"No. 71573, 58 years old in Zhengzhou, divorced, has a house and a car, a cadre of a central enterprise..." Sister Xu, the red lady, read these words repeatedly in the live broadcast room like introducing a product.
On the right side of the live broadcast page, there is a column of old faces. At nine o'clock in the evening, these unknown singles stayed in front of their mobile phones, waiting for the anchor to connect. Within two minutes, if anyone expressed satisfaction with the conditions, Sister Xu invited both parties to appear on camera. If no one answered, she began to read the message of the next marriage seeker.
This kind of live broadcast room for middle-aged and elderly people to introduce objects is between three and five minutes.
The information in the live broadcast room was updated quickly, and Deng Liangyuan also jumped quickly. Every night, the 75-year-old man would sit in his small courtyard, switching the mobile phone interface back and forth in the live broadcast room of Sister Xu, Sister Ying and other matchmakers, and a yellowing lamp above his head reflected his empty head. Sometimes in order to squat on the live broadcast, I can't eat food. He listened carefully to the personal information of each female guest, just to find a good wife for himself.
According to data from the seventh population census, the elderly population on the mainland has exceeded 264 million. According to the data of the "China Elderly Social Tracking Survey", including the widowed or divorced elderly, the number of single elderly in China accounts for 25%~30% of the total number of elderly people.
Getting rid of loneliness is the reason for the vast majority of middle-aged and elderly people to enter the live broadcast room on a blind date. Here, there are rounds and rounds of screening, and the conditions are on the bright side. If they are lucky, they can find love in the live broadcast room, but before that, they may also encounter "false feelings" and "liars".
The short video platform of Sister Xu, a red lady, pushes a lot of personal information and marriage intentions of single middle-aged and elderly people. Image source: Network screenshot
"Speed dating"
"I'm so old, I'm here to find my wife, not to find hardships."
"I have money, I can get 30,000 or 40,000 yuan a year, and I have a self-built two-story courtyard."
After Deng Liangyuan finished speaking, the live broadcast room was silent. On the right side of the screen, the short-haired woman with hot wool curls held up her gold wire glasses, she opened her mouth, but finally did not speak. Looming in the small box, behind her was a wooden bookcase, neatly arranged with books. The red lady introduced that she is a retired teacher over 60 years old.
Unlike this teacher, behind Deng Liangyuan, sometimes there were flickering dim lights, sometimes bricks exposed courtyard walls. A native of Linyi, Shandong Province, a rural hukou who was originally an electrician who built the two-story house with most of his life savings, his wife died in a car accident a decade ago.
The result was not surprising, retired teachers did not take a fancy to Deng Liangyuan.
In the live broadcast room, the conditions are all on the surface.
"Sister Xu" Xu Meiying began to be an Internet celebrity after retirement. According to her observation, middle-aged and elderly people remarry, often have to look at each other's family conditions, only if the material conditions can be guaranteed, will they see if they can get along well. After all, when people reach their twilight years, stability is the signature.
Urban hukou, retirees in the system, are the most popular. Such people generally have a house and a car, and pensions and medical insurance are enough to protect their later life. If the child is still young, it is better to have a daughter than a son - the son will have to buy a house and a car when he gets married in the future, which means that the marriage seeker will have to pay more. The other half's former partner is also a hidden "thunder", and finding a widow is easier than divorced.
Sister Xu said that rural men like Deng Liangyuan are the most difficult to find. No matter how big his self-built house in the countryside is, no one wants to go. If there is no pension, medical insurance, it is even more difficult. This means that there is no guarantee, and if you marry such a person, you will have to bear half of the risk for him in the future if he gets sick or encounters other accidents.
Another Internet celebrity lady Ying Jie found that middle-aged and elderly people still have an "unspoken rule" for finding objects, and those who are too old cannot ask for it. In December last year, a grandpa from Qingdao appeared in Sister Ying's live broadcast room. The uncle introduced himself incoherently, as if he had a mouthful of soup in his mouth. Sister Ying asked many times before confirming the information, "79 years old, Qingdao, widowed, living in low-cost housing, and now my health is not very good." ”
Uncle will not open the video, and Sister Ying made an exception to leave him. As soon as he spoke, the three female guests on the field stopped talking, and someone in the comment area said bluntly, "Is this to find an object, or is it looking for a free nanny?" ”
Although he chanted "I'm old, a person is strange and pitiful", Sister Ying still removed his connection picture. Blind date in the live broadcast room, pay attention to "speed dating". The red lady will not stay for anyone for an extra second, everyone knows in their hearts that only when the conditions are right, the two sides have the possibility of taking the next step.
