Chapter 29

The next morning, Jiang Yao and Lu Che set off for the provincial capital.

After taking several buses, they finally arrived at the provincial capital before noon. After having lunch at a state-owned restaurant, they went to see Jiang Zhen's old boss.

The old leader is now a cadre of the provincial capital's prefectural party committee. They went to the address provided by Jiang Zhen, but he happened to be out on an urgent matter. However, he arranged for his secretary to take them to buy bicycles.

With the money and tickets prepared in advance and a secretary leading the way, they successfully bought the bicycle.

After thanking the secretary again and again and seeing him off, they returned to the Jiang family.

"Can you ride a bicycle?" Jiang Yao had never seen him ride a bicycle before, so she asked curiously.

"Yes." Lu Che said, "I borrowed the captain's bicycle and rode it a few times before. It's not difficult. Just keep your balance."

As he said that, he got on his bicycle, turned around and said to Jiang Yao with a smile, "Get on."

"Okay." Jiang Yao sat in the back seat and naturally put her arms around his waist, "Let's go!"

It was already past four in the afternoon when they returned to the Jiang family. It would be dark soon, so the two discussed it and decided to go back to Qingyuan tomorrow.

But there was nothing at home now. Jiang Yao wanted to go out to buy some ingredients to cook tonight. Seeing that she was tired after a day, Lu Che said, "You rest at home, I'll go buy some."

"Do you know the way?" Jiang Yao asked.

"I know him." Lu Che said, "I saw a supply and marketing cooperative nearby when I went to pick up the bride last time. I'll go buy some and come back soon."

"Okay, be careful on the road and come back as soon as you finish shopping." Jiang Yao reminded him naggingly.

Seeing her nagging like a mother to her son, Lu Che joked, "You haven't even started being a mother yet, but you've already learned to be so nagging."

"Don't think I can't hear you scolding me!" Jiang Yao puffed up her cheeks and raised her hand to hit him, but Lu Che slipped away as fast as an eel.

Jiang Yao, whose fist missed, put her hands on her waist and yelled at Lu Che's back: "Humph... I'll deal with you when you come back."

"Okay, it's up to you tonight." Lu Che suddenly stopped and turned to Jiang Yao meaningfully.

It took Jiang Yao a while to realize what someone meant by "clean up". The temperature on her cheeks rose suddenly. When she was about to call him a "hooligan", he had already left and closed the door.

"Hmph...you are the old mother, no, you are the old father..." Jiang Yao was not convinced and continued to mutter, but just when she was halfway through, an idea suddenly flashed through her mind, which was when their child would come.

They were newlyweds, and since Lu Che married late and was at the age of full vigor, they had sex frequently. Moreover, they had not taken any precautions since the first time, and of course, there were no birth control products available.

The two have not discussed having children yet, but given the current situation, they have accepted the decision to have children as fate would have it.

Jiang Yao thought it was crazy to be a mother at the age of 19. She was still a child, how could she take care of another child? But now she has the mindset of a 30-year-old. If she really gets pregnant, she can accept it and is looking forward to the arrival of the child.

In her previous life, she did not have a complete and happy family. If she had a child in this life, she would definitely give him a warm home, loving parents, and accompany him to grow up slowly. As for whether he was rich, that task was left to Big Boss Lu, she didn't care.

"Yaoyao, Yaoyao...are you home?" The door outside was knocked loudly, and Jiang Yao's thoughts that had wandered into outer space were pulled back. She immediately walked out and opened the door.

She opened the door and saw a capable woman standing outside, about 40 years old, dressed in ordinary but neat and decent clothes. She was Zhao Pengfei's mother, the director of the sugar factory in the provincial capital.

"Auntie Yang, long time no see. Please come in and sit down." Jiang Yao said with a smile.

No matter what happened between her and Zhao Pengfei, Yang Li and Jiang's mother were good friends, and she had always been nice to the original owner.

If it were in the past, when Jiang Yao saw Yang Li, she would definitely hug her and act coquettishly and kiss her. Although she was polite now, the intimacy was gone. She sighed softly and said, "Okay, I'll go in and sit down."

Yang Li walked in, looked at the brand new bicycle parked on the side, and asked, "Is this bicycle new?"

