Courtyard House: Drunk and barging into the Xu family's house, I woke up numb.

"Anyway, they want me to date Sha Zhu. I can just say it's not a good match and that's it. They can't force me to marry him."

Xu Damao sensed something from those words and leaned closer to say something.

"Jingru, tell me, where have you been since you came to the capital?"

Qin Jingru counted on her fingers.

“I’ve been here before, but I only went to see the flag-raising ceremony and didn’t go anywhere else.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao thought to himself, "Isn't this my chance?"

"You've never been before, have you? Then I'll take you around and show you around the capital."

"I'll go to my spendthrift wife to complete the paperwork as soon as I get to work tomorrow morning, and then I'll pick you up so we can go out and have some fun."

"Let's go shopping at Wangfujing first, then at Dashilan. I'll buy you some new clothes and shoes, and give you a nice makeover."

"I'll treat you to hot pot at Donglaishun for lunch. After a long day of shopping, a hot pot meal is simply amazing!"

"How about I take you home after we've had a good lunch?"

Qin Jingru was immediately tempted upon hearing this.

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Let me tell you, I never agreed to date you. We've only just met, and it's not right for me to spend your money."

Xu Damao said with an indifferent expression.

"What's inappropriate about it? Jingru, you're just my brother. It's normal for a brother to take his sister shopping and buy her things, isn't it?"

"Besides, this amount of money is nothing to me. Even though my salary has been reduced, I still have savings."

“Back then, when I went to the countryside to show movies at other companies, one movie was worth half a month’s salary for me. I had to go three or four times a month.”

"With my current money, I can afford to take you shopping, eat out, and buy you a new outfit, or even just get you a complete set of 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a set of high-end appliances) to marry you!"

The "three turns and one sound" set—bicycle, watch, sewing machine, and radio—would be worth five or six hundred yuan just by its value, not counting the ticket.

Upon hearing this, Qin Jingru's mind began to wander.

You should know that in their rural area, it only costs twenty yuan to marry a wife.

Although the bride price was much higher than when her sister got married, it still couldn't compare to what people in the city paid.

For example, when she went on a blind date with Sha Zhu, her sister also mentioned the bride price, saying that Sha Zhu had agreed to pay fifty yuan, which was already quite a lot.

Xu Damao's sudden use of the "three turns and one sound" slogan left her feeling somewhat dizzy.

After Xu Damao revealed some things about Sha Zhu and his ambiguous relationship with her sister, she was already planning to abandon Sha Zhu.

Now that Xu Damao is taking her shopping and out to restaurants, and even hinting at it with the "three turns and one sound" (referring to a set of three watches and one radio), her heart is starting to tip in her favor.

"I'm going shopping tomorrow, so where should I go today?"

Xu Damao said.

"It's getting late, so let's not go far. I'll take you to a restaurant near Dongzhimen, and then I'll take you to the guesthouse afterward."

"By the way, did you bring your letter of introduction?"

Qin Jingru nodded.

“I brought it. The village told me when I came that you need a letter of introduction to go to Beijing now. It’s inconvenient to go anywhere without one.”

Xu Damao shook his head.

"I mean, did you bring your letter of introduction with you?"

Qin Jingru patted her pocket and laughed.

"It's in my pocket."

Xu Damao smiled.

"That's settled then. Let's go eat."

"Tell me what you want to eat, 883, it's on me!"

Qin Jingru's eyes lit up.

"I want to eat braised pork belly, and I also want to eat chicken stew with mushrooms."

"My family made these two dishes for Chinese New Year this year. There were too many people to share them all, so I only ate two bites. I still miss them now."

Xu Damao put his hand directly on Qin Jingru's shoulder.

"Okay, let's go eat braised pork and chicken stew with mushrooms."

..................................................................

An older woman returned home and saw Yi Zhonghai sitting in a chair, dozing off, so she went up to him and said hello.

"Old Yi, wake up."

Yi Zhonghai squinted at the middle-aged woman and asked.

"Are you ready to eat?"

"That's what the older woman said."

"Shazhu just brought over a dish of food. I've heated up the steamed buns, and we'll eat them in a bit."

"I just went out and ran into Xu Damao."

Yi Zhonghaidao.

"What's so surprising about running into him? Even though he went to the workshop, he's just delivering some things to Lao Liu, so it probably won't be too tiring."

An older woman leaned forward and whispered.

“I just saw him ride his bike out at the street corner, carrying Qin Jingru on his back.”

Yi Zhonghai frowned.

"Qin Jingru?"

"Is she Qin Huairu's sister?"

"That's what the older woman said."

"Yes, that's her."

Yi Zhonghaidao.

"Didn't Qin Huairu arrange for her to go on a blind date with Sha Zhu today?"

"They should be having dinner at Qin Huairu's house at this time, why are they out with Xu Damao?"

An older woman whispered.

"Do you think Xu Damao might have used some trick to lure Qin Jingru away?"

Yi Zhonghai smacked his lips.

"That's quite possible. Qin Huairu must be hiding something from you when she arranges blind dates."

"I'm afraid Xu Damao will seize on these weaknesses to cause trouble, and might even interfere."

"That's what the older woman said."

"Should I go and tell Sha Zhu? If Xu Damao really causes trouble, how can this marriage still happen?"

Yi Zhonghaidao.

"Don't worry about it. Qin Jingru is not young anymore, she knows what she's doing."

"Besides, I don't want Sha Zhu to marry Qin Huairu's sister. If the older sister is cunning, the younger sister can't be much worse."

“I still think Shazhu and Liu Yuhua are the most suitable. I’ve already spoken to Lao Liu, and he said he doesn’t care whether Shazhu can have children.”

"As long as Shazhu can treat her daughter well with all his heart, he is still willing to accept the marriage."

"It would be best for Liu Yuhua to marry Sha Zhu. If Qin Jingru and Sha Zhu's relationship falls through, then Liu Yuhua's opportunity will come."

"That's what the older woman said."

"But Sha Zhu doesn't like Liu Yuhua. You can't force a relationship."

Yi Zhonghaidao.

"Whether it's sweet or not can only be answered after we've tasted it. What we need to do now is continue to try to bring Sha Zhu and Liu Yuhua together."

"Qin Jingru's affairs are handled by his sister; we can't interfere with that."

"If he fails in this blind date, we'll call Liu Yuhua over later."

"Let them get to know each other then; who knows, it might even lead to a wonderful story, and then we won't have to worry about our retirement."

Chapter 123 Inspecting the Guesthouse, a Chance Encounter at the Promotion Banquet! [Please Subscribe]

After the incident with the deaf old lady, Yi Zhonghai placed even greater emphasis on elder care. If it weren't for He Daqing or his own stroke, he might have favored Qin Huairu.

But he no longer has the opportunity to choose someone else; the two of them, plus He Daqing, are already enough for He Yuzhu to support.