PDLP Chapter 56 Difficulties
Chapter 56 Difficulties
At the end of February 1959, Wang, the matchmaker, led Zhang Qin to the Jia family, accompanied by Zhang Qin's mother.
The Zhang family was well-off, and Zhang's mother always thought her daughter was marrying down. It wasn't until she visited the place and confirmed that Jia Dongjin was a good man that she stopped objecting.
Zhang Qin kept her head down shyly the whole time, but when she occasionally looked up, she amazed everyone in the courtyard. She was the epitome of a demure young lady, even surpassing Qin Jingru and Qin Huairu by a few points.
The people in the courtyard were stunned, all amazed. Several little roosters stared blankly at Zhang Qin. Xu Damao and Yan Jiecheng were a little better off, but He Yuzhu was the worst off, his mouth wide open, drool dripping all over the ground.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing, you silly Zhu? Are you dumbfounded?"
As expected, his good friend Xu Damao arrived on time and made a dazzling appearance.
"Xu Damao, you bastard, you just wait."
He Yuzhu regained his senses. His bull-like eyes widened, and his iron fists were clenched, ready to strike at any moment.
"Go ahead and hit me! If you miss, you'll be furious!"
Xu Damao was experienced in escaping; he used his long legs to run fast and quickly escaped the fire.
"Hey bro, don't hit people randomly."
Looking at Zhang Qin, He Yushui understood for the first time what Jia Dongjin meant by "Since it has already happened, why bother saying 'why bother' again."
She stared intently at Jia Dongjin, observing his expression and not missing a single subtle change.
Yan Jiecheng ignored his two ill-fated best friends, Xu Damao and He Yuzhu. His eyes were vacant as he muttered to himself, "Fairy, fairy! That kid Jia Dongjin, his life was worth it!"
Having seen it all before, Wang the matchmaker had already anticipated the behavior of Zhang Qin and her daughter, and simply smiled as she looked at Jia Dongjin.
Zhang Qin was a suitable candidate that she and her old friends had gone to great lengths to find; it would be an injustice if she didn't succeed.
Jia Dongjin did not disappoint Wang the matchmaker. He secretly gave her a grateful look and gave her a thumbs-up behind her back.
"All done, double the matchmaker's fee is in hand!"
The matchmaker suppressed her joy and began to ponder how much of a thank-you gift she should receive from this lecherous young man. Since he was an expert at catching fish, the family would no longer have to worry about fish.
Seeing Jia Dongjin and the fairy whispering to each other, Yan Jiecheng instantly made a decision to go to the library to study electrical engineering diligently.
Carrying heavy bags to the train station?
Yan Jiecheng would never carry a heavy load in his life; a true man cannot remain subservient to others for long!
Zhang Qin was indeed very beautiful. Most young men think with their lower bodies, and Jia Dongjin was no exception. He thought she looked a lot like Qingwen from "Dream of the Red Chamber".
Although he is now diligently studying "Jin Ping Mei," it is an old book that Jia Dongjin personally dug out from the junk pile of his childhood friend Song Tao.
Jia Dongjin's heart skipped a beat, and he felt like an old house on fire, beyond saving.
Since ancient times, beautiful women have loved heroes, and heroes have loved beautiful women.
Ordinary people are not qualified to meet great heroes, and they cannot judge who is a hero, but it is easy to judge handsome men and beautiful women. You can tell at a glance whether they are handsome or beautiful and whether they are your type.
When Zhang Qin met Jia Dongjin, she didn't say that she had taken a liking to him. She couldn't say that directly, but the underlying meaning was the same. She just shyly said that she would leave it to her parents to decide.
Jia Dongjin, the old bachelor from his previous life, was even more eager to hunt down the opportunity. Whether it was youthful infatuation or love at first sight, it all boiled down to the same thing.
"My name is Jia Dongjin. I'm a level-three electrician at the steel rolling mill. My monthly salary is 51 yuan. I just got two rooms. I'm skilled at repairing bicycles and radios, and I also go out to catch fish. I catch enough fish for my family to eat. Zhang Qin, I've taken a liking to you."
After reciting his self-introduction, Jia Dongjin stared intently at Zhang Qin.
Zhang Qin shyly said that she would let her mother make the decision. Zhang's mother smiled and was obviously satisfied. Jia Dongjin was like Pigsy eating the ginseng fruit, enjoying it so much that he didn't even know the wonderful taste.
