Chapter 024 Getting a Marriage Certificate

The meat was distributed in the village according to the number of people in the family. In other words, the family with more people got more, not according to work points.

Today, three pigs were slaughtered in the village, and the Wen family, with one adult and two children under the age of six, could only get a little over a pound of meat. For the sake of the deceased Wen family members, she could also get a pig's entrails or two bones.

After all, the original owner's mother was also one of the people responsible for raising pigs. Wen Jiajia had seen relevant records in the family's work points book. People who raised pigs could get more points.

Wen Jiajia arrived early, and the pigs had not been slaughtered yet.

The two girls ran off to play with their friends. Wen Jiajia, holding a bucket and a basin, stood behind the crowd and slowly queued up.

"Jia Jia, who is the boy who often comes to your house?" an aunt asked her, "The one who rides a bicycle."

It's quite strange. I heard some time ago that Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai from Hegou Township were dating. Is it unsuccessful now?

But it doesn't matter, both Wei Dai and the young man who comes here often have bicycles and are in good condition.

Wen Jiajia: “…That’s the postman.”

The auntie who asked the question was embarrassed and quickly grabbed a handful of melon seeds from her pocket and gave them to her: "You and Wei Dai are writing letters. When are you two going to get things done?"

Wen Jiajia smiled shyly: "I don't know."

The aunt taught her, "You are the only one in your family, and you don't have many elders to be close to. You have to speak some words yourself. Don't be shy. I think Wei Dai is capable of going far. Don't let him run away because you are embarrassed."

To be honest, if her daughter was the same age as Wei Dai, she would probably ask someone to mediate between them.

In the past, I just thought that his family had a heavy burden with such parents. But the last time he came back, he was very aggressive in collecting debts, which really impressed people.

Honest parents never give birth to honest children.

Wen Jiajia just laughed and didn't reply.

Fortunately, this lady didn't just talk to her, but soon started chatting with other people around her.

"How many pigs are we going to kill this year?"

"I heard they killed eight. Three today, five by the end of the year, two more than last year."

"Shall we share the ducks?"

"No, she has just started laying eggs. She will have to lay eggs for a few years at least."

"Will our village still go to Hegou Township to buy fish this year?"

"Yes, I heard from Qing'an that he has already ordered several hundred kilograms of fish from Hegou Township."

Wen Jiajia pricked up her ears and remembered it clearly.

No wonder people are so enthusiastic during the Chinese New Year at this time. With such abundant food, how can they not be happy?

The village butcher killed three pigs very skillfully. There was a lot of blood from the three pigs, and Wen Jiajia was lucky enough to get a small half basin of it.

"Jia Jia, do you know how to do this?" the aunt who was helping to kill the pig asked her.

Wen Jiajia smiled and said crisply, "I know, dissolve the salt in cold water and then pour the pig's blood in, and it will solidify."

Stir-fried pork blood with garlic sprouts is one of her favorite dishes.

After dividing the pig's blood, they began to divide the meat.

Wen Jiajia got a pound of pork belly and half a pound of pork fat.

Pork leg fat is undoubtedly the most popular part of the pig in this era. She was able to get it because she arrived early and because everyone in the village wanted the leg meat to make bacon.

There is a local custom of worshiping gods and Buddhas during the New Year, and banquets must be prepared for the gods, Buddhas and ancestors. Even though these customs are no longer allowed, they are still done in private.

Among them, bacon is a very important dish at the banquet. It is pickled with salt and smoked, and then cooked on New Year's Eve to offer to the ancestors, gods and Buddhas.

In the evening, this bacon is still a main dish. Cook the green onions and put them on the bacon, and cook the eggs and put them around the bacon, in the hope that the children in the family will be smart and the family will have more children.

If you want to make bacon, you have to marinate it now at the latest. You can't do it any later.

So even though the villagers were very greedy for pork belly, they still scrambled for the pork leg meat. Wen Jiajia took advantage of the opportunity and got a pound of pork belly and half a pound of pork belly, both of which were the best parts.

In the end, she also got half a piece of pig tongue and half a pig tail bone as long as her forearm, so Wen Jiajia could be said to have returned home with a full load.

The two girls were still reluctant to go home, and Wen Jiajia did not restrain them.

The village is busy these days, and there are people everywhere. There are also militiamen walking around at the entrance of the village, so there is no need to worry about traffickers coming to take the children.

Wen Jiajia returned home, put down the basin and bucket, went to the backyard, opened the door of the chicken coop, and let the chickens out.

