Chapter 91 Submitting a Marriage Report
Chapter 91
Zhou Jingsong really couldn't answer this question. He glanced back at the two girls chatting and laughing, and Meng Yingying's actions were something he used to do.
My favorite thing to do is to press my face against Yue Ru's belly and try to catch the baby's movements inside.
Now Meng Yingying has taken his place.
Unfortunately, he couldn't have any thoughts or opinions.
In terms of time, Meng Yingying knew Zhao Yueru before him, and in terms of friendship, the two of them had the best relationship.
In terms of affection, Meng Yingying gave almost everything to Zhao Yueru. During the most difficult days for him and Zhao Yueru, it was Meng Yingying who supported them.
Whether it was her monthly salary of forty-two yuan, or meat coupons, pastry coupons, or milk powder coupons, these were the most important supports for Zhao Yueru during her pregnancy and pregnancy preservation period.
Without these things, Zhou Jingsong and Zhao Yueru both knew that she wouldn't be able to save the baby in her womb.
The situation was critical at the time; not only was the pregnancy being maintained in the hospital, but the body also needed to be nourished.
However, meat and milk coupons were almost nonexistent on the market, and going to the black market was purely a matter of luck. Of the several pregnant women who were trying to save their pregnancies at the same time as Zhao Yueru, two of them lost their pregnancies; injections and medications to prevent miscarriage were ineffective.
It still needs to be used in conjunction with real-world supplements such as refined grains, meat, and milk powder to be effective.
However, under these circumstances, not everyone can get tickets. If Meng Yingying hadn't collected so many tickets from the garrison for Zhao Yueru, Zhao Yueru wouldn't have been able to hold on until now.
Therefore, Zhou Jingsong also felt a sense of gratitude towards Meng Yingying.
"Old Qi." He put the wrapped dumplings into the pot. After the water boiled, the dumplings were instantly boiled by the steam and floated to the surface. "From now on, you should treat Comrade Meng better."
"You should treat her the same way that Yue Ru treats her."
"Otherwise, I won't let you off the hook either."
No need for Yue Ru to say it.
Qi Donghan used a large iron ladle to scoop up the dumplings that had sunk to the bottom of the valley, preventing them from sticking to the pot.
Hearing this, he glanced at Zhou Jingsong and sneered, "Given the relationship between my Yingying and your Zhao Yueru, if you treat Zhao Yueru badly in the slightest, you just wait and see if my Yingying will make me beat you to death."
Zhou Jingsong didn't say anything, he just kept making dumplings.
As he wrapped it up, he murmured, "Old Qi, haven't you noticed? We used to have a pretty good relationship."
Otherwise, Qi Donghan wouldn't have traveled a long distance to visit him with medicine while he was blind and back in his hometown.
Qi Donghan watched as the dumplings boiled and floated to the surface. He added a ladle of cold water, and when the pot stopped boiling, he raised an eyebrow with a hint of sarcasm. "And then?"
He was so tall and imposing that even the stove seemed incredibly short in front of him, like a child playing house.
Zhou Jingsong glanced back at the two women who were still talking non-stop. "And then, I'm worried that we'll fight each other to the death in the future."
He and Qi Dong fought fiercely, only to find Yue Ru and Meng Yingying watching them fight while eating melon seeds.
Qi Donghan followed his gaze and saw that Meng Yingying's face had a rare radiance, the kind of light one would show when seeing someone very close to them.
Qi Donghan's heart softened as well. "If Yingying wants to see it, what's wrong with a fight?"
Zhou Jingsong couldn't bear to watch any longer. "If you were in ancient times, you would definitely be a tyrant."
Qi Donghan didn't explain, but just kept asking, "Your wife wants you to fight me, are you going to fight?"
Zhou Jingsong hesitated for a long time before finally uttering a single word, "Fight."
If my wife is happy, I'll hit her however I want.
Qi Donghan smiled enigmatically, his silence speaking volumes. Zhou Jingsong's face burned with embarrassment; unable to stay in the kitchen, he called out to the main room, "Get bowls and chopsticks, set the table, the dumplings are almost ready."
