The Chinese New Year was approaching soon, and Yu Qiuhua originally planned to help He Wenhui look for someone to marry him later.
But the money in hand is almost spent.
During the Chinese New Year, you have to buy some meat and some fine white noodles.
He Wenyuan had just come out and needed to replenish his health.
He Wentao is still squatting inside. During the Chinese New Year, I have to find a way to give him something delicious.
So early the next morning, Yu Qiuhua went to the courtyard next door with his hands behind his back and found Matchmaker Wang.
Matchmaker Wang had just finished her meal and was about to go to the square to promote business. She felt a little strange when she saw Yu Qiuhua coming to her door.
Because Yu Qiuhua is a resident of the courtyard, and the third uncle of the courtyard, Yan Bugui, works part-time as a matchmaker. Under normal circumstances, when the residents of the courtyard hire someone to be a matchmaker, Yan Bugui will be given priority.
"Auntie of the Yu family, come on, come in quickly." After being a little surprised, Matchmaker Wang thought she was poking Yan Bugui's corner, and hurriedly invited Yu Qiuhua into the house.
Yu Qiuhua was not polite either. After sitting down magnanimously, he told the purpose of his visit.
"Wang Matchmaker, I am here this time to ask you to introduce a partner to my eldest daughter He Wenhui."
Matchmaker Wang had heard about the separation of households between He Wenhui and Yu Qiuhua, but she didn't think much about it. After all, Yu Qiuhua was He Wenhui's mother, and it was right for a mother to be concerned about such matters.
"I've seen that kid Wenhui. She's pretty, well-educated, and knowledgeable. She's about to graduate from high school. Don't worry, I will definitely pick a handsome young man for her." Matchmaker Wang said, clapping her hands.
Yu Qiuhua waved his hand: "You may have misunderstood me. In my opinion, a man's appearance does not matter."
"That means you have a good family background! Don't worry about this. The Wang family in the compound next door is poor for three generations. His eldest son is a worker. He happens to be nineteen years old this year. He is a perfect match for your Wenhui family."
"The background doesn't matter."
"Does that mean you need to be rich? This... is fine. The Zhou family in Niuma Hutong ran a leather goods shop before liberation. I heard they hid a lot of gold and silver, and their family is very wealthy!" Matchmaker Wang is proficient in this business.
Little things don't bother her.
Although she felt that Yu Qiuhua looked down on workers and instead liked wealthy people, and there was something wrong with his vision, Yu Qiuhua was a customer after all and it was not easy to persuade her.
"It doesn't matter whether you have money or not."
"..." After hearing what Yu Qiuhua said, Matchmaker Wang was a little confused.
Since ancient times, hasn’t marriage been based on the conditions of both men and women?
She stared at Yu Qiuhua and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, we are old friends. You can come to me to show that you trust me. Don't hide it. If you have anything, just tell me directly."
Yu Qiuhua smiled and said: "Then I'm not polite. In fact, my conditions are very simple. As long as the man can afford the bride price. No matter how old he is, whether he is disabled or not, whether he is educated or not, I agree.
.”
Hearing this, Matchmaker Wang's face darkened: "Bowie gift? How much gift do you want?"
"Not much, two hundred and fifty yuan!"
"Two hundred and fifty yuan!" Matchmaker Wang stood up suddenly as if her butt was caught with a pair of fire pliers, stared at her and said, "Yu Qiuhua, you are selling your daughter!"
"Look, look at what you said, why am I selling my daughter?" Yu Qiuhua felt insulted and stood up and said angrily: "I raised He Wenhui so big and spent countless energy. I want to ask for a betrothal gift.
What's wrong?"
"A little gift? That's two hundred and fifty yuan. Many people will never earn that much money in their lifetime!" Matchmaker Wang said loudly.
Yu Qiuhua crossed his arms and said with a cold face: "I can't control that. They can't afford that much money, so don't marry my daughter."
Matchmaker Wang is also an old matchmaker.
Before liberation, because life was hard and there were many children at home, it was difficult to support her. In addition, she was a well-spoken person, so she took up the job of a matchmaker.
After liberation, the higher authorities banned the practice of matchmaking. Matchmaker Wang said that matchmaking was just a hobby.
Over the years, she has matched at least two to three hundred pairs of young people, but she has never met anyone with such a request as Gui Qiuhua.
Not even before liberation.
Matchmaker Wang stood up and said with a cold face: "Yu Qiuhua, I'm sorry, I can't help you this time. Please leave my house."
"Scream, you don't make money even if you have money, you are really noble enough."
