“You see, now that we’ve split into our own household with farmland for four people, if we can save like we did in the first half of this year, in a few years we should be able to build a house, right?”
The Qin Family’s house was relatively good in the village; it was a new blue-brick house they built the year they got married. But it was still a bit cramped for so many people living in just four rooms.
Qin Han was tidying up and nodded, “Yeah, if it’s like the vegetable prices this year, we could build a house in three to five years. By then, Zhuangzhuang will be bigger and it’ll be just the right time for him to have his own room. It would be great if we could have a second child,” having only one child is too lonely.
“It’s not as easy as just wanting another child, family planning is so strict. I heard it costs several hundred yuan now to have a second child.”
“If it really takes a few hundred yuan to have another child, I would accept it,” Qin Han glanced at his son running around the courtyard with a stick, “We should hurry and try for another one while we can, before they possibly stop allowing second pregnancies in a few years.”
On the other side, Qin Yang had already obtained an introduction letter from the brigade. These days, getting married was simple, although the commune had changed to a township, many administrative structures were still unstandardized, and you still had to go to the town government secretary for a marriage license.
Qin Family Village was part of Ancheng Town in Ancheng County. Having found the secretary and handed over all the paperwork and the introduction letter, it cost one yuan to get a marriage license.
It was Lin Chuxia’s first time getting a marriage license in two lifetimes. The countryside wasn’t particular about such formalities; in her previous life, she and Li Guangyuan just had a wedding banquet in the village without getting a marriage certificate.
Staring at the marriage certificate that looked like an award, clearly stating Lin Chuxia and Qin Yang voluntarily getting married, a strange feeling suddenly crossed her heart.
Looking at the man next to her, he was really tall, over one meter eighty, almost a head taller than her.
His profile was smooth and youthful, energetic. When he wasn’t smiling, his cool demeanor gave people a keep-your-distance vibe, but it was also refreshing and pleasing to the eye.
Feeling the gaze from beside him, Qin Yang asked her, “What’s up?” Then looking at the marriage certificate in her hand, he grinned, showing a row of bright white teeth.
Lin Chuxia retracted her earlier thought, he was just a simpleton.
“It’s nothing. Do you want to keep the marriage certificate or shall I?”
Qin Yang thought for a moment, took it from her carefully, and rolled it up, “I’ll keep it, maybe my work unit will need it.”
The marriage application was approved; what would his work unit need the marriage certificate for? Lin Chuxia didn’t expose his little trick, and they went to the supply and marketing co-op together.
They bought two bottles of alcohol, two bags of sugar, two cans of canned goods, and two jin of peach crisp. Qin Yang wanted to buy some malted milk essence, but Lin Chuxia stopped him.
Marrying into the Qin Family had already drained their resources, and Qin Yang knew exactly how much money he had left, still needing to buy bus tickets.
The Lin Family didn’t need him to overspend any further; these four kinds of gifts were moderate and sufficient.
The next morning, Lin Chuxia felt some movement beside her and opened her eyes, moving her sore and lazy body slightly, and looked resentfully at the vigorous man beside her.
After all the fuss last night, though he exerted more, why was he so spirited, and she felt like she had been beaten up?
Was this some kind of secret energy-restoring technique?
With his energy, it’s good that he’s not often at home, otherwise Lin Chuxia felt her hopes for a healthy physique in this lifetime were dashed again.
Qin Yang just finished folding his own blanket, wondering if tonight he wouldn’t need to prepare blankets for two anymore; it wasn’t necessary, and such repetitive folding was troublesome.
Feeling her stare from behind, he saw that Lin Chuxia was awake, looking deeply at him.
That look made his heart tighten, recalling certain images from last night, his ears warmed.
“You can sleep a bit more.”
He was used to it, waking up naturally at the same time. She probably hadn’t gotten enough sleep; there were obvious dark circles under her eyes.
Lin Chuxia glanced at him, “Rare, Mr. Qin shows a bit of conscience.”
Qin Yang’s face turned even redder as he called out to Mr. Qin.
Last night, when she was pleading for mercy, she also called him by various names.
He didn’t want to hear her call him Yangyang, so in an attempt to punish her, she switched names: Yangyang, Qin Yang, Boss Qin, Brother Qin, Mr. Qin… Hearing her soft and tender voice address him with terms his colleagues used stirred a warmth in Qin Yang’s heart; he almost couldn’t hold back at the moment.
Feeling uneasy, he touched his nose, “Sorry, I… I’ll be more careful next time.”
Thinking about returning home today, Qin Yang also felt some regret.
But holding his soft and fragrant wife and living like a monk was truly impossible for him.
Thinking back, his brothers mentioned how satisfying and addictive it was and he had scoffed at them, now he understood.
If he had known earlier, he would have requested a few more days off.
Seeing Lin Chuxia yawn again, Qin Yang dryly explained, “I heard them say, going home to leave a child with the wife, also saves you from loneliness at home,” he absolutely couldn’t admit his greed.
As Lin Chuxia finished yawning and her eyes reddened, she rolled her eyes without delay, “You guys are all quite something.”
Qin Yang felt he was a hopeless case, why did he not only not get annoyed when scolded, but also felt joyful, and even thought his wife looked pretty when she glared at him.
It felt like there was a cat scratching at his heart, every move Lin Chuxia made was exceptionally beautiful.
Something was taking root and sprouting in his chest, searching for an outlet to burst forth, that head-rushing feeling almost instinctively made him plant a “smack” on Lin Chuxia’s cheek.
After the kiss, Lin Chuxia had yet to react, but Qin Yang was already stunned, even more so as he met Lin Chuxia’s gaze, throwing him off balance.
“Um… I’m going outside to check, I think my dad is calling me.”
Without waiting for Lin Chuxia’s response, he got up and jumped off the kang, the tall figure of 1.8 meters scattering in a rush.
“Phew…”
She couldn’t hold it in and let out a low laugh.
This silly guy, after all the intimate things they’ve done, blushing just from a kiss on the face, does he not know that a kiss on the cheek really doesn’t count as a kiss?
……
Today is the day when the two daughters of the Lin Family returned to their paternal home, and the Lin family was bustling from early morning.
Although returning to one’s parental home is not as grand as sending off a daughter in marriage, two daughters bringing their husbands to the family suddenly made the Lin family very lively, and Second Aunt Lin and her daughter-in-law came over to help early.
The two families were neighbors, and Uncle Lin and Mr. Lin were first cousins who were close.
Lin Jiayi and Li Guangyuan arrived first, Li Guangyuan lives in Xiaoqingshan Village, right next to their Daqing Mountain Village.
Seeing Lin Jiayi in a brand-new outfit, glowing with a rosy complexion, Mother Lin’s heart relaxed a bit.
On the day of the wedding when they arrived at the Li Family, Mother Lin did have regrets.
The three rooms were still partly earthen, and there were hardly a few decent pieces of furniture in the house; marrying off was hardly better than her own home.
Initially, even in advising her second daughter, it was only because she thought Li Guangyuan was a sincere man and well-matched with her second daughter.
Second Aunt Lin loved to talk, she greeted from afar with a smile, “Just look at our son-in-law treating Jiayi so well, just a few days apart, I think Jiayi has even gained a little.”
Li Guangyuan, a straightforward man, upon hearing this, glanced at Lin Jiayi and revealed a naive smile, “Jiayi is also very good.”