Chapter 51: Eldest Sister's Wedding Gift
Just when Qin Ju was busy adapting to the job of head of the health institute for more than a month, the Spring Festival arrived in full swing.
Just three days before the Spring Festival, He Liansheng successfully received the university acceptance letter.
This year's college entrance examination required students to apply first and then get their scores. In order to take care of his family and the work in Mr. Chen's laboratory, he applied for Shilan University. There is no such thing as 985 or 211 yet, but Shilan University is the most prestigious university in the central and western regions of China, without a doubt. The whole family is very satisfied with the admission result.
At the same time, Ailan also received a letter from Liao Zhixian, saying that he was successfully admitted to Shilan Agricultural University and would report there after the New Year. He would go back to Haicheng to visit his parents soon.
Recently, a large number of educated youth have returned to the city, and he could have returned. The Liao family even helped him find a temporary job as a street worker. As long as he went back, he could start working immediately, but he still refused.
The reason was, besides wanting to be a college student with integrity and strive for a better future, there were also emotional factors involved.
He and Ailan have been keeping in touch over the years, and their relationship has become stable. Grandma Qin's attitude has also changed from being unapproving at the beginning to no longer being opposed. Now Xiao Liao said in a letter that he would go back to Haicheng to discuss the marriage with his parents, and then he could come and propose.
When Ailan heard that he had been admitted to the university, she was filled with joy. If it were the old Ailan, she would have been worried and always felt that she was not worthy of the unmarried male college student, who was a native of Haicheng and spoke with less authority. But in the past two years, she has been with Mr. Chen and has improved her interpersonal skills and become more confident.
Just like what Mr. Chen said, a woman’s ultimate destination is not marriage. She can get married or not. She has the freedom to do so.
Therefore, even though Qin Guihua urged her to get married openly or secretly, she remained unmoved and waited until Liao Zhixian was admitted to university and settled his parents in Haicheng before she agreed to his marriage proposal.
On the night of the sixth day of the first lunar month, there was a knock on the Qin family's door, and Liao Zhixian, covered in snow, rushed over from Haicheng.
He was wearing a patched Liberation uniform, with an unshaven beard and shivering from the cold. Qin Ju didn't recognize him when he opened the door, and thought it was a family member who came to see her for medical treatment. In the past two years, as her reputation spread, in addition to the factory employees and family members, residents of Lenghe Town also often came to her for medical treatment, and even people from the next town hundreds of kilometers away came to ask her for treatment.
Because of limited medical conditions, she can now not only treat internal medicine, gynecology, and pediatrics, but also surgery. She can fix fractures, stop bleeding, and suture wounds. On average, she sees one case every two or three days. She has even delivered several babies. It is common for family members to knock on her door in the middle of the night. In order to make it easier to see patients as quickly as possible, she even has two medical kits at home, which are always equipped with various emergency medicines and the golden needles donated by Mr. He. She has also saved more than a dozen critical and severe cases.
There was no other way. Lenghe Town was too far away to go to a big hospital. Even if she didn't know how to do it, she had to rush in, read more books and learn more. Gradually, she became braver and could handle any situation, no longer limited to traditional Chinese medicine.
"Laidi, do you still recognize me?"
Qin Ju was stunned, "Brother Liao?!"
"Come into the house quickly. Why are you here at this time?" It was snowing heavily outside.
Liao Zhixian went into the outer room, and the others had already come out of the inner room. They were all very surprised.
Qin Guihua asked him to take off his coat quickly, opened the stove and lit the fire, "Come and warm yourself up quickly, what's the emergency with you in the middle of the night?"
Liao Zhixian's face was flushed red, and it was unclear whether he was shy or frozen, he was stammering.
Qin Pan looked at him, then at her little rabbit, called out "Brother Liao", and poured him a cup of boiling water. She had a good memory and still remembered everything that happened in the past. Brother Liao was very kind to them and often brought water and chopped firewood for the family.
