Chapter 85 p3
Watching Ye Qinglan’s back disappear, Jin Junjie left with a joyful heart. He had not expected that a casual blind date would really lead to him finding someone he liked.
Hearing the noise, Ye Qingzhi came out from the study. Seeing Ye Qinglan, she couldn’t help but ask, “Where’s your brother-in-law? He didn’t come back with you?”
“Yes, my brother-in-law said he still had something to discuss with Battalion Commander Li and had Platoon Leader Jin take us back first,” Ye Qinglan said with some embarrassment.
Ye Qingzhi instantly understood. It was to create an opportunity for them.
From Ye Qinglan’s expression, there was still some hope for the two of them. Otherwise, He Qiming would not have helped them create an opportunity.
“Well, Platoon Leader Jin?” Ye Qingzhi asked curiously.
Li Jinfeng had said he was very good, but she had also said that Li Wang was very good. In the end, they had not hit it off.
“Platoon Leader Jin… I think he’s quite nice. We can get to know each other more,” Ye Qinglan said after a moment’s hesitation, answering solemnly.
Ye Qingzhi looked at Ye Qinglan with great interest. It seemed she was quite satisfied.
She did not press Ye Qinglan and told her to wash up and go to bed early. In any case, she would know when He Qiming came back.
Sure enough, after He Qiming came back, he told Ye Qingzhi.
What “hit it off at first sight,” and then the two of them had blushed, and their bodies had been stiff and at a loss during the meal. And they had stayed in the kitchen for a while, and when they came out, the atmosphere had been different, and so on.
In short, the two of them had really hit it off. If nothing unexpected happened, they could work out.
“Actually, when Sister Jinfeng first mentioned it, Little Lan had felt that Platoon Leader Jin was more suitable. I didn’t expect them to really hit it off,” Ye Qingzhi said with great emotion.
Thinking back carefully, Ye Qinglan was very clear-headed. She knew that Qi was not a suitable match for a commoner and did not want to find someone with much higher qualifications than herself, to avoid being inferior after marriage.
Jin Junjie’s qualifications were not bad, but he was short. Ye Qinglan would not feel that she was not good enough for him and could hold her head high.
“It’s fate. Just look at us. Didn’t we take a fancy to each other at first sight?” He Qiming said with a smile, kissing Ye Qingzhi’s forehead.
Ye Qingzhi raised an eyebrow. That was because the soul was different. With the original host’s personality, even if she had wanted to remarry, she would have turned down He Qiming’s status at the beginning and then found an honest and hardworking man.
The next morning, Ye Qinglan got up early. Ye Qingzhi knew that she was going out with Platoon Leader Jin. She packed some biscuits and pastries for her and also brought her a canteen, so that they could have a good time outside.
“Thank you, Fourth Sister,” Ye Qinglan said. She had wanted to refuse, but she already owed her fourth sister so much. Well, she would just keep it in her heart and pay her back in the future.
For the next few days, Ye Qinglan would go out, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, and sometimes after dinner.
Just as Ye Qingzhi was about to ask when they would settle down, Ye Qinglan actually said that Jin Junjie was preparing to submit a marriage report.
“What? A marriage report?” Ye Qingzhi had originally wanted to say that they were being too fast, but then she thought of her and He Qiming. It seemed they had also settled down after seeing each other twice.
Or rather, it was very fast in this era. After a blind date, if they felt it was alright, they would settle down.
“Alright then. When is Platoon Leader Jin coming to propose? I need to prepare,” Ye Qingzhi said, nodding directly.
She was the only older sister here, so she was naturally the elder. She had to vet these things. In any case, Jin Junjie could not just casually marry Ye Qinglan.
Ye Qinglan said with some shyness, “Junjie said he’s coming to propose the day after tomorrow. He has to prepare the betrothal gifts.”
“Betrothal gifts? What betrothal gifts is he preparing?” Ye Qingzhi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ye Qinglan shook her head. She had asked, but Jin Junjie had refused to say, only saying that he would not wrong her.
On the evening of the third day, Jin Junjie came to Ye Qingzhi’s house with things to propose. Cigarettes, alcohol, candies, and meat, and also a bolt of cloth and ten catties of cotton.
