Chapter 3 Qin Huairu's Shyness
After finishing a boring day of work in the workshop, Li Zhiguo sighed that it was impossible to work as a part-time worker.

I returned to the courtyard in a straight line. As soon as I reached the middle courtyard, I heard Jia Zhang's quarrel again.

"Why? You ate my Jia family's food and now you don't want to marry me? No, I have to call the police."

Jia Zhang made a big fuss, the key point was that she had already made a big promise to her son.

At this time, Jia Dongxu also came back.

Everyone was a little confused when they saw that Jia Zhang had caught the matchmaker again.

"Mom, what's going on?"

Jia Dongxu felt like he was in trouble, and he didn't think an accident would really happen.

"Dongxu, Qin Huairu is not getting married anymore. She said she has found someone else. Everyone, tell me, how can someone go on such a blind date?"

Jia Zhang looked at the three masters in the courtyard, as well as He Daqing and Lao Xu who were in charge.

"Mom, I can't do this. I want to marry Qin Huairu!"

Jia Dongxu also started to make a fuss, he was actually fooled by Qin Huairu.

The matchmaker also started to yell, "It's useless to marry her. The Qin family won't agree. You are just going on a blind date. Let's just forget about it."

I'm introducing another one to Dongxu, he's also good for safekeeping."

The matchmaker thought that she had paid so much for this deal and couldn't just let it go.

Jia Zhang was stunned for a moment, "If you find another job, you won't buy a sewing machine."

"Okay, a sewing machine is not a big deal." The matchmaker thought to herself that she couldn't let herself suffer a loss.

Who knew Jia Dongxu was still making a fuss, "No, I want Qin Huairu."

"Okay, Dongxu, there are many young women here. Just ask Sister Wang to find one. Qin Huairu has a rural household registration anyway, so she is not good enough for you."

Jia Zhang brought it to her right away. If she could save money on the sewing machine, she could continue to save for the family.

Jia Dongxu ran home and burst into tears.

"Okay, everyone disperse!"

Liu Haizhong shouted, but everyone didn't disperse. They were chatting about gossip together.

"I say, could it be that Qin Huairu was stolen away by someone?"

"If you put it that way, I think it's possible."

"Don't look at me, it has nothing to do with me!"

Xu Damao waved his hands quickly. He did want to, but his father would not agree.

Sha Zhu also shook his head, "It's not me either."

"Silly Zhu, I didn't ask you how old you are, but you want to get married."

Someone in the yard teased him, but Sha Zhu refused to accept it and a fight almost started.

Li Zhiguo left quietly, hiding his achievements and fame.

I had 135 yuan left in my family savings. This afternoon, I received 33 yuan from the factory when it closed. It was enough to buy a bicycle, but I still had no money for other expenses.

But he has figured out a solution.

The next morning, he found the person who collected old furniture and brought him to the large courtyard with three entrances.

"Master Wu, I don't want any of the furniture in this yard. Give me a price and take them all away."

Li Zhiguo knew that there was a lot of good wood in these furniture, and some of them would be very valuable in the future, but he had to dispose of them precisely because of this.

There are three golden nanmu beams in this courtyard, which are the best wood. My grandfather instructed us to do so before he died. The rest of the furniture can be disposed of.

"Master Li, are all these really sold?" Master Wu is an expert and knows what's good.

"Yes, I sold them all. I am a working class person and I don't have the need for such nice things."

Li Zhiguo's words were awe-inspiring.

"Master Li, the total for you is two thousand four hundred and eight."

"Okay, you have to give me a receipt to prove that the money I got is legal."

Li Zhiguo calculated that it would cost about 200 yuan to buy another set of furniture. But it was better to sell it now than to have it smashed later.

His grandfather was also very cunning. The two best sets of furniture were actually in the small courtyard.

Not long after, Li Zhiguo got the money and bills, and now he could rest easy.

When Qin Huairu rushed to the compound from the village, she found workers moving furniture out. If she hadn't seen Li Zhiguo standing at the door, she would have thought she had encountered a thief.

"Brother Li, what's going on?"

"Huai Ru, you're just in time!"

Li Zhiguo came forward and explained, "These are all old furniture used by my grandpa and uncles. I thought we would get rid of them all and replace them with new ones in the future."

"I see. But I think all these furniture can be used. Wouldn't it be a waste to sell them?"

Qin Huairu was really distressed. Every piece of furniture here was better than the ones in her home.

"If the old goes away, the new will come. Furniture will break down if it is kept for a long time. It is better to sell it and get money. The furniture was sold for 2,480 yuan. Our family will have a good life in the future."

Li Zhiguo is not shy about how much money he has. This is legal income, and he is in charge of the family's finances anyway.

"Wow, the furniture is so valuable!"

Qin Huairu was stunned. This amount of money was too much.