Liao Zhixian had been prepared for a protracted war, but he did not expect to be treated so courteously in the Qin family. He was a little flattered and stuttered even more. "I, I'm not cold. I took the train to the provincial capital and then took the supply car to get here."
Normally the supply truck only carries employees and their families, and strangers are not even qualified to get on the truck. But luckily the driver today was Xiao Zhang, and when he heard that he was looking for Qin Ailan, he hurriedly asked him what his relationship with the Qin family was. When he heard that they were from the same village, he enthusiastically took her back on the way.
Qin Jue went to cook for him while reminiscing about the past. They had used up all the vegetables and meat from dinner and were planning to go buy more tomorrow morning. She could only beat two eggs and cook some hot noodle soup. "Brother Liao, just have one bowl first. We can buy some vegetables tomorrow."
The noodle soup was hot and very tasty, with a strong aroma of eggs. It made him feel warm in his stomach, and he said "thank you" three times in a row.
Qin Ju smiled secretly, they were family now, why should they be polite?
It was bustling here. Doubao heard the noise and drowsily crawled up, rubbing his eyes and calling "Mom".
Without waiting for Qin Ju to come in, she lay on the edge of the kang and slid down slowly, bit by bit. She seemed to be sensitive to distance and knew how far the distance was, how high the height was, and how many steps she needed to take to get down. She could grasp the timing just right every time and had never fallen yet.
She came to the outer room and saw everyone smiling. She looked at the man in the middle who she had never seen before with a puzzled look on her face, and followed her aunt in shouting, "Brother!"
Everyone laughed, "You can't call me brother."
Isn't this messing up the generations? I don't know if Grandma Qin was dazed or really happy, she actually took the initiative to say: "Doubao should call me uncle, okay?"
Liao Zhixian's face turned red like a tomato. He stood up and sat down, sat down and stood up again, like a messy and excited puppy.
*
Sure enough, early the next morning, Qin Guihua asked Ailan to go shopping for groceries with her. On the way, she got straight to the point: "Boss, the exam is over. What are your plans for marriage?"
Ailan smiled sweetly, "I'll listen to you."
"What did Xiao Liao's family say?"
"The old man told us to hold the wedding here first, and then go over there and invite a few tables of neighbors when the weather warms up."
It was quite open-minded. Liao's parents were very open-minded about their son's marriage, because they had not given their son any money in the past few years, and their son had always squeezed out money from his pocket to honor them. They felt sorry for Liao Zhixian and did not interfere in his marriage.
Liao Zhixian was quite frank and told her at the beginning that Ailan was divorced. The old couple had no objection and just said that this would help them cherish each other more, so everything went smoothly from beginning to end.
"Okay, then the 16th day of the first lunar month, that's a good day."
Qin Ju counted with his fingers, isn't that nine days later? Is grandma so efficient?
But then I thought, the 1977 college semester starts in February, so those few days are just the right time to celebrate my eldest sister's wedding before reporting on it.
"There's only one week left, so hurry up and prepare everything you need."
"Teacher Chen said that he would give me a day off to prepare for the wedding, so I don't have to go over to cook." Ailan paused and whispered, "He also said that he would not give me a gift money when I get married, but he could apply to the factory to help us rent a flat with embossed characters. We only need to pay three yuan a month for rent, and we can live there until we have enough money to build our own house."
No matter what era, one must have a house to get married. Liao Zhixian couldn't get a house. Although Ailan was half-employed in the factory, she was not a formal employee and was not eligible for a house. If Mr. Chen asked, the factory logistics department would naturally agree. They would just charge three yuan in rent due to rules and regulations, but it was no different from living there for free.
The old lady nodded, feeling very grateful in her heart, but she said nothing. Humph, this old man had nothing to say about Ailan.
So, three granddaughters and two (future) grandsons-in-law were arranged. After the house is completed, everyone will work together to clean up the house, decorate the wedding room, and the family will be united, etc.
