"Grandma, Sister, I'm back!" Jiang Hui called out as soon as he entered the gate, his clothes covered in snowflakes.
Hearing the commotion, Jiang Ruyu quickly ran out, but the snow outside was too slippery, and she slipped and fell on her bottom with a thud, immediately feeling a severe injury to her buttocks.
"Ouch, my butt!" Zheng Yang came out after hearing the noise, but before he could even say two words to his brother-in-law, he saw his girlfriend fall flat on her back.
"Get up quickly, are you alright? Where did you fall?" Zheng Yang ignored his brother-in-law and strode over to help his girlfriend up. Jiang Hui also came over carrying some things.
"Are you alright, sis? It's my fault. I should have walked to the door before speaking." Jiang Hui looked annoyed.
Jiang Ruyu waved her hand with a grimace: "It was my carelessness, what's it to you? Can you please change your habit of taking all the blame on yourself?"
Jiang Hui smiled, and Jiang Jianguo from the east also came out: "Huizi is back. Come on in, you guys. What are you doing standing outside with the snow falling so heavily?"
The group entered the house, where the heated walls and kang (a traditional heated brick bed) were burning, making it very warm. Jiang Hui took off his thick outer clothes.
"You guys have no idea how funny it is. On the train, as we all traveled north, we kept wearing thicker and thicker clothes. When we boarded, we were only wearing a jacket, but by the time we got here, I was practically a clothes hanger. It's really cold here."
Grandma Jiang stepped forward and circled around her grandson: "Hmm, not bad, you haven't lost weight. You must not have rested well on the train. Do you want to rest for a while?"
Jiang Hui helped his grandmother sit down: "No need, I'm not tired, I'll sleep later tonight."
Jiang Ruyu carried his things back to his room, looked at Jiang Lin's bed and sighed, wondering if Da Linzi would be able to come back.
Jiang Hui's family surrounded him and asked him about his situation in Xia City. Jiang Hui told them all the good things, and then Jiang Ruyu sent him to the street bathhouse to take a bath.
"Go wash up quickly, you've been sitting on the train for days, you're all smelly."
Seeing his older sister's disgusted look, Jiang Hui had no choice but to take his clothes and go out to take a shower.
After Jiang Ruyu rested, Jiang Hui and his sister went to their maternal grandfather's house.
"It's snowed heavily several times since winter started, and I haven't been to my maternal grandfather's house for a long time. My older cousin has had another son, so he has three children now."
Jiang Hui hadn't been back for so long, and Hu Jun was extremely worried about him. He was getting old, and all the ailments he had from his time in the army were starting to come back. Jiang Ruyu had given almost all the plasters she got from signing in to her grandparents. Fortunately, the plasters were quite effective; at least they could relieve the pain when applied.
“I brought back some tobacco from Xia City this time. It was recommended by the old man on the island. He said it’s good to smoke, so I brought some for my grandfather so he can roll some and smoke it whenever he wants.” Jiang Hui took out the bundle of tobacco wrapped in newspaper.
Jiang Ruyu sighed: "I told him a long time ago not to smoke because it's bad for his health, but he just wouldn't listen. Oh well, he's so old, it's hard to make him quit smoking. I can only ask his uncles to make sure he smokes less."
Jiang Ruyu brought some of the seafood specialties that Jiang Hui had brought back for her maternal grandfather, along with five jin of wheat flour. She didn't bring anything else. Thinking that her maternal uncle's family had many children, she also brought half a jin of fruit candy. The two siblings then took the bus to their maternal grandfather's house.
Hu Jun was overjoyed to see his grandson, whom he hadn't seen for a year and a half: "Wow, he's grown so tall! He's a real man now. Not bad at all. It seems that going to the countryside isn't so bad after all. Our Huizi has grown up too."
"Grandpa, don't worry about me. Here, look at the good stuff I brought you. It's tobacco from Xia City. Smell it, I don't know anything about it."
Hu Jun happily accepted it: "Hmm, I don't know either, but it looks good, hahaha."
The siblings had lunch at their maternal grandfather's house, and in the afternoon they accompanied Lai Ye for a stroll around the village. They brought along some homemade pickled mustard greens and cured pork ribs that their aunt had given them. The pigs were raised by the production team, so they no longer lacked pork.
They had agreed that Grandpa would come to pick up Jiang Ruyu the day before her wedding. Grandpa smiled and agreed, but as he watched the siblings walk away, the smile on his lips slowly faded.
"Sigh, my body is failing me. I don't know how many more days I have left to live."
Hu Qingling helped his father back: "Dad, don't say that. Hui Zi and Da Lin Zi are not married yet. You still have a lot to do. Look how good our lives are getting. You should just enjoy your retirement."
"Grandpa's health is getting worse than it was a couple of years ago. What he wants to see most is for the three of us siblings to get married. Jiang Lin is in the army and can't get married anytime soon. What about you? Do you have a plan?" Jiang Ruyu felt a little sad thinking about her grandfather's already bent back.
Jiang Hui looked out the window, seemingly lost in thought: "We probably won't get married for now. Han Ling is mainly troubled by her father's situation at the farm, and she's worried that our family will look down on her."
Jiang Ruyu looked at her younger brother and said, "I've already talked to Grandma about this. Our family doesn't care about these things. Those who are sent down to the farm aren't necessarily the ones with problems. In the current situation, there are too many wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice. It's not surprising."
"I understand. I will explain it to Han Ling. Han Ling is a very independent and self-reliant person with her own ideas. If she is unwilling, I cannot force her."
Jiang Ruyu rolled her eyes: "Marriage is a matter of mutual affection. I'm not saying you have to marry someone as soon as possible. I'm just saying you need to be more proactive. After all, girls should be a little reserved."
Jiang Hui was a little embarrassed: "I understand." He had indeed been a bit hesitant.
As the wedding date drew closer, Jiang Lin still hadn't returned. The last letter he wrote was a month ago, so it seemed he had a mission to complete and wouldn't be able to make it to her wedding. Jiang Ruyu felt a little regretful, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it.
Jiang Ruyu's dowry has been prepared. Old Mrs. Jiang has been preparing it since their engagement. She made four cotton quilts for her granddaughter, and with the cloth coupons she had saved up for a long time, plus the cloth that Jiang Ruyu brought back, she made two sets of festive bed sheets and quilt covers for her granddaughter.
She even found an old tailor to make a bright red cashmere coat for her granddaughter. Items like washbasins, mirrors, combs, and spittoons were also prepared by the maternal family.
Jiang Ruyu also took out the radio that the system had initially prepared. Without asking any questions, Grandma Jiang said, "This is for your dowry. It'll also show people that we're no worse off than the Zheng family."
Jiang Jianguo felt both sorry for and guilty towards his niece. When Ruyu got married, he prepared a towel blanket for her and bought 20 grams of gold from the post office. He also had a master craftsman make a gold bracelet for Ruyu as a token of his affection for his niece.
When Jiang Ruyu received the gold bracelet, she was both touched and felt a little embarrassed.
Jiang Jianguo put his arm around his niece and patted her back: "Ruyu, your uncle has done many things wrong and made you suffer a lot of grievances that you shouldn't have had to endure. Your uncle apologizes to you. From now on, live a good life with Zheng Yang. Your uncle hopes that your life will be smooth sailing."
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