The two held each other like that for an unknown amount of time. Afterwards, feeling that Huo Haocheng had calmed down, Ruan Ruan looked at the things on the bed and asked…
Did you prepare all of this?
"Yes, this four-piece set was brought back from Cloud City. I saw it after a mission and thought you would like it, so I bought it."
And this outfit is traditional clothing from an ethnic minority group in Yuncheng. When I saw it, I thought it would look great on you, so I bought you a set. Would you like to try it on?
This is a Dong ethnic minority woman's dress. It has a bright red base with interwoven black, white, blue, and yellow diamond-shaped embroidery on the cuffs, waist, and hem. Ruan Ruan held the dress up against herself; it looked really beautiful, but she didn't try it on.
The timing isn't right. This outfit might be suitable for certain places, but not for others, so Ruan Ruan decided to wear it after returning to Yuncheng.
"Let's not try it on now. We'll wear it and show you after we get back to Yuncheng."
As she spoke, Ruan Ruan folded the clothes, put them in a bag, and placed them at the very back of the closet.
"Would you like to wear this dress to your wedding?"
Seeing that Ruan Ruan wasn't wearing that dress, he picked up another red one with Chinese knot buttons on the cuffs, a ruffled collar, and a cinched waist with Chinese knot buttons along the left side of the skirt from the shoulder to the hem. Paired with a pair of small leather shoes, it truly looked like a young lady going out.
"good"
It was past 3 p.m. when the two finished packing and came out; the rest of the Huo family had gone to work in the fields.
"Little sister, shall we go for a walk?"
Since returning, Huo Haocheng had been either helping his parents at work or going to the city to buy clothes for Ruan Ruan. He hadn't had a chance to meet up with his childhood friends. One reason was that he didn't want to go alone, fearing they would ask all sorts of questions and make wild guesses, which might negatively impact Ruan Ruan. Now that Ruan Ruan was back, he could take her to visit the village and dispel the rumors that Ruan Ruan was now a daughter of a wealthy family and wouldn't want him.
"Great! I'm back now, I'll go see my girlfriends."
Ruan Ruan left in a hurry and didn't have time to say goodbye. Now that she's back, they can come to her house to pick up the gifts she brought.
Leaving the Huo family's house, walk about 500 meters to the right, and you'll find a huge locust tree that would take several grown men to encircle. The village's elderly women like to sit and chat under it.
"Hey, I heard that Ruan, the girl from the Huo family, is back. Is it true?"
"Of course it's true. She came back around noon, along with her biological parents. They even drove back! You didn't see it, it was quite a sight!"
"Even her biological parents have come looking for her, why do you think she'd come back? Wouldn't it be better to enjoy a comfortable life in the city?"
"Who knows? I heard she came back to marry that Huo family boy. Just now, Huo's two daughters-in-law came to my house to ask if I wanted to exchange the old hen."
Why would they switch to chickens at this time?
"I heard they're having a wedding in a few days, and they asked us to come and help out."
"It seems that Ruan girl is really going to marry the Huo family boy."
"Sigh, she's already back with her biological parents, why does she still want to marry that Huo family boy? Wouldn't it be better for her parents to find her a city guy? She really doesn't know how to enjoy life."
"I think the Huo family lad is quite good too. I heard he's been promoted to battalion commander this time. After they get married, Ruan will go with him to the army. That's not bad either."
"Hey, don't say that, it's them, isn't it?"
In the distance, Huo Haocheng was walking towards them hand in hand with Ruan Ruan. In this era, regardless of the relationship between men and women, it was not allowed to hold hands and walk side by side intimately in public. But this was in their village. Although there were occasional frictions between people in the Red Flag Brigade, they were united when facing problems that harmed the brigade's interests. The people of the brigade had always supported the decisions made by the brigade leader. Of course, this was also the result of Huo Songbai's consideration for the brigade, his efforts to seek benefits for everyone, and his fair handling of affairs over the years.
"Hello, grandmas! Enjoying the cool air."
After the two approached, Ruan Ruan greeted them first, which was the proper respect that a junior should show.
"Yes, Ruan girl is back."
Yes, I'm back.
"Why didn't you stay a few more days? It's rare for you to go to the city."
For the elderly in the village, it's likely they'll never have the chance to visit a big city in their entire lives.
"There will be plenty of opportunities to go in the future. Now that my brother is back, of course I have to come back soon!"
"It's good to be back. I heard you're getting married, is that true?"
Yes, it's May 20th.
When people asked about their wedding, Ruan Ruan immediately gave them the date. She knew that while she was away, the villagers must have had many unpleasant speculations about Huo Haocheng. Their questions were actually a way of testing her attitude towards marrying him. Many people would think that now that Ruan Ruan was a city dweller, how could she possibly be interested in a peasant?
Huo Haocheng felt a sweet warmth in his heart when Ruan Ruan told the grandmothers about the wedding date, but he was also worried. He was afraid that she was only reluctantly agreeing to marry him because of a childhood betrothal. He had heard many such stories since he returned. Many educated youths ended up marrying men from the brigade for various reasons, but they still looked down on the country people after marriage.
"The wedding date has been set so quickly?"
They found it hard to believe that the Huo family had set a wedding date so quickly. They had heard about how the Ruan family had acted when they entered the village at noon—setting a wedding date right away! They wondered how much dowry the Huo family had given.
"Yes, Grandpa at home decided this before we came back."
Ruan Ruan directly invoked the words of her family elders, telling those who were speculating that the marriage between their two families had been agreed upon and blessed by everyone involved.
"Then we can look forward to eating wedding candy!"
"I'll definitely give the grandmas the sweetest wedding candy then."
After a brief chat, Ruan and her companion left, as they needed to visit their friends.
"Brother, do you think the whole village will know we're getting married when we get back?"
Thinking of this, Ruan Ruan turned around happily to face Huo Haocheng and asked cheerfully.
"Walk carefully, or you'll fall."
Seeing Ruan Ruan suddenly turn around and face him while walking backwards, he immediately reached out and grabbed Ruan Ruan's outstretched arm.
"This is nature."
Huo Haocheng was also infected by Ruan Ruan's joy, and looked completely relaxed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com