Chen Shuning originally planned to put down her bag, say hello, and then go to the supply and marketing cooperative to ask her mother for the key, but Li Guilan was holding her hand and wouldn't let go.
Chen Shuning knew that her aunt was reminded of her sister Shuzhu, who was working in the countryside in the Northwest, so she felt embarrassed to say she was leaving.
So he chatted with Li Guilan for a while until Xiao Aihua next to him cried out in a childish voice that she was hungry. Only then did Li Guilan reluctantly let go of Chen Shuning's hand.
After leaving Li Guilan's room, Chen Shuning thought for a moment but decided not to go to the courtyard first. He wanted to see what the old master and lady of the Chen family thought first.
Instead, she went directly back to the three-courtyard house where her family lived, and went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative where Qin Yalan worked, coming out of the back door.
It wasn't a holiday or a Sunday, so there weren't many people at the supply and marketing cooperative. When Chen Shuning entered, Qin Yalan was sitting behind the counter, knitting a sweater and chatting with a plump woman eating sunflower seeds at the next counter.
So Qin Yalan didn't notice until Chen Shuning was already standing in front of the counter.
Qin Yalan stared blankly at Chen Shuning for a while before reacting, then threw down the sweater in her hand and walked around the counter.
However, instead of the warm hug from her mother that she had imagined, Chen Shuning received a slap on the shoulder, followed by a barrage of scolding.
"You brat, you didn't even tell the family you were coming back. If I didn't know you and Chaoyang were getting married next month, I would have thought you had run away from home after causing trouble."
Before returning, He Chaoyang originally wanted to send a telegram to both families, but Chen Shuning insisted on giving her family a surprise and refused to let He Chaoyang send a telegram to her family.
This is such a pleasant surprise!
Clutching her slightly numb shoulder, Chen Shuning pouted and complained, "I just wanted to give you guys a surprise! What kind of mother are you? Not only are you not moved, but you also hit me the moment we meet."
"Surprise my foot, more like a shock. How can you manage coming back to the brigade so early? I was thinking that if you came back later, you could stay home until after the New Year before going back."
"So you're back so early? Are you going back before the New Year? Your child is about to get married, how can you not be more careful with money? How can I feel at ease with someone like you?"
Chen Shuning really wanted to say that even if she came back now, she could stay until after the New Year before going back, because her leave was specially approved by the commune secretary.
Before Chen Shuning could explain, the fat woman who had been eating sunflower seeds shouted loudly.
"Hey Qin, that's not right of you. How could you not tell us about such a big event as your child's wedding? Are you afraid we'll come to the wedding or what?"
Tell me quickly, where is your son-in-law from? What does he do?
In the fat woman's opinion, the fact that Qin Yalan didn't utter a single word about such a big event as her daughter's marriage meant that either the groom's family was poor, or her daughter had married someone from the countryside, and Qin Yalan was too embarrassed to say anything.
Otherwise, when her eldest daughter got married last year, although there was no wedding ceremony, Qin Yalan started preparing bed sheets, blankets, candies, and melon seeds well in advance.
There's no reason why they wouldn't be prepared at all when it comes to their youngest daughter, especially since, as far as she knows, Qin Yalan usually dotes on this youngest daughter more.
And nowadays, aren't many educated youths looking for partners in the local area where they were sent because they can't endure hardship?
She knew Qin Yalan's little girl well; she was usually delicate and didn't seem like someone who could do any work. So, she probably found someone to marry as soon as she went to the countryside, which is why she often sent things home.
Otherwise, with her small arms and legs, she would have been too busy with farm work in the countryside to have any time to go into the mountains to collect wild produce.
She also said that Qin Yalan always seems listless lately, which must be because her daughter is having a bad time with the guy she met and can't sleep.
The overweight woman, who thought she had found the truth, was already thinking about how to gossip about it with others later.
Little did she know that the young lady's husband wasn't someone she was embarrassed to talk about because of his poor circumstances, but rather someone whose circumstances were so good that Qin Yalan was hesitant to speak up.
Moreover, the groom's family took care of everything for the wedding, so Qin Yalan didn't have to worry about anything.
It was precisely because her daughter was to marry into such a family that Qin Yalan couldn't afford to buy the dowry from the supply and marketing cooperative where she worked.
Whether it's bed sheets and duvet covers, or clothes and shoes, Qin Yalan buys them from department stores or the black market. These days, she's been running to the black market every few days, which has really exhausted her, so she's not in good spirits. She never expected that this would lead to a misunderstanding.
Chen Shuning also remembered the woman who spoke; her surname seemed to be Cao, and because she was older, everyone called her Sister Cao.
She's a gossipy person who likes to talk behind people's backs. Qin Yalan's relationship with her is just so-so, so it's perfectly normal that she didn't know about Chen Shuning's upcoming marriage.
Sure enough, even when Sister Cao asked, Qin Yalan just smiled and said vaguely, "Oh, the date was just set, and I haven't had time to tell you yet. The son-in-law is also from Beijing, but he's currently serving in the army in Heilongjiang Province."
Upon hearing that Chen Shuning was not going to marry Sister Cao, a country bumpkin, her expression clearly showed some disappointment.
She had been hoping to hear some information from Qin Yalan about her son-in-law's family background or other valuable details, so that she could have more room to elaborate on this topic.
However, Qin Yalan's answer clearly did not satisfy her curiosity, which made her somewhat unwilling.
Sister Cao put down her sunflower seeds, stood up, and craned her neck to ask, "So how did they meet? Was it a blind date or a love match?"
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