How could I not be curious?
Mrs. Wang had always said outside that her daughter Dongmei was beautiful, and that she would definitely find a good family to marry into.
However, up to now, she still had no suitor, although there were quite a few young men hanging around her.
Someone sneered, "Yuemei is the un-favored one at home, always wearing her sister’s old clothes and old shoes. I’ve never seen that girl have many new clothes of her own."
"I think that young man isn’t bad, he should be caring. If Yuemei marries him, she’d probably have new clothes to wear."
"That’s anybody’s guess."
Meanwhile, Zhao Tianhe pushed his bike along, arriving at the Wang Family’s residence as directed by the aunts.
With his knock, the chatter inside came to an abrupt halt, and footsteps approached to open the door.
"Who are you?" The door was opened by Brother Wang, who knew the youngest sister’s suitor was coming, but he had not met the previous one.
Now a man stood before him with goods in hand and even a bicycle parked behind him in the hallway.
"Hello, I am Zhao Tianhe, comrade Wang Yuemei’s suitor."
"Youngest sister, your suitor is here," Brother Wang shouted toward the interior.
Wang Yuemei was busy in the kitchen, knowing that Zhao Tianhe was coming today, but she hadn’t expected him to arrive so early. Wasn’t she supposed to go out and meet him later?
"Come in, come in," Mr. Wang also saw the guest and beckoned Zhao Tianhe to enter.
Although his house wasn’t large, now that it was getting cold, the inside was certainly much warmer than outside.
Zhao Tianhe, delivering goods, had often seen cramped homes where a whole family might crowd into a fifty-six square meter space.
"Xiao Zhao, you’re really too polite," Mr. Wang commented, seeing the number of items Zhao Tianhe was carrying and reached to take some.
The Wang Family was sizable.
Suddenly, Zhao Tianhe felt like a monkey on display.
Wang Dongmei wasn’t there.
Mrs. Wang was worried her youngest daughter’s suitor might take a liking to her eldest daughter and had told her not to come back today.
"Have a seat, sit down."
Zhao Tianhe sat somewhat tentatively, feeling surrounded.
"Xiao Zhao, you’re not a local, are you?"
Sister-in-law Wang voiced out, "Being not a local, that means, if you two get married, you might return to your hometown in the future, wouldn’t that mean the youngest sister is marrying far away?"
If the young sister-in-law married far away, their maternal family wouldn’t likely gain any benefits.
"It’s not considered marrying far away. I have settled down in Capital City for now, even borrowed money to buy a small house there."
Borrowing money to buy a house?
How long have you been in Capital City, and you’ve already bought a house?
Second Brother Wang suddenly interjected, "Borrowing money to buy a house, have you paid off the debt?"
Zhao Tianhe had previously felt some tension, but at this moment, it suddenly dissipated.
"Not yet, I borrowed it from a cousin who came to Capital City to study. I came here last year seeking his help, and now I work in an appliance store. I figured renting a place was not cost-effective, so I decided to just borrow money and buy a house. Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let Yuemei suffer," he explained.
You haven’t even finished paying for your house.
On what basis do you say you won’t let the youngest sister suffer?
"How many siblings do you have?"
"There are four of us in my family—I have one older sister, one older brother, and a younger sister."
"Your monthly salary isn’t low, is it?"
Zhao Tianhe responded conservatively, "Fifty, and if business is good one month, the boss might give us a bit of a bonus."
That’s the wage for an official worker these days.
Zhao Tianhe answered each of their questions.
At noon, he dined with them on dishes with meat and tofu.