Then I went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables and threw some worm-eaten leaves to the chickens and ducks to eat.

Yes, I still have two ducks at home.

Day by day, it got fatter and fatter. Wen Jiajia was reluctant to kill it, so she planned to kill it later so that she could add a big dish to the New Year's Eve dinner.

The chickens clucked as they looked for food. Wen Jiajia's eyes followed the chickens, scanning them one by one, wondering which one she should kill.

The chickens probably sensed where they were and came running over. Wen Jiajia didn't care, since they weren't going to be killed today anyway.

She went back to the kitchen to solidify the pig's blood. She then put the bones in a jar outside to be eaten tomorrow. Since the weather was cold, it would not be a big deal to leave the bones until tomorrow.

When we eat meat today, of course we have to make the pork belly into braised pork.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were amazed by the braised pork that Wen Jiajia made last time. They were so surprised that they danced with joy, eating the meat and twisting their bodies as if they had needles on their buttocks.

Since they loved it so much, Wen Jiajia decided to make it again.

Well, she likes it too. After all, pigs these days are real food pigs, and they are very delicious.

Just as Wen Jiajia finished steaming the rice and was about to scrape the pig skin, someone called her at the door.

"Who is it?" She put down the pork, wiped her hands on her apron, and walked towards the door.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Wen Jiajia asked doubtfully. She didn't know the person at the door.

The man at the door said, "Wen Jiajia, right? I'm Xu Chaoming. The commune has your phone number. It's Wei Dai calling. He wants you to come back at 12 noon."

Wen Jiajia's eyes widened in shock.

Good boy, it turns out you can make phone calls. She thought you could only write letters, or at most send a telegram.

Xu Zhaoming left after saying this.

Wen Jiajia frowned and thought about it, but couldn't think of anything important that required Wei Dai to call and talk about it.

The rice in the wooden barrel was slowly cooking. Wen Jiajia picked it up and put it aside and started making braised pork.

She had blanched the skin of the pork belly and scraped it carefully with a knife, and now there is no strange smell at all.

At this moment, turn on the fire, cut the cleaned pork fat into pieces and put it into the pot to boil. Boil the fat residue until it turns yellow and small. After taking it out, sprinkle some salt and it will be a delicious dish.

Then she scooped the oil from the pot into the oil tank next to the pot. The pork belly fat was really good and was enough to make half a tank of oil, which was enough for her family to eat until the New Year.

After boiling the lard, you can start making the braised pork.

Cut the braised pork into mahjong-sized pieces and pour them into the pot. Because there is still some oil in the pot that was not cleaned up just now, the pork will not stick to the pot.

When the pork belly is fried and the oil is released, remove the excess oil and lift the meat out. The remaining oil is used to stir-fry the sugar color.

Wen Jiajia is a real sweet fan of braised pork in red sauce, and she likes this braised pork in red sauce the most. She chose to settle down in Shanghai in her last life because the food there suits her taste so well.

After frying, the braised pork looks like it is covered with caramel. Then add soy sauce and cooking wine, pour water and spices, cover the pot and simmer slowly.

If the meat is good, the seasoning is good, and the cooking time is good, it is hard to make the braised pork taste bad.

The pot was bubbling with food, and the wonderful aroma of meat filled the whole kitchen.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan came back skipping and jumping, and when they reached the main room they let out a "wow", then ran all the way to the kitchen, and sat by the stove, sniffing with their noses.

"It smells so good, it's braised pork, right?" Wen Chun was a smart child and could still remember the taste of braised pork.

Wen Jiajia was cutting vegetables and nodded, saying, "Yes, it's better than the braised pork last time." After all, there wasn't too much oil in the meat this time.

After being taught a lesson by Wen Jiajia, Wen Xuan stopped sucking her fingers and started sucking her mouth. She swallowed her saliva while sucking, which made Wen Jiajia speechless.

Soon, the braised pork was cooked through and the sauce became extremely thick.

Wen Jiajia put the braised pork on a plate, fried some vegetables and started eating lunch.

As soon as the meat entered her mouth, Wen Jiajia, the cook, couldn't help but praise it again and again.

Good pork.

The meat is soft but also a little crispy. The skin is glutinous and a little chewy. The thick red sauce tastes sweet at first, and then the rich meaty aroma blooms in your mouth.

Wen Jiajia prefers to eat braised pork with rice.

This time she deliberately left a little more soup, scooped a few spoonfuls into the white rice, then added a piece of pork and mashed it with a spoon, then mixed it with the rice. The taste was simply amazing.

