My sudden marriage registration might have hurt his pride a little, but it shouldn't be a big problem.
After thinking for a moment, in order to comfort the Liu family, he said, "Auntie, tomorrow morning I'll have my uncle come with me to the township to call my brother Jingze."
"Good girl, you've gone through a lot."
“It’s alright, ma’am, he’s still my brother.”
Hu Aifen smiled with satisfaction; it hadn't been for nothing that she had doted on this girl. How could anyone not love a child who valued family so much?
Just as the two were about to leave the house, Liu Aimin returned and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Zhang Hongmei inside.
“Hongmei, could you call your brother Jingze tomorrow? I told him about you today, and I think he’s a really bad guy.”
"Uncle, I'll drive you to the village tomorrow morning. I'll call my brother Jingze."
"Okay, thank you so much, Hongmei. I know it's a bit much for us to ask, but I'm so worried about Jingze. He hasn't had a smooth journey, but he's rarely encountered setbacks. This is a big blow to him, so I can only trouble you."
"Uncle, why are you being so polite? I've always treated him like an older brother. Otherwise, I would have called him before I left the country. But when I came back from the border, I couldn't find any senior who had his number, so I kept putting it off."
“Okay, your uncle won’t stand on ceremony with you.” Just as the three of them left the house, Zhang Shouyi came over and walked to Zhang Hongmei’s side.
"Are you done talking? We should head to Auntie's house now."
"Okay, Uncle and Aunt, I'll head back now. If the car doesn't come back tonight, we'll ride our bikes over."
The couple looked at the two people standing together, who seemed like a perfect match, and their initial dissatisfaction faded away.
The two walked side by side on the road. Many people greeted Zhang Hongmei, and Zhang Shouyi would give candy to the children he saw.
As they approached Liu Maocai's house, someone said, "Brother Zhang, I need to call Brother Jingze tomorrow morning. My aunt and uncle are very worried about him."
"Yes, go ahead. When you come back, you can visit the supply and marketing cooperative and buy some more candy. I'll be happy to see the children's satisfied smiles because of a few pieces of candy."
"Hmm, probably not. I'll go check. I wonder if Wang Ying and the others will be back today?"
"It should be about the same. They will definitely return the car first. Even if it's late, my friend will find a way to help them."
"Hongmei, I asked Uncle San, and he said we should go burn paper money for my parents-in-law tonight."
"Okay, let's go up tonight. I'll go buy some paper money later."
"No need, the village chief bought it for me, so you don't need to worry about it."
The two entered the courtyard, and by then the kitchen was already boiling water; this must be Shi Tou's job.
"Sister Hongmei, the dumplings are all wrapped. Wash your hands, the water will be boiling soon, and you can start cooking the dumplings."
"Okay, are you going to report for duty tomorrow?"
"Go ahead, classes officially start tomorrow. But I've already discussed it with Sanya, so I won't go to school tomorrow or the day after. I'll go to school after you leave."
"Heh, are you using me as a cover? Just say you don't want to go to school?"
"Sister Hongmei, you really don't appreciate my kindness. I genuinely wanted to give it to you."
"Okay, okay, I understand. My Shitou is the most sentimental person. I'll leave on the evening of the 2nd, and you can go to school on the 3rd."
At this moment, Li Cuihua came out carrying a lidded lid. "Shitou, the water hasn't boiled yet?"
"It's open now, so we can start cooking dumplings."
There were four trays of dumplings, not enough to cook in one pot. Zhang Hongmei wanted to help, but Li Cuihua refused, saying, "You two go sit and wait. We don't need you here."
Zhang Hongmei entered the room and saw Sanya tidying up the table. Erya also brought in the bowls and chopsticks.
Liu Maocai was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) with his legs bent. When he saw the two of them come in, he got off the kang as well.
"You two sit down, shall we have a drink?"
Zhang Shouyi was a little flattered and quickly replied, "Third Uncle, I don't drink alcohol, and I almost never drink."
"Yes, please sit down. Your third aunt's dumplings will be cooked and served soon."
Sanya has already run away; wherever Zhang Shouyi is, you definitely won't find this girl.
When the dumplings were ready, Li Cuihua brought them in, saying, "Eat them quickly; even in summer, freshly cooked dumplings taste the best."
"Wait for my sister Er Ya and the others."
"No need, let the four of us eat first, and we'll start cooking the next pot soon."
Zhang Hongmei herself came from a rural background and knew that children shouldn't sit at the table in front of outsiders.
Then hurry up and eat. There are two kinds of dumplings today: one with smoked meat and dried radish, and the other with chives and eggs.
Zhang Hongmei ate five or six pieces of chives and five or six pieces of shredded radish before putting down her chopsticks.
"Eating so little again? Is it cat food?"
"I'm full. That's all I'll eat. I'm going to go relieve my second sister and third sister."
"No need for you. Just sit and keep them company after you've eaten. It's their first time eating here. Why are you making such a fuss?"
Zhang Hongmei was speechless. Did this person look down on her? This change was too fast! Well, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are naturally incompatible, but mothers-in-law and sons-in-law usually have a good relationship.
After eating two large bowls of dumplings, Zhang Shouyi put down his chopsticks and said, "Third Uncle, Third Aunt, I'm full too."
Li Cuihua pushed another bowl of dumplings towards him, saying, "Eat some more. Don't go hungry; a young man like you should be eating a lot."
"Auntie, I really won't stand on ceremony, I'm really full."
"Third Aunt, you don't need to worry about us."
Liu Maocai put down his chopsticks at this point. "Let's go outside for a while, the three of us. We've worked up a sweat eating dumplings."
The three of them sat in the courtyard, where it felt cool even though there was no wind.
“Hongmei, since we’re treating everyone to dinner tomorrow, what are your plans? When a girl in our area becomes a nun, it’s just a matter of treating her to a meal.”
"Uncle, I have no objection, anything is fine with me."
Zhang Shouyi continued, "Hongmei, I think we should also hold a ceremony according to local customs."
“Brother Zhang, there’s no need for that. We can just tell everyone in the cafeteria and then toast them. Holding a ceremony is too much trouble.”
"Hongmei, let's do it, otherwise I won't feel at ease."
Zhang Hongmei rolled her eyes at Zhang Shouyi, thinking to herself, "What's wrong with you?"
"Alright, you can handle it as you see fit. The ceremony is very simple now, pretty much what I just described."
"Hehe, then let's have a ceremony, that would be more solemn."
"Well then, since you've made up your minds, hurry up and burn paper money for your parents. It's getting late, so go early and come back early."
When the two returned, they saw two snakeskin bags at the door. Zhang Shouyi was carrying them, and the two of them took flashlights and went up the mountain.
It's actually not far, but because you have to go up the mountain, it feels like it takes a long time.
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