RIRW – Chapter 100

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Li Hui had been waiting outside all along. When she saw people arriving, she and Zuo Dacheng welcomed them into the courtyard together. Inside the courtyard, a group of elders was already seated, with Grandma Zuo sitting in the center, observing. When she saw the guests entering, she also stood up.

Zuo Dacheng introduced them, saying, “This is Dandan’s Grandma.”

Song Gang’ Mother walked straight over and held the elderly woman’s hand. “Dear in-law, hello! Your Dandan is such a good girl. I could tell at a glance that she takes after her grandmother —so beautiful!”

At first, Grandma Zuo smiled, but upon hearing these words, she realized they were just polite remarks. Dandan clearly took after her mother—how could it have anything to do with her?

However, she automatically interpreted the comment as a compliment from this wealthy city lady, praising her beauty. So she warmly said, “You’ve had a long journey, come inside and have some tea.”

“Alright, alright!” Song Gang’ Mother cheerfully responded, pulling Grandma Zuo along as they entered the house.

Once all the elders had gone inside, Third Uncle Zuo Chengcai emerged from a corner, pulling Zuo Dan aside for a quiet word. “Dandan, in the blink of an eye, you’re about to get married. My heart feels heavy.”

“Third Uncle, there’s no such thing as a banquet that never ends. I’ll come back to visit often. Besides, I haven’t even left Zuo Family Village yet.”

Zuo Chengcai sighed. “It’s not that I can’t bear to part with you. It’s just that… you’re getting married, and I’m still single. The more I think about it, the more frustrated I feel.”

Zuo Dan had wanted to share a sentimental moment with her uncle, but he completely ruined it. She rolled her eyes and said, “Uncle, you should hurry up and find an auntie for me.”

Zuo Chengcai’s eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. “Dandan, do you also think it’s time for your uncle to find a wife?”

Zuo Dan thought to herself, It was time ages ago! If you keep delaying, you’ll become an old bachelor. But she simply said, “Uncle, you’ve already established yourself—it’s time.”

Hearing Zuo Dan’s words, Zuo Chengcai seemed to make up his mind. “Alright! I’ll listen to you and start looking for a partner. Dandan, I think you’re my lucky charm. If you tell me to find someone, I’m sure I’ll succeed.”

Zuo Dan: “…” Please, you clearly already want to find someone!

Then, she suddenly sensed something was off. Her uncle looked like he had someone in mind already. “Uncle, have you taken a liking to someone?”

Zuo Chengcai coughed awkwardly. “What? No way. I’m just thinking about it.”

Zuo Dan didn’t believe him at all. Just as she was about to press further, a sudden exclamation came from inside the house. She quickly ran inside and saw a massive pig’s head and half a side of pork placed on their square dining table.

A large pile of meat sat on the table, leaving the onlookers wide-eyed. Other than during the New Year, no one had ever seen so much meat at once. Even then, no household would receive this much meat.

Just for a marriage proposal, Dandan’s fiancé had brought this much meat—how much must it have cost?

Meat still required ration tickets to buy—how long would it have taken to save up enough?

In addition to the meat, Song Gang’ Mother arranged candies, wedding cakes, and fine fabrics prepared by the grandmother.

With everything placed together, the sight was dazzling.

Even for a wedding, such an extravagant amount of gifts was rare.

Grandma Zuo’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Li Hui and Zuo Dacheng, on the other hand, were slightly dazed, feeling that the gifts were excessive. Zuo Dacheng said, “Our customs here aren’t that elaborate. This is too much.”

Song Gang’ Father immediately responded, “This is nothing! Compared to the effort you’ve put into raising your daughter, this is trivial. This is just Yiming showing his filial respect. In the future, he’ll continue to be this devoted every year. Your daughter is wonderful—everyone adores her. Yiming’s family loves her, and Yiming himself cherishes her. Please, accept this without hesitation.”

Song Gang’ Mother added, “Exactly! Yiming prepared all this because he doesn’t want Dandan to feel slighted. He’s an honest boy—he knows how to care for people and protect his fiancée. You can trust him to take good care of your daughter.”

Zuo Dan really wanted to protest, No, no, no—he bullies me whenever he gets the chance!

Li Hui smiled and said, “Yiming is indeed a good man. If we didn’t think so, Dacheng and I wouldn’t have agreed to their relationship in the first place.”

Zuo Shuisheng, who was sitting nearby, also chimed in, “There’s not a single person in our village who doesn’t like him.”

Song Gang’ Father laughed heartily. “That’s honest talk, Uncle! Yiming is well-liked in our town, too.” (Except for the Wei family…)

Song Gang’ Mother seized the moment and said, “Then let’s settle the wedding date. How about National Day?”

Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui readily agreed.

With the wedding settled, it was time for Shen Yiming to formally address his in-laws. Song Gang’ Mother pulled him forward. “Yiming, it’s time to change how you address them. From now on, they’re your father-in-law and mother-in-law. You must be filial.”

Shen Yiming took a deep breath and smiled. “Dad, Mom, I promise I’ll treat Dandan well and take good care of you, too.”

Hearing him call them “Dad” and “Mom,” Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui were moved to tears.

Later, Li Hui went to the kitchen to prepare a feast for the guests. According to tradition, they would cook the meat brought by the groom’s family. This time, Shen Yiming had brought so much meat that even a full banquet couldn’t use it all.

Grandma Zuo had already stationed herself in the kitchen, afraid that Li Hui might waste any of it.

So much meat… How long would it take to finish it all? And with so much fat, just imagine how much lard they could render!

While the elders chatted, Shen Yiming took Zuo Dan to the office.

After the proposal today, Shen Yiming would be returning to the provincial capital tomorrow, while Zuo Dan would be staying behind. Thinking about their upcoming separation and how they wouldn’t see each other for a long time, she couldn’t help but feel reluctant.

As soon as they entered the office, Shen Yiming pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his head in her neck.

“Shen Yiming, what are you doing?” Zuo Dan felt uncomfortable and tried to push his head away—his short hair tickled her neck.

“Pfft—” Shen Yiming burst out laughing while hugging her, his whole body shaking. Then, without warning, he lifted her up and spun her around.

“Shen Yiming, I’m getting dizzy!” Zuo Dan clutched his shoulders in fright.

Only then did Shen Yiming stop, his face filled with excitement. “Just thinking about how we’re getting married makes me so happy—I can’t control myself!” His eyes sparkled as he looked at Zuo Dan. “When I called them ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom’ just now, I was actually shaking. If you don’t believe me, feel my chest—it’s still beating like crazy.”

Zuo Dan stared blankly at this silly version of Shen Yiming. She had always thought of him as a cunning old fox, and she never expected him to have such a foolish side.

But she had to admit—it was a nice feeling.

Shen Yiming was being silly because of her.

Thinking about that made her heart feel sweet. She wrapped her arms around him and teased, “I already heard your black-hearted chest thumping like crazy.”

“You little brat, always making fun of me,” Shen Yiming chuckled. He leaned down to press his forehead against hers, but feeling it wasn’t enough, he held her tighter and kissed her deeply. Only when they were both nearly out of breath did he finally let go.

Zuo Dan’s lips and tongue felt numb. She glared at him, annoyed. “Shen Yiming, you’re bullying me! I’m going to tell Grandma!”

“I’m not afraid. Even if I get scolded, I still want to kiss you. You’re my fiancée,” Shen Yiming declared shamelessly, looking completely unfazed.

Zuo Dan poked his chest with her finger. “You’re just taking advantage of the fact that I can’t go home and complain right now. Why are you so bad?”

Shen Yiming hugged her again, resting his face against her neck. “Comrade Zuo Dan, I promise—I’ll only ever be this bad to you for the rest of my life.”

Zuo Dan wasn’t happy with that answer. If Shen Yiming dared to be “bad” to her, then she would be “bad” to him too. She immediately slipped her hand under his shirt, found a certain sensitive spot, and gave it a pinch.

Shen Yiming shuddered and was about to retaliate, but Zuo Dan quickly jumped away. “Shen Yiming, if you dare to misbehave, I’ll write to Grandma and have her smack your hands!”

Even though he knew she was just threatening him, Shen Yiming decided not to push his luck. Right now, he had only one thought in his mind—prioritize the bigger picture. So, he put on a helpless expression and smiled at her.

Zuo Dan saw his smile and got goosebumps. She quickly opened the door. “Let’s go, time to head out.” There was no way she was staying in the office alone with Shen Yiming any longer.

By the time they returned home, dinner was just about to start.

Shen Yiming was pulled away to entertain the guests, while Zuo Dan sat at the table with Li Hui and the others.

Song Gang’ Mother, having hit it off instantly with Li Hui, kept chatting about Shen Yiming’s childhood.

She even brought up how Shen Yiming stopped wearing split pants when he was just two years old, proudly emphasizing how he had always been independent and never a troublemaker.

Meanwhile, the men’s table was lively with drinking and laughter. Zuo Dan glanced over several times, signaling to Shen Yiming not to drink too much.

Luckily, her worries were unnecessary. The men clearly didn’t think much of Shen Yiming’s scholarly, refined demeanor, so no one even tried to persuade him to drink. Instead, they focused on the more enthusiastic Song Gang’ Father, drinking merrily with him.

