Chapter 10: Introducing a Potential Match

Ning Weidong thought it over and over; he couldn't handle this matter alone and had to find someone to partner with.

A name couldn't help but pop into his mind.

Yet at this moment, there was a commotion outside.

Ning Weidong's train of thought was interrupted.

Wang Yuzhen parked the bicycle and came in from outside, busy taking off her coat to go to the kitchen to cook, but she let out an "Oh my" and came out holding the rice pot: "Weidong, did you wash the rice?"

Ning Weidong said with a chuckle: "I've never cooked rice before, I don't know how much water to put in, I was afraid it would be undercooked."

Before he transmigrated, he was used to using an electric rice cooker; an average person really wouldn't know how to cook rice over an open flame.

Wang Yuzhen pursed her lips and smiled, then turned and went back to the kitchen.

She was a brisk person; clattering away, from the time she returned home until they ate, it took less than forty minutes in total.

The meal was sorghum rice, the dish was shredded pickled vegetables stir-fried with bean sprouts, plus a plate of stir-fried eggs with green onions.

Just before the meal, Ning Lei came rushing back from outside.

"Mom, what are we eating tonight?" As soon as he entered the room, he acted like a starving ghost reincarnated, diving straight toward the kitchen door.

Seeing the stir-fried eggs with green onions, he reached out, wanting to grab a mouthful.

He was glared at by Wang Yuzhen, who scolded him crossly: "Go wash your hands!"

Ning Lei wasn't afraid of his dad, only his mom, so he obediently rolled up his sleeves to wash his hands.

"Wash them well, use soap." Wang Yuzhen anticipated it directly; she guessed without looking back that Ning Lei intended to just rinse them with water to get by.

Ning Lei was helpless and had to grab the soap next to the water pipe; his expression looked as if using soap to wash his hands would cause him some great loss.

After washing, he went to wipe his hands, and Wang Yuzhen added: "If you dare wipe them on your jacket front, watch out, I'll tan your hide."

The hands that were just two centimeters away from landing on the jacket front stopped abruptly.

Ning Lei blinked his eyes, deeply suspicious that his mom had eyes on the back of her head, and went out dejectedly to get a towel to wipe his hands.

At this time, Ning Weidong was using chopsticks to pick fermented bean curd out of a small ceramic jar.

Ning Weiguo had dived into his room as soon as he got home, as if there were some materials at his unit that needed to be written.

Wang Yuzhen came out of the kitchen with a plate, told Ning Weidong "Time to eat," and then called out to Ning Weiguo in the inner room.

Ning Weiguo responded and came out with messy hair; the materials were probably not easy to write.

The freshly cooked sorghum rice was sticky, the shredded pickled vegetables and bean sprouts were stir-fried with lard, and the green onion eggs were a standard hearty dish at this time.

The meal couldn't be called delicious, but it definitely couldn't be called bad either.

Ning Weidong ate two large bowls of rice, but was only seventy percent full.

Compared to the original owner, his appetite was much larger.

Ning Lei ate the fastest; he didn't even chew the food in his mouth, finished it in a few quick gulps, put down his chopsticks, and said: "Mom, I'm going back to my room to read comic books."

Without waiting for Wang Yuzhen to speak, he slipped away in a flash.

Ning Weidong also took the opportunity to eat a few quick bites and finished what was in his bowl: "Brother, I'm going out for a bit, lend me the bicycle to ride."

Ning Weiguo was stunned: "It's pitch black, where are you going?" As he spoke, he unhooked his keychain from his waistband.

Ning Weidong said with a chuckle: "Going to a classmate's house, I'll be back in a while."

Ning Weiguo handed over the keys without asking which classmate it was.

Wang Yuzhen didn't say anything either, waiting until Ning Weidong had gone out to ask: "Hey, what did Courtyard Elder Lu want with you when he came into the courtyard just now?"

