Chapter 41, Engagement

Although an engagement isn't as grand as a wedding, Lin Qingqing still had a new pair of trousers made, and new leather shoes bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, lined with fleece and very warm. She didn't get any new clothes made; she was still wearing the one she'd had made by Chen Xiufang before.

Li Juan watched Lin Qingqing change her clothes, looked her up and down, and said with undisguised envy, "Beautiful."

She later made herself a cotton-padded jacket just like the one Lin Qingqing was wearing. It looked quite nice on her, but she always felt that Lin Qingqing looked better in it. Ultimately, Li Juan had to admit that Lin Qingqing was indeed better looking and had a better figure than her.

Lin Qingqing smiled and twirled around the room in her leather shoes.

She had left the leather shoes untouched after buying them, and today was the first time she was wearing them, so she wanted to walk around and test how they felt. While trying them on, Lin Qingqing couldn't help but marvel at how high the quality of things from the 1970s was. Although the leather shoes were a bit expensive, the workmanship was exquisite, and they felt exceptionally good on her feet, not tiring at all.

The key thing was warmth. Although she had asked Chen Xiufang to make her a pair of warm shoes before, cotton was never as warm as wool. After putting on the leather shoes, Lin Qingqing felt warm all over. If they weren't so expensive and required coupons, she would have liked to buy another pair to wear alternately.

After trying on the shoes, Lin Qingqing sat down at her desk and loosened her hair, which she had casually tied up that morning. Instead of braiding it into two braids as usual, she took a small section of hair from the top of her head, braided it, and tied it up. Then she tucked strands of hair from the front into the braid.

Although Lin Qingqing doesn't usually style her hair much, Li Juan had seen her braid loose pigtails before and knew she was good at it, so she watched Lin Qingqing braid her hair. At first, Li Juan didn't understand Lin Qingqing's intention and thought it was strange, but after she finished, she thought it looked very nice.

Well... how should I put it? It just really enhances one's temperament.

Lin Qingqing finished braiding her hair and, seeing Li Juan staring at her, smiled and asked, "Do you want your hair braided?"

"Is it okay?" Li Juan was delighted at first, but then shook her head. "I'd better not. Today is your engagement day, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to have the same hairstyle as you." She even deliberately didn't wear the same cotton-padded jacket as Lin Qingqing today.

"I'll make you something different," Lin Qingqing said, getting up and pressing Li Juan down in front of the desk.

Although she didn't know what style Lin Qingqing would braid for her, Li Juan trusted her aesthetic sense and readily agreed, handing her hair over to Lin Qingqing to style.

Five or six minutes later, Lin Qingqing told Li Juan to open her eyes.

Li Juan looked in the mirror. At first glance, her hairstyle resembled Lin Qingqing's, but there were many differences in the details; in short, it was more...

It suits her face shape. Li Juan looked in the mirror and nodded repeatedly: "It looks good! How did you braid it? Can you teach me?"

She's made up her mind; once she learns how, she'll style her hair like this!

...

Because the engagement banquet was held at the Xie family's residence, Xie Wei came to the educated youth settlement to pick up Lin Qingqing at nine o'clock in the morning.

Lin Qingqing originally planned to move into the resettlement site after it was renovated, but after Li Dongmei moved in, Tian Xiaofeng decided to divorce her husband. To show her determination, she moved out of her husband's family home and into the resettlement site. Besides them, an old lady who had been mistreated by her son and daughter-in-law also moved in.

Three people moved into the resettlement site at once, and more people might move in in the future, so after considering it, Lin Qingqing did not move into the resettlement site and continued to live in the educated youth settlement.

Xie Wei usually stops at the entrance of the female educated youth dormitory when he comes over, but today he was roused into the room by the commotion.

During this period, he and Lin Qingqing met every day, but when Xie Wei saw her today, he was still struck by her beauty. She not only had her hair braided, but also had her eyebrows drawn and was wearing light lipstick.

The eyebrow pencil and lipstick were lent to her by the female educated youth. Although the values ​​at that time emphasized hard work and frugality, what young woman doesn't love beauty? They couldn't afford expensive cosmetics, but they could always afford basic eyebrow pencils and lipsticks. They didn't necessarily use them often, but they were willing to lend them to Lin Qingqing at this time.

However, Lin Qingqing's eyebrows did indeed look beautiful. Normally, her eyebrows were thin and long, giving her a delicate appearance. Today, she had thickened them, making the shape follow her natural eyebrows, and raising the ends slightly. While she didn't look as delicate, she appeared more dignified and graceful.

