Chapter 4: Transmigrating into a Historical Novel - Part 4: She Still Looks Better When She Smiles...
The woman's hands were soft, warm, and had delicate skin, but they were not as large as Yu Xingzhou's hands, which were covered in calluses.
The wonderful feel of it made him want to hold it in his hand and squeeze it, but reason compelled him to let go, "...holding hands like this in public is not a good look."
Lin Tingyue, being from a different era, still had many of her old habits. After Yu Xingzhou finished speaking, she subconsciously asked, "Then it's okay at home, right?"
This made it sound as if she wanted to hold his hand when she got home, causing the man to glance at the street next to him. He unconsciously raised his hand to touch the back of his neck and gave a soft "hmm" in response.
Just then, the door of the photo studio opened, and a woman who looked to be around thirty years old leaned out and asked, "Are you two here to have your picture taken?"
"Yes, we want to take wedding photos."
"That's great! Come on in!"
The photo studio in the county town was small. Besides the lady who was in charge of reception and cashiering, there was a middle-aged man who was in charge of taking photos and developing them.
The prices were written on the counter. Lin Tingyue took out a dollar from her wallet and gave it to the older sister. The two of them then followed the driver to sit in front of the camera.
In this era of food shortages, Yu Xingzhou would rather buy eggs with that one yuan than take photos. Taking photos was a luxury, but he didn't want to spoil the other person's fun, even though he himself couldn't be happy when taking photos.
"If a guy smiles, he can get a little closer to his partner."
After being reminded like this, Yu Xingzhou's lips finally curved upwards, and his body leaned slightly to the side.
The photographer has seen countless people, but it's rare to see two people as good-looking as these two today.
The man was tall and slender with delicate features, but too thin, making him appear somewhat frail. The woman was fashionably dressed, strikingly beautiful, and didn't seem like someone from a small county town…
"Gentlemen, once the photos are developed, may I hang them in the shop for advertising? Next time you come to take photos, it's free."
Lin Tingyue had no objection to this, and turned to look at Yu Xingzhou. After seeing him nod, she replied, "Okay, thank you, Master."
"I should thank you all. Remember to come back in a week to pick up the photos."
Upon hearing that she wouldn't receive the photos for another week, Lin Tingyue couldn't help but feel disappointed; it was far too inconvenient compared to later generations. However, thinking of the ancient times she was supposed to be transported to, she felt a little better and decided to just let things take their course.
After they came out, the two went to the nearest supply and marketing cooperative. Since Yu Xingzhou's family did not have any stock, they bought daily necessities such as soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper. They also bought a few kilograms of soybean oil, fine rice flour, brown sugar, and fruit candies and milk candies to be used as wedding candies.
They arrived empty-handed, but left with their cloth bags stuffed full. Yu Xingzhou offered to help carry them, but Lin Tingyue refused, saying, "It's alright, I can manage by myself. Are you hungry? Why don't we go eat first?"
She had just glanced at her watch; it wasn't eleven o'clock yet, but she hadn't eaten much since getting up early to catch the bus into the city, so she was indeed a little hungry.
"I'm fine..." Yu Xingzhou had barely finished speaking when his stomach growled in protest, and his face turned red at a visible speed.
Lin Tingyue tried her best to suppress her laughter and turned her back. "Let's go. I remember the state-run restaurant is on this street."
Speaking of state-run restaurants, the original owner used to come here quite often to buy meat. Whenever she came to the county town, she would definitely eat here and take a few meat buns back with her. That's how she spent her money little by little.
Thinking of this, Lin Tingyue felt that the most urgent thing was to find a way to make some money, otherwise life would be too hard to bear.
Whether it was telepathy or not, her mother, Comrade Qi Yin, who lived far away in the north of the city, suddenly began to worry about whether her daughter had enough money to spend in the countryside.
"You've been in the countryside for so long and haven't even called. Why did you say such harsh things back then?" Thinking of her youngest daughter's suffering in the countryside these past few months, Qi Yin couldn't help but criticize her husband.
"...I didn't expect her to actually be able to stay there," Lin Yao said guiltily.
"Isn't that just because you're like that? You two are both so stubborn."
As the youngest child in the family and a girl, Lin Tingyue was truly pampered. It wouldn't be unreasonable for her to want the stars in the sky. So, for so many years, no one really objected to her pursuing Xu Xingyi. In addition, Xu Xingyi's parents also worked in the hospital in the compound, so they knew each other well.
The problem is that it's obvious to everyone that Xu Xingyi has no interest in Lin Tingyue. Over the years, he has never agreed to date her. Otherwise, the Lin family could have easily found a way to help Xu Xingyi, who is unemployed and needs to go to the countryside.
"Their brigade should have a phone number. I'll go and ask around when I go to work this afternoon." Lin Jinwen, who was home for lunch, heard his parents arguing again about his younger sister. He wanted to say a few more words of advice, but then the phone rang. He was changing his shoes at the door, so he said, "I'll answer it."
The elderly couple's eyes followed their son as he answered the phone, his expression shifting from calm to joy to shock, until finally they could no longer sit still.
"Is that Yueyue? What did she say?" Seeing her son nod, Qi Yin hurriedly got up and went over, taking the phone from him as he rarely looked dumbfounded.
