappeared in a flash.
Her uncle was an old Chinese medicine doctor who had been passed down from his ancestors. He worked as a Chinese medicine doctor in the public health center. His aunt's children had all grown up. Some were working outside, while others had moved out to live. There was also a cousin and a cousin who were not married yet. They were all members of the production team and led a comfortable life.
The door of his aunt's house was open. Guo Qing pushed the cart in front, and his aunt followed closely behind. As soon as they turned around the wall, they saw their aunt and a group of women coming out of the kiln door to welcome them. Aunt smiled and said,"Big Sister, you and Guo Wa came early?”
"Aiya, I must have made you wait anxiously. You rushed so quickly that you only arrived now. I've caused you trouble again today!”
"Big Sister, what are you talking about? I've made you worry about the national child. I'm really sorry for making you follow me from afar on such a difficult road. Come and sit in the kiln." As he spoke, he let Guo Qing and his aunt into the house.
After entering the kiln door, it was the brick bed. His aunt knelt on the edge of the brick bed, her small feet together. She naturally patted her back a few times, then quickly took off her shoes and sat on a square brick bed table that had been set up on the brick bed. There were four plates on the table. One was a plate of golden pears, one was a plate of red apples, one was a plate of pomegranate, and one was a plate of the famous Wenxi Pancake.
While his aunt and aunts were chatting, Guo Qing looked at the people inside and outside the cave and in the courtyard. Sitting at the table opposite the aunt was a well-dressed woman in her forties. She had a bun in her hair and a kind face. She smiled from ear to ear. She didn't say much, but her smiling eyes swept over Guo Qing from time to time. Guo Qing determined from her appearance and expression that she might be Li Zhen's mother, his future mother-in-law. Seeing her smiling eyes, he felt a little nervous. There were a few young wives and girls surrounding the brick bed. He knew two of them on National Day. They were his eldest cousin and second cousin. The other two were probably Li Zhen's aunts. In the courtyard, four or five young girls around eighteen or nineteen years old were playing around Li Zhen. They were definitely Li Zhen's companions. On National Day, they did not dare to look at them, especially not to meet their playful gazes.
At this moment, her aunt spoke. She said to her aunt,"Big sister, then let the two children sit in the house over there?”
"Just settle it, Big Sister," said his aunt.”
"Come on, Guo Wa, let's go next door.”Eldest Cousin said as she led Guo Qing to a cave that was less than a battle away.
The cave was about a meter deep, spacious, bright, and clean. It was obviously a place for receiving guests. A table with eight immortals was placed in the middle against the wall, and there were armchairs on both sides of the table. On the wall above the table was a painting of the Chinese Dynasty: The misty mountains and water were simple and elegant, with a profound meaning. There was a couplet pasted on both sides. The first couplet was "Why should a room be big when it is elegant", and the second couplet was "The fragrance of flowers is not much". In addition to the usual clock and a few books on the table, the four fruits and desserts on the table were also placed in the middle of the table. Eldest Cousin poured two cups of hot tea on both sides of the table and left the room.
At this moment, the door opened and Li Zhen, whose face was as red as a piece of red satin, appeared. After entering the door, she first glanced at Guo Qing, smiled, and sat down on the chair opposite Guo Qing.
In order to break the awkward situation, Guo Qing spoke first. He looked at Li Zhen and asked,"What have you been doing at home after graduation?”
"Isn't it all the same? Cultivating Earth, learning from Dazhai in agriculture.”She smiled after saying that. "I heard that you've become the accountant of the team. Aren't you going out?" she asked.”
"I'm not going out. I'll just train well in the village first. With these two of us, what can we do outside?”Guo Qing said firmly. He wanted to hear her reaction.
"That's right. There are two young men in front of my house. They used their connections to find temporary workers in the cotton processing plant and fertilizer plant in the city. Although it's better than us in the village and we can earn a few more yuan, what can we do in the long run? What kind of future did he have? He wasted a high school student for nothing!”
Guo Qing nodded. He felt that what she said made sense. It seemed that she was still far-sighted.
Seeing Guo Qing nodding his head, she asked,""My second father is a secretary at the Green Stone Ridge Commune. He wants me to be a laboratory technician at his Commune's hospital.”
