Chapter 198: Sha Zhu's Blind Date Story

Sha Zhu's blind date was finally set, on this Sunday noon, the place agreed upon was Beihai Park.

Somehow this news leaked out, and the courtyard instantly filled with a strange atmosphere of enjoying the spectacle without caring how big the matter was.

Early Sunday morning, Sha Zhu locked himself in his room, fussing over himself! He slicked his hair with water, combed it smooth, trying to press down those unruly cowlicks. He wore his only Zhongshan suit, buttoned all the way up to his neck, tight enough that he kept craning his neck. He paced the room eight hundred times, now and then peeking through the door crack, looking just like a big monkey about to be taken out for display.

"Brother Ping'an, how do I look… is it okay?" Seeing Li Ping'an come out pushing a cart, he hurried over, nervous palms sweating.

Li Ping'an gave him a once‑over and nodded: "You look presentable, passable. Remember, say less, listen more. Don't bring out that shameless set of yours."

"Got it, got it!" Sha Zhu promised repeatedly.

Yan Bu Gui of the front courtyard held a purple‑clay teapot, squinting, and drawled: "Zhuzi, have you prepared a meeting gift? Showing up empty‑handed on a first meeting doesn't look good." He thought to himself, if Sha Zhu succeeded, this matchmaker's gift couldn't be slight.

Jia Zhangshi of the central courtyard leaned against the doorframe, cracking melon seeds, speaking in a sarcastic tone: "Yo, are you really going to see a true Buddha? If the girl takes one look at your bearing and turns away, that'll be like a toad trying to tip the scales—pretending to be precious!" She hoped Sha Zhu would make a fool of himself so she could show off her son's early marriage.

Xu Damao also got up extra early, pretending to stretch his limbs in the courtyard while his eyes kept glancing at Sha Zhu's door. The night before he had deliberately "run into" Wang Meipo, indirectly embellishing Ma Dongmei's heroic tale of "dueling the cafeteria master chef," just waiting for the show. He gloated to himself: "Sha Zhu, Sha Zhu, let's see you not fall flat on your face this time!"

Sha Zhu grew even more nervous under those gazes and remarks, practically stumbling along as he followed Li Ping'an out of the siheyuan.

Beihai Park, green willows drooping, blue ripples shimmering. The agreed spot was beside the bench under the white pagoda.

From afar Sha Zhu saw a girl in a floral‑patterned top, two thick braids, waiting there; her build… indeed, as Wang Meipo had said, not slim, even a bit stocky. His little "swan‑meat" fantasy went "crack" and shattered halfway.

Drawing nearer, he made out her face: a round, broad face, skin not fair but eyes bright, nose bridge high, exuding neatness and health. Not pretty, but certainly not ugly—a very "down‑to‑earth" look.

"You… you're Comrade Ma Dongmei?" Sha Zhu's voice changed from nervousness.

Ma Dongmei, however, was poised and generous, giving Sha Zhu a once‑over, her voice clear with a hint of suburban accent: "Yes, I'm Ma Dongmei. You're He Yuzhu? About what Aunt Wang said." Her gaze was direct, without any coyness.

Seeing this, Li Ping'an gave Wang Meipo a look; the two made an excuse to walk aside, leaving them space.

Sha Zhu, stiff‑handed and stiff‑footed, asked Ma Dongmei to sit on the bench, then he sat far away, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet.

"Um… I work in the Steel Rolling Mill cafeteria as a cook." Sha Zhu began awkwardly.

"I know. Aunt Wang said so." Ma Dongmei nodded, "Being a cook is fine; you won't go hungry."

"My… my monthly wage is thirty‑seven point five yuan." Sha Zhu kept reporting, as if reciting a résumé.

"Hmm, not little." Ma Dongmei still nodded, her eyes showing no reaction.

Sha Zhu ran out of words, scratching his ear and cheek. His usual cleverness in sparring and trading barbs with Xu Damao in the courtyard had gone to the dogs.

Seeing his embarrassed state, Ma Dongmei instead let out a "pfft" laugh, flashing even white teeth: "You're more nervous than our school's big yellow guard dog—and I don't eat people."

That laugh, tinged with teasing, somehow broke the awkward atmosphere. Sha Zhu froze a moment, watching her smile, the little disappointment in his heart fading. This girl, no pretense.

"I… I've never been on a blind date." Sha Zhu admitted frankly.

"Me too, first time." Ma Dongmei replied cheerfully, "Let's skip the nonsense. I'm Ma Dongmei, from the countryside, doing odd jobs at Hongxing Primary School's logistics—hardworking and capable of managing a household. I may lack education, but I understand reason. I just want to find a down‑to‑earth person to live a steady life with. How about you?"

Her straightforwardness left Sha Zhu dazed and awakened. He suddenly felt that, compared with those who beat around the bush and gossip behind backs, this girl before him was as clear as the water of Beihai.

