Chapter 56 (Combined) (Revised)

Yan Ruyi was leaning back in her chair, enjoying Commander Song's shoulder massage.

As a result, Song Yiping's words startled her so much that she sat up straight immediately.

Fortunately, Song Yiping dodged quickly; otherwise, his chin would have hit Yan Ruyi's head.

It doesn't matter if he bumps his chin; Comrade Xiao Yan will definitely touch his head, tearfully accusing him of being made of iron and too hard.

Yan Ruyi asked in surprise, "When did this happen? How come I didn't know?"

Song Yiping, "Don't you know? Auntie said she already told you."

Yan Ruyi didn't remember her mother telling her that; she had absolutely no recollection of it.

When she got home, she asked her mother, "Why didn't you tell me beforehand that Song Yiping's family was coming over today?"

They were discussing her marriage, but she wasn't even home. So why were Song Yiping's family members at their house?

Ye Hongzhen, however, was quite self-righteous. "I told you yesterday that Xiao Song's parents came to our house today, and you kept saying 'uh-huh,' which means you knew about it, right? I didn't expect his grandfather to come either; I thought it would just be his parents."

"I'm busiest today, why don't you postpone it for two days before having them come over?"

“Your Aunt Zhao said today is an auspicious day for discussing marriage, so Xiao Song’s mother and I have decided to meet today. Besides, you’ve already met Xiao Song’s parents and grandfather, so what difference does it make whether you’re home or not?”

Yan Ruyi, "..."

She was busy all day yesterday and came home late. Her mind was full of things about the celebration. She remembered what her mother said to her, but she didn't listen carefully to the details. She just nodded in agreement out of habit.

Little did she know that her mother was talking to her about the two families meeting.

They just happened to choose the same day as the celebration.

Today is supposed to be auspicious for discussing marriage, but it's clearly also auspicious for starting a business.

It was Director Liu who picked the date. Director Liu secretly told her that he had found a master who knew Qimen Dunjia. He also said that the master had long since retired, and he had swallowed his pride and begged the master to pick a date for him.

Otherwise, Kelide wouldn't have chosen today to hold its celebration.

Yan Ruyi didn't know who to believe anymore.

However, she dared not tell her mother this, as her mother absolutely believed Zhao Cuifang.

Ye Hongzhen said happily, "Xiao Song's mother seems to be a very kind person. She kept praising you and said that Xiao Song also has a lot of flaws, and asked me to be more tolerant of him in the future."

Anyone who didn't know better would think Dr. Fang was marrying off her son.

They're such high-ranking officials, yet they have no airs at all; they're not even as pretentious as the deputy director of the subdistrict office.

Sometimes when I talk to the deputy director of the subdistrict office, he looks at me with his chin down, and after talking for a long time, he will only say "hmm".

Ye Hongzhen was extremely satisfied with her future in-laws and had already decided in her heart that they were the right people for her.

Ye Hongzhen said, "I picked out a few dates with Xiao Song's mother, and I gave them to your Aunt Zhao so that she can choose the most suitable one."

Yan Ruyi asked in surprise, "They've already started setting dates?"

Ye Hongzhen wondered if the date would work out, since Xiao Song had already prepared the bed.

Moreover, every time my daughter and Xiao Song came back from outside, their lips were swollen.

If she doesn't set a date for her wedding soon, she might become a grandmother prematurely.

Ye Hongzhen said, "We have to set a date sooner or later. Let's take this opportunity to set a date, and then we can start preparing for the wedding."

Yan Ruyi muttered, "I don't want to get married so early."

Ye Hongzhen said, "We didn't say we'd let you two get married right now. What Xiao Song's parents and I meant was that you two should get your marriage certificate first."

Yan Ruyi, "..."

Getting a marriage certificate is the same as getting married!

Contrary to her usual behavior, Ms. Ye Hongzhen actively made arrangements for her daughter's wedding.

Yan Ruyi felt that she must have been bewitched by Commander Song.

Not only Ms. Ye Hongzhen, but she too was probably bewitched by Song Yiping. Otherwise, why would she have agreed to let Song Yiping submit a marriage report to the military?

