Chapter 92 Arranging the wedding and informing relatives
Chapter 92
The office fell silent the moment those words were spoken, and everyone turned to look.
"Yingying, are you getting married?"
"How come there's not a single piece of news about it?"
Meng Yingying smiled and then explained, "Didn't I just decide that?"
"That's why I came to Commander Fang to submit a marriage application."
Commander Fang tentatively asked, "And Commander Qi?"
Director He glared at Commander Fang, realizing that this was not a good question.
Commander Fang coughed lightly, "I was just curious. Yingying had always disagreed with Commander Qi, but she suddenly agreed. I thought they had changed people."
Director He scoffed, "You really are straightforward. Don't you think about Yingying? She's dated an outstanding man like Commander Qi. Do you think she'd be interested in any other man?"
"Or you could ask her, how many people in the entire Harbin garrison can compare to Commander Qi?"
In any case, Director He thought highly of Qi Donghan.
Meng Yingying was a little embarrassed by these words. Director He noticed this and waved her hand, teasingly saying, "Let me tell you, Yingying, your taste in men is just as outstanding as your talent for dancing."
Meng Yingying, “…”
Meng Yingying thought for a while before saying, "I didn't choose them; the big leader arranged the matchmaking."
Director He didn't expose him, thinking to himself that the big boss's matchmaking was useful, since Qi Donghan had already found a partner long ago.
Why would I possibly be waiting here?
"Alright, it doesn't matter who acted as matchmaker for you. When you and Commander Qi get married, you have to invite me to your wedding banquet."
Meng Yingying nodded, "Definitely."
After Director He left, Yang Jie and Commander Fang were both there. Yang Jie asked, "Yingying, won't you reconsider?"
She always felt that Meng Yingying was too young; wasn't it too early for her to get married at only twenty-one?
Meng Yingying lowered her eyes, and when she opened them again, her expression was more determined. "Teacher, I have made up my mind."
"Since you've made up your mind, go and write a marriage application. I've approved it for you now."
Meng Yingying had never written a marriage report before, so she was somewhat at a loss.
Commander Fang, "What's wrong?"
Meng Yingying said softly, "I've never been married, so I'm not very good at writing. Are there any examples here at the garrison? I'd like to see how they're written."
This amused Commander Fang. Among all the female comrades in the cultural troupe who had gotten married and submitted reports, this was the first time someone like Meng Yingying, who didn't know how to write a report, had asked her for an example.
"have."
Commander Fang took out a previously approved marriage report from his drawer and handed her one, saying, "Just write it according to this."
Meng Yingying took it and looked at it, then leaned on the table and began to copy it, referring to the template. She only wrote both her and Qi Donghan's names at the end of the marriage report.
Yang Jie, who was standing next to her, looked at it several times, but hesitated to speak.
Commander Fang glanced at her and shushed her, "Don't disturb Yingying as she writes her marriage report."
Yang Jie sighed. If it were her, she wouldn't have gotten married so early.
But this person was Meng Yingying again. She thought of what Director He had said before, and Yang Jie tried her best to calm herself down.
The path she chose didn't work out.
So now, Meng Yingying is taking this path, and she hopes the other party can succeed.
Whether you get married or not, it all comes down to the future, so that your dance career can go further.
That's enough.
After Meng Yingying finished writing her marriage report, she handed it to Commander Fang. Commander Fang took it, glanced at it, and after confirming that there were no problems, he signed it.
After signing, I handed it to her. "Did Commander Qi also submit a report?"
Meng Yingying nodded, "He'll go back and submit a report now."
Commander Fang nodded, "Since we've already fought, let's resolve our personal issues as soon as possible so we can focus on our careers in the future."
He had the air of an elder instructing a child.
"However," she said bluntly, "if you want to advance your career in dance, I suggest that you don't have children for the first three to four years after you get married."
"Otherwise, once you get pregnant, and then there's childbirth, breastfeeding, and raising the child, it will take you at least three years to recover."
"Yingying, I can also tell you very frankly that the average age of all the female comrades in our cultural troupe is twenty-three to twenty-four years old."
"It's all young, fresh-faced girls, which is why you don't see any women over 25 in the performing arts troupe."
"Dancing is so cruel. If you want to continue when you get older, you either need to be exceptionally talented or you have to sacrifice your marriage like Comrade Yang Jie did."
"Since you've chosen marriage but want to preserve your career, then the only option is not to have children for the first few years."
"When you're twenty-five, I'll definitely not object if you want to have children then."
Because by the time you reach twenty-five, your prime dancing career is over, and at that point, it doesn't matter whether you get married or retire from the military.
Meng Yingying knew that Commander Fang meant what he said, so she nodded and said, "I know, I will also discuss this with Qi Donghan in advance."
