Chapter 325: Simple Countryside Love
Chapter 325: Chapter 325: Simple Countryside Love
Unfortunately, the Little Red Carp had now fallen in love with meat; no meal felt complete without it.
Seeing the two of them horsing around like sisters, Hua Yusen’s face broke into a wide smile. The fatigue from a long day’s work seemed to melt away, replaced by a sense of peace in his heart. ’A life like this is simply blissful.’
"By the way, Nuanyue, a resolution has been passed on Elder Gu’s end." Hua Yusen suddenly recalled the news he had received today. It would be announced nationwide shortly, so telling Zhao Nuanyue now wasn’t exactly a breach of discipline.
Zhao Nuanyue froze for a second, then her face lit up with joy.
"That’s wonderful! Please keep an eye on it. Our good friends, Li Qiong and Yang Guanghui, are still in Nianqiao Village, and all they want is to return to the city." Zhao Nuanyue was thrilled. She couldn’t wait to write to Li Qiong and share the good news.
"You’d better wait," Hua Yusen replied. "Elder Gu’s side may have passed it, but the Li family is opposed. There will likely be a period of contention, so it probably won’t be implemented right away. Still, Elder Gu and his subordinates have already planned for this. It’ll definitely go through."
"Okay, then," Zhao Nuanyue said, a little disappointed.
’So many things were already different from her past life. It made sense that other events would change too, making the future uncertain.’
"It’s not convenient for me to contact them, so when you have time, write to them often and keep their spirits up," Hua Yusen reminded her. "But I must also warn you: don’t write about anything sensitive in your letters."
"I know." Zhao Nuanyue nodded. ’With the Chairman’s health deteriorating daily, the struggle between Elder Gu and the Li family is bound to kick up another storm. No one knows what the future holds; all we can do is be disciplined in our daily lives.’
After Hua Yusen left, Zhao Nuanyue began to write a letter to Li Qiong.
Far away in Nianqiao Village, Li Qiong was also writing to Zhao Nuanyue, because she and Li Jianjun had finally made their relationship official.
Disappointed in her family, Li Qiong’s desire to return to the city wasn’t as strong as it once was. Besides, there was a good young man like Li Jianjun right there with her. They saw each other often and got along well, so feelings had slowly started to blossom between them.
Li Jianjun had originally been worried that Li Qiong would reject him, but after everything they had been through, he decided to risk it and confess his feelings.
To his surprise, Li Qiong laughed through her tears. "You fool," she chided playfully. "I thought you were going to keep it all bottled up forever."
Seeing her cry, Li Jianjun panicked. "Li Qiong, if you don’t want to, it’s okay! Just pretend I never said anything. We can still be good friends," he said hurriedly.
When Li Qiong realized he had completely misunderstood her, she swatted his arm in frustration. "You blockhead! Don’t you think it’s a little late to be confessing now? I’ve been waiting for a very long time."
Hearing this, it finally dawned on Li Jianjun that it wasn’t just him who liked Li Qiong—she liked him too.
"It’s not late, not late at all," Li Jianjun said, clumsily taking out a handkerchief to wipe her tears. "Don’t cry, don’t cry. I promise I’ll take good care of you. Let’s build a home together."
A home!
A home of their very own. This was what Li Qiong had always longed for.
"Okay, I accept," Li Qiong said, deeply moved. She would have her own home soon. Her parents never paid her much mind. Sometimes, when she wrote to them, it would be a long time before she got a letter back. Twice, they had actually written just to ask her for money, claiming life in the city was difficult and they didn’t have enough to eat.
Although it saddened her, Li Qiong would still send them some dried goods. However, she never sent money or ration coupons. She didn’t dare give those away, afraid that she might need them herself one day and be left with nothing.
When Li Guihua heard that her son and Li Qiong had finally made their relationship official, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
It had been almost a year! The waiting was driving her crazy.
Seeing her son refuse to confess, Li Guihua had been tempted several times to go and talk to Li Qiong herself, but her son always stopped her. Thank goodness that blockhead of a son had finally gotten a clue and confessed, and the girl, who was interested all along, had agreed.
That evening, seeing her son in high spirits and smiling from ear to ear, Li Guihua said, "Jianjun, you and Li Qiong are not getting any younger. Now that you’ve made things official, I’ll ask Village Chief Miao to be the matchmaker, and we can arrange the engagement. If Li Qiong wants to visit her family back in the city, I’ll prepare the train tickets for you two to make the trip. It will show how much we value her."
Li Jianjun listened, a bashful look on his face, but his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Okay, that sounds good. I’ll go discuss it with Li Qiong tomorrow." Li Jianjun agreed with his mother. Since they were going to get married, they couldn’t just ignore Li Qiong’s parents.
But when he told Li Qiong, she refused outright.
"We don’t need to go to my mother’s. My family isn’t well-off, and they don’t have a place to host us," Li Qiong said with a bitter smile. "Look, the only time I went back was the first year, when the village provided the train ticket. I haven’t been back since. It’s not that I don’t want to, but my mom said that instead of spending money on a round-trip ticket, I should just send the money to her so she can buy things..."
So that was why Li Qiong never went home for the New Year. It all made sense to Li Jianjun now.
Li Jianjun’s heart ached for her. How could someone as wonderful as Li Qiong be treated so poorly by her own family?
"Then we won’t go back. We’ll do whatever you want," Li Jianjun said. "But my mom thinks we should still do things properly. We’ll ask Village Chief Miao to be our matchmaker. Your household registration is here in the village, so getting a marriage certificate will be easy. I’ve also saved up some money. When the weather gets better, I’ll take you to the county town to buy new clothes."
Li Qiong was worried that deciding on the marriage herself without going home would make others look down on her, so she explained earnestly, "It’s not that I don’t want to go back. It’s just that my parents trust me and my judgment, so they let me handle my own affairs. As for my two older brothers, they’d love for me to come back just so they could marry me off to some scoundrel who’s taken a liking to me."
"I see," Li Jianjun nodded. "Don’t you worry. We can go back for a visit after we’re married. That way, no one can try to split us up. And as for your parents’ financial troubles, if we have a little extra, we can send them some."
Li Qiong nodded. "We don’t have to give them much. We’ll have our own lives to build."
And just like that, Li Qiong and Li Jianjun were engaged. The wedding was set for the twelfth lunar month, a little over three months away and after Zhao Nuanyue’s own wedding.
Li Qiong was delighted when she received Zhao Nuanyue’s letter. She was happy for Zhao Nuanyue and Hua Yusen’s love, but she no longer felt envious, for now she had a love of her own.
Then, she mailed her own letter, telling Zhao Nuanyue all about her news.