Looking puzzled, she sought answers from her best friend, Luo Huihui, who hit the nail on the head: "That's because you also want to get married."

Yan Ruyi denied it, saying, "I didn't."

Luo Huihui: "Men should marry when they are of age, and women should marry when they are of age. What's there to be ashamed of?"

Luo Huihui was worried for her, "She's so shy, what will she do when she gets married?"

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and stuffed it into Yan Ruyi's hand. "This list is all the things we need for the wedding. See if there's anything you need that's not on the list. Add it up so we don't have to send duplicates later."

When her older brother got married, he received six thermos flasks. Including the ones his family bought, he received a total of eight thermos flasks. It's estimated that her older brother and sister-in-law will never need to buy thermos flasks again in their lives.

When her second brother got married, he learned to be clever. He made a list of everything he needed and let relatives and friends choose. Once they had chosen, they would check it off the list to show that something had already been given to them and no one else needed to give anything.

To avoid receiving a whole bunch of basins, thermos flasks, plates, bowls...

There's nowhere to put it.

Luo Huihui thought this was a good idea, so she copied it down and prepared to give it to Yan Ruyi.

She is Yan Ruyi's best friend, so she brought the list over today and let Yan Ruyi take a look at it first.

Yan Ruyi took it and saw a long list: washbasins, washbasin stands, thermos flasks, tea trays, mirrors, glass vases...

I've basically written down everything I need for daily life at home.

Yan Ruyi said, "Isn't this too early? The date hasn't even been set yet."

"It's not early. Auntie said it's around mid-to-late June. Today is just for you to take a look and see if there's anything else you need."

Yan Ruyi didn't know what to buy for the wedding, and the date hadn't been set yet, so they were already talking about wedding gifts.

Even with her best friend, she felt a little embarrassed.

I glanced at it haphazardly and said there wasn't any left.

Luo Huihui took the paper, folded it, and put it in her pocket. Then she said mysteriously, "There's another gift I didn't write on it. I'll give it to you when you get married."

What else will you give me?

Luo Huihui kept it a secret, saying, "I won't tell you now, you'll find out when you get married."

Yan Ruyi sensed a hidden meaning in her words and instinctively felt it wasn't a good gift.

Looking at Luo Huihui warily, he said, "I don't accept inappropriate gifts."

"Don't worry, it's not some improper gift. I'd be too embarrassed to give it to you if you wanted to... It's something you can use yourself."

An army marches on its stomach.

The wedding date hasn't been set yet, but everyone is already making preparations.

Ye Hongzhen was busy making new quilts, and Song Yiping, the person directly involved, was equally enthusiastic, throwing himself into decorating the new house and spending all his free time on it. Gu Ruyi, on the other hand, hadn't had a chance to do anything, as she had been busy moving offices these past few days.

Now that the Jialide Building is completed, there's no need to rent offices from Yijian anymore.

Today, we settled the rental fees with the construction company and officially moved into the new building.

The new building has six floors, and the initial plan is to have a reception hall and exhibition hall on the first floor.

The second and third floors are the auction venue, the fourth floor is the warehouse, and the fifth and sixth floors are the office area.

Yan Ruyi's office is on the 6th floor; she has her own room.

Her office has a particularly wide view; standing by the window, you can see the vast river.

According to the auction house's organizational chart, new departments were established, including an administration department, a labor relations department, a business department, and an appraisal department...

As a veteran of the preparatory office, Liang Shi was in charge of administrative work, while Xia Pengfei was promoted to director of the appraisal and evaluation department.

The work of other departments will be temporarily handled by the corresponding departments of the Cultural Relics Bureau, and will be handed over to them once the personnel recruited by Yan Ruyi are in place.

The Labor and Wages Department has published recruitment advertisements in the evening newspaper as required, and recruitment information has also been posted on the bulletin boards of various streets.

Just as Yan Ruyi finished tidying up her desk, Liang Shi knocked on the door and came in, carrying a cat figurine about a foot tall. He placed it on Yan Ruyi's desk and said, "This was sent by a man named Chen Feiyong. He said he's your friend."

Yan Ruyi poked the cat's constantly waving paws. "Why are your paws moving so much?"

"The person who delivered it said it's called a lucky cat and that it can bring wealth and good fortune."

