Chapter 131 Two in One
Huang Meihua was so excited that she couldn't sleep, while Ding Guo crawled into the warm bed, stepped on the big Tao soup bottle that her Third Aunt had filled for her, and told her Third Aunt that she had a boyfriend.
She had never mentioned it before because she herself was not sure whether this relationship would last long, but Pei Che expressed his sincerity, and Pei's father and mother even asked Old Master Pei to send something to her. In addition, she had to leave early after the New Year to go to the capital to pay New Year's greetings to Old Master Pei, so she had to explain it clearly to Aunt San.
Now it was Peng Guihua's turn to be so excited that she couldn't sleep. She asked a series of questions: "Where is the child from? How old is he? What does he do? Who introduced him to you?"
When Pei Che came last time, Ding Guo had already informed him that he had colluded with her, saying that the two of them met on the train. Later, because of Qi Guangming's case, the Pei family got involved, and the two became further familiar with each other. When she went to the capital to study, she visited the Pei family, and then brought Xiao Haifeng in, and even had a matchmaker.
When the two of them really get to the point of getting married, they also plan to ask Xiao Haifeng to be the matchmaker, and the process is very reasonable.
Anyway, no one else knows the details of the case, let alone asking.
Ding Guo responded to his aunt with a prepared excuse. Peng Guihua was a little worried when she heard Ding Guo say that the boy he was dating was from the capital and was serving in the army in the south. But when she knew there were so many connections between the two and that Ding Guo had been to the boy's home to deliver a message for someone else and that the elders in the boy's home were nice people, she felt relieved.
It’s good to know where home is, at least you won’t be cheated.
After hearing the end, I learned that Pei Che had taken leave to stay in Fengning for a period of time and had contact with Dayong, which made me feel more relieved. I just kept muttering: "Dayong, that little bastard, didn't even tell me."
Ding Guo smiled and nudged towards Auntie San, saying, "Don't blame Dayong. I asked him to keep it a secret because I wanted to tell you in person. I guess you must have a lot of questions after I told you. It's more convenient to talk in person than to write a letter, so you've delayed it until now."
Peng Guihua was delighted to hear this and laughed repeatedly, saying, "That makes sense."
If she received the letter, she could only ask Dazhu to write to ask, and the back and forth process was not as convenient as talking to him in person.
But my niece has found a partner, so the next thing is marriage. She hurriedly asked, "When are you two going to get married?" Then she added, "When will you bring that boy back to see me?"
Ding Guo said with a smile, "There's no rush to get married. Let's see how he is doing during the holidays next year. Then I'll bring him home for you and Uncle San to see. I'll only agree if you like him."
"Nonsense." Peng Guihua said with a smile, "In the end, it's up to you to decide what kind of partner you want to find. We just want to see the character of the young man. As long as he has good character and knows how to live a better life, nothing else matters."
Ding Guo only mentioned Pei Che, and was vague about his family background, saying that his family had been soldiers for generations, but did not mention his rank. Peng Guihua did not ask, as she did not know much about this aspect. She just thought that since their family had been soldiers for generations, the family should have a good tradition.
But then I thought of the Pan family. Three generations of their people had served in the army, but they were still worse than pigs and dogs. So it all depends on their character.
After telling this to Aunt San, Ding Guo tilted his head and fell asleep. However, Peng Guihua couldn't fall asleep. She started thinking about the bed sheets and pillowcases she had saved for Ding Guo. They all had patterns of big peonies. It would be better to add a set of mandarin ducks or double happiness patterns.
After the New Year, I often go to the county supply and marketing cooperative. These things are not available whenever you want, you have to rely on luck.
She just happened to come across the set with bright red peonies, and she might not be able to buy it even if she really wanted to.
Enamel pots, spittoons and other things also need to be prepared, as well as furniture. I don't know if Ding Guo likes big boxes, or the kind of double-door wardrobe that Yang Yonggui's family at the west end of the village built when they got married. It is said that it was made according to the popular style in the city.
It just lacks a mirror compared to the ones sold legitimately in the city.
Tomorrow I'll ask Ding Guo if she knows about that kind of double-door wardrobe. If she hasn't seen it, I'll ask her to come over on the first day of the new year to pay her respects and take a look at the wardrobe...
I was thinking about all sorts of things in my mind and I don't know when I fell asleep. It felt like I just dozed off for a while and then I woke up again. The chickens in the village hadn't even started crowing yet.
While cleaning up, she glanced at her son's room several times, and forced herself not to wake up Dayong and ask him what the child looked like.
She didn't have the courage to ask Ding Guo last night.
When she got up, Ding Zhicheng, who shared a room with his sons, also got up after hearing the noise. He put on his cotton jacket, poked open the stove in the room, and started to make a fire.