After a lively banquet, Song Gang’ Father once again drank himself into a stupor and had to be carried to a room, where his thunderous snores soon filled the space.

Once the feast ended, everyone helped tidy up the house before heading home.

The elders who had come to celebrate left with wedding candies and cakes, while even those who just came to watch the excitement managed to get some sweets.

By the end of the afternoon, news of Shen Yiming’s grand proposal had spread like wildfire.

Half a pig, a pig’s head, and an entire table full of food—all that just for a proposal!

No family had ever sent their daughter off in such a grand fashion before.

“What’s so special about that? It’s just some stuff. Whether they actually live a good life in the future is another matter,” Xu Fengxia muttered sourly when she heard the news.

Seeing Zuo Hongjun smoking gloomily in the house, she added, “Why didn’t you go today? Didn’t Zuo Dacheng ask you to? You should have gone—free food is free food.”

“To embarrass myself? If anyone wants to go, they can go. I’m not going.” Zuo Hongjun looked up, his expression dark. Now that his younger brother was the team leader, he didn’t have the face to show up and be laughed at.

Seeing his temper flare, Xu Fengxia didn’t dare press the issue. Instead, she changed the subject. “Honestly, that second brother of yours is too stingy. Even if you didn’t go, they should have at least sent something over.”

Zuo Hongjun felt a pang of discomfort. He hadn’t gone, and his brother really had just ignored him completely. How insincere.

He suspected that Zuo Dacheng had only invited him as a formality, not out of real sincerity. Otherwise, even if he didn’t attend, his younger brother should have at least checked in on him.

Both husband and wife stewed in their frustration, while Zuo Qing sat nearby, staring out the door.

She had just returned from outside and overheard all the talk about Shen Yiming’s extravagant proposal at Dandan’s house.

That much stuff? How could a rural family even afford all that?

It’s better to marry a “zhiqing” (educated youth). Only they have the money for things like this.

Seeing her mother fuming, Zuo Qing hesitantly suggested, “Mom, maybe I should find a ‘zhiqing’ too?”

Xu Fengxia shot her a glare. “You? Do you think any of them would even look at you? You should focus on talking to that fiancé of yours and figure out when you’re getting married. Honestly, you’re useless. That Dandan girl managed to tie a city man down so tightly, and you can’t even handle a dull, unremarkable guy.”

Thinking about how distant and indifferent her daughter’s fiancé’s family had been, Xu Fengxia felt even more frustrated.

Fine, they didn’t send gifts—but they couldn’t even show a little enthusiasm? Not a shred of sincerity.

Zuo Qing lowered her head, remaining silent. She didn’t dare tell her mother the truth—she hadn’t even tried to tie that man down.

She knew her mother didn’t think much of him. She had only arranged the engagement to marry her off quickly.

But Zuo Qing didn’t want that. She wanted to marry someone her mother would actually approve of—just like Zuo Huan.

There were plenty of educated youths living nearby, so why not find one for herself?

That evening, the Zuo family had another lively meal.

After dinner, once everyone had gone off to rest, Shen Yiming sneakily brought the telephone into their room.

Snuggled under the blankets, the two chatted.

“Dandan, I picked out two good dates—March 6th and March 8th. Which one do you think is better for registering our marriage?”

Zuo Dan chuckled. “Can’t we have a third option?”

“Then March 10th,” Shen Yiming replied seriously.

Zuo Dan was speechless. “Why are you in such a hurry? We could wait until July or August.”

Shen Yiming sighed. “I won’t feel at ease until I have that marriage certificate in my hands. We have to get it eventually, so why not sooner rather than later?”

“Why are you always worrying about this? Can’t you focus on something more important? Last I checked, you still haven’t gotten your car, have you?” Zuo Dan teased.

“That’s not a problem. We’ll have it in time for our wedding.”

Hearing that, Zuo Dan grew curious. “How are you getting it? Don’t try to fool me with some assembled junk.”

“It’s a military jeep—top quality. We’ll be able to use it for years,” Shen Yiming bragged, acting as if the car was already his.

Zuo Dan was even more surprised. “You can get your hands on that?”

Shen Yiming smirked. “Tell you what—if I tell you how I’m getting the car, you have to agree to marry me right away.”

“Then I’d rather not know.”

“Fine, let’s make a different deal. I think our production team will get electricity next year. If we do, you have to marry me.”

“Really?” The moment Zuo Dan heard this, she perked up. The village still didn’t have electricity—only the commune and a few production teams closer to it did. For a place as remote as Zuo Family Village, there had never been an opportunity.

Shen Yiming grinned. “If I say it’s true, will you agree to register our marriage?”

Zuo Dan was exasperated. “Shen Yiming, why is your head filled with nothing but getting married?”

