Chapter 13: Gu Ze Arrives with the Four Big Wedding Items

The next day, Baoni, her mother, and her sister-in-law took a boat off the island.

There were many things they needed to buy!

“The Department Store in the city is really grand. It has everything! It’s nothing like our island.” Sister-in-law Lin exclaimed as she admired the store, making the same remark every time she visited.

“What’s the point of grandeur if you have no money and no ration tickets? You can only look but not buy.” Mother Lin replied, clearly tired of hearing her daughter-in-law repeat the same thing on every trip.

“Mother, what do we need to buy? You take charge. Grandma wants us to go back early.” Baoni quickly interrupted, knowing that if she didn’t, her mother and sister-in-law would go on and on.

“Alright, alright, I got it. We need to buy a pair of enamel basins with the ‘double happiness’ symbol, and two sets of bed covers—they must have peony flowers to look festive. We also need to buy red fabric since the wedding clothes must be red…”

Mother Lin muttered as she directed her eldest daughter-in-law to start shopping.

“Peony flower bed covers?” Baoni suddenly exclaimed. Was it the kind she was imagining?

“What’s wrong? Peony flowers are festive! A wedding must have peony flowers!” Mother Lin’s tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

Fine, peony flowers it was. At worst, she could sew a few plain-colored duvet covers later to avoid constantly changing the bedding. She wasn’t good at sewing anyway.

Baoni was puzzled. In the past, she had been trained by Old Jiang and never had the time or opportunity to deal with these things. However, despite being able to wield a sledgehammer, she was completely defeated by a tiny embroidery needle. She had pricked herself so many times that she ended up crying out in pain, eventually giving up entirely.

Shopping was a natural instinct for women, regardless of the era.

Mother Lin led the way, Sister-in-law Lin held the rear, and they shopped with great enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Baoni had no choice but to play the role of the little porter.

Fine, as long as they were happy. It was a rare opportunity to shop without worrying about how many ration tickets they had left.

The amount of money Gu Ye had given her was decent, but the real surprise was the sheer number of ration tickets!

In reality, despite Mother Lin’s grand shopping spree, everything she bought was essential for daily life. Frugality was ingrained in this generation’s very bones.

By the time both of Baoni’s hands were full, Mother Lin finally announced that they had everything they needed and could go home.

“Mother, there’s still time. Let’s go eat something at the State-Owned Restaurant—I’m starving!” Baoni suggested. They had been out since early morning, and everyone must be hungry.

Her sister-in-law would never have dared to suggest eating out, so Baoni quickly spoke up first.

Although Mother Lin was reluctant to spend money, her daughter was looking at her eagerly, and her eldest daughter-in-law had also been running around with them all morning. Gritting her teeth and stomping her foot, she agreed.

Baoni, familiar with the place, led Mother Lin and Sister-in-law Lin into the State-Owned Restaurant and glanced at the day’s menu.

“Mom, they have braised pork! Let’s get a portion!” Baoni had gone so many days eating nothing but seafood—she hadn’t had a proper meat dish in ages.

“Alright, one portion.” Mother Lin agreed, steeling herself as she placed the order. That would be the only special dish. The rest would just be simple home-style dishes—enough to fill the three of them.

Sister-in-law Lin was also delighted. Following Baoni meant she could have meat to eat today.

The three of them had a full meal and felt that the meat was truly delicious!

Grandma Lin saw them entering the house with large and small bags, so she busied herself checking whether they had bought everything they needed.

Baoni, however, didn’t care about that. She hugged Dabao and went off to share the delicious food.

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Meanwhile, Brother Gu had arrived at the dock. Since he had quite a lot of things with him, he asked a fellow soldier he knew to help him carry the items onto the boat.

“Thanks, see you later.” Brother Gu waved his hand and bid farewell to his comrade.

When Gu Ye saw his elder brother, he was also very surprised. “What is all this? Why did you bring so many things over?”

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help carry these!” Brother Gu shouted loudly when he saw his younger brother standing there in a daze.

Gu Ye and Xiao Chaoyang quickly stepped forward to help.

My goodness—bicycles, a sewing machine, a radio—everything from the so-called “Three Turns and One Sound” was there. The wristwatch wasn’t visible, but it was probably packed in the luggage.

After a lot of lifting and carrying, they finally managed to get everything onto the vehicle—it was just too much.

They transported the goods to the Family Residential Compound and then moved them all down again. Brother Gu handed each of the soldiers a pack of Beijing cigarettes, making them so happy that they ran off cheerfully.

“Big Brother Gu, I’ll head back first.” Xiao Chaoyang greeted them before leaving, giving Gu Ye and his brother a moment to talk alone.

“You’re getting married soon. How do you feel about it? Your sister-in-law kept asking what Comrade Lin looks like, whether she’s easy to get along with. She wouldn’t stop nagging about it.” Gu Ze observed his younger brother, but he couldn’t tell whether he liked the match or not.

“I don’t know. Sometimes, it feels really annoying—too many things to deal with. But other times, I find her quite interesting. She’s round and chubby, like a little meatball.” When Gu Ye thought of Lin Baoni’s big, round eyes staring at him, he couldn’t help but find it amusing.

Seeing the smile that unconsciously appeared on his younger brother’s face while he spoke, Gu Ze had a feeling that Comrade Lin might just be able to cure his brother’s problems.