Seeing this situation, Yu Qiuhua could only stamp his feet and leave the house.
As soon as she left, Matchmaker Wang poured the enamel jar that Yu Qiuhua had just used into the yard, and then washed the enamel jar clean.
She disliked the stench on Qiuhua's body.
....
"Humph, without you, Matchmaker Wang, I wouldn't be able to marry a girl!"
Yu Qiuhua left the courtyard angrily and wandered around the small square, chatting exclusively with the matchmaking aunts.
When the aunts learned that Yu Qiuhua wanted a bride price of 250 yuan, they all expressed that they could not take her job.
However, hard work paid off. Near noon, Yu Qiuhua finally connected with an old woman with only one eye left.
The old woman was wearing a gray woolen placket and black sweeping-leg trousers. She had a ruddy complexion, her hair was neatly styled, and she wore a silver bracelet on her wrist. She looked like she belonged to a wealthy family.
After a brief chat, Yu Qiuhua learned that the old woman's name was Zhou Bai. She had a son at home and lived on the money left by her ancestors.
"For two hundred and fifty yuan, I will marry your daughter over, regardless of the man's conditions?"
The sunlight at noon in winter was a bit dazzling. Zhou Bai squinted his only eye. The broken eye looked like a black hole, which was particularly scary.
In addition, her tone was very strange, like the cold wind blowing from the cave, eerie.
Yu Qiuhua shrank his neck and said bravely: "Only two hundred and fifty yuan! I can ignore the man's conditions."
"What if the person is blind and deaf?" Zhou Bai took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out and handed it to Yu Qiuhua.
Yu Qiuhua was a little greedy, but he couldn't smoke, so he could only wave his hand: "You can be blind or deaf!"
Zhou Bai raised his finger, struck a match, lit the cigarette, took a deep breath, and the wrinkles on his face instantly smoothed out a lot: "What if you are a fool?"
"Ah... you're a fool?" Yu Qiuhua hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily and said, "You can be a fool too."
Hearing this, Zhou Bai's face became serious and she looked up at Yu Qiuhua: "Can you be the head of the family?"
Yu Qiuhua felt as if a sharp bayonet had been stabbed into his chest, and he lowered his head subconsciously: "He Wenhui is my daughter, of course I can take charge of the family."
"Okay!" Zhou Bai took out an embroidered purse from his pocket, took out five dollars from the purse and handed it to Yu Qiuhua: "This is a meeting gift. On the day we meet, I will give you two hundred and fifty dollars."
past."
Seeing the five dollars, Yu Qiuhua suddenly smiled. She quickly took the money and put it in her pocket, then suddenly asked: "You, are you not afraid that I will take the money and run away?!"
"Run? You can try." A cold smile appeared at the corner of Zhou Bai's dry mouth, which made Yu Qiuhua couldn't help but shudder.
She quickly said: "No, I was just joking."
Yu Qiuhua had never seen such a scary old woman. It wasn't until he stood up to go back that he remembered that there were still things he had not asked clearly.
"Who is the young man you are talking about?"
"my son."
Mentioning her son, Ms. Zhou Bai stood up, and for the first time her face showed the kindness that should be expected at this age.
"His name is Zhou Daniu. He was frightened when he was young. He is a bit stupid, but he has all the parts."
"Don't worry, as long as your daughter marries into our family, I will not treat her badly. If she can give me a son, I will give you another two hundred and fifty yuan."
Hearing Zhou Daniu's stupidity, Yu Qiuhua felt a little hesitant.
In her hometown village, there was a foolish man.
He looks tall and powerful, but his IQ is like that of a child. Once he gets angry, he doesn't care.
There was only one child in the family, and it was all about him to carry on the family line. It was before liberation and there was a drought, so his parents exchanged ten pounds of wheat for a woman who had fled from a distant country.
That woman was considered diligent. After she got married, she kept the house clean and worked hard in the fields. However, she was often beaten by that fool.
She was beaten until her nose was bruised and her face was swollen. Later, the woman disappeared.
The stupid man's parents said they sent the woman back to their hometown.
But everyone in the village knows that no one is willing to give away a daughter-in-law who was bought in exchange for ten pounds of wheat.
It's probably gone.
When he thought of this, Yu Qiuhua regretted agreeing to Zhou Bai's agreement.
But.
Yu Qiuhua became excited when she thought of the two hundred and fifty yuan promised by Zhou Bai as a gift and the two hundred and fifty yuan to give birth to her son.
With these five hundred yuan, they can live a good life for five years.
"Wen Hui, I've raised you so big, it's time for you to repay me!"
