CHAPTER 4

Lu Zhi and Zhou Cheng’an went out together to buy soy sauce.

The supply and marketing cooperative was just two or three hundred meters away, around the corner from the alley.

When they arrived, the two of them stood there. Strangers passing by couldn’t help but steal a few glances at such a striking pair, while those who recognized them greeted them warmly.

“Lu Zhi, is this your fiancé?”

“He’s here to propose, right?”

Lu Zhi replied, “Mm, my fiancé. He’s here to propose today.”

Another person in line asked, and just as Lu Zhi was about to answer with a smile, Zhou Cheng’an beat her to it. “Yes, I’m her fiancé.”

A light summer breeze gently lifted Lu Zhi’s hair. She clasped her hands behind her back, turned to look at the line ahead, and smiled softly.

….

The engagement went very smoothly.

Grandpa Zhou said, “We’re planning to offer the ‘three rounds and one sound.’ Since you’ve already bought a sewing machine, we’ll give the ticket and money for it as part of Lu Zhi’s dowry.”

After saying that, Grandpa Zhou added with a sigh, “You don’t know—when Cheng’an called me last week, I scolded him right off the bat. Only after the scolding did he say he was getting married and had already filed the application.”

Li Lan added, “When Lu Zhi came back from her blind date, I was ready to scold her too. Never thought it would actually work out.”

Lu Zhi and Zhou Cheng’an stood at the doorway, listening to the conversation inside but not going in.

Lu Zhi felt it was all a bit incredible. Who would’ve thought their blind date stories were actually quite similar?

Zhou Cheng’an said, “The marriage application should be approved in a few days. I’ll be heading back to the island next week.”

Lu Zhi asked, “Are you in a hurry to get married?”

Zhou Cheng’an stood straight. “I wanted to ask your opinion. If you’re okay with getting married soon, we can go register and hold the wedding. But if you’d rather wait, we can do it when I’m next on leave.”

Lu Zhi stood in the shade, looked up at him, and asked, “Do you want to get married soon? Or would you rather wait?”

Zhou Cheng’an’s voice was taut. “I’ll follow your lead. But if you’re asking my opinion… I’d like to get married as soon as possible.”

Lu Zhi said, “Once the marriage application is approved, come find me. We’ll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get our certificate.”
She paused, her eyes sparkling. “Comrade Zhou Cheng’an, you don’t have to be so shy all the time. We’re going to be husband and wife, you know.”

Those words were something she was also saying to herself.

Zhou Cheng’an replied earnestly, “Okay. I understand.”

Right before lunch, Li Lan came to call them back for the meal.

The whole family was in high spirits.

Lu Zhi’s sister-in-law sat beside her, picking out more cured meat for her.

Today’s cured meat had been stir-fried with chili peppers. It was fragrant and spicy, rich but not greasy, with a firm texture.

Zhou Cheng’an asked, “You like cured meat?”

Lu Zhi nodded. “Mm. It’s delicious.”

Grandpa Zhou asked, “What are your plans for the wedding?”

Everyone turned to look at Zhou Cheng’an and Lu Zhi.

Zhou Cheng’an replied, “Once our marriage application is approved, we’ll get married.”

Grandpa Zhou raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say not to rush marriage? You’re not exactly taking your time now.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Since the two of them were getting married, both families sat down together to further discuss the wedding plans.

….

That afternoon, the Zhou family headed back.

They still needed to help prepare for the wedding, so they returned to Hongxing Commune.

The Lu family walked them to the gate to see them off.

Zhou Cheng’an turned to Lu Zhi. “Are you free tomorrow?”

Lu Zhi nodded. “I’m free.”

Zhou Cheng’an continued, “I’ll come get you at ten in the morning. Let’s go buy a watch, a radio, and a bicycle. Sound good?”

Lu Zhi smiled. “I’ll be waiting.”

Little Zhou Jun was still tugging at Lu Zhi’s sleeve with his chubby hand. He didn’t want to leave, but Zhou Cheng’an picked him up. The boy pouted and said in his milky voice, “Sister-in-law, I won’t come tomorrow.”

Lu Zhi asked, “Why not?”

Zhou Jun puffed up proudly, like he’d done something brilliant. “Grandpa said I can’t get in the way of you two dating!”

Lu Zhi: “……”

When the Lu family returned, the courtyard was just as lively as always—some people working, some chatting.

When they saw Lu Zhi, everyone started congratulating her, and some even subtly tried to find out about the betrothal gifts.

Families with poor marriage prospects usually tried to keep things low-key. But Li Lan was so proud of her son-in-law-to-be that she didn’t feel the need to hide anything.

Li Lan said, “The ‘three must-haves and one sound’—we’ve already bought the sewing machine. They said they’ll just give Lu Zhi the voucher and the money directly.”

Aunt Zhou chimed in, “You’ve really got yourself a good son-in-law. The moment he walked in today, I thought—he and Lu Zhi are a perfect match. A pair made in heaven.”

He Li had gone out early that morning to see the commotion. She’d seen Zhou Cheng’an with her own eyes and hadn’t come out of her house since.

That alone said everything—it meant he really was something.

Otherwise, with He Li’s temper, she definitely wouldn’t be this quiet.

Aunt Zhou whispered, “He Li must be fuming. Before, she put on airs in front of you like her son was something special.”

