NOVEL NEXT Chapter 242: The Gift
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Song Moting picked a day to go to the county town together to get their marriage certificate.
Song Moting purposely chose the most formal outfit he had. He actually brought along a very formal Zhongshan suit, but wearing that in this weather would probably make people laugh, thinking he's lost his mind, so he opted for a white shirt, though the collar was a bit faded from washes.
He got a haircut, took a shower, and shaved. Once tidied up, he definitely looked impressive.
Song Moting stood at about 1.9 meters tall, and looking so refreshed made him even more striking.
Standing in the courtyard, he immediately made his mother-in-law and father-in-law feel gratified.
The son-in-law looked good, had a good temperament, and after spending a few days together, they felt assured to entrust their daughter to Song Moting.
Jiang Xiaoxiao was forced by her mom to wear a pink Dacron shirt pulled out from a box. She wasn't keen on wearing it as her mom originally bought it in the city. Xiaoxiao didn't particularly like festive colors.
Besides, being so young, she found wearing such colors too eye-catching.
Who would wear such clothes for farm work usually? Thus, it was always kept at the bottom of the box.
This time, her mom rummaged through it and ordered her to wear it.
Her dark, dense hair was braided into two plaits hanging over her shoulders.
Jiang Xiaoxiao's skin was naturally fair. Though she had tanned a lot from working in the fields, her skin still shone brighter than others.
Her features were beautiful, her skin as white as jade, with a gentle smile at the corner of her mouth, and her eyes danced with a captivating charm.
Fan Xiuying even smeared her face with lots of Snow Cream, only stopping short of applying powder.
If powders were easily available at the farm, her mom might have pushed her to put on makeup.
The two eventually got on the bus in a hurry.
Jiang Xiaoxiao hurried Song Moting onto the bus, afraid her mom would chase after them.
Fan Xiuying went back to find red paper, asserting that her daughter's lips weren't bright enough. Some red paper would add color to the lips and cheeks, enhancing their hue.
The thought of this outcome made Jiang Xiaoxiao anxious, fearing her mom would doll her up with rosy cheeks and red lips.
Just imagining the red blotches on her cheeks made her cringe.
That was the standard look for all performers back then, with red cheeks and a red dot on the brow. Her mom might even dot her brow.
Song Moting couldn't help but want to laugh seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao scramble onto the bus.
Many on the bus saw their attire and whispered, mostly suggesting they were heading to get a marriage certificate because of their bright outfits.
Locally, wearing such spruced-up clothing usually meant people were going to get married; even visiting relatives wouldn't warrant such attire.
Jiang Xiaoxiao blushed and stood near the door.
The bus was already crowded.
Song Moting stood beside her, holding the bus handle with one hand while shielding Jiang Xiaoxiao with his body, as the bus was packed with people mostly traveling to the county town to buy or sell goods.
Chickens and ducks were commonplace here.
Fortunately, Jiang Xiaoxiao was used to it, not that this was her first visit to the county town.
After a bumpy few hours, they finally arrived at the county town. Jiang Xiaoxiao could finally breathe.
"Xiao Xiao, Moting, you're here. We've been waiting for you for ages."
When Jiang Xiaoxiao turned at the voice, she saw her big sister and brother-in-law holding their daughter Nuonuo, smiling at them in front of the station.
"Big sister, brother-in-law, why are you here? Aren't you working today? How did you know we were coming? Even brought Nuonuo. Come, Nuonuo! Auntie gives you a hug."
Nuonuo burst with joy, reaching out for her aunt.
However, Jiang Yue held the child tightly, "This girl goes wild when she sees her aunt. You always let her play with her aunt, but today it's different; your aunt is here for serious business."
The little girl looked unhappily at her mom, who was holding her too tightly, and squirmed a bit.
"Big sister, what are you talking about? Hand Nuonuo to me; I've been thinking about her all day."
Jiang Xiaoxiao extended her arms and quickly took Nuonuo from her mom, holding her in her arms while gently tapping her soft cheek with her finger.
The little girl giggled with delight.
"If you like kids, have your own later. Stop snatching Nuonuo away. Today is important; don't dawdle. We waited specifically for you. Here, your brother-in-law brought the bike—borrowed from Chief Wei—to help you get to the street more easily.
And here's 50 bucks. Later, you and Moting should buy something from the department store as a little token from your big sister and brother-in-law for your marriage. Don't be too polite. You're about to have a wedding; you need to buy some candies or whatnot.
Even if you don't care, there are many people at the farm; you can't let everyone just sit there doing nothing."
The couple was worried that Xiaoxiao and Moting would head back early after getting their marriage certificate, fearing they'd miss them, so they came over early to intercept them.
Jiang Xiaoxiao refused, "Big sister, I'm your sister; how can you be so polite? If you do this, I won't be happy."
She indeed had quite a lot of money, with at least seventy or eighty thousand on her savings book.
Who knew she was quite the wealthy woman now?
"You silly girl, because you're my sister, we're already owing you so much. And now giving you 50 bucks in wedding gift, isn't much. If you keep this up, are you pushing your brother-in-law and me to pay back that 1000 bucks to you?"
Jiang Yue was unhappy. She had discussed the 50 bucks with Qin Ming, and they believed that amount couldn't fully express their appreciation for Xiaoxiao, who treated them with remarkable generosity.
If they didn't offer any token, the couple would feel guilty.
Actually, the couple had prepared a bicycle for Jiang Xiaoxiao.
They had secured a bicycle ticket and the money, but the department store didn't have stock.
They had asked Chief Wei to help, hoping it would arrive in a few days.
They anticipated it would reach the farm before the wedding.
Having a bicycle would be handy for getting around.
But they couldn't mention it.
The bike was separate; the money was their belief that with a wedding, things like preparations would require spending a lot. Knowing the farm's situation, after last year's disaster, they had only been paid once.
This year's harvest hadn't come yet, no way there'd be money for them.
Expecting them to fund the wedding on their own, given their distance from home, couldn't possibly mean asking for money from home.
Organizing a wedding would naturally be hard-worked; the couple received monthly wages.
All this because Jiang Yue wished her sister's wedding not to be shabby.
Her own wedding was held rather casually, not to mention candies for guests.
Her mother-in-law was so tight-fisted, barely putting out a small plate of candy on the table—not enough for everyone to have a piece.
Forget about buying peanuts and sunflower seeds.
Causing many people to comment afterward.
Therefore, she hoped her sister's wedding would be lively, especially since their parents were present this time.