"Well, I just bought it today. Qingyuan has been out of stock, so my brother asked his old leader to help me buy one here. I will ride it back tomorrow." Jiang Yao said.

"Ride back?" Yang Li's eyes widened. "From the provincial capital to Qingyuan, it's at least a hundred kilometers. How can you ride? Not every road is easy to walk on."

"It's okay. I'm not the one riding. Lu Che is."

When Yang Li heard the word "Lu Che", her face suddenly darkened and she asked, "His name is Lu Che?"

"Yes." Jiang Yao nodded and said, "He just went out to buy groceries. I'll come back and introduce him to you later."

"I don't want to meet the peasant who stole my daughter-in-law." Yang Li became angrier and angrier as she thought about it. She said bitterly, "If your uncle Zhao and I hadn't gone on a business trip on the day of your wedding, we would never have let you get married. Jiang Zhen is also stupid. Why did he let you do it? As a brother, doesn't he feel sorry for you suffering in the countryside?"

Yang Li's words were unpleasant to hear, but Jiang Yao could tell that she meant no harm. Instead, she felt more helpless and disappointed with a younger generation whom she liked.

"Aunt Yang, don't worry. I'm doing very well in the countryside now and I'm not suffering at all. Lu Che is very good to me and I don't have to do any heavy work. I'm now doing handicrafts in the village-run paper factory. I don't have to work in the fields and I'm not tired at all." Jiang Yao said.

Yang Li was still worried and said, "Actually, if anyone is to blame, it should be that bastard Zhao Pengfei. He knew you very well and we were classmates. Everything was fine until you got to the countryside and got seduced by that questionable woman. She made you sad and you hurriedly married me off." When she said this, her eyes turned red and she pulled Jiang Yao and said, "Auntie is a bad parent. I feel so ashamed of you and your mother."

"Aunt Yang, please don't say that." Jiang Yao immediately explained: "Pengfei and I are just ordinary classmates. He has done nothing wrong to me. I was close to him because of your relationship with my mother, but we have never had any feelings other than friendship. I married Lu Che not because of Pengfei, but simply because I like Lu Che and I want to marry him."

Jiang Yao spoke sincerely, and Yang Li didn't know how to refute for a moment. After a long while, she said: "Yaoyao, maybe you really married yourself because you love someone, but love can't be eaten. Now you are newlyweds, he pampers you and protects you, but life is long, can he stick to it for a lifetime?"

"Also, in the countryside, you work hard every day, facing the loess and back to the sky, and you only get a few centimeters a day. You can't fill your stomach after working for a year. It's not that I look down on your man, but he can't change the fact that he is a country boy. You will suffer for the rest of your life if you follow him."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the Jiang family was suddenly pushed open.

Jiang Yao looked up and saw Lu Che standing outside the door with things in his hands.

Yang Li also turned her head. Even though this was the first time she saw Lu Che, it did not prevent her from guessing who he was.

She was getting more and more excited and her voice was quite loud, so he should have heard what she said.

The atmosphere was strangely quiet. Lu Che's expression was calm, but it was so calm that Jiang Yao's heart was beating fast. She said to Yang Li, "Aunt Yang, Uncle Zhao is almost going to get off work and go home. You should go back and cook."

"...Okay." Yang Li had seen a lot of things, but she couldn't hold back when she was caught badmouthing someone. Since Jiang Yao gave her a way out, she would definitely not stay.

After sending Yang Li away, Jiang Yao returned to the house, but did not see Lu Che. After searching for a while, she finally found him in the kitchen.

He got a fish from somewhere and was killing it.

"Are you angry?" Jiang Yao hugged him from behind, "Auntie Yang didn't mean it, don't take it to heart."

"I'm not angry." Lu Che continued what he was doing, but his voice was low and lacked his usual spirit. "If I were really angry, I wouldn't be angry at that auntie. I'd just be angry at myself for making you suffer with me."

"No." Jiang Yao held him tighter. "I feel very happy and blessed when I'm with you. I really don't feel like I'm suffering. Apart from anything else, the food in our house is much better than others. Although we can't eat meat every day, we can eat eggs almost every day."

