Chapter 42
After a few hours on the high-speed train, Jiang Lan dragged his suitcase and followed his girlfriend out of the station exit.
A tall, thin, refined-looking man waved to them: "Xiao Ming, Jiang Lan, over here!"
Xiao Ming smiled and waved, then turned to Jiang Lan and said, "That's my brother."
Zhou Zaiming greeted her with a smile, took the suitcase from his sister's hand, and extended his hand to Jiang Lan: "Jiang Lan, seeing is believing. I am Xiaoming's brother, Zhou Zaiming."
Jiang Lan reached out and shook hands firmly with her future brother-in-law: "Big brother."
He let go, looked the two siblings up and down, and said with a smile, "You two look quite alike."
Zhou Zaiming laughed heartily: "Haha, everyone who knows us says so. Alright, we can talk about this when we get home. Get in the car first."
Looking out the window at the mountains, farmlands, villages, and roads rushing by, although they are all located in the south, the scenery and landscape are still slightly different.
"We have a lot of water where we are, while you have a lot of mountains here."
"Well, my family is going to pay respects at the mountain tomorrow. I'll take you hiking and pick some wild fruit," Xiaoming said to Jiang Lan with a smile, and then handed her two wet wipes.
Jiang Lan blushed slightly, took the wet wipe to wipe the sweat from his palms. He was so nervous that he couldn't help but rub his thighs together a few times, which Xiao Ming noticed.
Xiao Ming took his hand and held it, smiled reassuringly at him, and said nothing more.
I saw my parents and sister-in-law standing at the door from afar. They parked the car and gathered around.
Seeing Jiang Lan get out of the car, Zhou's father, whose face was usually serious, broke into a rare smile, while Zhou's mother smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared.
"This must be Xiao Lan. He's a handsome young man, even better looking than in the photos on his phone."
Jiang Lan rarely showed a bit of shyness: "Hello, Uncle and Aunt, hello, Sister-in-law."
"Hello, hello! Please come inside."
"Let me move my luggage."
Aunt Zhou warmly invited Jiang Lan into the house: "No need, Brother Xiaoming can take it in. You must be tired after a long day of travel, come in and rest."
Xiao Ming pulled Jiang Lan's hand and led her inside, saying, "Let's go inside first." He then asked Zhou Ma, "Aren't you all home? Doesn't anyone need to stay at the supermarket? My sister-in-law is off work soon?"
"With someone staying behind, there's no need to keep a constant eye on things at home. Just check the security camera every now and then. Your sister-in-law has changed her classes; she doesn't have any this afternoon."
Just then, the neighbor next door shouted and asked Jiang's mother, "Oh, you have guests?"
Aunt Zhou replied with a smile and a loud voice, "My son-in-law has come to visit."
Before the neighbors could finish saying what Xiaoming had quietly found a son-in-law, he hurriedly went inside to pour tea, set out fruit and snacks, and greeted Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan sat awkwardly on the sofa, took the cigarette from Zhou's father with both hands, picked up the lighter, lit it for Zhou's father, and lit it for herself as well.
I took a puff and was caught off guard by the pungent and irritating smoke, which made me cough violently.
Both Zhou's father and Zhou Zaiming laughed. Zhou's mother rolled her eyes at Zhou's father and said softly to Jiang Lan:
“You young people don’t smoke these days. Your families are all heavy smokers. If they offer you a cigarette, take it but don’t smoke it. Put out the cigarette in your hand now.”
Jiang Lan waved her hand, stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, and quickly took a sip of tea.
At this moment, Xiaoming dragged over the box that was specifically for packing gifts: "Jiang Lan, you pack this box."
Jiang Lan got up, opened her suitcase, and took out the items one by one:
"Auntie, these are local specialties from my hometown that my parents asked me to bring. Please try some of our local flavors."
Finally, she opened a wooden gift box and distributed the gifts to Xiaoming's family members one by one. Holding the last box, she said, "This is for Yuanyuan. Sister-in-law, you can give it to him."
Everyone took the box and held it without opening it. Xiaoming didn't know what Jiang Lan had bought; judging from the box, it looked like jewelry or something similar. He looked at Jiang Lan and said to his family:
"Mom and Dad, brother and sister-in-law, please open this and see if you like it. Jiang Lan has been racking her brains for many days to find a suitable gift for you."
Hearing this, the older brother and sister-in-law smiled and said, "Little Lan is so thoughtful." They then opened the boxes.
When the older sister-in-law saw what was inside, she burst out laughing: "A gold bracelet! This gift is simple and straightforward, yet stylish. I really like it."
It turns out that Jiang Lan gave everyone gold jewelry because Xiao Ming said she liked gold jewelry, so her family also liked gold jewelry. This logic makes sense.
Zhou's mother also wore a gold bracelet, though the style was slightly different from her sister-in-law's. Zhou's father and Zhou Zaiming each wore a large gold ring, while Yuan Yuan wore a festive gold beaded bracelet.
Xiao Ming urged his family to try it on, and Zhou Ma slapped him on the back: "Jiang Lan bought such an expensive thing, and you didn't even try to dissuade her."
Then, in a gentle tone, she said to Jiang Lan, "Auntie really likes the gift. You're so thoughtful, but it's just that it cost you money."
Jiang Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief: "If Auntie likes it, it's not a waste of money."
"Mom, please pack up these local specialties. I'll take Jiang Lan to his room first."
"Okay, if you want to take a shower, I've put new toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels, and slippers in the bathroom cabinet. Please help yourselves."
