"Zhu Zi, there's a lot of stuff. Don't tire yourself out. Let Xiu Xiu and me carry a couple of things!"
Seeing his son-in-law bundled up like a nine-bag elder of the Beggars' Sect, Li Fugui felt a little bad.
"Dad, you're underestimating me, aren't you? I've been practicing wrestling since I was little, and I juggle big ladles every day, so I'm pretty tough! Come on, let's go to the neighborhood office to get our marriage certificate first."
As Sha Zhu spoke, he led the way toward the neighborhood office. The Li father and daughter were not familiar with the area, so they had no choice but to follow.
Along the way, whenever they saw some nice buildings or passed by some famous attractions, Sha Zhu would keep introducing them.
After listening to his introduction, Li Fugui was alright, just nodding occasionally.
After all, I've been here before. No matter how much this city has changed, how much could it really change?
Although Li Xiuxiu had visited before the liberation, she was just a child then and had long forgotten about it.
Therefore, she was very curious and kept asking Sha Zhu questions.
"Brother Zhu, how do you know this area so well? You know every street and alley like the back of your hand!"
Hearing his wife praise him like that, Sha Zhu was overjoyed! He started chatting away.
“That’s right! Xiuxiu, let me tell you, I sold steamed buns all over the city before Liberation. There’s no place in Beijing that I don’t know well.”
"For example, Zhengyangmen, Xuanwumen, Dongzhimen, Xizhimen... Qianmen Street, Wangfujing Street, Dongxidan North Street... Quanjude Peking Duck, Donglaishun Hot Pot, Fengzeyuan, Hongbinlou..."
Hearing Sha Zhu perform what sounded like a stand-up comedy routine, not only Li Xiuxiu but even Li Fugui listened with great interest.
Before they knew it, the three of them arrived at the neighborhood office, found the marriage registration office of the civil affairs section, and Sha Zhu handed over two letters of introduction.
"Comrade! We want to get our marriage certificate."
The staff at the window also remembered Sha Zhu and knew that his family had a bad class background, so they glanced at Li Xiuxiu next to him.
"Did you get married voluntarily?"
“Yes, comrade,” Li Xiuxiu replied just as readily.
Since neither party had any objections and there was a letter of introduction, the staff member certainly wouldn't be the bad guy, so he picked up a blank marriage certificate and began to fill it out carefully.
At this moment, Sha Zhu also took off his bundle, took out a few pieces of candy from his body, and put them on the table.
"Comrade, please have some candy."
The staff member didn't refuse, smiled and nodded, and continued writing.
Soon, the staff filled out the form, stamped it with the official red seal, and then handed it to Sha Zhu.
"Comrades He Yuzhu and Li Xiuxiu, congratulations on becoming revolutionary partners. I hope that you will stay together and make greater contributions to socialism in the future."
"Thank you, comrade!"
"Thanks!"
Sha Zhu and Li Xiuxiu thanked each other, then took the marriage certificate and looked at it again and again before finally picking up their luggage and walking towards the courtyard house...
At the entrance of the courtyard house, in addition to the group of middle-aged women from the morning, there were also He Daqing and Yan Bugui.
Seeing He Daqing standing there, occasionally glancing into the distance, Yan Bugui became curious.
"Old He, your behavior today is a bit unusual. What are you doing?"
He Daqing smiled mysteriously, "Old Yan, you'll find out soon enough."
"I don't want to hear it anyway!" Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses, appearing somewhat indifferent.
I actually wanted to know too, but unfortunately, they wouldn't tell me.
He Daqing knew what the old man was thinking, but ignored him and continued to look into the distance.
After waiting a while longer, Sha Zhu still hadn't returned. He Daqing decided to stop waiting and go home to prepare the vegetables, since the group still needed to eat lunch.
Who knew that no sooner had he left than Sha Zhu walked over from a distance, a perfect missed encounter.
Soon, Sha Zhu and his two companions arrived at the door. Yan Bugui saw that Sha Zhu was accompanied by two people and sensed that there was more to the story, so he quickly stood up and asked.
"Silly Zhu, who are these two?"
Who could tolerate Yan Bugui calling him "Silly Zhu" in front of his father-in-law and daughter-in-law?
Sha Zhu immediately frowned. "Oh! Isn't this Uncle Sha? What's this? Ready to check my household registration? But too bad, you're not the big boss in charge, it's not your turn."
Well! Sha Zhu is still the same Sha Zhu. This sentence not only insulted him but also reopened Yan Bugui's old wounds, making him so angry that he jumped up and down.
"No, Sha Zhu, I didn't offend you, did I? Why are you swearing at me?"
Seeing that Yan Bugui had not yet realized his mistake, Sha Zhu did not indulge him and smiled faintly.
"Uncle Sha, so it's okay for you to call me Sha Zhu, but it's considered an insult when I call you Uncle Sha? You can't find this kind of logic anywhere in Beijing, right, everyone?"
"This...?" Yan Bugui knew he was in the wrong, but he still tried to argue, "That was a nickname your father gave you, what does it have to do with me? If you're so capable, go find your father, why are you trying to act tough with me?"
"Yes! You know that's the nickname my dad gave me, but he raised me, so it's fine for him to call me that. But who are you to me? Did I eat your food? What gives you the right to call me 'Silly Pillar'?"
After being bombarded with three questions by Sha Zhu, Yan Bugui was completely rendered speechless.
But having been a teacher, he considered himself superior and felt that continuing to talk to Sha Zhu would be an insult to his civility.
So he uttered "Incomprehensible, incomprehensible," and then stormed off, forgetting even to take the stool with him.
After Yan Bugui left in anger, Sha Zhu clapped his hands and said something while looking at the middle-aged women who were still looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Dear uncles and aunts, this is my wife, Li Xiuxiu. Starting today, she will be moving into this courtyard. I hope you will take good care of her in the future."
After hearing Sha Zhu's explanation, the neighbors at the door were dumbfounded.
Sha Zhu already has a wife?
Besides, this girl is quite pretty, and her clothes are festive, so why did she marry that silly Zhu? He's not good enough for her!
But at this moment, there was one exception at the door. She stepped forward, grabbed Li Xiuxiu's hand, and said very enthusiastically.
"Xiuxiu, I never thought you would marry into this family. You'll be living in the same courtyard as your aunt from now on. You'll definitely never be bored."
Actually, Li Xiuxiu had already seen her second aunt, but because Shazhu and Yan Bugui were fighting, she didn't go up to greet her.
She was overjoyed to finally have the opportunity, so she spoke very politely.
“Auntie, I never expected to run into an acquaintance in the city. If there’s anything I don’t understand in the future, please teach me.”
At this point, the other middle-aged women also realized what was happening and came forward to ask them questions.
But when they thought about how Sha Zhu had scared Yan Bugui earlier, everyone became much more polite and no one called Sha Zhu anymore.
Finally, Sha Zhu promised to give out candy that night, and only then did the group of old women let them pass.
On the way back to the Intermediate People's Court, Li Xiuxiu couldn't help but ask, thinking about the scene at the entrance earlier.
"Brother Zhu, why do they call you Silly Zhu?"
Sha Zhu scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"Xiuxiu, that's the nickname my dad gave me. I remember I was only 12 years old that year, and I went out to sell steamed buns by myself. It was a time of war and chaos..."
Before Sha Zhu could finish telling his story, he had already returned home.
When He Daqing saw his son return, he quickly put down what he was doing and came out to warmly welcome his in-laws into the house.
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