Who is the rotten cucumber?
Lin Haodong's face turned green from Ji Xia's scolding, but Chen Jing, who was beside him, grinned and hugged her slender waist tightly, pressing her close to his body.
Lin Haodong was so angry that his eyes bulged out, and he glared at him with resentment.
"Ah Xia, let's go. What's the point of talking to these dirty, rotten cucumbers?"
Chen Jing gave him a provocative look, then happily put his arm around Ji Xia and left.
As I stepped out of the alley, I saw Liu Pianran calling out anxiously, "Haodong? Haodong, where have you been?"
Chen Jing readily pointed out the direction to her, pulled Ji Xia back to the lamppost, stretched out his long legs, and got on the bicycle.
"Get in, let's go home."
Ji Xia sat sideways on the back of the bicycle, reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face against his back.
Chen Jing's tall body trembled, and he felt a surge of heat rising in his chest, making it impossible for him to suppress the smile on his lips.
No, he couldn't hold back any longer. He would go home first thing tomorrow morning to urge his mother to find a matchmaker and settle their marriage immediately.
A surge of rage welled up within him, and he pedaled his bicycle incredibly fast under the cover of night.
When he was almost at the Ji family's courtyard, seeing the dim yellow light emanating from inside and outside the courtyard, Chen Jing regretted it again. Why did he walk so fast? He should have walked slower and come back more slowly.
The bicycle stopped in front of the door. Ji Xia jumped off the bicycle, turned around and smiled sweetly at him.
"You can take the bike back! Just come pick me up first thing tomorrow morning."
"Okay, you can go in now. I'll leave once I've made sure you get home safely."
Ji Xia couldn't help but chuckle: "This is my house, what could possibly happen? My brother should be back by now, he left the light on for me."
As Ji Xia spoke, she reached out to push the door open, and Chen Jing couldn't help but pull her hand again.
"What's wrong? Is there something you want to say?"
Chen Jing hesitated for a moment: "I'll go back to the brigade first thing tomorrow morning and have my mother find a matchmaker. What do you want? Besides the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a specific type of watch), do you have any other requirements?"
Ji Xia smiled, a rare hint of shyness on her face.
She thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I don't lack anything. I don't need to buy all three things: a bicycle, a sewing machine, a radio, and a sewing machine. I already have a bicycle, and I'm not really interested in a radio. However, if I could exchange this money for a sewing machine, I could get another one!"
"Okay, I'll talk to my mom."
Chen Jing understood Ji Xia's thinking perfectly well. If she didn't want the radio and the bicycle, she could easily exchange the money for a sewing machine.
This was all for the sake of their workshop. Chen Jing looked at her with tenderness in his eyes: "Anything else?"
Ji Xia thought for a moment, then remembered Sister-in-law Chen, whom she had met in her previous life.
Sister-in-law Chen was just an ordinary rural woman with limited vision and ability.
Chen Jing got married in the mid-1980s. By then, he had made money, and the bride price at that time was certainly not comparable to that of ten years prior.
Therefore, the bride price for Chen Jing's wedding was much higher than that for his elder brother's wedding.
But Sister-in-law Chen didn't care about all that. Later, she told the villagers every day how Captain Chen and his wife favored their second son, causing a huge uproar in their hometown.
Ji Xia frowned, took Chen Jing's hand and whispered, "Back in my hometown, I often heard your sister-in-law complaining behind your back, saying that you're lazy and don't do any work, but you always pick and choose the best food, and that Aunt Chen and Uncle Chen are biased."
Chen Jing knew Chen's sister-in-law's personality very well, and upon hearing this, he squeezed her hand comfortingly.
"Don't worry, leave this to me. I won't let you suffer."
“I’m not worried about that. I just want to say that your standards are the same as your sister-in-law’s back then, regarding the bride price.”
"How can that be? How can she compare to you?"
Chen Jing shook his head in dissatisfaction: "I don't rely on my parents to pay for my dowry. It's my business how I spend the money I earn."
Moreover, according to Sister-in-law Chen's standards four or five years ago, he was afraid that Secretary Ji and Ji Xiangjun would kick him out, let alone marry Ji Xia to him.
“But your family hasn’t separated, Chen Jing. I mean, on the surface, it’s the same as hers. You should tell my parents about the money you earn in private, don’t make it public.”
Even if he didn't give anything else privately, the few old gold and jade items he gave me last time could already be considered his betrothal gifts.
After pondering for a while, Chen Jing reluctantly nodded: "Alright, I'll do as you say. I'll give it to you privately."
"Another thing is that your family must not know about my partnership with you and my second brother in the workshop. If they ask, just say it's between me and my second brother. I don't want them to have to share the workshop when we split up in a few years."
Chen Jing's expression darkened slightly. Not to mention Ji Xia's unwillingness, he was unwilling as well.
Why should their small workshop, which they've built up with so much effort, become family property during the division of assets, and should be given a share?
Just as the two were about to speak again, the courtyard gate suddenly opened, and Ji Xiangjun's figure looked particularly gloomy in the lamplight behind him.
She glanced at her younger sister and Chen Jing: "It's so late, can't we talk about this tomorrow? Do you need to rest? Don't you have to go to work tomorrow?"
Ji Xia chuckled, "Second brother, I'll be back soon."
She turned around and waved to Chen Jing: "That's all I can think of. Just keep it in mind."
Seeing Ji Xiangjun's somber expression, Chen Jing didn't dare to act rashly and politely replied, "I'll leave right away. Goodbye, Second Brother. See you tomorrow, Xia."
As soon as he finished speaking, he sped off on his bicycle. Ji Xiangjun snorted coldly and frowned as he stared at his younger sister.
"Going out with someone so late? Aren't you worried about getting into trouble?"
"With Ah Jing by my side, what's there to worry about?"
Ji Xia chuckled and turned to hug Ji Xiangjun's arm: "Second Brother, A Jing got two orders today. I'm so happy, I'm going to see a movie with him."
"See a movie?"
Ji Xiangjun's deep gaze swept over her swollen, red lips: "Try to go out less at night. Before you get married, you need to learn to protect yourself. Don't let men get away with things too easily. By the way, when are you planning to get engaged?"
"He'll go back and discuss it with his family tomorrow."
Ji Xiangjun snorted coldly, turned around, closed the door and went back into the house. He then rubbed her head and said, "I'm going to the southwest by car the day after tomorrow. I'll be back in about half a month. We'll get engaged when I return."
"Understood, Second Brother."
Ji Xia smiled slightly, then suddenly remembered something: "You're planning to drive out the day after tomorrow? A-Jing got two orders, so there aren't any goods for you to take out for the time being."
They had originally agreed that if they didn't get any orders for the time being, Ji Xiangjun would take the finished clothes to other places, and he would have his own sales channels.
However, now that there are orders, it's naturally impossible to have Ji Xiangjun sell the goods.
Upon hearing this, Ji Xiangjun nodded and said, "We don't have any stock. Just give me a few samples and design renderings, and I'll try to get some orders."
Ji Xia happily agreed. It seemed that after the first and second batches of orders were delivered, they should buy a few more sewing machines, hire a few more female workers, and expand the small workshop.
Back in her room, she looked up at herself in the mirror and realized that her lips were swollen and red, as if they were congested with blood, and that they were slightly painful to the touch.
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