"But if you lived in the city and married into a working-class family, you might be able to eat meat every day." Lu Che said weakly.

"Who said I want to eat meat every day? Eating meat every day will make you fat. If you become fat, you can't wear beautiful clothes. I don't care about eating meat every day. I only care about you. Do you understand?"

Jiang Yao felt that she had only been here for half a year, but she had already been assimilated into this era. She could even blurt out cheesy love words like "I don't care about eating meat every day, I only care about you."

The words were a little corny, but they were very effective. Lu Che felt his heart being grabbed as he listened. How could his wife, his woman, be so likable?

Lu Che turned around, but because his hands were dirty from killing the fish, he didn't dare to hug her. He just lowered his head and kissed her lips, staring at her affectionately, and said solemnly: "Wife, I, Lu Che, swear that I will make you live a good life and never let others laugh at you."

"I believe you." Jiang Yao curved her lips and said, "I really don't care what others think of me, otherwise I wouldn't have been dating you, let alone marrying you. I also hope that you don't care about other people's opinions and be yourself. I believe you will be successful."

"Okay." Lu Che nodded heavily.

After Lu Che killed the fish, the task of cooking it fell to Jiang Yao. There were not many seasonings at home, so she made the simplest steamed fish.

In addition, she also made scrambled eggs and stir-fried vegetables. Once the rice was cooked, it was time to eat.

This fish was a Wan fish, and there were a lot of bones on its back, so Lu Che put all the meat from the fish belly into Jiang Yao's bowl.

Jiang Yao did not refuse, she knew that he would be happy only if she accepted his kindness with a clear conscience. She ate with relish and did not forget to ask him, "Where did you buy the fish? At this time, the supply and marketing cooperative is out of fish."

"I bought it in the alley near the supply and marketing cooperative." Lu Che lowered his voice slightly, "I found that the provincial capital is indeed much more prosperous than the county town. There are many more things that can be bought through special channels. There are all kinds of things. I was thinking that if I have the chance in the future, I can take some things back from here and sell them. It's not far anyway, I can go back and forth in a day by bicycle."

"Sure." Jiang Yao said, "As long as you want to do it, I support you, but you have to be careful."

"I know that." Lu Che looked at her and suddenly smiled.

Jiang Yao was puzzled: "What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at how brave you are." Lu Che said, "If other wives heard this, they would definitely tell their husbands not to do it."

"Of course, I'm a little timid. Would I dare to marry the number one troublemaker in Qingyuan?" Jiang Yao raised her chin and said proudly.

"Well, your courage is commendable." Lu Che nodded appreciatively, "I'll reward you well tonight."

"..." Ever since this man got married, his means of "rewarding and punishing" her have only been reduced to one trick.

At night, the two of them squeezed into the single bed in Jiang Yao's boudoir. Lu Che took advantage of the fact that they were the only ones at home and tormented Jiang Yao as much as he could.

Jiang Yao's screams, no longer suppressed, made him unable to stop. He said with regret, "If I had known earlier, I would have used the house you lived in before as my wedding room, away from my sister and my grandmother. I could do whatever I wanted at night."

Jiang Yao, who was exhausted, rolled her eyes at him and said, "Sister Qing will be joining the army soon. By then, only grandma will be left at home. Let's move to the backyard. We won't know what's going on at night. Is that okay?"

"That's the truth." Lu Che hugged Jiang Yao lovingly and said, "Wife, you are really thoughtful."

"Of course, but you just need to give me a verbal reward. I don't need a reward based on actual actions." Jiang Yao closed her eyes. "Go to sleep quickly. We have to go back to Qingyuan tomorrow."

Lu Che: “…”

The next day, Jiang Yao slept until nine o'clock.

Lu Che got up early, breakfast was ready, and the things he was going to take back to Qingyuan were tied to his bicycle.

This time, in addition to the sewing machine, he also brought back a radio and a large bag of things that Lu Che had bought through a special channel early in the morning.

These things filled up the back seat and the front of the bicycle so much that there was no room for Jiang Yao to sit. So Lu Che suggested, "Wife, why don't you stay here for another day? I'll transport the things back to Qingyuan today and pick you up tomorrow."

