Siheyuan: a better life

Chapter 876: A girl three years older than her husband brings him a fortune!
Zheng Zhiguo originally thought that Wu Aili's family, like his, was an ordinary working-class family. It was not until he went to Wu Aili's home that Zheng Zhiguo realized that his girlfriend's family, although seemingly very ordinary, was actually not ordinary at all.

After dinner, Zheng Zhiguo, with an excited and complicated mood, rode his bicycle to send Wu Aili back to her residence. After saying goodbye to Wu Aili, he rode his bicycle towards the family compound of the glass factory.

It was already past eight o'clock in the evening. On normal days, Zheng Zhiguo would have turned off the lights and gone to bed, but tonight was an exception.

"Grandpa! Grandma! My second uncle is back." A boy about five or six years old in the house heard the sound of a bicycle outside the house and immediately shouted to the middle-aged couple sitting in the house.

The door was soon pushed open. The middle-aged woman saw Zheng Zhiguo holding a cloth bag in his hand, and immediately stood up from the chair and asked Zheng Zhiguo: "Second brother! Have Ai Li's parents agreed to your relationship with Ai Li?"

When Zheng Zhiguo heard his mother's question, he put the cloth bag in his hand on the table, and then answered: "Dad! Mom! Ai Li's parents have agreed to our relationship. I have made an appointment with Ai Li's parents to meet on the day off."

For Zheng Zhiguo's mother, Wu Aili was already a cadre of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative at a young age. Just two years after she started working, the company allocated her two houses. A daughter-in-law with such good conditions was hard to find even with a big lantern. For her second son, being able to marry someone as beloved as Wu Aili was a great blessing for her ancestors.

Because Wu Aili's conditions were so good, Zheng Zhiguo's mother was always worried that Wu Aili's parents looked down on their second child, so she stayed up so late and waited for Zheng Zhiguo's return in the house.

When Zheng's mother heard Zheng Zhiguo's answer and learned that her future in-laws and mother-in-law did not object to her second son's marriage to Wu Aili, she immediately showed an ecstatic expression on her face and murmured happily, "Just agree! Just agree! Although Aili is three years older than you, a girl who is three years older than you will be rich."

"If Zhiguo can marry Ai Li and have children in the future, they won't have to worry about not having enough housing. Ai Li's salary is higher than Zhiguo's. As long as they live a good life, their lives will definitely get better and better!"

When Zheng Zhiguo's father, Zheng Daming, heard his wife mention the house, he thought about his family's actual situation and asked Zheng Zhiguo with some concern: "Zhiguo! I heard you say before that Ai Li's father is the workshop director of the steel mill, and her mother is at home doing housework. Ai Li has two older brothers and a younger sister. They have such a large family. If you get married, will Ai Li's parents agree to let you move in with Ai Li?"

When Zheng Zhiguo heard his father asking about Wu Aili's family situation, he immediately introduced to Zheng Daming: "Dad! Aili's family lives in the courtyard house at No. 95 Tongluoguxiang. They originally lived in the backyard, which had three rooms in total. Later, after Aili's second brother retired, the street office allocated three more rooms to him. They don't have to worry about not having enough houses to live in."

When Zheng Daming learned about Wu Aili's family living conditions, he showed an incredible expression on his face, and then asked Zheng Zhiguo, "Zhiguo! If that's the case, you can move to Aili's place in the future. Aili's father will definitely not object! By the way! Are Aili's parents easy to get along with?"

When Zheng Zhiguo heard his father asking about the personalities of his future father-in-law and mother-in-law, he remembered what he saw at Wu Aili's house. He nodded subconsciously and replied, "Dad! Aili's parents are both very open-minded people. The snacks in this bag were given to me by Aili's parents."

Zheng Zhiguo's elder brother Zheng Zhihua, upon hearing what Zheng Zhiguo had said, immediately reached out and opened the cloth bag that Zheng Zhiguo had placed on the table. When he saw what was in the bag, he was surprised and asked, "Zhiguo! Did Ai Li's parents really ask you to bring back the things in this bag?"

"Oh my goodness! This is Daoxiangcun cake. Ai Li's parents gave her several boxes. Their family conditions are really too good, right?" When Zheng's mother saw what Zheng Zhihua took out of the bag, she remembered the gift she prepared for Zheng Zhiguo at noon. She said a little embarrassedly, "When Zhiguo went to Ai Li's house today, I only prepared two bottles of wine and a pack of cigarettes for him. As a result, Ai Li's parents brought back so many things for Zhiguo. Zhiguo, you are really something. How could you bring back so many things?"

When Zheng Zhiguo heard his mother's complaints and thought about Wu Aili's family situation, he introduced her to his parents: "Dad! Mom! In Aili's family, except for her mother, everyone else has a job."

"Aili's eldest brother is the deputy workshop director of the machinery factory, and her eldest sister-in-law is the deputy chief of the purchasing department of the machine repair factory. Ai Li's second brother is the director of the Trade Department, and her sister-in-law is a surgeon at the People's Hospital. As for Ai Li's younger sister Ai Wufang, she will also go to work at the Sugar, Tobacco and Wine Company tomorrow, and she will be a cadre as soon as she reports in."

"So these things may be very valuable to our family, but to Ai Li's family, they are just ordinary things that cannot be more ordinary."

After hearing what Zheng Zhiguo had said and learning about the real situation at Wu Aili's home, Zheng Daming stood up from his chair and asked Zheng Zhiguo in disbelief: "Zhiguo! Are you sure what you just said is true and you are not fooling me and your mother?"

When Zheng Zhiguo heard Zheng Daming's question and saw that everyone in the family except his nephew was shocked, he nodded very affirmatively and replied, "Dad! That's nothing! You didn't go to Ai Li's house. If you went to Ai Li's house and saw the photos on her wall, you would understand what the situation is like in Ai Li's house."

"Photos! What photos?" When Zheng's mother heard what Zheng Zhiguo had introduced, a puzzled expression appeared on her face, and she hurriedly asked Zheng Zhiguo.

When Zheng Daming heard what Zheng Zhiguo said, his shocked face revealed a curious expression. He asked Zheng Zhiguo, "Zhiguo! What is the photo? Tell your mother about it."

When Zheng Zhiguo heard his parents' question, he thought of the photos and inscriptions he saw in Wu Aili's house, and introduced them with envy: "Dad! Mom! There are more than 20 photos hanging on the wall of Aili's second brother's house. Except for a few family portraits of Aili's family, the rest are all photos of Aili's second brother and important people."

"Among them are Mr. Zhi, Mr. Ji, Mr. Yu! Mr. Hua! Mr. Yun! And many other senior leaders in the department. It is not an exaggeration to describe the photos on that wall as the Wall of Honor!"

"Also, do you know what the Trade Department is? It is the most powerful department in Kyoto City, responsible for purchasing various advanced equipment and technologies. Factories and units in Kyoto City and even across the country all ask the Trade Department to help them purchase equipment and technologies."

When Zheng's mother heard what Zheng Zhiguo had said and learned that Wu Aili's family conditions were so good, she immediately showed an ecstatic expression on her face and murmured to herself, "Oh my God! I originally thought that our second son, marrying Wu Aili, was like embracing a gold brick. Now it seems that the second son is not embracing a gold brick, but a mountain of gold!"

When Zheng's mother said this, she suddenly thought of the matchmaker who introduced Wu Aili to Zheng Zhiguo, and hurriedly told Zheng Daming, "Daming! When you go to work at the factory tomorrow, you must thank Master Wang's wife. If it weren't for her helping our second son to make connections, he wouldn't have found such a good wife."

(End of this chapter)