After thinking about it, Yu Qiuhua strode towards the courtyard.
....
At this time, He Wenhui packed her schoolbag and was about to go to school.
Yu Juhua saw her coming out of the back room, stopped her with a smile, took out five yuan from his pocket and stuffed it into her hand.
"Wenhui, the college entrance examination is about to take place. Take this money and buy some study materials to try to get into a good university."
He Wenhui held the money as if it were a piece of hot coal and refused immediately: "Sister-in-law, I have a classmate whose father is a high school teacher. She has a lot of information. I can borrow it and look at it. You can give me the money."
It’s better to take it back.”
"You kid, instead of buying study materials, it's better to buy a pen or a few notebooks." Yu Juhua grabbed He Wenhui's hand and stuffed the money into her hand again: "Brother Silly Zhu, I'll tell you
They are all uneducated and can only be workers. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being a worker. It has a high status, but if you can be a leader, you still have to be a leader. When you get into college and become a leader, you can also take care of yourself in the future.
What flowers are there in my house?”
If someone else said such things, He Wenhui might think that this person had some agenda and was treating her well.
But He Wenhui knew Yu Juhua's temperament. This butcher was like a man whose intestines went down his throat and would never conceal his inner thoughts.
While living in the He family, He Wenhui felt like she had fallen into a jar of honey.
Silly Zhu and Yu Juhua never treated her as an outsider. Whenever there was something delicious or fun, they would stick to her and He Hua first.
Even at the beginning, Yu Juhua asked He Wenhui to drink milk powder.
He Wenhui was both touched and ashamed.
She is a girl of seventeen or eighteen, how can she have the nerve to drink that stuff?
Thinking of these, He Wenhui felt warm in her heart. She held the money in her hand and nodded heavily: "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I will definitely be admitted to college!"
"That's right. When you go to college, I can also go to college with your stupid brother. You may not know that my biggest dream was to go to college, but because when I graduated from elementary school,
I didn’t know what three plus eight equaled, so I had to give up on this dream.”
He Wenhui laughed out loud and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes: "Sister-in-law, you are so funny. In order to comfort me, you even arranged yourself. I have to go to school and won't be back for lunch."
Seeing He Wenhui leave the house, Yu Juhua muttered in a low voice: "This girl is not stupid. Three plus eight equals ten. How could I not know!"
....
He Wenhui carried her schoolbag and walked out of the courtyard with happy steps.
When she walked to the door, she saw Yu Qiuhua coming in from a distance. Her face suddenly darkened and she hurriedly hid aside, trying to avoid Yu Juhua.
But it was too late.
Yu Qiuhua ran over and blocked He Wenhui's path.
"Wenhui, Wenhui, mother was wrong before, don't deny mother."
As she spoke, she actually began to sob softly, looking very pitiful.
Seeing Yu Qiuhua's face full of tears, He Wenhui felt a little soft-hearted: "Auntie, I still have to go to school. I'll talk about anything later."
As he spoke, He Wenhui turned around and wanted to leave.
Yu Qiuhua caught up with her and blocked her way again: "Wenhui, how hard it is to go to school. How can you, a girl from a family, endure that hardship? I don't think you should stop going to school. Why not find someone else?"
Married to a good family."
As soon as these words came out, the sympathy that had just arisen in He Wenhui's heart suddenly disappeared.
"Auntie, we have nothing to do with each other anymore, please get out of the way."
"Oh, you kid, why don't you understand anything? I have found a good family for you this time. They are very rich. If you marry them, you will definitely live a good life."
Yu Qiuhua took He Wenhui's arm and said loudly: "Even if you are admitted to university, what will happen? Don't you still have to get married in the future?"
"Get out of the way, I'm going to school." After He Wenhui saw Yu Qiuhua's true face clearly, she didn't want to say a word to her, so she shook off Yu Qiuhua's hand and ran away.
But Yu Qiuhua finally stopped He Wenhui. How could he let her leave so easily? He rushed up and grabbed He Wenhui's arm.
While the two were pulling each other, Silly Zhu came back from outside.
Seeing He Wenhui being pulled by Yu Qiuhua, his face suddenly turned pale. He rushed up, pulled Yu Qiuhua away, threw her to the ground, and protected He Wenhui behind him.
"Yu Qiuhua, I once warned you, if you dare to bully He Wenhui again in the future, I will never forgive you!"
Yu Qiuhua was thrown so hard that he almost turned his back. He got up from the ground, pointed at Silly Zhu's nose and said: "Silly Zhu, He Wenhui is my daughter. What does it have to do with you that I am now disciplining my own daughter?"
