On New Year's Eve, Liu Yongnian went to the supply and marketing cooperative to queue up before dawn with the money and tickets that his daughter had forced upon him.
After waiting in line for more than two hours, I finally bought a fresh big grass carp without disappointment.
After buying the fish, I followed my daughter's instructions and bought two pounds of flour, some meat and cabbage, in preparation for making dumplings today.
Liu Yongnian met an acquaintance when he was coming out of the supply and marketing cooperative carrying a lot of things.
"Teacher Liu, you are here to buy fish too!" The school teacher, Mr. Zhang, greeted Liu Yongnian with a smile, holding two big grass carps in his hands.
"It's Chinese New Year now, and the kids haven't had much to eat on normal days," Liu Yongnian replied modestly.
"I heard that your Meiyun has returned from military service?"
"She has been back for a while. Her mother had a back injury, so she came back to take care of her for a while."
"Very good, this daughter is filial and pretty. You two will be blessed in the future." Old Zhang was generous in his praise.
"It doesn't matter whether she enjoys happiness or not. As long as the child lives well, her mother and I will feel relieved." Liu Yongnian felt relieved when he thought of his young lady.
Old Zhang said with a smile: "My second son was thinking about you two days ago, and asked when he would come to your house to pay New Year's greetings."
Liu Yongnian paused and thought for a long time before he realized that what Old Zhang was talking about seemed to be his youngest son who worked in the county committee.
Although he could occasionally talk to Old Zhang, he had only met his youngest son a few times and was not familiar with him, especially in the past two years, when they had never even said hello. Why did he suddenly have to go to his house to wish New Year's greetings?
“This kid has a heart.”
Liu Yongnian could only smile awkwardly, exchange a few casual words, and then hurried home with the vegetables to make dumplings for his daughter.
After arriving home, the family divided the work neatly: Liu Yongnian kneaded the dough, chopped the fillings and killed the fish; Zhou Huiru prepared the fillings and rolled out the dumpling wrappers; and Liu Meiyun taught the five-year-old Liu Bowen how to make dumplings, cultivating his hands-on skills from an early age.
Liu Bowen was so happy that he nestled in his sister's arms and kneaded the dough as if it were mud. His rosy face was covered with flour, which made Zhou Huiru next to him feel very distressed.
"This white flour is so expensive, and you are used to your brother wasting it like this. You two might as well go to my side, so that I don't have to be upset when you see it."
No matter how good-tempered Zhou Huiru was, she couldn't stand seeing these two siblings wasting food like that.
"Mom, this is not a waste. This is in Bowen's hand. Let's put it in the pot and let him eat it himself later." Liu Meiyu retorted.
In this day and age, many people still don't have enough food to eat, so how could she waste food? Liu Bowen spent half a day kneading a dough ball as a rare toy. If she hadn't stopped him, the child would have just stuffed the raw dough ball into his mouth.
"It's all saliva, in the end just throw him into the pot and roll him around twice" Zhou Huiru looked at her little son, saying words of disdain, but she couldn't help feeling sad in her heart.
My son is over five years old, but he doesn't like to talk and is not as lively as other children. It's only since my daughter came back that this child has smiled more often.
"By the way, I just bought fish and met Lao Zhang on the way back." Liu Yongnian saw his wife and children chatting animatedly at the table next to him and he couldn't help but want to join in, so he took the initiative to start the conversation and told his wife and daughter about his encounter with Lao Zhang.
When Zhou Huiru heard this, she dropped her rolling pin and asked, "Then you didn't tell anyone that the girl came back with a boyfriend?"
"Why would I say that?" Liu Yongnian frowned and looked at his wife seriously. "Don't spread nonsense everywhere. We are in such a bad situation that I wish no one would remember us. Don't let your mouth be uncontrolled just because you have found a good son-in-law."
Seeing that he was still acting like he was right, Zhou Huiru was furious. "I said you are stupid. It's obvious that Mr. Zhang wants to marry his son to our daughter. He came to our house under the guise of paying New Year's greetings to propose marriage. You didn't let people know that our daughter already has a partner. What? Do you really want to wait for him to come to your house to pay New Year's greetings? You will be embarrassed by then."
