RIRW – Chapter 45

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Grandmother Zuo’s thinking was that with the New Year coming in just two months, it would be best to get a daughter-in-law as soon as possible, so that the new wife could spend the New Year at home.

In the past, Grandmother Zuo wouldn’t have dared to get involved in finding a wife for her son. With their family’s circumstances, her son had been struggling for many years with a bad reputation. Even if she found a matchmaker, it was unlikely to work out. And even if it did, the girls available were always the kinds she couldn’t approve of—unattractive or unsuitable. This had been going on for years. Now, at twenty-seven or twenty-eight, while other families’ children were getting married and having kids, Zuo Chengcai was still single.

But things were different now. Her son had started to show some potential. The key was that he had gone to the city to learn how to drive, saying he wanted to become a driver there in the future. If that worked out, things would be much better. So, Grandmother Zuo boldly took matters into her own hands and began looking for a match. She approached the well-known matchmaker, Granny Qi, in the village. Granny Qi wasn’t a professional matchmaker but enjoyed matchmaking and had successfully paired many couples, including a lot of young people in the village.

To help Grandmother Zuo, Granny Qi visited her home several times, and soon the whole village knew about it. Plus, there were rumors that the Xu family was also looking for a match for their daughter, which only added fuel to the fire.

“Did you hear that the Zuo family is looking for a match? I wonder who for. Could it be for Zuo Dan?”

At the male youth’s gathering, three young men huddled around a stove roasting sweet potatoes, and Gao Wei casually brought up the topic. There was nothing else to talk about in the village, so they were discussing the gossip.

Li Chenliang’s eyes widened. “She’s still so young, why would she be looking for a match?”

“In the countryside, people marry early. Do you think it’s like our city girls, who wait around? Over here, if a couple hits it off, they’ll be married within three days,” Gao Wei said.

Su Dai added quietly, “I’ve heard that many people in the village marry when they’re just teenagers.”

Li Chenliang’s thoughts became complicated. He felt that if Zuo Dan married, things would change. He didn’t think much about it, but he did think that if she married, she wouldn’t be able to help him make money anymore.

“I need to find a chance to talk to this girl and tell her not to marry too early,” Li Chenliang thought to himself.

Granny Qi had found a suitable match for Grandmother Zuo, and Zuo Chengcai had finally returned from the city. Zuo Chengcai arrived at night, went straight home, and slept soundly. The next morning, he came to find Zuo Dan, his eyes red.

Seeing how much thinner Zuo Chengcai had become, Zuo Dan almost didn’t recognize him. The haggard, gaunt man before her was actually her third uncle.

“Third Uncle, what happened to you? Didn’t you just go to get a driver’s license?”

Zuo Chengcai pouted. “It’s easier said than done. You have no idea how hard it was.”

Zuo Chengcai felt particularly aggrieved when thinking about the hardships he had suffered over the past month. “I didn’t just go to learn a skill, I practically went to be someone’s servant…”

After hearing Zuo Chengcai’s story, Zuo Dan finally understood. In this day and age, when a driver trains an apprentice, they really teach everything. What level of training? Pumping fuel, checking the lines, washing the car, maintaining the vehicle… all these were considered basics. To learn these basics, the apprentice had to do it hands-on, with the master not doing much of the work but instead having the apprentice do the grunt work.

The 30 yuan Zuo Chengcai had paid was just for the tuition; he had been learning for a whole month. For the first half of the month, he had mostly been running errands for his master. In the second half of the month, Zuo Chengcai gave the master an additional 5 yuan, and only then did he start learning the actual driving skills. The master was quite diligent, not only teaching him driving techniques but also sharing his years of experience, just in case the apprentice ran into problems in the future. After a month of grueling training, Zuo Chengcai finally learned the skill, though he had been mentally and physically exhausted by the end.

Zuo Dan saw that her third uncle seemed quite down, so she quickly said, “Third Uncle, you’ve suffered so much, but at least things are looking up now. Isn’t there a good thing about to happen?”

Upon hearing this, Zuo Chengcai’s face brightened. “Is it time to make money?” For him, making money was the most important thing now.

Zuo Dan shook her head. “Making money is just a matter of time. What we need to talk about now is your lifelong matter, Third Uncle. Grandmother has been busy arranging a marriage for you. I’ve heard it’s all set, just waiting for you to come back and meet the girl.”

Zuo Chengcai’s eyes widened when he heard this. “Is she good-looking?”

“…”

“If she’s not good-looking, it won’t do,” Zuo Chengcai said.

“Go ask Grandmother about that. How would I know?” Zuo Dan thought to herself, he’s such a superficial man. She was one too, to be honest. But when choosing a partner, she had to be very careful. She couldn’t pick someone too attractive, lest they end up causing trouble with all kinds of people chasing after them.

