◎ Fourth Update ◎ 

Chen Siming knew that today was Liang Baozhen’s wedding day and had already inquired about the place in advance. He wanted to go out and take a look, but his father Chen Yong ordered him to stay at home. It was only because Dong Jiayan asked him to accompany her to the department store that he was able to get away. 

Dong Jiayan wanted to buy a beautiful dress with black leather shoes, but Chen Siming was absent-minded. When he heard his wife talking about which dress looked good, he just perfunctorily said, “It’s up to you, you can choose for yourself…” 

When he raised his eyes, he saw Liang Baozhen standing not far away. 

“Baozhen?” Chen Siming stopped immediately; his tone was quite excited. Dong Jiayan beside him pinched his arm secretly, reminding him to be more restrained. 

Liang Baozhen didn’t expect to meet such an unlucky person here. She turned around and wanted to leave. “Let’s go somewhere else.” 

Xu Shengjie glanced at the stunned Chen Siming and nodded at his wife, “Okay.” 

“Baozhen!” Seeing that the person was about to leave, Chen Siming took two or three steps forward. Since he was caught in the alley by Liang Baozhen and Song Chunhua last time, he had no chance to see Liang Baozhen again. He didn’t expect that the next time he saw her was on her wedding day. “Baozhen, are you really getting married?” 

Chen Siming’s affectionate look made Dong Jiayan anxious. She glared at Liang Baozhen with anger in her eyes, “That’s right, didn’t you see Baozhen standing with her man? Siming, let’s not disturb them, let’s go.” 

“Let’s go.” Liang Baozhen was too lazy to pay attention to the two of them and prepared to leave with Xu Shengjie again. 

“Hey, Baozhen, wait a minute, I want to explain to you…” Chen Siming saw Liang Baozhen, whom he had been thinking about day and night, was about to leave, and anxiously reached out to grab her arm. 

This action was seen by the other two. Dong Jiayan’s eyes were burning with anger, but she was too late to stop it. Xu Shengjie blocked it with one arm and directly slapped Chen Siming’s hand away. 

Xu Shengjie’s strength made Chen Siming’s hand turn red immediately. 

Hiss~ 

Chen Siming covered the back of his right hand with his left hand and shouted angrily, “You!” 

“Don’t touch my wife,” Xu Shengjie’s voice was deep and threatening, and his cold glare made Chen Siming hesitate to move further. 

“Director Chen has already had one conduct issue, and now you want to be a pervert too?” Liang Baozhen was disgusted by him and found him irritating. She grabbed Xu Shengjie’s arm and quickly walked away. 

Xu Shengjie was dragged by Liang Baozhen all the way to the second floor. Seeing Liang Baozhen’s angry face, his heart sank, “Are you upset?” 

He didn’t know what Liang Baozhen was thinking, but it must be very uncomfortable for the bride to catch her future husband hugging and kissing others a few days before the wedding, especially for a girl who might be sensitive about such things. If he had known they’d run into that bastard today, he wouldn’t have brought her to the department store. 

“I’ve gotten over it a long time ago. I just feel unlucky.” Liang Baozhen was in a bad mood. She lost her reserve with her newlywed husband and started to complain word by word. “Today’s my big day and running into them just ruined it. If my mother were here, she might’ve made me jump over a fire pit before coming home.” 

This was the first time Liang Baozhen spoke so openly in front of Xu Shengjie, as if she considered him a family member, which made Xu Shengjie feel more at ease. He comforted her, “Yes, it’s an unlucky thing, but don’t take it to heart.” 

“Forget about them. Let’s go buy some clothes.” Liang Baozhen walked in front and carefully selected some clothes and asked, “Shall I buy you a shirt? What color and style do you like?” 

“I don’t need one.” Xu Shengjie, who wore a green military uniform while in the army, mainly wore his old uniform and two sets of work clothes after his discharge. As a grown man, he didn’t see the need for many clothes or care about their color or style. It made no difference to him as long as he had something to wear. 

But it’s different for girls. He saw Liang Baozhen wearing different colors and styles twice, but it made her look more beautiful in different ways. So it was worth it for her to buy it. 

Liang Baozhen didn’t force it. This guy really didn’t seem to care. She turned around and looked Xu Shengjie up and down, then stared at the ground. “Then let’s buy you a new pair of shoes.” 

The cloth shoes on his feet were quite old, so it was a good time to change them. 

“No…” 

Before Xu Shengjie could say no, he saw Liang Baozhen glaring at him. The beautiful girl was a little annoyed, “If you say no again, I won’t buy anything for you anymore.” 

