Chapter 15: Talent Show?

Chapter 15: Matchmaking?

At one mixer, eleven couples got together on the spot, and plenty more were still seeing each other, which looked promising. Division Chief Yang and Director Zhang were dead set on getting every single soldier hitched, so they planned to hold another one soon.

"Xiao Lin, is that your friend?" Li Yue jerked her chin, nodding toward Lin Shishu, who was waving from across the way.

"We've only met twice, Sister Li Yue. Do you think she and that deputy commander will hit it off?" Lin Zhijin smiled back at Lin Shishu and prepared to head home.

"Li Guangliang? Hmph, his standards are high." Li Yue shot Li Guangliang a look, her tone snide.

Lin Zhijin blinked. Did Li Yue and Li Guangliang have some kind of conflict?

Both named Li—are they related or something?

She didn't ask further. Too many ears around here—not the place for that.

It was getting late, and Division Chief Yang didn't feel good about the women walking home in the dark, so he made sure someone walked them back.

"Old Li, you take Xiao Lin." Division Chief Yang pointed at some random guy.

Lin Zhijin turned to look—wasn't that the intense-looking soldier she'd seen on her first visit to the Military Control Office? Small world.

"Chief, I heard Comrade Xiao Lin lives in the eastern part of the city, and I do too. It's on my way, so why don't I take her?" Li Guangliang walked over.

"Why are you butting in? You take Comrade Lin Shishu back." Director Zhang patted Li Guangliang's arm and said in a low voice, "You're not getting any younger. Get married and have kids already. You're the last of your family—you don't want the family name to die with you, do you?"

Li Guangliang glanced at Lin Shishu, then at Lin Zhijin. He wanted to say he had his eye on Comrade Xiao Lin, but Director Zhang shut him down before he could get the words out.

"Don't even think about it. You're fifteen years older—you could be her dad. Xiao Lin is a promising young talent I've got my eye on. If you're not into Comrade Lin Shishu, tell her straight and try again at the next mixer." Director Zhang grabbed Li Guangliang's arm and hissed.

"Xiao Lin, it's late. Hurry back and let Old Li take you." Director Zhang pushed Li Guangliang and went off to handle other matters.

Lin Zhijin wasn't some clueless little girl. Li Guangliang's eyes and actions made it obvious—he was into her.

Lin Zhijin couldn't help furrowing her brow. She really hadn't seen this coming; otherwise, she'd never have introduced him to Lin Shishu. Would Lin Shishu get the wrong idea?

"Lin Zhijin, I'm heading back now. Come find me when you're free." Lin Shishu waved at Lin Zhijin, without a hint of hard feelings.

"Okay, see you." Lin Zhijin figured she'd underestimated Lin Shishu. You don't become a favored concubine without a few tricks up your sleeve.

The shops were mostly shut, and there were no streetlights. If Lin Zhijin had been on her own, she really wouldn't have dared to go back.

"Maple Lane is just ahead. You can drop me off here. It's late—you should get some rest." Making someone go all the way back this late made Lin Zhijin feel bad.

"I'll see you to your door." Old Li looked around and insisted on waiting until she was inside.

"Then... sorry for the trouble." Standing at the door, Lin Zhijin thanked him again before turning and going inside.

She dug through the cupboard and found two packs of pastries she'd brought from the Chens'. It was warming up, so they wouldn't last long. She'd give one pack to Old Li tomorrow and split the other with her office coworkers, to thank them for looking out for her.

The next morning, no sooner had Lin Zhijin sat down than Li Yue dragged her chair over and asked in a hushed voice, "Did that Li Guangliang come looking for you?"

"No, Old Li took me home last night. Didn't you see?" Lin Zhijin whispered back. "Do you have some kind of grudge against Li Guangliang?"

Li Yue snorted. "His ex-wife was a woman from my village. She was actually pretty, just a bit heavyset. He was always saying she wasn't skinny enough, so she started dieting. Then during the war, she was so weak from hunger she couldn't run, and... she died. Zhi Jin, he's not a good man. And he's way older than you. Don't let him fool you."

You can't take one side of a story at face value. Lin Zhijin wasn't in a rush to figure out what kind of guy Li Guangliang was, but there was definitely no way—the age gap was too much!

She was only seventeen. No rush to find a man. Even if she wanted to date, wouldn't a guy in his early twenties be the better pick?

"No, he's not my type." Lin Zhijin smiled and changed the subject. "I brought some pastries—come try them. They've been sitting a few days, so they might not taste as good."

"Xiao Lin is so thoughtful." Wang Chunhua was the first to grab one, took a bite, and her eyes lit up. "They taste this good after a few days? They must've been incredible fresh. Xiao Lin, where'd you get these?"

Sister Qian grabbed one too. "Who cares where she got them? Just eat."

Wang Chunhua pouted and reached for another, and was about to go for a third when Sister Qian smacked her hand away.

"Can you quit hogging everything? The director and Sister Li haven't had any yet." Sister Qian set aside two for each of them, and seeing three left on the wax paper, didn't take any more.

"Sister Qian, take another one. I've got more." Lin Zhijin opened her cloth bag, which had more cookies and candies.

Only after making sure Lin Zhijin had enough did Sister Qian take another one. But she didn't eat it—she carefully wrapped it up with the one she'd already taken a bite of, planning to take them home for her kids to enjoy.

Li Yue didn't have kids yet, so she ate one and saved the other for her husband.

Wang Chunhua had already finished her two and was smacking her lips, like she was savoring it.

No field work today, but they had to go over what worked and what didn't at last night's mixer. Lin Zhijin couldn't write, so she'd just say her thoughts out loud. She wasn't shy about it—she was used to meetings.