"Come on, I'll take you to buy a bicycle!"

Li Zhiguo only planned to buy a car, saying it was a dowry for Qin Huairu, but in fact, the car was for his own use.

"Brother Li, what about here? What should we do?"

Qin Huairu pointed at the workers who were moving furniture.

"It's okay. I'll come back later to lock the door. All the furniture has been sold. There's nothing left in the house."

Li Zhiguo put all the remaining items in the compound into the space, and the compound became penniless.

Not long after, he took Qin Huairu to buy a brand new bicycle and had it stamped.

He also bought a new set of clothes for himself.

"Huai Ru, I have prepared everything. I will bring it to your house to propose marriage. We will come back tomorrow to get the marriage certificate.

Then you can live in my house, and we will choose an auspicious day to hold the wedding banquet."

Li Zhiguo couldn't wait that long because there were still clothes at home waiting to be washed.

Once he and Qin Huairu get married, he can implement the stomach disease plan and give the job in the steel mill to Qin Huairu.

Then he just lay down in the yard, how nice.

"Well, Brother Li, I'll listen to you. But before you leave, don't forget to lock the door of the compound over there."

Qin Huairu has already regarded herself as the daughter-in-law of the Li family, so of course she has to be concerned about the things at home.

"Got it!"

Li Zhiguo immediately went to the inner room and took out a large bag that he had prepared, asked Qin Huairu to take it, and then he set off with the people.

I locked the door on the way.

"Brother Li, you said before that we can't move into the compound for a while, what's going on?"

On the way, Qin Huairu was still thinking about this matter.

“Well, although my grandfather’s store closed down before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he was still a capitalist.

If we move into a three-story compound, people will definitely envy us. So we have to keep a low profile and wait a few years until you have a child and our family grows bigger, then we can move there.”

Li Zhiguo was not kidding. After all, the Lou family did not have a good ending.

Qin Huairu continued, "I understand. Don't show off your wealth."

"Yes, that's the case. Yesterday I entrusted the street office to rent out our three big shops, and we will have monthly rental income. The shops and the compound can be passed down. You, just marry into our family and expect a good life."

Li Zhiguo is just kidding. It is true that he eats and drinks well, but he also really works hard.

Besides, Qin Huairu's personality is suitable for serving others!
"Brother Li, I will definitely be obedient."

Qin Huairu has already figured it out. She collects rent from the three shops at home, and she also gets a salary from Brother Li. After selling the furniture, she will have more than 2,000 yuan in assets.

In a few years, I will be able to move into a large courtyard with three entrances. I can’t even imagine such a good life.

Qinjiazhuang.

"Oh, isn't this Huairu? What are you doing?" As soon as Qin Huairu arrived at the village entrance, she was recognized by villagers working on the roadside.

"Sister-in-law Dachun, this is my boyfriend Li Zhiguo. He came to my house today to propose marriage."

Qin Huairu introduced Li Zhiguo in a somewhat boastful manner, saying that he was a good man that was hard to find even with a lantern.

"Oh, look at this bicycle, Huairu, you are finally married."

Sister Dachun was extremely envious.

Li Zhiguo didn't say anything and let Qin Huairu show off.

When he arrived at the place, he pushed his bicycle to a farmer's house and was stunned.

There are at least thirty people in this room.

Qin Huairu said quickly: "Brother Li, they are all my relatives."

"Oh, okay!" Li Zhiguo was still a little confused.

I saw a few people walking quickly in the crowd.

One of the women said with a big smile on her face: "This is Zhiguo, he is so handsome."

Qin Huairu introduced: "This is my mom, dad, and two younger brothers. Over there is my second and third uncle's home..."

"Uh, okay!"

Li Zhiguo parked his bicycle in the dam, which immediately attracted a crowd of onlookers, as bicycles are rare items.

"Come inside and take a rest. You must be tired from the journey!"

Qin's mother greeted her warmly, and seeing her daughter struggling to carry the bag, she quickly asked her two sons to help.

Li Zhiguo was then brought to the main hall. He was well versed in showing off, so he opened the bundle in front of everyone.

"I came here in a hurry, so I just brought some things with me."

There was a piece of pork belly weighing more than ten pounds in the bundle, with fat and meat mixed together. In this era, just looking at it makes people drool.

There were also four bottles of good wine and a large pig's head.

"This, this is too much!"

The Qin family was shocked. How could someone bring dozens of kilograms of pork when proposing marriage?

Li Zhiguo was not vague at all, and took out a bulging red envelope, "Qin Huairu and I fell in love at first sight, this is the betrothal gift."

"Okay, okay!"

Qin's mother did not hesitate and took the red envelope, and the marriage was settled.

The onlookers were also happy because the son-in-law was obviously young and rich, and they might be able to benefit from him in the future.

Qin Huairu did not hide in shame and was very happy at the moment.

