marry for love

Chapter 2

Money goes to peace of mind.

In the past few days, these words have bitten Lu Mi like a fly biting a rotten egg, but she is really right. Now she feels at ease, and feels at ease like never before.Beside her was her boyfriend Hu Zichong, who also had a face of generosity, staring straight into the distance expressionlessly.

They just came out of the sales department of a real estate company and placed a deposit.Isn't it death to settle? Within a week, the 10 yuan in their passbooks will flow into the ocean of money of the real estate company as a down payment, silently.

There is no suspense about the next thing, getting married, starting to mortgage the house, like all the quasi-middle-class, superficially glamorous, and endlessly calculating tofu behind the scenes.But isn't life like this?No matter how fancy it is, it has to be flat.Thinking of this, Lu Mi couldn't help pulling Zi Chong's hand. Zi Chong's hand was wide and warm, and he held Lu Mi's little hand knowingly as if thinking.Lu Mi thought again, what more can I ask for.

She was about to speak, but Zi Chong said, "What do you think this money is? If you don't spend it, it's just a number or a piece of paper, but once you spend it, it's gone, leaving no trace."

Lu Mi smiled and said, "How many traces of movement do you need? A house of 58 square meters."

Zi Chong snorted.

Lu Mi hurriedly said: "Of course, the floor is not high enough, and the orientation is not ideal, but..."

Zi Chong put an arm around Lu Mi's shoulder: "Can we stop talking about houses? How many houses have we seen in the whole three months? I'm hungry and want to eat Korean barbecue."

The little warmth that Lu Mi just showed disappeared immediately: "Do you think you are Li Ka-shing's son? From now on, we will be offering sacrifices to the building. It is impossible to eat whatever we want. Let's eat mutton skewers."

Zi Chong pouted.

They ended up at a ramen restaurant.Lu Mi didn't say anything, and ate with relish. In fact, the speech in his heart was longer and stronger than ramen.Men are really the most immature animals. When he started to look at the house, Zi Chong was quite high-spirited, but he lost his enthusiasm after looking at it. His reason was that he wanted to buy a house of 300 after looking at the house for 30 million. This is not sick.What Lu Mi meant was that since it is all about looking at it, it is compatible with the world if you look at it generally. You can't go straight to the economic housing, so that people will lose passion and vitality.

What happened later was that Lu Mi did the basic work and found a suitable room type for them, Zi Chong took the time to come over to have a look and decide whether it was okay or not.Therefore, Lu Mi was the most tiring in the whole incident. Until they finally selected the small apartment in Lanting Apartment, it was Lu Mi who did a lot of little-known behind-the-scenes work. For example, she stood in the dark backyard of Lanting Apartment. When I saw a more friendly middle-aged woman, I immediately chatted with her, saying that she was a senior who lived here, and at the same time claimed that I would move in soon, and I still wanted to thoroughly understand a series of issues such as real estate certificates and community management.Usually these middle-aged women are also talkative, and besides, they don't have much to do at night, so they can chat with Lu Mi for a while, so that she can get a lot of first-hand information.

The Lanting Apartment is just four high-rise buildings of the same style. The first two buildings are already full of people, and now the second phase of the project is launched, which is the last two buildings.In short, Lu Mi and Zi Chong have been researching for a long time, except that the price is a bit beyond the standard, but they think that investing in commercial housing cannot be worse, so they decided to shoulder the heavy burden on their shoulders.

Lu Mi's appearance is thin and skinny, although he is not exactly beautiful, but he has delicate features, and at the same time has a pleasing boyish personality, very refreshing.In terms of work, she sticks to the end without turning corners.Many years later, when her friends mentioned her, they would sigh involuntarily. I really don't know whether this kind of back and forth style helped her or hurt her.

While eating ramen, Lu Mi received a call from Bai Ju, telling her to go back to work.

Holding the phone, Lu Mi reluctantly said, "Now?"

"Yes, now." Bai refused to hang up.

Lu Mi looked at his watch. It was [-]:[-] in the evening. It was the time when countless white-collar tired birds could finally disarm and go home, but she was about to set off again.

Bai Ju is a sick young man who walks alone. Of course, he is also a photographer. He has his own studio, and Lu Mi is his photography assistant.Usually the two of them go out to work, and they look a little funny. Lu Mi hugs the big one and carries the equipment, followed by a sleepy squinting little one who dangles empty-handed.

