While everyone was talking, the groom's party came to pick up the bride. The wedding party was riding bicycles. Zhang Zhenhua was wearing a brand new military uniform and looked a little nervous, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
He smiled at Qian Yunyun, his eyes full of love and expectation.
Under the gaze of everyone, Zhang Zhenhua gently took Qian Yunyun's hand, and Qian Yunyun got on his bicycle gracefully, her movements light and graceful.
Zhang Zhenhua gripped the handlebars tightly, Qian Yunyun put her arms around his waist from behind, and Zhang Zhenhua pushed the pedal, and the bicycle sped away briskly.
Zhang Zhenhua's house was not far from Qian Yunyun's house, and the people who came to send the bride came to Zhang Zhenhua's house on foot.
Zhang Zhenhua's home is a five-room bungalow in the Revolutionary Committee's family compound. Compared to Qian Yunyun's old house, it's more spacious and bright. The new house has a living room and a bedroom, simple yet comfortable.
The wedding was held in the canteen of the Revolutionary Committee. The commune secretary Zhang Wenxian presided over the wedding. After the two of them bowed in the hall, the newlyweds began to toast.
Chu Jingqiu, Shi Aihong and Lin Zishan sat at the same table with several girls from Qian Yunyun's family, and each of them earned a red envelope of fifty cents.
During the meal, a woman at the table with Zhang Zhenhua's colleagues from the post office caught the attention of Chu Jingqiu and the other two. Although the woman was middle-aged, she still had charm.
She had short hair that reached her ears, and was wearing a post office uniform. She was fair and pretty, and she was chatting and laughing with a girl next to her while eating.
Qian Yunyun's cousin Pan Rong whispered to another girl, "Did you see that woman? She's Li Aizhen, the wife of Xu Zhongmin, the former director of the Political Department of the Revolutionary Committee. Didn't Xu Zhongmin look very ugly when he died?"
His wife and the children quickly broke off relations with him. You see, she acted like nothing had happened, not like a widow whose husband had just died.
The girl whispered, "She's already broken up with that gangster, so she's not a widow, is she? Besides, that man died on a woman like that, so there's no need for people to feel sad for him!"
Pan Rong pointed at the middle-aged man at the table next to her and said, "You know what? I heard that Li Aizhen had an affair with a married woman before she got married, so the first child is not Xu Zhongmin's.
Li Aizhen is currently dating a junior section chief at the post office. They'll probably get married after the New Year, and she'll probably find her next partner soon."
Shi Aihong craned her neck to look at Li Aizhen and lowered her voice to say, "Jingqiu, Xu Zhongmin's wife is pretty good-looking, isn't she? Xu Zhongmin is so unsatisfied, still fooling around outside, even risking his life. What a disgrace."
Chu Jingqiu smiled and thought that Qiao Rucheng had done so many bad things, but only in punishing Xu Zhongmin did he do such a bad thing. It made people feel relieved to see Xu Zhongmin die in such a way.
After the wedding banquet, Chu Jingqiu and the others played in Qian Yunyun’s new house for a while, then said goodbye to the newly-wed Qian Yunyun and her husband and went to ride a ox cart near the town primary school.
When the three of them arrived, there were already several women sitting on the ox cart, including Fatty, Chunni's mother, Widow Zhang and Big Laba.
When the fat lady saw the three educated youth, she subconsciously moved to the side and looked away with evasive eyes.
Widow Zhang smiled and greeted the three people. "Chu Zhiqing, Lin Zhiqing, Shi Zhiqing, are you here to buy New Year's goods as well?"
Shi Aihong spoke first: "We are here to attend the wedding today. Aunts and sisters-in-law, are you all here to buy New Year's goods?"
Widow Zhang smiled and said, "Yes, the New Year is coming soon, and the brigade has just distributed dividends. We've been busy all year, so we should have a good New Year!"
Da Loudspeaker smiled and asked, "Da Lanzi, you must have made a lot of money selling eggs this year! What did you buy?"
Widow Zhang smiled bitterly and said, "I am the only able-bodied laborer among my four children. The team takes care of my family, and the children are given work points for picking grass for the pigs. This year, I don't owe the team any money, and I made some money selling eggs, which is much better than in previous years.
This year I bought a new set of clothes for each of my children and also bought some red silk ropes for my daughter.
This year, our family was given four or five pounds of pork, and I bought another five pounds from the brigade so that the children could have a good year. You don’t know how much I, the fourth child, craved meat.
When my husband was still around, we would occasionally hunt for meat in the mountains. But since he passed away, we haven't eaten meat in two years.
On August 15th this year, I cut half a pound of meat. My fourth child took a bite of the raw meat and tears came to my eyes.
I will earn more money no matter what in the future. I can’t let my four children suffer with me!”
Chun Niang patted Widow Zhang on the shoulder and said, "Da Lanzi, the children are getting older, and you have made it through. Your life will get better and better in the future."
The fat sister-in-law glanced at Chunni's mother's backpack and reached out to lift the blue coarse cloth covering the basket. "Chunni's mother, your basket is so bulging. You must have bought a lot of things today!"
Chunni's mother rolled her eyes at Fatty and covered the house with the blue cloth again. "This year is different for our family. Chunni just got married this year, and I have to entertain the new son-in-law on the second day of the New Year. Of course, I have to buy more things. I can't let the new son-in-law look down on me.
In addition to the five or six pounds of pork distributed by the team, I gritted my teeth and bought another five pounds, bought five pounds of sorghum wine at 80 cents a pound, and bought half a pound of fruit candy, more than two pounds of sunflower seeds, and three packs of cigarettes at 20 cents each.
When my family distributed grain this year, we deliberately saved some extra white flour. When Chunni comes home for the New Year, I'll make her dumplings made with pure white flour."
Loud speaker glanced at Fatty, "Fatty, your family always bought more New Year's goods than other families in previous years. You must have bought quite a lot this year! What did you buy?"
When Fatty heard this, she rolled her eyes at Chu Jingqiu, then said angrily, "There's no money this year. I made a mistake and all my work points were deducted. Don't we farmers rely on these few work points to survive all year round?
I also thought about using the money I got to make new clothes for my children, buy a red scarf, and buy a new pair of shoes for my parents.
I didn't get a penny. My mother-in-law holds my money tightly. Today she gave me two dollars and asked me to buy two pounds of sorghum wine for my father-in-law, which cost 70 cents.
I sold the eggs I saved for a few dollars, which was only enough to buy a set of clothes for my eldest son, but not enough for the second and third sons.
I don't know how my Hu Zi will quarrel with me when we get back. I'll let him quarrel with his grandmother. I don't believe that she couldn't bear to tear off her clothes for her grandson when she saw him crying.
The loud speaker smiled and said, "Fatty, your mother-in-law is deliberately making things difficult for you. Your method is quite good. There is always someone who can conquer you.
However, you should buy your eldest son some new clothes. He's already in his teens, and it's time for him to want to see other people."
The fat lady nodded and said in a mysterious voice, "Speaking of seeing people, have you seen the fat woman in Du Erleng's family? I heard that she is the young widow that Erleng's mother brought back from the mountains for him."
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