After Lin Qingqing finished drawing her eyebrows, the person who had borrowed them became eager to have them drawn for him as well.

Xie Wei stared intently at Lin Qingqing, feeling regretful that today wasn't their wedding day. Otherwise... He used to always hope that the year would pass slowly so he could spend more time with Lin Qingqing, but now he couldn't help but wish that time would pass quickly so he could return to the army sooner, submit his application earlier, and get married sooner.

The educated youth settlement was full of young people, and they weren't thick-skinned. They were too embarrassed to even make a joke when Xie Wei stared at Lin Qingqing, and just kept looking at them and smiling.

Lin Qingqing blushed as they laughed at her, and said reproachfully, "What are you thinking about?"

Xie Wei snapped out of his daze and said, "I'll come pick you up."

Since it was just an engagement banquet, there weren't many customs, and Lin Qingqing didn't need to be carried like a bride. She took Xie Wei's hand and walked out.

Although the educated youth settlement wasn't far from Xie's house, Xie Wei rode his bicycle there. Someone had the idea to tie a red ribbon to the front of the bicycle, and at first glance...

It looks like they're picking up a bride. However, Xie Wei's clothes aren't decorated with flowers, so it doesn't quite look like it.

On the way, Lin Qingqing asked Xie Wei who had come, and Xie Wei briefly told her.

It was mainly relatives from Li Xingfang's maternal side. Xie Wei was older and unmarried, and his maternal family was very interested in him. Hearing that he was getting engaged, his uncles, aunts, and other relatives all came with their families. His aunt also came back, taking advantage of the Chinese New Year holiday to stay for a few days.

Then came his siblings. His second brother brought his nephew back, while his sister-in-law said she was busy with work at the end of the year and wouldn't be back until the 29th of the lunar year. As for his sister, she wanted to come back, but she had chosen to film a movie and was currently in intensive training, so she wouldn't be able to come home for the New Year. Although she didn't come back in person, she had her aunt bring back gifts to congratulate him on his engagement.

Aside from relatives, there were also close neighbors and friends, all from Xingfeng Brigade, whom Lin Qingqing was familiar with.

In short, today's guests were mostly from Xie's side of the family. Lin Qingqing had only invited a few educated youths, including Li Juan, plus Li Dongmei. Li Dongmei was someone she had met when the resettlement site was being repaired. After the brigade's land was put on fallow, she managed the resettlement site while also running to the Women's Federation office, effectively becoming an unofficial member of the Women's Federation.

As they were talking, they arrived at the Xie family's residence.

Upon hearing that they had arrived, people from the Xie family's house poured out. These people included the old and the young, the fat and the thin, all looking at Lin Qingqing with curious eyes.

Xie Wei is getting old, and his marriage is not only a worry for Li Xingfang, but also for his maternal grandparents. In recent years, they have written many letters, either urging him to get married or asking him to come back and take a look at the girls' information. If they weren't afraid of interfering with his career, they would have pretended to be sick to force him to come back.

After years of persistent pleading, they knew Xie Wei was a man of his own mind, not the type to marry just because he met a girl. Therefore, everyone was extremely curious about the person who had made him finally reconcile.

Lin Qingqing, who is not usually introverted, became a little nervous being stared at by so many people.

But she wasn't nervous for long, because Xie Wei quickly led her to the two elderly people walking at the front and introduced them: "These are my maternal grandparents." He then introduced Lin Qingqing to the elderly people, "Qingqing, this is my girlfriend."

Xie Wei's maternal grandparents married young, which was common back then; girls married at thirteen or fourteen and had children by fifteen or sixteen. Therefore, Li Xingfang is fifty-two this year, and the two elderly people are only seventy. Although they look thin, they are both very healthy.

Grandma Li held Lin Qingqing's hand and nodded repeatedly, saying it was all good, and then asked when they were getting married.

The onlookers, upon hearing this, joined in the commotion.

Lin Qingqing looked at Xie Wei somewhat shyly, but Xie Wei smiled and said confidently, "We'll definitely get married this year."

After hearing this, Grandma Li asked, "The New Year is just around the corner, so aren't you getting married in the next few days?"

A young man who looked about five-tenths like Xie Wei and appeared refined smiled and said, "That's the lunar calendar, Wei Zi is talking about the solar calendar. The solar year has only just begun."

Grandma Li looked disappointed: "Oh, I see."

