Chapter Seventy-Seven: Your Mother Wants You to Marry a Country Girl?

“What’s that girl’s name, and where does she live?” Chen Liang tried to keep his patience as he fished for information.

“She’s called Yue Hehua, and she lives in Xiagezhuang Village in Langfang…” Chen Liang cut Bolba off mid-sentence.

“You’re saying she’s from the countryside? Still living in Langfang? Then how did she end up in the capital?”

“And another thing, are you sure your mother would agree to you marrying a country girl?”

In the capital these days, only those who truly couldn’t find a match would go to the countryside for a wife. His junior, despite having a rather villainous look, was still quite sought after in the city matchmaking circles. As the saying goes, a dashing man never gets a good wife, but an ugly one can marry a delicate beauty.

Moreover, Bolba’s father, Old Bolba, was part of the coal transport team in the city—solid family background, certainly better off than most. For these juniors to marry a city girl should have been no trouble at all.

At this time, city dwellers marrying rural women brought a host of complications. First, without a city household registration, a woman couldn’t get rationed grain. If it was just one wife, the family could make do, but add more mouths to feed and it became a challenge.

But here’s the real issue: why marry at all, if not to continue the family line? After having children, the kids’ household registration would follow the mother, meaning they too wouldn’t have ration rights.

The country was encouraging larger families. Each household had at least two or three kids, sometimes five or six, or even seven or eight. With so many mouths, how could one guarantee enough food for the future?

Just this alone was enough to put off most city families from marrying rural maidens—unless they truly had no other choice, or were as mule-headed as Bolba.

“Hehua’s cousin is getting married, so she came to the city with her cousin to shop and see the sights. They got separated at the Xidan Department Store. That’s when she ran into some thugs, and I happened to see it and chased them off!”

Chen Liang immediately discarded his earlier suspicion of a honey trap. According to his junior, Yue Hehua was nothing more than a simple village girl. If she were more worldly, she’d never have picked someone as daunting as Bolba as her target—the risk was far too great.

“And then? Can you finish your story for once?”

“Well… after I saved her, I took her home. What else could I do?”

“And her cousin? They came to the city together, but you only took her back?”

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“I looked for her cousin with Hehua around the Xidan Department Store but couldn’t find her, so I took Hehua back home,” Bolba explained.

At this, Chen Liang was bursting with skepticism, not sure where to start.

Damn it, why did a grown man like him have to get tangled up in these palace intrigue-style dramas? He just wanted the world to end—he was exhausted!

But Chen Liang couldn’t help overthinking it. Xidan Department Store, despite the name, wasn’t big—not at all like the main department store in the city. Usually, only villagers coming into the city would visit.

According to his junior, they got separated as soon as they entered. Clearly, the cousin had done it on purpose. The foot traffic there was minimal; if they were separated, a couple of shouts would have been enough for her cousin to find her. But she didn’t try.

And it wasn’t that Chen Liang looked down on Yue Hehua, but with looks like his own Xiaoyu, she could walk the streets alone and not a soul would dare bother her—who would risk running afoul of the police?

Harassing women was a serious crime now. If caught, you’d get a bullet without even a trial.

All things considered, it was obvious Yue Hehua’s cousin had set her up. In this era, where a woman’s reputation was everything, word getting out that a girl had been harassed would ruin her for life.

These were harsh times for women, where rigid rules could easily spell their doom.

“Junior, let it go. Even if you weren’t set up, with your family’s situation, why insist on marrying a country girl? How about I get your sister-in-law to introduce you to a pretty girl instead?” Chen Liang tried to persuade him.

“No way! Senior, you have to help me! I want to marry Hehua—she’s just as beautiful as sister-in-law! I’ve set my mind on her.”

Nonsense! His Xiaoyu was a ninety-six-point beauty—practically the pinnacle on earth. How could she not be prettier? Unless this girl was some reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn.

When this stubborn mule made up his mind, not even ten oxen could pull him back. Chen Liang, exasperated, conceded, “Fine. Go buy some dry rations from the canteen. I’ll go with you to visit Yue Hehua’s family.”

Chen Liang wasn’t just going to see what the girl actually looked like. He believed that with his years of experience as a seasoned bachelor, he could tell at a glance if she was good or not.

Trust him, that really was his main reason!

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He sent his junior off to buy provisions because the journey was long—from the capital to Langfang was over a hundred li.

This wasn’t like nowadays, where you could just drive over. Even on a bicycle, it’d take at least three hours, provided there were proper roads.

Upstairs, his uncle was still sulking alone. “Uncle, are you angry too? Junior’s situation might not be a setup after all.”

Chen Liang shared his suspicions with his uncle, then continued, “I’ll go with him to see what’s really going on. If she’s a good girl, maybe he should just marry her.”

Seeing his uncle about to say more, Chen Liang cut him off, “Stop, uncle—I know what you’re going to say. But honestly, do you think talking sense to Bolba is going to work? He’s as stubborn as they come.”

“And anyway, what’s so bad about marrying a country girl? Other families might struggle, but can they compare to us? It’s just another mouth to feed—Bolba’s not going to starve.”

His uncle, Lu Youwei, puffed on his cigarette for a long while before muttering, “That damn brat, he’s set on driving me to an early grave! Since you’re set on this, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Got it. Ugh, it’s over a hundred li. By the way, uncle, any chance you could borrow the little jeep from the factory?”

“Get lost! The little jeep, huh? If you’re so capable, why not fly to the moon?”

“Fine, no jeep, but no need to swear at me. Hey, uncle, don’t hit me—I’ll see myself out.”

Once again booted out of the office, Chen Liang dusted off his pants and left the administrative building as if nothing had happened.

He spotted Bolba at the gate, carrying a big cloth sack and straddling his bike, waiting.

He went over and gave him a kick. “Damn it, I really got the worst of this deal—your master kicked me again. Next time, try not to get him riled up. He won’t hit you, so he takes it out on me!”

“Got it, senior!” So after all that, it was everyone else’s fault you got beaten? Nothing to do with you at all?