Guo Qing heard this and immediately saw the figure of Guo Zhuye, the telephone operator of the public company. Thinking of her ugly rumors, he immediately felt uncomfortable. He swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva and smiled, but did not say anything.
Even though Guo Qing didn't say a word, Li Zhen could feel that Guo Qing was a little unhappy from the subtle changes in his words. He quickly said," There's still another chance. The secretary of our brigade found my dad a few days ago and said that he wants me to be a private teacher in the village's primary school. What do you think?”
"I think that's not bad. Teaching in school, we can read books and learn. We won't lose everything we've learned. If he could really become a teacher in school, he would have to study hard and teach well. He might even have the chance to become an official teacher in the future.”Guo Qing immediately expressed his opinion. He continued," Things in the village are quite complicated and busy. There's very little time to study. The last time I came to our school, I borrowed a few books from Teacher Zhang Guangyu. I haven't finished reading them yet."”
"What book? Let me read it if I have the chance.”Li Zhen quickly said.
"That's not enough? However, I only read some novels. There are novels from foreign countries and China. I didn't have the chance to read them in school before, but now I can finally do as I please. As long as he could squeeze out some time, he still wanted to see more.”
"Why, haven't you given up on your dream of being a writer?”Li Zhen teased.
"That is indeed a dream and a hobby. Now it seems unlikely.”
After hearing Guo Qing's words, Li Zhen immediately continued,""I feel that as long as we work hard, we will be successful in everything we do. The village accountant is a little busy and has a lot of things to do, but as long as the members trust us, we will do our best. Besides, what else do we have?"
Li Zhen's words made Guo Qing nod.
"I heard in the village that you told the matchmakers that you don't want a wife for the rest of your life?" Li Zhen asked.”As soon as she said that, the two of them laughed out loud.
National Day also said,"Aren't you the same?!" I heard that because of this, your mother really cried and made a scene with you?”
Their hearty laughter spread into the cave next door, and so did the aunts and the group of people who had been listening intently to them, thinking that the two boys were having a good conversation. However, from the beginning to the end, neither Guo Qing nor Li Zhen mentioned anything about marriage or engagement.
After Guo Qing and his aunt left his aunt's house, Li Zhen's group of six or seven people also left Guo Qing's aunt's house and walked towards Li Zhen's house. On the way, they couldn't wait to talk about Li Zhen's future son-in-law. Although Li Zhen's two companions had already seen the happy and satisfied expression on Li Zhen's face, and could see through her thoughts, they still stubbornly raised their opinions. A companion said,"Li Zhen, that classmate of yours is too honest. He's not lively at all. How much can he achieve in the future?"”Another said," There are two brothers in the family. They only have a small courtyard and a few earthen kilns. Their family background is indeed not very good. Moreover, from the way he wears, I'm afraid you'll have to live a few days in the future.”
Li Zhen only smiled and nodded at his companions 'kind suggestions and didn't say a word. Li Zhen's aunt and aunt also agreed with Li Zhen's decision from the bottom of their hearts, so they didn't say anything. But his mother said,"What your two good companions said is reasonable. Li Zhen, you have to think about it carefully."”
However, when she returned home and there was only her and her mother, her mother said,"I have my eyes on him. This child is honest, unlike those Flowing Light Hammers that are boastful and unreliable. I don't think his family background and clothes are worth mentioning. As long as he's a good person, what's the big deal? It's all because of one person!"
Li Zhen nodded. She had already made up her mind about this matter. The only difference was that her previously erratic heart had finally settled down today.
After returning from Li Jia Village, his aunt, father, and mother had a serious discussion about the wedding on National Day. They decided to choose an auspicious day and hold their engagement ceremony first.
The news of the blind date at Li Jia Village on National Day quickly spread among the members of the Green Pine Ridge Second Team. The next day, Qin Zhong met National Day in the alley. He smiled and said,""I really didn't expect an honest young man like you to have a good wife when you were still in school!”
Third Aunt, who was next door to Guo Qing's house, said to someone,"I heard that the national child and his female classmate didn't seem to have been free in school. Someone recently mentioned that the two children had a talk before they settled down. But no matter what, what would those people who were gossiping say? And he even said that there might be something wrong with National Day! Humph! Even though he didn't say anything during National Day, he had an idea in his heart!”
