Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

Xu Huizhen turned to Aunt Xu and said, "Aunt, you and Jianmei can stay at my house tonight so that you can go on a blind date. Uncle, there are no men in my family, so it's not convenient for you to stay here. You and Jianzhu can stay at a nearby hotel, and I'll let Yingzi take you there. How do you think?"

Mr. Xu nodded, and followed Yingzi with a helpless look on his face.

Xu Huizhen turned and went into the kitchen, brought out some steamed buns and pickles, and said, "I guess you guys are hungry too, eat something first. Jianshe, go wash your hands and come over to eat something."

Although they felt a little sorry, they felt their rumbling stomachs and decided not to let Xu Huizhen down. They picked up the steamed buns and started eating. Xu Huizhen went to the front yard to look for Cai Quanwu.

When Cai Quanwu heard that he was going to go and see the place, he looked calm but was very nervous. He hurried home and changed into his newly made Zhongshan suit. He felt uncomfortable walking on the street, as if everyone around him was looking at him.

Entering from the back door, Xu Huizhen hurriedly said, "Come on, Cai Quanwu, come in quickly. Let me introduce you. This is my second aunt, this is my cousin Xu Jianmei, and this is my cousin Xu Jianshe."

Then he turned to Aunt Xu and said, "This is the Cai Quanwu I told you about. I dare not say anything else, but Cai Quanwu is honest and trustworthy, has no bad habits, and is definitely a good man to live with."

Cai Quanwu stammered, "Hello, auntie. Hello, Jianmei and Jianshe too!"

Xu Jianmei looked at Cai Quanwu's appearance and felt a little disappointed, but she knew in her heart that even a perfect person would not look down on her.

Aunt Xu was also looking at Cai Quanwu at this time, and Cai Quanwu didn't dare to look up, and he didn't know where to put his hands.

Seeing this, Xu Huizhen said, "How about Cai Quanwu, take Jianmei to your home to have a look? Jianmei, what do you think?"

Xu Jianmei looked up at her mother, who said, "Go ahead."

Xu Huizhen took out the bicycle key from her pocket, handed it over and said, "Cai Quanwu, ride my bicycle and come back quickly. Come to my house for dinner in the evening. My second aunt and I will cook at home."

Xu Huizhen didn't want to have a big dinner. She cooked steamed rice and three hot dishes: kelp stewed pork ribs, braised Spanish mackerel, and fried eggs with chives. The portions were large and filling. She also added a small pickle.

After Yingzi came back, Xu Huizhen sent him out with Jianshe to get a haircut. When it was just her and Aunt Xu, she asked, "Aunt, what do you think of Cai Quanwu?"

Aunt Xu sighed and said, "She looks a bit old. It depends on Jianmei's opinion. It's OK as long as she agrees. People who are too well-off won't look down on people from the countryside, right?"

Listening to Aunt Xu's words, Xu Huizhen suddenly thought of a problem, that is, household registration. Before 1955, rural people could get their household registration in the city as long as they married into the city. Xu Huizhen herself was in this situation.

In 1955, the municipal government issued the "Instructions on Establishing a Permanent Household Registration System", which stated that citizens who moved from rural areas to cities must hold a certificate from the city's labor department, a school admission certificate, or a certificate of approval for migration from the city's household registration authority. They must apply to the permanent household registration authority for migration procedures.

This regulation not only clarifies the procedures for the transfer and change of urban household registration, but also limits the possibility of transfer and change of urban household registration. Moreover, Jianmei has a rural household registration, and her child is also a rural household registration. The importance of urban household registration has not yet emerged. During the three difficult years, rural household registration had no food ration, which was a problem.

Just one year later, the policy has drawn a galaxy. Isn’t that infuriating?

Thinking of this, Xu Huizhen said to herself, "If Jianmei marries and moves to the city, I have to try my best to transfer Jianmei's household registration to an urban household registration. Otherwise, if we give birth to a child, the household registration will be in the countryside."

Aunt Xu was a rural woman who didn't quite understand the twists and turns involved. She asked, "Isn't it easy to change my hukou to a city hukou?"

Xu Huizhen: "There are always more solutions than problems. I will go to the neighborhood committee to ask if there are any opportunities. The simplest way is to spend money to buy Jianmei a formal job. That way, she can get a job and a hukou."

Second Aunt Xu: "How can Cai Quanwu have so much money? You know our family's situation. We have the will but not the means."

Xu Huizhen: "He has some family background, I don't know how much exactly, if it's not enough I can help to fill it up first, Jianmei can pay me back when she earns money later." Since she has become the matchmaker, she has to see the Buddha off to the west. There are not many people around her who she can trust, Cai Quanwu is the first one, she must hold on to him.

Besides, Jianmei entered Cai Quanwu's house, which had two rooms and very simple furniture. Cai Quanwu did not hesitate to use his words. He hurriedly explained: "I am a man and I don't know how to buy things, but I have more than 600 yuan in savings. If we get married, you will be the head of the family and you have the final say on what I want to buy."

Cai Quanwu has been living frugally these years, and he has recently made some extra money with Xu Huizhen, saving up some money. As the saying goes, if you have powder, you should put it on your face. At this moment, he did not hide his strength.

Xu Jianmei was also shocked when she heard this. 600 yuan was a huge sum of money in her eyes. Her family had so many people, and all their savings didn't even reach yuan, but other people had yuan each. How could the gap between people be so big?

Jianmei saw the tightly wrapped bicycle and asked curiously, "What is this?"

Cai Quanwu: "This is the bicycle I bought last year. I didn't even want to ride it, so I gave it to you." Bicycles at that time were equivalent to Audis in later generations. They were definitely big items. Not only in rural areas, but also in cities, few families could afford one.

Cai Quanwu originally bought it with Xu Huizhen to make money, but now it is a betrothal gift to his wife. You have to be flexible when you need to be flexible.

The two men sat for a while without saying anything, then got on their bikes and went back to the tavern.

During dinner, Xu Huizhen never mentioned Mr. Xu and Xu Jianshe, and the others also tactfully buried their heads in eating. Xu Huizhen kept picking up dishes for everyone to liven up the atmosphere.

Xu Huizhen's cooking skills are pretty good, and she is generous with the seasonings, so the dishes are delicious. When cooking, Aunt Xu saw that she used so much oil, and she shivered with heartache. Xu Huizhen said, "If you don't use enough oil, it won't taste good!" Nonsense, everyone knows this truth, the question is who has so much oil to waste?

Xu Jianshe almost cried because of the delicious food. Actually, there were few children in his family, and the living conditions in Xujiawan were considered good. But his mother was in poor health and needed to supplement nutrition. His father was the elder and the pillar of the family, so he had to eat well. His brother was the eldest son in the family, and he was weak and also needed to supplement his body. After his sister-in-law came into the family, they had a little nephew, and the child also had to eat well. Therefore, he had no chance to eat the delicious food at home, and he was the one who lacked fat the most.

Aunt Xu sighed: "Life is still better in the city!"

Xu Huizhen: "Second Aunt, do you think we can eat such delicious food every day? We are only being extravagant today because we are entertaining guests. Yingzi, can you tell me what we usually eat?"

Yingzi blinked her big eyes and lied with her eyes open: "Cornmeal steamed bread, cornmeal porridge."