With the wedding date approaching, the Hu family was as anxious as ants on a hot pan: "What are we going to do? They're about to ask about the bride price, but we still can't get the necessary documents. I even went to the black market, but they didn't have any and were asking for 260 yuan, which is too expensive. If we spend that money, we won't have much money left." They had just renovated their house earlier this year, which cost them a lot of money.
Hu Jun, puffing on his cigarette, pointed at his son and said, "Even if we can afford it, we shouldn't spend that much money. The bride price for Hu Bei's wife is already much higher than when the eldest son married Cuicui. Although bride prices in our countryside are not as high as in the city, we can't go too far. It would make the eldest son and his wife uncomfortable, and it would be bad if the brothers became estranged in the future."
Indeed, Xu Cuicui had been feeling uneasy these past few days. However, she wasn't unreasonable; she knew she couldn't compare herself to her brother-in-law's partner, who was from the city and had a job. But she still couldn't suppress the feeling of grievance she felt.
Even though her two sons are the same age, her brother-in-law's wedding cost so much money, not to mention the sewing machine. These past few days, her in-laws have been so anxious they've been practically arguing. She knows it's because they don't have the necessary ration coupons, and the black market price is too high. She's afraid her in-laws will recklessly spend a fortune on the sewing machine, and then she really won't be able to hold back her anger.
Fortunately, Hu Jun was there to keep an eye on things and prevent his son and daughter-in-law from doing it. Just as they were scratching their heads in anxiety, Jiang Hui came again: "Grandpa, good news! There's good news!"
"What good news? Do you have a sewing machine yet?" Zhang Yuezhen blurted out, she was really anxious.
Jiang Hui nodded: "Yes, my sister got a new Butterfly brand sewing machine and it's already been delivered to my cousin's new house. So don't worry."
Hu Jun stood up: "Where did your sister get that? How much did it cost?"
Jiang Hui didn't know exactly how much his sister spent, but according to his sister's account, "My sister said she asked around and found out that a family who were getting married had bought everything, but their wife ran away and they thought the things were unlucky, so they sold them. My sister added thirty yuan and bought them for one hundred and eighty yuan."
"Really? That's so cheap! Okay, let's go take a look." Zhang Yuezhen was delighted to hear that; compared to other prices, 180 yuan was much more acceptable.
Zhang Yuezhen went back inside to get the money to give to her niece later, along with some eggs and other things. She wanted to thank Ruyu properly, as the girl had helped them a lot.
Zhang Yuezhen was only happy that she had finally raised enough for her youngest son's betrothal gifts, but she didn't see the expressions on her husband's and father-in-law's faces. They weren't so easily fooled. Even if the black market price was so high, there were still plenty of people willing to buy them. After all, there weren't many receipts for the "three turns and one ring" (referring to a set of three-turn watches, a watch, and a radio). They could all guess that Ruyu must have known their concerns and asked for less money.
"Jiang Hui, come here, I have some questions for you." Hu Jun called his grandson over, wanting to ask him more questions.
Jiang Hui knew they wouldn't believe him: "Grandpa, don't worry, my sister said she's not lying to you. This is the price. It's just that the person selling her things is a relative of my sister's good friend, so she didn't ask for an exorbitant price."
Hu Qingling didn't believe it: "Really? What a coincidence! Did your sister add money to it herself?"
"I don't know, my sister said no, that's all."
Seeing this, Hu Jun knew he wouldn't get any information out of her. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to inquire further. He would give his granddaughter a separate red envelope when she got married. He couldn't let the girl pay for it; he wasn't senile yet. The most important thing right now was Hu Bei's wedding.
With the betrothal gifts prepared, Hu Bei and Zhang Yueyue held a wedding banquet at their maternal grandfather's house. Wedding banquets in their hometown are simpler, with only six dishes in total. The best dish was stewed with potatoes from several chickens they had killed at home. There was also a dish of stir-fried shredded pork with chili peppers, a dish of potato slices, a cucumber salad, braised eggplant, and a bowl of egg and persimmon soup. That was already quite good.
After that, the apartment allocated by the work unit was plastered, window decorations were pasted, the newly made furniture was cleaned, red sheets and red quilt covers were laid out, and even the pillowcases were bright red with peonies embroidered on them.
The furniture was decorated with paper-cuts, and Zhang Yueyue's family also provided a dresser, washbasin, washbasin stand, four quilts, and a watch as part of her dowry. This was already considered a family that doted on their daughter.
Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Yang found six bicycles for their cousin, tied big red flowers to the handlebars, and went to the state-owned cotton mill's residential compound to pick up his new wife. Zheng Yang secretly followed along to learn how others decorated their weddings, hoping to have a reference for his own wedding.
Finally, they had a wedding banquet at the transport team's canteen, marking a perfect end to Hu Bei's major life event.
Jiang Ruyu gave away the sewing machine, adding thirty yuan to the market price. Actually, she didn't want to add it, but her maternal grandfather and uncle would definitely disagree. Her uncle, who had drunk too much, even started wiping away tears, saying that he was incompetent and that his niece had to contribute money and effort to his son's wedding. Her maternal grandfather just patted her head and didn't say anything.
See, people who truly care about you won't try to get anything out of you. They'll only blame themselves for being incompetent, unable to give you anything good, and even dragging you down.
Half a month after her cousin's wedding, another incident occurred in the Jiang family, causing Jiang Ruyu to unusually take action against her family members.
Jiang Ruyu stared at Jiang Hui for a long time. Feeling parched, she drank a glass of water before asking him seemingly casually, "What did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly. Can you say it again?"
Jiang Hui swallowed hard, looked up at his sister, gritted his teeth, and said, "I said I want to go to the countryside; I don't want to stay at home and do nothing."
"Who said you were just freeloading?"
"I don't need anyone else to tell me, I just feel this way myself. Sister, there are too many unemployed young people in the city now, and it's hard to find a job. I'm a grown man, and I don't want to stay at home doing nothing."
"Didn't I say that Zheng Yang and I are keeping an eye on things? Maybe we'll get a job someday. Why are you making such a fuss? People are willing to break their arms and legs to avoid going to the countryside, and you, on the other hand, want to go to the countryside? Have you lost your mind?"
"Sister, I just want to go out and see the world. I don't want to live in this little corner of the world without even knowing what the outside world is like."
Jiang Ruyu's suppressed anger grew stronger and stronger: "I think you've gone crazy from reading too much. Didn't you see that guy in our alley who had to return home because of illness? Was he sick? He did it himself to get back to the city. He's a grown man. Do you want to be like him?"
"I won't, sister. Please let me make this decision for myself. I'm an adult now, and I can make my own choices. Whatever the consequences may be, I will bear them myself and never regret it." Jiang Hui was indeed very stubborn.
Neither the siblings could convince the other. The old lady, seeing her granddaughter so angry, tried to calm things down: "Hui'er, you need to understand that once you go to the countryside, unless you get a job in the city, it will be difficult for you to come back. Your sister is only doing this for your own good."
Jiang Hui knew, of course, that his sister had been working hard to support the family since their parents passed away. He just wanted to be selfish for once and indulge himself for once.
"Grandma, sister, I... I've already signed up. The notice for going to the countryside should come down in a couple of days." Thinking that he might as well face the consequences anyway, Jiang Hui decided to be direct. Otherwise, his sister would only get angrier when the notice came down.
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