"No, I have nothing to do here, and it's boring to stay here." Jiang Yao said, "You ride the bicycle to transport the things back, and I'll take the car back."

"I'm worried about you riding in a car alone." Lu Che said with a frown.

"What are you worried about? I'm not a child." Jiang Yao knew that he was a worrier, so she said, "You can take me to the bus station, and then you can leave after I get on the bus. Is that okay?"

"Okay." Lu Che thought for a moment and said, "I don't know the other roads, but I remember which road the bus takes to the county town. When you get off the bus, go to the state-owned restaurant in the county town to eat something, and then wait for me there. I will get there as soon as possible and go back to Qingyuan with you."

Jiang Yao: "Okay, but don't rush. Anyway, no matter how fast you go, you can't be faster than a car. Drive slowly. Safety is the most important thing. It's okay for me to wait a little longer. Just take a rest."

After reaching an agreement, Jiang Yao quickly finished her breakfast and went back to Qingyuan.

Lu Che sent Jiang Yao to the bus station, watched her get on the bus, and waited until the bus started heading towards the county town before he pedaled his bicycle and followed.

Car exhaust these days is much more serious than in later generations. Plus, there are almost no cement roads, only bumpy dirt roads. Lu Che followed behind, breathing in exhaust and dust in turn. Jiang Yao looked back all the way, feeling both funny and sad.

He pedaled hard, and although the glass at the rear of the car was covered with dust, he kept staring in the direction where she sat, as if this was the destination he had always longed for.

No matter how fast a bicycle is, it can't be as fast as a car. Jiang Yao watched him struggling forward, gradually getting smaller, and finally becoming a dot. After he disappeared from her sight, she turned around, but her eyes couldn't help but become red.

This man always touched her unintentionally.

The road conditions were good on the way back and the car stopped at the county bus station in less than three hours.

Jiang Yao estimated that Lu Che would not be back for at least three hours, so she went to the state-owned restaurant to eat first.

It was past the lunch rush, and there were many empty seats in the state-owned restaurant. Jiang Yao ordered a bowl of noodles, and after finishing her meal, she bought a few steamed buns. She was worried that the buns would be cold when Lu Che arrived, so she discussed with the restaurant staff, "Auntie, can we keep the buns warm in the steamer first? My husband will be back from the provincial capital in more than two hours."

Seeing how attentive she was to the man, the aunt didn't make things difficult for her and said, "No problem, come get it from me later. In fact, you can buy it later."

"I'm just worried that they will be sold out... He especially likes the buns from your restaurant." Jiang Yao said.

In fact, Lu Che didn't particularly like the steamed buns from the state-owned restaurant. He said her steamed buns tasted better. But she was really worried that the steamed buns would be sold out by the time he arrived. Besides, everyone liked to hear good words, and saying a few words wouldn't lose any money, so why not do it?

Sure enough, the aunt smiled and said in a more amiable manner, "There aren't many people in the restaurant this afternoon. Find a seat and wait."

"Thank you, Auntie. You are so kind."

Jiang Yao found a seat and sat down. In those days without cell phones, the two or three hours of waiting was unbearable. She could only watch people coming and going outside the restaurant, which was better than staring at a wall.

Lu Che didn't arrive at the state-owned restaurant until around four in the afternoon. Jiang Yao had been keeping an eye on the situation outside the door, and she saw him as soon as he appeared.

"You're finally here." Jiang Yao walked out quickly, raised her head and looked at him with a smile.

"You've been waiting for a long time." Lu Che looked her over and asked, "Are you safe?"

"Of course it's safe." Jiang Yao said, turned and walked into the restaurant, and took five buns from the aunt.

"Eat quickly, we'll go home after we finish eating."

"Are you hungry? Do you want to eat two?" Although Lu Che was hungry, he still cared about whether she was full.

"No, I've already eaten the noodles, you should eat quickly."

"Okay." Lu Che then picked up the bun and bit off half of it in one bite.

He had digested his breakfast long ago and was extremely hungry. He finished five buns in no time.

After resting for fifteen minutes, the two walked back to Qingyuan together.

Jiang Yao felt sorry for Lu Che who had to ride for six or seven hours, and wanted to push the bike herself, but he wouldn't let her. "This is nothing. You can walk, let alone ride. If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you tonight."