"He didn't ask about this, though. I can't just tell everyone that my daughter is dating someone, right?" Liu Yongnian felt a little anxious after hearing what Zhou Huiru said. Lao Zhang's son works in the county committee, but no one knows what kind of person he is. If he offends him, wouldn't his family's life be even worse in the future?
However, even if it would offend someone, Liu Yongnian would not let his daughter suffer any injustice in this matter.
Not to mention that the daughter has already found a partner, even if she hasn't, he would never let his daughter enter the Zhang family.
He didn't know the character of Old Zhang's son, but he knew Old Zhang's daughter-in-law. When he was a teacher in the school in his early years, Old Zhang was the gatekeeper of the school. His daughter-in-law was a notoriously hot-tempered woman. They quarreled every other day, all because of trivial matters at home. She not only quarreled with other staff wives, but also quarreled with his son's daughter-in-law at home.
Liu Yongnian would never find such a difficult mother-in-law for his daughter.
"I'm saying that your brain is useless now that you don't teach anymore, right?" Zhou Huiru was very disappointed. She knew better than Liu Yongnian how difficult it was to deal with the woman in Old Zhang's family.
"Mom, don't be angry first." Liu Meiyu sat there making dumplings as if nothing had happened. To her, this was no big deal.
"Aren't there still some biscuits that Changzheng bought in our counter? Ask Dad to send some over later. Uncle Zhang gave Dad two oranges a few days ago, so we should return the favor, right?"
Liu Meiyu's words awakened Zhou Huiru and her husband.
"Yes, yes, I'll get it now." Zhou Huiru wiped her hands on her bib, opened the cabinet and started to pack the biscuits. She turned around and said to Liu Yongnian in a bad mood, "Don't kill the fish. Send it to someone first. Otherwise, I won't be able to live a peaceful life this year."
"Yes, yes, I'll go now." Liu Yongnian didn't dare to say anything and was about to leave with his things.
"How should I say it? I don't need to teach you anymore, right?" Zhou Huiru was worried.
"I know," Liu Yongnian nodded, "I just said that these things were given to us by my daughter-in-law as a gift."
Zhou Huiru waved her hands in satisfaction, "Go quickly, stop chatting, and come back to kill the fish after you send them off."
“Hey!”
As soon as Liu Yongnian left, Zhou Huiru couldn't help but complain to her girlfriend.
"Your dad's brain has really not been as good as it was when he was teaching in the past two years..."
As Liu Meiyu listened to Zhou Huiru's chatter, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.
In the original owner's memory, Zhou Huiru and Liu Yongnian got married out of love. They had been together for so many years and had experienced some minor frictions and many complaints, but their relationship was enviable.
When Zhou Huiru married Liu Yongnian, he was just a poor boy, but her family owned several businesses. However, they later encountered misfortunes and many of her family members were killed. Her only brother seemed to have fled abroad with a box of small yellow croakers.
Thinking of this uncle, Liu Meiyun frowned and asked Zhou Huiru: "By the way, Mom, do I have another uncle abroad?"
Zhou Huiru was stunned for a moment, "Yeah, how did you know?"
"My dad said so," Liu Meiyun said lightly, then asked, "Are you still in touch?"
"It was broken a long time ago." Zhou Huiru shook her head, looking sad. "I don't know if your uncle is doing well out there alone."
Carry a box of small yellow croakers with you, and things shouldn't get any worse.
"Mom, do many people know that my uncle is abroad?"
Zhou Huiru shook her head, "Not much. Your uncle left secretly, so he didn't dare let anyone know."
"What's wrong? Why are you asking this suddenly?" Zhou Huiru couldn't help but tense up when she saw the serious expression on the lady's face.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm just asking."
Liu Meiyun suddenly regretted her hasty words, saying this to Zhou Huiru on New Year's Eve, and said hurriedly: "It's New Year's Day now, I guess your uncle is missing you outside too."
Zhou Huiru sighed, "Your father and I only found out the night before he boarded the ship."
