Chapter 22

“Auntie, I want to ask you when your next-door neighbor will be back?” The auntie was kind and they should be able to continue the conversation. Xu Ning’s attitude softened a lot.

The old lady looked at Xu Ning, then at Hu Xianglan behind Xu Ning. She knew exactly what their purpose was. “Are you here to ask her for help?”

Hu Xianglan, who was standing behind Xu Ning, felt a jolt in her heart. Her heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. She had only one thought: it was over!

Xu Ning’s eyes lit up. Introduce the item? Isn’t that Qian Sanhong?

“Yes, Auntie. Do you know when Qian Sanhong will be back?”

“You’ve made the right choice by coming to her. I tell you, she has made at least 800 matchmakers, if not a thousand.” The old lady looked proud. “But did you forget her name? Her name is Qian Juan, not Sanhong.”

Qian Juan, Qian Sanhong…

Is it really such a coincidence? They all have the surname Qian.

But what if they just happen to have the last name Qian? There are so many people with the surname Qian, and Qian Sanhong is not the only matchmaker.

Xu Ning thought back to Qian Sanhong’s appearance, trying to find a special feature, even a mole on her face, but unfortunately there was none.

The most common hairstyle is short hair that reaches the ears, and this hairstyle can be seen everywhere on the streets. He is neither tall nor short, and his facial features seem ordinary…

Seeing Xu Ning didn’t say anything, the old lady continued, “You came at an unfortunate time. Her mother is not in good health, so she often has to go back to the countryside to take care of her. She has not been home for several days. I estimate that she should be back in the next two or three days.”

Often not at home? Go back to the countryside?

The answer is obvious. Regardless of whether it is true or not, Xu Ning firmly believes that Qian Juan is Qian Sanhong.

The name and address are half true and half false. Qian Sanhong is a ruthless person.

It’s a pity that she’s not at home. Xu Ning felt a little disappointed. She was prepared to wait at her doorstep until night. “That’s really unfortunate. My mother and I will come back in a few days.”

The old lady nodded and smiled and praised Xu Ning: “Girl, you are pretty and it’s easy to find a partner. When the time comes, let Juanzi find you a good family with good conditions and decent men.”

This identical way of speaking made Xu Ning suspect that the old lady was in cahoots with Qian Sanhong. She smiled and thanked the old lady: “Okay, thank you, old lady. We’ll come back in a couple of days.”

After saying that, Xu Ning turned around, took the arm of Hu Xianglan who was standing behind him, waved to the old lady, and continued walking towards the entrance of the alley.

She felt that there was a 90% chance that she had found the right person. “Mom, let’s come again in three days to see if it was Aunt Qian. If it was really her, why did Aunt Qian have two names?”

She doesn’t have two names at all; it’s clearly a fake name she uses to lie to people! But Hu Xianglan didn’t dare to say this. Fortunately, Xu Ning was not very smart and didn’t figure out the problem, so she could still cover it up.

“It’s possible that he has changed his name, or he may not be the same person. Let’s check back in three days.”

Xu Ning nodded fiercely, “Well, let’s come together then. I must find out what’s going on with this betrothal money!”

“Okay.” Hu Xianglan responded absentmindedly, but she was thinking that she would have to hold Xu Ning back in three days no matter what, so she came here first.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went home with their own thoughts. As soon as Hu Xianglan got home, she went into the kitchen to cook. Xu Ning, who wanted to help, was driven back to the house to rest.

Out of sight, out of mind.

The clothes in the yard were already dry. Xu Ning took the clothes back, folded them, and put them in the closet. She checked the new clothes and found that they were indeed clean.

You have nothing to do, so you want to watch some TV?

But the TV is in He Beian’s room. It’s okay to come in to get something or put something down, but I always feel guilty staying there for a long time when no one is at home, even though I’m clearly not doing anything.

Maybe I can discuss with him about moving the TV and other things to the outer room, and I also want to ask him if he has any tops that cannot be worn…

Xu Ning also wanted to be more ambitious and not wear other people’s clothes, but when she thought about the thirty-six yuan and eighty-five cents in her pocket, she realized that she didn’t necessarily need to be ambitious.

That little money is not enough to pay off the debt to He Beian.

Tsk~, my life is so miserable. I wore cheap clothes in my previous life, and now I can’t even afford cheap clothes in this life.

Leaning on the sofa and looking up at the ceiling, Xu Ning curled the corners of his mouth, slowly raised his right hand and raised his middle finger to the sky.

Don’t bully people like this!

She didn’t just lean on the sofa aimlessly, she was also thinking about how to make money.

Firstly, she had no money to buy a job, and secondly, she would never go to the black market, even if it meant money.

Future female entrepreneurs must never have the stain of having been in prison.

After thinking it over, she found that the road seemed to be blocked. It was difficult to get rich without going to the black market!

It seems that the policies towards small vendors were relaxed a lot in 1977 or 1978. Do we have to wait until 1977 or 1978 to find a solution?

no! After settling the issue of the bride price, I must take a stroll around the neighborhood and listen to more gossip.

After school, He Wanjiao put down her schoolbag and went to the kitchen to look for someone. When she didn’t see her sister-in-law, she ran to their door and called for help.

“Sister-in-law, what are you doing in the house? Can I come in?”

“Come in!” Xu Ning sat up straight. Finally, there was someone she could talk to. If she continued to let her wild thoughts, she would be in trouble.

He Wanjiao held two candied haws in her hand, lifted the door curtain and walked into the house. She trotted over to sit next to Xu Ning and handed her a string of candied haws.

“Sister-in-law, I met an old man selling candied haws on my way home from school. He was limping and looked very pitiful. I bought three strings, one for each of us.”

The bright red hawthorns are strung together with corn stalks and coated with crystal clear sugar coating. The sugar coating is so thin that you can tell it is very crispy.

“Jiaojiao, you are so nice~” Xu Ning leaned sideways and lightly leaned her head on He Wanjiao’s shoulder, which was much lower than hers. The original owner had never eaten candied haws in her memory, and she would not waste money on eating them.

So this was her first time eating candied haws since she turned thirteen.

I don’t know why, but He Wanjiao blushed a little. My sister-in-law spoke so nicely!

She handed the candied haws to Xu Ning’s mouth and said with a red face, “Sister-in-law, please try it.”

In order not to let the little girl hold the candied haws and feed her, Xu Ning took the candied haws and sat up straight, admired the appearance of the candied haws, slowly opened her mouth, and bit off the front end of the hawthorn with her white teeth. The sound of the sugar coating covering the hawthorn breaking was particularly crisp.

The little girl looked at her with her round eyes, and Xu Ning smiled and nodded, “Delicious!”

He Wanjiao then smiled and put the candied haws in her other hand into her mouth. After a few seconds, she frowned and said, “It’s so sour~”

“Is it sour? I don’t think so.” Xu Ning ate another one without changing his expression. It was really delicious.

He Wanjiao looked at the candied haws in her hand, and then at the one in Xu Ning’s hand. They were clearly the same hawthorns, with the same thick sugar coating. How could her sister-in-law’s be sweeter than hers?

Seeing her puzzled look, Xu Ning handed the candied haws in his hand to her, “How about you take a bite and try it?”