“How could you describe a female comrade like that? If your sister-in-law heard it, she’d definitely scold you.”

Women all wanted to be praised for their beauty.

Being called a “meatball”—well, gaining weight in these times wasn’t easy either.

Because of how Gu Ye described Lin Baoni as a “meatball.” Gu Ze’s mind imagined her as a round and plump figure.

The two brothers sorted out their things. As soldiers, they didn’t have to worry about military housekeeping—they had it under control.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go visit the Lin Family to meet the in-laws and discuss the wedding date. I won’t be able to stay long.” Brother Gu’s job was special, and he couldn’t be away for too long.

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That evening, Gu Ye and his elder brother visited Colonel Yang’s home.

Colonel Yang asked about the health of the old leader, then praised Gu Ye’s excellence, saying that he had achieved another great accomplishment.

At the end of the visit, the conversation turned to Gu Ye’s marriage. Colonel Yang said: “The Lin Family has been living on the island for over a hundred years. They have inherited the craft of house-building, especially with seaweed houses.”

“Moreover, the Lin Family has produced three martyrs over two generations. Comrade Lin’s Second Uncle sacrificed himself during the War of Resistance against Japan.” These details had been reviewed during the political examination, and Colonel Yang thought the Lin Family was quite admirable.

The Gu brothers left Colonel Yang’s house and agreed that the next morning, they would visit the Lin Family.

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The following day, Gu Ye took the special products from Beijing and four boxes of gifts he had bought from the department store, heading toward the Lin Family.

It was the time when people were heading to work, and there were quite a few people on the road in groups of two or three. As they saw the Gu brothers carrying things, they began to gossip.

“Lin Baoni is really lucky. She’s going to marry an officer, and from now on, she’ll eat commodity grain!” A young wife said enviously to her younger sister-in-law.

“So what? She kissed a man in public, and now her reputation is ruined!” The words were full of bitterness.

The young wife couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “You wish you could kiss him, but you don’t have the ability!”

“Ugh, so arrogant! With Lin Baoni’s short temper, she’s strong, eats more than a man, and who knows, she might be returned within three days!” Wang Daya was about to explode with anger. Why did Li Daya get all the good fortune?

Her son had joined the army, and now her daughter was going to marry an officer. All the good things were happening to her. Wang Daya couldn’t help but feel resentful.

“Wang Daya, aren’t you afraid that Baoni’s mother will tear your mouth off? You’re here spreading bad things about her, are you feeling too bold?” A woman from the third team added fuel to the fire, not caring to stir up trouble.

“Did you hear that? You’d better treat Comrade Lin well. She made a great sacrifice to save you!” Gu Ze spoke from the bottom of his heart, truly grateful to Comrade Lin. If it weren’t for her, Gu Ye might really have died in battle.

“Grandpa, this is my brother, Gu Ze.” As soon as they arrived at the Lin Family’s door, they coincidentally ran into Grandpa Lin and the others coming out. Gu Ye quickly greeted them.

“Hello, Grandpa. I’m Gu Ye’s older brother, Gu Ze. Sorry for coming without notice.” Gu Ze said, adjusting his demeanor, lowering his posture, and making sure to leave a good impression.

“Gu Ye’s older brother, please come in. Baoni, come pour tea for our guests.” Grandpa Lin welcomed them into the courtyard and called for Baoni to pour tea.

When Baoni heard someone had arrived but didn’t catch who it was, she began searching for the tea leaves in the kitchen. She wandered around for a long time but couldn’t find anything.

“How are you going to manage from now on?” Grandma Lin looked at her granddaughter, who was bustling around the kitchen, and shook her head helplessly.

Baoni grinned and said: “Well, we have Grandma, don’t we!”

“You, you…” Grandma gently tapped Baoni’s forehead with her finger.

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Outside, Gu Ze was talking to Grandpa Lin, while Father Lin and the others had to get to work—this was not something they could delay, especially Father Lin, who as the team leader, had many responsibilities every day.

When Lin Baoni came out with the tea, Gu Ze was momentarily stunned. He had expected a “meatball” to be a very plump female comrade, but instead, this female comrade wasn’t plump at all!

“Comrade Lin Baoni, this is my older brother, Gu Ze.” Gu Ye stood up and introduced them.

“Hello, Big Brother Gu. I’m Lin Baoni.” Lin Baoni quickly greeted them, a little nervous since it was the first time she was meeting her in-laws.

“Hello. On behalf of my whole family, I want to thank Comrade Lin for saving Gu Ye, and for agreeing to marry him and create a family together.” Gu Ze’s gratitude was sincere.

Gu Ze explained that the main reason for the visit was for both families to meet and get acquainted, and also to discuss setting a wedding date. Due to his job, he couldn’t stay too long.

Grandpa Lin said: “Now that we’re breaking away from feudal superstitions, we don’t worry about such things. The quality of life is determined by how people live it, not by the wedding date.”

Finally, Gu Ye and the others agreed that they would send the betrothal gifts and dowry the next day, and hold the wedding the day after.

With the matter settled, Gu Ye and his group did not stay for a meal. Time was tight, and there were many other things to handle!

Lin Baoni’s major life event was thus decided when she was 19 years old.