Thinking of the night when she parted with her brother, Zhou Huiru paused in rolling the noodles and looked at Liu Meiyu and her brother with complicated eyes. After a moment, she sent Liu Bowen outside to watch the fish and then closed the door.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
Zhou Huiru was acting mysterious, and Liu Meiyun couldn't help being curious. She saw Zhou Huiru suddenly half of her body crawl under the bed, and after struggling for a long time, she finally took out an iron box from the hole in the wall.
Liu Meiyu's eyelids twitched, "Mom, what is hidden here?"
"Open it yourself and take a look." Zhou Huiru handed the box to her and lowered her head to brush off the dirt on her body.
With mixed feelings, Liu Meiyu opened the heavy iron box, lifted the black cloth, and saw the gold bars neatly arranged inside, which were bright yellow and dazzling.
"Mom!" Liu Meiyu swallowed and her heart suddenly beat faster.
"Here are twenty gold bars. Your uncle left them to me before he passed away. I originally planned to give them all to you as a dowry, but then your brother was born unexpectedly, so I thought you two would each have half. But now that Bowen is with you, you can take all the gold bars with you."
"Mom" Liu Meiyun was about to refuse, but Zhou Huiru waved her hand and interrupted her:
"You've seen the situation your father and I are in. We can't help you. You and Changzheng will have your own children in the future. With Bowen, you will need a lot of food, clothing and expenses. Take all these gold bars with you. They will be used in emergencies. Mom knows that you are smart and capable now, but it is not your responsibility as a sister to raise Bowen. Mom and Dad can't be so selfish. These gold bars are our compensation to you."
Seeing the kindness in Zhou Huiru's eyes, Liu Meiyun felt mixed emotions. She knew that even if she raised ten Liu Bowens, she would not need ten gold bars. Other families valued sons over daughters, especially in this era, but the original owner's parents favored daughters from the bottom of their hearts.
Liu Meiyu, who had almost forgotten what it felt like to be loved by her mother, had tears in her eyes. She hugged Zhou Huiru, smelled her gentle scent, and said in a choked voice, "Mom, I will make sure you, Dad, and Bowen live a good and peaceful life in the future."
"Okay, okay," Zhou Huiru patted her daughter's back with a smile on her face.
"I only want half of the gold bars. I'll give Bowen's share when he turns 18. You can save it for him to marry a wife in the future."
Zhou Huiru wanted to say something, but Liu Meiyun didn't let her.
She remembered that in the scene she had seen, the original owner also came back at this time, and Zhou Huiru secretly gave her fifteen gold bars as her private property. Unfortunately, the original owner was too weak, and the gold bars were eventually snatched away by her in-laws. Because of this, the original owner caught a cold and was unable to give birth. She was not driven out by her in-laws, but was given a child to adopt, so that they could torture her with a legitimate reason.
Even though the original owner did not have the conditions to take her brother away in her previous life, Zhou Huiru still gave her fifteen gold bars for her to live on, which shows how much Zhou Huiru and her husband loved their daughter.
During the two days of the New Year, Liu Meiyun did not go anywhere. She stayed at home and learned needlework from Zhou Huiru.
Zhou Huiru doesn't have to go back to her parents' home. Liu Yongnian is an only child, and he has not had any contact with people from his hometown since his parents passed away.
The son of the Zhang family, after receiving Liu Yongnian's hint, did not come to pay New Year's greetings.
The family lived in a small bungalow, undisturbed by anyone, and had a very quiet time.
Zhou Huiru unpacked all the three cotton-padded jackets sent back by Wang Goudan's family, took out the cotton, and used the cloth that Liu Meiyu brought back from the supply and marketing cooperative to make a thicker cotton-padded jacket for Liu Bowen.
Zhou Huiru was planning to make the removed cloth into single clothes, but was stopped by Liu Meiyu.
"Mom, use these to make a pair of pants for the kid, and stuff them with some cotton."
"That's fine," Zhou Huiru nodded. It was for Liu Bowen to wear anyway, so it didn't matter whether it was a shirt or pants. If it was made into pants, it wouldn't matter if there were more patches.
Liu Meiyun didn't explain anything either.
"Mom, do you know Wang Goudan's mother?"
"We live so close to each other, and we often meet on the road, but we never say hello." Zhou Huiru replied.
That means you don’t know each other.