Today, when all living beings in the streets are crying and shouting to show their individuality, Bai Ju seems to be a person without personality. He has no temper but no smiley face. He doesn't love girls but he doesn't love boys or even himself. But he doesn't oppress women, and he doesn't pay attention to life, but he never makes himself like an art academy.It's just strange, but the photos he took show a kind of light taste, and also a little sadness that seems to be absent.So much so that although his fame has not been all the way to fame, it is still rising steadily. He now shoots everything, including people, animals, advertising products, public service promotion, and so on.

Lu Mi made a helpless expression towards Zi Chong.

Zi Chong said: "It's okay, you go, I just want to visit the computer city."

"You can also go to the furniture city to have a look."

"Hate."

Lu Mi stretched out her hand to mess up Zi Chong's neat hair, she liked the feeling of being connected.

Zichong works as a staff member in a foreign company, but his work and rest schedules are quite distinct. The company rarely takes up personal time, except for some exaggerations in terms of communication. For example, when the supervisor celebrates his birthday, the people in the office will have to go crazy all night, making each other seem to be very affectionate like.Lu Mi said, do you think this is called corporate culture?This is typical affectation.Zi Chong said, hello, if you scratch your eyebrows and beard all the time, it would be better to be hypocritical.Lu Mi sighed, there's no way, it's art.Zichong said, don't mention these two words to me, just you and that stick?I really don't know whether you have defiled the art or the art has defiled you.

They broke up at the entrance of the ramen restaurant.

Lu Mi and Zi Chong lived together a year ago, and this was a very serious matter for them. After they got married, they felt that each other was the other half of their destiny, so they made an appointment at the same time when their salaries added up. When the 5000 yuan is paid, they will also sacrifice their virginity to celebrate.Maybe I was young and my vision was limited at that time, and I deeply felt that 5000 yuan was an astronomical figure, and I didn't know how long it would take to achieve it.In the end, I don't know if it was due to inflation. In just eleven months, plus Zi Chong's year-end dividends, the income of the two broke through the 5000 yuan mark.

So on a dark and stormy night, Lu Mi sneaked into Zi Chong's single dormitory because the company rented it out. Just as he was about to enter the substantive stage after the passionate kiss, Lu Mi suddenly sighed, and Zi Chong Ask her what's wrong?Lu Mi said regretfully, if he had known earlier, he would have set the amount to 6000 yuan.

Zi Chong suddenly turned over and got out of bed, unable to do anything else.Lu Mi desperately explained that I was not unwilling, I wanted to die this day, I just felt that our goal was not ambitious enough.

It's okay if you don't explain, but the more you explain, the angrier Zi Chong gets, he scolded Lu Mi sharply, why don't you set the target at [-]? !Who do you take me for?Lu Mi knew that he had said the wrong thing, and he kept trying to apologize for being careful and some nasty words, but Zi Chong was not moved at all, and the two of them fell asleep back to back in the end.

But for some reason, Lu Mi loves Zichong even more since then. She feels that Zichong is not only upright and clean on the outside, but also very healthy on the inside. A little manly innocence.A friend of Lu Mi who is a psychological counselor asked her, have you ever praised your boyfriend against your will?Lu Mi said that I was willing to praise him from the bottom of my heart.

Later they lived together naturally.

And it's only logical that they are offering a building and preparing to get married now.

After Lu Mi left, Zi Chong went to the computer city, and then returned to the dormitory, listened to music for a while, read a few pages of books, and fell asleep unconsciously.However, this night, Lu Mi did not return all night.

Zichong was not worried, because it was not too unusual. For a while, the studio took over a commemorative album of the demeanor of contemporary model workers, and asked for both pictures and texts.Sanitation workers, you have to take pictures on the main road at four o'clock in the middle of the night, you have to wait for the model workers in chicken farms and pig farms to take pictures when the eggs are thick and meaty, you are not sure when they will be able to show a stately smile...

It's just that Zi Chong once called Lu Mi, but she turned off the phone.

There was no accident on the night when Lu Mi left, just like any other time when she went to work, she followed Bai Ju to an expensive and noble neighborhood to take pictures for a third-tier actress.

The third-tier actress was originally popular with the audience, but she went abroad for a while and finally lost the last bit of pier.Back in China, she regained her previous sense of self, but what she got was the cold reception from the market and the audience. Fortunately, her marriage is not bad. She married an accomplished musician, so she is still rich and well-connected. The whole river and mountain.

The comeback must be fully prepared, and taking pictures is naturally part of the all-round attack.