That day, Deng Liangyuan wanted to say something more, but it was too late. Sister Ying's voice in the live broadcast room paused for a few seconds, and she knew it well. Without saying much, she stretched out her finger and lightly tapped on the screen, and Deng Liangyuan's picture frame disappeared.
"Up, up, up!" Sister Ying said while randomly pulling in a person, and a new round of screening began again.
A 79-year-old uncle appeared in the live broadcast room of the red lady Yingjie, and he said nothing unfavorably, and the audience was silent. Image source: Live screenshot
"One step forward"
Getting rid of loneliness is the reason why the vast majority of middle-aged and elderly people enter the live broadcast room on blind dates.
Deng Liangyuan didn't know before, it turned out that the bustle was only exclusive to holidays. Five daughters and one son are married and have children, and Deng Liangyuan is now full of children and grandchildren. But all year round, he was left alone. The small courtyard was empty, and there was no anger except for a field of vegetables that he had grown.
After retiring, Deng Liangyuan had nothing to do all day. He tried to bring himself freshness through travel, let his children sign up for elderly tours, and began to go to southern cities such as Guangdong and Fujian.
However, I have seen a lot of new things, and I have tasted more of loneliness.
In older tours, many are couples traveling together. Take photos at the sights, one person poses and the other holds up a camera to take pictures. Deng Liangyuan likes to check in and take pictures, but he is embarrassed to bother, so he can only wait until everyone has finished filming and then ask for help.
Because he was unfamiliar, Deng Liangyuan was embarrassed to pick on others. He didn't have time to pose, sometimes before he could stand firmly, his legs were bent like a circle, and the picture was frozen.
Deng Liangyuan wanted to have someone to travel with him more than once. One day two years ago, the short video platform seemed to have communicated with him and pushed a live broadcast of blind dates for the elderly. He has not paid the membership fee, and has been lurking in the live broadcast room of various matchmakers, and when the person who meets his eyes appears, he will immediately broadcast it for free.
Yu Meiqin, a northeasterner, is more determined to get rid of the single than him.
Four years ago, when Yu Meiqin was 66 years old, her husband died. She began to live alone in a small house in Daxing'anling, "doing whatever she wanted." She no longer has to bear the joys and sorrows of another person, all the choices of life are returned to herself, she only needs to buy her favorite food to buy vegetables, occasionally she is lazy, and she doesn't want to cook.
Although it occasionally feels empty, the freedom is relaxing. Idle and fine, Yu Meiqin often goes to the park, and some old sisters see her alone and offer to introduce her to someone. Yu Meiqin didn't even think about it, and refused, "I'm old, what else are you looking for?" ”
I was single for three years, and my physical illness made Yu Meiqin completely change her mind.
She couldn't sleep the night she was sick. Yu Meiqin wanted to sleep, but her heart was uncomfortable, and she was afraid that she would not wake up. Just in case, she put the two bottles of medicine she often took by the bed, but she still turned over and over and couldn't sleep. She put the medicine bottle in her hand, and she was afraid of a sudden attack of the disease, so she didn't have the strength to unscrew the medicine bottle, so she took out two pills in advance and placed them next to her pillow, within reach.
It was the first time she had been scared of living alone. Yu Meiqin's children are all businessmen who are already busy with work, and after having their own family, they can spend less time with her. "I don't have anything to do now, can't I call the children to accompany me in the middle of the night?" Yu Meiqin thought.
It was dawn, and Yu Meiqin also figured it out, and it was time to take a step forward.
The WeChat group created by Sister Xu for single elderly people. Photo courtesy of interviewee
"Something is wrong"
But the live broadcast room has never been a calm place.
Before Yu Meiqin officially started looking for a partner, she found "something wrong" in the live broadcast room. One night, as soon as she entered the live broadcast room of the red lady, she saw a man with two hands together, constantly making a "please" gesture towards the screen, and repeatedly saying "Please!" Please! ”。 Seeing that the anchor did not mean to let go, this man even wanted to kneel and kowtow.
After listening carefully, I realized that the big brother with a sparse head in front of him was cheated of 50,000 yuan. A few days ago, the girl who "held hands" with him in this live broadcast room, after getting 50,000 bride money, people disappeared out of thin air. He has no pension, and 50,000 is a lot of money for him.
This is not a rare thing in the circle of live blind dates. Whether it is Sister Xu or Sister Ying, they have heard of many blind date scams. "Wedding trust" is the most common one, and some matchmakers find fake customers in advance and make an appointment to connect the video in the live broadcast room. The fake customer pretends to agree to continue to know while encouraging the other party to swipe the gift with the matchmaker. After paying money, men can get the contact information of the "marriage trust". But soon after, the "marriage trust" will disappear.
