Chapter 32 : Marriage Proposal

Zhao Xiangyu has always been someone who cares about her reputation, but now she has lost all her dignity and is crying on the ground, kicking her legs.

The onlookers pointed and talked, and Zhuang Guoliang helped his mother out of the supply and marketing cooperative in an unpleasant mood.

If his mother hadn’t suddenly hit someone, he wouldn’t have been pointed at by people from the supply and marketing cooperative and accused of having an affair.

Now, they had brought shame upon themselves in the county.

He said in a somewhat blaming tone, “Mom, why are you scolding Jiang Li for no reason? They are buying their own things. If you see something, just pretend you didn’t see it.”

“What? That damn girl is Jiang Li? You’re on her side? Are you attracted to her vixen face?”

Zhao Xiangyu was so angry that she had a heart attack. The son she was protecting so wholeheartedly actually spoke to her like that.

“Mom, that’s not what I meant…”

Seeing that his mother was so angry that she couldn’t breathe, Zhuang Guoliang quickly changed the subject, “Don’t you want to cut the fat pork? I can find a way to get the pork.”

“The supply and marketing cooperative is out of meat. Where are you going to get it?” Zhao Xiangyu stopped crying and looked at Zhuang Guoliang with some vigilance.

“Son, you’re not going to do any speculation or profiteering on the black market, are you?”

Zhuang Guoliang was helpless. His whole family didn’t know that he worked in a private slaughterhouse.

If his mother knew about this, she would definitely cry and not let him go.

Even if he begged and pleaded, he couldn’t keep the monthly salary in his hands, as his mother would definitely take it away.

But now, in order to appease his mother, he couldn’t care about so much.

After all, the Jiang family’s marriage proposal still depended on his mother otherwise, he would have to go to the farm and eat barn food.

“Mom, don’t worry about it, I can get pork anyway. Take these two pounds of meat home to eat, and I’ll get two pounds of fat, and then we’ll go to the Jiang family to propose marriage.”

…

Jiang Li and Qin Xiaoting left the supply and marketing cooperative and entered the department store. The clothing clerk in the department store recognized Jiang Li. How could she not recognize her?

Such a pretty girl and such a generous partner, it’s simply like the God of Wealth’s daughter has arrived.

Qin Xiaoting was jealous when she saw the clothes on the counter, but she had experienced hardship and was still thrifty.

Spending money on food and drink is fine, after all, it goes into your stomach, but spending money on clothes made her feel a little painful.

Jiang Li advised her, “Why don’t you give it a try? It doesn’t cost anything.”

Qin Xiaoting was attracted by it and tried on a yellow plaid blouse. When she came out, the salesperson kept praising her.

“It makes you look fairer and more fashionable, just like a doll.”

“Look at this small waist and this smooth little face. It’s good to be young. You look good in any clothes.”

The salesman, in his forties, looked at Jiang Li and Qin Xiaoting as if they were his own daughters.

The word “young” touched Qin Xiaoting. Yes, life had been hard when she was setting up a stall in her previous life. She didn’t even have the chance to wear nice clothes. Now, she had to make up for it.

“I want both this and the white dress.”

The two of them were laughing and chatting as they shopped all the way. They bought pearl cream, clam oil, lipstick, silk scarves, and everything they liked.

It was almost noon, and Jiang Li remembered Qi Shaoqiang’s instructions to go to the food factory, so the two of them left the department store and walked towards the food factory.

There are several factory areas in that area. Jiang Li had gone there once to exchange food coupons, so she was familiar with the place.

The Wuyang Food Factory is called a factory, but it has all the supporting facilities needed for life, including a canteen, residential buildings for family members, a supply and marketing cooperative, a clinic, a non-staple food store, a milk station, a basketball court, and a factory nursery.

At noon, when people are getting off work, among the bustling crowd at the factory gate, there are occasionally a few workers with slicked-back hair riding bicycles, ringing their bells, with net bags containing lunch boxes dangling from the handlebars of their bicycles.

This time, Qi Shaoqiang didn’t let Jiang Li wait. He saw her waiting under the tree from a distance and waved to her.

“Lizi, you’re here! Come on, I’ll take you to the cafeteria. There’s braised fish today. If you go too late, you might miss it.”

“Comrade Qin Xiaoting,” Qi Shaoqiang nodded at her, his attitude neither overly enthusiastic nor cold.

When Jiang Li heard that there was braised fish, she quickened her pace. Qi Shaoqiang also quickened his pace behind her, with a doting smile on his face.

Qin Xiaoting saw this by chance and was almost annoyed to death.

“Three large braised carps, two portions of braised eggplant, two portions of beans, and two portions of tomato and eggs.”

Jiang Li and her friends arrived at the right time, and the chef gave them the last half of the fish without asking for any money. He even poured plenty of sauce on the fish.

“Li Zi, what else do you want to eat?” Qi Shaoqiang had seen Jiang Li’s appetite and was worried that she wouldn’t have enough to eat.

“A few more meat buns, please.”

“Ten meat buns and a pound of rice.”

Qin Xiaoting handed over the food coupons and money very consciously. Food was precious these days, and no one would eat other people’s food for free.

The skin of the roast chicken was browned, and the juice flowed all over your fingers when you pulled it. It tasted salty and fragrant when you put it in your mouth. Two big chicken legs were torn off and fell into Jiang Li’s bowl.

“Lizi, try it.”

Qin Xiaoting held the meat bun in her hands and looked at it helplessly, wondering when she could trick Liu Lixin into her life. She was alone and felt full before she even had the meal.

Jiang Li finished her meal and thought of the decision she had made after sitting all night last night. She said, “Comrade Qi Shaoqiang, let’s get the marriage certificate.”

Qi Shaoqiang’s chopsticks jingled on the bowl, his eyes first confused, then ecstatic, “Lizi, my probation period is over?”

Jiang Li nodded, with a hint of shyness on her face.

She had thought about it all night and realized that she couldn’t find a job for the time being. She also inquired about the job of scorekeeper in the village. The job content was not only responsible for scoring, but also had to register, repair farm tools, and go to the fields during the busy farming season.

She didn’t know how long she could continue doing this job.

She couldn’t bear any hardship.

She had also observed these days that Qi Shaoqiang was generous and careful, and indeed a good person.

Another thing is, who knows how many men with bad intentions there are in the village.

There is only a thief who can steal for a thousand days, but there is no such thing as a thief who can guard against thieves for a thousand days. It is impossible for a single young woman to live alone in the countryside.

Since she must get married, she should hurry up and choose someone she likes.

Qi Shaoqiang stood up and paced excitedly, “Okay, I’ll go home and prepare. I’ll come to propose tomorrow, no, this afternoon.”

“Good.”

Now that they had decided to get married, Jiang Li was no longer shy about it. The sooner things were done, the better.

In the afternoon, Qi Shaoqiang took a leave, asked a matchmaker to bring his mother to the house.

When they arrived at Jiang’s house, there was a circle of people gathered at the door.

A few children were lying on the tree. It was a hot day, and the sun was shining brightly. Everyone was sweating, but nothing could stop them from watching the fun.

The gossips about Jiang Hongmei and Zhuang Guoliang, one after another, with sequels, were even more exciting than those in operas.

“Get lost! All of you, get lost right now. You want to marry my daughter but just by bringing two pounds of meat? You are just daydreaming!”