One day, when the members were shaving clovers on the ridge and taking a break to eat dry food, the women's captain, Li Junlan, deliberately sat in front of National Day and asked mysteriously,"On National Day, isn't dating forbidden in school? How did you and your wife fall in love? What secret method did you use?"
Guo Qing's face immediately turned red when he heard Jiang Yao's words. However, he did not dare to get angry and quickly explained,"Third sister-in-law, don't listen to their nonsense. We didn't even talk about this in school. Our form teacher is very powerful.”
"What's there to be afraid of? It's not illegal to be in love.”Xin Niu cheered him on when he heard that Guo Qing refused to admit it."Guoqing, why don't you share your experience with everyone so that we young people can learn from it! Since you're not in love, why are you two resisting the engagement?”
"It's true that we're classmates, but we've never been in a relationship. Just like you said, it's not illegal to be in a relationship. Why don't I dare to admit it?”
"Aiya, don't force it. Won't we know when they get married? It was better to let National Day tell everyone the stories of their great alliance!”Captain Chen Baoxing came forward to help National Day.
Chen Baoxing loved to listen to stories on National Day. Whether it was about the international and domestic situation on National Day or the strange things he read in the newspapers, he loved to listen. Not only did he listen carefully and with great interest, he was also exclaiming in admiration or widening his eyes, saying,"Aiya","Aiya","Good fellow","Good fellow"!
Seeing that his captain had helped him out, Guo Qing immediately changed the topic. He said,"Today, I will tell you a true story.”When everyone heard this, they immediately clapped.
"The story I'm going to tell today is indeed not made up. There is a high school language teacher in our school. His surname is Ouyang. He is from the south and has moved to Zhaozhuang Township in my county. His eldest son and I are classmates. One Sunday, he went home. Before he left, he said that he would bring some millet with him to make some rice soup with his son. His mother-in-law immediately picked up a cloth bag to put the millet in, but he said,'Mom. Tell me where it is, I'll go and install it. The mother-in-law said,'Sure, it's in the wooden barrel in the cave next door.'Teacher Ouyang went to pack a 'red book bag'(a bag used to store Mao's works in the 1970s) of millet. It weighed about 5 to 6 pounds. On Monday afternoon, Teacher Ouyang had no class, so he took out the millet, put a clay pot on the stove, and began to boil the rice soup. The small clay pot was soon opened. After a while, he lifted the lid to take a look. After more than half an hour, although the water in the pot was still boiling, the millet was still the same as when it was poured into the pot, unlike the rice soup he usually drank. He suspected that his method was wrong, so he went to find the neighbor who taught chemistry, Mr. Wen. Mr. Wen squinted his pair of nearsighted eyes and carefully scooped up the rice soup with a spoon. He shook it twice in the pot and studied it carefully for a long time before asking,"Is it the rice that was boiled in the pot or the rice that was soaked in cold water?'Teacher Ouyang replied,"Rice in a pot of cold water."'‘Then try again. Wait for the water to boil before you put in the rice.'Teacher Ouyang immediately poured away the water in the pot and refilled it. When the water boiled, she put the millet in again. Half an hour passed, and the millet in the pot was still the same. Teacher Ouyang really couldn't understand. At this moment, a student came to Teacher Ouyang to ask him a question. Seeing that the teacher was busy, he stood at the side and watched for a while. As he watched, he felt a little strange and asked,'Teacher, what illness are you brewing this for?'‘No, I'm making rice soup! Then how do you boil it with millet? Why don't you use millet to boil it? Teacher Ouyang immediately came to a realization. He smiled and said,"I brewed this thing for a special purpose. I'll tell you later. What do you want? You go first. He answered the student's question and the student left quickly. Only then did Teacher Ouyang burst into laughter in his room. He laughed until his stomach hurt. After listening to the classmate's words, he remembered that his mother-in-law's cave had two wooden barrels. One was filled with millet, and the other was filled with grain. He did not look carefully, so he casually put a bag in one of the wooden barrels and brought it over. In the end, he made such a big joke out of himself.”
After listening to the story of National Day, everyone burst into laughter. Captain Chen Baoxing laughed until tears came out. Only Wang Xinniu did not laugh. He said,"Didn't you tell me the story of your teacher buying a pig the other time? That's ridiculous!”
But the captain stopped him. The captain said,"Let's get to work. After we finish shaving this patch of clovers, we'll talk about the story of buying pigs on National Day.”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]