“I’m from Luzha Brigade. After you left last time, the brigade leader gave Wei Xiuying a severe scolding. Don’t take it to heart.”
The woman was unaware that Suti didn't recognize her at all, and continued talking to herself, while Suti was secretly wondering what she was thinking.
They were afraid that when she went to the county town to report on her work, she would really say something bad about their brigade, and then their brigade's reputation would be ruined.
“Auntie, Wei Xiuying is Wei Xiuying, and Luzha Brigade is Luzha Brigade. I know what I'm doing.” Su Ti wanted to laugh when she heard this.
Is this to prevent her from holding a grudge? It seems that Wei Xiuying's life hasn't been easy since she left the Luzha Brigade.
"Comrade Su, I knew you were a magnanimous person." The man laughed when he heard Su say that, thinking she wasn't angry anymore.
Suti didn't say anything. She was a temporary staff member in the publicity department, not a department that meddles in other people's business. Did these people really think she would go and complain?
"Auntie, I get carsick and want to take a nap first." Su Ti didn't want to chat anymore, so she leaned on Wei Baichuan's shoulder and didn't want to talk.
Now the couple has to avoid suspicion in public, so Su Ti found an excuse to lean on Wei Baichuan's shoulder and close her eyes to rest.
When the man saw that Suti had closed her eyes, he assumed she was carsick and decided not to disturb her any further.
The other passengers on the bus didn't say anything unpleasant when they saw this.
By the time they arrived in the county town, it was almost ten o'clock. Suti didn't call his grandfather and the others immediately.
She had just made a phone call yesterday and was also going to ask her grandfather for news. She figured he probably hadn't heard anything yet, so she planned to call again before going back tomorrow.
"Shall we take some photos first?" Suti thought that since it was still early, they could take photos first, then have lunch, and then do some sightseeing in the afternoon.
"Okay, wife, stick close to me." It was Wei Baichuan's first time in the county town, and he showed no sign of timidity.
He carefully protected Suti along the way, and looking at the place that was obviously more prosperous than the commune, he also longed for it.
If a county town is like this, Shanghai must be even more prosperous. His wife comes from that big city, so she'll definitely find it hard to get used to.
No wonder I looked down on him before. If I were his wife, I probably wouldn't even give him a second glance.
"It's alright, look there are quite a few patrols on the road," Su Ti reassured Wei Baichuan when she saw his worried expression.
The streets of the county town were much cleaner than those of the commune, and there were many two-story buildings around.
The state-run photo studio was located in a rather remote area, and it took the two of them a while to find it.
"Serving the people, comrades, are you here to have your picture taken?" As soon as you entered the photo studio, the person behind the counter looked up at you.
There's no one in the photo studio right now. These days, people can't even afford to eat, who has the spare money to take photos?
Even those families with good financial conditions only take a family reunion photo at the end of the year.
Usually, only newlywed couples come here to take photos to commemorate their wedding; nobody comes here normally.
"Comrade, hello, we're here to take pictures. Can we take pictures now?" Suti thought it was normal that there was no one around.
Photo studios in Shanghai are like this all year round, with the busiest time being the end of the year. Luckily, they are backed by state-owned enterprises, otherwise they would really starve to death.
"Yes, yes, comrade, what kind of photos do you want to take?" The man saw the two young people and assumed they were preparing for a wedding.
"Let's take two group photos, and then two individual photos of each of us," Suti thought, planning to send one copy to his grandparents and keep one for himself as a keepsake.
"What do you say, comrade?" The man noticed that the woman had been the one speaking the whole time, while the men hadn't said a word.
Usually, people just want to take one group photo. Do you think the men would be happy to take so many? It costs a lot of money.
These are all paid for by men. If they spend money like this before marriage, what if the other party doesn't agree? Won't they end up arguing?
"What did you say? We can't film?" Wei Baichuan was taken aback. Was he worried that they couldn't afford to pay?
"Okay, what size do you want? One inch is three cents, two inches is five cents, and five inches is one dollar. We also have frames to choose from."
The man thought the girl had excellent taste; she had found a generous partner. He had seen plenty of people arguing over taking one more photo.
"The group photo needs to be 5 inches, and the individual photo needs to be 2 inches. Comrade, can this photo be mailed?"
Suti paid the money, saw that he had written a receipt, and wondered when he would be able to come to the county town again.
"Sure, leave your address and I'll mail the photos to you once they're developed. It'll just cost an extra 50 cents."
The man was used to it; such things happened quite often, mostly to people from rural towns who needed to buy stamps to mail their mail.
He noticed that the two men were dressed better than those in his county town, and he never expected them to be from a rural area.
The photos were all in black and white. The man carefully lifted the cloth covering the camera and let Suti and Wei Baichuan sit on the bench.
Knowing they were going to have a photoshoot today, both of them wore clean clothes, and Suti even wore a dress, which was quite unusual for her.
"Get closer and smile." The comrade stood in front and gave instructions. Getting closer was not difficult for the two of them, but Wei Baichuan was very reserved in front of the camera for the first time.
"Baichuan, I think you look especially handsome today." Su Ti secretly leaned closer to Wei Baichuan and said this before immediately sitting up straight.
Wei Baichuan unconsciously smiled, turned around and looked at Su Ti with eyes full of love. The photographer thought the scene was beautiful and immediately took a picture.
When it came to taking individual photos, Suti was fine, smiling naturally at the camera, but when it came to Wei Baichuan, she was expressionless again.
Suti had no choice but to stand next to that comrade and smile at him. When Wei Baichuan saw his wife's smiling face, his expression softened.
"Okay, that's it." That guy was experienced and had excellent snapshot skills; he finished taking the photos in no time.
Suti, satisfied with the note, left the photo studio with Wei Baichuan. Wei Baichuan turned around and glanced at the location of the photo studio.
He was confused, but his wife was obviously very familiar with these things. He looked up at the unfamiliar house and the road that seemed to stretch on forever.
"What are you looking at?" Suti knew her man wasn't one to chatter, but he seemed unusually quiet today.
"Wife, I'm wondering what kind of life I would be living now if my identity hadn't been switched, and whether we would have ever met?"
Wei Baichuan felt that life is about give and take; if things had gone smoothly for him from the beginning, none of this would have happened.
"Those destined to meet will meet even if they are thousands of miles apart; those not destined to meet will not meet even if they are face to face. I believe we will meet eventually."
Suti felt that Wei Baichuan had become inexplicably sad, and that something was wrong with him.
"Wife, do you want to go back to the city?" Wei Baichuan always felt that his wife was really being wronged by coming here.
“I want to go back, but only if you’re by my side.” Su Ti gave Wei Baichuan a definite answer.
Looking at his wife, Wei Baichuan suddenly realized that his decision was wrong.
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