Liu Meiyu felt strange. She didn't know why, but she always felt that Wang Goudan's mother seemed to have an inexplicable hostility towards her family.
When she told Zhou Huiru about her suspicion, she frowned, "No way, you mean that the old lady was instigated by her daughter-in-law to instigate her grandson Goudan to bully my Bowen?"
"It's possible." Liu Meiyu nodded, thinking of what she saw that day. Although the woman habitually kept her head down and said nothing, as soon as she opened her mouth, the old lady's mind would become active.
"As far as I remember, her name seemed to be Song Chunmei, and her husband worked in a meat processing factory. She was very introverted, and she would never talk to anyone even when we met her while buying vegetables. My family has no grudge against her, right?" Zhou Huiru frowned and simply stopped the needlework in her hands.
At this moment, Liu Yongnian, who was changing the coal briquettes in the coal stove next to him, suddenly felt his grip loosen.
Zhou Huiru saw the broken new coal briquettes on the ground and felt distressed. "Liu Yongnian, what's wrong with you? You can't even hold a single coal briquettes. This is the only supply we have this month. If you smash them all, what will your son and daughter use?"
Liu Yongnian, however, didn't care about the coal briquettes. He walked over to Zhou Huiru with an unpleasant look on his face and said, "Do you remember, I told you before that the year we were going to get married, someone in my hometown wanted to find me a date in the countryside."
"What?" Zhou Huiru's eyelids twitched and she glared at Liu Yongnian unhappily.
Liu Yongnian swallowed his saliva, looked at his daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law, and then said, "Although I have never seen her, but I heard my mother mention her. She seemed to be called Chunmei. After I married you, I heard that she was married to a pig butcher."
"So it's you who caused this again!" Zhou Huiru was so angry when she heard this that she dropped the needle and thread basket and pinched Liu Yongnian's arm hard.
"Wang Goudan's father used to be a butcher! Come on, you, as a father, why are you saying this now? It turns out that people are bullying your son because of you. Who can have a father like you who betrays his son?"
Zhou Huiru was so angry that she couldn't get enough of pinching him, so she couldn't help but want to hit him with her unsewered shoe sole. Liu Meiyun grabbed it and coaxed her:
"Mom, it's not my dad's fault. Think about it, he can't even remember people's last names. If you hadn't mentioned a name in front of him today, he wouldn't have remembered it. What else can you tell him? Besides, doesn't this prove that my dad has room for you alone in his heart for so many years?"
"Yes, yes, yes. If you hadn't mentioned it today, how would I have thought of it? I don't even know her." Liu Yongnian nodded in agreement. He felt that his young lady had a sharp tongue and every word she said touched his heart.
Zhou Huiru's face became a little red with anger after hearing what the lady said. She glanced at Liu Yongnian but didn't say anything to him in the end. Anyway, that family probably wouldn't dare to cause trouble to her family again. Wang Goudan's father was suspended from his job in the factory because of the pork incident before the New Year, so he must have had an unhappy New Year.
Thinking of this, Zhou Huiru couldn't help but worry again, "Meiyun, do you think her family will hate you because of what you reported?"
"Of course she will bear a grudge, but I'm going to join the army soon, so it won't be a big deal. You don't have to worry, I've asked around, her husband has just been suspended from work, I guess he's found some way, but I'm sure he won't lose his job at the meat processing factory. As long as her husband is at the meat processing factory, her family will definitely not dare to offend the neighbors around here again."
Now that family has a criminal record. Anyone with a bit of common sense will have to be careful when walking on this street.
"My lady is right!" Liu Yongnian couldn't help but nodded.
Although Zhou Huiru had calmed down, she didn't want to be nice to Liu Yongnian so quickly, so she just yelled at the man, "Hurry up and clean up the coal slag. Don't stand here. It's annoying to look at you."
…
On the third day of the Chinese New Year, the weather was clear and sunny. Liu Meiyu put down her needlework and went out to assemble the last dozen or so radios.
Yao Shunliu was very straightforward and paid the money in one lump sum.
Of course, it would be very difficult for him to pay more than a thousand yuan at once, but these were all deposits given by his acquaintances.
