Chapter 6

Buying a dowry

Nie Bozhao had only ten days to go back to his hometown to visit his relatives, and the round trip train took him six days. Finding a nanny also turned into getting married. This matter was as urgent as a war.

In order to have twenty yuan left every month for her son after he took his three grandsons away, Nie's mother came to act as a matchmaker.

"My son has three kids. He grew up in the city, speaks Mandarin, and is a college graduate. Look at his physique and looks. It would be hard to find someone like him even in Qisixiang. He is a real talent. Why don't you two agree?" The reason why Nie's mother didn't help her son find a wife in the past six months and only looked for a nanny was because her son was too good.

In her heart, Chen's mother was actually willing, but because Chen's father didn't say anything, she didn't dare to agree and just smiled.

"After all, you have three children. It's not easy to be a stepmother. Besides, they still have to conduct a political review. Given my daughter Lina's background, you can't beat her back after you get to the border," said Chen's father.

Nie's mother said, "How can that be possible? I'll tell you the truth. Although my son is not the top leader at the oil base, the top leader cannot control him. He is someone who can talk directly to the higher-ups. He is a scientist, do you understand? He is a scientist. In the past six months since his wife died, many of his female classmates from college came to chat with me and cried and shouted that they wanted to marry him, but I didn't agree."

"What about the bride price?" Father Chen talked about the most important thing.

"Your eldest daughter lent me twenty yuan earlier. That will be included in the betrothal gift. I will round it up to 188 yuan. What do you think?" Nie's mother was very stingy and was determined to reduce the betrothal gift.

Chen's mother was unwilling too. "Mrs. Huang, now in our village, the bride price is 388 yuan for dating. You only gave me 188 yuan. That won't do." He is a senior engineer in the oil field. The bride price is too little.

Father Chen was also unwilling, and he stood up immediately and said, "I will go out and borrow the money that Lili borrowed, and I will pay you back. We are not going to get married anymore."

Originally, Mr. Chen was unwilling to marry a 30-year-old widower with three children, but now he had a reason to refuse.

Chen Lina was so anxious that she didn't know what to do, when she saw a woman sneaking her head outside her yard. She suddenly saw a bright light in her eyes, "Aunt, why are you here again?"

The reason why Aunt He Chuner came was also for Chen Lina’s wedding.

"Lina, there is a stinky old ninth in Nanhe Township who has the same social class as you. He is willing to pay a dowry of 88 yuan and wants to marry you. Are you willing?" He Chuner asked straight to the point.

As soon as the curtain was put up, Mr. Chen, Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Nie looked at He Chun'er as if they were seeing something new.

They were all from the township party, and everyone knew each other. Nie's mother pursed her lips and said, "Hey, look, there are still 88 yuan here. They are bad elements with the same background as you. I don't want you. Let's discuss this again."

Chen Lina said, "Aunt, I'm talking to Boss Nie, so why don't you introduce Chou Laojiu to someone else?"

"Boss Nie? Isn't he an engineer at the oil field? Why would he want you? With your background, can you really marry an engineer at the oil base?" He Chun'er felt it was new.

Chen Lina smiled meaningfully and said nothing more.

Chen's father slapped his thigh and said, "188 is 188. I agree. Marry her."

It was then agreed that the man would provide the dowry, and the matter was happily settled.

The next step was to go shopping for dowry. It was agreed that the Nie family would pay for these things, and Chen Lina would take them to the Nie family.

Also, Chen Lina took some time to go to the brigade and asked the brigade leader to issue her an identity certificate. Now when she returned to the village, she wanted to take the opportunity to tear up the certificate.

Only after the certificate is obtained can she and Nie Bozhao be considered a legal couple.

It was still the same 28-inch truck, and Nie Bozhao was waiting by the side of the road.

Chen Lina wore a military green jacket today and tied her hair into two braids. This is a popular style among the girls in Qisi Township now, but no matter who wears it, no one looks as good as Chen Lina.

While she was standing by the roadside waiting, several young educated youth who had just finished work were whistling from a distance.