"Yesterday was way too rushed. There's a lot we could improve. Like, for check-in, separating men and women would be clearer. Also, people should write down what they're looking for ahead of time, so we can match people up better." Lin Zhijin almost said "boost the success rate," but then she thought twice—how would a country girl who'd never gone to school know a fancy word like "success rate"? So she kept it short and sat down.

"Xiao Lin's got good ideas. Next time, let's have everyone fill out a preference form." Director Zhang rapped the table. "Anyone else got anything to add?"

"Nope." Everyone shook their heads.

Director Zhang shut his notebook. "Xiao Lin, stay. The rest of you, get back to work."

"Director." Lin Zhijin sat ramrod straight.

Director Zhang shot her a glance. "Li Guangliang isn't right for you—he's too old. Study hard and work toward that elementary school diploma. When you become a better person, you'll attract people on the same level."

Lin Zhijin nodded hard and said seriously, "Director, don't you worry. My main focus right now is studying hard and working hard, and getting that elementary school diploma as soon as possible."

"Talk is cheap—it's about what you do. Alright, get to work." Director Zhang waved his hand, telling her to go.

Lin Zhijin figured she'd never run into Li Guangliang again, but she bumped into him at the noodle shop.

"Comrade Lin, you're here for Sister Dai's noodles as well? This place is a classic—the food's killer, especially the soy-sauce pickles." Li Guangliang was happy to see Lin Zhijin.

"No need for you to introduce her—Zhijin's a regular here too." Sister Dai set the soy-sauce cucumber on the table in front of Lin Zhijin. "You two know each other?"

Li Guangliang: "We work together."

Lin Zhijin: "We've crossed paths once."

They said it almost at the same time.

Dai Fengjiao's eyes flickered, and she instantly figured out what was going on—Li Guangliang had his eye on the young lady, but she wasn't interested.

"Oh, I didn't know you worked in the military, Zhijin. That's impressive! What do you do there?" Dai Fengjiao helped steer the conversation away.

"No, I work at the Women's Federation office. The Federation held a mixer a couple days ago, and Deputy Commander Li was there, so we've met once." Lin Zhijin didn't want any rumors starting about her and Li Guangliang.

"I remember you're not exactly young, Brother Li—thirty-two or thirty-three? You should hit up more mixers. If you don't find a wife and have kids soon, your parents won't rest easy in their graves." Dai Fengjiao made a point of bringing up Li Guangliang's age.

"Thirty-two. That's not old for a guy." Li Guangliang quickly tried to cover his bases.

"That's still pretty old. So, Zhijin, how old are you anyway? You don't look like you're even twenty yet, do you?" Dai Fengjiao turned to ask Lin Zhijin.

"I'm seventeen this year." Lin Zhijin knew Dai Fengjiao was helping her subtly call out Li Guangliang's age, so she smiled at her as a way of acknowledging the favor.

Upon hearing this, Li Guangliang lowered his head in embarrassment. He could handle anything else, but the age gap was something he couldn't do a thing about.

"Brother Li, did you find anyone you liked at the mixer? If not, let me introduce you to someone. Zhang Xiaoni from over by the big camphor tree—she's pretty and a hard worker." Dai Fengjiao genuinely thought Li Guangliang and Zhang Xiaoni would be a better match.

Li Guangliang's face fell. Zhang Xiaoni was a widow—like, was he only fit for a widow now?

"I'm done eating. Comrade Xiao Lin, take your time. I live on Dongmen Lane—if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come find me." Li Guangliang looked at Lin Zhijin's pretty face and sighed inwardly. It was rare for him to be instantly drawn to someone, but everyone was against it, and the girl herself wasn't interested. Guess they just weren't meant to be.

Watching Li Guangliang's figure gradually disappear from sight, Dai Fengjiao sat down next to Lin Zhijin and gave a light snort. "What a toad trying to get a taste of swan. He should take a look at how old he is—and he actually thought he could go after you? Zhijin, you're still young, don't rush into finding a partner. A woman's marriage is her second chance at life. If you end up with a gambler like I did, your days will be miserable."

"You don't have to get married, you know. Living alone your whole life is fine too." Lin Zhijin couldn't help but sigh.

"What are you talking about? You've gotta get married, but you need to pick someone who'll look after you, have a few kids, and then life'll be comfortable. And what about when you're old? You need kids—otherwise, you've got no roots." Dai Fengjiao thought of herself. She was twenty-seven this year—if she didn't have a child soon, she'd be getting old. It was time to have a talk with her husband's younger brother.

Lin Zhijin sighed softly. She'd only said it casually. In this day and age, not getting married meant not only weird looks from outsiders, but her superiors, coworkers, and even the neighborhood committee would be coming by to talk to her every single day.

Why aren't you married? Physical reasons or psychological reasons? What's wrong physically? And what's the psychological reason?

No matter what excuse you came up with, they always had a set of arguments to convince you otherwise.

You've gotta play by the rules of the place you're in. In this environment where everyone had to get married, if Lin Zhijin dared to shout "Long live being single," she'd definitely get arrested for "reactionary crimes."

Lin Zhijin didn't have many strengths, but knowing which way the wind was blowing was one of them. Besides, she wasn't anti-marriage. In her previous life, she would have married if she'd found someone suitable—unfortunately, right after graduating she was dead set on buying a house, and by the time she did, she was past her prime. Every blind date was a mess one way or another.

A new life, and again in a world where marriage was basically required—she couldn't just sit back and do nothing. She needed to take the initiative, scope things out quietly, jot down candidates in a little notebook, and run her own 1950s version of "Selection 101."

Author's note:

Also, the next update will be a bit later. Love you all, mwah (づ￣3￣)づ╭?～ PS: Don't forget to leave comments—I'll send out a little red envelope to celebrate, (づ￣3￣)づ╭?～