People in the port city are superstitious. Last time Yan Ruyi went to Yang Siyuan's grandfather's house, she saw that they had a statue of the God of Wealth.

Chen Feiyong does business with people in Hong Kong, probably because he learned from them.

Yan Ruyi thought this lucky cat was not as pretty as her Xiaohua, and wondered why she should just take Xiaohua over. Wouldn't a lively cat be more auspicious?

Yu Jinxiu knocked on the door. "Manager Yan, a young woman has come to apply for a receptionist position. She's quite qualified. Would you like to take a look?"

Yu Jinxiu works in the Labor and Wages Section of the Cultural Relics Bureau. She was recently seconded here to help set up the Labor and Wages Section of Jialide, and she is temporarily in charge of recruiting staff.

Yan Ruyi said, "Sister Yu, please ask her to come up."

Yu Jinxiu: "Okay, she's waiting downstairs now."

Yu Jinxiu went downstairs to call for help, and soon returned with a young woman.

Yan Ruyi recognized him at a glance.

To be precise, she had met her before, and she remembered the person's name: Zheng Fengxia.

Zheng Fengxia recognized Yan Ruyi and said excitedly, "Hello, Sister Ruyi."

Yu Jinxiu, "You two know each other?"

Zheng Fengxia said, "Sister Ruyi helped me a lot, and I've always wanted to thank her in person, but I haven't seen her since."

"Has the bracelet your grandma left you been repaired?"

"It's fixed. You can't even tell it was broken unless you look closely."

The bracelet was the only keepsake her grandmother left her. When it broke, she felt like the sky was falling. Luckily, Yan Ruyi helped her and introduced her to a repairman, who helped her fix the bracelet.

Zhou Changlin is a first-class jade restorer. He can repair jade pieces that are broken into eight pieces to their original condition, let alone this jade bracelet that is only broken in two.

For this reason, Zheng Fengxia had a particularly good impression of the Cultural Relics Bureau.

She was originally a temporary worker at the street office factory. The day before, when she got off work, she saw Jialide's recruitment information on the street office's bulletin board.

Although Jia Lide is not affiliated with the Cultural Heritage Bureau, she is connected to it in some way, so she came to register.

Yan Ruyi looked at the job application form she filled out; the handwriting was neat and beautiful, and her educational background was high school graduation.

Zheng Fengxia also brought her high school graduation certificate.

She just graduated last year.

Zheng Fengxia said embarrassedly, "I am weak in certain subjects. My physics score was too low. I missed the college entrance examination by 10 points. Later, my grandmother passed away, and I did not repeat the year."

When her grandmother was alive, she was the one who supported her education. After her grandmother passed away, she lost her source of income, so the neighborhood committee arranged for her to work as a temporary worker in the neighborhood committee's factory, so at least she would have some income.

Although Yan Ruyi had only met Zheng Fengxia once, she could tell that Zheng Fengxia was a bit shy and not really suitable to be a receptionist.

A receptionist needs to be observant and perceptive, welcoming and seeing off guests; a lively personality is more suitable.

However, Zheng Fengxia has a classic oval face and two dimples when she smiles, which makes her very approachable.

So Yan Ruyi kept her on, wanting to give her a chance to try and see if she could do it.

After getting off work, Yan Ruyi went to her new house.

She's been busy moving these past few days and hasn't been able to come over.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Song Yiping building a wall.

With his sleeves and trouser legs rolled up, his arms and legs were splattered with mud.

A wall half a person's height has been built at the base of the previously empty east wall.

Yan Ruyi: "Are you building a chicken coop?"

She used to want to raise a few chicks in the yard so they could lay eggs and eat them when they grew up.

However, they didn't move in at the time, they only came over occasionally. I guess the chicks would starve to death before they laid eggs.

Once they get married and move in, the chicks will be taken care of, so Song Yiping built a chicken coop in advance.

Song Yiping applied a layer of mud to the bricks and then laid them on the wall.

"It's not a chicken coop, it's a bathroom."

Yan Ruyi, "..."

Song Yiping said, "Once it's built and an electric water heater is installed, we can take a shower in it at night."

