Xiao Zhijie, who was opening the door, didn't know him yet. Seeing that he was a stranger, he wouldn't let him in. 'May I ask who you are looking for?'
'May I ask if Yiping is home? I'm his classmate Huang Jingping's father.'
'Oh, it's you, Uncle. Come in!' Xiao Zhijie's face immediately lit up with a bright smile. He felt that this uncle with a very distinctive appearance was very kind. After all, he was the father of the girl he had secretly loved for a long time.
Feng Yiping was also very surprised to see him. 'Uncle, why are you here?'
'I heard that you guys had some kind of trouble, so I thought I'd come and see how you are. Are you okay?'
'We're all fine, we're doing pretty well. We're going back to school the day after tomorrow.'
'That's good to hear. But just because you're not at school doesn't mean you can relax with your studies. This year is very important for you.'
'You're right, uncle. We haven't been idle either, we've been reading a lot! By the way, uncle, my name is Xiao Zhijie. In primary school, I was in the same class as Jingping.' Xiao Zhijie introduced himself.
'Really? Zhijie, I have something to discuss with Yiping. Look...'
Xiao Zhijie looked a little hurt. Judging by his expression, I think he was internally injured by those words. 'Okay, you guys chat, I just need to go out and buy some groceries.'
As soon as Xiao Zhijie left, Huang Chengzhong patted the sofa next to him and said to Feng Yiping, who was sitting in the chair opposite, 'Come, sit over here.'
This rhythm doesn't seem quite right! But Feng Yiping still sat over.
'We've heard the whole story, and to be honest, my daughter is the one who caused the trouble.'
'Uncle, no, it has nothing to do with your daughter!'
'Just hear me out,' Huang Chengzhong interrupted, 'Originally, Jingping's mother was also going to come today, but she couldn't get away from work, so I came on behalf of our whole family to see you.'
'Really, it's not necessary, Uncle, you're too kind,'
Huang Chengzhong waved his hand, 'You don't have to say it, we all understand. Logically speaking, it's too early for you to talk about these things at your young age, and we parents are also opposed to it. But then again, in a year or two, you will all be 14 or 15 years old. In our time, there were also people who got married and started a family.'
This is quite a big jump. What exactly does it mean? Feng Yiping was really confused after hearing this.
'Although we haven't met that often, I have a knack for judging people. I think you're quite a good kid, and my brother has also sung your praises.'
What does this have to do with anything? What exactly are you trying to say? But of course Feng Yiping had to be humble at this time, 'You're too kind!'
'You will definitely be able to get into a key high school in the city. Jingping is also quite hardworking, but she is a girl and naturally weaker in science. I don't think she will be able to get into a high school in the county, so I want to send her to a county-level vocational school or the open university next year. A vocational school majoring in accounting would be fine. Girls just need a stable job. We should be the ones to earn a living and support the family, don't you think?'
Feng Yiping nodded, but felt a little bitter inside. Hearing what Huang Chengzhong had said, he now understood more or less what he meant. However, Huang Chengzhong didn't seem to be reprimanding him when he listened to him. He tried several times to speak up and explain, but Huang Chengzhong stopped him every time.
'By the time you graduate from high school, you'll be 18 or 19 years old. It's not too late to talk about some things then. So, you two, we don't oppose it now, but you must know how to act. There's plenty of time in the future, okay? You study hard now, and when you're done with school, you do something great. Then everything will be fine, right?'
These words were not very cryptic, and even a slow person would understand them at this point. Not objecting means some support!
Feng Yiping was very flattered. Huang Chengzhong was able to say such words today, which meant that at least in their family, they had reached a consensus.
However, he really hadn't thought about it like that. Up until now, there really hadn't been anything between him and Huang Jingping, and at most, it could be considered a little flirtation.
However, spending a lot of time with two half-grown boys with raspy voices and a sweaty smell, it is only natural to want to spend some time during the day, after the tedious study, talking to a girl with a pleasant appearance, a sweet smile, understanding, a gentle and considerate manner, and, in short, pleasing to the eye and pleasing to the ear.
And, of course, Huang Jingping is nice, but isn't there also Zhang Yan? They have been in love with each other, loving each other, sharing joys and sorrows for decades.
At this time, if the words are not said, they may not be able to be said later, so he forcibly took over the conversation. 'Uncle, thank you very much for your praise, but between Huang Jingping and me, there really is nothing, really, we are just classmates!'
'Oh, I understand, I understand!' Huang Chengzhong looked like he knew what was going on, "Your parents are not home, so if you have time, come over to my house in town and hang out. Study hard, I'll go now!'
Feng Yiping wanted to stop him and explain things properly, so he accompanied him downstairs and kept talking, "Uncle, there really is nothing between us, and I really don't have any other thoughts.'
'I understand, don't worry, you're a sensible boy, and we're not those unenlightened parents. I'll go first, study hard, and remember to come and visit the house when you're free!'
No matter what Feng Yiping said, Huang Chengzhong just took his explanations as an embarrassment to admit. Besides, if you really had no interest in my daughter, you would have sent her all these things, and now you've fought such a big fight for her?
Kids, they're all thin-skinned, he can understand.
What should Feng Yiping do? Would he dare tell Huang Chengzhong, 'Uncle, I can't, I already have a girlfriend, she's in the next county, she's eleven years old?'
If he had known that fighting would lead to such consequences, he would have told Su Yong straight away not to think about causing trouble for his father-in-law.
So, as Huang Chengzhong jumped onto the passing tricycle, Feng Yiping was left in the wind. Should I laugh, cry or just feel helpless?
Is this kind of thing absurd? No, it's not beyond comprehension.
At this time, there are not a few girls who marry soon after graduating from junior high school. Even after more than 20 years, there are still some young couples who, although they are only in their early twenties, have children who are already in elementary school.
As for those who got married when they were underage and therefore could not get a marriage certificate, there are even more of them.
Moreover, for a family like Huang Chengzhong's, which has no son but only two daughters, finding a good son-in-law is also a top priority. It is actually not too early to put this matter on the agenda.
A child like Feng Yiping, from a good family, mature in his approach, with a good temperament and bound to get into a good university, is certainly a good choice.
There's no other way. Nowadays, parents have a kind of blind faith in universities, thinking that if their child gets in, they'll definitely go on to do well.
So it's a good idea to use a few words that sound sensible but don't actually say anything to win him over, so that if anything goes wrong in the future, for example if Feng Yiping doesn't get into university after all, they can pretend that nothing happened today.
They were also not worried at all about Feng Yiping doing anything with Huang Jingping. They knew their own daughter well, and even if Feng Yiping had any ideas, Huang Jingping would never agree.
'Hey, what are you thinking about?' Xiao Zhijie came over with the groceries, "Leaving already? Why didn't you ask him to stay for dinner?" He said as he looked around.
'What did her father tell you? You look like you're in trouble!'
'Tell me, if Principal Zhang had agreed to your relationship with Zhang Qiuling, what would you have thought?' Feng Yiping looked into the distance and asked him casually.
'How could Principal Zhang know about us? Don't talk nonsense!' Xiao Zhijie felt a little guilty when he mentioned this, but halfway through his sentence, he understood. It was like someone who couldn't swim and fell into the water, and now that they had finally floated to the surface, they took a big breath and said, 'You...you mean...?'
'I didn't say anything!'
'Wow,' Xiao Zhijie pretended to cry, 'I've also been beaten up, why don't I get the same treatment as you? Is there any justice in the world? No way, this is too much of a blow. You'll do the grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, and cleaning for the next few days!'