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“Don’t cry, I will treat you well!”
On the way home with his new wife, Han Shiguo made a promise.
His young bride, Jiang Qian, cried in a way that could break anyone’s heart. She didn’t say a word, just let her teary peach blossom eyes overflow, with tears falling like a string of pearls breaking apart.
In a different context, this could be called a Qiong Yao-style crying scene—fragile yet beautifully tragic.
But this was simply Jiang Qian’s nature; she cried like this.
Though Han Shiguo meant well, his words were somewhat ambiguous, making it sound as if, after everything, she was clutching the blanket and weeping, while he carelessly cleaned up and made promises.
Jiang Qian’s sadness quickly disappeared, and she even felt a little like laughing. After composing herself, she said, “I’m fine, I just feel a bit reluctant to leave.”
“Well, we’ll be back in three days,” Han Shiguo said with a sigh of relief.
It’s natural for a bride to feel reluctant to leave her family—after all, that’s where her roots are.
Of course, only a family like the Jiang family could truly be considered her foundation. Some other families, who can’t wait to leech off their daughters, would be better off realizing this sooner and hardening their hearts.
Otherwise, it would be a nightmare for a lifetime.
Setting that aside, Han Shiguo happily brought his wife home.
At that moment, the Han household was bustling with excitement.
Han Shiguo’s eldest sister, Han Shicai, second sister, Han Shiyun, and his third sister, Han Shijia, whom Jiang Qian had met before, had all returned.
Not only did they come back, but they also brought their husbands along, including Zhao Shuxu, the third sister’s city-dwelling husband. His third sister had arrived yesterday, but Zhao Shuxu came early this morning.
There were also cousins like Han Shijun, along with some aunts and other relatives, all gathered together.
When they saw Han Shiguo bringing Jiang Qian home, the aunts greeted them with beaming smiles.
“Oh my, the bride is so beautiful! Look at her rosy cheeks, just like a big apple! She looks so healthy!”
“Isn’t she though? She’s so fair-skinned, not like us country folk at all!”
“Of course she’s fair! I heard from Ah Tong that her elder brother and sister-in-law never let this girl work in the fields, not even once!”
“Really?”
“Of course! Ah Tong, her younger aunt, said so. How could she be wrong?”
“I’ve heard that too. They say the family has four sons but only one daughter, and she’s cherished. She even went to high school, did exceptionally well, and could have gone to university if the timing had been right!”
“No wonder Shiguo’s wife has such a scholarly air about her!”
“Well, she teaches at the Town Primary School. When she applied, there were over a dozen candidates, but they only had two spots. She got one of them!”
“…”
Other than Han Shijia, who had met Jiang Qian before, everyone else showered her with praise. The “Ah Tong” they mentioned was Jiang Tong, Jiang Qian’s younger aunt.
Jiang Xiaogu was also among the group, but she didn’t say much. She simply smiled as she watched her niece, pride evident on her face.
Her niece was both beautiful and educated, and the compliments were well-deserved!
Although Jiang Qian’s face was a little flushed, she remained poised and graceful.
But the event wasn’t over yet. Han Shiguo’s cousins had just arrived, bringing the dowry with them!
As the dowry was brought into the courtyard, the crowd erupted in even more exclamations of surprise.
“The bride’s family prepared this much dowry?”
“Oh my, this quilt must weigh four jin* at least, and it’s made from the most sought-after fabric!”
“My sister-in-law said they prepared two quilts weighing five jin each, and two weighing three jin each, costing a total of seventy yuan!”
“That’s really something!”
“Are these the bride’s new clothes and shoes? They provided those too?”
“Of course! All brand new, straight from the city counters. Two Lenin-style outfits and a pair of new shoes—all of it must have cost around fifty yuan!”
*Note: Jin is a traditional Chinese unit of weight, roughly equivalent to 0.5 kilograms.
“Look, there’s a kettle, a wash basin, a spittoon, towels… This must have cost quite a bit, right?”