“Fourth Sister, I still have wolf and rabbit skins. You can take Little Lan to the town to have a coat made later,” Jin Junjie said, stealing a glance at Ye Qinglan, thinking that she would look beautiful in it.
This boy was very clever. The second day he had come to find Ye Qinglan, he had called Ye Qingzhi “Fourth Sister” and had also called He Qiming “Brother-in-law.” The two of them had corrected him at first, but after a few times, they had been too lazy to say anything.
“Besides these, I also bought a pair of watches, one for me and one for Little Lan. The tickets for the bicycle and the sewing machine are not easy to find, and the main thing is that we don’t need them. But if Little Lan wants them, I can find a way,” Jin Junjie said very seriously.
“No need. The watches are enough,” Ye Qinglan said quickly.
She had gone to the city with Jin Junjie to buy the watches yesterday. When she had seen him pay, her heart had been pounding.
It was so small, and besides the watch ticket, it actually cost one hundred and twenty-eight yuan. She had never seen so much money.
“You can discuss these things yourselves,” Ye Qingzhi said. She felt that he was very sincere and did not make things difficult for him.
She was acting as Ye Qinglan’s elder, but she was not really her elder. So Ye Qingzhi did not want any of these things and was preparing to give them all to her as a dowry. Of course, she would not give a dowry.
“Fourth Sister, I’ve been living at your place for so long. You’ve been feeding me well and even making me new clothes and shoes. What’s wrong with taking these things? I even think it’s too little!” Ye Qinglan said, leaving the cigarettes, alcohol, pastries, and white sugar. In fact, she had also wanted Ye Qingzhi to keep the cloth and cotton, but Ye Qingzhi had not wanted them.
“Alright then. I’ll take the cigarettes, alcohol, and candies. The cloth and cotton will be for you to make a quilt. How can a new marriage not have a new quilt?” Ye Qingzhi knew that if she did not leave these, Ye Qinglan would feel bad. Since that was the case, then she would leave them.
Jin Junjie had already submitted a marriage report a few days ago. It was approved today, and the next day he took Ye Qinglan to get their marriage certificate.
Unfortunately, he was a platoon leader and could not have his family join him yet, so he could not be assigned a dormitory. He could only rent a house in the town for Ye Qinglan to live in.
“I told you, you don’t have to rent a house. Just live at my place. When Junjie gets off work, he can come home for dinner with your brother-in-law,” Ye Qingzhi said, helping them tidy up their newly rented house.
Ye Qinglan smiled. Although it was more convenient to live at her fourth sister’s house, it was not convenient for her fourth sister and the others.
Originally, when she was alone, she had been embarrassed. How could she cause trouble for her fourth sister now that she was married?
“Fourth Sister, I also like to live in this town. There are many people, and it’s lively. It’s also convenient to buy things. And Junjie said that he will work hard to be promoted to a company-level cadre. That way, I can join the army,” Ye Qinglan said happily.
Well, since they had already rented the house, what could Ye Qingzhi do?
After helping to clean up and buying a lot of things to put away, it finally looked a bit like a home.
“Fourth Sister, when are you writing to Auntie Ye? I want to write to my fifth brother and tell him that I’m married,” Ye Qinglan asked in a low voice.
She had wanted to write to Ye Qingsong a long time ago, but she had been too embarrassed to trouble Ye Qingzhi. She had held it in until now and finally couldn’t help but ask her.
“Qingsong? No need to write a letter. We’ll call the production team in a bit and have the brigade leader call Qingsong. You can just tell him on the phone,” Ye Qingzhi said. She had really forgotten about the people back home.
Ye Qinglan’s eyes lit up. That’s right. She could also call. The brigade leader was on their side.
She really couldn’t wait. She was too lazy to do anything at home. She pulled Ye Qingzhi and went directly to the post and telecommunications office.
What a coincidence. They actually ran into Li Wang here. But the three of them greeted each other gracefully and were more at ease than on the day of the blind date.
“Are you going to write a letter?” Li Wang asked, glancing at Ye Qingzhi.
“No, I’m planning to call home,” Ye Qingzhi said, stepping forward to explain.
The first time, no one answered. Ye Qingzhi called again. On the third ring, someone finally answered. From the voice, it was the brigade leader.
