Just as Ning Xiaowei was filled with worry, Wang Guiying spoke up.
"A bride price? I wasn't planning on asking for one, but since it's the custom, we can't break it. Let's just give 5 yuan as a token!"
"Girl! You don't have any objections, do you?"
Ning Xiaowei finally breathed a sigh of relief after Wang Guiying finished speaking.
As for opinions?
What could she possibly have to say? She quickly shook her head, indicating that there was no problem.
Seeing that the mother and daughter had reached an agreement, Sun Dajiang disagreed again.
"Mother-in-law, isn't this a bit much? Five yuan is too little. How about this, we won't pay more, we'll just give you twenty yuan, what do you think?"
It wasn't that Sun Dajiang had money to burn, but as a native of Beijing, he couldn't bear the shame if others found out.
Wang Guiying wasn't from Beijing and didn't know the intricacies of the situation, but she knew it was a kind gesture from her in-laws.
"Alright! Let's do as our in-laws say. It's settled then. As for the wedding banquet? These are special times, so let's skip it!"
Neither side had any objection to this point; even if the Sun family could do it, they wouldn't dare to be the first to take the lead.
The entire process, from start to finish, took only a little over half an hour, and the marriage was settled in a surprisingly fast pace.
After finishing the business, everyone started talking about other topics, such as what else the couple needed to buy before getting married, and what tickets they still needed.
Sun Dajiang patted his chest, indicating that this was no problem. He and his wife had been cadres for so many years, they would not lack tickets for the "three turns and one sound" (referring to a radio, a watch, a bicycle, and a radio) and would get their son all of them when the time came.
But Wang Guilan disagreed again, insisting on buying her daughter a bicycle and a watch as part of her dowry.
After friendly consultations and multiple rounds of discussions, the final result is as follows.
Wang Guiying bought a bicycle as part of her daughter's dowry.
Mr. and Mrs. Sun bought a watch as a gift for their daughter-in-law.
The sewing machine and radio were purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Sun Dajiang.
Since Sun Zhengguo already had a watch and a bicycle, he didn't need to buy any more.
Now that everything was settled, the women, disregarding the early hour, began preparing lunch.
At lunchtime, Sun Zhengguo saw that dish again—braised chicken pieces. He even began to wonder if there was some kind of hidden space inside his mother-in-law's chicken coop. There was just so much chicken that they could never finish it.
After finishing their meal, everyone rested for a while before Mr. and Mrs. Sun said their goodbyes, as they had only taken half a day off and had to go to work in the afternoon.
Wang Guiying also took half a day off, told her daughter, and went to work.
Although Zheng Juan had taken a day off, she couldn't possibly be a third wheel, so she lied and said she had something to do at home and left as well.
Finally, only two young people remained in the entire courtyard. Now that their relationship was established, they had fewer reservations. In addition, the thought of a lone man and woman alone in a room was quite exciting.
Inside Ning Xiaowei's boudoir, the two were passionately kissing, while Sun Zhengguo's hands roamed freely. He was no longer satisfied with the status quo and wanted to strive for a greater breakthrough.
But Ning Xiaowei adhered to her bottom line: you can kiss her, you can touch her, but you can't cross that line.
This infuriated Sun Zhengguo, whose lower body was already bulging with a large lump, and he felt it was about to burst if he didn't get some release.
Ning Xiaowei also saw the huge bulge. Now that she was no longer the same person she was before, having spent a long time hanging around Sun Zhengguo, she knew what it was.
She couldn't afford to stir things up anymore. What if Sun Zhengguo couldn't resist and forced himself on her? Should she give in or not?
"Jung-guk, it's too hot inside, shall we go for a walk?"
Sun Zhengguo, who was thinking about how to succeed, was a little reluctant. What a great opportunity this was, was he just going to waste it like this?
Ning Xiaowei noticed Sun Zhengguo's hesitation and quickly added, "I can tell."
"Jung-guk, we only have about ten days left until our wedding. Can't you wait that long?"
Well! Ning Xiaowei has even resorted to reverse psychology.
Whether it was those words that had an effect or not, Sun Zhengguo finally stopped, and even shamelessly said...
"Don't worry, Xiaowei, we won't do anything against a woman's will."
Ning Xiaowei nodded subconsciously, but thought to herself.
"So when you grope someone's breasts in the movie theater, isn't that against the woman's will?"
The two stopped their dangerous game, went to the yard to wash their faces, and waited until they were completely calm before Sun Zhengguo took Ning Xiaowei on his bicycle and rode towards Beihai Park.
After arriving at the park, Sun Zhengguo bought another cream popsicle, and the two found a bench and sat down.
Just as Ning Xiaowei was wondering why Sun Zhengguo only bought one popsicle.
He peeled off the wrapper of the popsicle and held it to Ning Xiaowei's lips.
"Come on, Xiaowei, let me feed you."
"So you wanted to feed me!"
Ning Xiaowei was a little happy. She looked around and saw that there weren't many people, so she quietly took a bite.
However, before she could finish chewing, Sun Zhengguo took a bite himself and then held it to her lips.
What kind of operation is this?
Ning Xiaowei's brain is a bit overwhelmed. How did Sun Zhengguo come up with such a bizarre idea?
Finally, after much pleading and cajoling from Sun Zhengguo, the two of them started taking a bite of an ice pop.
"Hey! Zhengguo, isn't that person from your department?"
"Don't try to get away with this, it's your turn! We agreed on one bite each, no cheating allowed."
"Really, I'm not lying to you. It really is someone from your institute, I think it's that projectionist."
After Ning Xiaowei finished speaking, she took a bite to prove that she wasn't lying, but that it was true.
Seeing Ning Xiaowei take a bite, Sun Zhengguo also turned around to look.
Not far away, that iconic donkey face belonged to none other than his old classmate Xu Damao.
However, when Sun Zhengguo saw the people next to Xu Damao, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Why are it the two of them?"
"Who is it? Do you know that woman?"
Ning Xiaowei asked warily.
"Of course I know him, and you know him too."
Do I know?
Ning Xiaowei began searching her memory, but after thinking for a long time, she still couldn't remember who it was.
"Let's hide for a while and not let them see us."
Seeing Ning Xiaowei's unwilling look, Sun Zhengguo could only say...
I'll explain it to you later.
Ning Xiaowei then followed Sun Zhengguo and moved aside.
After a while, Xu Damao and his men walked away, and the two of them came out from behind the tree.
"Sun Zhengguo, why did we hide just now? And who is that woman? I feel like you did it to avoid her."
Sun Zhengguo sometimes had to admire a woman's intuition. Ning Xiaowei was right; he was indeed trying to avoid that woman, but more importantly, he was trying to avoid Xu Damao.
"Xiaowei, don't misunderstand, that woman just now was Lou Xiao'e."
"Oh! So it's your old flame. Did you two do something shady? Why are you avoiding her?"
"Of course not, they're dating, I'm just trying to avoid awkwardness! Besides, don't you know how I feel? There's no one else but you."
"Really! Okay, I'll believe you for now. Tell me, am I prettier or is she prettier?"
Sun Zhengguo didn't need to consider this question, nor could he hesitate; he spoke directly.
"Of course you're prettier, how can she compare to you?"
"You know how to talk, I'll forgive you, but you should stay away from that Lou Xiao'e in the future."
"Okay, okay! I'll do whatever you say."
After comforting Ning Xiaowei, the two sat for a while longer, then went boating and played until 4 p.m. before leaving the park and riding their bikes back to Ning's house.
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