The photo was taken not at the actress's villa, but at the indoor heated swimming pool in the clubhouse of the community. Since the actress reserved the venue, the entire swimming pool was deserted, and the actress's five personal assistants were busy around her. busy.Of course, all of this is nothing special. Bai Ju and Lu Mi are not surprised, but this actress is too ignorant. First of all, she feels that she has not calmed down the two photographers. Dazzling, but calm and a little indifferent, so I was a little unhappy in my heart.Later, when taking pictures, she always taught Bai Ju to shoot this way or that way, and told Lu Mi to light up this way and that way, in short, she must make sure that her most beautiful three-quarter face angle is at all times.

Regarding this, Bai Ju and Lu Mi tacitly endured it and cooperated with her as much as possible.Just as Bai Ju and Lu Mi agreed, the first-line actresses are easy to serve, so we have to reserve patience for the low-level characters who are ostentatious.

However, a request from the actress made Bai angry. At that time, the swimming pool was full of bright pink rose petals. Her tall and light figure is as beautiful as a lotus emerging from water.But she made a mistake, she asked Lu Mi and Bai Ju to stand in the water to take pictures of her, she was willing to buy swimsuits and swimming trunks for them, and she also felt that they should be as dedicated as she imagined.

After Bai Ju's face darkened, he lowered his head to organize the camera equipment, and then left without looking back.

The actress was furious and took all her anger on Lu Mi's head. Lu Mi just packed up the lamps and tripods and left the swimming pool in a hurry.

On the way back to the studio, neither of them spoke.

After a long time of refusal, he said: "I will refund the deposit to her tomorrow."

Lu Mi whispered: "Understood."

"what happened to you?"

"nothing."

"Say it."

"Bai refused, do you know? From now on, I need money for the building."

"Have you bought a house?"

"Yes, the deposit paid this afternoon is Lanting Apartment."

"The location there is not bad, and the transportation is convenient."

"That's it."

"The condominium belongs to the condominium, and the studio must also have its own taste."

"I know."

"You don't understand, women are always greedy for profit."

Bai Ju left without looking back.Lu Mi thought to herself, it was because she admired Bai Ju's personality that she made up her mind to work with him, but now she can't stand his coolness that doesn't even care about money.

Why is it so easy for people to bow their heads to money?Lu Mi secretly sighed, if things were in the past, she must be the one who couldn't do it anymore, but tonight she endured everything, just like a rough girl, if it wasn't for refusing to pack up and leave, maybe she would It's really going into the water, so it's no wonder that Bai refused to scold her for ungratefulness.

In fact, it was only 10:30 in the evening at this time, and Lu Mi was about to go back to Zi Chong's place when her cell phone rang.

It was my mother calling, telling her to go home.Lu Mi said okay, I will go back with Zi Chong tomorrow.Lu Mi's mother pondered for a moment and said, you should come back by yourself first.

When Lu Mi returned home, she saw her father, mother, sister-in-law Xiong Jingwen, and brother-in-law's daughter Lu Beibei sitting in the living room. They all looked at her, but their faces were gloomy.Lu Mi didn't know what happened, but just as she was about to speak, her mother gave her a wink and told her to go to the back room.

After entering the back room, the mother began to cry, she said: "Mier, your brother is in the hospital."

Lu Mi asked what's wrong?My mother said: "At first he was just unwell and had a low-grade fever. We didn't take it too seriously, but after a comprehensive examination these days, he was unexpectedly suffering from severe kidney disease, and the disease developed rapidly. One kidney was completely damaged. Not working……"

Lu Mi was suddenly dumbfounded.After a while, she stood up and said, "I'm going to the hospital now."

"What's the use of you going now? The doctor said that the only way is a kidney transplant, and there is also a question of the best timing. After this period, your brother's physical strength will not be able to support such a major operation...you I know that this operation will cost a lot of money, the kidney replacement alone costs 30 yuan, and the source of the kidney is all money..." The mother sighed.

Lu Mi did not speak, and she only had 10 yuan, half of which was from Zi Chong.

The mother finally stopped crying. She looked at Lu Mi seriously and said, "Your brother and Jingwen don't have any savings. Your father and I are both workers. How much money can we have? Basically, when your brother marries a wife Now, the cost of taking out the coffin is less than 6 yuan...so Mier, you have to use whatever money you have to save your brother."

These words really pierced Lu Mi's heart like a needle.

At night, Lu Mi slept in her original small room, and Beibei lived in this room after she left.Guessing that she would not leave at night, Beibei and Jingwen went to sleep in the big bed.

