Once again at a teahouse in Beijing, Bai Fumei is on a blind date.
The man across from her is twenty-five, an educated youth who returned from the countryside, currently a university student. He seems nervous and comes from a poor family.
Bai Fumei: “If you marry me, you’ll have to move into my house—consider it being ‘taken in’ [as a live-in son-in-law]. I’ll give you a monthly allowance.”
“Your job will be to keep my grandfather happy. Any future children will take my surname. But… you’re a bit unattractive. I prefer fair, beautiful men. Also, I’ll definitely investigate your time in the countryside—I hope you didn’t abandon a wife and child there.”
Just on the other side of a bamboo divider, Gao Fujun is dealing with an admirer.
The woman across from him is twenty, vibrant and youthful, a university student and a backbone of the school’s arts club.
Gao Fujun: “My family’s from the countryside. I have eight brothers. We only have two acres of land.”
“At home, there’s my disabled old mother above and nursing nephews below. I don’t have any grand ambitions. My biggest wish in life is to find a bowl of fragrant, soft, and easy-to-eat ‘soft rice’ [i.e., live off someone].”
Hearing such shockingly shameless (yet brilliantly effective) declarations from next door…
They both turn their heads and lock eyes.
A fair, beautiful male university student?
A fragrant, delicious bowl of ‘soft rice’?
A shared glance confirms it: they’re the perfect pair to ‘join forces’ for life!
