Chapter 59.2

Xie Yanzhao was driving, keeping an eye on her expression with his peripheral vision.

“Don’t be nervous.”

Ruan Mingfu looked at him, “Aren’t you nervous?”

After all, it was Mrs. Ruan.

She admitted she was quite anxious.

Xie Yanzhao: “…”

It’s impossible not to be nervous when meeting the mother-in-law for the first time.

“By the way, you also need to buy a couple of new outfits.”

Ruan Mingfu said this with a hint of distaste.

All day long, he wore either military uniforms or old man vests. Military uniforms were fine, but those old man vests made her heart ache. She was determined to throw away those old man vests when she got home today!

“I have clothes. Just buy a few more for yourself.”

To be honest, it’s really hard to not be attracted to a man like this.

She even blushed a little.

“No.” Ruan Mingfu refused firmly, “If you don’t clean up a bit, you’ll look even older. What if Mrs. Ruan thinks you’re an eyesore and decides to break us up?”

Xie Yanzhao’s eyes narrowed.

How many times had she mentioned that he looked old?

He gripped the steering wheel tighter, his teeth clenched, “Buy them!”

Ruan Mingfu nodded.

That’s more like it.

A man dresses well, and it reflects well on her too.

She continued writing in her little notebook, her head bowed, not even noticing where the car was headed.

When Ruan Mingfu felt the car stop, she glanced around.

“Where are we? We were supposed to go to the supply and marketing cooperative?”

But Xie Yanzhao got out of the car, and Ruan Mingfu followed suit.

Standing outside the car, she saw the surroundings more clearly and curiously asked, “What are we doing here? Do you have something to do?”

Xie Yanzhao’s throat tightened.

“We still have a bit of business to take care of.”

Just as Ruan Mingfu was about to speak, Xie Yanzhao pulled her inside.

The outside looked shabby, but inside it was quite different.

She looked up at the leading man with a smile on his face. Ah, she had thought he was up to something.

It turned out to be just taking those wedding photos they hadn’t taken before.

So, he did have a bit of a romantic side.

Ruan Mingfu struggled to keep her smile from spreading.

The photographer was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. When he saw them, his eyes lit up. “Comrades, here for photos?”

“Yes, for photos.”

“She is…”

“My wife.”

“Ah, I see,” the photographer nodded, “Please come with me.”

He led them to the second floor.

Unlike in later times, where things were more elaborate, they didn’t change clothes or do much else, just rearranged their hair. The photographer had them sit in front of a wall covered with red fabric and took several quick shots.

They sat separately, which was less intimate than in later years.

The photographer smiled at them, “Since you’re here, would you like to take a few individual shots?”

“Sure.”

In recent days, with Tiezhu helping out, Ruan Mingfu’s life has been quite pleasant. She only needed to chat with Hu Wanning and others about the latest happenings in the family compound and play with Wangcai.

Without any worries, her face was as fresh as a newly peeled egg.

Her improved complexion made her look even more beautiful.

Even without makeup, she outshone the heavily made-up movie stars of later years. Standing alone in front of the red fabric, she seemed to glow.

The photographer tried several times, then said, “Wait a moment, I’ll adjust the exposure.”

Ruan Mingfu nodded and moved aside, grabbing Xie Yanzhao’s sleeve.

“Why didn’t you say something earlier? Now my eyebrows aren’t groomed, and I didn’t change clothes…”

Hearing the soft and tender voice beside him, Xie Yanzhao’s throat bobbed, his gaze darkened slightly.

“You look beautiful.”

Ruan Mingfu’s face turned a bit red.

So, this man was starting to say sweet things too?

She struggled to keep her smile from curling up and looked at him skeptically.

“Really?”

Xie Yanzhao didn’t respond, only reached out to pat her head, but Ruan Mingfu grabbed his hand.

She was a bit annoyed. “We still need to take photos later. If you mess up my hair, I’ll have to redo it.”

The comb at the photo studio was a shared one, and she didn’t know how many people had used it.

She didn’t want to use it.

Ruan Mingfu’s voice was soft and tender, sounding less like anger and more like a pout.

Xie Yanzhao’s eyes grew darker.

“Alright, we can start taking the photos now,” the photographer said, looking at the pair who stood together, a perfect match. “You two seem to be quite close.”

Ruan Mingfu was extremely pleased.

If she had a tail, it would have been wagging in the air by now.

After the couple’s photos were taken, it was Xie Yanzhao’s turn.

Xie Yanzhao’s expression hardly changed throughout the year, so taking his photos was effortless. Compared to Ruan Mingfu’s session, the photographer seemed quite indifferent. A few quick shots, and it was over in less than a minute.

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

Wow, that was efficient.

“Comrade, the total is three yuan.”

Xie Yanzhao glanced at the large camera. “How about expedited service?”

“That will be more expensive, five yuan. Do you want expedited service?”

Ruan Mingfu was curious, “How long does expedited service take?”

“Quite fast,” the photographer thought for a moment, “at most two hours.”

That was pretty quick.

Ruan Mingfu decisively said, “Then let’s go with expedited service.”

The military district was quite far from here.

She had to pick up her parents at the train station in a few days and probably wouldn’t have time to come back, so paying a bit more to save the hassle was worth it.

“Alright, we’ll come back later.” Xie Yanzhao agreed and paid the money.

After leaving the photo studio, they went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

When the chubby manager saw them, his eyes brightened. “Comrade Xie and Comrade Ruan, you’re here!”

“Manager Wang.”

“No need for formality,” the chubby manager’s eyes narrowed into slits when he smiled. “Comrade Ruan, did Yilin cause you any trouble?”

Since her parents had asked the manager to look after Gu Yilin, he hadn’t been negligent.

