Jia Dong Xu frowned. He hadn't worked overtime today.
He came home from work on time, only to find a strange woman in the courtyard.
Upon learning that she was brought by the old lady, and was possibly someone to be introduced to Yi Zhong Hai, Jia Dong Xu felt a pang of displeasure.
At present, the position of the first lady of the courtyard was vacant.
It was common knowledge that the previous first lady was unable to have children.
And Yi Zhong Hai's body should be fine.
So, if Yi Zhong Hai married someone who could bear children, it would be no surprise if he had a few chubby sons.
Would he still be good to him once Yi Zhong Hai had a biological son?
Jia Dong Xu thought it unlikely, as he was only Yi Zhong Hai's apprentice.
But Yi Zhong Hai couldn't stay single for life, he would eventually have to remarry.
There was nothing he could do to stop it.
…
The sky was darkening. At the factory workshop, Yi Zhong Hai was leaving work.
He was, in fact, the last one to leave the workshop.
This month's advanced worker award would be his, no doubt about it.
After working for a day, Yi Zhong Hai was also tired.
He looked exhausted at this moment.
He walked out of the factory gate, and looking around, he didn't see many people on the street.
He walked along the curb.
He returned to Nan Luo Gu Alley, and just as he stepped into the courtyard, he met Yan Bu Gui.
"Lao Yi, the old lady has found you a partner," Yan Bu Gui said with a smile.
Partner?
Hearing this, Yi Zhong Hai's face showed surprise.
His ex-wife had remarried, and Yi Zhong Hai certainly wouldn't remain single forever, but he had planned to mention it in a few months.
Waiting a few months would be beneficial to his reputation.
But the old lady had taken the initiative.
It was true that she was doing it for his own good, but it was more likely she was doing it for herself!
However, thinking about the need for a woman in his household, Yi Zhong Hai decided to take a look.
If it was possible, it wouldn't hurt to date.
Without further conversation with Yan Bu Gui, Yi Zhong Hai walked towards the middle courtyard.
There were quite a few people in the courtyard.
The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen of Sha Zhu's home.
The smell was enough to tell him that Sha Zhu had bought a chicken.
Yi Zhong Hai was also hungry, and the smell made his mouth water.
Many others in the courtyard were also feeling the same.
When he saw the old lady, he noticed the woman beside her.
His first impression was that she was fine.
As for anything else, she must be decent, since she was someone the old lady had chosen.
The old lady had seen countless people, and was extremely astute, so if she thought this woman was good, then she must be good.
It all came down to whether they had any chemistry.
Seeing Yi Zhong Hai return from work, the old lady was beaming.
Zhen Da Hua was also looking at Yi Zhong Hai.
It had to be said, Yi Zhong Hai had a good appearance, and Zhen Da Hua was very interested.
Just in time, Sha Zhu had finished cooking.
They went into Yi Zhong Hai's home, and Yi Zhong Hai, Zhen Da Hua, and the old lady sat down to eat.
The old lady's mind wasn't on the meal, instead she was trying to bring Yi Zhong Hai and Zhen Da Hua together.
She kept praising Yi Zhong Hai, and also Zhen Da Hua, in her words.
The atmosphere was pleasant.
…
Jia Zhang Shi was observing.
She saw Yi Zhong Hai and Zhen Da Hua talking and laughing.
This was not a good sign.
Under the old lady's matchmaking, they might really end up together, and this was not something Jia Zhang Shi wanted to see.
"No, I can't just watch," she thought.
Jia Zhang Shi wasn't in a hurry to eat dinner, and she went into her home to find a few clothes that needed washing and threw them into a wooden basin. Then, she carried the basin out of the house.
Jia Zhang Shi went directly to the door of Yi Zhong Hai's house.
"Zhong Hai, do you have any clothes to wash? I can wash them for you," she said.
At that moment, Qin Huairu, who was at the door of the Jia family: ???
Qin Huairu had never seen Jia Zhang Shi wash clothes.
Before Qin Huairu married into the Jia family, Jia Zhang Shi had washed clothes, but Qin Huairu had only heard about it, she had never seen it with her own eyes.
Therefore, for Qin Huairu, her mother-in-law washing clothes was a legend.
