Fang Fei, let's get married!

  Today, Liu Ziguang was in a good mood. At noon, his mother made braised pork ribs and he had a big appetite, eating three large bowls of rice. After dinner, his mother said with emphasis, "You now have a formal job and a girlfriend, it's time to consider buying a house and getting married."

  Liu Ziguang was picking his teeth while saying "don't rush", his mother advised him with a bitter tone: "Xiaoguang, you're not young anymore, Xiaofang's conditions are so good, she's young and beautiful, has a job, if you don't seize the opportunity, she'll fly away. Mom has already helped you find a house, Binhe New Village, 15 years old, 55 square meters, 6th floor, priced at 250,000 yuan, we can take out a loan to buy it down, I think the housing price will rise again, if we don't buy it now, we won't be able to afford it for the rest of our lives."

  Liu Ziguang said: "Alright, I know, this matter is on my mind, you can rest assured."

  His mother urged him a few more words, and then put away the bowl and chopsticks. Liu Ziguang understood that his parents were old, and his own marriage was their greatest concern. Only when he got married and had a child would his parents be at peace.

  Pity the parents of the world, they would rather live in a shanty town themselves than not take out their family's savings to help their son buy a wedding house. Liu Ziguang would definitely not agree to this, even if he were to buy a new house, he would first consider buying one for his parents. He is now quite wealthy, with his sand business booming and making a fortune every day, the funds in his account are already close to 800,000.

  However, this money cannot be used casually. Liu Ziguang's eyes are sharp and he thinks far ahead. At present, the real estate market is still booming, but it is unknown when it will collapse, and the sand business will plummet overnight. Therefore, we must seize the opportunity to make a fortune quickly, and if we miss this chance, there will be no such shop in the future. So he plans to add two more dredgers and various corresponding equipment, which concerns the livelihood of dozens of fellow workers. How can he take out money to buy a house and get married?

  When the car reaches the mountain, there must be a road. When it's really time to buy a house and get married, can't you find a way? Liu Ziguang took charge of everything and made a promise to his mother, then rode his bike to work.

  He arrived at the company to sign in, then Liu Ziguang swaggered out again. In the afternoon, he asked Fang Fei out to play and also gave her the interest on that 500,000 yuan loan.

  At the flower bed by the central square, the two met and Liu Ziguang asked: "Where are you going to play today?"

  Fang Fei blinked and said: "A new Starbucks just opened up, their coffee is really good, want to go with me?"

  Liu Ziguang chuckled and said: "Alright, you take me there, want to hold my hand or not?"

  Fang Fei pretended to be angry and said, "If you were a little dog, I'd take you on a leash. Hmph, I still have an account to settle with you, we'll talk about it when we get there."

  Two people walked hand in hand to Starbucks, although it was three o'clock in the afternoon, the place was still packed with young professionals, opening their laptops, holding coffee cups, and pretending to be busy.

  The seats by the window were already full, so the two of them found a secluded corner to sit down. Fang Fei ordered a cup of coffee for Liu Ziguang and a cappuccino for herself, then held her cup and smiled at Liu Ziguang with a radiant smile.

  Liu Ziguang took out a stack of money and said: "This month's loan interest, you take it, is what you just said about this account?"

  Fang Fei put the money in her own bag and said: "It's not like that, but the matter has been cleared up, I forgive you, it's nothing."

  Liu Ziguang was at a loss, but seeing Fang Fei's sly smile, he also smiled foolishly and changed the subject: "Fang Fei, let's get married."

  "Pffft!" A mouthful of coffee sprayed out, Fang Fei's facial expression was simply indescribable, shock, joy, shyness, panic, she was stunned for a full 20 seconds before reacting, her face red as she fiercely kicked Liu Ziguang under the table.

  "Who wants to marry you, stinker."

  Liu Ziguang spread his hands: "When did I become a stinker?"

  "You're originally like this, where's a proposal like that, it's not romantic at all, there aren't even flowers and a ring, and you didn't even kneel down."

  Liu Ziguang chuckled twice and rubbed his head: "Mm, I was too impatient, but I'm being serious though."

  Fang Fei said: "You haven't even written me a love letter yet, I can't agree so quickly. Besides, you haven't met my parents yet."

  Liu Ziguang said: "Don't delay, find a time for me to go see your uncle and aunt, we'll set a date, the two families will have dinner together, and quickly settle the marriage, after that you'll be my wife."

  Fang Fei's face turned red, and she whispered: "Who wants to be your wife? My dad will not return to China for a while, my mom...".

  At this point, Fang Fei suddenly became hesitant and said: "Actually, there's something I've been hiding from you."

  "Oh? What's up."

  "Actually...my parents have been divorced for a long time, my family is not complete." Fang Xi's face suddenly darkened, and her voice also became low.

  "My parents' marriage was a failure, they divorced by agreement when I was 12 years old, but they still maintained the illusion of a complete family to outsiders. I lived with my father, and my mother worked in the provincial city, our family split into two halves. When I graduated from junior high school, I wanted to take the entrance exam for nursing school, my father supported me, but my mother strongly opposed it, after that their relationship became even more deteriorated, they didn't speak to each other for several years."