Some live broadcast rooms do not have a moderation mechanism, which attracts many scammers. These people amass wealth through blind dates, and as soon as they "hold hands", they go to ask for bride price or three gold, and when the things are in hand, they block and leave.
There are also people who come for "color". Sister Ying has received complaints from several female customers, and as soon as she added WeChat, the old man on the other side of the screen led the topic to "those things in bed", and did not explain her self-introduction. What's more, directly say some "edge" words in the live broadcast room. Sister Ying had no choice, after the reminder was ineffective, she could only ask these people to leave.
Some people, who are not single at all, secretly come to the live broadcast room to find fun. Sister Xu once met a customer in Shandong who claimed to be widowed, but while video chatting in the group, a woman suddenly broke into the camera and scolded him. Everyone then knew that he was hiding his family.
Over time, the red ladies have become gatekeepers for maintaining blind date order.
Sister Xu has been on the live broadcast platform for many years and has accumulated 529,000 fans, and matchmaking has become a business for her. Now, she often teaches female clients to use phone calls to tell if they are single. If the other party always hangs up first and then calls again later, then he has a wife. You can also try calling at night, if there is someone around the other party, they will not answer.
She also strictly controls the information on documents. To find Sister Xu to help introduce the object, you need to first video connect the microphone, provide the identity document, single certificate and relevant pension certificate, and then pay a membership fee of 199 yuan before you can enter the group or go to the live broadcast room. If you can't provide a divorce certificate or a cremation certificate, you can only enter the "ID card group" and "household registration group", and the people in the group cannot provide single status certificates.
Unlike Sister Xu, Sister Ying's matchmaker business is carried out in another way, the live broadcast room can be connected for free at any time, and after paying 50 yuan to become a member, she will put the information into the database to help keep an eye on the right candidates.
Sister Ying's handling is more direct - if she finds out who is wrong, she immediately cancels Lian Mai. In order to prevent married people from entering her blind date market, people who are unwilling to show their faces normally in her live broadcast room are not given the opportunity to connect.
However, in the live broadcast room, anything can happen. When the live broadcast these days, a man and a woman with a face are chatting well, and a woman suddenly enters the man's picture frame, and Sister Ying and everyone are stunned.
She asked for a long time, and the man's answer was ambiguous, "It's a neighbor, come to my house to play mahjong" "She is my sister-in-law, and I have nothing to do with it" In the comments, all kinds of jokes popped up, and everyone ridiculed "The elderly play more flower". The blind date stalled, and the lady who chatted with him live laughed and said nothing. Sister Ying didn't say a word, and directly invited him out.
"This is love"
If you are lucky enough, you can really meet love in the live broadcast room.
Yu Meiqin is the lucky one. A year ago, she was 69 years old, and after watching on the short video platform for a while, she finally chose to pay 199 yuan and asked Sister Xu to help introduce the object. She thought about it early on, getting married for the second time in her life, she didn't need a bride price, she didn't need three golds. Yu Meiqin does not want money, but a person who can accompany him for the rest of his life.
She did not want to show her face in the live broadcast room, added three blind date groups created by Sister Xu, and did not send her resume. But as soon as she entered the group, the tall girl who was hot into a big wave in her avatar received a lot of warm greetings.
Friend verification messages became more, Yu Meiqin clicked in one by one to see, if the other party is not in the northeast region, or is younger than her, she will directly refuse. She didn't say much, only answered people who were interested.
It wasn't long before a person with the screen name "Youth Always Present" found her. He is Liu Chengyin, his wife has passed away for seven or eight years, and someone has helped him pull the line offline, but they have not been negotiated. He is two years older than Yu Meiqin, perhaps because he is both from Heilongjiang, and both of them have retired from the enterprise, the chatterbox suddenly opened, and the two quickly began video chat.
In front of the camera, Liu Chengyin's smiling face came up. Aging has loosened his skin, but he can still see the outline of thick eyebrows and big eyes, and although his sideburns are white, his hair is also thick. Yu Meiqin was satisfied with his appearance and felt intrigued. The two of them video call when they have nothing to do, from morning to night.
After ten days of talking, they made an appointment. Yu Meiqin went to Jiamusi, and before leaving, she told the child that if she looked at the right eye, she would come back in two or three months, and if she didn't look at the right eye, she would go home in two or three days.
What love tastes like, Yu Meiqin does not know. Her last marriage was arranged by her parents. For a long time after marriage, her husband was still strange to her, and she was embarrassed to face it, and she had to walk over with her head bowed when she saw her. Over time, the two became family.
Yu Meiqin did not expect that love at first sight would happen in her old age. When she arrived at Jiamusi, Liu Chengyin came to pick her up, one meter eight tall, with a straight waist, still that smiling face. At first glance, the two sides identified each other.