Peng Guihua waited for him to finish fixing the stove, then called him to help in the kitchen. While kneading the dough, she told him about Ding Guo finding a partner. Ding Zhicheng was also a little worried. Although Ding Guo said everything was fine, he still felt a little worried without asking for details, so he went into the house and patted Ding Dayong.
"Don't sleep anymore. Get dressed and come out so your mother and I can ask you something."
Ding Dayong: …
He thought it was some big deal, so he got up in a daze, put on his clothes and went out, only to find out that he was asking about Pei Che.
"Don't worry, Brother Che is a very nice person. He is very fair-skinned and good-looking. My elder sister is pretty enough, right? I think Brother Che is more handsome than my sister..."
Peng Guihua couldn't help but feel a little worried after hearing this.
She doesn't think that a grown man who looks better than a woman is a merit worth marrying. It's enough for a man to have an acceptable appearance. The key lies in his character and whether he can get along well with others.
Ding Dayong continued, "She is very hardworking and has a keen eye for work. She cooks better than my sister. She is also better at military boxing than my sister..."
The corners of Peng Guihua's mouth began to twitch.
Although this is better than his sister, that is better than his sister, fortunately I have heard only good reviews. Although I still have some doubts in my heart, I am not so worried about it. I think I will take a good look at her when I meet her one day.
Ding Zhicheng was not as thoughtful as Peng Guihua on this matter. After hearing his son say it was a good idea, he nodded repeatedly and developed some favorable impression of his nephew's husband whom he had never met.
As for good looks or good cooking skills, don't take them to heart; they are not important.
His idea is that it would be good if a boy in the countryside had a strong frame, was hardworking, could earn enough work points, loved his wife, and was not biased when it came to mother-in-law and daughter-in-law issues.
Dante Guo's status is different now. As a city worker, she must look for a partner who is comparable to her, has a formal job, knows how to move up, and is a loving wife. This makes a good partner.
It is of course a good thing to be a soldier. I hope that the child is not a good-looking but useless person and can earn a promising future. Then Ding Guo's future life will not be bad.
I specially saved some chicken soup when stewing the chicken yesterday. Peng Guihua made hand-rolled noodles with chicken soup, and stewed some cabbage with fried radish meatballs.
Because Ding Guo had to go to the market and had to leave early, she couldn't let her sleep, so after cooking, she went in and started patting Ding Guo.
Ding Guo looked at her watch. It was not yet six o'clock. She yawned, got dressed and got out of bed.
While eating, she asked Ding Guo: "How do you usually make bacon?"
The package that Ding Guo sent back before contained salted fish, vermicelli, various dried fruits, various dried fungi, fungus, kelp and bacon.
Bacon is not a specialty of Huiyang, and Peng Guihua didn’t know how to cook it. After receiving it, she looked at it over and over again. It was black and she didn’t know how to eat it, so she just put it aside.
Apart from bacon, she actually doesn't know how to cook kelp. Knowing that Ding Guo is knowledgeable, she asked him about it.
Ding Guo smiled and told her several ways of eating kelp and bacon. Peng Guihua nodded repeatedly. Ding Dayong listened beside her and was eager to try how to make clay pot rice. But when he thought that there might be no rice at home, he held back and said nothing. He thought about going to the commune later to see if he could find someone selling rice.
Huiyang does not produce rice, and pasta is the main food, which is not something that is often available at home.
After dinner, Uncle San and his family went to the commune to take a bath, and Ding Guo went to the market.
Normally the bathhouse doesn’t open so early, the time is changed only when the Chinese New Year is approaching.
The bicycle I just bought has not been registered yet, and I’m afraid someone will catch me and find fault with it, so it cannot be used as a means of transportation for the family for the time being.
Uncle San oiled the bike, wiped it carefully, and moved it carefully to the utility room. Ding Dazhu wanted to learn to ride a bike in the yard but was not allowed to do so. He was told to wait until he came back after smashing the steel stamp.
The family arrived at the entrance of the village, where the village accountant collected the money. After collecting the money, he wrote out a receipt and got into the car with the receipt.
Two ox carts were waiting there, one carrying people to the commune, and the other taking the villagers to the last big market before the New Year.
Zhou Zhigao was talking to several other educated youth who had not returned home for the New Year. He saw the bright-looking girl approaching from the corner of his eye. He hurried over, not daring to look around. He only spoke to Ding Dazhu: "Dazhu, where are you going? Let me see if you can join us on the same train."
Ding Dazhu said calmly: "Go to the commune."
Zhou Zhigao said hurriedly: "Including your family, there are enough people in one car, come quickly."
He ran back again earnestly: "There are enough people going to the commune, we can go now."
