Chapter 7: I struck gold! My rough-looking husband is a handsome man!

It didn’t take long for Wang Jianguo to prepare the meal. There were three dishes and a soup: stir-fried chili pork, potato and rabbit stew, dry-fried yardlong beans, and a cabbage soup. In a time of severe shortages, it was incredibly plentiful.

“Yueqiang, Yuehu, come and eat!” Huang Yuelan called from the kitchen doorway to the main room.

Huang Yueqiang and Huang Yuehu quickly ran from the main room. They had already smelled the enticing aroma of the food and had been eagerly anticipating their meal.

Once in the kitchen, the two young boys helped serve rice, dishes, and fetch chopsticks. Their resourcefulness was honed by years of hardship after losing their mother and then their father, leaving them dependent on others.

They couldn’t remember how long it had been since they’d last eaten meat—at least a year, maybe three. They’d almost forgotten what it tasted like. Seeing the delicious meat Wang Jianguo had cooked, they buried their heads and ate heartily.

“You two eat slowly, don’t choke. There’s plenty more in the pot,” Huang Yuelan said, her heart aching as she watched her younger brothers devour the food as if they hadn’t eaten in centuries.

After their sister’s words, they slowed down slightly, but soon resumed their enthusiastic eating, praising him:

“Brother, your food is so delicious!”

“Brother, your cooking is amazing! I’ve never tasted anything so good.”

Wang Jianguo smiled, picking up several pieces of meat and placing them in his brothers’ bowls.

“If you like it, eat more. Yuelan, you eat more too.” He then piled a large amount of meat into Yuelan’s bowl, so much it overflowed, forming a small mountain.

Huang Yuelan laughed. “My bowl’s overflowing! You should eat more too.” She then added some dishes to Wang Jianguo’s bowl.

It was then that she noticed his bowl had a chip missing a piece.

Seeing his wife staring at his bowl, Wang Jianguo said somewhat embarrassedly, “I forgot to buy a new bowl at the supply and marketing cooperative. I’ll go buy one later.”

“Let Yueqiang and Yuehu go later. It’ll be good for them to get some exercise,” Huang Yuelan suggested.

Wang Jianguo nodded. “Okay!” He had to listen to his wife. He couldn’t make her unhappy or sad. Things were different now. He was no longer a solitary wanderer; he had a wife!

After the meal, Yueqiang and Yuehu helped clean up, and Wang Jianguo quickly washed the pots and pans.

Once the chores were done, Huang Yuelan gave her brothers money to buy a bowl at the supply and marketing cooperative.

“Yuelan, save your money. Use mine and my ration coupons. I’ll take care of you from now on!” Wang Jianguo said tenderly, handing the money and coupons to Yueqiang and Yuehu.

The two brothers readily accepted the money and coupons from Wang Jianguo, refusing their sister’s offer to return them.

There was an unwritten family rule: a new bride shouldn’t work on her first day. In the past, only neglected wives worked on their first day.

Wang Jianguo had also bought some red paper from the supply and marketing cooperative. It looked a little old and yellowed, probably because it had been there for a long time without being bought.

He decided to cut out some double happiness characters. He’d seen others do it before, and relying on his memory, he cut one out, gave it a shake, and a perfect double happiness cutout was complete.

“It’s quite pretty,” Huang Yuelan said, surprised by his skill.

Wang Jianguo smiled at his wife’s praise. “I want to make our home look more festive.”

Other couples decorated their yards, walls, and beds with double happiness characters for their wedding, and his wife deserved no less. He had to make sure she had them too.

Soon, he cut out many double happiness characters of various sizes and pasted them on the walls, yard, and door, instantly creating a wedding atmosphere.

While it wasn’t a lavish wedding like those in later generations, Huang Yuelan felt that Wang Jianguo’s efforts were heartfelt and romantic.

She knew she had to cherish someone who truly cared for her, because such people were rare, and there were no regrets to be bought once they were gone.

The next day, Huang Yuelan found a pair of scissors, washed Wang Jianguo’s hair, and prepared to give him a haircut.

Wang Jianguo had been living in the mountains for a long time, and his hair and beard were long and unkempt, resembling a modern-day artist. He looked messy and at least fifteen years older than he actually was.

Huang Yuelan had never learned how to cut hair, but she thought men’s hairstyles were simple. Just cut the long hair short. If she couldn’t do a good haircut, a buzz cut would do, or even a shaved head—anything would be better than his current wild mane.

His hair was so long and thick it looked like a hat, and his beard covered half his face, obscuring his features.

After cutting his hair and beard, Huang Yuelan gasped at the transformation. Wang Jianguo was quite handsome, not just ordinarily handsome, but strikingly handsome.

He had a high nose bridge, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and strong facial features that gave him a very masculine aura. Even in the entertainment industry of later generations, filled with pretty boys, he would be considered top-tier, highly recognizable, and captivating.

Huang Yuelan believed that if it weren’t for his bizarre hairstyle concealing his good looks, many girls would have lined up to marry him.

Before, she thought he was a bit unkempt. Now, she realized she’d hit the jackpot. Her rough-looking husband was a handsome man.