“Of course! In our house, just buying a kettle alone cost us…”
“The Jiang family is really generous. How much did all this cost to prepare?”
“All these things, plus the hidden gifts my sister-in-law gave privately—anyway, they got a bicycle, a sewing machine, and a radio. The Jiang family didn’t get any advantage from this!”
“Really? I was still thinking that their family must have made a huge profit from marrying off a daughter!”
“These are all good things, not any worse than the three turns and a sound!”
“It’s rare to see someone treat their daughter like this. It must have taken a lot of effort to prepare everything so thoroughly.”
“…”
Listening to the amazed comments, Jiang Xiaogu was very pleased. If anyone had misunderstood or needed clarification, she was quick to help explain.
But everyone truly was impressed. They had always known the Jiang family valued this daughter, but they hadn’t expected her family to value her this much.
They had prepared such a generous dowry!
With so much dowry brought by his new daughter-in-law, Han Shiguo’s mother, as the mother-in-law, was feeling quite proud. Anyone with eyes could see how much the Jiang family had invested in their daughter!
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but glance at her eldest daughter-in-law.
Li Xia: “…” Her face stiffened, as she had come into the family empty-handed when she married.
But she stubbornly thought to herself that if her own family had given such a generous bride price, her family could have prepared just as many things as the Jiang family had!
But to be blunt, her family would never have been able to provide such a lavish dowry. It wasn’t just the cost—those things were hard to obtain!
Not long ago, Jiang Shouchuan, her fourth brother who worked in the procurement department, had used every connection he had. It took immense effort just to get those tickets, which were then used to prepare this dowry for his sister!
For people in the village, getting these kinds of tickets and goods was no easy feat.
This dowry undoubtedly made Jiang Qian stand tall and proud.
After getting off the bicycle, she followed Han Shiguo, surrounded by the crowd, into the bridal room.
Han Shijia, the third sister-in-law, smiled and began introducing the aunts, sisters-in-law, and young women in the room to Jiang Qian. After a full round of introductions, there were still some people Jiang Qian didn’t recognize.
Jiang Xiaogu helped with the introductions, “This is the youngest daughter-in-law of Han Jiushu’s family, Wang Ni. She joined the family last year! Shijia, you’ve been away for so long, you don’t even recognize the new brides in our house!”
The other aunts and sisters-in-law teased Han Shijia, “Living in the county party compound, you must not recognize the people in the village anymore!”
“That’s right! You haven’t even come back once this year. The last time you came, we didn’t even get a chance to chat before you rushed off.”
“Hey, who would still notice us poor relatives?”
Han Shijia quickly apologized, “Sixth Aunt, it’s my fault! I’ll take the punishment. Later, when we drink, I’ll toast you all properly to make up for it!”
“We don’t want just a toast, you’ll have to drink one on your own!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll drink one on my own! If I get drunk, I’ll have Jiushu drive me back in the donkey cart!”
“…”
Han Shijia was a straightforward person, and when it came to hosting guests, she was the life of the party, making everything lively and fun.
Amid the laughter, her second brother-in-law, Chen Youquan, third brother-in-law, Zhao Shuxu, along with Han Shimin, Han Shijun, and a group of young men entered, bringing a small booklet to Han Shiguo. “It’s time, the vow ceremony is about to start!”
Han Shiguo took the booklet from them.
The bridal room was decorated with double happiness characters and portraits of the leaders. The couple stood beneath the leader’s portrait and prepared to vow in front of everyone.
Han Shiguo began reading aloud from the booklet, saying, “Two hearts become one heart, and the revolution never changes!”
Jiang Qian, following the local customs, responded seriously, “Start a family, but never forget your roots, always keep the revolution alive!”
In such a serious moment, Jiang Qian nearly couldn’t hold back her laughter. She was trying to keep it in, but her face turned a little red, making it look like she was shy!
And this was how weddings were done in this era.
With this ceremony completed, even though they hadn’t officially registered their marriage, in everyone’s eyes, they were now a proper married couple.
After they finished their vows, the crowd erupted in a round of enthusiastic applause!