For a moment, I almost forgot to return the call.

Jiang Province, Linhe City.

Wei Dai looked at his watch every few seconds, and when it was 10 minutes before 12 o'clock, he waited by the phone.

However, it is now 12:02.

Wen Jiajia felt quite guilty and ran all the way to the commune. Before she even caught her breath, she asked Xu Chaoming to make a call.

"Hello, Wei Dai."

"Jia Jia!" Wei Dai couldn't wait to answer the phone. A smile appeared on his face when he heard her voice.

"Wei Dai, I miss you so much. Especially at night, sometimes I even dream about you." Wen Jiajia, who had been eating for a few minutes, did not hesitate to say sweet words, "I don't have a watch, so I'm late."

Xu Zhaoming at the door: "..."

The house was not soundproof and he got goosebumps when he heard it.

Wei Dai's face turned red involuntarily. He looked up and saw the calm post office staff, and a rare shy expression appeared on his face.

"Ahem, I have something serious to do this time," he said.

Wen Jiajia said: "I know, just tell me." If it's not a serious matter, who would make a long-distance call?

Wei Dai's voice was extremely gentle: "Jia Jia, can I apply for marriage with you?"

Wen Jiajia was stunned, but she was prepared in her heart and reacted in less than a second: "Do we have to get married to have separate rooms?"

"yes."

"Well, let's fight..."

Wei Dai: "Jia Jia!"

Wen Jiajia said excitedly, "Wei Dai, please file a marriage report. Then take a few days to come back and we'll get a marriage certificate."

——

The Great Cold arrives, and frost and snow fall. According to the solar terms, this is the coldest time of the year.

This day was the tenth day of the second lunar month, which was the original owner's birthday and also Wen Jiajia's birthday in her previous life. Because their birthdays were on the same day, Wen Jiajia remembered it particularly well.

When she woke up in the morning, the first thing she did was to kill a plump duck and cook it in a casserole to make duck soup.

The second thing is to cook the noodles.

Wen Jiajia has always liked mixed noodles, but in this bone-shivering cold weather, it’s better to eat soup noodles.

When the weather gets cold, people don't like to move around much.

Wen Jiajia kneaded the flour into a ball, then used a rolling pin to roll out several strips of noodles longer than her arms. Finally, she stretched them into thin strips and waited for cooking.

The key to delicious noodle soup is the soup.

Unfortunately, the duck has just been stewed, so forget about eating duck noodles.

Wen Jiajia thought about it, put some oil in the pan, fried three eggs, added some soy sauce and poured in boiling water. With a sizzling sound, the soup rolled a few times and became a little thicker.

She took out three more dried shrimps and put them into the soup to cook. Finally, she put in the noodles and vegetables, and three pieces of smoked fish that she had made yesterday. When the noodles were cooked, she scooped them into a bowl, knocked on the door, and called Wen Chun and Wen Xuan to eat.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were still struggling with their clothes. They stayed in bed for so long that it took them a long time to get dressed.

Wen Jiajia went in and helped the two of them put on their clothes.

They both wore new cotton-padded jackets made this year. The red floral jackets made the two children look energetic and cute.

Wen Jiajia also bought them new shoes.

Wen Jiajia used cotton cloth to exchange shoes with Fang Mingyan. She could make clothes, but she was really incapable of making shoes. Especially this kind of cotton shoes, she couldn't make them even if she broke her hands.

These days, because the two girls were wearing new clothes, they insisted on eating with their smocks on.

"Are you having noodles today?" Wen Chun stood on tiptoe and looked at the bowl on the table. "It smells so good."

Wen Jiajia carried the two to the table and said, "Today is my aunt's birthday, so of course we have to eat longevity noodles. What do you want to say to my aunt?"

Wen Chun looked confused: "Happy birthday, aunt?"

Wen Jiajia supported her forehead.

She forgot that very few people in the area would celebrate their children’s birthdays, and the Wen family was no exception.

At most, you can cook a whole egg.

"Okay, it's just a good birthday." Wen Jiajia didn't care. She picked up a piece of longevity noodles with chopsticks and said to herself in her heart, "Happy birthday."

I am saying this to the original owner, and also to myself.

At noon, I had some delicious duck soup.

The soup is clear but tastes fresh. It is less greasy than chicken soup. If you skim off the oil, she can drink three bowls in one go.

The duck soup was a bit too much, and there was still more than half of it left in the clay pot the next day.

Wen Jiajia touched her nose and decided to eat noodles.

