"Chen Hui, everything is fine at my ho. From now on, my family is your family too."
"Alright. Wait for , I’ll bring over all the tickets. You can see what we need to buy, and we can make plans in advance.
Looking at the weather, it probably won’t rain tomorrow. If the roads are bad, we can wait a few days, and we can also tidy up the house."
Chen Hui ran out again. When he returned to the room, the remaining four people were all looking at him.
"Comrade Ding Xiaojuan and I are about to get married."
This was like a bombshell; the other four stared at Chen Hui in shock.
Fu Xiaoping reacted the fastest. "Congratulations, Brother Chen."
The others quickly followed, smiling and offering their congratulations to Chen Hui.
"Brother Chen, we didn’t see this coming from you before?"
"I’m at the age where I should settle down."
The others knew Chen Hui hadn’t said everything.
Of the four, only one was younger than Ding Xiaojuan. The rest felt a bit uncomfortable. They understood what Chen Hui ant.
None of them wanted to marry a girl from the village; they still hoped to return. The two best female comrades among the educated youth were already married, and the one left was too young, and the less said about the other two, the better. They’d rather be bachelors for life than live with those two won.
"Brother Chen, you’re really quick."
Chen Hui just smiled, gathered all his tickets, and ran out again.
The four people in the room lost their mood for playing cards. They lay sprawled on the bed. "Chen Hui is really crafty, he snagged the last good girl left."
"Why didn’t you act first? Are they going to live here after getting married?"
The other three shook their heads. They really didn’t know; Chen Hui was very tight-lipped.
"I want to settle down too," Fu Xiaoping sighed deeply.
"I do too."
" too."
" as well."
The four exchanged glances. They all had the sa thought, but just didn’t have a suitable partner. Even though they held onto the idea of returning ho, they knew deep down that the possibility was slim.
As more and more educated youths ca down, how could they go back?
"Xiao Fu, doesn’t Old Wang’s daughter like you?"
"I don’t know yet. I’m just worried if we really can go back, what about the wife and kids at ho then?"
"You’re thinking far ahead. I need to find a wife too, and we’ll see about the future when it cos. We might not even be able to go back. Do we really want to stay single forever?" Fan Shucai said dejectedly.
Sun Lian sighed, "Yes, we can’t wait any longer. Our hope of going back is too slim."
The room was particularly quiet, and everyone felt a deep bitterness. Before coming here, they held innocent ideas, but once here, they realized how naive those ideas were.
"I want to find a wife too, so at least we’ll have warmth from the stove with a wife and kids. Not like it is now."
Chen Hui ca back with all the tickets and handed them to Ding Xiaojuan, "Here, take a look and see what we need to add."
"We need everything, there’s nothing at ho. But I just thought, we can go to the scrap yard to buy furniture. At the very least, we need a dining table."
"I’ll leave it to you."
"We need everything from pots and pans to oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar."
"Alright, let’s first tidy up the house. When the road conditions are better, we’ll go to town and buy everything in one go."
Ding Xiaojuan nodded, thinking the sa. When they went to town, they would buy everything they needed all at once.
"Xiaojuan, did you run back?"
"I was just looking for shelter from the rain when I caught Zhao Xiaoli and her husband driving by, and I got a ride with them."
"That saved you so trouble."
"Yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to co back now."
"Xiaojuan, you should get a new outfit made, marriage is a lifeti event. Shall we buy so candies to share with everyone?"
"Forget it, we need to save every penny, just getting the certificate is enough."
"It’s not easy for you."
Ding Xiaojuan shook her head, "I don’t feel wronged. This is pretty good already. As long as you treat well, living a good life together is better than anything."
"Yes, I’ll make sure to support this family."
"I’ll work hard with you too."
The two exchanged smiles, filled with hope for the future and a longing for a good life to co.
The sky had darkened, and Chen Hui helped Ding Xiaojuan start a fire, otherwise it would be too damp.
The male educated youths knew about Chen Hui and Ding Xiaojuan, but Wu Hong and Huang Ying didn’t know. The two were now enemies and didn’t talk to each other.
They lay facing opposite directions. So, when it was ti to cook in the evening and they saw Chen Hui and Ding Xiaojuan interacting, they were stunned.
When the six of them went to eat, Huang Ying was the first to ask.
Wu Hong was very curious, were they really together? But there hadn’t been any signs before. How did it suddenly happen?
However, she didn’t ask because she knew no one wanted to talk to her. So she chose not to bother anyone.
Wu Hong suddenly felt very envious. Could she also settle down? But when she thought about her own appearance, she felt a bit dejected. Why was she so plain?
She looked over at the male educated youths sitting on one side. They had no interest in her, and if she wanted to settle down, they were certainly not an option.
She sighed inwardly, knowing that even if she got married, her family wouldn’t object as long as she gave them money.
Did she really have to find soone from the countryside? Wu Hong was also unwilling; she hated farm work, with its heavy daily labor, and even having enough to eat was an issue. If she could get a job, there would not only be food tickets but also a salary.
But there was no such opportunity, and city people wouldn’t marry soone from the countryside, nor would they want educated youths.
Huang Ying was also calculating in her mind. Seeing Ding Xiaojuan and Chen Hui together stirred her interest, but among this group, no one would likely want to marry her.
It was all Ding Xiaojuan and Wu Hong’s fault; she hated Zhao Xiaoli and Lv Jingchu the most. If the latter hadn’t rejected her, she wouldn’t have lost her cool and fought with Wu Hong, ruining her image.
She really underestimated, why didn’t she hold back?
After dinner, the rain finally stopped, and it was indeed a tily rain. The crops were just sprouting, making this perfect.
The male comrades lay on the bed, "Chen Hui, you really are smart, but where will you two live?"
Chen Hui knew, now was the right ti to ntion buying a house. "I went to the village chief’s today and bought the empty house."
"It’s bought?"
"Yes, it cost five yuan more, but now we have a ho."
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