Chapter 9 Grandpa Ji's Last Wish

Wang Yuqing thanked her, saying, "Thank you so much, you've gone to so much trouble."

He carried a snakeskin bag on his left shoulder and held a piece of cloth in his right hand. Although he didn't smile much, his words were pleasant to hear: "It's no expense; this is money that should be spent."

He said no more after that.

Wang Yuqing could tell that he was just fulfilling his duties, and given his kind nature, he still felt distant from her.

Wang Yuqing didn't ask any questions; she just stood there.

Chen E returned after about ten minutes. Since it was a slow market day and there were few vendors, she didn't buy anything. Instead, she couldn't wait to see the fabric that Wang Yuqing had bought.

She said, "This fabric is really good. It's almost enough to make one dress. It's a bit short, but when we get our marriage certificate, we'll receive two zhang of cloth coupons, which will be enough to make two bridal gowns."

In those days, people could get cloth coupons to get married.

She added, "This is the first time I've encountered something like this. I went to propose marriage and ended up bringing the person back home. I've been a matchmaker for so many years and arranged countless marriages. Girls usually blush like monkey bottoms when they meet a young man for the first time, and they're too embarrassed to say a word..."

Wang Yuqing gave an awkward smile.

Chen E laughed again: "You're the first person to be so open and bold, but I like you just the way you are. What's with all the fuss and hesitation?"

Wang Yuqing smiled faintly.

Chen E looked Wang Yuqing up and down and couldn't help but click her tongue and say, "I've noticed that you look nothing like your mother. You're just a little thin and a little sallow, but you have a really good figure. If you take good care of yourself, you'll definitely be incredibly handsome."

Wang Yuqing also praised, "Auntie looks so young, especially her skin, which is so fair."

Upon hearing this, Chen E covered her face shyly, but then puffed out her chest and boasted, "That's right! I'm famous for being fair-skinned in our Jinniu Brigade. No matter how much sun I get, I never get tanned. Everyone praises my face as white as a steamed bun."

Wang Yuqing almost burst out laughing.

After saying that, she looked at Wang Yuqing seriously: "This matter has come to an end. You and your family have fallen out. Now you can only go home with Ji Laosi."

"However, you're not old enough. You're only 24 by the Chinese age reckoning. The country is now advocating for late marriage and late childbirth, so you definitely can't get a marriage certificate. If you hold a wedding banquet, someone will report you. But since you've entered the Ji family, you're one of them. You're Ji Lao Si's wife, and you'll be husband and wife from now on. You need to make up your mind so you don't regret it later."

Wang Yuqing looked up at the person walking in front of her. Having transmigrated to this era, Ji Xuening was currently the best choice. She nodded and said, "I've made up my mind."

In this era, family planning was fully implemented in both urban and rural areas, and late marriage and late childbirth were also linked together. The late marriage age was 25 years old for urban women and 27 years old or older for urban men, and 20 years old for rural women and 25 years old for rural men.

When you reach the legal marriage age, you will receive a notice of late marriage from the authorities. You will then take this notice, your household registration book, and a letter of introduction from your production brigade to your local commune to complete the marriage registration procedures.

Ji Xuening is 27 years old this year. He received a notice of late marriage two years ago, but he refused to go to propose marriage until his grandfather passed away and left a will. In addition, his grandmother kept urging him, so he finally agreed to go to propose marriage.

Chen E said this because she was worried that Wang Yuqing might run away. After all, without her family's support and without a marriage certificate, where would they find her if she ran away? Where would they get their milk money back?

Wang Yuqing thought it was better not to get a marriage certificate or hold a wedding banquet, as it would save her a lot of trouble.

Ji Xuening didn't say much along the way, and would deliberately keep a distance so that Chen E could chat with Wang Yuqing. Chen E talked a lot and kept talking.