The radios assembled by Liu Meiyun were easy to sell. She sold them at 110 or 120 yuan each, without requiring industrial coupons. They were in great demand. Of course, the biggest earner was Liu Meiyun, who made a net profit of 100 yuan per unit. In just one month, the little girl had nearly 3,000 yuan in her hands, which was simply unbelievable.
While Liu Meiyu was eating meat, he followed behind and drank some soup, and actually made a lot of money.
However, when Yao Shunliu heard that Liu Meiyu would not continue this business after completing the assembly today, he was a little disappointed, but he did not persuade her too much.
No business can last forever. Being too greedy can easily lead to losses. Yao Shunliu knows this truth very well.
"Sister, can you eat so many food coupons?"
Yao Shunliu took out a thick stack of national grain coupons from the house, as well as other cloth coupons, milk powder coupons, and industrial coupons. All added up, it was enough for other people's families to use for a year.
These were what he had collected from various places in the past few days, not counting some that Liu Meiyu had already bought from him a few times before.
During this period, Yao Shunliu made a lot of money just by selling tickets to Liu Meiyu.
Although I was very curious in my heart, how could a girl like Liu Meiyu be so brave, making so much money and doing so many things, but people in their line of work all knew the rules, so I would rather not ask questions if I could.
"Brother Yao, thank you. After this transaction, I won't come here again." Liu Meiyu counted the money, handed it over, and said goodbye to Yao Shunliu.
After several transactions, she felt that Yao Shunliu was a pretty good person, with a quick mind, a good mouth, and a clever mind. Most importantly, he was not greedy. After several collaborations, she had never seen him raise the price or deliberately take advantage of Qiao.
"What a coincidence?" Yao Shunliu was surprised when he heard it. "I was just about to tell you that my contact point has been withdrawn since your first visit. I have to go to the countryside next month. After I finish this business with you today, I will stop doing it."
By the way, he was also grateful to Liu Meiyun for helping him make some money easily before going to the countryside. After all, he didn't have to worry about money after going to the countryside.
"That's quite a coincidence," Liu Meiyu said with a smile, without asking any further questions.
At that time, a lot of young people went to the countryside. It was normal for people like Yao Shunliu who were unemployed in the city to go to the countryside.
If she had not married Lu Changzheng, she would have ended up in the countryside.
"By the way, I picked up something in the countryside a few days ago. Do you want it?"
"What is it?" Liu Meiyu asked casually.
"I got a string of jade gourds from an old lady. I don't know if they are real or not, but I bought them because they looked pretty. I strung three of them together. I don't think they are worth much, but they are small and exquisite, so I took them."
Yao Shunliu was not interested in collecting old things. He was also an outsider. He could not understand them, and it was difficult for him to sell them. He thought the jade gourd string was really beautiful and that girls would like it, so he bought it on impulse.
"Okay, how much?" Liu Meiyu had money in her hands, so she could buy things without any regrets.
Regardless of whether it is real or fake, it is not expensive anyway.
When Yao Shunliu saw that she accepted the goods without even looking at them, he looked up to Liu Meiyu even more.
"I bought it for eight yuan, and I'll give it to you for nine yuan?" Yao Shunliu was not sure. It was not that he felt guilty, because he bought the jade gourd for eight yuan. He just felt that it was not worth it. A country boy could not have any real antiques. He spent eight yuan to buy three small broken gourds. At that time, he just wanted to give it a try.
"Thank you, Brother Yao. I'll give you ten yuan. It's a pleasure to work with you. I hope everything goes well for you in the countryside. Bring some money and notes with you. The countryside is different from the city. If we have the chance to meet in the future, I hope we can work together again."
When dealing with people, saying a few kind words doesn't cost money and can also improve their favor. Liu Meiyu doesn't mind saying a few more words.
Yao Shunliu was stunned, looking at the pair of Liu Meiyu's eyes wrapped under the Lei Feng hat. They were clean and bright. Even with two thick black eyebrows, they were not so unsightly after getting used to it.
He knew that Liu Meiyun was pretending to be beautiful. With such beautiful eyes, her face couldn't be that bad.
"Thank you." After taking over the big group, Yao Shunliu suddenly felt a little lonely.