"I… I'm down‑to‑earth too!" Sha Zhu hastily declared, straightening his back unconsciously, "Just a bit hot‑tempered, easy to offend. But our courtyard's Li Chief—that's my brother Ping'an—he can vouch for me, Sha Zhu… no, I'm He Yuzhu, I definitely have no ill will! I'm loyal to friends and good to my sister."

In his fluster, even his nickname slipped out.

Seeing his face red with panic, Ma Dongmei laughed again: "Sha Zhu? That nickname's kind of fun. A short temper's no problem—just talk sense. I hate most those who stab in the back and speak with sarcasm."

Those words hit Sha Zhu right in the heart! He instantly felt he'd found a kindred spirit, his tongue loosened, and he began to complain about certain people in the courtyard, especially Xu Damao.

The more they talked, the more they clicked—from cafeteria work to school anecdotes, Sha Zhu even gestured animatedly, mimicking how to toss a wok. Ma Dongmei listened with relish, often bursting into hearty laughter.

Hiding behind distant trees, Xu Damao watched the two—not only was there no awkward silence, they were chatting heatedly, and Sha Zhu's goofy joy stung his eyes. This was nothing like he'd imagined! Where was the disdain? Where was the turning away and walking off?

His eyes shifted, a plan formed. He straightened his clothes, pretended to bump into them by chance, and sauntered over.

"Yo! Isn't that Zhuzi? What a coincidence! And this is…?" Xu Damao plastered on a fake smile, his gaze unfriendly as it swept over Ma Dongmei.

Seeing him, Sha Zhu's face sank at once: "Xu Damao, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Is the park your family's? You let yourself come but not me?" Xu Damao gave a grin that didn't reach his eyes, turning to Ma Dongmei: "This comrade, you're on a blind date with Zhuzi? You'd better find out the truth. Our Zhuzi is a courtyard celebrity, his temper's explosive—just the other day he tried to beat me with a rolling pin! And as for his cook job, it sounds nice, but really it's just serving people, reeking of oil and smoke, heh…"

His words were vicious to the extreme, deliberately stepping on Sha Zhu's sore spots.

Sha Zhu's veins bulged on his forehead, fists clenched, he was about to explode.

"Comrade," Ma Dongmei suddenly spoke, her voice low but carrying an undeniable force, "Comrade He Yuzhu's temper—I'll judge it myself. What's wrong with being a cook? Earning a living by skill is glorious! Far better than some who are neither human nor ghost, always stirring up trouble! Looking at you, all dressed up but doing nothing decent—how is that?"

Her pace was not fast, each word clear, like a small hammer striking Xu Damao's face.

Xu Damao, talked down, gaped, his face flushing red then white: "You… how can you talk like that?"

"That's just how I talk!" Ma Dongmei stood up—she wasn't much shorter than Xu Damao, full of vigor—"We're talking here, no eavesdropping on the wall! Go stand wherever it's cool!"

Sha Zhu watched Ma Dongmei step forward to shield him, firing at Xu Damao, and he was stunned. The anger in his chest instantly turned into another kind of hot surge, flooding his whole body. This girl… she's exactly to his taste!

Xu Damao, put down by her retort, ash‑faced, slipped away embarrassedly under the odd glances of passersby.

After that commotion, Sha Zhu and Ma Dongmei grew a step closer. A kind of "fighting side by side" revolutionary camaraderie quietly sprouted.

On the way back, Sha Zhu grinned, laughing foolishly all the way.

Li Ping'an looked at his bearing and thought: "Looks like there's a chance?"

Sha Zhu nodded vigorously, excited to the point of incoherence: "Brother Ping'an! This girl… this girl is really good! Down‑to‑earth! Refreshing! And she'll protect me! A hundred times better than those pretentious types! No, a thousand times!"

In the evening, Sha Zhu came back humming an off‑key tune, his brows dancing, his color bright—completely different from how he'd left in the morning.

Xu Damao, who had been watching from the shadows, felt a jolt at seeing Sha Zhu's state, realizing his scheme had come to nothing again, and he was so angry he nearly crushed the peanuts in his hand.

Jia Zhangshi also curled her lip: "Look at that virtue—finding a country girl and still turning out this beautiful? No ambition!"

Only the lights of the west wing courtyard remained warm and quiet. Li Ping'an heard the faint, excited humming of Sha Zhu from the central courtyard, then glanced at his wife quietly reading under the lamp, the corner of his mouth lifting almost imperceptibly.

The days in this siheyuan are like that crabapple tree—some think it ordinary, yet others can find their own peace and fragrance beneath it.

Sha Zhu's blind‑date farce ended temporarily in an unexpected way, while a new story seemed just beginning. Qin Huairu's situation in the Jia family, Xu Damao's jealousy—these were like seeds planted, quietly fermenting in the early summer evening breeze, readying the next upheaval.