She didn't need him to prove it.

When they returned to Qingyuan, they just happened to catch the members getting off work. When they saw Lu Che pushing a bicycle with a sewing machine tied to the back seat and a tape recorder hanging in front, their eyes almost popped out.

Nowadays, just picking up any one of them would make people's eyes turn red with envy, let alone three of them at once.

"Lu Che, you've become rich. You didn't work for two days and brought back three big things." Someone ran over and asked.

Lu Che knew that he was here to gossip, and that he had bad intentions, so he said, "My eldest brother-in-law helped me get the bicycle ticket. There is no stock in the county town, so we went to the provincial capital to buy them. As for the sewing machine and tape recorder, they belong to Yaoyao's mother's family. My eldest brother-in-law said that no one lives there, so he asked us to move them here and use them."

In fact, he didn't have to explain, but there were suddenly so many large items, and if he didn't explain clearly, it would easily lead to gossip. In order to avoid trouble in the future, he still patiently spoke.

"You are quite impressive. Even with a ticket, you need more than 100 yuan to buy a bicycle. I heard that you gave 500 yuan as a gift to Jiang Yao. You can come up with so much money at once. There are not many people in our Qingyuan Production Team who are so generous."

Lu Che could hear the sourness in these words and said, "I don't have any ability. This is all the money my aunt sent back."

This was the first time Jiang Yao saw Lu Che being so "modest" in front of the villagers. She knew his intention, which was simply that he didn't want to be the focus of others.

They were watched like monkeys for a long time until they entered the Lu family’s gate, and then the onlookers were locked out.

That evening, the news that Lu Che's family had added a bicycle, a sewing machine, and a radio spread throughout the production team.

When everyone heard the news, they had all kinds of thoughts.

Some people are both envious and jealous of Lu Che, thinking that this guy is very lucky. Not only is his wife Jiang Yao beautiful, but his family is also very well-off. He has easily acquired several big items that others may not be able to buy even after working hard for their entire lives.

Some people ridiculed Jiang Yao, saying that no matter how beautiful she was, she still married into the countryside and gave everything to her husband's family.

For a while, Jiang Yao was very popular. Du Yuejiao was originally the envy of the whole production team because she was going to marry the director of the Revolutionary Committee and return to the city. However, after Jiang Yao's fuss, everyone's attention to her dropped again and again.

She was so angry that she decided to use the excuse of returning to the city to gather the educated youth and production team cadres together, make a good show of herself before returning to the city.

After Jiang Yao came back, she was busy taking care of the tomatoes and cucumbers in the vegetable garden. Except for going to the paper factory to get raw materials, she stayed at home the rest of the time. When she heard that Du Yuejiao was going to invite her to a farewell dinner, she was quite surprised.

When Lu Che heard that Du Yuejiao was inviting him to dinner, his first reaction was the Hongmen Banquet. "Wife, don't go. I don't know what she's up to. I'm busy now. I'll see how to deal with her after this batch of tomatoes is successfully shipped."

"We don't need to deal with her, she dealt with herself." Jiang Yao said: "She invited us to dinner this time because she was going to get married and return to the city. Her husband is a widower and old enough to be her father. Isn't marrying such a man the biggest punishment for her?"

"Why is it a punishment? The man is a little old, but she will enjoy her life once she returns to the city." Lu Che disagreed.

"Isn't it a punishment for a man to be older?" Jiang Yao said as a matter of course: "It's so disgusting to be held by an old man while sleeping at night."

"...Wife, I can understand that you are very happy to hold me in your arms when I sleep at night?"

"Of course." Jiang Yao felt that if she continued to argue with him, she would be teased by someone again, so she changed the subject in time and said, "This time she also invited cadres from the production team. I can't be special and give others a bad impression that I don't fit in. My family background is not good, but I must give outsiders the feeling that I am keen to integrate into the group. In the long run, I will definitely not suffer any loss."

"Wife, you really think about the overall situation. It is a blessing for me to marry you."

"Of course." Jiang Yao said, "But you just need to know it in your heart. I don't need any actual reward for action."

"..." Lu Che, who was about to propose a reward, had to shut up.