The story begins by recounting Ji Xuening's family situation. He has two older brothers and one older sister. Four years ago, his eldest brother was accidentally beaten to death by the previous production team leader and deputy leader while trying to break up a fight. His sister-in-law was a sent-down youth who abandoned her child and returned to the city after giving birth to her youngest daughter.

The eldest son was twelve years old, the youngest son was ten years old, and the youngest daughter was four years old. Grandma Ji felt sorry for them because they were young and had no parents, so she gave them all to Ji Xuening for adoption, turning the uncle into a father.

Wang Yuqing then realized that no wonder he didn't have an ex-wife; she wasn't really a stepmother after marrying into the family.

My second brother and sister-in-law separated their household that year and stopped having much contact with them. My sister married someone from the next brigade a few years ago and still doesn't have any children.

Wang Yuqing was unaware of these things. After all, the original owner of this body came to the Ji family as a nanny and did nothing but work. She wouldn't have bothered to learn more about these things.

The rest of the story consisted of some interesting events in the production team. Wang Yuqing maintained a polite smile throughout, but actually found it quite boring.

However, Chen E suddenly brought up the matter of the childhood betrothal. From her, we learned that Grandpa Ji had passed away from illness a year ago, and his only wish was for Ji Xuening to marry the original owner of this body. She even grabbed Ji Xuening's hand and instructed him: "If you marry the second daughter of the Wang family, you must treat her well. If you bully her, I will not rest in peace in the afterlife."

According to the original owner's memories, Lin Xuemei was pregnant with the original owner and suffered a premature birth and severe bleeding due to taking a folk remedy. It happened to be the middle of the night when she ran away after arguing with her mother-in-law.

Ji Baoguo met her on the road and kindly took her to the health center. If he hadn't brought her in time, both the adult and the child would have been in danger. He also helped pay the medical bills.

After Lin Xuemei's family arrived, he recognized that Lin Xuemei's father-in-law, Wang Xiangyang, was an old acquaintance of his. When the Wang family learned that it was a girl, no one wanted to hold her, so he took the original owner in his arms. As a result, the original owner, who was still crying loudly, suddenly stopped crying. He felt that it was fate and took the initiative to propose a marriage between the children.

Wang Xiangyang readily agreed.

Wang Yuqing thought Grandpa Ji was a good person, but she still couldn't understand why he would rush to let Ji Xuening marry the original owner of the body when the Wang family owed him a debt of gratitude, and even give instructions before he died.

After the betrothal was arranged, Grandpa Ji not only sent rice, flour, and canned goods, but also delivered clothes and milk powder to our door many times.

At the time, the two families had a good relationship, until two years later when Wang Xiangyang passed away, and Grandpa Ji's family was too poor to afford anything, so he was turned away at the door several times when he tried to visit.

The Wang family was unwilling to associate with the Ji family, openly and secretly looking down on them, and never mentioning the matter of a childhood betrothal.

So why did Grandpa Ji insist on the 'childhood betrothal' and even give Ji Xuening instructions before he died? Even if he liked the original owner, he shouldn't have been such a nice old man, right? He didn't even consider whether his grandson wanted it or not.

At this moment, Chen interrupted her thoughts: "Comrade Yuqing, why don't you go and talk to Ji Laosi? Go ahead, go on..."

She was getting a little hoarse from talking, so she pushed Wang Yuqing forward.

Wang Yuqing jogged to catch up. The person in front seemed to hear the footsteps and slowed down slightly, saying, "The Daniu Commune's headquarters is just ahead. It's another two hours' walk to our Jinniu Brigade headquarters. It's only a ten-minute walk to our Niushiwan Production Team. Why don't we take a break?"

Jinniu Brigade is an administrative village, and Niushiwan Production Team is a bay or ditch within the village, with a population of about two hundred and one hundred and twenty members.

Wang Yuqing wanted to laugh; why did they all keep mentioning the word "awesome"?

She shook her head: "No need to rest, go home early so as not to delay your work."