As soon as she said that, Zhao Yueru went to get a chair. Since it was still a new house, she only received two chairs at the time.
Since there were only two people at home, and there was really no other way, Zhao Yueru went and pulled out the long bench that was under the bed.
When Meng Yingying went inside, she was shocked to find that half of the bed had collapsed because of the meal.
"Yueru, no, no, no! We can eat standing up if there are no chairs. Why did you take the bed apart?"
Zhao Yueru waved her hand, "It's okay, this bed is just a bed board with two benches. I'll put the benches back after we finish eating."
As for the collapsed bed, let it remain collapsed.
Meng Yingying was puzzled.
Meng Yingying was greatly shocked.
"Why are the beds in the barracks like this? What if the bed collapses one day?"
Zhao Yueru said, "In order to save money, every household here has beds like this: two long benches and a bed board."
She recalled carefully, "I've been stationed here for more than 20 days, and I've never heard of any bed collapsing."
"Moreover, Zhou Jingsong also felt that this bed was not good enough, so he wanted to order one from outside. I don't know how his contact is going."
She didn't seem to like such trivial matters, so she changed the subject, "Come on, Yingying, help me, this side of the bed board is stuck, I can't pull it out."
Meng Yingying was horrified. She tried to drag it away, saying, "You put it down, I'll do it, don't move."
She was terrified. After the stool was pulled out, she still scolded Zhao Yueru, "You're pregnant now, you can't be so reckless, or you'll harm the baby."
Zhao Yueru waved her hand dismissively, "It's already been done." Seeing Meng Yingying's expression change, she immediately added, "But it's fine now."
"Anyway, when I didn't dare to move, she would always have trouble with the pregnancy. Now that I'm a tough woman every day, she's actually more well-behaved."
At this point, she touched her belly and said to Meng Yingying with concern, "Yingying, do you think I'm pregnant with a tomboy too?"
If she can't rest, she'll cause trouble.
She exerted all her strength, but the child remained quiet.
Meng Yingying couldn't respond to this, so she could only comfort her, "As long as the child is healthy and safe, that's more important than anything else. Don't think too much about it."
Zhao Yueru gave a soft "hmm" and came out of the room to find two bowls of hot dumplings already on the table.
Made with high-gluten flour, without any coarse grains, the dumplings are white and plump. A bowl of dumplings should contain more than twenty, and they are served in a large, coarse porcelain bowl.
Add to that the dumpling soup, and it's steaming hot.
To be honest, this was the best meal Meng Yingying had eaten in the nearly ten days since she got on the bus.
"Yingying, sit down quickly."
Zhao Yueru invited her, "Come and try Zhou Jingsong's cooking. I think he cooks quite well."
Meng Yingying nodded. The dumplings were filled with cabbage, and it seemed that some meat was also chopped in. The cabbage, which had just been frosted, was sweet and juicy, and mixed with the meat scraps, it was both fresh and hot.
After taking another sip of dumpling soup, I felt like I had come back to life.
"How about it?"
Zhao Yueru looked at her expectantly.
Meng Yingying nodded, "It's delicious." She gave a thumbs up.
Just as Zhao Yueru was about to praise Zhou Jingsong, Qi Donghan casually remarked, "Unfortunately, I prepared the dumpling filling, and Zhou Jingsong made the dumplings."
"I wonder if Comrade Zhao finds the dumpling skin or the filling more fragrant?"
Oh.
These match up perfectly.
Zhao Yueru gritted her teeth, and Meng Yingying went to pull Qi Donghan away. She didn't understand why this man, who was usually not very talkative, was so mean to Zhao Yueru.
Zhao Yueru: "Yingying, don't pull him."
"Let me tell you, he's just jealous of me."
“He’s jealous of me. All your attention is on me. You ignore him, and he gets angry, so he tries to get your attention back.”
Meng Yingying was taken aback. She looked at Qi Donghan, but Qi Donghan didn't answer. He just kept putting the dumplings from his bowl into Meng Yingying's bowl.
"Eat it while it's hot, and then we'll go back to work."
"Director Fang from the cultural troupe is still counting on you to go back and report to her."
