Chapter 4 revealed Chen Gengnian's deep voice as he spoke...
Chen Gengnian's voice was low and sounded somewhat pitiful in the quiet room.
He stood there for a while longer, but there was still no movement from inside the room.
He sighed softly, then turned to go back to his room. He thought he'd ask for the household registration certificate another day.
According to the law, a normal marriage only requires the village chief to write the marriage certificate and act as a witness, but the process is somewhat different for a man marrying into another family.
Both parties need to bring their household registration certificates to the village head for stamping; only with the stamp can they be considered legally married.
Just as he turned around and took two steps, the door behind him creaked open.
Chen Gengnian turned around and saw his mother standing in front of the door under the dim light of the kerosene lamp. She handed him a household registration certificate and said in a hoarse voice, "Since you've already made up your mind, then take it!"
"Mother..." Chen Gengnian's voice was hoarse with excitement. He walked quickly to her, but instead of rushing to take the household registration certificate, he knelt down straight down.
"Oh dear, what are you doing, child!" Chen Yuetao hurriedly bent down to help, but Chen Gengnian pulled her hand away.
Baifu, who had been by Chen Gengnian's side, also stepped forward and began to pry at Chen Gengnian's hand.
Chen Gengnian quickly kowtowed to his mother before slowly saying, "Mother, I am an unfilial son, I have let you down."
Chen Yuetao bent down to help him up, hot tears falling drop by drop onto Chen Gengnian. She hugged the child she had once risked her life to protect, and said to him gently in a hoarse voice, "Child, as long as you are happy, as long as you feel happy, I am happy."
Over the years, the mother and son have survived near-death experiences and have relied on each other for survival. As long as the child is well and happy, that's enough for them.
Chen Gengnian knew that his mother had agreed. A bittersweet feeling welled up in his heart. He whispered in his mother's ear again, "Mom, I will not abandon you. From now on, we will be one big family, and we will take care of you together."
"Yes, Mother understands." Mother Chen let go of his hand, quickly wiped away her tears, and said to Chen Gengnian with a smile, "Bring Qing'er back tomorrow after you've finished your business. Mother will cook for you."
"good!"
The mother and son had resolved their differences, and Chen Gengnian and Lin Qingan had also received the approval and blessings of their elders.
Chen Gengnian and Lin Qingan both had a sleepless night.
During dinner, Lin Qing'an and Lin Yanfeng cooked a simple meal together. Among the dishes was the wood ear fungus that Lin Qing'an had brought back. He carefully observed Lin Yanfeng's reaction, but the other party did not show any strange reaction from beginning to end.
Later, he asked Lin Yanfeng, who said that the wood ear mushrooms were very delicious, and then he started crying.
When her mother was alive, she always liked to take Lin Qing'an to the mountains to pick wood ear mushrooms. Lin Qing'an had forgotten about this, and now she seems even less anxious. She can openly bring it up in the future.
However, the meal caused Lin Yanfeng's mood to plummet again, so Lin Qing'an started coaxing him again.
Lin Yanfeng finally fell asleep at night, but he himself suffered from insomnia.
Because I was thinking about getting my marriage certificate with Chen Gengnian the next day.
Lin Qing'an stared at the dark roof. Outside, there were occasional barks of dogs and chirps of insects. Lin Qing'an's thoughts were in turmoil. He kept asking himself if there was any other way to solve the current problem.
After rolling around on the bed dozens of times, I finally got only one answer.
That is: there is no other way.
Thinking back to his past life, although he was born to a man, he had to hide his sexual orientation due to family reasons, so he never had a boyfriend. However, after coming to this world, he was about to get married.
Lin Qingan felt that his life was truly full of drama.
And so, Lin Qing'an pondered over and over all the things in the world that he couldn't understand, but still couldn't figure them out. He finally drifted off to sleep just as dawn was breaking.
When Chen Gengnian led the village chief to knock on his courtyard door, Lin Qingan was still daydreaming.
Lin Yanfeng opened the door.
He greeted people very politely: "Brother-in-law, village chief."
Lin Yanfeng's address of "brother-in-law" was so natural that Chen Gengnian still felt a little uncomfortable.
"Where's your brother?" the village chief asked.
"My brother was too tired yesterday and is still sleeping."
The village chief looked up at the sky and said to Lin Yanfeng, "It's already past 9 a.m. Go wake your brother up. We're going to town to find the village head."
Lin Yanfeng poured a glass of water for the two of them before going inside to call for help.
Lin Qing'an quickly dressed and went out, only to find the village chief sitting alone in the main room.