In comparison, Liu Meiyu was in a pretty good mood.
Because the string of jade gourds that Yao Shunliu collected was indeed small and beautiful, with a shiny and moist color and no flaws to the touch, it was most suitable for children to play with.
It’s hard to tell whether it’s real or fake. It’s only ten dollars anyway, so it’s fine as long as it looks good.
On the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, Liu Meiyun went to the railway station to join Chang Zheng.
After waiting for an hour or so, I finally saw that tall military green figure in the crowded crowd.
"Meiyun!" Lu Changzheng ran over quickly with a smile in his eyes.
"Are you tired?" Liu Meiyu also smiled. Seeing that Lu Changzheng was in a good mood, her mood became better.
Lu Changzheng shook his head decisively, "Not tired at all."
Of course he is tired. He has been excited since he stepped on the train leaving Beijing, and he hasn't calmed down yet.
"Go to the guesthouse to put your luggage first. My mother has made delicious food for you at home."
"Okay." Lu Changzheng nodded, decisively reached out to grab Liu Meiyu and led her out of the train station.
When he arrived at the guesthouse, Lu Changzheng took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes.
Liu Meiyu was sitting in the lobby of the guesthouse waiting for him. When she saw him come out, he looked so imposing and handsome that the girl at the front desk secretly glanced at him several times.
Liu Meiyu walked forward with a smile and said, "Take your dirty clothes with you. I'll wash them and hang them up for you when I get back. It's not convenient to hang them here in the guesthouse."
Lu Changzheng paused, and his smile widened. "Thank you, Meiyun."
Back home, Liu Yongnian and Zhou Huiru were more enthusiastic about Lu Changzheng than their own son.
"Changzheng, why did you bring so many things again? You're wasting money." Zhou Huiru frowned and advised him when she saw several large bags of things on the table.
"You and Meiyun will have to spend a lot of money when you get married, and your uncle and I don't need to eat these. I told you last time not to spend money recklessly, why didn't you listen?"
"Auntie, this is what my grandfather asked me to bring to you. My wedding to Meiyun was rushed, and my grandfather couldn't spare the time, so he asked me to bring these to you and uncle to replenish your health."
"And Bowen." Lu Changzheng said, pulling out a child's military backpack from under the cloth bag, with five red stars shining brightly on it.
"Bowen, say thank you now." Zhou Huiru smiled and pulled Liu Bowen out from behind Liu Meiyu. "Your brother Changzheng has come to our house so many times. How come you are still so timid?"
Liu Bowen twisted his fingers together, his eyes fixed on the military bag, unwilling to take his eyes away, but his little mouth was pouted stubbornly, unwilling to make a sound.
Lu Changzheng didn't take it seriously. He just slung the military bag over the boy, rubbed his head, and said, "Let your sister make you a set of imitation military uniform later, and you will be a little warrior too!"
As soon as Liu Bowen put on the small military green backpack, he slipped out of Lu Changzheng's hands like a loach, and hid behind his sister again, holding the small backpack curiously, and ignored what Lu Changzheng said.
"You little ungrateful bastard!" Lu Changzheng was very unceremonious. He grabbed Liu Bowen back, patted him on the buttocks twice, and then let him go.
Liu Yongnian and Zhou Huiru, a married couple, watched from the side with only smiles in their eyes. They felt from the bottom of their hearts that this son-in-law was a good person.
He is not hypocritical. Whether it is towards Liu Bowen or Liu Meiyun, you can see that he treats people sincerely.
Although the old man did not come in person, he asked Lu Changzheng to bring a lot of things with him, and they were all good things.
Especially when she saw there was a small ginseng, Liu Meiyu's eyelids twitched again.
Among the things given by the old man, many were special products not available on the market. Liu Meiyu was a little surprised. She thought that her previous guess about Lu Changzheng's family might have been too conservative.
Even someone like Liu Meiyu, who had seen the world, was frightened by the pile of things sent by the old man, not to mention Liu Yongnian and Zhou Huiru.
Looking at the many things on the table that they had never seen before, the two of them stared at each other, not knowing what to say.
But that was not all, Lu Changzheng gave them an even bigger surprise.
