Chapter 47 : Taking Wedding Photos

But he was not in a position to say this. First, the villagers always said that the female educated youths were spoiled and had many problems, and they were worried they wouldn’t be able to integrate into the production team.

On the other hand, Lin Huaihua was longing for a capable rural daughter-in-law to take care of the household and might not accept her son marrying an educated youth.

Qi Shaoqiang and Liu Lixin were childhood friends. They grew up together like siblings, and Lin Huaihua believed about 70% of what he said.

“Okay, I’ll ask this kid when I get home.”

“Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so don’t worry too much. Lixin has been sensible since he was young, and he’s also the barefoot doctor of our brigade. With such good conditions, it’s only because he doesn’t want to marry; otherwise, he could bring a wife home in a minute.”

Chen Xianyun chatted with Lin Huaihua, while Jiang Li took Qi Shaoqiang up the mountain.

“Wife, does your stomach still hurt? Can you walk on the mountain road? How about I carry you?”

“It’s too hot to sit at home, so it’s better to go up the mountain, where it’s cooler and quieter.”

Jiang Li’s stomachache had stopped a long time ago. She thought about it and wondered if it was related to the spiritual spring water that Qin Xiaoting had given her to drink last time.

But Qi Shaoqiang was still worried. Seeing that no one was around, he picked up Jiang Li and said, “Are you afraid I’ll drop you? Don’t worry, I’m very strong!”

Jiang Li was so angry that she hit him several times. “What if someone sees us?”

“It’s only natural for me to hug my wife! Even if the leader comes, I’ll still hug you.”

The water was gurgling, and the woods were green. After being carried by Qi Shaoqiang for a while, Jiang Li wanted to get off and walk on her own.

“I used to play in the mountains a lot, and I still remember there was a patch of honeysuckle not far from here.”

After turning a corner, Qi Shaoqiang pushed aside the weeds and revealed a large patch of flowers with golden hooks. “Found it. I was right.”

They picked a large bag of flowers with the cloth bag they brought, leaving a small piece to continue growing. The two continued forward, but unfortunately, apart from the honeysuckle, they didn’t find much.

“There are many people in the village, and they go up the mountain whenever they have nothing to do. All the edible things have been picked long ago. If you want to hunt some wild game to satisfy your cravings, you have to go deeper into the mountains.”

Under normal circumstances, Qi Shaoqiang would have walked inside, but today he brought Jiang Li with him because he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to protect her if they encountered a wild beast.

“There’s a wild chestnut forest ahead, but it’s not the season now,” Qi Shaoqiang picked up a branch and beat the grass as he walked.

Jiang Li thought of the hot sugar-roasted chestnuts and unconsciously licked her lips. “Then let’s come earlier in the fall.”

Qi Shaoqiang smiled and said, “Okay, this place is hidden and ordinary people can’t find it. This is the secret base of Liu Lixin and me, and no one else knows about it. When the chestnuts are ripe, I’ll pick them and fry them for you.”

“Okay! You have to add sugar.”

Not finding anything, the two went down the mountain carrying a bag of honeysuckle. The sun was setting, and Qi Shaoqiang rode a bicycle. The two of them got letters of introduction and went to the commune together to get their certificates.

Jiang Li was still in a daze even after getting the hot marriage certificate.

The marriage certificate from the 1970s is different from the ones later issued. It was just a piece of paper, like a certificate, without even a cover.

Qi Shaoqiang carefully put the marriage certificate away, placing it close to his chest, and suggested, “Lizi, let’s go take wedding photos.”

“Okay.”

The young and beautiful girl with pigtails had relaxed brows and two dimples on her pretty face.

She leaned her head slightly to the right. Next to her was a very handsome man. He was so nervous that his breathing became heavier, and he kept wiping the sweat from his palms on his legs.

“Okay, newbie, smile!”

The picture froze, leaving behind the first photo of the two people in this life.

“Develop five photos for us, and enlarge two of them,” Qi Shaoqiang was very generous. He definitely wanted to keep a few more wedding photos of him and his wife.

“Fifteen dollars. Come pick them up the day after tomorrow.”

After leaving the photo studio, the two went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy batteries. From a distance, Jiang Li saw a letter of apology posted at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative. The signer was Feng Liping, the salesperson who had a bad attitude last time.

As soon as I entered the supply and marketing cooperative, a middle-aged man with a bald head, small eyes, and black-framed glasses approached and said, “Deputy Director Qi, congratulations on your wedding. This must be your wife. What a talented man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match.”

“Director Li,” Qi Shaoqiang greeted indifferently.

“What are you here to buy? Cotton cloth? Malted milk? Whatever it is, I will pay for it as a wedding gift to you and your loved one.”

“Sorry, the factory has a rule that we cannot accept things from partners. We still need to buy some things, Director Li, so I won’t bother you to accompany us. Just go and do your own thing.”

Qi Shaoqiang knew very well what Li Wei was trying to do.

The biscuits, cakes, candies, and canned fruits produced by Wuyang Food Factory were very popular.

Not only the county’s supply and marketing cooperatives and department stores, but also supply and marketing cooperatives from other counties and even the provincial capital came to the factory to get goods.

But there were only so many items available, and the factory first arranged for goods to be sent to the supply and marketing cooperatives with which it had close relations and higher sales.

There was still more than a month until the Mid-Autumn Festival. The food factory had released mooncakes with new flavors. First, a batch was ordered by major sister factories, then another batch was sent to department stores. The supply was really tight.

In addition, the incident of Feng Liping insulting customers at the biscuit counter had been reported to the factory manager, making the factory even more reluctant to supply the goods.

Fu Ming, the old director of the food factory, was a Communist Party member. He was strict with others and even stricter with himself.

His original words were, “Our products are good, so where can we not sell them?

No other supply and marketing cooperatives beat or scold customers like this.

If there is bad behavior such as insulting customers, there will definitely be other bad behaviors.

It can be seen that Li Wei is not a good person and not a good manager. If this continues, it may even affect the reputation of our factory’s products.”

Qi Shaoqiang thought more long-term. He sensitively noticed that more and more people were doing small businesses secretly recently, and it was possible that the country would really relax restrictions in the near future.

If more and more products appear, it will not only depend on product quality, but also on service, brand, and many other factors.

He also supported Director Fu’s decision not to provide fashionable goods to the supply and marketing cooperatives.

Seeing that Qi Shaoqiang was entangled by Li Wei, Jiang Li went to buy two batteries by herself.

When she came back and passed by the food counter, she found that most of the shelves in the counter were empty. Feng Liping was leaning against the counter listlessly.

When she turned her head, she met Jiang Li’s eyes and quickly lowered her head uncomfortably.

Because of the last time she made things difficult for Jiang Li, Qi Shaoqiang had filed a complaint against her, and Wuyang Food Factory stopped supplying her with goods. She was scolded by Director Li and almost lost her job.

Later, she found out that the woman was actually Deputy Director Qi’s fiancée.