"Good morning, village chief." Lin Qing'an rubbed his eyes and greeted him subconsciously.
The village chief nodded. "It's getting late, hurry up and get ready to leave."
Lin Yanfeng had boiled some hot water, but when Lin Qing'an saw the toothbrush made of pig bristles, she just couldn't bring herself to use it. She closed her eyes, started brushing her teeth with a gurgling sound, quickly finished, then splashed a few handfuls of water on her face, wiped it with a towel, and that was it.
He learned his lesson from this experience and will make sure to finish using the items in the magic bag before taking them out next time.
After tidying everything up, I happened to see Chen Gengnian and Lin Yanfeng coming out of the backyard.
"Where did you two go?" Lin Qingan asked, somewhat surprised.
“Brother, my brother-in-law saw that I was carrying too much pig feed, so he helped me with it.”
Lin Yanfeng was overjoyed, quite satisfied with his brother-in-law. Even though he was dressed cleanly today, he didn't mind getting dirty at all and helped him feed all the poultry.
Lin Qing'an slapped his forehead, realizing he had completely forgotten that he was no longer in a situation where he was the only one who needed to be fed.
He looked at Chen Gengnian apologetically, "Uh... well, thank you!"
This awkwardness made Chen Gengnian's lips keep curving upwards.
"It's nothing, it's my duty. I'll take care of these things from now on," he said.
"Is it ready?" the village chief asked, coming out of the house. "If it's ready, let's go!"
Chen Gengnian and Lin Qingan both nodded. The village chief then asked them, "Did you bring your household registration certificate?"
The two took things out of their pockets; everything was ready, and they were about to set off.
But before leaving, Lin Qing'an was still a little worried about Lin Yanfeng being home alone. Although the two of them had agreed yesterday that he would stay home and look after the house, Lin Qing'an was still a little concerned.
It's not that I'm worried Lin Yanfeng will do anything foolish. He's only eleven years old, so he's quite obedient and sensible. That won't happen.
He was afraid those two families would cause trouble while he was away.
Chen Gengnian noticed his concerns and put his arm around Lin Yanfeng's shoulder, saying, "Let's take Ayan with us and buy him some snacks."
"Okay, sure."
This was exactly what Lin Qing'an wanted.
So Lin Qing'an found an excuse to sneak into the room and put the ten taels of compensation and the five taels of silver that the original owner's parents had saved into the bag, and finally only took out one hundred coins.
Lin Yanfeng tried to refuse for a while but couldn't get out, so he quickly locked the doors and windows and went to town with his brother and brother-in-law in an oxcart.
The village wasn't far from the town, about an hour's walk away, but when Chen Gengnian went to the village chief, he said he wanted to take Lin Qing'an to buy some wedding supplies, so he borrowed the village chief's oxcart.
Even at its fastest, the oxcart would take half an hour to get to town. The curbs were hardly man-made; they were mostly shaped by the oxcarts and people walking on them, and even after simple repairs, the roads were still uneven.
The village chief drove the oxcart, and Lin Qing'an and the others sat in the back in a wooden basket. The rattling of the basket made Lin Qing'an's buttocks ache.
He shifted slightly, not daring to show it, after all, if everyone else could endure the hardship, why couldn't he?
So, instead of steaming buns, Lin Qing'an stubbornly endured it all.
On the way, we met some people from the neighboring village, and the village chief greeted them all the way.
February is the perfect time for flowers to bloom. The sun is warm but not scorching, and a gentle breeze carries the fragrance of various flowers, making people feel great without even realizing it.
Chen Gengnian suddenly said, "Let's go for a walk later and see if there's anything we need to buy."
"Are you going to buy it today?" Lin Qingan asked.
Chen Gengnian said, "We can buy some to make do with the oxcart."
Lin Qingan thought about it and realized that it made sense. He had originally planned to get the marriage certificate today and then buy other supplies after choosing a good date, but since he was already here, he figured he might as well take a look.
However, I wonder if I brought too little money.
"I might not have enough money with me," Lin Qing'an said bluntly.
Chen Gengnian smiled and said, "I have one."
Lin Qingan nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll borrow some from you first."
Chen Gengnian did not speak again.
"By the way, what did your aunt say?"
Lin Qingan then remembered this matter. He had asked, but even a fool could guess that it wouldn't be easy.
After all, it's something that's really hard to accept in this era.
Chen Gengnian smiled and said, "She asked you and Ayan to come down for dinner. She's cooking at home and waiting for us."
Lin Qingan and Lin Yanfeng were both shocked.