Zuo Chengcai quickly ran back to ask Grandmother Zuo. He needed to figure out what his future wife looked like. He didn’t want to end up with someone like his big sister-in-law, a lazy woman who didn’t work and caused trouble all the time.

After confirming with Grandmother Zuo that the girl was indeed decent-looking, Zuo Chengcai nodded and agreed to meet her. He thought to himself, if everything went well, he would marry her during the New Year. That way, he wouldn’t be distracted by this matter and could focus on making money.

Grandmother Zuo immediately made arrangements for Zuo Chengcai to meet the girl.

When Xu Fengxia’s family heard that Zuo Chengcai had already settled his marriage so quickly, they felt a bit annoyed. “Why can Third Brother find a match so easily, and we have such a hard time?”

Zuo Hongjun, sitting in the yard smoking, replied, “Who told you to insist on finding someone from the town? If it were up to me, you could settle for someone average.”

“How can we settle for someone average? I want a good match, to make a bit of a name for ourselves. I want to show mother that our family is better. It’s just that Chunhong girl is completely lacking in grace. The ones that our Chunhong brought for us were all terrible—either disabled or widowed. Just because they’re from the town, does that mean they’re a good match? How could Huanhuan marry someone like that?”

Zuo Hongjun responded, “Didn’t you say you were going to help find someone from the commune’s cadres?”

“Who knows if it’ll work,” Xu Fengxia muttered. She felt resentful towards the second family, blaming them for their daughter not being able to find a good match. At least their daughter, no matter how bad, was still better than Dandan. Dandan would definitely never get married. And if she did, it would be to a lazy man whose wife had already passed away.

Li Chenliang had been thinking about Zuo Dan recently.

He believed that with the New Year coming in two months, he had to find a way to make more money by putting together some gift baskets. So, Zuo Dan couldn’t get married just yet. He had heard that in the countryside, once a woman got married, she would be preoccupied with children and the stove. That wouldn’t work for him—it would interfere with his main business.

For several days in a row, he thought about this while working, occasionally glancing at Zuo Dan.

Recently, Zuo Dan had become quite close to Shen Yiming. Since the last time Shen Yiming had said he considered her like his own and had shared some personal matters with her, Zuo Dan felt their bond had deepened. She considered him a friend. After all, those things were Shen Yiming’s secrets, and for him to share them so openly with her was a sign of trust. Zuo Dan felt she had maintained her integrity. Someone had extended an olive branch to her, and she couldn’t just turn them away. It was fine to have such a friend, and she didn’t have anything to hide. As long as she remained alert and kept her secrets, everything would be fine.

Li Chenliang had been watching Zuo Dan for a few days and had noticed the way she and Shen Yiming exchanged glances. He felt uncomfortable about it. For several days, he was in a bad mood and didn’t want to speak to anyone.

After waiting a couple of days, he couldn’t stand it anymore and decided to talk to Zuo Dan at lunch.

He deliberately did it in front of Shen Yiming.

Zuo Dan thought to herself that Li Chenliang was an idiot. But the guy actually shot a smug glance at Shen Yiming. Shen Yiming pretended not to notice.

After everyone left at lunch, Zuo Dan stayed behind with Li Chenliang, walking behind everyone. Once they were alone, Zuo Dan angrily asked, “Why did you talk to me in front of Shen Yiming just now?” She was worried that Shen Yiming might suspect something about her and this idiot had to do it in front of the old fox, practically begging for others to notice.

Li Chenliang didn’t like that comment and replied, “Why can’t I talk to you in front of him? Are you afraid he’ll know we’re acquainted?”

“Of course, I’m afraid,” Zuo Dan replied directly.

“…” Li Chenliang felt like his heart had been pierced. He took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and said, “Zuo Dan, don’t forget, you’re my business partner, not Shen Yiming’s!”

Zuo Dan rolled her eyes. “I never said I wasn’t your business partner. I just don’t want Shen Yiming to know. Alright, enough of that. What do you want with me?”

Li Chenliang, not happy, said, “Nothing!”

Zuo Dan frowned. “If there’s nothing, then why did you look for me? Since that’s the case, I’ll leave now.” This was just him making trouble for no reason. This distributor was going to be a problem sooner or later.

Seeing Zuo Dan about to leave, Li Chenliang hurriedly said, “Hey, hey, hey, I haven’t finished talking!”

Zuo Dan turned around and looked at him. Li Chenliang scratched his head, his face serious, and said, “I heard your family is busy finding a match for you. Zuo Dan, I’m not saying this to criticize, but at your age, the girls in the city are still having fun. Why are you in such a rush to get married? Besides, if you get married, how will you help me with things in the future? If you help me, you can still make a profit each time. But if you get married, there’ll be nothing left.”

