Chapter 78: Half-Melted with Joy – The Daily Gossip Life of a Sickly Young Lady in the Compound

Chapter 78: Half-Melted with Joy - The Daily Gossip Life of a Sickly Young Lady in the Compound

Regardless of what was happening in the west wing, Sister Lian was very happy to prepare a meal with three dishes and a soup for her daughter!

"Wow, what a feast! Mom's cooking is always the best!" Lin Qing said with a happy smile.

"If it's good, eat more!" Sister Lian served her daughter more food.

"Yeah, yeah." Lin Qing truly felt that her mother's cooking was much better than hers!

Seeing her daughter so appreciative of her cooking, Sister Lian was extremely happy.

"By the way, I heard the old bachelor in your compound is looking for a match. Any luck?"

"Doesn't seem like it. He hasn't brought anyone back, and I haven't seen anyone either. But I've been busy reviewing these past two days and haven't paid much attention to outside matters!"

"Right, that's how it should be. Focus on your studies and don't let outside distractions bother you."

"Yeah, yeah."

The mother and daughter enjoyed their lunch together.

Sister Lian stayed a bit longer in the afternoon before heading home.

Lin Qing didn't want her mother to clean the kitchen here; it was too much work. Her mother should rest, so Lin Qing urged her to go back and chat with the neighbors instead of tiring herself out with housework.

Sister Lian couldn't argue with Lin Qing and could only give a few last-minute instructions before leaving.

When Sister Lian left, she didn't even look at the west wing, showing that her visit was only for her daughter and had nothing to do with her granddaughter.

The three women of the Jiang family watched from their windows as Sister Lian left, surprised that she kept her word and didn't even say goodbye.

This made them stomp their feet in anger!

...

Time flew by, and there was just one day left before the exam registration. Zhou Qin had taken a whole week off just for blind dates!

Uncle Zhou was so stressed that he got a blister on his lip. This kid had been on blind dates for a week, met over a hundred girls, and still hadn't found one he liked. It was maddening!

Even Zhou Qin was starting to lose hope.

Uncle Zhou wasn't ready to give up, so he decided to take the last day off and go with Zhou Qin on his blind date. He wanted to see for himself why so many dates had failed.

"Let's go, it's almost time," Uncle Zhou urged Zhou Qin to hurry up.

"Coming, coming, I'm coming," Zhou Qin said, no longer as eager as he had been in the past few days.

The father and son arrived early at the state-run diner. The staff at the diner had gotten to know Zhou Qin's name well over the past week!

After all, it wasn't common to see someone who could mobilize dozens of matchmakers in the area to gather over a hundred girls for blind dates in just a week. The key was that he was such an unattractive man, and all the previous hundred-plus blind dates had failed.

These days, the onlookers had witnessed a diversity of species, seeing all sorts of reasons for failure. They wondered if his blind date today would be successful.

"Dad, why hasn't the matchmaker arrived yet?" Zhou Qin was getting impatient.

"What's the rush? If you had succeeded in the previous days, you wouldn't be waiting here today!"

"Is it my fault? The failure of the blind dates can't all be blamed on me. You should see the kind of people those matchmakers are finding, all so ugly, none as good-looking as Sister Lian."

"Sister Lian, Sister Lian, you only think about Qin Xianglian, just give up on that idea, I will never let that widow into our house!" Uncle Zhou was now furious every time he heard the name Qin Xianglian.

"Dad!" Zhou Qin was about to argue with his father when Matchmaker Li hurriedly brought a girl into the restaurant.

The girl Matchmaker Li brought this time had a plain appearance, but her features came together nicely, and she naturally exuded a gentle, understanding vibe—the kind of sweet, innocent type.

This time, Zhou Qin didn’t nitpick the girl’s appearance because he felt her temperament was somewhat similar to Sister Lian’s, which made him want to explore further!

"Hello!" The girl’s gentle voice entered his ears, and Zhou Qin felt half of his body go soft!

"Y-you... hi!" Zhou Qin stuttered.

"Hahaha!" Matchmaker Li was thrilled. After introducing so many girls to him this week, this was the first time she’d seen him react like this—definitely a good sign!

"Let me introduce you. This girl here is Wang Qiaomei, the youngest in her family. She has two older sisters and one older brother, and she lives in West City."

Uncle Zhou frowned. West City was much rougher than their area, with crowded homes and lots of unemployed poor people!

After Matchmaker Li spoke to Zhou Qin and his father, she pointed to them and told Wang Qiaomei, "These two are Zhou Qin and his father—your blind date for today. There are only two in their family, and both have jobs!"

"Hello!" Wang Qiaomei glanced up at him, then shyly looked down, a fleeting shadow crossing her eyes—too quick for anyone to catch.

Uncle Zhou wasn’t thrilled with the girl, but seeing Zhou Qin’s goofy expression, it was clear he was smitten. So he kept his disdain to himself, worried that if they passed on this, no one else might want his son.

"Any conditions? Let’s cut to the chase!" Matchmaker Li knew it was the last day for job applications, so she didn’t waste any time.

"You know my son’s in a rush to get married, right?"

"Yes, I heard getting married could land the woman a job. Is that true?" she said softly.

Zhou Qin, not one to hold back, blurted out, "It’s true! Our factory’s hiring is only for employees’ families. If—if you marry me, there’s still time to sign up today!"

Matchmaker Li raised an eyebrow. Was Zhou Qin actually being sly?

Wasn’t he basically saying, "Marry me now, or you’ll miss your chance?"

Matchmaker Li didn’t push further. She, more than anyone, wanted this to work, tired of the back-and-forth. Other matchmakers felt the same—they just wanted someone to take Zhou Qin off their hands.

Wang Qiaomei hesitated, bit her lip, then nodded. "Okay."

"Really? You agree?" Zhou Qin was ecstatic.

"Yes." Wang Qiaomei looked down, too shy to meet anyone’s gaze.

"Great! Then you two should hurry and get your marriage license. Do you have your documents?" Uncle Zhou eagerly started planning the next steps.

At this point, Matchmaker Li was getting a headache again.

"Hold on, there’s one more thing. When I picked up Qiaomei, her parents said you’d need to pay a bride price of eighty-eight to marry her."

"Eighty-eight? That’s practically robbery!" Uncle Zhou exploded.