Chapter 10: Pre-Wedding Tension 

“I will definitely live better than you!” Shen Chunmiao said proudly.

“Shen Jintao, I know why you go to such lengths to slander me — it’s because I don’t like you, right? When you can’t have something, you just try to destroy it. But I believe in Chunmiao, I definitely won’t believe your words.”

Lu Qingshan looked arrogantly at Shen Jintao, as if he were the high and mighty bright moon, and Shen Jintao was just dust lowly buried in the soil.

In fact, before this, Shen Jintao really had been very humble in front of him, otherwise Lu Qingshan wouldn’t dare to say such things so directly.

“Everyone get out! Since we’ve split the family, I don’t care about this matter anymore. Do whatever you want, just don’t bother me in front of me!” Old Master Shen said and then went straight back to his room.

Lu Qingshan was a bit angry at how Old Master Shen treated him and immediately turned and left.

Xie Lanzhi and Shen Jianguo’s faces were dark, this showed he didn’t respect them at all. Could such a man really marry their daughter?

Shen Chunmiao, however, didn’t think Lu Qingshan was wrong at all and even chased after him.

Later, no one knew exactly what promises Lu Qingshan had made to Xie Lanzhi and her husband, but they agreed, and Old Master Shen didn’t say anything about it.

The next day was the wedding day. Shen Jintao felt a little nervous, sitting in her room unable to fall asleep.

“Taozi, can I come in?”

Xu Xuemei’s voice came from outside the door.

“Mom, you can come in! I don’t have the door locked.”

“Alright!”

The wooden door was pushed open, and Xu Xuemei entered the room with a smile. Seeing her daughter’s expression, she understood immediately—it was clear she was nervous.

“Do you want Mom to stay and sleep with you tonight?”

“Yes, yes, I do!”

Already feeling anxious, Shen Jintao felt much better when she saw her mother. She thought that talking with Mom might help ease her nerves a little.

“Mom, I’m a little scared.”

After Xu Xuemei lay down beside her, Shen Jintao spoke weakly.

“Scared of what?” Xu Xuemei asked.

“Tomorrow I’m getting married. I don’t know how to describe the feeling—just very nervous.”

“Every woman goes through this, but it’s normal to feel a bit nervous. Besides, you have your parents behind you, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. And Beichuan, that boy, we’ve watched him grow up—we know him inside and out. He’s a good person, so don’t worry, he won’t treat you badly.”

Xu Xuemei comforted her daughter.

“Hmm, Huo Beichuan told me before that once he joined the army, he would file the marriage report and then come back to pick me up. Because originally, he was supposed to return to fulfill the engagement with Shen Chunmiao. But after that incident happened, he sent a telegram to his superiors asking them not to submit their marriage report, and they need to reorganize my documents, so it might take some time.”

Shen Jintao wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to say, so she just brought up the promise Huo Beichuan had made earlier.

Xu Xuemei was silent for a moment. “I heard Beichuan mention it before. Actually, marrying Beichuan and following him to the army is the best option. After all, if you two are apart all the time, it’s not good. Over time, it will affect the relationship between husband and wife. I think following him to the army is the right choice, but your dad will definitely be reluctant to let you go.”

“My dad is reluctant, but are you okay with it?” Shen Jintao’s voice sounded a bit hurt.

“Of course, I’m reluctant too. But since your marriage is already arranged and the wedding is tomorrow, I have to mentally prepare myself, right? Besides, once you’re married, all I hope for is that you and Beichuan will be happy together.”

“Silly girl, don’t overthink things. You have to get up early tomorrow morning. If you don’t sleep now, you won’t have enough time!”

Xu Xuemei gently patted her daughter’s head. This little bundle who used to follow her around since childhood was finally growing up. Seeing her about to get married, Xu Xuemei felt relieved. At least the girl wasn’t stubbornly insisting on Lu Qingshan anymore, marrying Huo Beichuan would put their minds at ease.

“I know!”

She thought she still wouldn’t be able to sleep, but smelling her mother’s scent, she soon fell into a deep sleep.

Since the weather wasn’t cold yet—it was the Mid-Autumn Festival season—Shen Jintao’s wedding clothes were very beautiful.

At least for this time period, they were quite decent.

A snow-white long-sleeved shirt paired with army-green straight-leg pants. Since Shen Jintao had a slender figure, the pants weren’t made too loose, instead, they were somewhat fitted.

Of course, in this era, it wasn’t daring enough to fully show off Shen Jintao’s perfect figure, but even so, the outfit was eye-catching.

Looking at the clothes, Shen Jintao couldn’t help but smile a little. This outfit was specially prepared by Huo Beichuan and fit perfectly with their military wedding.

At this time, the best fabric for making shirts was Dacron polyester. Although Shen Jintao felt it wasn’t as breathable as cotton, clothes made from this material had a sharp look and looked good when worn.

The pants were made of khaki fabric, which was a bit stiffer and more durable.

It was still early, and outside it was pitch dark. Shen Jintao used the light from an oil lamp to braid her hair, trying a style she had seen in a dream. She thought it looked nice and gave it a try herself, surprisingly succeeding.

Early in the morning, Xu Xuemei made her daughter a bowl of red sugar poached eggs. “Eat some breakfast first. After that, I’ll have your eldest aunt come to help you prepare your face, and later you’ll put on some makeup.”

At this time, makeup mainly meant applying some beauty powder, shaping the eyebrows, and using wet red paper pressed on the lips to make them look better. There wasn’t much more to it.

After a few bites of the poached egg, Zhang Qin came in. Since her niece was getting married, everyone from the Xu family took leave to personally see her off.

Shen Jintao saw Zhang Qin wrapping a thin thread around her hand and then moving it like scissors over her face.

It hurt a bit, but after enduring it, the skin looked much better—really smooth and delicate, like a peeled egg.

Since her engagement with Huo Beichuan was settled, her family no longer allowed her to work in the fields to earn labor points. Anyway, after the families separated, no one else could interfere with how they managed.

“Your skin has really gotten much whiter. In my opinion, you can even skip the powder and just shape your eyebrows,” Zhang Qin said, admiring her niece’s skin. It hadn’t been long since she started taking care of it, but it was already whiter than most people’s even after applying powder.

“Alright, thank you, eldest aunt!” Shen Jintao knew Zhang Qin was skillful and wasn’t worried about her makeup. She cooperated obediently.

Sure enough, after a simple eyebrow shaping and a touch of light red lipstick, Shen Jintao looked stunningly beautiful. Zhang Qin couldn’t help but touch her face several times.

“All done. Later, I’ll have your mom call a few of your close friends to come keep you company. The groom’s arrival is still a while away!”