As they walked, "Hey, I saw not many people in the supply and marketing cooperative just now. Let's go and take a look." Cotton had started preparing little by little before winter came. Now all she needed was a big red quilt, a pair of pillowcases, a thermos and an enamel basin.
She has some money now, so she is not afraid to prepare dowry for her granddaughter. These days, things are expensive on the one hand, and scarce on the other, so for things like enamel basins and thermoses, which are just needed by every newlywed couple, the supply and marketing cooperatives don't have so many, so you have to queue up.
There may be some products on the black market, but the prices are always increased. Otherwise, why would people sell them on the black market and risk being caught?
Qin Ju also wanted to give her elder sister a wedding gift. After two lifetimes, her elder sister finally found her own happiness. What should she give? She seemed to have enough food and clothes, and there was no special meaning. Qin Ju simply asked: "Sister, what do you want most now? You can't say you don't have anything."
Seeing that she was still as clever as she was when she was a child, Ailan felt so soft inside. She was thinking about the naughty little sister who always loved to cause trouble. "I wish I could have a formal job."
What she didn't say just now was that in addition to giving her honeymoon leave and helping her apply for a house, Mr. Chen also told her another thing - she might be unemployed.
Because Mr. Chen has gradually gotten used to the eating habits of Lenghe Town, and there is a special person in the canteen who delivers his meals to the laboratory, he no longer needs Ailan to cook. Ailan is old enough to take care of her husband and children after marriage and take care of her own small family. He doesn't have the heart to force her to stay by his side just for one meal a day, or even not to cook a meal. He hopes that she can have a broader sky, and even encourages her to go out, see more, and find a job that she is good at and likes.
Therefore, Qin Ailan is now a little entangled in future work issues.
She thought that if she said that, Lai Di would not be able to "give" her a job. After all, who could directly give someone a job these days?
Although Lai Di was very capable and became the director of the health center at a young age, she was unable to arrange work for her.
Unexpectedly, Qin Jue's eyes lit up, "Okay, I can do it."
"ah?"
"What?"
Qin Ju smiled and looked at his grandmother and elder sister, "Eldest sister wants to work, I said I have a way."
Qin Ju knew that in a few months, the spring breeze of reform and opening up would blow from the south. Although the inland areas would need a longer time to react, it was just the right time to start preparing now.
The eldest sister inherited her grandmother's cooking skills and has excellent cooking skills. Qin Ju has always felt that if she had not been murdered by Liu Jiawei in her previous life, she would have been able to open a small restaurant in Hongxing County after the reform and opening up. Although she might not become rich, she would at least be able to worry about food and clothing.
"Not to mention that she used to cook for people in Hongxing County and worked in a state-owned hotel. In the past few years in Lenghe Town, she has also cooked for many people, right? She has been to Secretary Gong's house and Director Li's house, and she has received good reviews every time. Instead of helping other people, it would be better for her to open a restaurant. If you want to eat the food she cooks, you have to come to the hotel to find her. Not only can you earn more, but you will also have more freedom."
The grandfather and grandson were a little dumbfounded, "How can a private person open a restaurant?"
Qin Jue was not able to explain something that had not yet happened, and could only say that he had read it in the newspaper and that there might be such a trend in the future.
Qin Guihua thought she was talking nonsense, but Ailan thought about it carefully. She still remembered that the third child had mentioned retaking the college entrance examination. At that time, she thought it was impossible, and even Mr. Chen didn't dare to say so. But she listened to her sister and sent the review materials she found to Liao Zhixian. Later, she really recovered. With the review and preparation in advance, he said that he performed exceptionally well.
A minute later, Ailan bit her lip and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
"Okay, then you can start working in the factory cafeteria in a few days. Work there for a year or so to save some money. In two years at the latest, we can open the hotel."
Ailan's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Qin Ju thought, maybe it can be realized in less than two years?
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