Lying on the bed, Lu Mi's mind went blank. The first thing she didn't expect was, why didn't she notice at all when the disaster was aiming at her?Secondly, how should she tell Zi Chong about this matter?Said, we don't buy a house anymore, so the 10 yuan must be used to save my brother?
Why did mother's words hurt Lu Mi just now?There are special reasons for this.Lu Mi's parents are both Hakka people, and Hakka people are somewhat patriarchal in nature, and it's even worse in Lu's family.It can be said that no matter what the Lu family does, they will revolve around their son Lu Zheng, which has almost become a matter of course.When I was young, my family’s life was not rich, even if there was an egg, I would eat it for Lu Zheng. The reason why Lu Mi became a boy was because he picked up his brother’s old clothes to wear, and he had to do all kinds of work at home. Parents didn't let Lu Zheng help her when making cakes. At that time, her hair was cut short and she was running wildly in the slums. Everyone thought she was a boy.

When she graduated from high school, her mother contacted her with a hosiery factory. Her mother said, our family cannot afford two college students. Your brother must study, and you must earn money like me and your father to support the family for your brother to study.

This matter was settled without any dispute at all. It is a pity that Lu Zheng failed to get into a university after taking the exam for two years. Instead, Lu Mi easily got into a prestigious school. But even so, Lu Mi's parents They don't want her to go to college, they say that going to college is too expensive, and they are trying to save money to buy a herbal tea shop, at least to ensure that Lu Zheng can make a living in the future.This decision hurt Lu Mi too much. She ran outside for a day and did not come home. At that time, the only way she could think of to get revenge on her parents was to become a prostitute. Her self-destructive image would make her parents lose face for the rest of her life.

In the end, the reason why Lu Mi was able to go to Chengcheng University was because of Lu Zheng's hard work.The relationship between Lu Zheng and Lu Mi is actually very good. Lu Zheng said that it is very important to have a college student in the family, so don't be short-sighted.His selflessness and generosity made his parents feel that he was perfect beyond compare, while Lu Mi seemed too ignorant in comparison.Although the result of this matter is that Lu Mi went to college and Lu Zheng went to work as a worker in a hosiery factory.

A person's life is sometimes like rushing on a journey, and it seems that the journey is delayed and the journey cannot catch up.For others, education doesn't seem to affect their future, and many people have made a fortune, but Lu Zheng's road ahead is still not smooth.

It cannot be said that Lu Zheng did not keep pace with the times. He later left the factory because of the poor profitability of the factory. In the tide of reform and opening up, he also fought against the storm. Because of the connivance of his parents, he also partnered with others to open a factory. The restaurant, after the restaurant died, he partnered with others to open a laundry shop, and later contracted an orchard with others, drove a dilapidated convertible jeep, and inspected his lychee and mango trees like a general inspecting the army from time to time, You can't really say that he didn't try his best, but all these efforts finally came to zero.

Lu Zheng's parents have never been disappointed with him. They always said that it is normal for investment to fail, so there are only a few successful people.Lu Mi persuaded her brother not to believe in the temptation to get rich by doing anything, but her words were severely refuted by her parents.

Lu Zheng's personal problems were even more earth-shattering. During that time, the family was as lively as a dating agency. After leaving Xiaofang, Xiaoli came, and after Yanyan left, Lingling came. Sometimes Lu Zheng looked down on others, and sometimes It's because they didn't like Lu Zheng, so they finally settled on Xiong Jingwen, a kindergarten teacher, and started painting, decorating, and making furniture at home, until they were able to marry a new couple and set up twenty tables in the hotel.

But when Lu Mi rushed home with his son to meet his parents, their enthusiasm was greatly reduced, and they thought that the things Zi Chong brought were not decent enough, so they didn't let him eat.

Therefore, Lu Mi has already gotten used to this kind of inequality. She is so keen to enter the stage of offering a house early, and deep down in her heart, she probably hopes to create a home that truly belongs to her.

And now, that wish is about to be shattered.

Lu Mi almost ushered in the dawn with his eyes wide open.

When he got off work the next day, Zi Chong met Lu Mi outside the office building who was waiting for him to get off work.

Zi Chong said, "Where are we going?"

Lu Mi said: "Let's go eat barbecue."

Zi Chong said hypocritically: "Why bother? It's too expensive."

