Chapter 31: Married

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Su Yao took him around the space once, and then the two of them stopped outside the little house.

“Why don’t we go in?”

Su Yao gave a helpless shrug. “I can’t get in either. I have no idea what’s inside.”

Mu Xingjue found it rather novel. He raised a hand and pushed against the door. Sure enough, there was a layer of resistance.

“How do we open it?”

“I tried using gold before, to see whether it would upgrade the space, but it didn’t work. I was wondering whether jade might do the trick, or perhaps there’s some other condition for upgrading it and opening this place.”

“It’s fine. We’ll try next time.”

After leaving the space, the two of them dared not make too much noise. They simply held each other and slept through the night.

The next day, Mu Xingjue and the brigade captain applied for several days of marriage leave. When Wu Hongtao heard that they were getting married, he was delighted as well.

“If you need anything, ask your aunt to help.”

“All right. Thank you, Captain.”

Su Yao introduced her future mother-in-law to Aunt Cai. Both women were straightforward by nature, and they soon struck up a lively conversation, as though they had met too late in life.

Not wanting to interrupt them, Su Yao rode with Mu Xingjue to the supply cooperative. On the way, they discussed their purchases. They decided not to buy a sewing machine, a radio, or a watch. Su Yao did not know how to use a sewing machine, and without batteries the radio would be useless. As for watches, they already had one each, and there was nothing worthwhile in town anyway.

When they reached the supply cooperative, they went straight to Ma Chunyu.

“Sister Ma, I came to see you. I brought you some wedding sweets.”

As she spoke, Su Yao grabbed a handful of candies and held them out to her.

“You’re getting married already? It feels like I only saw you a short while ago.” Ma Chunyu was quite surprised, but that did not slow the speed with which she accepted the sweets.

“That’s right. This is my fiancé, Mu Xingjue.” Su Yao pulled him over and introduced him.

“Sister Ma.” Mu Xingjue greeted her with a cold expression.

“Hello, Comrade Mu.”

She then turned to Su Yao, her eyes full of teasing. “You’re quite something, Comrade Su Yao. Your fiancé is remarkably handsome, though he is a little icy. Don’t tell me you snatched him away from someone else?”

“You saw right through me. I had to move quickly and decisively. If another woman had taken him, where would I have gone to cry?”

“You really are something. The moment I praise you, you start preening. Still, congratulations!”

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“Thank you.”

“By the way, what do you need? I can help you prepare everything.”

“Whatever is needed for the wedding, please help me gather some of it. We also need a bicycle and some dowry items for the bride’s side.”

When Ma Chunyu heard that they only needed one bicycle, she looked somewhat displeased with the silent Mu Xingjue standing nearby. She pulled Su Yao aside and pretended to ask about quilt-cover patterns.

“Hey, why only one bicycle? No sewing machine, watch, or radio? This in-laws’ family isn’t very impressive.”

“We have those things. My mother-in-law gave me the money and ration coupons and told me to decide what to buy. But you know I’m an educated youth who came to the countryside. If I bought large items like a sewing machine or radio, I might not be able to take them home if I ever got the chance to return. It’s better not to buy them for now. As for watches, both he and I already have one, so there’s no point wasting money on another.”

Ma Chunyu thought it over and nodded. “That makes sense. Not buying something and not having something are two entirely different matters.”

“Wait here. I’ll go pick out some things for you.”

While Ma Chunyu went to fetch the goods, Su Yao pulled Mu Xingjue along and chose two outfits suitable for their wedding.

For Mu Xingjue, she picked out a white short-sleeved shirt, a pair of black trousers, and a pair of black leather shoes. For herself, she bought a red dress and a pair of leather shoes.

After that, they bought some wedding candies, pastries, and snacks before going back to Sister Ma.

“Take a look. These are the things I picked out. See what you need.” Ma Chunyu pointed to the goods she had selected. She had bought quite a lot when she herself got married.

After the two of them picked through everything, not much remained. They paid directly with their coupons and money, and with Ma Chunyu’s help, they saved quite a bit.

“Thank you, Sister Ma. When we come to register our marriage, I’ll bring you something delicious.”

“All right.”

The two of them tied a large bundle to the bicycle and went to the Public Security Bureau to have the bicycle’s serial number engraved. Then they rode home.

After resting for a day, Su Yao and her future mother-in-law tidied up the house. They pasted red wedding emblems on the windows and doors, arranged all the things they had bought the previous day, wrapped them in red paper, and put them away.

The following day, the two of them borrowed the village ox cart and went into town, saying they were going to buy rice, meat, and vegetables.

They wandered around outside and played for quite some time before returning. Once they reached a deserted spot, they took a sack of rice, a sack of flour, half a side of pork, eight chickens, and a selection of vegetables out of the space.

Aunt Cai found several people to help. When they saw how much was loaded onto the ox cart, they were astonished.

“Educated Youth Su, Educated Youth Mu, how did you manage to get so much pork? It couldn’t have been easy.”

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“Exactly. I had to find someone in town, then ask them to introduce me to someone at the pork-processing plant. I placed the order several days in advance. It took a great deal of effort.”

Everyone understood that “a great deal of effort” meant “a great deal of money.” Their impression of the two educated youths changed once again. They were wealthy—and Mu Xingjue’s mother had even arrived by car.

Aunt Cai arranged for people to cut up the pork, slaughter the chickens, and wash the vegetables. Everything was prepared in advance so that the food could go straight into the pots the next day.

On the day of the wedding, Su Yao changed into her red dress, put on a little makeup, and waited for Mu Xingjue to come fetch her.

Mu Xingjue put on his new clothes and rode through the village once with Xu Xingyu. Then he went to bring Su Yao back, followed by the people carrying her dowry. Together, they circled the village once more before returning to his house.

They had not invited many people to the wedding. All the educated youths in the front courtyard were invited. Su Yao was not very familiar with them, but Mu Xingjue had lived there for a year, so he invited them all the same.

They also invited every household from which they had borrowed things, along with the brigade captain’s family and several other familiar faces. Naturally, a few people came without being invited.

On a day like this, neither of them said anything. If people wanted to come, they could come. It was not as if a mouthful or two of food would make any difference.

Yang Hui, who had come to eat with Li Zhaodi, was consumed with jealousy. When she had married, she had received nothing. The betrothal gifts that had been promised never materialized, and there had hardly been a trace of meat at the wedding feast. Forget white rice—there had not even been a single white-flour bun. One table, two dishes, and a few coarse cornmeal buns—that was the entire feast, and she had paid for it herself.

But Su Yao’s wedding was another matter entirely: a large bowl of braised pork and a whole chicken. Just those two dishes alone were enough to make anyone drool.

Yang Hui was dissatisfied, and so was Li Zhaodi. Yang Hui had brought practically no dowry—only a few of her own clothes and nothing else.

Then there was Educated Youth Su, whose dowry filled several shoulder poles as it was carried around the village. Who would not be envious?

After returning with Mu Xingjue, Su Yao rested for a while. Then the two of them stood before the portrait of the revered leader. The brigade captain gave a speech, after which the couple made their vows. Their wedding was considered complete.

When most of the guests had left that evening, Su Yao divided the remaining dishes among everyone.

“Aunts and uncles, please divide these dishes among yourselves and take them home. Thank you for all your help.”

Aunt Cai looked at the food remaining before her.

“This is far too much. Are you really sure you don’t want it?”

“I’m sure. Please divide it among everyone, Auntie. You’ve all worked so hard.”

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