Zhu Youxian's wedding took place amidst a complex mix of joy and sorrow, but Wang Zhao, in fact, looked quite pleased. He was already good-looking, and the grooming made him even more dazzling. Furthermore, he was very eloquent and lived in the town, so some who didn't know the truth envied Zhu Youxian's good marriage, which made Zhu Youxian feel a little happier. Getting married at that time was also simple: relatives and friends gathered for two meals, the wedding and the wedding were completed in just one day.
Let’s not talk about how Zhu Youxian married into the Wang family. On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Youliang and his family packed up and followed Zhu Youjie and Huangmei Lao Zhu to the state-owned restaurant in the county town, where they met Zhang Yanyan and her family.
As cadres, Zhang Yanyan's parents outshone the Huang Meis in both style and attire, which made the old couple seem less impressive. Zhu Youliang's family was alright, on par with Zhang Yanyan's eldest brother's family, at least in terms of style. After all, they weren't university students.
After everyone got to know each other, they sat down. Although Zhang's mother and father didn't particularly like Zhu Youjie, they remained polite. Zhang's mother focused on asking questions about where Zhang Yanyan and Zhu Youjie would live if they married, and how the couple would make a living. Zhang's father and eldest brother, Zhang Youliang, were drawn to Zhu Youliang. They were surprised to hear that he and his wife had independently developed a new type of agricultural tractor, and they praised him profusely. Zhang Yanyan's sister-in-law seemed to look down on rural people even more. She acted arrogantly throughout, sitting to the side with her own children. Aside from a smile during the introductions, she barely said anything afterward.
Zhu Youjie's forehead was sweating from being asked this question. Huang Mei and Old Zhu wanted to forget it for the first time, but they opened their mouths and closed them again, never saying it. It was the first time they knew that marrying a city girl would cost so much money. Although Zhang Yanyan kept saying that some of it could be saved and she didn't need it, Zhang's mother disagreed.
Just as the situation was about to get awkward, Zhang's father intervened, and the two families reluctantly reached an agreement. However, the Zhu family wasn't particularly happy during the meal, and even after leaving the state-owned restaurant, they were still somewhat dazed. Apart from anything else, Zhang's mother's insistence on buying a house in the county town was enough to worry the old couple.
This wasn't the first time Zhu Youjie had heard this. Zhang Yanyan had hinted at it earlier, and he'd thought it was negotiable. But judging by Zhang's mother's expression today, everything else was negotiable, except for the house. But a house in the county town would cost at least a few thousand yuan, and this was for a two-room, tile-roofed house in a small courtyard in the suburbs. He was a student who hadn't even graduated yet, and he was asked to raise a few thousand yuan there. If he had graduated last summer, he would have had some money, but a fight with a classmate delayed his graduation by a year. With this in mind, he decided to give up.
After coming out, he asked the old couple to go with Zhu Youliang's home, while he stayed behind, wanting to talk to Zhang Yanyan alone.
Zhang Yanyan was also worried. Her mother told her that the betrothal gift and other matters could be discussed, but she insisted on buying a house in the county town. She also told her to face reality. Could a spoiled girl like her, who grew up in the city, really adapt to village life? Should she help with the farm work during the busy farming season? She also told her not to compare herself with the educated youth, who were forced to work there. She also said that without a house, even if they both worked in the city, they would be separated. What would happen if they had children? It would be a problem sooner or later.
Zhang Yanyan wanted to say that she didn't care, but did she really not care? Although there was still half a year before graduation, everyone had already started preparing to find a job. Through chatting with other classmates, she vaguely realized that her previous thinking was too superficial. Seeing this, Zhang's mother advised her to forget it. Although Zhu Youjie and his wife were promising, he himself was only a junior college graduate, and it was obvious that the job he would be assigned after graduation would not be very good. But Zhang Yanyan was different. She was a teacher, and she could find any partner she wanted. Her sister-in-law also tried to persuade her, but Zhang's father and eldest brother did not say anything.
When Zhang Yanyan was feeling troubled, Zhu Youjie came back and she hurried over to greet him. "Why are you back again?"
"I have something I want to talk to you about alone." Zhu Youjie said with his head lowered.
Zhang Yanyan's heart skipped a beat. She had a vague idea of what he was going to say, so she nodded and said, "Wait a minute, I'll talk to my mom first."
Soon, she came back again.
"Let's go to the small park across the street and talk."
Zhu Youjie walked quickly ahead with his head down, stopping only when he reached a secluded place. When she reached him, he said, "Yanyan, your parents didn't agree with us being together before, and I was never convinced. I thought this gap could be narrowed through hard work. But now I know that even if this gap can be narrowed, it will take many years, and we can't wait. I'm a college student, and I can only earn a salary of more than 30 yuan at most. Even if I don't eat or drink, I have to save for six or seven years to buy a house in the city. This is reality. Your parents are right, I'm not worthy of you, so let's just leave it at that. You go find someone from the city, not only will your parents be happy, but you don't have to worry about it anymore. As for me, I'll find someone similar to me, so that no one loses out and everyone is safe."
After finishing speaking in one breath, Zhu Youjie felt that his heavy heart was relieved a little. He had indeed thought about climbing up the social ladder before, even though he really liked Zhang Yanyan. He also thought about getting her pregnant, so that she might have to marry him, and the Zhang family would not only stop being arrogant to him, but might even turn around and please him. But he couldn't bear to do that. This was the person he had liked since he was young. Although he had some selfish motives, he felt that it was human nature, but if he used some means, he didn't know what the end result would be. Although he and Zhang Yanyan could not be together, he still hoped that he could leave a good impression on her, so that when she thought about it in the future, she would think that he was a good person, just as she had always thought. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shed tears.
Zhang Yanyan saw him crying, and she started crying too. She said in a hoarse voice, "Can't we go and borrow some?"
Zhu Youjie wiped his tears, suddenly sobering up, and forced a smile. "If I could pay the most and borrow a little more, it would be fine. But I'm a pauper, who would be willing to lend me so much money? I need such a rich relative, right? Besides, if I borrow money to buy a house, where will the betrothal gift come from? Where will the money for the wedding come from? Will I have a life in the future? I don't want you to suffer with me. I'm not saying anything bad, but you're used to spending money lavishly and enjoying yourself. You can pay it back once or twice, but you won't be able to bear it for a long time. Compared with your friends and classmates, how can you not complain? It's better to part ways now than to end up with a resentful couple in the future."
Zhang Yanyan thought about it carefully and realized it was true, so she nodded and said, "What about me?"
"Go back and listen to your mother more in the future. She is right. I can't give you happiness." Zhu Youjie went up and hugged her, then turned around and left resolutely.
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