I'm back in 1990

Chapter 154: Pressuring for Marriage

Parents all over the world have similar attitudes toward their children's marriages.

Now that she no longer worries about money, Zeng Lijuan has started urging her son to get married. Of course, her target is not Huang Xiaochuan, but her eldest son, Huang Dahai.

While clearing the table after breakfast, Zeng Lijuan started nagging.

"Dahai, haven't you met anyone suitable? You're already 29 years old (by Chinese reckoning), and Section Chief Song's eldest son is the same age as you, and his grandson is already three years old. And you? You still don't even have a girlfriend. Don't your superiors care about your personal lives?"

Huang Dahai has been back for twelve days and has already been urged to get married at least five times. Ever since he got the 500,000 yuan savings account, his mother Zeng Lijuan has become more confident and has been urging him to get married more and more frequently. She can't wait to arrange Huang Dahai's wedding.

Actually, it's not that Huang Dahai didn't want to look for it!

The special ones have to spend most of the year guarding the stilt houses, which are surrounded by the sea. They can't even see a sow, let alone a woman. They are all tanned like charcoal and their skin is peeling. When they come ashore, the local young women look down on them. On the contrary, the shore guards and the soldiers on the ships are favored by the young women.

Female soldiers and officers in the military are rarer than pandas, and there's basically no chance of resolving such matters internally, since Huang Dahai spends most of his time guarding the islands and reefs!

Even though Huang Dahai is now a deputy battalion-level major, it's basically impossible for him to find a partner in the military anytime soon.

The only option is to find someone back in his hometown, but that would mean a long-term separation. However, given Huang Dahai's current rank, his wife could accompany him to the military base. But young women with stable jobs in the city might not agree to that. Could she possibly go with him to enjoy the sea breeze?

It's important to know that the South Island is still not fully developed and is a complete mess.

Huang Xiaochuan watched the commotion with a smile and even gave his elderly mother, Zeng Lijuan, a suggestion.

"Mom, you're the same. Instead of urging my brother to find someone himself, why don't you help him arrange a few suitable blind dates? You have so many good friends! Let those aunties help him find someone!"

Zeng Lijuan's eyes lit up; this was indeed a good idea.

Huang Dahai didn't object. It wasn't that he didn't want to get married, but he really had no chance to meet girls, and this delay had made him twenty-nine years old.

Zeng Lijuan didn't even wash the dishes and ordered Huang Xiaochuan, "You wash the dishes at home, I'm going to work."

Zeng Lijuan was in a hurry to make a phone call at her workplace when Huang Xiaochuan's words reminded her that she should ask her colleagues for help!

In the past, Zeng Lijuan would often worry that having given birth to three sons would be a heavy task in arranging for them to get married and have children. She and Lao Huang were both wage earners, and could only save a little money by living frugally to prepare for their three sons' future marriages.

Although I've saved up some money over the years, with rising prices and increased demand, things like sixteen-legged toys, sewing machines, radios, and watches are now outdated.

I don't know about other places, but in Qingjiang, a newlywed couple needs a color TV first, and those with better conditions will also need a VCR. As for washing machines, refrigerators, dual cassette recorders, electric fans, and the like, that goes without saying.

There aren't any special requirements for the house. If neither of their workplaces has allocated housing yet, the man's family can vacate one room, and they can move out once their workplaces allocate housing for them.

These days, you have to pay extra to host a banquet. A decent banquet costs at least a hundred yuan per table, right? Cigarettes and alcohol are separate. On average, it costs two hundred yuan per table. If you host ten or a dozen tables, it will cost two or three thousand yuan.

Moreover, nowadays people only give ten yuan as a gift, and twenty yuan for closer relationships. The key is that a couple comes after giving a gift.

The wedding furniture has to be all new, so a deluxe version will cost at least eight or nine thousand yuan, and even a regular version will cost five or six thousand.