A few days ago, he had even brought some things to visit her. That was when he realized that Yilin’s “good friend” was actually an acquaintance.

“It’s nothing. Manager Wang, you’re too kind.”

“You’ve come at the right time. We just received some fresh fruit today, and it hasn’t been put out yet. Come with me.”

The manager led them to a storage-like room.

Inside, there was a lot of fruit. Ruan Mingfu’s eyes lit up when she saw large, red dates.

She had been craving fruit for a long time.

Besides that, there were also big, red peaches.

Ruan Mingfu couldn’t resist and bought quite a lot. Opportunities like this were rare, and she wouldn’t know when she’d have the chance to eat fresh fruit again.

“Manager Wang, thank you so much.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” the manager said, understanding their needs, “I won’t keep you any longer.”

After loading the purchased items into the car, Ruan Mingfu took out her notebook.

She checked off each item as she bought it. By the time they finished, Xie Yanzhao was carrying quite a few things.

Halfway through, Ruan Mingfu stopped.

“Do you think we should buy a few more small chickens? I tell you, Mrs. Ruan’s soup is exceptional.”

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have managed so many chain stores.

Thinking about that taste, Ruan Mingfu couldn’t help but swallow.

Xie Yanzhao looked at the supply and marketing cooperative and saw that there were no chickens for sale at the moment. He thought for a moment, “I’ll go to the countryside and bring back some chickens another day.”

The family compound actually had chickens.

The sister-in-law living in the single-story houses kept chickens in the yard, and those in the dormitory buildings had their methods too. They used tall bamboo to fence off a section of the vegetable garden so the chickens couldn’t escape and could eat vegetable leaves at any time.

Many people raised chickens this way and didn’t worry about theft.

Ruan Mingfu was a bit put off by the idea. She had no intention of raising them.

“Okay,” she agreed.

If someone in the family compound wants to have a baby, they will go to the countryside to buy chickens if they don’t have enough to eat.

The military didn’t really enforce strict rules on this matter.

After all, borrowing some courage from the G Committee, no one dared to come here and arrest people.

After putting all the items in the car, they went back to the photo studio.

The photographer had already prepared everything and took out a stack of photos, looking a bit regretful. “If these photos were in color, you two would look even better.”

He looked at the photo of the two of them together.

The more he looked, the more he thought they were a perfect match, and the more beautiful they appeared.

Ruan Mingfu curiously took the photos and flipped through them. When she saw one in particular, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Look at you, not smiling at all, with a frown. You look like an old man.”

Xie Yanzhao: “…”

He ground his teeth.

Yet his eyes were involuntarily drawn to the other two photos. He reached out, took them, and looked at them for a moment. “Comrade, please enlarge these two photos.”

The photographer looked at him teasingly. “I understand, I understand.”

Two photos, one is a photo of the two of them.

One was tall and strong, and the other was delicate and beautiful. Together, they looked exceptionally harmonious.

The other was a solo shot of Ruan Mingfu.

In the photo, she was smiling brightly, her beauty dazzling. Her eyes sparkled as if they contained countless stars…

“Can you enlarge these?”

Ruan Mingfu was curious and leaned in, wanting to see which two photos Xie Yanzhao had chosen. But with his height, even if he stretched his neck like a giraffe, she couldn’t see.

“Hmph!”

She huffed in displeasure.

Xie Yanzhao paid a bit more and waited for a while before the two photo frames he ordered were finally ready.

Ruan Mingfu then saw the actual photos.

Surprisingly, the man had quite an eye for this.

Ruan Mingfu felt a surge of satisfaction, and her earlier frustration had completely vanished.

By the time she returned to the base, it was already getting dark.

Gu Yilin had brought a stool to sit by the door, with a dejected Wangcai lying at her feet. When Ruan Mingfu got out of the car, Gu Yilin said with a hint of grievance, “You actually came back.”

Did they know how long she had been waiting?

How frustrating!

Gu Yilin stood up abruptly.

She was curious to see what these two had bought after being out for so long!

“Come help carry the things.”

Gu Yilin: “…”

She was still irked, and her frustration hadn’t faded.

Damn woman!

Though she grumbled, Gu Yilin went over. When she saw the peaches inside, she was even more stunned.

Amidst her surprise, she remembered to keep her voice low, “Oh my god, where did you get these fruits?”

And peaches, no less.

These were even harder to come by.

Ruan Mingfu briefly explained, “No more talking, just help bring the stuff inside.”

“Okay.”

Xie Yanzhao went to return the car, while Ruan Mingfu sat on the sofa, inspecting the first item.

“By the way, have you eaten?”

Gu Yilin: “…”

By the time Ruan Mingfu remembered, she had already starved. She had eaten at Hu Wanning’s place.

Gu Yilin followed a principle.

With thick skin, anywhere could feel like home.

When Xie Yanzhao returned, the living room lights were on, but everything else was dark. Ruan Mingfu sat in front of the sofa, smiling at him. Gu Yilin had already been sent to bed.

“Back?”

Xie Yanzhao asked, “Did Mom and Dad say when they’re coming?”

“No,” Ruan Mingfu shook her head, “It should be within the next few days.”

They didn’t tell her. Could they be planning a surprise visit?

It seemed like Mrs. Ruan’s style.

But Ruan Mingfu wasn’t worried. The area was under tight security. Without a military or family escort, they couldn’t get in.

Ruan Mingfu felt smug.

She suddenly wanted to see Mrs. Ruan being stopped outside, her stunned expression. She had never seen that before.

“By the way, I made you a bowl of noodles. Eat up.”

She lifted the lid from the table, revealing a steaming bowl of noodles.

Xie Yanzhao’s Adam’s apple moved, but he saw her beaming with a smile.

“Xie Yanzhao, happy birthday.”