Yan Ruyi was delighted to hear this.

She now takes showers at the machine tool factory's residential compound.

The machine tool factory gave its employees bath tickets, 30 tickets per person per month.

Her second brother's workplace also issues bath tickets every month. Her second sister-in-law's workplace is small and doesn't have a bathhouse, so she doesn't get bath tickets. Her second sister-in-law thinks the furniture factory is too far away and doesn't want to go there to shower, so she usually showers in the machine tool factory's bathhouse.

Thirty bath tickets are not enough for five people.

You can also go to a public bathhouse, but the bath tickets are a bit expensive, costing 15 cents each.

So unless it's winter and it's too cold to shower at home, everyone goes to the public bathhouse.

When it's hot, they boil water to wash at home.

There was a tin basin at home, which her father had someone welded. It was used as a bathtub. The basin was so big that Yan Ruyi could half-lie in it.

However, boiling water for a bath at home is ultimately inconvenient.

Yan Ruyi always bathed in her own room. First, the bathtub had to be carried in, then the water had to be poured in, and after she finished bathing, she had to carry the water out of the tub one basin at a time, and then carry the bathtub out again.

Sometimes, too much water is poured, and the floor is covered in water.

Yan Ruyi sometimes thinks that it would be nice if there was a shower room in her home.

She only thought about it in her mind and didn't tell anyone. Unexpectedly, her husband Song Yiping built her a shower room and even installed an electric water heater.

She's never used anything this high-end before.

Although it can only be used when it's hot, it's much more convenient than going to a public bathhouse.

Yan Ruyi was overjoyed and went over to hug her Commander Song.

Song Yiping reminded her, "I'm covered in mud."

Yan Ruyi: "I don't mind."

He hugged Song Yiping and kissed him.

Song Yiping raised his hand, looking helplessly at the mud splatters on her body, "See, you got them all over yourself?"

Yan Ruyi took out a handkerchief and tried to wipe it off, but it wouldn't come off, so she just let it be.

She moved a small stool and sat down to watch Song Yiping build the wall.

Song Yiping's bricklaying skills were proficient, not like he had learned it on short notice.

Commander Song not only knows how to make beds, but also how to build houses.

With an admiring look, she asked Song Yiping, "Comrade Song Yiping, how come you know everything?"

Song Yiping enjoyed the admiring gaze of his future daughter-in-law, saying, "The army has training in fortification construction."

Building fortifications is a compulsory course in military training. On the battlefield, digging and constructing protective fortifications in trenches is a matter of life and death for soldiers. Therefore, almost everyone who has been on the battlefield has this skill.

However, he wouldn't tell Yan Ruyi any of this.

He didn't want the person he loved to know how cruel and bloody the war was; she only needed to enjoy her beautiful life.

Yan Ruyi watched Song Yiping build the wall for a while, then went to the melon patch to see how big the melons had grown.

Yan Ruyi liked to eat the melons that Grandpa Song grew, so Song Yiping asked Grandpa Song for some melon seeds and planted them.

They don't usually live here; they rely on Sister Hua to look after them.

The day before yesterday, Yan Ruyi ran into Sister Hua, who told her that the melons had formed fruit, and the biggest ones were as big as a thumb.

The melon vines had grown quite long, and Yan Ruyi searched for a long time, brushing aside the leaves, but couldn't find any melon seeds.

She had never grown melons before, and seeing how long the vines were, she loudly asked Song Yiping if they needed to build a trellis for them.

She thought that since the loofahs, cucumbers, and green beans were all trellised, the melons would also need trellises.

Grandma Li happened to be passing by the door and chimed in, "Muskmelons don't need trellises; the vines just drag on the ground." As she spoke, Grandma Li came in. She was an expert in growing melons and vegetables and immediately noticed the problem. She said to Yan Ruyi, "This is a muskmelon, isn't it? Muskmelons need to be topped, otherwise they'll just grow vines and produce few melons."

Seeing that Yan Ruyi was completely confused, Grandma Li decided to demonstrate by pinching off the top of the melon vine.

"You started topping it a bit late. You should start topping it when it's about a foot long to encourage more branching."

I never knew there were so many intricacies involved in growing melons and vegetables.