Chen Lina was beautiful, smart, and good at studying. She was the focus of the crowd since she was young. She was not annoyed or shy when someone whistled at her to prove that she was popular. She never paid any attention to the attentions of these young men.

But when Nie Bozhao came to her, she immediately acted silly. However, she was a little unhappy. The educated youth in the village were whistling, but he, seeing her dressed so beautifully, was just looking at the air, without even a trace of emotion in his eyes.

I sat on the back seat of the bicycle, and oh my goodness, my butt was really uncomfortable.

"Comrade Chen, do you have any requirements for the bride price?" Nie Bozhao asked Chen Lina as he pedaled in front, with the wind blowing early in the morning.

He is tall and big, with that familiar soap scent on his body. Chen Lina likes this man from the bottom of her heart.

She thought to herself, I just want to marry you, even if there is no dowry or money. But she certainly couldn't say that, she still had to be reserved.

After all, the man is so young now, only thirty years old, and in her eyes, he is still a young man.

In his previous life, he had many suitors, even many daughters of high-ranking officials did not hesitate to lower their status and actively pursue him.

It is said that one female classmate even chased him into the desert in order to marry him, and he remained unmarried for fifteen years.

Is it because he still can't let go of his ex-wife who died only six months ago? Or is there another reason? Chen Lina can't tell for sure.

Moreover, he looked serious and solemn, like a veteran cadre. A soft little hand had reached out to hold his waist, but Nie Bozhao frowned and stared at her hand with a serious look.

Chen Lina was very careful and just grabbed the back of his clothes.

Well, he looked at her coldly like this, and every single item was an account. She had to write them all down, and settle the bill all together after getting the marriage certificate.

"Let's just follow your idea, Comrade Lao Nie. I'll just do whatever other people do with their betrothal gifts."

"I asked around last night and found out that here, the three most popular items for weddings are a sewing machine, a radio, and a flashlight. We have to leave right after we get married, and it's not easy to bring big items with us on the road. How about we just forget about the three big items?"

"Okay." Chen Lina answered so straightforwardly that the man was shocked.

"Then let's follow the old three big items: three pieces of cloth, three basins, three washing supplies, and then three pieces of clothes. What do you think?" Nie Bozhao then put forward his own idea.

The so-called three washing supplies are a soap box, a mirror, a toothbrush and a tooth mug. If you really want to go on a long trip, these three things are essential. However, buying the three big items costs at least 200 yuan, while buying the three small items costs at most 2 yuan.

Chen Lina thought for a moment and asked, "Comrade Lao Nie, how much money did you take today?"

"I'll take as much as you want. That's not a problem." Listen, it's still as refreshing as it was in my last life.

"Tickets, where are the tickets?" Money alone is not enough. Everything in the state-owned stores must be purchased with tickets.

Nie Bozhao rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a handful of tickets, which he handed to Chen Lina. "Three shoe tickets, ten meters of cloth tickets, and these are hygiene tickets, which are used to buy washing supplies."

Without saying anything else, she tilted her mouth and said, "Since it's a betrothal gift, then the money is mine according to the rules. I'll manage it. Do you have any objections?"

Nie Bozhao took out two brand new big reunion notes from the pocket of his woolen coat and hesitated before handing them to Chen Lina.

The more he looked at this fair and gentle young lady, the more he felt sorry for her. How could she have been beaten into a fool?

Chen Lina took them all and turned around and went into the state-owned store.

The face of the salesperson in the store was originally colder than the frosted ground outside, but when he saw two young comrades walk in, he became enthusiastic.

Needless to say, they were getting married and were here to prepare their dowry. People only get married once in their lifetime, and the saleswomen in state-owned stores were no exception and had to smile at them.

"Lady, what do you think of this piece of cloth? The new one is really cool, strong, durable and beautiful. The key is the color. Look at how bright the color is." As the salesperson spoke, she started to promote the product.

Red is a festive and elegant color, and is a must-have for young girls when they get married. Nowadays, it is popular in rural areas to wear a red dress when getting married.

