After Qin Qianru returned to the village, Shazhu was consumed by a longing so intense it felt as though every day they were apart lasted three autumns.
He planned to propose the moment Qin Qianru turned eighteen. As for whether she might be interested in him, that wasn't something he even considered. He was decent-looking, a head chef at the Rolling Mill earning 37.5 yuan a month, and owned two properties—how could she possibly not want him? Besides, he had no competition; all his peers in the Courtyard were already married, leaving only him.
As Shazhu grew older, he became increasingly anxious about his marriage prospects. Everyone his age was wed, and at thirty, he remained a bachelor. The matchmakers only brought him women who were far from ideal. It wasn't that he hadn't met anyone decent, but the ones with good conditions looked down on him, and the rare few he actually liked always ended up fading away. He truly couldn't figure out where the problem lay.
Chapter 22