Mrs. Zhang, however, thought it was a possibility. "If there’s a suitable candidate, Da Hai, you might as well give it a try. At worst, you can rent a place to live for now. Good girls are a hot commodity these days; it’s always better to make the first move."
Mrs. Zhang was very concerned about Zhang Dahai’s marriage prospects. He was about to turn twenty-five and still hadn’t found a suitable partner. She and her husband were worried to death.
"Mom, there’s no rush," Zhang Dahai said hastily.
"How can you not be in a rush—" Before Mrs. Zhang could finish, Zhang Xiaozhen cut in, "Mom, Second Brother, this girl has her own house."
"What?" Mrs. Zhang exclaid in surprise. "She has her own house?"
"That’s right, two of them!" Zhang Xiaozhen said. "She ca to our real estate office today to transfer the deeds. They’re both courtyard houses, and one isn’t far from us, just over in Xilin Alley."
"It’s that close?" Mrs. Zhang was imdiately tempted. A courtyard house! If this really worked out, her second son wouldn’t have to worry about housing anymore.
After all, getting housing allocated by one’s work unit wasn’t easy these days. It depended on seniority, and you had to get in line. Although her second son had been working longer than her eldest, his seniority was still considered low. If they just waited for an allocated house, who knew how long that would take.
If he found a partner with a house, never mind the size, at least the young couple would have a place to live. And this was a courtyard house! If it was big enough, maybe her eldest son could reap so of the benefits, too.
After all, they had three children, and Zhang Xiaozhen would eventually get married too. So many people couldn’t possibly stay cramd into this one small house.
"Of course! It’s super close! And she has two courtyard houses in her na, Mom! Even a single-entry courtyard is much bigger than our place, and she has two! I heard the one she transferred this morning was a triple-courtyard estate!" Zhang Xiaozhen said quickly.
Listening from the side, Zhang Dahai frowned. "It’s her business that she has houses. I don’t even know her. Let’s just drop it."
Zhang Dahai felt it was inappropriate. He couldn’t pursue a relationship with soone just because he coveted her property.
"How will you know if you don’t try?" Zhang Xiaozhen said eagerly. "Second Brother, I know the address of the courtyard in Xilin Alley. We can find so ti to go over there and take a look. First, you can see if you even like the girl. If you do, we’ll find a chance to et her, then get soone to play matchmaker. Maybe it’ll all work out! You’re good-looking and you have a stable job. Why wouldn’t it work?"
"That’s right, I think so too," Mrs. Zhang nodded. "Your little sister is right. Besides, our family has four wage-earners. We might not be able to compete with her courtyard houses, but we have stability on our side. And how do you know she won’t take a liking to you? There’s no harm in trying."
"Exactly, exactly! Second Brother, just give it a try! What if it works out? Right? Just go see if she’s your type. I thought she was very pretty, definitely good enough for you," Zhang Xiaozhen said to Zhang Dahai with a wide smile.
"That’s right. Listen to your little sister. You’re almost twenty-five. Look at everyone else your age—most of them are already in relationships. You need to get a move on, otherwise your father and I will die from worrying," Mrs. Zhang chid in.
"But..." Zhang Dahai was still hesitant.
"Oh, co on, Second Brother, what’s there to hesitate about? We’ll just go and take a look. If she’s not your type, we’ll just co back. Simple, right? The weekend is in a couple of days. We’ll go over and have a look. If we happen to run into her, you can check her out," Zhang Xiaozhen urged.
Mrs. Zhang chid in with her own words of persuasion.
Finally, Zhang Dahai relented. "All right, fine. We can just treat it as a stroll over by Lianhua Lake."
"Attaboy, that’s more like it! Alright, I’ll go make dinner." Seeing her son agree, Mrs. Zhang headed to the kitchen with a happy chuckle.
Zhang Xiaozhen whispered to Zhang Dahai, "Second Brother, I’m telling you, that girl is seriously pretty. She’s absolutely qualified to be my sister-in-law. If you take a liking to her, you have to really go for it and bring her ho."
’Zhang Xiaozhen’s heart was tingling with excitent. If her second brother actually managed to win Su Qing over, and she wanted to stay in that courtyard house for a few days... as her sister-in-law, could she possibly refuse her?’
Just thinking about the possibility, Zhang Xiaozhen couldn’t keep the smile off her face.
Zhang Dahai saw his sister’s smile and assud she was just happy for him, hoping he would find a partner soon. He smiled and said, "Okay, I’ll do my best."
"Oh, Second Brother, that’s the spirit! So it’s a deal. This weekend, we’re going to Lianhua Lake," Zhang Xiaozhen said, her eyes shining as she looked at Zhang Dahai.
"Deal." Seeing his sister’s shining eyes, Zhang Dahai gave her a fond smile and gently flicked her on the forehead.
The brother and sister chatted and laughed, sharing a perfectly harmonious mont.
anwhile, Su Qing had finished purchasing the two houses. Since Aunt Jin still needed to pack and move out, Su Qing would have to wait until the weekend to take possession. After setting a ti with Aunt Jin to get the keys that weekend, Su Qing and her friends returned to their hotel. That evening, Su Qing treated the three of them to a special dinner and pressed two hundred yuan into Yan Dongjun’s hand to show her gratitude.
Yan Dongjun initially refused the money, but Su Qing was insistent, so he accepted it with a smile. "From now on in Beijing, if you ever need any help, just co find . If it’s sothing I can do, I’ll do it, no questions asked."
"Then I’ll have to thank you in advance," Su Qing replied with a smile.
The next day, Cheng Beize and Cheng Beilin bid Su Qing farewell and headed back to Xiangcheng. After seeing the Cheng siblings off at the train station, Su Qing took a bus to the departnt store.
Not counting the two tis she had rely passed through, this was her first ti properly exploring Beijing. With ti on her hands, she decided to go to the departnt store and see what she could buy. Admittedly, Uncle Ma’s courtyard required extensive renovations, so she could put off buying furniture for that one. The courtyard in Xilin Alley, however, was basically move-in ready. Still, she needed to get so things, like pots, pans, bowls, and other daily necessities. As for quilts and bedsheets, she already had two or three sets in her dinsional space, so those weren’t a must-buy.
The Beijing departnt store had three floors and was much larger than the supply and marketing co-op in Xiyuan County. While it couldn’t compare to the dazzling skyscrapers from the future that Su Qing had seen, for this era, it was a grand and impressive place.
After a tour of all the floors, Su Qing had bought quite a lot of things, her hands completely full of shopping bags.
With so many people around, Su Qing couldn’t just put everything into her dinsional space. She had no choice but to carry her purchases out of the departnt store, planning to find a secluded alley nearby where she could dump everything into her space in one go.
But as soon as she stepped out of the departnt store, she saw Yan Dongjun waving to her. "Su Qing!"
"Brother Yan." Su Qing was a bit surprised to see him. "What a coincidence!"
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