Siheyuan: The beauty Xueru Huizhen, the birds are jealous

Looking at her daughter's spring-like appearance, she felt mixed emotions.

Not long ago, the family introduced a suitable blind date through a matchmaker, and both families have agreed to meet at the man's home this weekend.

Today, Yu Li went out with her sister Yu Haitang. They originally wanted to pick out new clothes and dress up carefully in preparation for a blind date at the weekend.

Who would have thought that such an accident would happen.

If Yang Ming hadn't appeared in time, her family would have faced great sorrow today. But even so, the scheduled blind date couldn't be easily cancelled.

After all, breaking one's promise would not only offend the man and the matchmaker, but might also affect the future of the family's second daughter, Yu Haitang.

Yu's mother knew it very well, so she reminded him: "Lier, don't forget the blind date with the son of the old Yan family this weekend. I heard that their family has a long history and strict family education. No matter what, we should meet each other and sit down and have a good talk."

"Mother, I remember that." Although Yu Li was a little unhappy, she still agreed obediently. As the eldest daughter in the family, she naturally knew how to consider the family better than her willful sister Yu Haitang.

Moreover, she believes that meeting the other party is just a preliminary contact and does not mean that she has to accept the marriage proposal.

With no other choice, she could only honestly reveal the fact that she had someone in her heart, or make up a seemingly reasonable excuse, such as not having any deep feelings for the Yan family and feeling that the two of them were not made for each other.

Deep in the courtyard, in Yan Bugui's residence, the family was having a heated discussion about the upcoming blind date this weekend.

"My eldest son," Yan Bugui said, "for this blind date, I specially asked the matchmaker for help. This five yuan matchmaking fee is temporarily considered as a loan from you. You have to pay it back to me next year." He paused and added, "Also, if you choose to eat at home during the blind date, the cost of the meal will be calculated separately." His eyes revealed a hint of shrewdness and calculation, "However, as a family, I will waive the labor fee for the cook."

Yan Bugui's words revealed his calculating wisdom, and his face was full of considerations for the interests.

He continued: “I heard from the matchmaker that this girl is from Yangshugou Hutong and has a younger sister who is still studying.

Although I don’t have a stable job at the moment, I hope to work in a textile factory in the near future.

By then, if you get married, our family will have an extra labor force and life will be more comfortable." He reminded, "But if you choose to live at home after marriage, then monthly living expenses and accommodation expenses are indispensable.

And the retirement costs I mentioned earlier, you have to keep them in mind.”

Listening to his father calculating every expense so precisely, and even planning all the expenses after marriage before they got married, Yan Bugui felt an indescribable depression in his heart, and he almost wanted to refuse directly.

But the reality is cruel. He just entered the workplace and didn't have much money. In addition, the company hadn't allocated a dormitory yet, so he naturally didn't have the courage to move out and live independently. Therefore, he could only silently accept these seemingly harsh conditions.

Noticing the gloating looks on the faces of his brothers and sisters, as well as Yan Jiecheng's dissatisfied expression, Yan Bugui slowly added:

"Big brother, don't think your father is too harsh. In our family, this is the rule, fairness and justice, and we treat everyone equally, no matter who they are." He glanced at his daughter Jie Di who was in elementary school, "You are my daughter, if you have a job in the future, I will not accept your living expenses, but if you get married, the betrothal gift given by the man must stay at home."

Finally, Yan Bugui proudly repeated his creed:

"Remember, even if you don't have to worry about food and clothing, if you don't know how to manage your finances, you will sooner or later fall into hardship. If our family doesn't know how to budget carefully, we can't expect to have a good life!"

The third aunt was standing by, listening to what her husband said and nodded repeatedly to show her agreement.

Listen, Yan Jiecheng's mother whispered to him, this is your father's unique way of life, his law of survival. Our family is large, and we only rely on your father's meager salary to make a living. She further explained that if we didn't know how to save and plan, I'm afraid we would have been unable to make ends meet.

These words made Yan Jiecheng and his brothers and sisters feel heavy-hearted, but they also knew that their mother's words made sense. They could not ignore their parents' hard work and just sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

However, Yan Bugui's lifestyle also made them worried about the future. They seemed to foresee that their own future might be constrained by their father's frugal habits.

The weekend came quickly, and it was the day for Yan Jiecheng to meet his blind date. In the morning, Yan Bugui went to the market and brought back a basket of vegetables. But when Yan Jiecheng saw the vegetables, he showed dissatisfaction on his face. The basket was full of radishes and cabbages, and the only meat was a small piece of pork.

Dad, you are too frugal, aren't you? Yan Jiecheng couldn't help but complain. How could this amount of ingredients be enough to prepare a formal meal? Is this really appropriate?

Yan Bugui didn't care. "Not enough? Then go buy some yourself!" He retorted, "These dishes are enough for our family to eat for a while. And I still have two fish left from the day before yesterday. I can make fish soup. Now I have four dishes and one soup, right?"

Yan Jiecheng was helpless and said, Dad, that fish was left over from the canteen you sold to Sha Zhu... He was worried that his blind date would see through the flaw.

Be content! Yan Bugui interrupted him, "With a food allowance of five yuan a month, how else do you want me to prepare it for you?" He added, "Sha Zhu's cooking skills are indeed good, but if you go to him, you will not only have to prepare the ingredients yourself, but also pay him a fee. Are you willing?"

Yan Jiecheng naturally knew the price of finding Sha Zhu, so he didn't say anything more. The news about the Yan family's blind date soon spread in the courtyard.

Although Yan Bugui was usually frugal and calculating, he was quite popular in the courtyard.

Whenever someone curiously asked about his blind date, he could always cleverly change the subject with a few words.

Deep inside the courtyard of No. 95, Yan Bugui felt a little worried. He was afraid that the woman his son liked would be taken away by someone else.

As noon approached, three visitors finally appeared outside the door - they were the matchmaker, as well as Yu Li and her sister Yu Haitang who were accompanying her.

Originally, the matchmaker only brought Yu Li with her, but Yu Haitang was quite curious about her sister's blind date and wanted to see him in person. After her sister's constant persuasion, Yu Li finally agreed to bring her to the courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang.

In order to please the Yan family, the matchmaker praised the Yan family for their simple family tradition, generations of scholars, and thrifty management. But Yu Haitang had a different view on this. She quietly pulled her sister aside and whispered:

"Sister, I think you should think carefully about this marriage. Think about it, doesn't the book say that saving a life is like giving you a new life, and he kissed you. Are you really not moved by Brother Yang at all?"

When Yu Li heard this, her cheeks turned slightly red. She glared at her sister and signaled her not to continue.