Money did not become an obstacle for the two people, and Yu Meiqin did not receive any gifts from Liu Chengyin. In the past half a year, once the two of them went shopping together, Liu Chengyin secretly bought a dress for her, so angry that Yu Meiqin complained to him for the first time, "I said I really don't want it, I have enough for everything." ”
When I was sick, I finally had something to rely on. At the end of last year, two people got the new crown one after another. They had a fever three days apart, just taking care of each other. Yu Meiqin no longer worries about not waking up, Liu Chengyin is by her side, regularly taking care of her body temperature, and from time to time taking alcohol-containing cotton pads to wipe her body.
Confirming each other's sincerity, Liu Chengyin sold the house and replaced it with a house with more rooms. Yu Meiqin also paid for it, and the house was written with the names of two people. He planned the lives of the two until the age of 80, when the children of both men wanted to visit them, and the family could live in it.
Recalling these days, the laughter of the two old men could not be stopped. Yu Meiqin always sighs that her life is getting better and better, and this is the love she has been waiting for for a long time.
After Yu Meiqin and Liu Chengyin got married, they took a lot of group photos. Photo courtesy of interviewee
The live broadcast room is always warm
But not everyone is as lucky as Yu Meiqin, and there are many things that stand in the way of fate.
Children, for example, may oppose their parents' remarriage. Sister Xu has a northeastern customer, just over 60 years old, she entered the group to get married. As soon as the "holding hands" was successful, he was disconnected from everyone. Not only did he withdraw from all the blind date groups, but he also blocked all the friends of the blind date groups, and even Sister Xu couldn't get in touch.
A few months later, the eldest sister reappeared. It turned out that the online blind date was discovered by the child, and they did not agree with her to find a new wife, so they "cut off the Internet" for her. In those days, she "struggled" with her children at home every day, and finally said: even if she goes on a hunger strike and breaks off the parent-child relationship, she will find a partner.
There are many such examples. Some children refused to let their parents remarry for fear of dividing the family property. Some children felt cold, "How long has it been since Mom left, and he started looking for a new wife so soon?" The call for help came to Sister Xu, and she sometimes mixed in, "Do you want to make your old people unhappy for the rest of the years?" She asked the children.
Sister Ying hardly cares, she thinks it is a household matter for the customer. In Sister Ying's view, the premise of coming out on a blind date is to handle these things well, "I can't even handle my own family affairs, and I still want to start a family with others?" ”
In fact, even if everything is handled properly, online blind dates may not go smoothly.
Deng Liangyuan's blind date road was not so smooth, and two years ago, he contacted his first sister. She was originally from Heilongjiang and went to Shandong to live with him. The girl loves to smoke, and she doesn't listen to how Deng Liangyuan persuades. Not long after, the prospective wife returned home to visit relatives and fell ill on the spot. She called and said she had lung cancer. Deng Liangyuan transferred six thousand yuan to her, and not long after, she died.
After resting for a while, Deng Liangyuan was no longer shy, and he began to look for objects in various live broadcast rooms. Last year, he finally found one again, but due to the epidemic, he never met. One day, the woman sent him WeChat, saying that the home was going to be decorated, and whether he could give her 40,000 yuan. Deng Liangyuan felt that something was wrong, "I haven't met, why is she embarrassed to ask me for money?" After refusing, the relationship also went away.
"I'm old, I'm not looking for it." After getting off the live broadcast room, Deng Liangyuan hung this sentence on his lips. He complained about his failure experience over the years, and when it came to excitement, he changed his words, "I don't believe it, can't I find an ideal object?" He can only continue to stay in front of the mobile phone, using his fingers to jump the interface of several live broadcast rooms back and forth, looking for the object of his eyes.
The live broadcast room that matches middle-aged and elderly people has also been running at high speed.
At seven o'clock in the morning of February 13, Sister Ying started broadcasting. She had a plain face, unkempt hair, lipstick that had not yet had time to be applied, no glasses to cover her, and a pair of sympathetic eyes appeared in front of the camera. Sister Ying did not speak, wearing glasses, pinching her hair, wearing a necklace, and wearing lipstick, she pinched herself one by one in front of the camera.
The comment area began to heat up, and "Sister Ying, good morning" was brushed up. Ten minutes later, the number of people in the live broadcast room rose to about 170.
"Panjin man is 60 years old without burden, has double insurance, and is looking for rural ones."
"Single, Jilin Liaoyuan."
……
A new round of marriage seekers is waiting to be broadcast in the live broadcast room.
(Deng Liangyuan, Yu Meiqin, Liu Chengyin are pseudonyms)
Beijing News reporter Wang Chang Editor Chen Xiaoshu Proofreader Liu Jun