At this time, Qin Huairu's father Qin Changchun spoke up, "Zhiguo, what is the situation in your family? Huairu didn't explain it clearly."

Li Zhiguo didn't believe that he hadn't made it clear. Was he going to show off again?
"I am the only one in my family. I work in a steel mill as a regular employee, earning 33 yuan a month."

When this was said, everyone thought it was a good idea, but it didn't have to be so lavish.

Qin Huairu couldn't help but added, "Brother Li's grandfather used to run a preserved fruit shop in Dong Liulichang, Beijing.

It is an old brand that has been in business since the Qianlong period. In the past, the store had dozens of employees and also had a factory.

After Grandpa passed away, he left all his property to Brother Li, including the three large shops. The rent alone will make a lot of money in the future."

Qin Huairu's introduction was extremely detailed, fearing that she had missed anything.

"hiss!"

Everyone in the Qin family suddenly felt a little dizzy. This was a huge fortune.

Someone couldn't help but ask: "Is it the preserved fruit shop that sells sour plum soup, candied fruit, and dried apricots? It's a time-honored brand in Beijing, very famous."

"I've heard about it, too. My father passed by there when he went to the city, and he talked about it for a long time when he came back."

"That's incredible. In the past, the son-in-law of our Qin family would have been the boss."

Everyone started talking about it, saying that the old brand was really amazing.

Li Zhiguo has in his hand the most important thing left by his grandfather, which is the recipe of the products sold in the preserved fruit shop.

So he was not panicked at all.

Qin Huairu added: "Grandpa also left a large courtyard with three entrances and dozens of rooms for Brother Li."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone gasped again. Such a good family actually fell in love with Qin Huairu.

"Brother-in-law, do you have any preserved fruits at home?"

A little girl with two ponytails came closer, looking greedy.

Qin Huairu quickly introduced: "This is my third uncle's daughter, her name is Qin Jingru."

Li Zhiguo was stunned for a moment. The little girl in front of him was actually Qin Jingru.

"There are preserved fruits. When you go to your brother-in-law's house, I'll let you eat as much as you want."

He smiled and touched Qin Jingru's head. This girl would be pretty when she grew up, and most importantly, she was very obedient.

Qin's relatives stayed here for quite a while before leaving, but the close relatives all stayed to eat, treating it as an engagement banquet.

"Brother-in-law!"

"Hello, brother-in-law!"

Qin Huairu's two younger brothers came over. The older one was called Qin Guangming and the younger one was called Qin Guangyou.

The two younger brothers looked at him, feeling a little scared but also wanting to get close to him.

"Well, hello, from now on, if you have the chance, go to the city and visit your brother-in-law's house."

Li Zhiguo made the promise blindly. After all, it would be Qin Huairu who would take care of everything after they arrived.

In the evening, Lao Qin's family set up two tables, and Li Zhiguo drank two glasses and pretended to be drunk.

After the guests left, Qin Huairu fetched water for him to wash up. Only then did he react, "Where should I sleep tonight?"

"Guangyou's room. Brother Li, I'll be with you when we get back to the city. It's not convenient at home."

Qin Huairu blushed a little, but there was a rule on her side that her son-in-law had to sleep in a separate room when he came to visit.

"All right!"

Li Zhiguo didn't want to force it, and was also worried that he wouldn't be able to perform well.

When he woke up the next day, Qin Huairu had already packed her luggage.

After breakfast, he changed his tone, "Dad, Mom, then I'll take Huairu away, and we'll get the marriage certificate when we get to the city.

Once we are settled, we will choose a good day to hold a banquet and invite you to the city."

"Okay, we'll be relieved to leave Huairu to you."

Qin's mother and father were both very happy. They were proud that their daughter had married so well.

Li Zhiguo pushed his bicycle and set off with Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu sat in the back seat with a happy look on her face, thinking about the good days to come.

Li Zhiguo fulfilled his promise and when they arrived in the city, he took Qin Huairu to get a marriage certificate.

"Qin Huairu, you are my woman now."

"Well, Brother Li, I will listen to you from now on."

Qin Huairu felt relieved after getting the marriage certificate. She would be a city dweller from now on.

"Come on, let's go to the courtyard first. I have something to tell you."

Li Zhiguo brought the person to the courtyard, put down the luggage, and took Qin Huairu to buy a new set of daily necessities.

This goes without saying.

"Huai Ru, there are too many people in the courtyard, and you have been on a blind date with Jia Dongxu before, so there will definitely be a lot of trouble if we go back.

I think you should stay here tonight, and you can take a day off tomorrow. I will take you back to the courtyard after get off work."

Li Zhiguo once considered moving to this courtyard, but after thinking about it, he gave up and decided to wait two years.

"Ok!"

Qin Huairu nodded, a shy look on her face.

(End of this chapter)