*
Qi Donghan ran all the way to Commander Chen's office. He was wearing a military uniform and stood tall. Although the air was still cold, white smoke was still rising from Qi Donghan's head as he ran.
"Report."
His voice was full of energy.
Commander Chen said, "Come in."
The next second, Commander Chen looked over and saw Qi Donghan, who exuded masculine energy, with white smoke rising from his head.
"You went on a field training camp?"
He remembered that Qi Donghan was not training at this time.
Qi Donghan walked in with his legs together, saluted Commander Chen, and said, "Reporting, Commander, I'm here to submit my marriage application."
Commander Chen was drinking tea when he heard this and almost spat it out. He used the enamel mug lid to skim off the foam from the tea leaves and looked up at him, saying, "I don't think you're here to file for marriage."
“You’re more like—” he imagined an adjective, “as determined as if you were to join the Party.”
That's absolutely true.
His eyes were firm and unwavering; I didn't see the joy of submitting a marriage application, but rather the determination to join the Party.
Qi Donghan finally couldn't hold back any longer. He slacked off, took a step forward with his right foot, and sat down on a chair.
He held his hair in his hands and rubbed it back and forth for a while. He took several deep breaths to calm himself down. "Uncle Chen, I'm just happy."
He and Meng Yingying had known each other for several months and had been dating for a long time, but Meng Yingying had never agreed to get married.
She only relented today.
To be honest, even now, after being separated from Meng Yingying for so long, he still feels a bit unreal coming to Commander Chen to submit a marriage application.
"Are you happy about getting married?"
Division Commander Chen walked around the chair and asked, "Comrade Meng agreed?"
He said it himself: given Qi Donghan's enthusiasm, he had wanted to marry her from the very beginning, even before the blind date.
However, Comrade Meng wanted to dance and was busy with his career, so he didn't agree at the time.
Because of this, he even chatted and joked with his wife about Qi Donghan. You know, he really went to great lengths to introduce Qi Donghan to potential partners.
He wouldn't accept any of them.
Now it's his turn to be rejected, serves him right!
I just didn't expect that after only a short time of rejection, they would turn around and want to file for marriage, which is why Commander Chen asked me that question.
Qi Donghan gave a restrained "Mmm," and said, "I agree."
The joy hidden in his tone was impossible to conceal.
"So I'm printing out the marriage certificate as soon as possible, to avoid any unforeseen problems."
Commander Chen glanced at him, fully aware that he had ulterior motives, but he didn't expose him. After all, it was perfectly normal for a young man full of vigor to want to get married.
"Have you submitted the marriage certificate?"
Qi Donghan pulled out a piece of paper that had been folded several times from his body. Judging from the marks on it, it must have been there for some time.
"I hit him."
“After Yingying and I confirmed our relationship last time, I immediately submitted a report.”
At the time, Meng Yingying had not yet agreed to the marriage, so he could only hide the report he had prepared in advance in his pocket and carry it with him, thinking that he might need it someday.
This is exactly what we need!
Commander Chen took it and looked at it. Seeing the marks on the marriage report, he couldn't help but shake his head. "You little rascal, you planned this all along."
Qi Donghan coughed lightly but didn't speak. He just stared intently at Commander Chen, hoping he would approve it quickly.
Commander Chen had investigated Meng Yingying's family background, and of course he also knew about Qi Donghan's family background; both of them were born into respectable families.
So there were almost no problems with the political background check, and he quickly approved the marriage application. After signing his name, he said, "I'll treat Comrade Meng well from now on."
Qi Donghan nodded, "Uncle Chen, I understand."
"By the way," Commander Chen casually mentioned, "since you and Comrade Meng are getting married, don't you plan to let our parents know?"
Qi Donghan paused for a moment, then said, "Yingying has no relatives left, only her third uncle. I'll discuss it with her and see what to do."
He paused, then brought up himself, "As for my mother, there's no need to inform her."
Commander Chen sighed, "Still arguing with your mother?"
Qi Donghan shook his head. "It's not that I'm making a fuss, it's just that it's unnecessary." His tone was very calm, so calm that it didn't sound like he was talking about his own family member, but rather like he was talking about a stranger. "Now that she's married and has her own life, there's no need for me to bother her anymore."
"Besides," he considered for a moment, "she has her own child, her own husband, so what am I, her son from before?"
"When Yingying and I get married, I'll need Uncle Chen to help me be a witness at our wedding."
"As for my relatives, I'll just ask my uncle to come over, that'll be enough."
Commander Chen didn't speak for a while before patting Qi Donghan on the shoulder, "Alright."
"Then go and tell Chef Liu."
"Should we hold the banquet at a state-run restaurant or at the garrison?"
Qi Donghan, "At the garrison."
"I will also invite my uncle to join the team."
The presence of the team can keep out many people who cannot enter, which is good.