Zeng Lijuan and Lao Huang together earn less than 500 yuan a month. For die-hard fans of "Four Seasons Leeks," the latest chapter of "1990 I'm Back" has been released! Even if they didn't eat or drink, they could only save 6,000 yuan a year. How is that possible?!

Don't be fooled by the fact that you have a TV and a refrigerator at home. Both of these are defective products that Zeng Lijuan bought through connections. Actually, there's nothing wrong with them inside. It's just that the outer shell was hit and looks a bit ugly, but it doesn't affect their use.

This is only because their salaries have increased significantly in the last two years. Three years ago, their combined salaries were less than 200 yuan. So they have only saved a little money in the last few years, about 10,000 yuan. This amount is only enough for their eldest and second children's weddings, and they still have to be careful with their spending.

Even Zeng Jiahua's life has only gotten a little better in the last three or four years, with the factory starting to make some money, but Zeng Jiahua still has a large family to support.

Huang Xiaochuan gave the 500,000 yuan to his family to ease the burden on his parents. He earned money so that his parents and family could live a better life and that they wouldn't have to worry about money anymore.

Now that Zeng Lijuan has 500,000 yuan in hand, these problems are no longer problems.

"Yan Yun! It's me, Lijuan! I need your help with something."

"Lijuan! What's wrong? Tell me!"

"My eldest son just came back from his leave from the army! I asked him and found out that the rascal still doesn't have a girlfriend. Could you help me see if there are any suitable women in your unit and introduce them to my son? I'll definitely reward you handsomely if you succeed!"

"Oh! There's no need for thanks between us. This is what I, as the aunt, should do. Tell me the specifics of the situation, so I can talk to the woman."

"My eldest son is now a deputy commander. He's 29 years old this year, and I don't need to describe his height and appearance, you know him! In the future, house, furniture, and appliances won't be a problem. As long as the woman is willing, we'll buy whatever brand she likes."

"Oh my, Lijuan! I haven't seen you for a few days, and you're quite arrogant now?"

"What do you mean by being arrogant! I wish I were like you. Your son is so lucky. He started dating right after graduation, got married after a year, and managed to balance his studies, work, marriage, and having a child all in one go without any delays. Now you even have your grandson. I'm so envious."

"Hehehe, don't worry, I will definitely find your son a virtuous and capable woman to manage the household." The person on the other end of the phone, beaming from Zeng Lijuan's praise, immediately promised to treat this matter as a top priority.

After hanging up, Zeng Lijuan made another call; she wanted to cast her net wide first.

These phone calls were quite effective; there was a response in the afternoon, saying that someone was willing to meet with Huang Dahai.

Zeng Lijuan was overjoyed. When she got home from get off work that evening, she told her whole family about it, and since tomorrow was Sunday, she asked Huang Dahai to do a good job of dressing her up.

There's nothing I can do about my skin; no amount of whitening cream helps.

Huang Xiaochuan expressed a different opinion from Zeng Lijuan's views.

"Mom! You don't understand, do you? My brother's skin tone isn't dark, it's a healthy tan. Some foreigners even pay extra to get skin like that!"

"Go away, we're not foreigners, it's better to be fair-skinned."

"Pshaw! Mom, your thinking is wrong. If all soldiers like my brother were pretty boys, our country would be in trouble! Soldiers should be masculine and mighty."

Zeng Lijuan showed no respect for Huang Xiaochuan, shoving him aside.

"You have no right to speak about your brother's affairs, so stay out of the way."

Fine! So what if he's a multi-millionaire? In this family, it's still the old mother who calls the shots! Huang Xiaochuan stood aside dejectedly.

Old Huang also reminded Huang Xiaochuan, "Don't get involved in your brother's dating life. If it doesn't work out, your mom will punish you first!"

The next day, Huang Dahai went to the appointment wearing a naval lieutenant commander's summer uniform. The location was "The Past Is Never Gone," owned by Qin Yu's aunt. Isn't that a perfect spot?