Xie Zhishang took a few steps forward and blocked the girl behind him. With a look of contempt in his eyes, he picked up the things in his hands and left with Jiaojiao. The two of them walked down the stairs silently, looking at each other in silence for a while.

Looking at the busy streets, they got on the bus to the Propaganda Department. The two of them sat at the back. There were few people on the bus, but it was very noisy. Most of them were children going to school with backpacks on their backs.

Xie Zhi took the girl's hand, and his warm fingertips kept rubbing it, making it itchy. He raised his eyes and asked, "Jiaojiao, let me take you home to meet my parents. My eldest brother is in Yuncheng, next to Qingcheng. We can go see him on the way."

Xu Jiaojiao closed her eyes. She had never felt so tired before. She leaned her head on Xie Zhi's shoulder and said, "Okay, I'll change the style of the wedding dress tomorrow."

"Mom, do they know?"

"I told you yesterday that we will buy tickets for the afternoon train tomorrow and go to Qingcheng. We will buy sleeper berths and sleep there for the night, and we will be ready the next day."

"good."

The bus was shaking a lot, and the streets were complicated. To be honest, Xu Jiaojiao felt a little uncomfortable sitting there.

So they got off when there was still one stop left to the government department, and the two of them staggered forward along the bluestone paved street.

They soon arrived at the security room. The guard there knew Xu Jiaojiao already. He made a phone call and let them in after filling in the registration information.

The moment she saw Xu Bai, tears welled up in her eyes and she hugged him tightly: "Third brother." At this moment, the power of family was infinite.

"What's wrong with Jiaojiao?" Xu Bai said in a panic. He wiped the tears from his sister's face and looked at Xie Zhi with a puzzled look. He shook his head and said nothing.

Xu Jiaojiao pulled the distance between them, raised her delicate face and smiled: "Nothing, Third Brother, I'm just going to Qingcheng with Ah Zhi tomorrow, and I miss you guys."

Xu Bai knew that his sister didn't tell the truth, but she was trying to hide it, so he didn't ask any more questions: "Be good, Jiaojiao, go see your brother when the time comes. He misses you so much and bought a lot of gifts for him at home."

"Yeah." The girl nodded vigorously.

After a while of greeting, Xu Bai had to go to work after all. Xu Jiaojiao was thinking about the style of her wedding dress, so she sat for a while and then rushed towards home.

..........

Late at night, they were still packing their luggage. Xie Zhi randomly picked out a few pieces of clothes for the girl and packed some money and bills. After all, things in the provincial capital were expensive and there were many styles.

Jiaojiao must have liked a lot of them. She was leaning over the table, holding a pencil in her hand, carefully sketching the wedding dress style she had in mind.

Xu Jiaojiao also attended extracurricular interest classes, even until high school, but stopped because the tuition was too expensive and the school curriculum was busy. However, she always had a dream of designing. She not only wanted to design clothes, but also wanted to design accessories and bags.

The bra is designed to fully cover the chest, with white gloves on the wrists. The hem of the skirt is designed to be an irregular shape, and a three-dimensional flower is added to the side waist, which can be placed around the waist or taken off and worn on the hands.

It was a bit like the three-dimensional cutting in later generations. Xu Jiaojiao didn't know if the bridal shop could make it, so she could only ask tomorrow. A worried look appeared on her face. She would buy some accessories when she arrived in Qingcheng and then weave it into a pattern.

Soon, she had finished drawing the draft paper in her hand, and even had a model wearing it.

Her eyes sparkled: "Does it look good?"

Xie Zhi took it and looked at it carefully. His mother used to like buying fashion magazines, which contained many introductions to foreign brands. However, the wedding dress designed by Jiaojiao was no worse than those big brands.

Xie Zhi put the paper on the table and said seriously, "It looks great. Jiaojiao has a talent for being a designer."

Xu Jiaojiao was a little shy. In fact, she had borrowed a lot of things from later generations, but when someone praised her, she still raised her face proudly: "That's right."

Yan Fenglian took the cured pig's trotter in her hand and carefully wrapped it in a bag, along with some fresh millet, which they were reluctant to eat themselves. She also took out a hundred yuan in savings and some food coupons from home.

Even though Yan Fenglian didn't have the money she gave to Xu Jiaojiao last time, she still didn't take it back. In her opinion, girls spend more money than boys, and if you don't have more money on you, you will be easily cheated.

Most of the money in the family was sent back by the three brothers. When they learned that their sister was going to get married, they sent a lot more, and there was also the salary of the two brothers. It seemed that the Xu family was still very wealthy.

Xu Jiaojiao looked at her mother who came in, and saw what she was holding, and complained: "Mom, you have chickens and pig's trotters, how can we carry them all."

"Mom, you don't have to take it." Xie Zhi said.

Yan Fenglian disagreed, "How can we not bring it? The in-laws sent us so many things. This is nothing. Jiaojiao, when you guys get there, remember to buy some gifts and bring them with you. Be obedient when you get there, okay?"

After saying that, he stuffed all the bills and money wrapped in a small cloth beside him to Xu Jiaojiao: "We're going there, be generous, okay?"

Looking at the pile of scattered money, Xu Jiaojiao's eyes widened: "I quickly waved my hand to refuse, Mom, I didn't spend a penny of what you gave me before, and now you give me so much."

Xie Zhi also helped to refuse: "Mom, I have money on me, no need."

"Jiaojiao, take it. Things in Qingcheng are expensive. I heard people say that a simple gift would cost more than 10 or 20 yuan. Take it and buy something good. Only then will people like you."

"Also, it's different over there than at home. You have to get up earlier to eat and help with the preparations, okay?" Mother Xu instructed carefully, worry evident in her eyes.

As the saying goes, things smell good when they are far away, but smell bad when they are close. She was really worried that Xie Zhi’s parents didn’t like Jiaojiao. After all, this child was indeed a bit lazy.

Then she forcefully stuffed the money in her hand into the wife's hand. People in that era were not like those in later generations. When they went to their mother-in-law's house, they had to be diligent and serve their parents-in-law. They could not be lazy, because after all, they were making a living under the mother-in-law.

Hearing her mother's various instructions, Xu Jiaojiao suddenly became afraid. She was afraid of starting a family and living with her parents-in-law. She even felt a little regretful. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been a big problem since ancient times.

............

The two got up early in the morning. Xu Jiaojiao wore the green dress she bought in the store. She liked to tie her hair into a side ponytail. After all, buns and high ponytails were not uncommon in this era. This hairstyle was better.

The whole family sent the two to the car at the entrance of the village. Before leaving, Xu Yan and Xu Chen stuffed the money in their hands into their sister's arms with red eyes, and also added Xu Bai's share.

This scene was very much like sending a daughter to get married, and even Xu Jiaojiao shed a few tears.

But now, she had more than 300 yuan in her pocket and was a real rich person. Afraid that her money would be stolen, Xu Jiaojiao had already put the money in her underwear, where her mother had sewed a small pocket.

The car started. Xie Zhi hugged the girl and watched her wave goodbye to her family. There was a hidden joy in his eyes and the corners of his lips were raised. For some reason, he did not feel the slightest bit of reluctance in his heart, but instead was filled with joy.

Qingcheng is where he grew up. It is his own territory. He feels as if Xu Jiaojiao will never be able to escape from it once she goes there.

"Jiaojiao, take care on your journey. Remember to write home when you get there, dear."

"Jiaojiao, brother will wait for you to come back."

Xu Jiaojiao nodded vigorously and turned to watch her parents and brother’s figures getting smaller and smaller. After turning a corner, they were completely out of sight.