After introducing his maternal grandparents, Xie Wei pointed to the middle-aged people standing beside them. Li Xingfang had eight siblings in total, but only five survived. Li Xingfang was the second oldest, with an older sister, two younger brothers, and a younger sister. After introducing the elders, there were his cousins, about ten in total, all of whom were present today, followed by his nephews and cousins.

After a series of introductions, Lin Qingqing had only one thought: Xie Wei has so many relatives!

With so many people, she could still remember the elders, and she could barely call her cousins ​​by the wrong names, but she couldn't remember her nephews and cousins ​​by the wrong names. After finally introducing them all, Xie Wei pointed to a young man who looked about half like him and said, "This is my second brother, Xie Qingshan."

Xie Qingshan was different from the other two brothers in the Xie family. Perhaps because he was a teacher, he looked more refined and smiled more. He was very friendly and called his son Xie Yuanhong over to meet Lin Qingqing.

Xie Yuanhong is only four years old this year. He is chubby and fair-skinned, but he doesn't like to talk to people. When Xie Qingshan asked him to greet someone, he made some noises and was reluctant. Finally, he reluctantly called out "Third Aunt" and ran off to play with the other children before Lin Qingqing could even speak.

Lin Qingqing's outstretched hand froze in mid-air before she awkwardly withdrew it.

Xie Qingshan also felt a little embarrassed and said helplessly, "This child is rather shy."

“Kids are a little shy, they’ll get used to it as they get older,” Lin Qingqing chimed in.

Xie Wei frowned. In his opinion, this wasn't shyness, but rather rudeness. He had seen how his second sister-in-law raised the child three years ago when he returned home; she basically let him do as he pleased. At the time, he thought Xie Yuanhong was more spoiled than the other children. But his mother said that all children are like that, and they'll get better as they grow older.

Now, three years later, Xie Yuanhong's personality has not improved; on the contrary, he has become even more impolite.

Xie Wei felt that if this wasn't corrected now, it would only become more difficult to change if left unchecked. However, considering the large number of people present today, Xie Wei didn't bring it up immediately and planned to discuss it with Xie Qingshan in a couple of days.

After Xie Qingshan, Xie Wei introduced his aunt Xie Yumei, thus completing the introduction of the Xie family's relatives.

...

In ancient times, marriage involved three matchmakers and six betrothal gifts. While many procedures have been simplified in modern times, important ones remain, such as the betrothal ceremony. Of course, these days the betrothal gifts are no longer called betrothal gifts but are called "bride price," given at the time of engagement.

Therefore, before the banquet, all the guests gathered in the main hall, waiting for this important event to begin.

Li Juan, always eager for a good time, pulled Wang Fengxia to the front and whispered in Wang Fengxia's ear, pressing down on Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei, who were standing in the middle of the main room: "How much do you think the Xie family will give as a bride price?"

Wang Fengxia said in a low voice, "It definitely won't be less."

It was well-known in the village that the Xie family had their eye on Lin Qingqing. Ever since she married into the Xie family, Li Xingfang had been inviting Lin Qingqing over for meals every few days and had also been bringing her food regularly. And today, even Li Xingfang's parents came over…

Thinking about this, Li Juan muttered, "It's definitely not a small amount, but how much do you think it is? I'd guess a hundred."

A dowry of one hundred yuan is not a small amount in rural areas; it would take an average family two or three years to save up that much. She guessed so much because she knew Xie Wei earned a high salary.

Wang Fengxia simply shook her head, without trying to guess the specific number.

Sure enough, when the person the Xie family had invited to read the dowry list mentioned two hundred, a buzzing sound filled the room. Li Juan was also shocked. After digesting the news, she whispered to Wang Fengxia, "The Xie family is really generous!" She then asked her why she wasn't surprised.

Wang Fengxia explained, "I heard that Commander Xie's second brother also gave two hundred yuan as a bride price when he got married."

In addition to the bride price, Xie Qingshan also bought three major items. At that time, she had just arrived in Xingfeng Brigade and had heard people talking about the Xie family's wedding for half a year.

Given the grand scale of Xie Qingshan's wedding, Xie Wei's dowry of only two hundred yuan wouldn't be considered excessive.

As Wang Fengxia was thinking, she heard the person reading out the betrothal gifts continue reading: "One Shanghai brand watch..."

Li Juan gasped, "There's more?"

But that wasn't all. Besides the watch, there was also a bicycle and a sewing machine. Of course, the list also stated that since Lin Qingqing would be joining the military after her marriage, these two items would not be purchased for the time being, and the money and tickets would be kept safe by Lin Qingqing.

"That must add up to seven or eight hundred, right?" Li Juan muttered to Wang Fengxia. "Won't the Xie family's fortune be completely wiped out?"

