Chapter 40: Introducing a Young Man

Hu Meili was disciplined by her own parents and indeed became more restrained. She no longer clashed head-on with Lin Xiangnan, but instead, she secretly asked Lin Xiangxi for information.

“Did your sister secretly bring back two thermoses last night?”

Lin Xiangxi was shocked, “Mom, how do you know?”

“How could I not know that there’s an extra thermos in your room? You have one, how could your sister not have one?”

Lin Xiangxi couldn’t help but explain, “Sister said there are thermoses at home. If she bought one for you, you would definitely scold her. So she only bought two.”

“What else is in your sister’s room besides the thermos?”

“Cabinets. But they’re all locked. Mom, it’s no use even if you ask.” Lin Xiangxi said helplessly, “Didn’t sister give the family living expenses? Why are you always watching her.”

“You little brat, what do you know? You only know how to follow your sister and enjoy the good things, but the source of your sister’s money can’t stand scrutiny.” Hu Meili grumbled, “I advise her, but she doesn’t listen, she has to go against me.”

“Sister didn’t buy anything, just some furniture. Other things were brought back secretly when there were few people around. No one saw it except for the family.”

Not only Lin Xiangnan, but even Lin Xiangxi thought Hu Meili was making a fuss over nothing.

But older people have experienced more and thought more. So Hu Meili started to arrange blind dates for Lin Xiangnan in a hurry. Spending money was fine, but the money had to come from somewhere. She didn’t have a job, but she could spend a man’s money, right? Her salary alone wasn’t enough to cover Lin Xiangnan’s expenses.

“I have a young man in mind, I want to introduce him to Xiaonan, see if you think it’s okay.” Hu Daxi said, “It’s Gu Zhenhua, the third son of the Gu family next door to our old courtyard, you should have seen him.”

“Gu Zhenhua?” Hu Meili directly shook her head, “No. The Gu family is no good. This guy is no good either. Xiaonan will definitely be bullied if she goes to their house.”

“What bullying? Does Xiaonan look like someone who can be bullied? You keep Xiaonan at home, she doesn’t have a job all day long, she’s a street urchin, how can she not go bad? What if she gets caught reselling things, her whole life will be ruined.”

Seeing Lin Xiangnan bring back good things from time to time, Hu Daxi had the same idea as Hu Meili. This child must have made money by reselling things.

The demobilized young men who snuck back and the young men who should have gone down to the countryside but stayed in the city, most of them were up to no good, they were speculators, they didn’t have jobs, so they had to find ways to make money to fill their stomachs.

Lin Xiangnan was also an unemployed young woman, everyone had this stereotype of her.

Hu Meili couldn’t help but explain for Lin Xiangnan, “She didn’t resell anything. She just got lucky and found some money, she just spends a little lavishly.”

“No need to explain. We’re all family, I don’t look down on Xiaonan. I just think this is not right.”

Hu Daxi didn’t think there was anything wrong with Lin Xiangnan doing this. It’s better to know how to make money than to do nothing at all, it’s just that the risk is too high.

Hu Daxi spoke sincerely, and Hu Meili couldn’t hide it anymore, she simply explained the source of the money at home.

“I didn’t dare to say it before, I was afraid of retaliation, who knew Xiaonan was a carefree person, she spends money as soon as she gets it, she doesn’t think about the consequences.”

Hu Daxi quickly said, “If that’s the case, then that Gu family kid is even more suitable. He’s been in the army for a few years, and it seems he’s also made a name for himself. I see that he has several friends who are policemen, so we don’t have to worry about retaliation.”

Hu Meili frowned, “I know this guy, he’s a scoundrel. He beats his brother, and he even fights with his parents.”

In short, he was the kind of person who would punch an old folks’ home and kick a kindergarten.

“That’s all outsiders saying. When I twisted my ankle by the river, I almost fell in, it was this kid who pulled me up and carried me back. He’s actually a good person. And it’s so hard to get a spot in the army, his second brother went down to the countryside, but he insisted on going to the army, he’s so clever.”

Hu Meili still wasn’t happy, “Being a military wife is good. But I don’t like the Gu family.”

“The Gu family is indeed no good. They pretend to be concerned about their child’s age and ask everyone to introduce a partner for Gu Zhenhua, but they don’t even have an extra room at home, Gu Zhenhua sleeps in the living room when he goes home. But didn’t you prepare a room for Xiaoxi? So let’s just ignore the Gu family, just look at this Gu Zhenhua kid, you can just think of it as picking up a son.”

“Are you really not considering it?” Hu Daxi sincerely said, “I wouldn’t cheat my own niece, this kid is really good, he’s also handsome, Xiaonan will definitely like him. Once Xiaonan gets married, you won’t have to worry anymore.”

No matter how Hu Daxi tried to persuade her, Hu Meili remained unmoved.

If she was like Liu Laoheiand didn’t have any standards, she would have already married Lin Xiangnan off, why would she wait until now.

Because the Gu family lived next door to Hu’s family, Hu Meili also knew this family.

The most bizarre thing about their family was that the man didn’t do anything at home, the woman worked outside and earned money, and when she came back, she still had to do laundry, cook, and take care of the whole family.

Because Gu Fugen was an only child for three generations, he was a gluttonous lazybones, his wife, Gu Chouni, was a child bride bought before liberation, she did everything without complaint, during the early days of liberation, when so many people got divorced, she didn’t leave, she even gave birth to six sons for the Gu family, she considered herself a great contributor to the family.

But when there were more sons, they became less precious. Gu Chouni only doted on her eldest son, pampering him until he became as gluttonous and lazy as his father. The rest of the younger ones were treated like grass, they could only wear the old clothes that their elder brother didn’t want.

Gu Zhenhua was angry, he often beat his elder brother and even fought with his parents.

The Gu family’s reputation was already bad, and Gu Zhenhua’s actions made it even worse. Everyone around knew he was a scoundrel.

Even though he’s been in the army for several years now, no one dared to introduce a partner to him.

It was only because Hu Daxi had interacted with him before and knew what kind of person he was that he was willing to introduce him to Lin Xiangnan. Who knew Hu Meili wouldn’t agree, Hu Daxi could only regretfully give up.

The initial screening didn’t even pass, Hu Meili didn’t mention this person to Lin Xiangnan, she calmly continued to inquire about other good young men.

But she had already checked the resources of her old girlfriends, she thought the ones she found suitable, Lin Xiangnan had all rejected them. So Hu Meili turned her attention to the younger generation.

She first asked Hu Tuohua, “You young people have different views from us old people, see if there are any young men in their twenties around you, you can introduce them to your sister. If you recommend them, Xiaonan should like them.”

“I just happen to know one, his name is Gu Zhenhua, he’s very responsible, the murderer last time…” She accidentally slipped up, and quickly stopped herself.

Hu Meili didn’t give up and pursued, “Him again? What’s the deal with the murderer? Are you and Xiaonan hiding something from me?”

Hu Tuohua felt guilty, her voice unconsciously lowered, “No, nothing.”