In order to see Zhao Yueru, Meng Yingying even handed over her report to Commander Fang to Yang Jie and came over alone.
Qi Donghan's words made her a little nervous. "I'll go over after I finish eating."
Zhao Yueru was unhappy, feeling that Qi Donghan was setting a trap for Yingying to sow discord between her and Yingying.
However, Qi Donghan always brought up work, which left Zhao Yueru with no reason to object.
By the time Meng Yingying finished the dumplings, she was covered in sweat. In this early winter weather, eating a bowl of steaming hot dumplings was really comforting.
"Yueru, I have to go back to the performing arts troupe. I'll come see you again when I'm done with my work."
Zhao Yueru was reluctant to part with me. "You don't need to come see me. I'm pregnant and unemployed. I have plenty of time every day. If I miss you, I'll just go to the performing arts troupe to watch you dance."
"Yingying, I haven't seen you dance in so long." Her eyes sparkled. You see, she and Meng Yingying used to dance together every single time they were in the propaganda team for the past three years.
Meng Yingying was a little worried, because her belly was too obvious.
"It's okay." Zhao Yueru patted her big belly. "The doctor at the military hospital told me to exercise more every day."
"It's okay."
Qi Dong stood silently to the side. Zhao Yueru and Zhou Jingsong came out to see them off. Meng Yingying looked at the bare little courtyard and said, "You can go to the neighbor's house and get some vegetable seedlings."
Zhao Yueru also felt sorry, but she shook her head, "I asked, it's already October, and heavy snow is coming soon. It's too late to plant anything now."
"I sowed cabbage and radish seeds in there, and whether they grow or not is up to fate."
All I can say is that she arrived at the residential compound too late, basically missing the planting season.
Winters in Harbin are very cold; no vegetables can survive there.
Meng Yingying thought about it and agreed, so she gave up. Only when she was about to leave did she remember that she had brought a gift for Zhao Yueru in her luggage, but she had been talking so much that she forgot to give it to her.
So she opened her suitcase and rummaged through it, finding a box of Red October chocolates and a can of stewed meat.
Zhao Yueru didn't really want it; she felt that Meng Yingying had spent all her money. Meng Yingying, however, simply put the things down and left, saying, "You can buy it for me later when you have money, it's the same thing."
Meng Yingying left, and Zhao Yueru looked down at the chocolate and stewed meat cans. She murmured to Zhou Jingsong, "Zhou Jingsong, I feel like I owe Yingying more and more."
After Meng Yingying and Qi Donghan left and walked out of the residential compound, she suddenly asked, "Are all the beds in the residential compound like this?"
"What?"
Qi Donghan was stunned for a moment.
"It's just a bed board put together on two long benches."
If the bed frame were to become crooked one day, wouldn't someone fall off the bed?
Qi Donghan considered for a moment, "In the past, we had wooden beds, and then there were iron beds. As you know, during the Great Leap Forward, all the iron beds were recycled. Sitting on a pure wooden bed wasn't cheap either, and the funding for the garrison wasn't much. So the logistics department simplified the beds, making only bed boards and long benches, which saved us four chairs."
The chairs don't need to be picked up separately anymore, which saves the logistics department a lot of money.
Meng Yingying fell silent after hearing this.
She hadn't expected the garrison to be so poor, so poor that even the bed boards in the family compound had to be pieced together.
"Qi Donghan".
Her voice was soft and she sounded somewhat unhappy.
Qi Donghan turned his head to look at her. It was afternoon, and the sun shone through the thick clouds onto her face.
It looked as if it were plated with a layer of gold, very soft and beautiful.
"What's wrong?"
"After we get married," she paused, "I don't want a bench bed."
She didn't want to be on tenterhooks every night while being put to sleep, and she didn't want to sleep on this wooden bed. This bed was even scarier than the metal-framed beds in the dormitory.
Upon hearing this, a smile flashed in Qi Donghan's eyes. "Of course."
"I'll figure out the bed."
"Yingying, I'm so happy."
Meng Yingying turned her head and looked over, clearly puzzled as to what was making this person so happy.
Qi Donghan said, "Because you're already willing to think about things after marriage."
For Qi Donghan, wasn't this a further step in their relationship?