Reluctantly, Xu Shengjie stopped talking and could only nod. 

In the end, Liang Baozhen chose a light yellow dress that was fitted at the waist and made her look very gentle when she tried it on. She also picked out a pair of basic black cloth shoes for Xu Shengjie. 

The two were very principled. Thinking that it was a gift for each other, they paid separately, which caused the salesperson to look at Xu Shengjie several times. After the person walked away, she did not forget to complain to her colleague, saying that the man was handsome, but he was too stingy! 

Liang Baozhen had saved less than ten yuan. Her second brother gave her eighteen yuan before she got married. She secretly put ten yuan back yesterday, but Song Chunhua took a hundred yuan from the betrothal money and reminded her that setting up a new household was expensive and she needed to spend every penny wisely. 

Today she spent eleven yuan on a pair of cloth shoes, which is very expensive. It is equivalent to a worker’s half-month salary. It was the first time she had spent so much money at once, and Liang Baozhen still felt a bit pained. She can’t help feeling distressed and thinks it is too expensive. 

However, the dress that Xu Shengjie bought for her was even more expensive, it cost twenty yuan! 

On the way home, Liang Baozhen was deep in thought, wondering if the two of them were a bit of a spendthrift. 

*** 

Zhou Yun praised the young couple who had come back after buying clothes. She complimented Liang Baozhen’s good taste, saying that the dress was beautiful, and was pleased that she even bought a pair of shoes for her grandson. 

“The soles of these shoes are solid, and they are light and comfortable to walk in. They can be worn for many years, and they are worth buying.” 

Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya also praised how nice everything looked, which pleased Liang Baozhen.

 

After the new clothes were dried and hung out to dry, Xu Shengjie went out to return Hong Saner’s bicycle, leaving only his grandma, two children, and his new wife at home. 

Zhou Yun was boiling medicine for Xu Shengya. The black Chinese medicine was boiling slowly in the pot and it emitted a bitter smell. Liang Baozhen stepped forward to help, picking up the clay pot and pouring it into the porcelain bowl. 

A bowl of Chinese medicine was placed on the table, and Xu Shengya sat upright as if she was being tortured. Even after drinking it so many times, the little girl was still afraid. 

“Xiaoya, be good. You can eat some candy after you take the medicine. Your brother just got married, and there are seven or eight candies left at home. I’ll save them all for you.” 

Every person in the city was given two taels of sugar tickets every quarter, so buying sugar became a luxury. No matter how wealthy you were, it was useless without the ticket. This time, the Xu family received an extra two pounds of wedding candy ticket for their wedding, which added a bit to their celebration. 

Xu Shengya’s cheeks puffed up, she took a deep breath, held the bowl, and drank it in big gulps. After finishing the bowl of Chinese medicine, there was a touch of black medicine stains on the corners of her mouth. Liang Baozhen took a handkerchief to wipe it clean for the girl and immediately handed her a piece of sweet sorghum. 

“Eat this quickly, it’s very sweet.” 

This is true. Sweet sorghum is really sweet. When you take a bite and chew it, your mouth is full of sweet juice. It is more beneficial than eating sugar. The bitterness in your mouth disappears as you chew it. 

“Thank you, sister-in-law.” 

Xu Shengya had beautiful eyebrows and eyes and wore two pigtails. Her hair was soft and looked easy to touch. Liang Baozhen couldn’t help but reach out the end of her pigtail while watching her eat sweet sorghum. 

The lively scene from earlier in the day had faded. Only the red firecracker scraps at the gate of the courtyard are still scattered on the ground. They were left there on purpose and will be swept away tomorrow to keep the festive atmosphere. 

Liang Baozhen put away the congratulatory gifts from friends and relatives received in the morning into the cabinet—mostly small bags of white sugar, brown sugar, some noodles, and a few eggs. Everyone who had enjoyed the celebratory meal brought some gifts. 

After walking out of the house, Liang Baozhen took a good look at the courtyard. 

The courtyard house was a bit older at that time than it would be ten years later. It was renovated once in the 1990s, and then property rights reform happened. The factory didn’t become profitable, so it was rented out or sold. However, many people were reluctant to spend a lot of money on a house and regretted it years later. 

The Xu family lived in the east wing of the courtyard. There were two families living in the east wing. Next door lived a couple in their thirties and their son. Their house was smaller, but with only three of them, it was more comfortable to live in than the Xu family. 

Further on is the main house. Liang Baozhen couldn’t help but envy its size and spaciousness. A family of eight lived there. The old man was a seventh-level worker in the machinery factory, a leader among the technical workers with a high salary and status. When the houses were distributed, he was given the largest main house. 