"Uncle, aunt, there is one thousand yuan in this passbook. It is the betrothal money that my grandfather saved for you."
Lu Changzheng stuffed the memorial into Zhou Huiru's hand, but Zhou Huiru dared not take it and quickly pushed it back as her hands were burned.
"Chang Zheng, we don't want this, take it back quickly."
A betrothal gift of one thousand yuan!
In that era, giving 30 yuan to marry a wife in the countryside would be talked about for a long time. Even in the city, giving 30 yuan as a betrothal gift was considered respectable. But when Lu Changzheng suddenly threw a note for 1,000 yuan at them, Zhou Huiru and her husband were almost scared to death.
But no matter how dizzy they are, they will not accept this money. If they accept such a high gift, wouldn't that be like selling their daughter?
The couple was determined to refuse. Since Lu Changzheng was unable to deliver the memorial, he turned to Liu Meiyu for help.
"My parents won't want this betrothal money, so just take it away." Liu Meiyu stood aside, speaking truthfully.
Given Zhou Huiru and her husband's personalities, it's impossible for them to accept this passbook.
Lu Changzheng was in a dilemma for a while, then thought about his grandfather's instructions and stuffed the memorial into Liu Meiyu's arms, "My grandfather gave me a mission. If my uncle and aunt don't want it, I'll give it to you. Anyway, if you ask me to return this memorial, he will probably break half of my leg."
The 1,000 yuan note was passed around like a hot potato. What could Liu Meiyu say? She would never complain about the money.
"Then I'll go back and say thank you to Grandpa myself."
Just like that, Liu Meiyu accepted the letter, and the family no longer had to push it back and forth, except for Zhou Huiru and Liu Yongnian, who had to criticize her a few times.
"How could you accept that letter? Return it to the owner right away."
Sure enough, after the family finished their meal and waited for Lu Changzheng to return to the reception, Zhou Huiru started to talk to Liu Meiyu.
"Your mother is right. We cannot accept this memorial." Liu Yongnian also echoed.
Liu Meiyu sighed, "Dad, Mom, even if I return the letter now, my grandfather will still send it to me later. You didn't accept it, but Lu Changzheng stuffed it into my hands. It's obvious that my grandfather must have thought of this. Think about it, Lu Changzheng and I are getting married soon. If this letter is in my hands, isn't it the same as if it was in Lu Changzheng's hands?"
“…”
"What the lady said seems to make sense." Liu Yongnian was once again impressed by the lady's eloquence. As a mathematics teacher, he paid the most attention to logic when looking at problems. He felt that there was nothing wrong with the logic of what the lady said.
After marriage, you are husband and wife, there is no need to distinguish between yours and mine.
"I'm asking you if you could have some opinion of your own!" Zhou Huiru pinched the man in annoyance.
She was not as eloquent as the young lady, and there was a man who was just a fence-sitter by her side. It was useless to talk to him for a long time. In the end, she just didn't bother to care and turned around to continue making clothes for Liu Bowen.
I got my marriage certificate with Lu Changzheng on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
After coming out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Lu Changzheng carefully put the two pieces of paper in his pocket. He looked smiling, as if he had a gold ingot on him.
Zhou Huiru and Liu Yongnian, a married couple, were waiting at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau with their young son. The three of them were wearing new cotton-padded clothes made for the Chinese New Year. They looked clean and respectable, as if they had returned to the state of mind they had been in a few years ago when Liu Yongnian was still teaching at the university.
"Dad, Mom, let me hold Bowen, let's go to the photo studio now." Lu Changzheng couldn't hide the smile on his face. He hadn't even walked up the steps of the Civil Affairs Bureau yet, but he couldn't wait to change his words and try to please his brother-in-law.
"Bowen is so old now, you should stop bothering him all the time." The more Zhou Huiru looked at her son-in-law, the more satisfied she became.
"That's right. If Bowen doesn't listen to you in the future, you have to beat him up, Changzheng. Don't worry about your brother-in-law. Otherwise, this kid will be spoiled by his sister."
As a father, Liu Yongnian certainly hopes that his son can grow up to be like Lu Changzheng, tall and straight, and most importantly, have the toughness of a man.