They never imagined that Chen Gengnian's mother would be so open-minded.
"Are you kidding me?"
"You're sure that certificate wasn't stolen?"
Lin Qing'an was genuinely somewhat suspicious.
Just then, the oxcart tilted again, and the people grabbed the poles on the edge. It was jolted several times before it returned to normal.
Lin Yanfeng sat next to the village chief, while Lin Qing'an and Chen Gengnian sat facing each other on the wooden planks. The stone that caused the carriage to bump was right on Lin Qing'an's side. Just now, his buttocks were bounced up and down, hitting him hard and making him gasp.
This time he dared not sit down again, and planned to use his hands to support his buttocks and let them rest for a while.
However, before his actions could keep up with his thoughts, Chen Gengnian suddenly leaned forward, twisted Lin Qingan's face over, and then lifted him up and put him down by a pair of strong hands under his armpits.
When it landed again, a pair of big feet were already underneath it.
The series of fluid movements was so fast that Lin Qingan had no time to react.
While still in shock, Lin Qing'an's hands were forcibly placed on his calves behind his back by Chen Gengnian.
The oxcart lurched slightly again, and Lin Qing'an instinctively gripped it tightly. His firm calves felt like an indestructible steel plate. Lin Qing'an unconsciously swallowed, but his heart soared with joy.
My goodness! That's so domineering and rare!
Lin Yanfeng, who had been watching everything in front of him, widened his eyes and his face flushed crimson. He stiffly turned his face away, pretending to look at the scenery outside and imagining himself as invisible.
A deep voice sounded from behind: "Everything I just said is true."
"Also, my mother personally handed me my household registration certificate."
Hearing the other party's serious tone, Lin Qing'an no longer had any doubts and nodded affirmatively, "Yes, I believe you."
Lin Qingan was struggling with whether or not to apologize when he heard Chen Gengnian say from behind, "Just remember that I will not lie to you."
By this point, Lin Qing'an, a modern man, was already blushing. How could this person's casual remark sound like a confession?
If he were to turn around at that moment, he would surely see that the man behind him, with his tanned skin, was also burning hot and flushed.
Later, with Chen Gengnian's feet acting as cushions, Lin Qing'an no longer felt any discomfort on his buttocks.
The oxcart arrived at the village head's house before 9:00 AM.
Li Zheng was the leader of the three nearby villages. He had a son and a daughter. His son had become a bodyguard for a military officer at a young age and only came home occasionally.
His house was a two-courtyard brick and tile house, with a "福" (good fortune) character pasted upside down on the front door. The handwriting was neat and the paper was new, so it must have been pasted up during the Spring Festival.
Bang bang bang...
The village chief took the lead and knocked on the courtyard gate.
Soon someone opened it from the inside; it was Wang, the wife of the village head.
"Village Chief Lin, Brother Nian, come inside quickly."
Wang recognized Chen Gengnian and the village chief at a glance and warmly invited them inside.
He led all of them to the reception room.
Soon, the village head, who was about the same age as the village chief, walked in.
"Village Chief Lin." The village head greeted the village chief before turning his gaze to Chen Gengnian and teasingly said, "Hey, young man, what brings you here today? We sent people to invite you during the New Year, but you always said you were too busy. How come you have so much free time today?"
The village head's tone carried a hint of anger and sarcasm, which allowed Lin Qing'an to quickly realize that this person's relationship with Chen Gengnian was extraordinary.
After all, Chen Gengnian was just an ordinary hunter; how could he possibly be invited to the village head's home for the New Year?
Chen Gengnian placed the burlap sack in front of him and said with a smile, "I was really busy at the time, but I thought you like to eat these dried vegetables, so I made some whenever I had a spare moment. So, I can bring them over to you today to give you a change of pace."
The village head glanced at the sack, gave a soft hum, and then gradually put on a smile.
"Speak, what brings you here today?"
Throughout the entire process, he only looked at the village chief and Chen Gengnian, never glancing at Lin Qingan and Lin Yanfeng.
Chen Gengnian didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Village Chief, I've come here today to ask you to write a certificate for me and Qingge'er."
"Oh?" The village head then turned his gaze to the thin, fair-skinned young man beside Chen Gengnian and asked, "What certificate?"
Chen Gengnian said: "Proof of marriage into the family."
"What?" The village head looked at Chen Gengnian in surprise. Just as he was about to speak, a sweet voice called out from outside the door.
"Brother Nian~"
The group of people in the reception hall looked in the direction of the voice and saw a graceful young woman standing in front of the door, smiling at Chen Gengnian as she called out.
A note from the author:
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