Meng Yingying thought for a moment, "Since you're thinking about getting married, you definitely need to consider things after marriage, Qi Donghan, are you stupid?"
Qi Donghan wasn't stupid; he was just overwhelmed by happiness.
He couldn't tell Meng Yingying about this, so he kept it to himself and enjoyed it.
Who would have thought that coming back to see Zhao Yueru would lead to such good fortune? He turned to look at Meng Yingying, utterly unable to believe that the thin woman before him could be connected to the chubby woman he knew five months ago.
"Yingying".
"Um?"
"Eat more in the future and gain some weight."
He prefers slim waists and long legs, but if it's Meng Yingying, he thinks it's better if she's a little chubby; a little bit of flesh would make her physical foundation better.
Meng Yingying found it somewhat amusing, "I can't do that. If I get any fatter, my teacher will start to worry about me."
Qi Donghan felt a little regretful. He escorted her to the downstairs of the cultural troupe and watched Meng Yingying go upstairs. He earnestly instructed her, "Remember to tell Director Fang about submitting the marriage application. If you're too embarrassed to say it, I can do it for you."
Meng Yingying looked up at him, "No."
"What?"
"I'm not embarrassed," she said softly. "Marriage is a perfectly legitimate thing."
"We've been dating openly and honestly, and with our boss acting as matchmaker, it's time for us to get married."
She had been worried and afraid that marriage would affect her career, and she was also worried that Qi Donghan was not the right person for her.
But when she learned that Qi Donghan was the one who helped her carry the coffin and the one who saw her father off on his final journey.
Meng Yingying suddenly felt relieved. She thought that if they were to get married, there was no one in the world more suitable than Qi Donghan.
Seeing her frank attitude, Qi Donghan felt a strange sensation in his heart. He wondered if Yingying liked him.
He didn't know.
But all he knew was that he and Meng Yingying were getting married, and that was enough for him.
It's okay if you don't like it now; feelings can be cultivated after marriage.
Qi Donghan waited until Meng Yingying left before leaving to go and report the marriage to Commander Chen.
On the other side, before Meng Yingying could find Commander Fang after going upstairs, Yang Jie came to find her, looking rather unhappy.
"Teacher, what's wrong?"
Meng Yingying asked a question.
Yang Jie didn't say anything, but pulled Meng Yingying to Commander Fang's office. When she arrived, Commander He was also there.
This surprised Meng Yingying, but then she thought that since they had returned to China and received their graduation certificates, Director He would naturally come over to discuss how to proceed.
Thinking of this, Meng Yingying felt a little more at ease. She remained silent, choosing to remain calm in the face of any eventuality.
"Yingying is here?"
He Chu greeted him with a smile, his face showing no sign of worry.
This made Yang Jie admire him even more, since He Changfa had been the one who was the most angry in the office before.
Meng Yingying nodded, "Where does it grow?"
"Don't call me Director He. If you don't mind, just call me Aunt He."
Meng Yingying subconsciously looked at Yang Jie. Although she knew Director He first, in terms of their actual relationship, she was actually closer to Yang Jie.
Yang Jie has a simpler personality, and she's straightforward; if she's good to you, she's good to you, and she would never scheme against you behind your back.
But Director He is different. She's shrewd and resourceful, with ruthless methods. To be more precise, she doesn't care much about right or wrong; she only cares about interests.
Yang Jie nodded, "Call her Aunt He. We're of the same generation, so it's not wrong for you to call her Aunt He."
Meng Yingying then called out "Aunt He." Aunt He raised her eyebrows; her eyebrows were drawn thin and curved, and she wore red lips, making her look somewhat like a lady in a magazine.
"This child really listens to you now."
She sighed.
It seems that during Yang Jie's absence, she has firmly secured her position as Meng Yingying's master.
Of course, this reflects Director He's rather pragmatic thinking.
Yang Jie frowned, disagreeing with her statement, "This child respects his teacher."
He Chang remained noncommittal, then changed the subject, "Yingying, you should be able to tell from your teacher's face that she seems a little worried."
Yang Jie is straightforward and not very cunning; otherwise, she wouldn't have left the dance troupe back then.