Now she was fortunate enough to witness it.
Of course, Qin Huairu knew that her mother-in-law's washing clothes was a pretense, and her real goal was to disrupt Yi Zhong Hai and Zhen Da Hua.
Jia Zhang Shi's intentions were too obvious, and Yi Zhong Hai could see through them, but when he was about to get angry, Jia Zhang Shi glared at him.
Thinking about Dong Xu and Bang Geng, Yi Zhong Hai held back.
Meanwhile, Zhen Da Hua's face was also not good. She looked at Jia Zhang Shi, and then turned to look at Yi Zhong Hai.
The deaf old lady was very angry. She picked up her cane and glared at Jia Zhang Shi.
Jia Zhang Shi was still a little intimidated by the old lady.
…
Zheng Ai Min lay in the cradle. He was actually able to sit, and even crawl, but he couldn't be too extraordinary.
While eating, some people from the courtyard also came over to chat while holding their bowls of rice.
In those days, it was common for neighbors to visit each other.
The news about the deaf old lady introducing a partner to Yi Zhong Hai in courtyard number 95 had spread to this courtyard number 91.
It also reached Zheng Da Ma's ears.
Her ex-husband was on a blind date, and Zheng Da Ma felt a mixture of emotions.
After dinner, Ma Cheng Gong didn't have much to do, so he told stories to Zheng Ai Min.
His adoptive parents were really good to Zheng Ai Min.
But Zheng Ai Min was most grateful to Zheng Da Ma. If he hadn't been picked up by Zheng Da Ma, he would have frozen to death.
Zheng Ai Min was also quite content with his current life.
…
"You, you little Zhang, I'll beat you to death, you bad seed, you wicked thing!"
The old lady was furious, and she chased after Jia Zhang Shi with her cane.
Everything had been going so well.
Then Jia Zhang Shi had ruined it all.
Zhen Da Hua vs Jia Zhang Shi, complete defeat.
On the one hand, Jia Zhang Shi had the home advantage, and on the other hand, Yi Zhong Hai was biased towards her.
Zhen Da Hua didn't believe that there was nothing between Yi Zhong Hai and Jia Zhang Shi.
The old lady was so angry, if it weren't for Jia Zhang Shi, Yi Zhong Hai and Zhen Da Hua might have actually become a couple.
Jia Zhang Shi hid in her home, and Jia Dong Xu and Qin Huairu stopped the old lady, saying that she was mistaken.
Yi Zhong Hai also spoke up for Jia Zhang Shi.
Faced with such a situation, the old lady stomped her foot, blaming herself for interfering.
Although the old lady really wanted to just ignore it, she couldn't.
For now, Qin Huairu could still take care of the old lady, but she was becoming increasingly perfunctory.
…
The Yan family.
The third lady was making her calculations.
She knew why the old lady was so anxious.
The old lady was childless, and wanted someone to take good care of her.
It was, after all, Yi Zhong Hai's ex-wife who had taken such good care of the old lady.
The third lady thought to herself, if she took care of the old lady, she should be able to profit.
But she would have to get the old lady's agreement, and then go to the neighborhood committee to report it.
Taking care of the old lady had its benefits.
The neighborhood committee would send some grain, or edible oil.
Of course, if she took care of the old lady, the old lady wouldn't be able to save any money.
Yi Zhong Hai's ex-wife had even spent some of her own money taking care of the old lady.
The third lady was considering taking care of the old lady, naturally, for the benefits.
"If I mention it to the old lady now, she definitely won't agree," the third lady thought to herself.
The time wasn't right, she would have to wait.
But she also had to keep an eye on the other ladies in the courtyard.
After all, there were benefits to taking care of the old lady, and it wasn't just her in the courtyard who wanted to do it.
Besides the practical benefits, taking care of the old lady would also give her a good reputation.
Furthermore, the old lady was so revered, she was now the 'ancestress' of the courtyard, so if she used the old lady to order the four-section courtyard, how would the neighbors respond?
Therefore, taking care of the old lady was highly advantageous.
She, the third lady of the four-section courtyard, would take care of the deaf old lady in her old age.
With a plan in mind, the third lady also talked to the third master in private, and the third master, of course, supported her.