Liu Meiyu watched as her parents were praising Lu Changzheng and forgetting about her, except for Liu Bowen who was pouting and looking at her eagerly. She suddenly felt that her status in the family would be lost once the marriage certificate was signed.
Fortunately, this feeling disappeared when we walked to the photo studio.
At that time, developing a photo only cost a few cents per photo. Zhou Huiru and her husband were reluctant to spend the money, so they took only one family photo and didn't want to take any more.
Liu Meiyu, who had several passbooks in her pocket, didn't care about that little bit of money. She used her mouth and persuaded the couple to cooperate and take several more photos.
When giving the money, Zhou Huiru was unhappy again when she saw the lady's extravagant spending. "Look at you, you are already married, why don't you know how to spend your money? Your father and I are already in our 60s, why are we wasting money on taking photos of ourselves? We might as well take a wedding photo of you and Changzheng as a souvenir."
Liu Meiyu didn't care. She agreed verbally, and when she paid the money, she secretly asked the master to wash a few more.
"Mom, please keep this list. Go back and get the photos and send them to me. Also send a copy to Grandpa Changzheng."
They are leaving the day after tomorrow, so it will definitely be too late to retrieve the photos.
"Got it. Don't worry." Zhou Huiru nodded. When she heard that a copy of the photo would be sent to Beijing, she felt much more satisfied.
After obtaining the marriage certificate, Lu Changzheng went to the Public Security Bureau to transfer Liu Bowen's household registration, and happened to meet his comrade-in-arms.
That comrade had a good relationship with Lu Changzheng. He was just demobilized and assigned to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau last year. He suddenly found out that Lu Changzheng was already married. His wife was beautiful, but her family situation was not good, and she had a burden.
"You are really good. You married such a beautiful wife without saying anything, and even gave you a brother-in-law as a dowry."
While Liu Meiyu was not around, the comrade couldn't help but tease Lu Changzheng.
"If you are jealous, just find one yourself. But it may be difficult to find someone as beautiful as your sister-in-law."
Well, seeing how much Lu Changzheng was enjoying it, the comrade swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his throat, and shook his head, "I didn't know you were so superficial."
Lu Changzheng was too lazy to explain to him and just threw a few fruit candies on the table. Before leaving, he asked someone to help look after his father-in-law's house.
The comrade was not happy at all. Not only did he have to work all morning to prepare a few wedding candies, but he also had to fulfill his responsibilities as a son-in-law in the future. This was not the way to do business at a loss.
"It's okay for me to take care of it for you, but you have to give me something in return, right?"
Lu Changzheng glanced at him and waited for what to come.
"Please keep an eye out for me later if there are any good-looking girls. Introduce one to me. You are married now, I can't stay single forever."
Lu Changzheng said with disdain, "Didn't you just say that I was superficial?"
“I didn’t say it was a shortcoming,” the man retorted shamelessly.
"I'll ask your sister-in-law to keep an eye on it for you later." Lu Changzheng responded casually.
Coming out of the Public Security Bureau, Zhou Huiru and Liu Yongnian were holding the household registration booklet that only contained the two of them, and they looked a little lonely.
Liu Meiyu didn't know how to comfort her, so she just took her to a department store.
She now has enough money in her pocket, so she has to buy all the missing things in the house before leaving. Otherwise, given the personalities of Mr. and Mrs. Zhou Huiru, they will definitely spend all the money even if they have it.
Seeing that she was about to spend money again, Zhou Huiru couldn't care less about her loneliness, so she quickly pulled her aside and gave her a lecture: "You kid, you can't control your money after getting married, and you don't know how to manage the household at all!"
"Mom, Liaoning Province is not like Shanghai. Changzheng and I got married, but we haven't bought anything for our family yet. The department stores here have a lot of things, and the prices are definitely more affordable than the Liaoning Provincial Supply and Marketing Cooperative. We can buy things and send them directly. When we get there, we won't be at a loss for what to buy."
Lu Changzheng nodded and said, "Mom, Meiyun is right. The living conditions in Liaoning Province are harsh. There is only one supply and marketing cooperative on the island. To get to the market, you have to take a boat and then a car. It's quite troublesome to buy things there. And the temperature there is very high."
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