CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 45 MATTERS OF THE OBJECT

Several people were stunned, "Captain." Originally, there was still He Hongjun, but Li Shengmei finally managed to get sorted out by He Hongjun.

After much thought, they could only name two or three men. Among so many people in the Guangming Production Team, quite a few were married, yet there were only two or three men who had never hit their wives; the rest had all laid hands on their spouses.

The faces of the unmarried girls in Xia Xiao’s dormitory were filled with despair. They were already averse to this place, but seeing the local customs, those who bore sons were still alright, it was the women who didn’t that suffered the most.

Furthermore, their households were registered here and couldn’t be transferred out. What would they do if they got bullied after having families and children here in the future?

Xia Xiao said, "Yu Hua, don’t think too much, not every man is that bad, and you can’t tar everyone with the same brush."

"Exactly, I think the men of the He Family are still good. If Li Shenghong gets beaten, it’s her own fault. The Captain and his two sons are also not bad; they don’t seem like the type to hit women," Dong Meihua immediately chimed in.

"There are still good men out there. I think my dad is quite good; I’d like to find someone gentle and refined like him," Yang Xuehua said.

After Yang Xuehua made her comment, Xia Xiao thought of Luo Mingzhe for some reason and said, "Sister Xuehua, your dad is good, but not all other men necessarily are. You can’t judge a book by its cover; not all refined gentlemen are good."

Yang Xuehua also thought of Luo Mingzhe. Knowing what Xia Xiao was hinting at, the corners of her mouth twitched.

"It’s best to look for a fellow educated youth from the village. That way, if there’s a chance to return to the city, you can go back together. Otherwise, if you marry into the countryside, what will you do if you get to return to the city later? Also, if you marry an educated youth from another region, when it’s time to go back to the city, being so far apart, where would you go?" Sun Yuhua said.

Wang Aihua climbed into bed, restless, "Can’t we just not get married? Why do we have to marry? Recently, that’s all anyone talks about; it’s so annoying."

"Not finding a partner isn’t an option either. Even if your family doesn’t hurry you, the Guangming Production Team will arrange it for you. You might as well find someone on your own," Feng Ying said.

Xia Xiao paused, "What? The production team will arrange it?"

"Yes," Feng Ying looked at Xia Xiao, "You didn’t know? The production team introduces partners to the older single men and women."

Xia Xiao was speechless, unexpectedly thinking about arranged marriages by the organization, and couldn’t help but ask, "Who is responsible for this?"

Dong Meihua glanced at Xia Xiao and said, "Li Shengmei will be in charge, Xia Xiao, you better hurry and find someone quickly, or you never know what kind of person Li Shengmei will introduce you to."

Xia Xiao shuddered at the thought of Li Shengmei and her mood instantly soured.

"Don’t worry, Xia Xiao, they only make introductions, it’s not forced marriage. It still depends on the individual’s will, and whether both parties are willing," Yang Xuehua said.

Xia Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, "As long as it’s not a forced match, that’s fine."

"How could there be a forced match." Wang Aihua laughed too, waving at everyone, "Xia Xiao and Meihua are still young; it’s us who should be considering this."

"What’s the hurry? You’re only nineteen or twenty years old," Xia Xiao said, "I’m not considering it for another ten years."

"Heh, ten years later, you’ll be twenty-six or twenty-seven, an old maid by then," Dong Meihua quickly retorted.

"That will indeed be too old," Yang Xuehua also disapproved as she looked at Xia Xiao.

Sun Yuhua said, "I think early twenties is just right; twenty-six or twenty-seven is definitely too old."

Feng Ying nodded, "Like in the village, getting married at seventeen or eighteen, or even fifteen or sixteen, is too early and pointless."

"I’ll consider it in ten years, and if I can’t wait until then, so be it," Xia Xiao declared. This was the agreement she had with Shitou – in ten years, she would be twenty-seven on paper but only twenty-three or twenty-four in actuality; Xia Xiao thought this was a reasonable age.

If it had been before, she would have been twenty-three after finishing graduate school, and she hadn’t even thought about marriage. Her mother had been trying to match her with wealthy suitors since she started university, but if it hadn’t been for Xia Xiao’s firm stance, her family might have arranged a marriage for her before she even finished college.

So, ten years later was just the right timing for Xia Xiao and within the range she could accept.

"In ten years, all the good men will have been chosen; those left unmarried are either unable to find wives, too ugly, too poor, physically challenged, divorced, or widowed," Sun Yuhua commented.

Xia Xiao looked at Sun Yuhua, "Then Yu Hua, you’d better take action soon, there are still quite a few male educated youths here in the production team."

"You could also look for educated youth from other production teams. If you get married, you could transfer out," Wang Aihua said. As the team leader, she knew a little more than Xia Xiao and the others.

Feng Ying grimaced, "Transferring from Qingming Production Team would just lead to another production team, not much of a change."

"Exactly, I still prefer Guangming Production Team. We’re all familiar with each other; going to another production team, as strangers, doesn’t feel right," Dong Meihua added.

Everyone nodded in agreement; they were used to Guangming Production Team. Despite occasional minor conflicts, everyone was familiar with each other and had good relationships, so naturally, they were reluctant to leave.

There were four batches of educated youth at the Guangming Production Team’s Youth Point, with a new group arriving every year, all high school graduates. Xia Xiao and Dong Meihua’s batch was mostly junior high graduates.

The first and second batches were few in number, adding up to less than ten people—five men and three women. One man and one woman had died in work, leaving four men and two women, and the women were married, with three unmarried men left.

The third batch included Wang Aihua, Yang Xuehua, Sun Yuhua, Feng Ying, Yang Hua, and others, some of whom were already in their early twenties. There were three male and five female educated youths.

The fourth batch was Xia Xiao, Dong Meihua, and a few others, two women and four men.

So in total, there were ten single male educated youth and seven single female educated youth. Men could marry later without issue, but women at an older age were at a disadvantage.

Now, many female educated youths were starting to look for partners, assessing their character, with most looking within the ranks of their male educated peers, the other men not being considered much. Of course, there were some city workers who were sought after, but those urbanites preferred someone from the city rather than someone from a rural household.

Faced with county towns, city folks looking for wives didn’t see the production team’s educated youth as having any advantage, so most of the educated youth ended up just looking within their own ranks.

The most representative intellectual couple from the first matched pair of men and women was Liang Wenchang and Liao Xiaoyuan, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, who formed a wall couple at the Youth Point. The second female educated youth to marry was Liang Lili, who married a veteran and had already moved with the military.

Liang Wenchang was from S City, and Liao Xiaoyuan was from J City. They lived at the Youth Point, with their own dormitory, and had come together out of love. Now with a daughter, they were affectionate and envied by others.

Many educated youth envied their love and took them as the standard.