Chapter 4: Blind Date

Finding a job was too difficult. Li Changshun thought about it all night and still felt it was better to find a partner for Xia Shao.

With a family and children, Xia Shao wouldn’t cling to their family’s if she stayed in Jiangcheng.

Of course, being a family worker was temporary. To become permanent, one had to wait for an opening in the unit. But Xia’s siblings from the countryside might not know about these things. Even if they did, it didn’t matter. He had already done his best by offering such conditions. What more did they want?

“I’m not afraid to tell you the truth. Even if you have a local household registration, getting a job isn’t as easy as you think.”

This time, Li Changshun was more resolute. “Stores, department stores, and other places have already hired enough people. The remaining factories need male workers. Otherwise, our Li Laidi wouldn’t need to use connections. If you’re still not satisfied, there’s nothing I can do.”

With that, he looked at Xia Shao and smiled. “Bringing this matter up would indeed make it difficult for us to explain to the Cheng family. But Li Baosheng already has two children with his wife. What more does he want? It’s you who shouldn’t expect too much.”

This made Xia Wanhui’s expression turn sour, but Xia Shao remained as calm and gentle as ever.

Negotiations were about testing each other’s bottom lines. If arranging a job for her went far beyond the Li family’s capabilities, or if the cost to the Li family was greater than what the Cheng family knew, the Li family would break off negotiations, and she wouldn’t get anything.

Marriage was indeed an option. Being a family worker was acceptable. After obtaining a local household registration, she could find a job. But she couldn’t agree too readily. She needed to see if the other party had reached their limit.

Xia Shao didn’t speak. Li Changshun waited for a long time before finally standing up. “Then show the engagement contract to the Cheng family.”

Reluctantly, Xia Shao said, “That’s possible, but I have conditions.”

Negotiation was possible. Li Changshun sat back down. “What conditions? Tell me.”

“I want a simple family background and good looks.”

A simple family background was understandable. After all, dealing with many sisters-in-law and sisters could be a nightmare if even one or two of them were difficult to get along with.

But good looks…

Marrying a man was about clothes and food. These naive young girls didn’t care if the man was capable; they cared about his appearance.

Li Changshun thought Xia Shao had made progress but was still naive.

Xia Shao wasn’t naive. She simply believed that a good-looking partner would contribute to her physical and mental health.

In her previous life, as a corporate slave, she worked 996 hours every day, spending over an hour commuting to and from work. Occasionally, she even had to work overtime. She was exhausted and had long lost any worldly desires, let alone experienced love. Now, in the 1960s, since she had to get married anyway, she might as well find someone good-looking.

Since the conditions were settled, Li Changshun left without finishing his lunch.

Xia Wanhui hadn’t said a word. After Li Changshun left, he asked Xia Shao, “Sis, are you really going to let him introduce you to someone?”

“I came to the Northeast to get married, didn’t I?”

“That’s true.”

Without saying anything, Xia Wanhui almost forgot the purpose of their visit this time because Xia Shao handled everything so calmly, leading the Li family by the nose.

“Let’s just get married. Maybe you’ll find someone better than Li Baosheng.”

After yesterday’s incident, Xia Wanhui also looked down on Li Baosheng a bit. He always felt that the other party was not worthy of his sister and was not quite right in the head.

The siblings happily finished their meal, but it seemed that the Li family was more anxious than they were. That night, Tian Cuifen came with information from the male side.

“So soon?” Xia Wanhui looked at her suspiciously. “Did you just randomly find someone to fool my sister?”

With their father gone, their mother not coping well, and their older brother being selfish, Xia Wanhui felt a sense of responsibility. He felt that since he was here, he should take on the responsibility, be a good gatekeeper, and show more concern than Xia Shao, the person involved.

Tian Cuifen felt annoyed when she saw the siblings. “Your sister said she wants a simple family background and good looks.”

She rolled her eyes with irritation. “After inquiring around, I only found this one. His parents are in their hometown, and he and his brother are in Jiangcheng. His job is good; he works in a printing factory and earns over forty yuan a month. He looks spirited, with a square face that shows his talent. He agreed to meet you because he heard that you’re good-looking. If you’re willing, he can arrange for you to meet him after he finishes work tomorrow.”

With the eight-level wage system in place, ordinary workers earned only over thirty yuan a month, and apprentice workers even less.

Earning over forty yuan a month meant he was probably a second- or third-level worker.

Xia Shao didn’t think the other party would be as good as Tian Cuifen said. Tian Cuifen wouldn’t introduce him to her otherwise, and Li Laidi was also getting close to marriageable age. However, there was a difference between “not good” and “absolutely unacceptable.” Some things were acceptable, while others were not.

Xia Shao didn’t immediately agree. “What about his brother? Does he have a job?”

“He does. Why would he come to the Northeast if he didn’t have a job? His brother is already married and won’t be living with you. You don’t need to worry about him.”

Already married…

Xia Shao quickly seized on the key point. “His brother is already married, and he earns such a high salary. Isn’t he a bit old?”

Tian Cuifen didn’t seem to care. “Not really. He’s only seven years older than you.”

He was seven years older, meaning he was twenty-nine this year. In Xia Shao’s previous life, that wasn’t considered old. However Tian Cuifen was still trying to persuade, “Be a bit more considerate, if you find someone similar, after marriage, you still have to indulge him…” She was interrupted by Xia Shao’s soft voice, “His younger brother is already married, don’t tell me he’s almost thirty and still unmarried.”

This left Tian Cuifen speechless.

Xia Wanhui became unhappy at once, “Why are you introducing my sister to someone who’s been married before?”