"Yueyue, why did it take you so long to call home? How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing well here, don't worry. I called today to tell you that I got married."
Qi Yin's voice suddenly rose, "What?! You married that Xu family boy?"
"It's not him, I've already given up on Xu Xingyi..."
As Qi Yin listened to her daughter explain the whole story of her marriage on the phone, the joy she had felt upon receiving the call vanished completely, and her blood ran cold.
"...That's how it is. Getting married is the best option for us right now."
"What best choice?! He's just a farmer, how will you go back to the city after you marry him? I don't agree to this marriage!"
"But we've already registered our marriage."
Qi Yin fainted from anger upon hearing this, but fortunately, Lin Jinwen caught her and prevented her from falling to the ground. Nevertheless, it still gave the two men in the family a fright.
Lin Yao, disregarding his wife's condition, hurriedly went out to find a guard to drive the car. Lin Jinwen, with trembling hands, grasped the dangling receiver and replied to the person on the other end of the phone, "Mom fainted from anger. We'll go to the hospital first and contact you later."
On the way back to the village, Lin Tingyue's expression was noticeably more somber than when she arrived.
She had to admit that she couldn't completely treat the characters in this world as two-dimensional figures. When she heard that the mother in this world had fainted from anger, she couldn't help but worry and feel annoyed that in this era without convenient communication, some things were better said face to face.
But dwelling on what has already happened is pointless; she can only think about how to make amends.
On the other hand, things went much more smoothly for Yu Xingzhou. His father only told him that the two of them should live a good life together and discuss everything together.
As for the woman's family background, he didn't inquire too much. In his father's opinion, given their current situation, they didn't have the right to choose others. It was already good enough that someone didn't look down on them.
With so many people and eyes on the oxcart, Yu Xingzhou didn't feel comfortable offering any words of comfort. He picked up the cloth bag at his feet, rummaged through it, found the two bags of candy, grabbed a handful of different colored fruit candies, and asked Lin Tingyue which flavor she liked.
Candy was a precious commodity at this time, and the women in the car all turned to look at her. Lin Tingyue took the fruit candies and presented them to everyone, saying, "Let's all eat together. These are the wedding candies we bought."
Normally, they might feel a little embarrassed, but when it comes to happy occasions, they are willing to share in the joy. Even Uncle Zhao, who was sitting at the front, took a few.
"It's a pity you're not having a banquet. But we won't eat your food for free. Your auntie is a master at pickling sauerkraut. I'll get you some later," said the kind-hearted Aunt Li.
Uncle Zhao also said, "I have some dried mushrooms that I dried a while ago, I'll send some over to you later."
"Oh my, I'm afraid to eat without bringing out something to eat!"
Lin Tingyue picked up the thread, "Aunt Qian, please eat without worry. I just wanted everyone to share in the joy."
The old woman sitting next to her nodded, "This guy is known as the stingiest man in our village."
Aunt Qian didn't take it seriously, "I just know how to manage a household well, what do you know!"
"Yes, yes, you're the best at managing money in our village."
"It only takes in and doesn't give out; it's like a Pixiu."
Everyone burst into laughter, and Lin Tingyue was also infected by the atmosphere, finally showing a genuine smile on her face.
But what Yu Xingzhou was really thinking was that she looked better when she smiled.
The wedding candies of Lin Tingyue and Yu were also sent to the educated youth settlement. The educated youth seemed to have forgotten why Lin Tingyue had gone to the countryside in the first place, and they all wished her a happy marriage.
However, the person didn't stay long; after delivering the package, they left in a hurry, as if they were avoiding some kind of plague.
Xu Xingyi picked up a piece of candy, biting into it while pondering whether he should call the Lin family.
Before today, he thought Lin Tingyue was just angry with him and that it was impossible for her to actually marry someone with a bad family background. But just now, he did hear Lin Tingyue and Luo Mingxia describe in detail what a marriage certificate would look like, and they even handed out wedding candy, so it didn't seem fake.
Ever since Lin Tingyue exposed their affair, his reputation has plummeted. Even Song Xue said that his spending women's money was despicable. All of this was blamed on Lin Tingyue. He was just looking for something to upset others, and now it's like a pillow being handed to him when he was sleepy.
Xu Xingyi was an impatient person, so the next day he took advantage of a break to go to the brigade office to borrow a phone, but unfortunately he couldn't get through.
He waited a while and dialed again, but still no one answered.
Lu Zhenhai squatted by the door smoking, glancing back at him every now and then. "Is there an emergency at home?"
"It's nothing urgent, I'll come back later," Xu Xingyi said with a smile and left.
He came again the next day, but still couldn't get through. Considering that he came at the same time as yesterday, he wondered if no one was home at this time.
But these things always falter after a while. He no longer had the momentum he had the previous two days. With his last bit of unwillingness to give up, he called the Lin family again at a different time, and this time he got through.
"Hello, who is this?"
Hearing the familiar young male voice coming from the microphone, he quickly said, "Is this Brother Jinwen? I'm Xu Xingyi."
"What's wrong? Is there something you need?" The tone on the other end of the line was not good; he sounded tired and impatient, and didn't bother with pleasantries, asking directly what was on his mind.
"Xiaoyue got married in the countryside, did you know? And the man is from a bad family background, he's really outrageous, I'm worried you're still in the dark."
A note from the author:
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