  Liu Ziguang was somewhat surprised, not expecting Fang Fei's family to be like this. It's hard for her to maintain such an optimistic and cheerful personality, it's really not easy. Every family has its own difficulties, but Liu Ziguang didn't take this sudden problem to heart at all.

  "It's okay, I'll give you a home later, our own home." Liu Ziguang stretched out his hand and grasped Fang Nai's small white hand.

  "Yeah, let's build a little nest of our own, just for me and stinky egg. We'll huddle together to keep warm through the winter, you go out to find food, I'll stay home and cook, how wonderful!" Fang Nai gazed out at the sky outside, her face filled with longing.

  "Haha, you're treating me like a grey wolf, aren't you?" Liu Ziguang said with a smile.

  "Hmm, you're just my grey wolf." Fang Fei's infatuation turned into sweetness.

  "So where do you want to settle our little nest?" asked Liu Ziguang.

  "At least we should have our own private space, I think Binhe Xincun is not bad, it's only a 10-minute walk from your home and the hospital, convenient for taking care of your parents, and going to work is also easy. We can rent a one-bedroom apartment, the rent there is cheap, on the seventh floor with a small attic, about 600 yuan per month. I like the attic, in summer we can have a barbecue on the top floor, and count stars together with stinky egg..."

  Fang Fei was there, yearning for a better life in the future. Liu Ziguang was on this side, secretly feeling emotional. The girl didn't care about houses or cars at all. Knowing that her family was not well off, she even took the initiative to say that they could rent a house and get married. Such a good girl is hard to find in the world, what more could he ask for!

  ……

  The two of them sat in Starbucks until six o'clock in the afternoon, ordered two simple meals to eat, and Fang Fei went to work. Liu Ziguang then headed back to the company to take a look.

  As soon as he entered the office, he saw a familiar figure sitting in his own seat, with two legs propped up on the desk, looking even more arrogant than himself. The man noticed Liu Ziguang coming in and quickly put down the newspaper in his hand, shouting: "Four Eyes, what's going on? You didn't turn on your phone all afternoon, I've been waiting for you for half a day!"

  This man is Liu Ziguang's junior high school classmate, a small officer of the Morning Light Factory Security Department, Zhuo Li.

  "Zhao Li, you're here, looking for me with something on your mind?" Liu Ziguang took off the specially worn bomber jacket for dating and changed into a knockoff 5.11 softshell.

  "It's not, is it? I'm so anxious that something has happened to me." Zhuo Li said hastily.

  "Come on, let's go have a drink and talk while we're at it." Liu Ziguang put his arm around Zhuo Li's shoulder, and they walked out of the office together, calling out to several security guards who were off-duty, and everyone went to Di Di Dao Dao to eat barbecue.

  After a few beers, Zhuo Li opened his mouth: "Four Eyes, I've been laid off."

  "Ah, so soon? Is it because of the trouble caused by handling scrap iron last time?" Liu Ziguang asked.

  "No, it's not related to that. Several workshops in our factory are rented out, and the workers follow those contractors. There is a small boss who is not very conscientious, often withholding wages from workers. Today, more than a dozen workers couldn't get paid, they have no food at home, but he scolded them saying whoever wants to work can stay, whoever doesn't want to leave. I was so angry that I went up and fought him, knocking out two of his teeth. As a result, the factory office issued a notice in the afternoon, telling me not to come to work tomorrow."

  After finishing, Zhuo Li took a bite of the fried dough stick and gulped down a large mouthful of beer. He seemed to be saying it casually, but Liu Ziguang, who was paying close attention, noticed that between this rough Mongolian man's eyebrows, there seemed to be a hint of despair.

  He's thirty years old, no girlfriend, no savings, only a meager salary, and now even that's gone. It's easy to imagine how Zhuo Li feels. He's the son of a factory worker, grew up in the factory, and worked in the security department for over a decade. The depth of his feelings isn't something ordinary people can understand. Now, suddenly unemployed, the empty feeling in his heart can only be numbed with liquor.

  Zhuo Li had already placed twelve empty bottles beside him, and he continued to drink recklessly. Although on the surface he appeared to be laughing and scolding, seemingly indifferent to his layoff, Liu Ziguang knew that what Zhuo Li was drinking wasn't just beer, but also tears.

  "Alright, Zhuo Li, you come work with me. I'll put you in charge of Hua Qing Chi. You just need to keep an eye on things every day, and if there are any troublemakers or annoying customers, you can help deal with them. The money isn't coming from me, it's from the boss of Hua Qing Chi. Five thousand a month, how about it?"

  After hearing Liu Ziguang's words, Zhuo Li put down the beer glass that was on his lips and stared at Liu Ziguang, asking: "Five thousand! Is it true or false? Are you kidding me?"

  Liu Ziguang lit a cigarette: "How can that be? If it's done well, there might even be more, but one thing needs to be made clear, the money for massage has to come out of your own pocket."

  "It's settled then, you mustn't regret it, when will you start? Otherwise I'll go today." Zhuo Li didn't even drink his beer, anxiously staring at Liu Ziguang.