“No, my head is filled with Zuo Dan.”

“……”

Thinking back to his silly behavior after their engagement, Zuo Dan said, “Let’s talk about it next year. When the time is right, we’ll go register.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you.” Shen Yiming laughed.

The next morning, before Zuo Dan even woke up, Shen Yiming, along with Song Gang’ Father and Song Gang’ Mother, had already left in Zuo Dacheng’s car to catch a ride to town.

When Zuo Dan finally got up and realized she had overslept, she was frustrated with herself—she had stayed up too late talking to Shen Yiming on the phone.

Seeing her like this, Li Hui chuckled. “It’s fine. Yiming told us to let you sleep in. He didn’t want us to wake you.”

Still, Zuo Dan felt uneasy. She hadn’t even gotten to see them off. When she was with Shen Yiming, she didn’t think much about it, but now that they were apart, she felt a strange emptiness, an uncomfortable sense of loss.

Unable to hold back, she called Shen Yiming the next day.

“Shen Yiming, you actually left without waking me? I didn’t even get to see off Song Gang’ Dad and Mom—that’s so rude of me!”

Shen Yiming’s voice came through the phone, full of laughter. “It’s fine. We’re engaged now. Even if you’re rude, I won’t change my mind.”

“I don’t care. I’m holding this against you,” Zuo Dan said seriously. “If you mess up again, I’ll tell Grandma to give you a good beating.”

Shen Yiming chuckled. “You can beat me yourself. Just like last time in your office—when you pinched me. I liked it.”

“Shen Yiming, you’re such a scoundrel!” Zuo Dan slammed the phone down.

Staring at the disconnected line, Shen Yiming felt a little disappointed. Then his gaze shifted to the calendar.

No, there were still a few big things to take care of. He had to win over his future father-in-law first—otherwise, getting an early marriage certificate might be tricky.

He pulled out his work notebook and wrote down a few words: electricity, well digging, school construction.

After hanging up, Zuo Dan felt much better. She snapped back into her usual no-nonsense mode, throwing herself into tackling the mountain of work before her.

Zuo Family Village was about to distribute pork, and everything had to be allocated according to work points. The work points had to be calculated, debts to the team tallied, and outstanding work points and money had to be settled before the year ended.

After several days of nonstop work, the first snowfall finally arrived.

With that, the village began slaughtering pigs and dividing the meat.

Since the educated youths had performed well this year, they were also allowed a share. Though their portion wasn’t large, it was still meat, and they were overjoyed—except for Li Chenliang.

Ever since Zuo Dan got engaged to Shen Yiming, his face had been perpetually gloomy.

When he received his share of pork, he immediately handed it over to Gao Wei and Su Dai, showing no interest in keeping it for himself.

Once Zuo Dan finished her work, he approached her.

“I’m going back to the city,” Li Chenliang said gravely, looking as if he had endured great hardships. “I’m joining the army—to serve my country and become a real man!”

Zuo Dan looked surprised on the surface, but deep down, she was impressed—Shen Yiming had actually managed to drive Li Chenliang away.

Seeing her reaction, Li Chenliang felt quite pleased with himself. He believed he had finally earned her admiration. “Don’t be so shocked. I’ve thought about this for a long time. I want to be someone who contributes to the country and society. Oh, and even though we never got together, if Shen Yiming ever treats you badly, I’ll still stand up for you. You were, after all, the first girl I ever liked.”

Zuo Dan quickly replied, “No, no, no, you don’t have to worry about that!” I don’t want your future wife cursing me behind my back.

Li Chenliang continued, “And don’t be polite with me. I said I’d protect you, and I will. If Shen Yiming ever mistreats you, I promise I’ll beat him up. To be honest, I’ve wanted to punch him for a long time.”

After saying that, he looked at Zuo Dan expectantly. “Don’t you have anything to say to me? We might not see each other for a long time.”

He thought she might say something admiring, acknowledging his decision.

Zuo Dan pondered for a moment. Li Chenliang wasn’t a bad guy—he had helped her earn a lot of money, after all. Now that he was really leaving, she actually felt a bit reluctant.

So, she sighed and said, “Comrade Li Chenliang, let me know when you’re leaving. I’ll see you off.”

“……”

Li Chenliang left as soon as he said he would, not caring about the freezing weather. He slung his bag over his shoulder and departed from Zuo Family Village.

Zuo Dacheng even organized a farewell gathering for him, pinned a big red “Honor” flower on his chest, and personally drove him out of the village.

The send-off was just as grand as when Shen Yiming left.

Zuo Dan suspected that if firecrackers had been allowed, Zuo Dacheng and the others would have bought a whole string just to celebrate.