When the country was first liberated, to strengthen public security, the large communal courtyards in Beijing all had a Courtyard Elder. It was similar to the ancient Baojia system, cooperating with the Military Control Committee and the Street Office, specifically targeting the then-rampant enemy activities.

In recent years, relations with America have eased, the external environment has relaxed, the propaganda tone has changed, and no one mentions the Courtyard Elder anymore.

Lu Daye was previously the Courtyard Elder of the front courtyard, and before retiring, he was a Level 7 Forging Worker at the Red Star Steel Factory.

At that time, there were only two Level 8 Workers in the whole factory, so Lu Daye's Level 7 status made him a person of standing in the workshop.

Although he is retired now, he is still highly respected in the courtyard, and he is happy to help out with the big and small affairs of every family.

Just now when entering the courtyard, Lu Daye stopped Ning Weiguo, and Wang Yuzhen had hurried back a step earlier to cook.

Ning Weiguo chewed a few mouthfuls of rice, swallowed, and said: "It wasn't Lu Daye, it was Lu Dama..."

"Lu Dama?" Wang Yuzhen asked in surprise: "What did she want with you?"

Ning Weiguo picked up a chopstick of shredded pickled vegetables: "It's about the third one, right~ Bai Fengyu's younger sister, you saw her this morning, didn't you~"

Wang Yuzhen reacted quickly and immediately understood: "Bai Fengyu went to Lu Dama, wanting to play matchmaker between the third one and her sister?"

Ning Weiguo nodded: "That's the idea."

Wang Yuzhen raised her eyebrows: "You agreed?"

Ning Weiguo hurriedly shook his head: "Look at you, such a big matter, could I have agreed without discussing it with you~"

Wang Yuzhen pursed her lips and gave him a look: "Silly thing, making it sound like I'm a tigress." She said this, but felt happy inside; however, when she thought about the other party being Bai Fengyu's sister, she became serious again and mused: "I saw her this morning, she is indeed a pretty girl."

Although she didn't get along with Bai Fengyu, she couldn't tell lies when she should be realistic.

Bai Fengqin's height and looks were top-notch, and she was a high school student herself.

To be able to get into high school, her brain must be good.

The only thing that wasn't ideal was that she was Bai Fengyu's sister.

But Wang Yuzhen didn't jump to conclusions and asked: "What's the situation at home?"

Ning Weiguo sighed and said: "She's also a bitter child; her father passed away long ago, her mother just died last year, and she has an older brother above her..."

Wang Yuzhen raised her eyebrows and interjected: "Bad relationship with her brother and sister-in-law?"

Actually, it wasn't hard to guess; a biological brother and a cousin—if things were even remotely passable, she wouldn't have abandoned her own brother to live under someone else's roof with her cousin.

Wang Yuzhen clicked her tongue, instantly feeling that this girl wasn't as sweet anymore.

To put it bluntly, Bai Fengqin was just an orphan; if she really married Ning Weidong, there wouldn't be a single elder on either side, and in the future, if they had children, there wouldn't even be anyone to lend a hand.

Another thing was her status as a high school student.

In her view, it was not a plus, but rather a minus.

The college entrance exam was only a few months away, and if that girl really got into university, with her looks, could she settle down and live a quiet life with her own silly brother-in-law? These thoughts ran through Wang Yuzhen's mind, and she felt more and more that this whole thing was unreliable.

But since it concerned Ning Weidong, she was only his sister-in-law, not his own mother.

Wang Yuzhen laid out the points she was worried about, and finally said, "When Weidong comes back later, you go talk to him and see what his attitude is; if he's willing, then let them date."

Ning Weiguo was surprised: "You're not going to stop it?"

"If it were Xiao Lei, I wouldn't agree to these conditions no matter what, but Weidong..." Wang Yuzhen sighed, "He's not young anymore, and it's time he made his own decisions about some things."

Ning Weiguo understood what she meant; she was afraid that if she overstepped, it would easily turn them into enemies.

(End of chapter)