Tian Cuifen was bombarded by the siblings and didn’t look pleased, “With such good conditions, can your sister afford not to consider someone who’s been married before? Your sister has a rural household registration. Besides, his first wife passed away, it’s not like he got divorced, so it’s not that troublesome.”

“He has children with his ex-wife, right?” Xia Shao hit the nail on the head once again.

If he did, Xia Shao would become a stepmother if she married him; if he didn’t, then they would have to consider if there were any issues in that aspect.

Tian Cuifen didn’t deny it, “Yes, he does, but they’ve already been sent back to his hometown to be taken care of by his mother. You can rest assured about that.”

But Xia Shao wasn’t reassured, “What if after we get married, his mother sends the children over? Am I supposed to drive them away?”

Tian Cuifen felt like Xia Shao was just looking for trouble, “How could she possibly send the children over? We’ve already agreed on this.”

It would be strange if that didn’t happen. Xia Shao had heard about such things before.

In her previous life, there was a neighbor in her grandmother’s neighborhood who did exactly that. They agreed before marriage that the two children would be taken care of by their grandparents in their hometown, so she wouldn’t have to raise them. However, just after Xia Shao got married and had a child, the children were sent over from their hometown.

With one trouble after another, and her husband not being easy-going, she endured a lifetime of frustration and didn’t find peace even in her old age.

How was this behavior any different from deceiving someone into marriage? If the other party had been upfront about taking care of the children, Xia Shao might not have been so averse.

“Let’s find someone else. Even if he doesn’t plan to bring the children back, it shows a lack of responsibility to leave young children with the elderly.”

Xia Shao rejected it outright, no matter how Tian Cuifen tried to persuade her, she couldn’t change her mind, so she left with a grim expression.

When she returned, Li Changshun glanced at her from under his lenses and knew the outcome, “Didn’t work out?”

“She minds that he’s been married before and has children.” Tian Cuifen sat down on the kang with a disgruntled tone.

Li Laidi was sweeping the floor in the room, sneered at her words, “She’s picky herself, doesn’t she see what she’s worth!”

This time nobody defended her, both Li Changshun and Tian Cuifen felt that Xia Shao didn’t know how to appreciate things.

So what if he’s been married and has children? At least he’s a city person with a stable job, much better than a country bumpkin, right?

Tian Cuifen asked her husband, “She’s so picky, how am I supposed to find someone for her? We can’t keep dragging this on, can we? The hotel is expensive too.”

“Why don’t you find someone from outside?” Li Changshun suggested.

Tian Cuifen suddenly brightened up again, “Right, why didn’t I think of that? Anyway, they’re from out of town, and we can’t inquire about them.”

But finding someone from the outside who meets all of Xia Shao’s criteria is not that easy.

After more than a day, Tian Cuifen came knocking again.

“This time he’s definitely not married, he’s a young man. He’s twenty-one this year, one year younger than you.”

Tian Cuifen emphasized as soon as she entered, then mentioned other conditions, “As for his job, he works in a food factory. But he’s just been promoted from an apprentice, so his salary is still less than forty. You don’t want someone older, and at his age, this salary isn’t bad.”

She lightly stabbed Xia Shao again, then continued, “His family is simple too, his parents and siblings are all in the countryside, only one cousin is here, he’s a retired soldier from the Korean War, now working as a factory director in a machinery factory.”

These days, the heads of units are all secretaries, and being a factory director is considered a significant leadership position.

This was recommended to them by Li Laidi. She checked around and found it inappropriate, so she declined. But since Xia Shao couldn’t find a suitable match for a while, she thought of it and asked again, fortunately, the other party wasn’t married yet.

“Bao Sheng works in the machinery factory. I’ve only seen him once, and he’s definitely good-looking.”

Whether he’s married, has children, or how much his salary is—these are all things that can’t be lied about, so the rest depends on what Tian Cuifen says.

Finally, Xia Shao nodded, “If you think he’s good, then let’s meet.”

In her previous life, her parents divorced, so Xia Shao grew up with her grandmother.

Her grandmother passed away when she was a junior in college, so there was no time to pressure her into marriage, and her parents didn’t have the leisure or confidence to pressure her either. So, in two lifetimes combined, Xia Shao was going on a blind date for the first time, and she always felt it wasn’t quite real when she went out.

The blind date was set at the male’s cousin’s house, two large tiled houses on the adjacent street.

Entering the house, there was a kitchen first, a main room on the left, which was over twenty square meters, clean and bright with windows on both sides. Adjacent to the kitchen, there was another small room, about seven or eight square meters, which seemed to be where the man usually lived, but the meeting was held in the main room on the left.

The one who came to the door was the man’s cousin’s wife, around forty years old, with a long face and an average appearance.

She didn’t say a word when she came in, first looked Xia Shao up and down, then called inside without warmth or coldness, “Lao Lu, someone’s here.”

The man’s cousin, on the other hand, was a friendly person, warmly welcoming them in, but Xia Shao was stunned at the door.

On the chair by the window, a young man in work clothes was holding a carving knife, carving something with his head down. His fingers were slender and powerful, his eyes were slightly lowered when he wielded the knife, his profile was handsome, and he seemed somewhat familiar.

Wasn’t he the one from the smoking duo that day, the one who could be a vase for the country?

The other party heard the sound and glanced over coldly and indifferently, his eyes paused slightly, apparently recognizing her too.

What did she say besides complimenting his good looks that day?

Just as Xia Shao was thinking about this, she saw the other party’s dark eyes lift slightly and fall on her head…!