Jiang Lan was taking a shower. Xiao Ming took the clothes out of her suitcase and hung them in the closet one by one. After she finished tidying up, she was just picking out the clothes she was going to wear when she heard Jiang Lan call her from the bathroom: "Ming'er, bring me the razor."
Xiao Ming walked into the bathroom with his clothes and razor. Jiang Lan was drying her hair in front of the mirror.
After putting down his clothes, Xiaoming admired the handsome man emerging from the bath for a while, took a picture of Jiang Lan's outstretched hand, and turned to close the bathroom door.
Jiang Lan looked wary and took a step back: "What are you going to do?"
Xiao Ming was speechless: "What can I do? Come closer, I'll shave you."
Jiang Lan's stubble was thick and prickly to the touch, but it only made him look more sexy. Xiao Ming pinched his chin, stood on tiptoe, leaned in, and kissed him on the lips.
Under Jiang Lan's affectionate gaze, Xiao Ming shaved his beard clean: "Okay, you can go now, I'm going to take a shower."
Xiaoming turned around and put the razor in the mirror cabinet. Jiang Lan hugged her from behind, and the two silently looked at each other in the mirror.
After enjoying a brief, warm embrace, Jiang Lan smiled and walked out of the bathroom.
During dinner, Zhou's father said to Jiang Lan and Xiao Ming:
"We're having a banquet tomorrow night. Your mother and I have already made the arrangements. Even though it's just a few close relatives, we're holding this banquet to let everyone know that you're married and that you'll be living a good life together from now on."
Although they had been mentally prepared, it seemed that only now did they realize that they had returned to hold their wedding banquet. There was no grand wedding, no complicated ceremony, and no long preparation. They were suddenly told by their elders that after tomorrow, in the eyes of the people in this place, they would be a married couple.
Jiang Lan sat up straight, raised his glass and toasted Zhou's parents, his brother and sister-in-law, and even Yuan Yuan, who was looking at him blankly.
"I will live a good life with Xiaoming."
Xiao Ming looked at him quietly, smiled, and raised his glass to toast him: "Let's live well together."
Everyone in the family slept a little late that night, and Xiaoming woke up a little late the next day. When he got up, only Zhou's mother was busy in the kitchen.
"Mom, where are they? Have they all gone out?"
Zhou's mother looked up at her daughter: "Breakfast is on the table, it's still warm, eat quickly."
"Your brother and sister-in-law went to the supermarket, your dad went to the hotel, and Xiao Lan was taken out to the market by Yuan Yuan."
"Hmm? Is it market day today?" Xiao Ming counted the days on his fingers. Oh, it seems so. It's market day today.
Jiang Lan was dragged around the market by the enthusiastic Yuan Yuan.
This is a typical rural market. No one has marked it, but it has automatically divided the sales areas: one area for live poultry, one area for iron products, farm tools, pots and pans, one area for vegetables, and one area for fruit.
When they turned a corner, they saw a two-story, arched iron shed with rows of noodle and wonton stalls below. Customers sat at their seats, holding their chopsticks high, picking at the noodles, blowing on them, and slurping them into their mouths. Behind the stalls, several large pots were steaming, and the owner was below with a stainless steel ladle and a pair of long chopsticks. Jiang Lan was stunned.
He stood there, searching his mind for memories related to this strangely familiar scene.
After careful consideration, he was certain that he had never been here before, and that he had never been to a similar place in reality.
Have you ever dreamed about it? Jiang Lan's unique sensitivity to dreams suddenly surfaced. I have dreamed about it, but I've forgotten it.
A fleeting thought flashed through Jiang Lan's mind, and just as she was about to pursue it, her hand was grabbed and shaken: "Uncle, why are you standing still? Come on."
Jiang Lan looked down at Yuan Yuan and asked him, "It looks delicious, do you want to eat it?"
Yuan Yuan shook her head: "I've already had breakfast, I'm still full." Then she tentatively said to Jiang Lan: "Uncle, now that we've finished shopping at the market, let's go to the internet cafe and play a few games."
Jiang Lan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, you take me to every corner of the market, and I'll take you to an internet cafe."
A feeling of both strangeness and familiarity filled Jiang Lan's mind until Yuan Yuan pointed to a building and said to him, "Uncle, look, that's the tallest building in our town."
Jiang Lan looked up at the building, its outline softened by the warm sunlight, and was instantly stunned, as if struck by lightning.
An incredible guess popped into my head.
Jiang Lan accompanied Yuan Yuan to the internet cafe and set up a computer for him. The internet cafe was full on the weekend, so she moved a stool and sat behind him to help him organize his thoughts.
After sitting for a while, Jiang Lan was still feeling unsettled. She patted Yuan Yuan, who was engrossed in her battle, and said, "Uncle, go outside for a smoke."
Every detail matches up, and he discovers that the dream we've been searching for is actually his wife?!
After spending two hours at the internet cafe, Xiaoming called and told them to go back for lunch.
Jiang Lan rubbed her forehead, putting away her thoughts, and went home to have dinner with Yuan Yuan.
Xiao Ming was setting the table when he turned around and saw Jiang Lan approaching. He wrinkled his nose and sniffed hard: "You two went to an internet cafe? You smell terrible, like you're covered in smoke. Go take a shower and change your clothes."
At the dinner table, Jiang's father explained the schedule to them: "Your brother and sister-in-law will greet guests at the hotel entrance at 4:30, and you two will greet guests at the entrance of the private room. The banquet will start at 5:00. Before the banquet starts, just toast the elders. Dress nicely for the occasion."
Seeing the children nod in agreement, Jiang's father took a small sip of wine with satisfaction.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
