Hearing the sound of bicycle wheels running over tree branches outside, Han Yulan looked up and saw that Gu Weiguo had returned. She took off her apron and went to open the door for him. As soon as Gu Weiguo entered, he asked, "Has Comrade Xia arrived yet?" Han Yulan smiled and said, "Yes, she's here and sitting in the living room." Gu Weiguo put down his briefcase and went to the living room. When Xia Liang saw Gu Yanxiao's father return, she quickly stood up to greet him, saying, "Uncle, hello. I'm Xia Liang, and I've come to visit you and Auntie. I hope I'm not bothering you." Gu Weiguo waved his hand, "Not at all. Come over more often when you have time, and spend more time talking with me and your auntie. As long as you don't mind that we're old and a bit quiet, come over often for meals and chats." Seeing that Xia Liang was still standing there, he said, "Please sit down, don't be shy." Seeing that Gu Yanxiao's parents were so easy to get along with, Xia Liang finally felt relieved. After all, she had heard him say that his father was the county party secretary and his mother was the county women's director. Xia Liang knew that although she and her brother had earned a little money, there was still an indelible gap between them and such a family. Now, seeing his parents so kind and approachable, she felt even more at ease.
Gu Yanxiao poured tea for his father, Gu Weiguo, who took a sip and said, "Can I call you Xia Liang?" Xia Liang obediently replied, "Yes, Uncle." Gu Weiguo nodded and then asked, "How old are you this year?" Xia Liang honestly answered that she was almost nineteen. Gu Weiguo secretly glared at his son, thinking, "An old cow eating young grass." He then inquired about Xia Liang's work, and knowing that her family was from the countryside, he also showed concern for the lives of ordinary people, talking to Xia Liang about the crops in the fields. Just then, Wu Ma's voice came from the kitchen: "Secretary Gu, Yanxiao, Xiao, Xia, dinner's ready!" The group stopped talking, and Gu Weiguo called to Xia Liang, "Come on, let's try Wu Ma's cooking. She's from Guangdong, and she's an excellent cook." Xia Liang nodded and followed, saying, "Then I'm in for a treat!" At the table, Gu Weiguo kept urging Xia Liang to make herself at home, while Han Yulan kept piling food onto her plate. Xia Liang was almost overwhelmed and looked to Gu Yanxiao for help. Gu Yanxiao wanted to laugh, but still stepped in to help his partner out, reaching out his chopsticks to take the overflowing food from Xia Liang's bowl. He took most of the food from Xia Liang's bowl and said, "Mom, you're so biased! You only give food to Comrade Xia and not to me!" Han Yulan saw him taking food from Xia Liang's bowl and pretended to hit him. Xia Liang stopped her, saying, "Auntie, I can't finish all of this. Give it to him." Han Yulan wouldn't normally hit her son, but she still glared at him, saying, "If it weren't for Xia Liang pleading for you, I would have hit you." Gu Yanxiao pleaded, "Thank you, Lord Han, for not hitting me. Thank you, Comrade Xia Liang, for pleading for me." Xia Liang couldn't help but laugh. Han Yulan glared at her son, while Gu Weiguo was speechless. He was truly humiliated.
After dinner, Xia Liang was pulled by Han Yulan to sit on the sofa and watch TV. Han Yulan instructed her son to go to the kitchen to wash fruit for them. Han Yulan asked, "Xia, when are your parents available? We can arrange for our two families to meet and discuss your marriage." Xia Liang thought for a moment and said, "How about the day after tomorrow? It's Sunday. My dad, my brother and sister-in-law, and you, Uncle and Aunt, shouldn't be working either, right?" Han Yulan said, "Your uncle and I aren't working, so let's set it for the day after tomorrow. I'll book it at the state-run restaurant a day in advance, and we can go directly there." Xia Liang nodded in agreement.
Gu Yanxiao brought out the fruit and conscientiously picked up a fruit knife to peel an apple. He handed the first one to Xia Liang, who quickly waved her hand, "Give it to Auntie first." Han Yulan said, "You eat first, let him continue peeling." This brat, she had never eaten fruit peeled by him before, but he still had some manners in front of his girlfriend. Xia Liang then handed it to Gu Weiguo, saying, "Uncle, please eat first." Before Gu Weiguo could speak, Han Yulan said, "You eat, don't worry about your Uncle Gu, he doesn't like fruit."
Gu Weiguo: "......" Okay! If my wife says she doesn't like it, then she doesn't like it!
At eight o'clock in the evening, Xia Liang got up to say goodbye, "Uncle, Aunt, I've troubled you today, I have to go home now." Han Yulan also got up to persuade him to stay, "Why don't you stay here tonight? There are still a few rooms available." Xia Liang said, "No, my parents are waiting for me to go back." Seeing that she couldn't persuade him to stay, Han Yulan said, "Then wait a moment, I haven't given you the gift I prepared for you yet." Saying that, she turned around and went into the bedroom, opened the cabinet door, took out a box and handed it to Xia Liang. Xia Liang wanted to refuse, but Han Yulan refused, "If you don't accept it, it means you're not satisfied with us. Take it." "Open it when you get home." Xia Liang had no choice but to accept it. Gu Weiguo, who was standing nearby, went into the bedroom and took out a red envelope he had prepared beforehand. He filled it with some 10,000 yuan notes and handed it to Xia Liang, saying, "This is a little something from me. I didn't know what you liked, so I was afraid you wouldn't like it if I bought it. Take this; buy whatever you want yourself." Xia Liang saw the bulging red envelope and knew it contained quite a lot. Before she could refuse, Gu Weiguo said, "It's the same. If you don't accept it, it means you're not satisfied with us." Xia Liang smiled helplessly and said, "Thank you, Uncle. Thank you, Aunt."
When Gu Yanxiao took Xia Liang home, Han Yulan was telling her husband that Xia Liang was the woman she had met on the train. Gu Weiguo laughed heartily, saying, "Our son got his taste from his father!" He didn't forget to praise himself while complimenting his son. Han Yulan was speechless.
After dropping Xia Liang off at home, Gu Yanxiao went back inside. Xia Liang entered the house and saw the whole family still sitting in the main room. Knowing they were curious, she spoke up, "Gu Yanxiao's parents really like me, so you don't need to worry. We even made plans to have dinner together at the state-run restaurant the day after tomorrow." She then took out the gift her parents had prepared. Opening the box her mother had given her, the whole family curiously gathered around to look. It was a necklace, exquisitely crafted, with a thin chain that shimmered with a soft golden light, and a small green jade pendant the size of a little fingernail hanging from it. No wonder they told her to open it after she got home; she couldn't take this out now, it would just gather dust in the closet, and she could wear it again in a few years. She opened the red envelope Gu Weiguo had given her, and saw eighteen brand-new ten-yuan bills and eight one-yuan coins, totaling one hundred and eighty-eight yuan. This was equivalent to half a year's salary for Xia Dahe. Zhao Danxiang was astonished by the generosity of the other party. Thinking back to when Gu Yanxiao came to her house before, she had only given him six yuan and eighty cents, and she instantly felt ashamed. Xia Liang knew what her mother was thinking and comforted her with a smile, "Mom, don't think too much about it. What we're doing is what we normally give. We can't just pretend to be rich just because his family is well-off! Besides, he's not that kind of person. If he has any objections, it just means we're not a good match." Xia's mother felt a little better after hearing Xia Liang's words. This amount was also what she was quite satisfied with for Gu Yanxiao. In the village, many families would only give one yuan and sixty cents or one yuan and eighty cents at most when their son-in-law visited for the first time.
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