Lu Mi didn't say a word, he thought to himself what would cost money, anyway, he couldn't keep his big head, and if he didn't spend small money, wouldn't it be too boring to live?
After sitting down at the barbeque restaurant, Lu Mi ordered some of Chong's favorite barbeque, and some extravagantly ordered a braised oxtail. This kind of oxtail is cooked with red dates, chestnuts and pine nuts. It is really fragrant. People, of course, the price is not so affordable, Lu Mi also ordered a pot of sake, the aroma is compelling again.

Zi Chong laughed and said, "Aren't we going to make it through tomorrow?"

Lu Mi sighed, raised the small white porcelain wine glass, and the two of them touched each other, but Zi Chong didn't drink it, and Zi Chong said again: "You should tell me what happened, or else the meal will be a little bit worse." I can't eat well either."

So, Lu Mi told Zi Chong about going home last night.

It should be said that Zichong is still a relatively qualified young man. He didn't want to be poor but wisely said, why should you manage the money of the two of us alone? !In other words, Lu Mi, don't be naive, 10 yuan won't save your brother, so let's just make up our minds and say we have no money.Even bluntly, let’s just pay the first installment of the house in advance, so that the world will be peaceful and others will not think about us.

In short, he didn't say those inhumane words, and Lu Mi's heart was moved by the calmness he showed at the critical moment, but he still said something that was neither salty nor bland, which made Lu Mi feel very uncomfortable.

Zi Chong smiled wryly and said: "Lu Mi, it's not that I was mean. If you were the one who got sick this time, you probably have to wait for death." He naturally knew Lu Mi's position in the family.

Lu Mi said angrily, "Aren't you just pouring salt on my wound?"

Zi Chong said: "Let's talk about going back to before the liberation, we are truly proletariat, why don't you allow me to complain?" He began to drink and eat vegetables, his expression was gloomy and very disappointed.

Lu Mi thought to himself, although this is a chilling statement, Zi Chong is right.

After dinner, both of them didn't want to go back to the residence, because they knew very well in their hearts that after handing in the passbook, they would have no money. Without money, they couldn't pay for the building. If they didn't have a house, why would they get married? !Ever since they decided to buy a house, they felt that Zichong's dormitory was too shabby to last, so they were not as diligent in tidying up as before, and it seemed more temporary and messy. Now it seems that they will not be able to move out for a while. .If the deposit of 5000 yuan for Lanting Apartment is not discussed with an acquaintance, it must be settled.

So they tacitly stayed outside, and besides, the night is always good, which can somewhat soothe the restless heart that is often tired by troubles.

If they didn’t do it, they kept going. They found a high-end bar room that they were usually reluctant to enter, and ordered two glasses of cocktail "Black Knight". It is said that this kind of wine can help relieve depression. Not even blinking.Lu Mi knew that there was really an unknown fire in his heart, but the problem was that he couldn't speak it out.

But then again, even though Lu Mi's heart was disturbed by this incident, there was a little bit of relief in the discomfort, that is, Zi Chong did not disappoint her at every critical moment.Because she has heard countless people say that love cannot be tested, and if it is tested, it will be tried and failed repeatedly. The so-called luck or misfortune of a man and woman is nothing more than whether they have survived different types of tests.

But Zi Chong is relatively free and easy when it comes to money.

A few days later, Lu Mi had no choice but to deliver the passbook to her mother, and the moment she took out the passbook, her tears flowed down in disobedience.The mother said angrily: "This money is used to save your brother, it's not that I want to spend your money, and you won't be so distressed like this!"

Lu Mi didn't say anything, she was afraid that she would cry out if she opened her mouth.She really wanted to say to her mother, since you despised me so much, why did you give birth to me?Lu Mi remembered that when she was 15 years old, due to her mother's neglect and indifference to everything about her, she didn't even know that girls would have menstruation, so the first time she saw blood on her shorts, she was frightened. The shorts were also flushed down the toilet.Lu Mi really wanted to question her mother, did you ever care about me?Why don't you ask me if I need money to get married?Or how to get married?
When she was in college, Lu Mi breathed freely and flew freely in the sky of knowledge. She felt that the changes of the times were really amazing. How long is modern history?But being pushed forward by great men and people, the world has undergone earth-shaking changes.But as soon as she returned home from vacation, she seemed to have returned to the feudal society. The deep-rooted patriarchal thinking of her parents enveloped her as a matter of course, and everything was stagnant and unchanged through the ages.

Back at the residence, Zi Chong saw her unhappiness.

Zi Chong said: "What is money? Money is a bastard. Getting angry about money is the most unworthy thing."

Hearing this, Lu Mi burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)