Meng Yingying nodded hesitantly, "I wonder what happened here?"
Yang Jie remained silent, as did Commander Fang. Both of them were straightforward and clearly quite angry.
Commander Fang slammed his fist on the table in anger, "Why is the capital city treating us like this?"
Meng Yingying was still somewhat puzzled.
Director He poured a glass of water for Regiment Commander Fang, saying, "Come and calm down."
Commander Fang couldn't drink it, but Commander He remained calm, saying, "What's the point of getting so angry in front of the children?"
"It's better to let the child know first."
Clearly, Director He was much calmer than both Commander Fang and Yang Jie.
"Teacher, what exactly happened?"
It was Meng Yingying who asked this question. Everyone else was keeping her in suspense, but she was the only one completely clueless, which was obviously not a good thing for her.
Yang Jie didn't know how to bring it up with her students, so she asked Director He to do it.
Director He took a sip of tea and calmly asked, "You went to Suzhou for exchange and study this time. There were four of you, right?"
Meng Yingying nodded.
He said, "Li Shaoqing and Shen Meilan were both accepted into the Capital Song and Dance Troupe ahead of schedule."
"They plan to report for duty tomorrow."
Meng Yingying stood with her hands hanging naturally at her sides, her eyes and brows gentle. "Aunt He, what about me and Tong Jia?"
The voice was also gentle, without a trace of sharpness.
He sighed deeply, knowing that this child was formidable, as he had gotten to the heart of the matter with just one question.
"Because the letter from the capital said that neither the Capital Song and Dance Troupe nor the National Ballet of China will recruit any more people from local areas."
Meng Yingying frowned, "Even if we have graduation certificates, it won't work?"
Director He said, "It's precisely because it's not working that we're so angry."
"This is a case of changing orders every day."
Meng Yingying pondered for a moment, "What about Shen Meilan and Li Shaoqing?"
Director He paused for a moment before explaining, "The two women are using borrowed identities, but in reality, they are still residents of the capital, and their household registration and employment status are both in the capital."
"That's why they received their acceptance letters earlier, while you didn't."
Meng Yingying thought for a moment, "Because of household registration and work unit? Does the capital want regional protectionism?"
Director He nodded thoughtfully, "That should be a consideration."
Yang Jie, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "It could also be because of me."
Everyone looked over.
"I reckon the news that Yingying is my student has reached the capital and there should be some suppression."
As soon as he said that, Director He denied it, saying, "It shouldn't be."
"If that's the case, how come even Tong Jialan was rejected? There must be new information and policies coming out in the capital, but we're too far away to get them, so that's where the problem arose."
At this point, she turned to Meng Yingying and said, "Yingying, don't be in a hurry."
"Let me ask around."
It sounds nice, but the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. It's not an easy thing to have a voice in the capital.
If it were that simple, Director He wouldn't have been so dedicated to helping Meng Yingying gain a foothold in the capital.
Meng Yingying hummed in agreement, her mind clear. "If there's still no movement from over there, then we—"
She looked up at the leaders and teachers in the office, and said calmly, "Then we'll call them."
Commander Fang was taken aback. "What?"
Director He suddenly realized, "You mean a ring match?"
"right."
Meng Yingying pursed her lips, "It was the capital that changed its policies so frequently, cutting off our future prospects."
"In that case, let's go and challenge them. Whether or not we can join the Capital Song and Dance Troupe is one thing, but it's inevitable that local cultural troupes and provincial song and dance troupes will challenge the Capital Song and Dance Troupe."
"They may refuse to accept me, but they cannot stop me from challenging them."
As soon as he said that, the huge office fell silent.
After a long pause, He Changcai clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Brilliant! This is a brilliant idea!"
She was about to rush out, saying, "If contacting people doesn't work, then let's do as Yingying suggested and go challenge them."
Meng Yingying called out to her, "Aunt He, how long will it take in between?"
"It's really hard to say where it will take," she shook her head. "It could take a day or two if it's quick, or a long time if it's slow."
Meng Yingying thought for a moment, "Then there's enough time."
"do what?"
"Submit a marriage application."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
