Chapter 36

The next morning.

Ji Wanqing went to the bathroom with a hand on her stomach and found that her period had arrived.

After sticking on the sanitary pad, she lay down on the bed listlessly and took a cup of warm red date milk from her space, sipping it slowly.

At 8:30, Jiang Che knocked on the door with breakfast.

Ji Wanqing got up and opened the door. He could tell at a glance that she was feeling unwell today, her face pale.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Yeah, my period came. Let’s eat at the canteen for lunch today, I don’t have the energy to cook.”

He vaguely knew about women’s things.

Jiang Che put the breakfast on the table. “You rest, I’ll go get lunch later.”

He bought soy milk, fried dough sticks, porridge, buns, and tea eggs, quite a variety.

Ji Wanqing chose soy milk and tea eggs. She specifically peeled off the yolk. “I can’t eat it, do you want it?”

Jiang Che: “…” What else could he do with it?

Actually, from the two meals they had eaten yesterday, he could tell that his wife must have lived a wealthy life since she was young.

Jiang Che had seen the canteen chef cook, and he had also eaten at his comrades’ homes and had their wives’ cooking.

No one would use as much oil, ginger, garlic, scallions, and Sichuan peppercorns as his wife.

These things seemed like seasonings, but they were actually quite expensive. In this era, except for families who didn’t have to worry about food and drink, no one would waste money on seasonings that couldn’t be eaten.

“Eat it.” Jiang Che took the yolk, a faint sense of crisis rising in his heart.

It seemed that he would have to find a way to earn more money in the future, so that his wife wouldn’t have to lower her standards for cooking after marrying him.

The original owner’s body was riddled with problems. She hadn’t had her period for over a year after being abused.

Recently, she had been well-fed and nurtured by Ji Wanqing, and the spiritual spring water had also helped her heal. Only her stomach had a slight ache at first. After a nap at noon, she felt completely fine and was back to life.

To replenish blood and iron, Ji Wanqing made a dish of salt-baked pig liver for herself in her space that afternoon.

She poured coarse salt into an oil-free and water-free iron pan, added star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and other spices, and stir-fried them until fragrant. After scooping out half of the salt, she put the washed and dried pig liver into the pan, then covered it with the coarse salt that she had just scooped out.

She simmered it over low heat until it was cooked, then took it out and patted off the coarse salt before eating.

The coarse salt would dry out in the pan and could be used again next time. Ji Wanqing made four pounds of pig liver in one go. She only ate a little pig liver to replenish iron when she had her period. This amount would be enough for her to eat for half a year.

In the evening, Jiang Che brought back a cup of longan, red date, and ginger tea. He said he had gone to the medical office and asked a doctor to make it.

Ji Wanqing saw him putting the food on the table and reminding her not to overwork herself or touch cold water. He said it was what the doctor said, and she should take it to heart.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Oh my god, did she really strike gold?

“Thank you, Jiang Che.”

This time, she didn’t add the word “comrade.” Jiang Che was secretly happy, but he didn’t say anything. “You’re welcome.”

The food at the canteen wasn’t about whether it was delicious or not, as long as it was cooked.

Ji Wanqing found it tasteless. She completely understood why Aunt Zhuge would ride her bicycle for twenty minutes to eat in the county.

Seeing that she hadn’t eaten much, Jiang Che took out a sponge cake. “I saw you didn’t eat much at noon, so I guessed you wouldn’t eat much at night. I bought some sponge cake. If you’re hungry later, you can have some.”

The sponge cake in this era was made with real ingredients, no technology involved. It smelled delicious.

Ji Wanqing curiously tasted a piece. It was indeed delicious. “It’s good, you eat some too.”

Jiang Che finished his dinner before picking up a piece.

“The marriage report should be approved tomorrow. Let’s go to the county to get our marriage certificate.”

Ji Wanqing had no objections. “Okay.”

“Then how about we have the wedding banquet the day after tomorrow? I’ll go and tell the canteen tonight. They can buy the supplies tomorrow.”

“No problem.”

After discussing the important matters, Jiang Che had no reason to stay any longer. He left with a “See you tomorrow.”

Ji Wanqing didn’t have any pre-wedding jitters.

So far, she was quite satisfied with Jiang Che. He was handsome, had a good temper, was thoughtful, and turned over his salary.

The only regret was that he was too businesslike about getting married, as if he was rushing to complete a task assigned by his elders, without any of the sweetness and passion of a newly married couple.

She turned and saw the wooden box on the bed. She had taken it last night and forgotten to open it.

Ji Wanqing picked it up and found a passbook with a deposit of 9,200 yuan, over 300 yuan in cash, and various vouchers.

Cough.

Forget about sweetness and passion. A practical person was what mattered for a life together.

The next day, Ji Wanqing wore a light yellow dress and braided her hair into a loose and lazy single braid that hung down her side.

Jiang Che was wearing the army uniform issued to him today, looking heroic and spirited. His small waist was cinched from behind, creating a perfect golden ratio inverted triangle. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, his figure was amazing.

He was one of the best in the military camp!

After getting the marriage certificate, they could use it to go to the photo studio to take wedding photos. Jiang Che wanted to remind his wife specifically, but seeing Ji Wanqing’s bright and charming face, he felt that “dressing up” was not appropriate for her.

Because she was always beautiful effortlessly, every move, every smile, was radiant with beauty.

Ji Wanqing walked over with a small bag. “Let’s go, let’s go tell Aunt Zhuge first.”

She could only invite this one person here.

“Okay.”

They went to the family compound first and found Aunt Zhuge to tell her that they would be having a wedding banquet at the regiment headquarters canteen on the second floor tomorrow.

Aunt Zhuge had guessed that it would be in the next two days, but she didn’t expect it to be so soon. “Where are you getting married from? You can’t get married from Xiao Jiang’s dormitory, can you?”

Ji Wanqing didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Getting married now just meant setting up a few tables, having a meal, toasting, and reciting some quotes. Besides, she didn’t have any family members, so it was all very simple.

“Then I’ll pick you up from your house.” Aunt Zhuge made the decision. “Come over and sleep with me tonight.”

Aunt Zhuge didn’t know about Ji Wanqing’s family situation, but she knew about Xiao Jiang’s fiancée’s background.

Her mother had passed away early, and her grandfather had also passed away two years ago.

This girl was truly her type, and besides, she would be freeloading at her house for two months. She had to help no matter what.

Ji Wanqing was a little surprised, but it was definitely good to have someone backing her up on her wedding day. She smiled and agreed.

Jiang Che was very grateful and said that he would arrange for Aunt Zhuge to sit at the table as the bride’s family.

It was getting late, and Aunt Zhuge urged them to go get their marriage license quickly.

When they got the big red certificate in their hands, Ji Wanqing finally felt a little bit like she was getting married.

But only for a moment.

Nothing could stop her from living a life of leisure and comfort.

She handed the certificate to Jiang Che to keep. “Let’s go, we can get sugar tickets with the marriage certificate. Let’s buy the cigarettes, alcohol, and candy we need for tomorrow’s guests.”

Jiang Che carefully tucked the marriage certificate away. “Okay.”

They chatted while shopping. Seeing that Jiang Che didn’t know how to buy cigarettes, she asked, “You don’t smoke?”

He shook his head. “My grandfather was a heavy smoker, but my grandmother got lung cancer from secondhand smoke and passed away. Later, no men in our family were allowed to smoke.”

“… I see, sorry.” Ji Wanqing didn’t expect such a tragic reason.