Du Miao called out to Grandma Li from across the wall, "Grandma, the steamed buns are ready."

Grandma Li, "Bring a few over to your sister Ruyi and Commander Song."

After saying that, he said to Yan Ruyi, "There's a locust tree in my yard. It's blooming beautifully this year, with flowers all over the tree. Miaomiao said she wanted to eat locust flower buns, so I cut some meat and made meat buns for her. You can try them later and see if they're good."

Yan Ruyi had eaten locust flowers before, but her mother always made them into a cold salad or stir-fried with eggs. She had never eaten meat buns filled with locust flowers.

Before long, Du Miao came over with a plate carrying several meat buns.

It's fresh out of the pot, still steaming hot.

Yan Ruyi washed her hands and picked up a steamed bun.

Before even taking a bite, I could smell the delicate fragrance of locust blossoms.

After taking a bite, the aroma of locust blossoms became even stronger, which neutralized the greasiness of the pork, making it very delicious.

Yan Ruyi said, "Grandma Li, these locust flower buns you made are really delicious. I think they taste better than cold dishes or stir-fries."

For a cook, this is the highest praise. Grandma Li said to Du Miao with a smile, "Go and get a few more for your sister Ruyi. Tell her to take them when she leaves."

Yan Ruyi said, "No need to take any more, these few are enough."

Grandma Li said, "These are only a few; they're not enough for Commander Song to eat alone."

He then invited Song Yiping to rest for a while and come over for some steamed buns.

Du Miao then brought over a basket full of steamed buns.

Grandma Li said, "I steamed a lot, and Miaomiao and I can't eat much. You can take it all away in a little while."

Yan Ruyi didn't stand on ceremony with her, "Thank you, Grandma Li."

Du Miao had just taken a placement test. Yan Ruyi calculated the time and figured the results should be out by now, so she asked her how she did.

Du Miao said proudly, "This time I ranked 20th in the grade, which is 10 places better than last time. Sister Ruyi, I want to apply for the cultural heritage major at your school. With my current grades, do you think I can get in?"

Yan Ruyi compared her own grades from back then with Du Miao's current grades and told Du Miao the truth, "If we look at the admission scores from back then, your current score is just right at the cutoff line. To be on the safe side, you should try to improve your score a bit more."

Du Miao is very confident. "I think I've now mastered the essentials. Studying isn't as difficult as before. I'm sure I'll do even better on the next mock exam."

Yan Ruyi was amused by her analogy.

Grandma Li patted her affectionately, "When you pass the exam, you should thank Sister Ruyi and Commander Song properly."

Du Miao chuckled, "Once I pass the exam, I'll treat Sister Ruyi and her husband to a nice meal."

Yan Ruyi felt a little guilty after Du Miaoxie thanked her.

Du Miao is good at humanities subjects, but her science scores are somewhat lacking.

Yan Ruyi is also somewhat inclined towards humanities, so every time Du Miao comes to ask questions, they are all about science. Eight out of ten times, it is Song Yiping who explains the problems to her.

Du Miao should really thank Song Yiping.

However, she and Song Yiping would soon become family, and family members don't need to be formal; thanking one another is the same.

After Du Miao and Grandma Li left, Song Yiping continued working, while Yan Ruyi sat to one side, watching him without blinking.

That's why people say you should always find a good-looking partner; good-looking people are pleasing to the eye even when they're doing chores.

Song Yiping glanced at her. "Why are you staring at me?"

Yan Ruyi: "Because you're good-looking."

For the first time, Song Yiping felt that being good-looking was an advantage, at least his partner's attention was always on him.

But then I thought, if there were someone better looking than him, would Yan Ruyi look at that person the same way she looks at him?

Just thinking about it makes me feel a little sour; I can't accept this scene at all.

Just to be on the safe side, I still need to get married as soon as possible, so I said to Yan Ruyi, "I ran into Director Liu from the Political Department when I left work today. He told me that the marriage application should be approved tomorrow."

Once the marriage application is approved, you can go get your marriage certificate.

Yan Ruyi was a little incredulous. "Sister Qiuping said it takes a month to get the marriage certificate approved. How come yours was approved so quickly?"