Commander Chen knew what he was thinking, so he nodded and said, "Okay, as long as you have it in mind, let me know when you've decided on the wedding date."
Qi Donghan nodded and left. After he left, Division Commander Chen sighed softly, "Liu Qiufeng, Liu Qiufeng, we old comrades didn't object to you remarrying back then. The worst thing you could have done was to abandon Donghan, this child."
Otherwise, the result wouldn't be like this.
Now that Qi Donghan is getting married, he hasn't even informed his mother. In Commander Chen's opinion, being a mother like this is quite a failure.
After Qi Donghan came out, he already had the approved marriage certificate in his hand. He was not in a hurry to find Meng Yingying.
Getting a marriage certificate at this time is obviously impractical; it's already past 4 PM.
Getting a marriage certificate is a big deal. Even if we don't go to find an auspicious day, we should at least spend a morning choosing one.
So, taking advantage of the time he still had, Qi Donghan went to a state-run restaurant. He didn't go empty-handed either; when he went to the Soviet Union last time, he bought a flint lighter, and his uncle got a share too.
Qi Donghan went there with a lighter. When he arrived, it was around five or six o'clock at the state-run restaurant.
It was also peak time for customers, and the state-run restaurant was packed with people. Chef Liu was swinging a large iron ladle, which flew through the air.
Qi Donghan stood by the window, looking at him. His thoughts inexplicably returned to when he was seven years old. His father had sacrificed his life, and his mother had lost her pillar of support. She cried for three days and three nights and fell seriously ill.
My father, a fallen soldier, was buried back in our hometown. My mother, being a woman, couldn't attend the funeral. She could only watch helplessly as the coffin was carried away by the Qi family.
He still remembers that it rained heavily that day, and his mother was lying in the rain crying. The Qi family bullied them, an orphan and a widow.
Later, it seemed that her mother had lost all hope in the Qi family, and she remarried three months after her father's death.
On the day his mother remarried, he only remembered that it snowed heavily. His new husband would never accept his mother bringing her two sons to remarry.
He was only seven years old, a time when he was both knowledgeable and confused, while his older brother, at ten, already had the right to choose.
Despite her elder brother's desperate pleas, their mother took him away to remarry, while he remained in the Qi family.
It's understandable that the Qi family didn't treat him well; with his father dead and his mother remarried, he was just a burden to the Qi family.
Later, his uncle decided to come and see how he was doing. He saw him wearing only a thin shirt and pants in the dead of winter, his face bruised and swollen from the cold.
He remembered that when his uncle first saw him, tears welled up in his eyes. The first thing his uncle said was, "Our little Han has suffered. From now on, if your uncle has a bowl of soup, you will have half of it."
He was then taken to his uncle's house.
We've finally made it through all these years, with all the ups and downs.
As for the process, let's not go into details.
When he grew older, Uncle Chen learned that he had come to Harbin, so he and his uncle took care of him together.
To a large extent, it can be said that his aunt was very unwelcoming to him, but she couldn't resist the powerful and influential position of Uncle Chen's family.
They would occasionally invite him to their home for meals and give him some food and meat coupons to help him out, which gradually made his life better.
Thinking of the past, Qi Donghan was somewhat dazed, so much so that he didn't even notice the cigarette between his index and middle fingers burning down to his fingertips.
"Little Fierce".
Despite the freezing weather, Chef Liu emerged drenched in sweat. He didn't smell good; he had a strong odor of cooking oil, but Qi Donghan was used to it.
For so many years, it was the smell of cooking oil on his uncle that sustained him.
"Why didn't you come in and look for me when you got here?"
Qi Donghan stubbed out his cigarette, stomped it on the sole of his shoe, and smiled, a rare occurrence for him. "Seeing you were busy, I waited for you outside."
"Come in."
Chef Liu pulled Qi Donghan into the kitchen and naturally brought him a small stool, the one Qi Donghan used to sit on most often when he was young.
As he grew up, this little stool has now been around for almost twenty years.
"Why are you looking for me at this time?"
Qi Donghan took the stool without complaining that it was too small and sat down on it. The stool was a little awkward because he was too big for the person.
But Qi Donghan didn't care about any of that. He said to Chef Liu, "Uncle, I'm getting married."
Just as he finished speaking, Chef Liu was about to pour him some hot water to warm him up when he unexpectedly heard this good news.
He almost dropped the thermos in his hand. "You're getting married?"
He didn't dare turn around, only feeling a lump in his throat. "When did this happen? Such a big thing, why are you only telling your uncle now?"
Qi Donghan showed him the completed marriage report, saying, "The marriage report is done. I just need to discuss with Yingying when to get the marriage certificate."
Chef Liu poured hot water and handed the enamel mug to Qi Donghan. Only then did Qi Donghan take the marriage certificate and read it carefully.
