Chapter 1241: Registering the Marriage
Guodong rode his bike with Li Xue to the civil registry, arriving at almost six o’clock. However, they were still the first ones there, and they had to wait for more than an hour. So they parked their bicycle to the side.
Then, the two of them began exercising on the spot. They were both still young and moving around was a way to keep warm. But soon enough, it turned into a competition to see who could jump higher.
This was really effective. Although they weren’t sweating, they weren’t cold either.
Half an hour later, the second couple arrived. Seeing the pair in front of them jumping up and down, they thought it was a good idea and started jumping too.
Being young, they all gradually got to know each other.
After finding out the two were educated youth, the others curiously started asking various questions.
Both Guodong and Li Xue had good tempers, so they answered their questions. That made the time pass very quickly.
When the doors finally opened at seven o’clock, another couple had arrived behind them.
Guodong and Li Xue went through the process smoothly. They received their marriage certificate along with some special tickets meant for newlyweds: a one-pound New Year flower ticket, six yards of cloth tickets, a photo ticket, and five industrial tickets.
Li Xue took out two handfuls of wedding candy from her coat pocket and placed them on the table. "Thanks for your permission, please try some of our wedding candy."
This had been prepared in the morning. The mix of three kinds of candy, especially the chocolate and milk candy, was very appealing since even in the city it wasn’t common to find milk candy, let alone chocolate.
Overjoyed, the two left the office. Guodong took Li Xue to find Sun Baosheng’s wife.
"Auntie, thank you so much for your help."
"No need to be so polite! Oh my, time flies, I still remember Guodong and Jing Chu when they were about six or seven years old. And now, you’re getting married."
Guodong just laughed. He, his father, and his siblings had been to Director Sun’s home for meals a few times, and they were really kind to them.
"Guodong, now that you’re married, you’re an adult. You will be the backbone of the family, taking care of your wife, your father, and your sister."
"Auntie, I will."
"Good. Your father has had a difficult life, you two must be filial to him."
"Auntie, I know. My dad has been good to us, and we as a couple will definitely treat him well and take care of him doubly so."
"That’s fine, hurry on home now."
The couple left the civil registry and happened to pass by the post office.
"Xue’er, let’s call your dad."
"Sure." Li Xue was more than willing. Now that she was married, she suddenly felt grown up and able to understand her father’s struggles.
When the call connected, it was answered by Secretary Wu.
"Uncle Wu, this is Li Xue. Where’s my dad?"
"Hold on for a moment."
After a little while, Li Yunqiao’s voice came through the phone. "Xue’er."
Li Xue suddenly felt her nose tingle and her eyes redden. "Dad."
"Silly girl, you’re all grown up and married now, why are you still crying?"
Li Yunqiao could tell something was off with his daughter’s voice.
"Dad, don’t worry, I will be happy for the rest of my life."
"Good, may your father bless you."
"Dad, we’ve already got our marriage certificate." Guodong took over the phone.
"Great, I bless both of you."
At the post office, you couldn’t call as long as you wanted. When the time was up, they had to hang up.
Guodong grabbed Li Xue’s hand, "Xue, let’s go home now, we’ll take a family photo."
The Lv father and daughter had already lit the stove next door. Although the big pot hadn’t been used for years, it was still usable, just not for cooking, more for boiling water.
But they wouldn’t be staying long and didn’t need to cook there.
"Dad, we have to go take photos, so I’ll clean the windows in the afternoon."
"Okay. No need to go to Aunt Jiang’s place. Just go fetch the coal when we get back."
"Alright, you and I need to wash up, put on new clothes. For a family photo, we must wear new clothes."
The family arrived at the photo studio and took several group photos. They took six shots.
"Today, we’ll go tell your Uncle Ding about this good news and have dinner."
At the restaurant, since they arrived early, there weren’t many people.
"Brother Ding."
"Beiguang, is this Guodong? And Jing Chu?"
Both called him Uncle Ding.
"Brother Ding, this is my daughter-in-law, Li Xue."
"Great, very good. You can see she’s a gentle girl. Guodong is lucky. Come on, hurry inside."
Ding Shihong arranged for the four of them to sit down, "You all sit and I’ll go prepare some good dishes."
Soon after, he brought out a dish of fish. Though not big, it was fish, braised fish.
And there was a bowl of braised pork, a plate of shredded potatoes, and a plate of stir-fried cabbage with meat.
"Niece-in-law, don’t mind if it’s not fancy."
"Uncle Ding, this is already very good."
"Brother Ding, won’t you sit down and eat with us?"
Ding Shihong shook his head, "Not today. I have two more groups coming soon."
"Alright then, Brother Ding, Guodong, and Li Xue have got their marriage certificate today. When Xinyu returns in a few days, help me find a couple of chefs and we’ll make two tables at home."
"Really? That’s wonderful, congratulations to Guodong."
"No problem, I’ll take care of the arrangements then."
Someone outside called for Ding Shihong, and he left in a hurry.
The four of them ate with great satisfaction, and when the bill came, they were told Director Ding had already taken care of it.
Lv Beiguang said nothing. The four of them parted ways there, with Lv Beiguang biking to work and Jing Chu going to Jiang Xinyu’s house.
Guodong was tasked with tending the stove at Zhao Xiaoli’s house.
Jing Chu didn’t go home but rather stayed to air out the bedding. Today was her brother and sister-in-law’s big day, and she didn’t want to go back and interrupt them.
Guodong hurriedly filled coal in the stove next door and returned home, immediately pulling Li Xue into his arms.
"Wife, we’re officially a married couple now."
"Yes, we’ll be together for a lifetime. You must take care of me and cherish me."
"Don’t worry, I’ll do it. I’ll be good to only you for the rest of my life."
Guodong no longer held back. Both found joy in each other and indulged in their happiness.
Li Xue never refused Guodong, so they ended up going three rounds before Guodong stopped.
They seemed insatiable, but the sky was darkening, and his sister and father would be coming home soon.
He let Li Xue sit on the kang bed while he went next door to fill more coal, then came back to stoke their own stove.
Li Xue got down, and the couple prepared to make dinner.
"Let’s have dumplings; I see Dad loves them."
"Alright. I’ll chop the filling."
The newlywed couple was affectionate, expressing love in every little thing.
In the afternoon, Jing Chu went to the supply and marketing cooperative and came back with five pounds of meat, which was quite a lot.
Lv Beiguang usually ate in the canteen, saving his tickets. Plus, there was She Xiaoyun, who left three pounds of meat tickets, directly giving them five pounds.