Chapter 17
Xia Qingtang was startled at first, but soon calmed down. She said, "The union chairman asked me to take sick leave today. It would be best if I went to the hospital to check my waist. I thought it was on the way anyway, so I went to the Xinhua Bookstore over there to buy a book and then go to the hospital later."
"The bookstore doesn't open until eight o'clock. Is it seven o'clock now? Why are you going to the bookstore so early?" Yao Rong looked her up and down and said, "And you're dressed so smartly."
Xia Qingtang made up her mind and said directly, "Team Leader Yao, I won't hide it from you. I have an appointment with a gay man today. He will accompany me to buy books and go to the hospital with me, so I dressed up. However, this matter has not been finalized yet. My family doesn't know about it, and I haven't told Wen Xiaoli and the others. I also ask Team Leader Yao to keep it a secret for me. I have never been around gay men since I was a child, so... I am a little shy and I am afraid that this matter will not work out."
Yao Rong smiled and said, "I knew you were going to meet someone when you dressed so nicely. Are you the one now?"
"This... I'm embarrassed to say it, it probably isn't the case yet. Anyway, if it does work out, I will definitely tell everyone." Xia Qingtang lowered her head shyly.
"Young people are afraid of being ugly. What's there to be ugly about when dating? But I was young once, so I understand this feeling. Don't worry, I will keep it a secret for you." Yao Rong said, "But is your waist okay? You are so young, if your waist has problems, don't let it affect your future marriage and childbirth."
"I'm a little worried, so I wanted to go to the hospital. I hope everything is fine. But, Team Leader Yao, how did you get out from there?" Xia Qingtang asked with a little curiosity. After all, Yao Rong also lived in the family quarters of the cotton mill.
"Oh, my parents' home is here. I came back last night for something and now I'm going to work at the factory. Don't tell anyone that I went back to my parents' home." Yao Rong showed a knowing smile.
People living in this area are all well off, and Yao Rong probably doesn't want her coworkers to know that her family is well off.
Xia Qingtang understood immediately and said, "Don't worry, Team Leader Yao, I've always kept my mouth shut, you know."
"Well, then, we have an agreement that we'll keep it a secret from each other. I won't keep you any longer. You come out so early, you must want to go to the state-owned restaurant over there at the bookstore to eat some meat buns, right? Go ahead, go and meet your date. I'm going to the factory too." After saying that, Yao Rong walked towards that end first, and she didn't seem to have any suspicion at all.
Xia Qingtang did not dare to be careless. She first walked towards the bookstore for a few minutes, and made sure that Yao Rong had indeed gone to work at the cotton mill, then she carefully returned to the street office.
Although it was a false alarm, fortunately the marriage registration went smoothly.
Because it was very early, no one came except the two people in charge, and no one knew that they had received the certificate here.
It was done in a short while. The two of them walked out of the office, each holding a marriage certificate that looked like an award certificate, and smiled at each other in the empty corridor.
Xie Jinxuan stretched out her right hand and whispered, "Comrade Xia Qingtang, from now on, we are a legal couple. I am very excited. From now on, I will do my best to be a qualified husband."
Xia Qingtang was also very excited. She had finally broken the nightmare of her previous life and would no longer have anything to do with the Kong family or Kong Liangchao.
She held Xie Jinxuan's right hand and shook it vigorously, then said: "Comrade Xie Jinxuan, I am also very excited. I hope that the two of us can become good revolutionary partners and walk together on the road ahead."
Her heart was filled with infinite confidence - confidence in a better life in the future.
"Yes! We will go on together happily for the rest of our lives!" Xie Jinxuan was so excited that he didn't know what to do. He held Xia Qingtang's hand, unwilling to let go. He just held her hand and stared at her pretty face.
Xia Qingtang had nothing to feel embarrassed about at this moment. Seeing that Xie Jinxuan cared about her so much, she was actually very happy in her heart, so she happily shook hands with him and looked at him.
Inside the room, the female comrade who had just registered them came out and said with a smile, "Thank you, comrade. It's getting late. People will line up to register soon."
Xie Jinxuan finally reacted, and quickly thanked her and pulled Xia Qingtang out. When they reached the first floor door, she quickly let go of her hand and whispered, "There are people outside, let's go separately. You know the photo studio next to Xinhua Bookstore? I have agreed with Master Chen inside that he can come to work early to take pictures for us. Let's go over there and take a picture, after all... we are getting married!"
Conditions were limited in the 1970s, but city dwellers would still take wedding photos as a permanent commemoration when they got married.
Xia Qingtang nodded: "Then you go ahead and I'll follow behind. We'll meet at the photo studio."
"Okay." Xie Jinxuan looked at Xia Qingtang with reluctance before walking out resolutely.