It was winter, and the sailors would be frozen stiff if touched. She was still taking anti-cold medicine, so who would be willing to cook?

Wen Jiajia can now treasure her body because her stomach pain was indeed not as severe during her last menstruation. She thought it was due to the medicine she took. It turned out that the medicine prescribed by Doctor Fang was indeed effective.

Just as I finished rolling out the dough, there was a "knock knock knock" sound at the door.

It was so early in the morning and I didn't know who it was.

It was still bright and clear, and because it was cold, she didn't even open the kitchen door when she got up this morning.

After opening the door and entering the main room, Wen Jiajia looked up in surprise, only to see snowflakes falling from the sky above.

It disappeared the moment it fell into the water tank, and formed a thin layer of white snow when it fell onto the ground.

"It's snowing." Her eyes sparkled.

In the winter when cotton clothes, coal and food are plentiful, it is a delight to see snow.

“Boom boom boom—”

There was another knock on the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Why are you in such a hurry?

Wen Jiajia first opened the door of the main room and came to the front yard, where a vast expanse of white scenery came into view.

She was slightly stunned.

The next second, "Jia Jia."

The person at the door whispered.

Wen Jiajia took a deep breath, in disbelief, jumped down the stairs and ran to open the door: "Wei Dai?"

“Squeak—”

It was indeed Wei Dai at the door.

With a smile in his eyes, he said: "Happy birthday!"

Wen Jiajia looked up at him, eyes sparkling: "Why are you back?"

Wei Dai: "My marriage application has been approved, and I came back to marry you."

He couldn't wait a moment.

The plan was to reach the county seat last night, but there was a traffic jam later and we didn't arrive until this morning.

Wen Jiajia pulled him into the house and was quite surprised: "Your troops actually allowed you to come back?"

Wei Dai: "Marriage, there is no other way."

If he delays for a few more years, he will be an unmarried man of advanced age, and his leaders will feel embarrassed when seeing him.

When she heard that he was going to get married and looked at the information about Wen Jiajia that he handed in, she signed immediately and then gave him a few days off to go home and handle the matter.

Wen Jiajia brought him to the stove and looked at the small amount of luggage beside him: "You haven't gone home yet?"

Wei Dai nodded.

Wen Jiajia: “…”

Okay.

If her children were to become like this in the future, she would consider whether she should spend all her wealth before dying.

Wen Jiajia asked again: "How many days can you stay after you come back?"

Wei Dai warmed his hands, took out some of the things in his luggage and said, "Excluding the round trip, I can stay at home for four days."

Wen Jiajia glared, "So we have to go get the marriage certificate today?"

Wei Dai smiled and said, "Yes." Then the wedding will be held the day after tomorrow, and he will have to leave after that. The next time he comes back, he will take Wen Jiajia to the army.

OMG, Wen Jiajia never thought that she would get married in such a hasty way.

"Drink the soup, drink the soup." Wen Jiajia poured him a bowl of soup, "Drink it first and talk later."

Wei Dai paused, a little nervous: "Jia Jia..."

Wen Jiajia: "I didn't say I couldn't get married."

She hesitated and said, "It's okay to get married, but I don't think it matters whether we have a wedding or not."

Wei Dai's heart was torn by these words, and he finally didn't understand: "No wedding?"

Wen Jiajia combed her hair and said, "It's too late."

Wei Dai said gently, "It's in time. I promise."

Wen Jiajia said, "I heard that they have to order meat one or two months in advance for their wedding."

“I know how to do those things.”

"You said it!"

Wen Jiajia was afraid of trouble, and she had no one to help her. She had to take care of two girls on weekdays, so she really didn't have the ability to do this.

Wei Dai took a sip of soup and said, "That's what I said."

He looked so determined that Wen Jiajia secretly wondered if this man had been prepared.

Could it be that after I agreed to go on a blind date with him, I secretly started preparing for it...

Man, huh!

Wei Dai had probably been single for too long. After eating a bowl of duck meat and drinking two bowls of soup, he sat next to her, ready to take her to the county town at any time.

But Wen Jiajia is not that careless, she needs to eat breakfast.

In her previous life, she often skipped breakfast, messed up her meals, stayed up all night, and then successfully caused herself to die suddenly. She didn't learn her lesson in this life, so she really deserved to die.

Wen Chun and Wen Xuan walked out of the room, and the moment they saw Wei Dai, the two girls showed the same confused expression on their faces.

Wen Chun tilted his head: "Uncle Wei?"

She was older and obviously remembered it.