"It's all set! I've got my beautiful wife! My life is complete! I'm so lucky!"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the two young people hit it off, and their blind date was a complete success.
"It's good that you've chosen them. They're both good kids. You two can talk it over."
Wang, the matchmaker, sat at the dinner table, looking at the couple in front of her with delight, feeling a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
As the old saying goes, unsurprisingly, an unexpected event still occurred.
Although Zhang's mother nodded, she also knew about Qin Huairu's situation. Marriage is a union between two families, and Wang the matchmaker was very professional. When introducing the Jia family, she had already informed the Zhang family about their situation.
Zhang's mother's opinion is reasonable. There is nothing wrong with supporting and being filial to Jia Zhangshi. It is all right and necessary. However, it is somewhat inappropriate to raise Banggeng in the future, and even Xiaodang.
The people in the courtyard were watching with great interest when they heard this and immediately burst into an uproar. Two beautiful marriages had run into trouble, and the center of the conflict was actually the two children.
One of the parties involved, Liu Hong, was in great pain. He liked Qin Huairu very much. Liu Hong's salary of 47 yuan was not low, and he could easily support his three sons. In addition, Qin Huairu's salary of 22.5 yuan could also support Banggeng and Xiaodang without much trouble.
But he was still young, and Qin Huairu was even younger. The two of them would definitely have more children in the future, raising more than five children. The prospects and financial situation were terrifying. Therefore, Liu Hong was unwilling and dared not compromise. Moreover, he did not want to raise other people's children.
Zhang Qin is beautiful. The Zhang family originally wanted to find a promising cadre as their son-in-law, but now that they have found a junior electrician, it is acceptable.
However, if the issue of raising nephews and nieces is included, Jia Dongjin's bargaining power becomes severely insufficient, making it impossible for him to agree, and the Zhang family is unwilling to compromise.
Liu Hong and Zhang Qin are both very eligible, while Qin Huairu and Jia Dongjin are less eligible. The weaker party has no bargaining power, and both promising marriages are temporarily at an impasse.
Unlike the refined and elegant world of "Dream of the Red Chamber," which depicts the pure love between a young girl and a young boy, "Dream of the Red Chamber" is different.
Pure love is a luxury for adults.
Therefore, "Dream of the Red Chamber" can only be written up to the point before Jia Baoyu and others come of age, and then the story abruptly ends.
In Jia Dongjin's personal opinion, Jin Ping Mei is more realistic, as it tells the story of adults. Jin Ping Mei deserves to be praised by masters such as Lu Xun, who said it fully depicts human relationships and worldly affairs.
Everything is a bloody reality, yet everything is understandable; even Jia Dongjin himself understands the Zhang family's actions.
Time flies, and it was spring of 1959 in the blink of an eye.
"To support the country in overcoming its difficulties as soon as possible, the grain ration will be reduced by 10% in the future."
Director Wang of the subdistrict office looked exhausted, and spoke in a serious and heavy tone as she explained the policy to all the residents of the courtyard standing in the central courtyard. She didn't say much, just gave a few brief explanations, and then hurried to the next courtyard to continue reading the policy to the residents.
"Oh my god! Food is already scarce, and now with a 10% price cut, how are we supposed to survive!"
Grandma Wang in the backyard burst into tears, and Yan Fugui was completely dumbfounded.
It's difficult to accurately describe the true situation if only specific quantitative figures are given.
For example, an adult male could normally eat five steamed buns a day, one in the morning and two each at noon and in the evening.
Now it's been changed to 4 steamed buns a day, only half a bun less, so it doesn't seem like a big problem.
However, the calculation cannot be done this way; if the quota is reduced, other non-staple foods will also be insufficient.
Without other side dishes or oil in their bodies, people tend to have a huge appetite. There are many people who can eat six steamed buns in one meal, especially growing boys who could absolutely eat their fathers to death.
Modern people don't understand the horror of reduced portions because they are used to meat and oily foods and think that eating a small bowl of rice at each meal is enough. Optimists may think that this is a good opportunity to lose weight.
This is an extremely naive and ignorant understanding. People who lack meat and fat for a long time have a large appetite. They can easily eat five small bowls of rice, let alone a small bowl.