Chapter 44
“Very well,” Su Xiaoxiao blushed and nodded. Their friends couldn’t contain their joy, and their faces blossomed with smiles.
“Good child! Don’t worry, we will make sure you will be fairly treated,” Aunt Guo exclaimed excitedly, holding Su Xiaoxiao’s hand.
Once their racing hearts calmed a bit, Aunt Liang continued to explain the wedding process. “Since you’re from the city, as Aunt Guo mentioned, we’ll follow the city’s wedding customs. After the autumn harvest and a day of rest, we’ll have an engagement ceremony for you two. Then, during the New Year, Yexun will bring you to meet your parents and discuss marriage. Does that sound agreeable to you?”
Upon hearing this, the onlookers couldn’t help but gasp in amazement. Jiang Yexun was indeed generous!
“Of course,” Su Xiaoxiao didn’t hesitate and accepted directly, without any hesitation. Aunt Guo quickly took out some cash from her pocket, along with several tickets.
“This is the betrothal gift, and here are tickets for a bicycle, a wristwatch, a sewing machine, and a radio, the four essentials. When the autumn harvest is over, Yexun will take you shopping for these items.”
“Thank you, Aunt Guo.”
With that, all the necessary arrangements were made, and Aunt Liang decided not to linger. She rose, dusted off her nonexistent dirt, and smiled, saying, “Well, since everything is settled, I consider my mission fulfilled. You all can continue your discussions, and I’ll head back.”
“Dear sister, you’ve been a great help today,” Aunt Guo gratefully escorted her out of the educated youth dormitory.
After a while, she returned with haste. Watching Jiang Yexun arrange the dishes he had brought on the small table in the dormitory, it was clear he had no intention of leaving. She decided to sit down as well, so as not to give anyone a reason to gossip.
“Xiaoxiao, you are so thin. Come on, eat more meat.” Aunt Guo served her a piece of rabbit meat and added a slice of steamed sausage to her bowl, her heart full of concern. “Tell me your favorite dishes, and I’ll make them for you in the future.”
“Thank you, Aunt. I’m not picky,” Su Xiaoxiao replied promptly, not wanting them to think she was too delicate. She was planning to live a good life with Jiang Yexun and didn’t want to cause trouble with her future mother-in-law or husband.
“It’s not the same! I’ll make what you like so you’ll eat more. Also, the weather is getting colder, and you educated youths from the city may not be used to our cold winters here. The former educated youths used to cry from the cold in the winter. When you go to the town, have Yexun buy you some cotton and wool yarn. I’ll make you some warm clothes, and we’ll get a couple of thick blankets.”
Aunt Guo glanced at Jiang Yexun, who was diligently removing fish bones for Su Xiaoxiao.
“When you two go to the supply and marketing cooperative to shop, don’t just focus on buying fabric. If there are some ready-made clothes that you like, get a few sets for Xiaoxiao. Even though the women in the production team can sew, their clothes aren’t very fashionable. Our Xiaoxiao is so pretty; she should dress beautifully.”
“Okay, I understand,” Jiang Yexun nodded obediently and put some fish meat in Su Xiaoxiao’s bowl.
His attentiveness surpassed anything he had done in his past life. Su Xiaoxiao propped up her head, smiling at Jiang Yexun with sheer happiness filling her heart.
Jiang Yexun didn’t respond to her gaze but lowered his head slightly, revealing a flush on the nape of his neck. He silently removed fish bones. It wasn’t until Su Xiaoxiao had finished her meal that he quickly ate a few bites himself, considering it his lunch.
Su Xiaoxiao locked away the items Aunt Guo had given her and hurriedly followed them out.
“Xiaoxiao, you should go back and rest. Don’t come to see us off,” Aunt Guo advised. While the sun wasn’t scorching, she didn’t want her fair-skinned future daughter-in-law to get sunburned.
“Aunt, I’ve just eaten, I need to digest a bit,” Su Xiaoxiao said with bright eyes, looking at Aunt Guo, and then casting a glance at the man standing nearby.
Aunt Guo only wished for the young couple’s love to grow stronger, so she decided not to be an obstacle. After the three of them walked leisurely back home, she asked Jiang Yexun to escort Su Xiaoxiao back to the educated youth dormitory.
Luckily, everyone had been working hard all morning and was now busy taking a nap to replenish their energy. Nobody saw them, otherwise, the entire production team would have known how affectionate they were in no time.
Walking quietly at a distance of more than a meter from the girl, Jiang Yexun occasionally turned to look into her eyes. Seeing her biting her lips as if in thought, he suddenly stopped and fixed his gaze on Su Xiaoxiao.
“Do you have something on your mind? Tell me, and we’ll figure it out together,” Jiang Yexun asked, his tone filled with concern.
Su Xiaoxiao’s body stiffened for a moment before she raised her head, looking at him with a hopeful expression.
“I was thinking, after the autumn harvest, can we get some time off? I mean, although there are rules against educated youths leaving the production team at will, I’ll be marrying into the production team, so it should be normal to visit my family and have them come to visit us, right?”
She didn’t doubt that Jiang Yexun could arrange to get it done, but she was worried about anyone who might use this as leverage to cause trouble for him.
“I’ll ask around. If it’s allowed elsewhere, it should work here too,” Jiang Yexun replied after pondering for a few seconds.
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoxiao immediately smiled and said, “In that case, we can use this as an excuse to go out this time. Then, around the time of the New Year, we’ll see if anyone has been granted the opportunity to visit their family this year. We can offer to exchange some money and have you accompany me to meet my parents and discuss our marriage.”
While educated youths were not completely forbidden from visiting their families, they were restricted due to the fear that they might not return. Each production team had a limited number of slots for such visits, and some production teams didn’t offer any at all. However, going home for the holidays involved a long and uncomfortable train journey and cost quite a bit of money, which most people considered not worth it.
So, many of them preferred to sell their slots to others.
“Alright,” Jiang Yexun replied with a glint in his eye. He used to be fearless, but now, the mere thought of meeting his future in-laws made his heart race.
“What are you thinking about? You’re daydreaming while I’m here with you!” Su Xiaoxiao, displeased with his limited response, gave him a stern look.
“I was thinking about you,” Jiang Yexun quickly added some sweet words and then took the young girl’s hand, leading her behind two trees.
Su Xiaoxiao was taken by surprise and almost lost her footing. She ended up hanging her arms around his neck, her legs weak and unsteady. Her arms naturally found their way around his neck as she clung to him.