Wen Xuan hesitated for two seconds before she laughed out loud, hiding behind Wen Chun and shouting, "Uncle Wei."

Wei Dai pinched the two girls' faces and said, "They are much stronger now."

Wen Xuan's eyes narrowed, and she quickly ran back to her room, took out her precious building blocks, and wanted to play with Wei Dai.

Wen Jiajia glanced over and said, "Eat."

Wen Xuan, who had just walked to the door, reluctantly took the building blocks back.

After dinner, Wei Dai went to borrow a car.

He is familiar with the village party secretary's family, so it is easy to borrow a car from him.

But because he was walking around the village, everyone in Fuyang knew that Wei Dai was back. Why did he come back? To get married.

Although he didn't say it, he asked the village party secretary to help write a letter of introduction to Wen Jiajia, making it clear that he was going to get married.

"Wei Dai, are you going to marry Jia Jia?"

Wei Dai nodded.

"Can I follow you to the army after we get married?"

Wei Dai nodded again: "It will take a while."

Oh my god, the villagers have something to talk about in their spare time. They say Wen Jiajia has caught a rich son-in-law and is going to have a meal with the troops.

It was daybreak and there were no more snowflakes in the sky.

The sun shone slightly and the snow on the ground melted, leaving only the mountainside and the top covered with white snow.

Because Wei Dai was there to protect her and she was wrapped up tightly, Wen Jiajia didn't feel very cold sitting on the back seat of the bicycle.

She poked Wei Dai: "Don't you really need to inform your parents?" After all, getting married is such a big deal.

Wei Dai: "I told you so long ago."

Wen Jiajia patted him angrily: "I knew you had planned this a long time ago."

He looks very serious on the surface, but does it secretly.

Wei Dai smiled and said, "I meant a few days ago. I sent a telegram to tell them a few days ago."

He is not so "unworthy of a son of man".

Wen Jiajia asked: "What is your parents' attitude?"

Wei Dai: "My parents are very happy and told me to hurry up and get married and get the marriage certificate while you agree."

Wen Jiajia was suspicious: "You are lying to me."

"I didn't lie to you."

His parents didn't know yet that he could bring his family to the army, and they were very happy and anxious to think that a girl would fall in love with a man who was destined to leave his wife a widow.

Wen Jiajia didn't understand.

If you can’t figure it out, just forget about it. They are his parents anyway.

She lived in Fuyang before she got married, and she still lived in Fuyang after she got married. After a while, she went to the army and she no longer needed to live with her parents-in-law.

The county seat was soon reached.

Wei Dai was indeed very anxious, and took Wen Jiajia straight to the marriage registration office.

The staff checked the IDs of both parties, asked clearly whether they were willing to marry, and then stamped the marriage, thus establishing the marriage relationship between the two.

Wen Jiajia was dizzy. They were getting married already.

Wei Dai didn't know whether he was nervous or happy. His palms were sweaty, but he still insisted on holding Wen Jiajia.

Wen Jiajia struggled to break away and wiped his body with her hands: "It's so disgusting, it's all sweat."

Wei Dai just looked at her and smiled vigorously.

Wen Jiajia felt embarrassed by his gaze and asked him, "Are we going home now?"

Wei Dai shook his head: "Go shopping."

Wen Jiajia's hands were also itching. This was her first marriage in two lives, and although she didn't have a honeymoon, she still had to go shopping.

So she searched his pockets and asked, "What tickets do you have?"

Wei Dai stuffed the tickets in his pocket into her hands and said, "They're all here. Go buy whatever you want."

Men only sound the sweetest when they say this. Wen Jiajia suddenly became rich and immediately rushed to the supply and marketing cooperative.

However, although he had money in his pocket, he did not have much stuff from the supply and marketing cooperative.

Wen Jiajia felt that she was bloated.

Originally, I thought the supply and marketing cooperatives were full of products, but I couldn't afford to buy anything with just a few dollars in my pocket.

Now? I have money and tickets in my pocket, so I don't care about anything.

The supply and marketing cooperative was full of necessities, and Wen Jiajia wandered around inside, buying two kilograms of candy and two kilograms of biscuits, and finally came to the cloth counter, where she spent a few minutes picking out two pieces of cloth, and that was it.

Wei Dai: "Not buying it anymore?"

Wen Jiajia was embarrassed: "I don't know what to buy?"

Wei Dai: "Then let's go to the department store and buy it later. You'll need to buy some new belongings after moving, so you can buy some."

When Wen Jiajia heard this, she was immediately happy.