Xia Qingtang couldn't help but laugh a little, but after she laughed, she felt warm in her heart again.
Xie Jinxuan had her in her heart, so she was reluctant to separate from her even at such a short distance. This feeling was something she had never experienced before.
But you know what, she really likes the feeling of being remembered and missed by others.
She slowly followed Xie Jinxuan about ten steps away and walked forward, observing Xie Jinxuan's walking posture as she walked.
He had very good manners, his back was straight, and he walked with big strides. He looked like a spirited young man, and the more Xia Qingtang looked at him, the more satisfied he became.
The two of them walked to the photo studio one after the other and asked Master Chen to take a few photos of them together. There were standard marriage certificate photos, and some with one standing and the other sitting, which are all commonly used photo poses.
Although Xia Qingtang had experienced the fashionable era that followed, she had always been working as a nanny, so she had no idea about those trends and did not want to be too unconventional, so she just took photos according to the current popular standards.
After the photo shoot, Master Chen said, "You two are both very energetic, and the photos will definitely look good. It's a pity that you can't be put in the window as a model."
"It's not a pity. I don't want to show our own photos to others. My wife is so beautiful, of course she can only be seen by me." Xie Jinxuan said with a smile.
He seemed to be very familiar with Master Chen. Master Chen saw that he was joking and asked, "When are you going to show it to your family? How long will you keep it secret?"
"Let's keep it secret for now. I'll take Qingtang home in a while and give them a surprise." Xie Jinxuan looked at the time and said, "It's almost time to open the store, so we'll leave first. Uncle Chen, I'll treat you to tea another day."
After saying that, Xie Jinxuan threw down a pack of cigarettes, took the receipt and walked to the door of the store with Xia Qingtang.
"I'll pick up the photos after they're developed. Leave them with me for safekeeping. If you have anything to do in the next few days, come to my workplace to find me, or come to Uncle Chen's place and leave him a message or write a note. I'll pass by here every day to say hello to Uncle Chen."
"Okay, I'll make a note of that." Xia Qingtang said, "I may not have anything to talk to you about these days. I have to take care of things at the factory. My article has been published, and the chairman of the labor union wants to use it to deal with Director Qi."
"I saw your article, too. Congratulations."
"It's all thanks to you. You helped me revise it well. Otherwise, with my level of skill, it would definitely not have been published in the newspaper."
"Then I have to give you another credit. Do you want to ask the reporter from the Workers' Newspaper to come to your factory for an interview tomorrow regarding your article?"
Xia Qingtang suddenly understood: "Do you know anyone from the Workers' Newspaper?"
"I know them. I've dealt with them at work, but the publication of your article has nothing to do with me, and I won't help you get in through the back door. I will only tell them that this article can be used for a follow-up major report and is a good choice." Xie Jinxuan smiled and said, "They are also people with vision, and your article is indeed well written, so it was adopted."
Xia Qingtang nodded as he listened, feeling that there was a huge gap between himself and Xie Jinxuan.
Even if he had not had the experience of the next twenty years, he would still be a very capable person.
And this very capable person actually likes her...Xia Qingtang feels that she is very lucky.
Xia Qingtang smiled and said thank you, then said: "Then please ask the reporter from the Workers' Newspaper to come to our factory for an interview tomorrow. Director Qi should reflect on himself."
"Okay, I'll go tell them later." Xie Jinxuan looked around and saw that there was no one she knew outside the photo studio, so she quickly shook Xia Qingtang's hand and said solemnly, "Don't we really need to go to the park? Or at least go to the department store and buy a skirt."
"Really, there's no need. There's no rush." Xia Qingtang saw the reluctance in his eyes. He must want to stay with her the whole day.
"Then...I'll accompany you to the hospital for a physical examination?" Xie Jinxuan said again.
"No, just go to work as usual." Xia Qingtang said with a smile: "Comrade Xie, we have registered our marriage. Don't worry, I am your wife. We have a marriage certificate."
Yes, she is Xie Jinxuan's wife now. She is no longer a sparrow climbing up the ladder. Her husband is an ordinary man who works hard. With a new chance, she has finally escaped from the sufferings of her previous life.
Xia Qingtang's eyes were firm when she said this, and there was a gentle and happy smile on her beautiful face.
Xie Jinxuan looked into her eyes, realized her seriousness, and nodded seriously: "You are right, we have a certificate! It's my fault for being too anxious... Then... Comrade Xie, no... Qingtang, I'm going back to work."
He said the word Qingtang very seriously, and Xia Qingtang couldn't help laughing again. She nodded and said softly, "Okay, Jinxuan, go to work quickly."
This was the first time she called his name. After she said it out loud, she realized that she wasn't that embarrassed. Instead, she suddenly realized that his name was very nice.
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