Wang Fengxia smiled when she heard this, and Li Juan realized what was going on when she saw her smile.

For an ordinary family, it would take two or three years to save up for a dowry of 100 yuan to get married, but Xie Wei's salary was high; depending on his rank, he earned 100 or 200 yuan a month. Moreover, he didn't have many expenses in the army, so he could save up 700 or 800 yuan in a year without needing his family to pay for it.

She made a foolish mistake.

Li Juan couldn't help but feel envious of Lin Qingqing as she thought about it.

Although the concept of the "three essential items for marriage" had been around for several years, not every household could afford them. After all, a Shanghai brand watch cost around 100 yuan, and sewing machines and bicycles were not cheap either; buying all three would cost at least 400 or 500 yuan. And that was just the money; coupons were even rarer, with most workplaces only awarding one coupon at the end of the year as a performance bonus.

This is still in the city. In the countryside, it's even more difficult to acquire all three major items. Having just one of them at a wedding is enough to brag about.

Like Xie Baoshan, he was able to buy a bicycle for his wedding because he was lucky. At the end of the previous year, he had been awarded the title of model worker for his hard work, and the brigade awarded him a bicycle ticket.

When Xie Qingshan got married, the bride's family insisted on three major items. Xie Qingshan begged and pleaded with everyone he could to get a bicycle ticket and a watch ticket, but he couldn't find a sewing machine ticket. He tried to negotiate to reduce one item, but his wife's family refused to budge, and the wedding was stalled.

Later, Xie Yumei's husband used his connections to get a sewing machine plane ticket, and the Xie family managed to get everything they needed before the two were able to get married. Originally, the two families had planned to get married in 1977, but this matter delayed it for more than half a year and almost caused it to fall through.

So even though Li Xingfang didn't say it, she still felt a bit distant from her second daughter-in-law.

Xie Qingshan faced countless difficulties getting married, but none of that mattered for Xie Wei. This was not only because of the good benefits in the military and the large number of vouchers he received, but also because the Xie family was doing well financially. For Xie Wei's wedding, he received a voucher for a watch, Xie Qingshan received a voucher for a bicycle, and as for the sewing machine, which Lin Qingqing didn't want, it was directly converted into cash and given to her without needing to find someone else to exchange it for vouchers.

The process was pleasant and without any setbacks. Seeing that Lin Qingqing was naturally satisfied, Li Xingfang smiled and handed her a red envelope containing money and tickets.

...

After the betrothal gifts were given, the wedding banquet began.

Although it was just an engagement, Li Xingfang wasn't stingy at all. The banquet had eight dishes: three meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, a soup, and two cold dishes. Xingfeng Brigade had just slaughtered a pig a few days ago, and the Xie family received ten jin of meat. Because it was a good mix of lean and fat, it was made into braised pork. There were also braised crucian carp and braised chicken with mushrooms, all hearty dishes. Even for a wedding banquet, it would be quite presentable.

The vegetarian dishes were stir-fried rapeseed and sliced ​​lotus root. The rapeseed was grown by Li Xingfang in her own private plot. Although she didn't grow many, the stalks were thick, and if they were all picked, they could fill a basket, enough for the banquet.

The lotus roots were grown in the pond of Xingfeng Brigade. After the water was drained, the brigade members dug up the lotus roots. The majority were sold in the city as extra income, and the remainder were distributed among the villagers.

It was given to the brigade members. The Xie family also received about twenty catties of lotus root, which they ate every day recently. There was still a little bit left today, which was just enough for the banquet.

So, although the Xie family's banquet looked lavish, the only things they actually spent money on were chicken and fish. Moreover, because it was an engagement banquet, only four tables were set up, and they bought a total of two chickens and four fish, so the price was not too bad.

Although it didn't cost much, many families were reluctant to do so. The meat distributed by the production brigade was usually cured directly, with only a small amount cut every month or two, enough to last until mid-year. Therefore, even when hosting a banquet, they rarely used all the meat.

There were also chickens. At this time, there were restrictions on raising poultry. Ordinary families would only raise one old hen that could lay eggs, and they were usually reluctant to kill it. So, of all the dishes at the Xie family's engagement banquet, the two old hens were the most expensive.

So everyone was very satisfied with the engagement banquet. They all said that Li Xingfang was generous and willing to spend money. They also talked about the dowry provided by the Xie family and exclaimed that Lin Qingqing was very lucky.

"You must be exhausted?" Li Xingfang said to Lin Qingqing after seeing off the last group of guests.