Zhou Yun was in the courtyard sorting the vegetables. There were still some vegetables left from the ones Xu Shengjie had brought from the Liang family a few days ago, which she planned to stir-fry today. 

Seeing Liang Baozhen looking at the main room, she introduced it to her, “That is Aunt Chen and Uncle Wei’s home. They have a large family and are usually busy, but now they are all at work. There are two grandchildren at home, so they should be taken out to play by the second son’s wife.” 

“Is Aunt Zhang in the west wing over there?” She had met too many people in the courtyard today. Men, women, old and young surrounded her to congratulate her. She couldn’t recall most of them. She only had a few impressions, including Aunt Zhang and the couple who had quarreled earlier. 

“Yes. Aunt Zhang’s family is on the west side. She is kind-hearted and was always willing to help with anything.” Zhou Yun picked up two cucumbers and prepared to make a cold cucumber salad. 

“Grandma, let me do it.” Liang Baozhen took the cucumber, washed it, and scraped off the thorns. Then she chopped it into slices skillfully, sprinkled some salt on it, and marinated it for a while. 

Zhou Yun was pleased to see that her granddaughter-in-law was capable, and the two of them got busy at the stove together. 

The Xu family’s stove was built next to the house. It was a 1.5-meter-wide tabletop where they used a coal stove to cook. 

When Xu Shengjie returned to the courtyard, he saw smoke rising from the door of his house, with a busy figure moving back and forth. He put the pig ears he brought back on the stove and asked, “Have you changed your clothes?” 

Liang Baozhen was wearing an old gray coat with sleeves rolled up to the elbows. She looked very neat. She was a little surprised to see the man bring back the pig ears. “Well, I’ll be at a loss if the coal stain my new clothes. Where did you buy the pig ears?” 

“Hong Saner’s father works at the meat processing factory. They have good benefits and often get pig offal and ears without a ticket. I just bought one when I returned my bicycle. See if it’s for cold or stir-fry.” 

“Let’s make it cold. It’s too hot; cold dishes are more comfortable to eat.” 

Dinner was simple but delicious: cold pig ears, cold cucumbers, cornmeal steamed buns, cabbage, and tofu soup. Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya were the happiest during the meal, and their two little mouths were covered with oil. 

“Sister-in-law’s cooking skills are really good! So delicious.” 

“Then eat more.” 

Xu Shengwei couldn’t stop picking up the delicious food with his chopsticks. Liang Baozhen’s skill in making cold dishes was indeed good. She had been praised many times in the Liang family. The dishes she made were not only fresh and fragrant but also had a bit of spicy taste, which could make people feel refreshed physically and mentally in the hot summer. 

After dinner, Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya volunteered to wash the dishes. They had been trained since childhood and had been in charge of the household for a long time. One of them washed the dishes and the other was rinsing, they cooperated very well. 

After carefully cleaning the dishes, they held hands and reported to their brother, “Brother, we’re going out to play.” 

“Go ahead.” After wiping the table, Xu Shengjie watched his younger brother and sister leave. Children can’t stay still at home. 

After dinner, Liang Baozhen went back to her room to tidy up, but she had gotten up too early and was exhausted from running around all day. She could hardly keep her eyes open. When she sat down on a stool in Xu Shengjie’s room, she didn’t realize she had fallen asleep. 

When she woke up again, everything was quiet. She looked out the window and saw that it was already dark. She estimated it was around eight or nine o’clock. 

The door creaked and someone came in with heavy footsteps. 

“Are you awake?” 

“Mm.” Liang Baozhen’s voice was a bit hoarse from just waking up. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at Xu Shengjie with some embarrassment, “Where’s Grandma? I accidentally fell asleep.” 

“She’s asleep at this hour and told me not to wake you up. You need to catch up on some sleep after getting up so early and being tired all day.” 

Liang Baozhen felt refreshed after sleeping for more than two hours. Just as she was about to stretch and stand up, she suddenly felt that the surroundings were a little quiet. It was late at night, and there was only herself and Xu Shengjie in the room. 

Her head was buzzing, and she suddenly remembered the secret of the wedding night that Song Chunhua taught her last night. 

Song Chunhua was usually straightforward, but it was rare for her to feel embarrassed when talking about such secrets. She just patted her hands to reassure her and said, “Every woman has to go through this. Anyway, you just have to listen to Xiao Xu when the time comes. Don’t be afraid.” 

Seeing the tall man in front of her, she was indeed a little scared at this moment. 

The author has something to say: 

Wedding Night 

Liang Baozhen: Nervous 

Xu Shengjie: I am also nervous