The few educated youth who had spoken to him before were originally wondering when Zhou Zhigao became so familiar with Ding Dazhui. Only when they heard that he was just joining in the fun did they suppress their wonderment.
But some people also saw Ding Guo, were slightly surprised, and whispered to the villagers nearby to ask who that person was.
The car that went to the commune this time was not the one driven by Mr. Yang Si, but another car driver from the village, whose surname was Gao. He estimated the number of people, nodded, and said, "Get in the car, I'll take you there, and I'll come back to pick you up."
People going to the commune climbed onto the carriage in a hurry. Zhou Zhigao arranged seats for everyone with great care. Aunts and grandmas called out to each other enthusiastically. Never had socializing been so enthusiastic before.
When he went to arrange for the Ding family, he found that Ding Guo was not there. He looked at Ding Guo who was standing in front of another carriage, but asked Ding Dazhu: "Dazhu, isn't your cousin going to the commune?"
Before Ding Dazhu could speak, Ding Dayong frowned and said, "No!"
The voice was a little cold, and it blocked Zhou Zhigao's view.
Zhou Zhigao came back to his senses, smiled unnaturally, and said, "I'm just asking."
Ding Dayong glared at him and gave his own note to the cart driver, Uncle Gao. Uncle Gao cracked the whip and urged the ox cart to leave.
Zhou Zhigao sat on the ox cart, feeling disappointed. Several times he couldn't help wanting to look at Ding Guo who was still standing there, but his view was blocked by Ding Dayong. He retracted his gaze and lowered his eyes to think.
Ding Guo and his team also gathered their people, handed in a note, and the ox cart set off.
Several familiar aunts and ladies chatted with Ding Guo along the way. Some of them stared at the canvas bag she was carrying. Someone asked her if she had mentioned her in-laws. Ding Guo nodded generously, and a girl sitting next to her couldn't help but show envy in her eyes.
Ding Guo felt somewhat familiar with this girl. He knew that she was a few years older than him, but he couldn't remember her name. At her age, her family didn't help with the arrangements. She was one of the girls that Ding Ying mentioned who stayed at home to help earn work points.
Just like a workhorse, she may contribute to the family for a few years, and in the end she may be sold to the family for a high price, and married off with a girl who gives a high gift. The family will squeeze every drop of fat out of her, and they won't care about her future life or death.
Ding Guo sighed in his heart and responded to the words of several aunts to pass the boring journey.
It is farther from Yangjiawo to Huangzhuang than to the commune, and it took more than an hour for the ox cart to get there.
Due to the strict control of the market at ordinary times, it is rare to relax at the end of the year. Even though there have been big markets for several days in a row, this last market is very popular. There are crowds of people early in the morning and all kinds of hawking sounds can be heard.
After getting off the bus, an old lady called out to Ding Guo: "Daniel, what are you buying at the market?"
Ding Guo smiled and said, "I'm just wandering around for fun. Auntie, you guys just go about your business and don't worry about me. If there's a bus going back after I'm done, I'll just take it."
They came from the east, and Fourth Master Yang would have to make several trips back and forth today, so they didn't have to gather at one point. They could just catch the return bus and leave early.
As he was speaking, Fourth Master Yang had already been driving his ox cart back, and he might have been able to make a few more trips.
Ding Guo separated from his fellow villagers, carrying a canvas bag, and ran straight to the sesame seed cake stall not far away.
A fried sesame pancake costs six cents and requires a ticket.
A sugar-coated sesame bun costs one cent with a ticket, and you need a grain ticket.
In order to avoid the higher price of tickets, Ding Guo waited in line for a while and paid a high price for ten sugar-filled crisps and ten oil-filled sesame crisps.
She had national food coupons in her hand, but she was going to leave them to her third aunt before she left so that they could exchange them for food.
How much grain each family in the village can get each year depends on how much sweat the family members can shed. Dayong went to the city, Dazhu was still in school, and could only help the family earn work points in his spare time. Dalin was still young and also in school, so he could help the family even less.
From now on, he could only rely on his uncle and aunt, who kept sending food to him and Dayong.
All of it was saved from the gaps in my teeth.
Ding Guo is willing to get close to his uncle and aunt's family and is willing to help them. In addition to appreciating their way of dealing with people and remembering their kindness to the original owner, he is also grateful for their sincere efforts after getting to know them.
Another thing is that she can feel the love and affection from her third aunt and uncle that she lacked in her previous life.
Ding Guo took out a cloth bag made by his aunt from his army green satchel and put the sesame cakes in it, leaving only one candied crispy one to eat in his hand.
The sesame seed buns are definitely more delicious when they are fresh out of the oven, but at this temperature, it would be hard to explain if she took them home and they were still in their fresh-out-of-the-oven state. She could only enjoy their crispy and fragrant taste all by herself.