However, Chen Lina did not look at the cloth. She walked around the store for a long time, but stopped in front of the shoes in the corner, pointed to a row of large cotton shoes in the corner and asked, "Do you have these shoes for children?"

"Yes, what size do you want?"

"What's your child's shoe size?" Chen Lina asked Nie Bozhao.

Nie Bozhao spread his hands and said, "I don't know either."

"Then buy them according to age, one for seven, one for five, and one for three." Chen Lina was decisive and handed over all three shoe tickets.

Nie Bozhao hesitated, "Comrade Xiao Chen, my daughter Sandan is only two years old and can only wear shoes for two-year-olds. Erdan is only four years old, and the eldest is only six years old." He was afraid that she was ignorant and would make trouble.

"Will they never grow taller?" Chen Lina asked back, her mouth twitching and her eyes fixed.

The salesperson understood that the man must be a second marriage, and said with a smile, "Men don't know anything. They think their children are raised on the cold wind."

As they spoke, several sales clerks laughed together.

The man looked serious and somewhat embarrassed, just like an old cadre with his hands behind his back.

If she hadn't witnessed his maturity, humor and wit later on, Chen Lina would have found it hard to believe that this was the man she had lived with for more than ten years.

"I don't mind if they're too big, but can I change them if they're too small?" Chen Lina asked the salesperson while holding three pairs of shoes.

"Yes, but you can't use it on the ground. Just try it on the kang. If it gets dirty, no refund or exchange." The salesperson was straightforward.

She bought three pairs of cotton-padded shoes with velvet inside. Chen Lina also picked out some cloth. It wasn't really cool, but the thickest velvet. To be honest, winter was approaching, and Uima was in the north. It was so cold there that it was really cool to wear. It was a joke.

After coming out of the state-owned store with a bunch of instructions, Nie Bozhao hesitated for a long time and said, "The twenty yuan is all yours. Just tell me what you want to buy. Don't be stingy with the money."

She said she was buying dowry, lotion, soap, shampoo, etc., but she didn't buy anything except a few pairs of shoes for the children.

Not only is she stupid, she doesn't even seem to have the passion for beauty that ordinary little girls have.

You know, Nie Bozhao's mother-in-law is very, very difficult to deal with. Nie's mother is just on the younger side.

Besides being thoughtful, his mother-in-law is a complete shrew. More so, a ruthless shrew who is feared by everyone in the entire Umayyad region.

Moreover, the hardships of the base were beyond the imagination of Chen Lina, a little girl who had only attended college and had always lived in the countryside. Nie Bozhao felt guilty about coaxing a silly girl to the base to take care of his son, so he inevitably wanted to be nicer to her.

"Oh, money? Didn't I say I can manage it?" Chen Lina said, and jumped on the back seat of the bicycle. "Let's go."

He immediately said, "Sure, sure. It's your money, you can use it as you like." In fact, he had a large stack of banknotes in his pocket, but now he had no place to use them.

Riding a 28-inch bicycle, Nie Bozhao turned a corner in the village and prepared to go home.

"Comrade Lao Nie, hey, stop, isn't that right? We still have to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a marriage certificate, why are you turning back?"

"My household registration is at the oil field, and the introduction certificate can only be issued at the oil field. Let's hold the wedding first, and then get the certificate when we get to the oil field. Is that okay?"

"Really? Then we have to get the base before we can get the certificate?" Chen Lina looked disappointed.

Hey, it's tiring to play dumb, okay? She can't hold it back any longer. Does she have to keep pretending all the way to the border or to the oil base?

"Hey, isn't this Lina? She just called off her engagement with Guozhu and got on the car of our village oil worker?"

Just at this moment, a young educated youth came over from a distance, whistling and carrying a hoe. He was quite interesting and blocked the road.

Sitting on a bicycle, Chen Lina immediately felt that the man's breathing became heavier.

Looking back, the rigid seriousness on his face turned into curiosity and meaningful "Comrade Xiao Chen, who is Nie Guozhu?"