The Qiu Ping she mentioned is named Wu Qiu Ping. Her family also lives in the machine tool factory's residential compound, and she was also married to a soldier.

Yan Ruyi heard Wu Qiuping say that marriage reports usually take a month to be approved, and since Song Yiping is a military officer, the review process might be even stricter, and it might not even be approved for a month.

Song Yiping submitted his report, and it's only been a week. How come it's been approved already?

Of course, Song Yiping couldn't say that he kept urging Director Liu whenever he saw her, and Director Liu got annoyed by his urging, so how could she not approve it quickly?

To maintain his image in front of his partner, he wouldn't tell Yan Ruyi about this.

He then said to Yan Ruyi, "Perhaps Director Liu wanted to resolve my long-standing marital problem as soon as possible, so he quickly approved the report."

Yan Ruyi didn't believe Song Yiping's words. She thought about it for a moment and figured it out.

It's highly likely that Song Yiping kept urging them on, and they got annoyed and quickly approved the report.

The number of people she's ashamed to face has increased.

Knowing that Yan Ruyi was easily embarrassed, Song Yiping decided to stop while he was ahead and changed the subject, "Did you talk to your second brother about making furniture?"

The house is now completely cleaned up. The walls have been painted white, the floors have been plastered with cement, and all the old furniture has been moved out. Now we're just waiting for the new furniture to arrive.

Yi Yanruyi meant that she wanted her second brother to make furniture.

After all, her second brother works in this industry, and she was afraid he would object if she let someone else do it instead of him.

Yan Ruyi hasn't told her second brother about this yet. "I'll ask him when I get home if he has time."

When Yan Ruyi returned home, Ye Hongzhen had just finished cooking.

Yan Ruyi took out the locust flower and pork buns that Grandma Li had given her and placed them on the dining table.

Ye Hongzhen thought these didn't look like the kind sold outside. "Where did these meat buns come from? They smell like locust flowers!"

"Grandma Li gave it to me; it's filled with locust flower and pork."

Ye Hongzhen said, "Locust flowers can be used as filling for steamed buns? I'll try some."

Ye Hongzhen took one. "This tastes good. There's a locust grove north of our compound. The locust flowers have all bloomed these past few days. Tomorrow, your Aunt Zhao and I will go pick some so we can make meat buns."

Afterwards, she even extended her knowledge to other situations, saying, "I think dumplings should taste good too. Tomorrow I'll prepare more recipes and try making them all."

Yan Mingtao finished work early today and came back just in time for lunch.

During the meal, Yan Ruyi told him about making furniture.

Yan Mingtao immediately agreed.

He had just taken on a job making a large wardrobe for someone.

However, his sister definitely comes first, and he was thinking that he would cancel the job he had taken on a month or two later.

Yan Mingtao said, “What kind of furniture do you want to have made? Give me a list and I’ll calculate how much wood you need. If you don’t want to prepare the wood yourself, I can find you a supplier. They have beech, paulownia, and willow. If you want to use other types of wood, just let me know and I’ll have them find it for you.”

Yan Mingtao has been taking on private jobs for two years and has his own timber supply channels.

Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping were both laymen, so they prepared to leave everything to her second brother.

He said to Yan Mingtao, "Okay, I'll think about it and make a list for you in a bit."

After becoming pregnant, Li Yan's appetite increased. During her last check-up at the hospital, the doctor said that she was gaining weight too quickly and advised her to control her diet and take a walk after meals to increase her physical activity.

Otherwise, if the baby is too big, the mother will suffer too much during childbirth, and it is also very easy to have a difficult delivery.

Now, whenever Yan Mingtao is home, he will accompany her for a walk outside.

After dinner, Yan Ruyi went to her room to make a list for her second brother, while Yan Mingtao accompanied Li Yan for a walk outside.

The two left the residential compound and walked east along the main road.

Yan Mingtao was preoccupied with making furniture for his sister, and he didn't even hear Li Yan talking to him.

Li Yan nudged him, "I'm talking to you."

Yan Mingtao, "What did you just say?"

Li Yan complained to him, "Why didn't you ask beforehand about making furniture for Ruyi before you agreed to it?"

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Author's Note: I love kittens.