Lin Qingqing shook her head and said, "You're the one who's exhausted after a long day."

Upon hearing this, Li Xingfang took Lin Qingqing's hand and patted it gently, saying, "I'm tired but happy. Once you two get married next year, I'll be completely relieved."

Xie Yumei was helping to clean up the mess in the yard when she heard this and laughed, "I don't think you'll have an easy time next year either. Wei Zi is getting married and there's Shan Shan to worry about."

"Shanshan is still young, let her play for another two years," Li Xingfang said with a smile.

"Didn't you say the same thing when Wei Zi came back three years ago?" Xie Yumei and Li Xingfang were close sisters-in-law, so she didn't hold back in her words. She mimicked Li Xingfang's words, "There are young men in the village who are twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and want to get married. Wei Zi was still young, so there was no rush. But what happened? He got so anxious that he developed blisters on his lips."

Song Yan was also tidying up in the yard when she heard this and said with a smile, "But my mother is at home, while Shanshan works in the provincial capital. It's too far away for her to help. But you live nearby, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to take a look at Shanshan's marriage."

Li Xingfang was naturally concerned about her daughter's marriage, but as Song Yan said, distant water can't quench a nearby fire, so worrying was useless. Hearing her say this, she was intrigued and said, "Yanzi is right. I think Shanshan needs your help, her aunt."

Xie Yumei already had a close relationship with her maternal family, and Xie Shan was sensible and would visit Xie Yumei every few days while working in the provincial capital. Xie Yumei also doted on her niece, so upon hearing Li Xingfang's suggestion, she readily agreed: "Okay."

I'll go back and ask someone.

They were packing their things while talking. Lin Qingqing wanted to help, but Li Xingfang chased her away, saying, "Wei Zi drank too much at noon. Go check on him in his room. If he's feeling unwell, I'll make him some hangover soup later."

“Your mother is right. Look at Wei Zi,” Xie Yumei complained. “Baoshan and Qingshan are the same. They watched them pour Wei Zi wine but didn’t even try to help.”

Lin Qingqing explained, "I just overheard my older brother telling Xie Wei that he had a meeting this afternoon, and getting drunk could easily cause problems, so I didn't help him avoid drinking."

Xie Yumei was just making a casual complaint, but after hearing Lin Qingqing's explanation, she nodded and said, "Then you should go and check on Wei Zi."

Lin Qingqing responded and walked through the main room to the backyard.

...

When Lin Qingqing entered Xie Wei's room, she smelled a strong odor of alcohol. Because the doors and windows were tightly closed, the smell couldn't dissipate and remained stuffy inside. So, Lin Qingqing didn't close the door when she went in and even opened the window before walking to the bedside to check on Xie Wei.

Although Xie Baoshan didn't open the window when he brought him back, he still remembered to cover him with a blanket. However, Xie Wei was sleeping restlessly and his hands were sticking out of the blanket.

Lin Qingqing touched his hand; it was icy cold. So she pinched his hand and tried to tuck it into the blanket.

Xie Wei, however, was naturally perceptive, and even when drunk and asleep, he still had an instinctive reaction. He grabbed Lin Qingqing's hand and, with his eyes closed, mumbled, "Who..."

He didn't control his strength, and Lin Qingqing cried out as he pinched her: "It hurts! It hurts!"

Upon hearing her voice, Xie Wei reflexively released his grip, covered his forehead with his hand, and barely opened his eyes to look at Lin Qingqing. Her eyes were raw with tears from the pain, and they looked slightly red.

Did I pinch you too hard?

Xie Wei immediately sobered up, turned over and leaned against the headboard, took Lin Qingqing's hand, and saw that there were very obvious finger marks on the back of her fair hand. He said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"I know you're drunk." Although the pain had subsided and Lin Qingqing had tried to calm herself down, her voice still sounded like she was about to cry.

Xie Wei felt even more guilty, took Lin Qingqing's hand and kissed it: "It won't happen again."

Lin Qingqing knew he didn't mean it, and replied, "Auntie asked me to ask if you're feeling unwell. She said she'd make you some hangover soup."

Xie Wei leaned back against the headboard, pressing his left hand against his brow and gently stroking Lin Qingqing's hand, which had been pressed sorely, with his right hand, saying, "I was feeling a little unwell, but seeing you makes me feel better. Stay with me for a while."

Lin Qingqing scolded, "Sweet talk." After saying that, she saw him close his eyes wearily, then gently hummed in agreement and stayed with him quietly.

Author's Note: First update