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lu Zhi went back inside.

As soon as she entered the house, she headed for the kitchen.

There had been some cured meat left from lunch. With so many people around and everyone talking about the wedding, she hadn’t dared to eat too much of it.

Her sister-in-law came in. “Got plans to go out tomorrow?”

She scooped Lu Zhi a bowl of rice. “Sit down and eat. I could tell you didn’t eat enough at lunch.”

Lu Zhi smiled. “Thanks, Sister-in-law.”

She sat down at the table. “We’re going to buy a watch, radio, and bicycle tomorrow.”

Straightening her posture, she added, “Do you think I should buy him a watch too?”

Her sister-in-law replied, “He already wears one. If you really want to express your feelings, how about knitting him a scarf?”

Lu Zhi glanced outside at the sun-dried, slightly wilted leaves and shook her head.

Materials were hard to come by right now. Her sister-in-law’s idea was a kind one, but there weren’t many options.

Lu Zhi racked her brain for a better idea… and gave up.

Forget it. No gift for now.

Her sister-in-law teased, “So you are quite satisfied with him, huh?”

Of course she was.

Zhou Cheng’an’s qualities weren’t easy to find. And most importantly—he had principles and a good face.

….

The next morning, at ten sharp, Zhou Cheng’an came to meet Lu Zhi as planned.

He entered the compound and knocked on her door.

The Lu family had all gone to work. Only Lu Zhi was home. She opened the door and was pleasantly surprised to see Zhou Cheng’an carrying cured meat.

After storing it away, Lu Zhi locked the door behind her, and the two of them set off together.

It was a beautiful day—bright and sunny, with a pleasant breeze.

The supply and marketing cooperative was a bit far, so they needed to take the bus.

While waiting at the bus stop, Lu Zhi unconsciously glanced at Zhou Cheng’an’s wrist—he was indeed wearing a watch.

She hadn’t noticed yesterday, probably because her family had been the only ones who didn’t thoroughly check him out. Even her little niece had stared longer.

There weren’t many people on the bus. After boarding, Zhou Cheng’an paid for the tickets.

He glanced toward the back. “Let’s sit there.”

Lu Zhi had no objections.

After she sat down, Zhou Cheng’an took the seat next to her.

Now that they were sitting so close, Lu Zhi could clearly smell the clean, fresh scent of soap on him. It was very pleasant.

Sitting next to him, Lu Zhi instinctively straightened her posture. She couldn’t help but sit very upright.

She asked, “Did you come from Hongxing Commune?”

Zhou Cheng’an nodded. “Yeah. I went back with Grandpa yesterday. Took the bus back this morning.”

At the department store, the two of them got out of the car. Lu Zhi followed behind Zhou Cheng’an as she stepped down and realized that going out with him not only made her stand up straighter and feel completely safe—it had its advantages.

They arrived at the store, and Lu Zhi went to buy a watch first. She picked one of the same brand as Zhou Cheng’an’s. Then came the radio.

When they got to the bicycles, Lu Zhi said, “I don’t know how to ride a bike. Let’s get a men’s one—you can just ride and take me along.”

Zhou Cheng’an replied, “Let’s buy a women’s one. It’s lighter. If you ever want to learn, you can, and I can still use it too.”

A relative of Aunt Zhou’s was working at the counter nearby. She remembered Lu Zhi—after all, with looks like that, it’d be strange not to.

Now, she looked at Lu Zhi with a hint of envy in her expression.

Having bought the “three-turns-and-one-sound”*, Lu Zhi was ready to go home.

Zhou Cheng’an asked, “Is there anything else you need to buy? Want to take a look around?”

Lu Zhi said, “No need, we’ve got everything.”

At noon, the two of them went to a state-owned restaurant near the department store for lunch.

The state-owned restaurant was serving dumplings that day. There wasn’t much else to choose from.

Lu Zhi sat at the table waiting for Zhou Cheng’an to stand in line, and unexpectedly spotted the girl from that teahouse blind date the other day.

This time, the girl was clearly on another blind date—and this one looked far more reliable.

When Zhou Cheng’an came back, Lu Zhi was resting her chin in both hands, watching the other table and smiling.

“You can help with housework?”
“Yes, I do chores all the time at home.”
“I don’t need to keep track of my spending?”
“No, no need.”

Zhou Cheng’an followed her gaze. It was clear he remembered as well.

Lu Zhi asked, “If, on the day of our blind date, you hadn’t overheard their conversation, what would you have said to me?”

Zhou Cheng’an didn’t answer for a long time, as if he were considering it.

“I’d have introduced myself,” he said finally, “then asked what kind of expectations you had.”

Lu Zhi replied, “Well, I’d have had a lot of expectations. Way more than hers.”

She furrowed her brows a little, but somehow looked cute doing it.

Lu Zhi asked, “Would you have thought I was being too picky?”

Zhou Cheng’an met her eyes, paused for a second, then shook his head. “No.”

Dumplings were best eaten hot.

Lu Zhi took a bite—the dumplings at the state-owned restaurant were flavorful and delicious.

After a while, she asked, “Once we finish eating, are you heading back?”

Zhou Cheng’an replied, “I’ll take you home first, then go.”

Once he dropped her off, he planned to stop by the post office to ask about the marriage application—how many days it might take to get approved.