At that mont, he went to the courthouse with Feng Cuihua and Wang Dachui. They were originally there to file a lawsuit, but Zhang Qingyuan shalessly insisted on following them, saying he couldn’t rest easy leaving Feng Cuihua. Indeed, their public display of affection was almost too much for him.
From Zhang Qingyuan and Feng Cuihua, he indeed sensed that particular kind of elderly love—calm like water, yet with stirring undercurrents.
At five in the afternoon, the group returned to the nursing ho.
Zhang Qingyuan was the most excited. He said to Feng Cuihua, "Now we just wait for the court to accept the case and schedule a hearing. Your sons... it will be ti to teach them a lesson then."
"Should we... talk about the wedding and registration?"
Hearing his words, Feng Cuihua’s face turned red, and she couldn’t help but lower her head. Although she was already seventy-five years old, she still felt inevitably shy at that mont.
However, Zhang Qingyuan continued seriously, "Don’t worry, our wedding doesn’t need to be too grand, but I want to invite all our friends. We can have it right here in the nursing ho; we just need to apply to the administration."
"As for the bride price and dowry... I feel they’re not really necessary."
"As long as we are together, that’s stronger than anything."
Being over seventy, both of them saw things more clearly. The rituals that young people got excited about, they felt, were unnecessary. The bride price and dowry were originally supposed to be arranged by the parents as a way to bless the young couple. But for them, they were no longer young, and their parents were no longer in this world. There was no need for these elaborate rites.
The only thing required was to notify their respective children.
"Brother Zhang, you decide on this matter. As for my sons... there’s no need to notify them anymore," Feng Cuihua slowly lifted her head and said earnestly, a hint of sadness in her expression.
Just as young people hope to receive their parents’ blessings at their weddings, elderly people getting married also hope for their children’s blessings.
"Alright, I’ll give my son a call," Zhang Qingyuan nodded.
He took out his senior-friendly cell phone and called his son, Zhang Tao.
RING RING—
As soon as the call connected, Zhang Tao’s concerned voice ca through, "Dad, what made you think of calling today? Is there sothing wrong?"
Listening to this made Feng Cuihua very envious. When she called her sons, she had never received such treatnt. Sotis, they wouldn’t even answer.
"Ahem. It’s like this, there’s sothing I need to inform you about, and you can then tell the rest of the family." Zhang Qingyuan’s old face flushed, and he gave a dry cough.
"What is it?" Zhang Tao pressed on the phone.
"It’s just that... well, your mom passed away early, and I noticed you haven’t really experienced a mother’s love. So, I thought about finding you a stepmom," Zhang Qingyuan said, bracing himself. "We plan to get our marriage certificate first, then find a ti for the wedding..."
But on the other end of the phone, Zhang Tao seed to have been startled. He didn’t speak for a while.
Zhang Qingyuan noticed the silence and couldn’t help but ask, "Hello? Are you listening?"
"I’m listening," Zhang Tao’s voice finally ca through, a hint of teasing complaint in it. "Dad, I didn’t expect you still had it in you! We introduced so many potential partners to you, and you turned them all down, only to find one yourself."
"When can you bring Mom along, so we can all have a al together?"
Although slightly surprised, Zhang Tao was overall very supportive.
Actually, after Zhang Qingyuan’s wife passed away, his family had been trying to encourage him to find soone new. After all, for the elderly, companionship is most important, and that is precisely what many children cannot give. If they have a partner, soone to offer daily care and keep them company, their happiness index would be much higher.
A few minutes later, Zhang Qingyuan, beaming from ear to ear, hung up the phone. He gave Feng Cuihua a aningful look, clearly excited.
The other elderly people around them all ca up and offered their congratulations.
"Old Zhang, I just checked the old almanac; the third of next month is a good day. How about we set it for then?"
"I think no ti is like the present. We could actually get the license today and get married tomorrow."
"We can’t be so hasty; even though we’re old, we still need so sense of ceremony."
"When setting the date, we need to be careful not to clash with the court date, otherwise there won’t be many people at Old Zhang’s wedding."
...
Li Weiguo, Song Tiancheng, Su Yongnian, and others chid in, laughing and teasing.
Seeing Zhang Qingyuan find true love in the nursing ho, they were genuinely happy for him.
When young people get married nowadays, they first scrutinize their potential partner’s appearance, health, family background, parents’ status, number of siblings, and so on. So even stipulate that the other’s parents must be deceased before they’ll consider a partnership.
But for them, finding the right person was more important than anything else. Both over seventy, neither of them placed much importance on looks or appearance. Neither of them had parents anymore. Their children were all adults now.
Nothing could prevent them from being together.
...
anwhile, in a certain residential community in Jin City, Zhang Tao was also quite excited after hanging up the phone.
Then, he eagerly opened the "Loving Family" group chat.
In the group, he posted a bombshell ssage.
"@everyone, I have so great news to share: Dad is getting remarried!"
Within minutes, the group chat history, which usually consisted of shared tips on health, scam prevention, and cancer prevention, was instantly overwheld by new ssages.
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