He looked up and carefully examined his nephew's appearance. "Good lad, he's finally getting married now."
Qi Donghan took the enamel mug and took a sip of hot water. "Once Yingying and I get our marriage certificate, we'll invite you to our unit for our wedding banquet."
"uncle."
Even though he had a thousand words to say, he didn't know where to begin.
Chef Liu handed him the marriage certificate, saying, "I know what you're going to say, kid. You don't need to say anything."
"You've had a tough time all these years, and now that you're getting married, your uncle is so happy for you."
I'm genuinely happy for you.
He wiped his tears with his sleeve. "Comrade Meng is a good girl. Now that you've married her, you finally have a home of your own."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Qi Donghan's eyes welled up with tears. He turned his head away, took a deep breath for a while, and then said, "I just came to tell you the good news."
"Please don't tell my mother about my marriage."
Chef Liu paused for a moment, "Xiao Han, your mother has been trying to apologize to you all these years. When she first married your Uncle He, she hadn't gained a foothold in the He family, so she neglected you."
"Later, she had a child with your Uncle He, and that's when she finally gained a firm foothold in the He family."
That's why I came back to find you.
"Xiao Han—" Before Chef Liu could finish speaking, Qi Donghan interrupted him, "Uncle, there's no need to bring up the past. I know her difficulties, and I have my own difficulties as well."
"You can come to my wedding."
"As for the others, there's no need to notify them."
These words were so resolute that Chef Liu couldn't mediate. Qi Donghan seemed unwilling to mention his mother, so he took out a lighter from his pocket and said, "I know you like to smoke and need it to light your cigarettes. Keep this lighter."
Chef Liu looked at the lighter, which could ignite with a snap, and instinctively wanted to refuse, "These are matches, they're too expensive, I don't want them."
"You're stationed in the team and you're also an officer, so you can keep it yourself."
Qi Donghan didn't say much, just put the lighter in his pocket, then turned and left, leaving behind a sentence before leaving: "We've got our marriage certificate, we'll call you on the day we decide to have the wedding banquet."
Chef Liu, holding a lighter, chased after him, exclaiming, "You're wasting money again! I've told you not to spend money on me!"
"Save your money to get married."
"After you and Xiao Meng get married, there will be a lot of things to prepare."
Qi Donghan remained silent. The wind outside was quite strong, so he wrapped his coat collar tighter, revealing only his overly handsome face, his lips white from the cold. "I know it's cold outside, so don't come out to see me off. Go back."
Chef Liu sighed, but still couldn't bear to go in. Instead, he watched Qi Donghan leave.
He stood there for a while, waiting until the cold wind outside made his hands and feet numb with cold.
He then turned and went into the state-run restaurant.
After much deliberation, he decided to keep the matter to himself and, in accordance with his child's wishes, decided not to tell his sister about his marriage.
But then I thought about it again.
Why should I?
They were all his sister's children, yet Qi Dongqing was able to live a good life in the He family with his sister, and his sister even lavishly arranged his wedding.
When it was his son Xiaohan's turn, he got nothing.
They didn't even give us a heads-up.
That little guy is so pitiful.
No, Xiao Han doesn't have a mouth, but he does.
Chef Liu couldn't even continue working, so he took leave and went to the He family's house, which was located in the factory's residential compound.
This place is very strictly managed. Only after being notified by the security department did he wait for the He family to come and take him in.
Looking at the red brick buildings in the family compound along the way, he sighed. This was a grand family, and Qiu Feng had brought her son with her when she married in.
These days are probably going to be tough.
Sad as she was, since Xiao Han was her son, she couldn't possibly refuse to give him a penny for his wedding.
Even if Xiao Han agreed, he wouldn't.
As they walked in with the He family, they bumped into Old Mrs. Song, who was taking a walk in the family compound after dinner, wearing a coat to help her digest.
She recognized Chef Liu and greeted him, saying, "Little Liu, are you here to see your sister?"
The eldest daughter-in-law of the He family married into the family after her husband's death, bringing her son with her. This was common knowledge throughout the entire motor factory's residential compound.
Over the years, Chef Liu would occasionally come to visit his sister, though to outsiders, he was there to freeload.
He never left with his hands free.
Chef Liu knew how powerful the Song family was, with their two members from the same family in the motor factory's residential compound. If it came down to their circumstances and the future prospects of their descendants, the Song family was even superior to the He family.
Chef Liu smiled and said to Grandma Song, "Yes, we've come to visit my sister."
"My nephew is getting married, so I came to let my sister know."
"My child doesn't want me to talk about it, but I don't think any mother would not know when her son gets married."
"So after thinking it over, I decided to come and let you know."
Grandma Song seemed thoughtful, "Then congratulations."
She knew that child—he was a bitter gourd.
I just don't know whose daughter that boy married.
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Author's note: Yours~ hehe
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