Chapter 128: The Matchmaking Agency’s First Customer

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: The Matchmaking Agency’s First Customer

"Zhang Zhe, don’t leave yet!"

Jiang Qi, still smarting from his retorts, wasn’t ready to back down. Of course, it was also possible she was a masochist who hadn’t had her fill yet.

"You’d better explain yourself. What do you mean the only thing I know is how to marry up with a baby bump?"

"What else are you good for, then?" Zhang Zhe said impatiently, crossing his arms. "It’s not like you can teach your clients your special skill of secret live-streaming."

"Oh, I’ve got it. You can teach them to secretly film themselves and use the video to blackmail the man into marrying them."

"..." Jiang Qi fell silent. Zhang Zhe had hit the nail on the head; she really had taught people that exact method before.

In truth, the principle behind secretly filming someone was similar to using a pregnancy to secure a marriage. It was all about exploiting a wealthy man’s obsession with his reputation to get him right where you wanted him.

"Says who? I know plenty of other methods besides those two."

"Like what?"

"Why should I tell you? What if you steal my techniques?"

"Right, I’m going to steal your ’master techniques.’ You might as well accuse me of robbing a beggar of his bowl on a footbridge," Zhang Zhe said with a helpless laugh.

’This Jiang Qi is such a classic case. She looks like a middle-aged Fu Shouer, is completely self-righteous, selfish, and has a bit of a persecution complex to top it all off.’

"Jiang Qi, I have a question for you."

"You’ve taught so many women how to marry rich men. So what about you? Don’t tell me you’re not married, are you?"

"Of course I’m married. I am a married woman, thank you for your concern. Unlike *some* people..."

"You’re married? A man like that actually exists? Now that’s impressive." Zhang Zhe gave a wicked smile. "Is your husband rich? He’s not just some regular guy, is he?"

"Of course he’s rich. He’s a textbook A8.5."

"So how old is he?"

"..."

"Why aren’t you saying anything?" Looking at the silent Jiang Qi, Zhang Zhe suddenly understood.

Sometimes, silence says it all.

"Fifty?"

"Or sixty?"

"He can’t be seventy, can he? Give the old man a break!"

"..." Jiang Qi didn’t dare to speak. Refuting any one of his guesses would only lend credence to the others. Besides, plenty of people at the agency knew the real story behind her marriage.

Seeing her reaction, Zhang Zhe naturally put two and two together.

’The woman probably married some 60-year-old geezer.’ 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

’Well, I’ll be. So she decided to enter the cutthroat world of "sunset romances."’

Zhang Zhe was very curious if Jiang Qi had practiced what she preached: Did she get pregnant with the 60-year-old’s child first before securing her position?

But he didn’t ask. He was afraid if he cornered her, she’d lash out and practically bite his head off.

He just gave her a thumbs-up. "Impressive!"

...

On Monday morning, Zhang Zhe arrived at the marriage agency bright and early.

Old Bai and the others had gotten there even earlier. Seeing Zhang Zhe wasn’t around, they had already started finding people to help decorate the place.

More than a dozen congratulatory flower baskets were already in place.

All of them were sent in the names of companies owned by the guys from his group chat:

"Heaven and Earth Locksmithing Co., Ltd.," "Qing Journey Chain Hotels," "Good Day Snack Wholesale Co., Ltd.," "Gray Avatar Property Management Group," "Good Daddy Infant & Toddler Product Development Co., Ltd."...

The neighborhood’s elderly residents, heading out to buy groceries, were stunned to see the red carpet and flower baskets upon their return. They quickly rushed home to drop off their vegetables, then came back out to see what all the excitement was about.

Based on the company names on the flower baskets alone, no one would have ever guessed it was a marriage agency that was opening.

Of course, these flower baskets hadn’t been sent for free.

Zhang Zhe had promised Old Bai and the others that, in a little while, he would hang a sign by the door reading: "Qing City Bachelors’ Club Service Station."

Once that sign was up, the group members would have their own Jerusalem, and their sense of belonging would be that much stronger.

When Old Bai saw Zhang Zhe arrive, he immediately crowded around him, asking for a red envelope for good luck.