“… Is that why you’re bringing this up?”

“Of course. I’m doing this for your own good.”

Zuo Dan looked at him for a long while and sighed. “Although you give me a bonus every time, how can that money compare to a good match…”

“I’ll double it next time. I’ll give you… ten yuan!”

Zuo Dan looked up at the sky, still hesitating.

Li Chenliang grew anxious. “Fifteen! That’s almost half a month’s salary for a worker in your county, right?”

Only then did Zuo Dan lower her head and sigh. “Who told us we’re poor, we need the money. Fine, let’s just leave it at that. I won’t talk about it anymore.”

Li Chenliang was satisfied; he had finally managed to keep Zuo Dan, his reliable assistant, around. Zuo Dan was also satisfied. It was like a pie falling from the sky—although it was only ten yuan, even a fly is considered meat.

When Zuo Dan got home, she was surprised to see Shen Yiming sitting with Zuo Dacheng, chatting.

When Zuo Dan came in, Li Hui even asked her where she had been. Zuo Dan, right in front of Shen Yiming, lied through her teeth. “I was just about to go collect some firewood, but it had already been taken. I’ll go further out next time to gather some.”

“Why collect firewood? We still have plenty of coal at home. Shen Yiming just came by and said he would get us a coal stove to use.” When Li Hui spoke about this, her face was full of smiles. They used coal stoves in their home before, and those things were really convenient, especially in the winter when you didn’t have to start a fire constantly.

Shen Yiming said, “This was also the old captain’s suggestion. Dapeng said they could contact some coal stove factories over at the coal yard. The old captain thought about getting a few as rewards for the people who helped the team this year. Uncle Dacheng worked hard to get sweet potatoes for the team, and even his own crop was delayed. He deserves some reward.”

Zuo Dacheng looked pleased upon hearing this.

Zuo Dan was also happy. With the coal stove, their quality of life would improve. “Comrade Shen Yiming, thank you so much.”

Shen Yiming smiled and said, “We’re not strangers, no need to be so polite.”

Li Hui and Zuo Dacheng both looked at him, then at Zuo Dan.

Zuo Dan thought, “…I know Shen Yiming meant to say that we’re like family now, but hearing it out loud just feels a little awkward.”

Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui managed to keep Shen Yiming at their home for a meal before letting him leave. After Shen Yiming left, Zuo Dan was washing dishes in the kitchen, and Zuo Dacheng pulled Li Hui aside to speak in whispers.

“I feel like these two kids are getting pretty close,” Zuo Dacheng said. Li Hui nodded. “I’ve noticed that too. Didn’t Yiming just say today that he and Dandan are no longer strangers?”

Zuo Dacheng smiled. “If that’s the case, I think it’s good. Yiming is a solid, good kid.”

Li Hui said, “I’ve been thinking, while Sister-in-law is busy looking for a match for Huanhuan, I was going to have Mother help us out and ask Granny Qi to take a look for us. But for now, I’ll hold off and see what the two of them think.”

“Why keep looking? I don’t think anyone is better than Yiming,” Zuo Dacheng said.

Besides, according to Shen Yiming, he didn’t even have a match yet. This time, there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings. Zuo Dacheng thought Shen Yiming was quite reliable.

Shen Yiming’s words were indeed reliable. The coal stoves for the team arrived quickly. Zuo Dacheng drove, following Shen Yiming to the coal yard, where they brought back five coal stoves. The old captain’s family was guaranteed to get one, Zuo Dacheng, who drove the tractor, would also get one, and the remaining three were given to the military family, the family with the most labor force, and the top-performing family in terms of work.

“This is how it’s divided this year. Next year, if anyone works well, they can get one too. If there are any families who are unhappy about this, just come and take the stove from my Zuo Shuisheng’s home,” Zuo Shuisheng said in a loud voice after distributing the coal stoves.

When the team captain’s wife heard this, she almost gritted her teeth in frustration.

Fortunately, the people of Zuo Family Village were quite straightforward. The old captain had worked hard for the team, especially in recent days, bringing many benefits to the whole Zuo Family Village production team. No one could go against their conscience and take his coal stove. After all, there would still be more next year, so they could deal with it then.

Zuo Shuisheng was very pleased with the performance of the Zuo Family Village people. “Alright, let’s settle this. Now, let me tell you some good news. You remember that we exchanged fine grain for coarse grain with the commune? Now the commune has sent word that the grain will be arriving soon. When it does, we’ll have Dacheng drive the tractor to the town to pick it up. We’ll have grain to get through the winter this year!”