There was a soy milk vendor up ahead. Ding Guo felt a little regretful that he didn't bring a lunch box with him.
Passing the soy milk stall, I also saw a stall selling shredded pork noodles and fried dough sticks...
It can be seen that the management is not so strict during the New Year holidays, and the variety of products at the market is dazzling.
Shredded pork noodles are not easy to carry, so Ding Guo bought two pounds of fried dough sticks at a high price, wrapped them up and put them in a cloth bag.
As for other things he saw at the market, Ding Guo just looked at them and then quietly placed orders from the mall. According to the needs of his family, he bought two bars of soap and several packets of shampoo.
Seeing someone selling bowls, thinking that the bowls at home all had some big or small cracks, the stall was 1.7 cents each, and Ding Guo bought them from the mall, and the price was actually a little more expensive than the stalls outside, a total of 2 cents each, so he simply spent money to buy six from the stalls outside. The stall owner's hands were all frostbitten, but he was still very flexible. He stacked the bowls together, tied them with straw ropes, and left a handle for Ding Guo to carry.
Ding Guo was afraid that it might be damaged, so he covered it while putting it in his pocket and put it into the space.
What she wanted to buy most when she came to the market was a chicken. Although her Third Aunt said that the chicken was killed because it stopped laying eggs, Ding Guo felt that it was because she had returned.
After walking around for quite a while, I didn't see anyone selling chickens, but I did see someone frying melon seeds.
Third Aunt did buy some melon seeds and fried some peanuts herself, but was still despised by Ding Dayong, a half-baked "chef", who slapped her several times.
Ding Guo bought two kilograms of melon seeds from the mall. She loves to eat them and eats them often.
On the way, they met a woman selling candied haws. Surprisingly, her mall didn't have this thing. Ding Guo bought a few, took one in his hand and ate it slowly, then continued shopping. He didn't buy anything, just strolled around for fun.
After walking around, Ding Guo found that there was nothing she wanted, so she slowly returned to the east side of the market. When she was about to leave the market, someone came towards her and called her.
Ding Guo took a look and saw that it was the young man who had called Dazhu to go to the commune in the morning. He seemed to be an educated youth, but he forgot his name.
"Comrade Ding Guo." Zhou Zhigao greeted her with a familiar tone and a smile, "Have you finished shopping?"
Ding Guo nodded, not intending to talk further, and prepared to walk away.
Zhou Zhigao said, "Do you want me to help you carry it?"
As he was about to reach out to grab the bag in Ding Guo's hand, Ding Guo quickly dodged it, and said in a cold voice, "No need, comrade, I don't know you well, and your behavior makes me uncomfortable. If you touch me again, don't blame me for being rude."
Zhou Zhigao's face turned red and then pale.
Ding Guo is not only beautiful, but also has the ability to bring his cousin to the city. He wanted to go back to the city, so he started to think about dating Ding Guo.
He also knew that he was too impatient, but time was tight, and he didn't have much contact with Ding Dazhu's family. Ding Guo was going back to his hometown for the New Year, and he would leave after a few days, and he didn't know when he would come back next time. If he wanted to get closer to Ding Guo in a short period of time, he couldn't take it slow.
Zhou Zhigao smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm not a bad person. I'm an educated youth from our village. We came back from the commune together that day. My name is Zhou Zhigao."
Ding Guo is not narcissistic, but this man's behavior is so obvious that she has to think in certain directions.
After listening to his earnest self-introduction, Ding Guo suddenly laughed and said, "Your name is Zhou Zhigao? There is also a comrade-in-arms named Zhou Zhigao among my boyfriend's friends. What a coincidence."
Zhou Zhigao stood there in a daze, his head buzzing. He was so impatient that he didn't even find out whether Ding Guo had a girlfriend.
Ding Guo turned and left.
This time, Fourth Master Yang did not go back after sending someone here. He waited outside the market. Ding Guo smiled and greeted him, handed him a handful of melon seeds, and said with a smile: "Fourth Master, do you want to go shopping in the market? I have finished my shopping. If you want to go shopping, go and take a look. I'll watch the ox cart."
Fourth Master Yang suddenly smiled innocently, this child is really clever.
He said without hesitation, "I'm going to go in and buy some tobacco. Your aunt asked me to buy a pair of rain boots."
Before leaving, he said, "By the way, your relatives are coming to your house. They came in a small car and said they were looking for Ding Dayong. We'll go back when most of the people have gathered."
relative?
Ding Guo was stunned. In the book, the most glorious moment for the Ding family in Yangjiawo was when Ding Nianjun brought Pan Dingfeng and drove a military jeep into the village. The whole village was in an uproar. It was the highlight moment for the second branch of the Ding family.
Apart from him, I have no other powerful relatives.
I guess they are friends Dayong made outside!
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