The neighborhood aunties and uncles thought the boss was handing out lucky money, so they came over to line up too.

Seeing there weren’t too many people, Zhang Zhe gave one to everybody. It was only a six-yuan envelope, after all. The number six is auspicious, symbolizing smoothness—it was just to invite good fortune.

If just one of these grandpas or grannies helped refer a single client, he’d earn back all the money he’d just handed out.

"Congratulations on the opening, boss! Wishing you great fortune!"

"Thank you."

"Wasn’t this place Granny Xu’s marriage agency before? When did she transfer it to you?"

"Granny Xu is getting on in years and wanted to enjoy her retirement, so she transferred the whole business to me. You see? Much of the decor inside is still the stuff she bought."

"So it is." Seeing the familiar decorations inside the agency, the elderly residents started to warm up to Zhang Zhe.

It was like going to the little convenience store at the village entrance you’ve frequented for years. One day, it’s suddenly under new management, but the spicy snack sticks are the same brand as before, and they still cost fifty cents a pack. That initial feeling of unfamiliarity would be almost completely erased.

At twelve noon, after a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony, Zhang Zhe pulled the red cloth off the sign, and the Mei Man Marriage Agency was officially open for business!

Even though no customers had shown up yet, as Zhang Zhe stood at the entrance, the feeling of satisfaction from being his own boss was indescribable.

In any case, it was a million times better than working for someone else.

...

He left the flower baskets and red cloth out front for the time being. That way, passersby would see from a distance that a new store had opened and might come over for a look.

After seeing Old Bai and the others off, Zhang Zhe went back inside to set up his live-streaming equipment.

He wasn’t worried about the lack of customers. His main business was online consultations; the physical storefront was mainly to have a home base. It was a classic case of "the monk can run, but the temple can’t run with him"—it gave his paying customers peace of mind.

At two in the afternoon, just as Zhang Zhe was getting ready for a nap, the agency unexpectedly received its first customer.

She was brought in by the same auntie who had received a red envelope that morning, and with her was a young woman who, without makeup, was about a 4.5 out of 10.

Zhang Zhe quickly led the pair to the lounge area and gave them his full attention.

The auntie took a sip of water, let out a long sigh, and began to explain the young woman’s situation.

"Boss, this is my niece. She was born in ’95 and works as a teacher at No. 2 Middle School. She’s thirty and still not married. Her mom asked me to bring her over so you could help."

"I just don’t know if there’s any hope for the poor girl to get married."

"Come on, Qianqian, stand up and let the Matchmaker here get a good look at you."

"Whoa, no, no, no." Seeing the teacher was actually about to stand up and do a little spin, Zhang Zhe quickly stopped her.

’That’s what they did in ancient times when they were selling off servant girls. This is just a matchmaking consultation; there’s no need for all that.’

"I have a form here. Why don’t you fill this out first?"

"Ma’am, let her fill out the form first so I can take a look at her basic information."

"Alright, filling out a form is fine." The auntie asked with a grin, "So, what are your fees?"

"It’s 99 yuan to fill out the form."

"The analysis is free."

"If you want to leave your profile with me to have me look for a match, that’s also an option. The standard fee is 200 yuan for every successful match I find that results in a face-to-face meeting."

"And if you end up getting married, you’ll owe me a big red envelope as a success bonus."

"???" Both the auntie and the teacher were baffled.

"Boss, how come your fee structure is completely different from other agencies?" The auntie scratched her head. She actually thought it was too cheap, but she’d sound like a fool if she said so directly.

"I’ve never seen anyone charge like this, either," the teacher chimed in.

"It’s mainly because I’m short-staffed. As you can see, it’s just me. So I really don’t have time for the model other agencies use, where you pay me 2,000 yuan and I guarantee you three introductions."

Zhang Zhe explained with a friendly smile:

"What I can guarantee is that I’ll help you clearly analyze your position in the current marriage market. As for leaving your profile with me, I can’t guarantee when you’ll run into someone suitable."

"All I can say is that every week, I’ll go through all the profiles of the single men and women I have and see if there are any potential matches. If I find a good fit, I’ll help make an introduction."