This question left Zhang Jian silent for a long time. He said, "What you want most is a stable home and a husband who will treat you well for the rest of your life. I can provide that for you."

Su Guifang truly wanted a husband who would treat her well for the rest of her life; nothing else mattered. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Yes, all I want is a husband who will treat me well for the rest of my life and give me a happy home. My heart is dead; this is the only hope left. I'm telling you now, if you can treat me well for the rest of my life, we'll get married. If you can't leave me immediately, I really can't bear to be hurt again."

Zhang Jian suddenly knelt on one knee and said, "I will treat you well for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"

Proposing like this on the street is so ahead of its time; passersby all turned to look at them, some even stopping in their tracks.

Su Guifang blushed and said, "Everyone's watching, stand up, I'm willing."

They walked to the gate of the tricycle factory, Zhang Jian went inside, pushed out his old bicycle, and led Su Guifang towards the rural town.

When they arrived in town, they couldn't go home empty-handed, so Zhang Jian bought some gifts at the store and then took Su Guifang home again.

Guided by Su Guifang, Zhang Jian rode his bicycle with her back to her parents' home and got off outside the gate.

Su Guifang led Zhang Jian into her home. Her eight-year-old daughter was playing in the yard and ran towards her calling for her mother.

Her daughter's household registration has now been moved to Su Guifang's parents' home, and she has given her daughter her own surname, changing her surname to Su Fei.

Sophie asked, "Mommy, who is he?"

Su Guifang said, "She is my mother's good friend."

The parents weren't as naive as their granddaughter; they could guess it was their daughter's boyfriend—they would never bring a regular friend home.

The father was clearly unhappy to see the man Su Guifang brought back. The mother pulled her outside and asked, "Daughter, tell me, is he your boyfriend?"

Su Guifang nodded after listening to her mother's words.

The mother said, "I don't expect you to find a particularly handsome man, but at least find someone presentable. He's too average-looking, not even average."

Su Guifang said, "Mom, your daughter also wants to find a handsome man. But with my current circumstances, who would want me? Feifei's father has been dead for years. If she could find me, she would have married him off long ago. As long as he treats me well for the rest of his life, I'll be content."

The mother said, "If you really want to marry him, I won't stop you. We have nothing at home, so go buy some meat."

Su Guifang said "okay" and walked towards the street.

When her mother returned home, Zhang Jian and her husband sat inside talking.

Although Zhang Jian was of average appearance, he was very eloquent. His first meeting with Su Guifang's parents was not awkward at all. Although they were not entirely satisfied with this son-in-law, they would not object if their daughter was willing.

Su Guifang returned from buying meat, and the mother and daughter went into the kitchen to cook. Su Guifang asked, "Mom, you were talking inside just now. What did you think of Zhang Jian?"

The mother said, "He's a very honest person. It's good to find someone like him to settle down with. He's good in every way except his looks are just average. If you're willing, I won't object. How long have you known each other?"

Su Guifang absolutely couldn't say that they had only met today; that would make her seem too absurd. So she lied and said, "We've known each other for over a year."

My mother said, "Knowing him for over a year isn't a short time. You should know him quite well. If you think it's okay, then go ahead and settle down. After all, marrying him is about living life together, not just looking at his appearance every day."

Su Guifang said, "Mother, we've chosen a date; we're getting married tomorrow."

Su Guifang didn't want to wait even a day longer. She wanted to end everything from the day she got married, ending her seven-year widowhood.

Your mother said, "Your marriage is too rushed. At least let me prepare some dowry for you."

Su Guifang said, "Mother, a woman like me doesn't see the light of day when she gets married. I don't want any dowry, and I won't leave home. I'll come back to see you with my husband after the wedding."

In those days, widows could not live in the open after marriage. Before dawn, their husbands would go to their parents' home to pick them up. They had to bring them home before daybreak. They could not even dream of using a car to get married.

There's an old saying that on the day a widow gets married, no grass will grow wherever she goes.

Of course, this is an exaggeration, but it fully illustrates that everyone would avoid this kind of woman on her wedding day. So she had to run to her husband's house before dawn so that she wouldn't be seen by anyone. Once she was married into the family, everything would be fine.

After lunch, Su Guifang took her household registration booklet, and the two rode bicycles to Zhang Jian's hometown.

Zhang Jian has five brothers, and he is the youngest. Now, his four older brothers have all separated from the family, and his younger sister has also gotten married.

His father passed away a few years ago, and now it's just him and his mother living together.

The family only had three dilapidated tile-roofed houses.

That afternoon, Su Guifang and Zhang Jian registered their marriage. Su Guifang did not want to get married in her parents' home. There were two dilapidated houses in the fields, which used to be the production team's tobacco kang (heated brick bed), and they still stand alone in the farmland.

After dark, Zhang Jian took a quilt and led Su Guifang to the field, where she could only stay in the kang (heated brick bed) tonight.

They went into the kang (heated brick bed), which was empty. Zhang Jian found some wheat straw and spread it on the ground, then laid out the bedding on top. He said, "I'm so sorry to have to trouble you. I'll keep you company here tonight."

Su Guifang said, "No, if it were possible, I would just stay at home. You should go back and come pick me up before dawn tomorrow."

Zhang Jian said, "This is no place for a human to stay. I'll stay with you for a while, and I'll go back around midnight."

Su Guifang said, "No one will come here at night, so listen to me and go back!"

Zhang Jian reluctantly left the electric light with Su Guifang, stood up, walked out of the smoking room, and went back inside.

After Zhang Jian left, Su Guifang lay down. She was afraid of wells and ghosts, but she was unfamiliar with the area and didn't feel scared sleeping in the wilderness. She fell asleep in no time.

The next day, before dawn, Zhang Jian arrived at the smokehouse. Su Guifang was already up and sitting on the straw mat waiting for him.

The blanket can only be left here for now. My older brother will come and take it back after dawn.

Before dawn, Zhang Jian brought Su Guifang home. Several of his older brothers and sisters-in-law were waiting at the gate. As soon as they arrived at the gate, his fourth brother lit a string of firecrackers.

After Su Guifang entered the family, she was no longer considered a widow; from then on, she became the family's daughter-in-law.

That was the custom in the past. It was considered unlucky for a widow to marry into a family before she entered the house. But once she entered, all bad luck disappeared because she would no longer be a widow but a woman with a husband.

Zhang Jian hosted several tables of guests at home at noon, and after lunch, he took his wife back to the city.

When they returned to the city, Dong Qing asked Chen Hong to arrange two rooms for Su Guifang and her husband in the tricycle factory's staff dormitory. The two rooms were connected, and these two dormitories would be their new home, where they would eat and live from now on.

In the afternoon, Zhang Jian bought his wife several new outfits and two new quilts. In the evening, he prepared a feast in their new house and invited some of his coworkers to dinner. Dong Qing and his wife also attended and gave them 1,000 yuan as a wedding gift.

Their wedding was completed hastily; the two had only known each other for a day before becoming a legal couple.