“Uncle, it’s me, Qingzhi. Can I trouble you to call Qingsong? We have something to say to him. By the way, Uncle, don’t let anyone else in my family know. Just call Qingsong. Can I call back in ten minutes? Alright, alright. Then I’ll have to trouble you, Uncle,” Ye Qingzhi said quickly and hung up the phone.
Because she was speaking in a dialect, besides Ye Qinglan, no one here understood.
“Where are you from? I can’t understand a single word you’re saying,” a female cadre at the post and telecommunications office asked curiously.
“We’re from Zhejiang Province. In our area, the accent is different every ten miles. The language between towns is also different. It’s normal for you not to understand,” Ye Qingzhi said with a smile.
“Zhejiang Province? Are you military wives? Many of the soldiers are from your area. When they call, they speak about the same as you, and I can’t understand either. Are you sisters? Are you both married to soldiers from the same place?” The female cadre was even more curious.
“No. Big Sister, what are you knitting? It looks quite nice,” Ye Qingzhi said, directly changing the subject.
The older sister was indeed also sidetracked by Ye Qingzhi. She picked up the half-finished product in her hand and showed it to her. “I’m knitting a hat for my grandson. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“A grandson? My god, you look so young. I thought you weren’t much older than us,” Ye Qingzhi said, feigning surprise and looking at the older sister.
The smile on the older sister’s face could not be stopped. She even touched her own face and said with embarrassment, “How can I be as young as you say? I’m old. My grandson is already over four months old. He can already turn over now. He’s very cute. Your skin is the good one, so tender you can pinch water out of it. But you southerners all have good skin, unlike us here.”
After this period of recuperation, Ye Qinglan’s skin had become much fairer and more tender, which was why the older sister had said that.
The few of them gathered around the older sister’s grandson and chatted for a while. Seeing that it was almost time, Ye Qingzhi called the Daye Village production team again.
“Fourth Sister, it’s me,” this time, it was Ye Qingsong who answered the phone.
“Qingsong, I’ll let Little Lan talk to you,” Ye Qingzhi said, directly handing the receiver to Ye Qinglan.
“Fifth Brother, it’s me, Little Lan. How are you? Is everyone at home alright?” Ye Qinglan asked quickly.
“I’m fine. The family… is also fine,” he said. Thinking of the chaotic family, Ye Qingsong couldn’t help but frown. But there was no need to tell his fourth sister and the others these things. It would only add to their troubles.
Of course, Ye Qinglan knew that the family was definitely not well, but she had already escaped from that family and didn’t care if they were well or not. It was enough that her fifth brother was well.
“Fifth Brother, I have good news for you. I’m married. My partner was introduced by a sister-in-law in the military compound. He’s a platoon leader, also from our province, but not from our city. Do you know Wushi? He’s from there. His family has already agreed that we’ll split the family after we get married. I’ll be the head of the house when I marry over. The main thing is that he’s a nice person, a hardworking and willing person, and he’s willing to discuss everything with me,” Ye Qinglan said with a broad smile.
Ye Qingsong knew this younger sister very well. From her tone, he could tell that she was satisfied. The stone in his heart finally fell. It was good that his younger sister had found a good home.
Sure enough, it was right to ask his fourth sister for help back then.
“Fifth Brother, I’m fine. What about you? If the family finds out that you helped me escape, they will definitely scold you,” Ye Qinglan said with some worry.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” Ye Qingsong said, his lips curving into a slight smile.
Ye Qingsong was almost annoyed to death by the open and secret struggles of his two sisters-in-law. And thinking of Ding Aixian, he couldn’t help but frown.
It was a coincidence. Last time when he had gone to the city to investigate the Zhang family, he had run into a girl. That girl was good-looking, but her personality was a bit fierce. He had just accidentally bumped into her, and she had scolded him.
Later, when she had found out that he had been pushed, she had immediately apologized, so she was not an unreasonable person.
And that girl was very interesting. She had actually said she had taken a fancy to him and wanted him to be her husband.
At that time, Ye Qingsong had just taken it as a joke and had not paid her any attention.
He didn’t know how she had found Daye Village. She had actually run to the countryside by herself to find him and had even declared that she would pursue him.
Then Ye Qingsong had learned that this girl was an only daughter and that her family wanted to find a son-in-law to marry into their family. But the girl had said that as long as she was with him, she would be willing to marry him.
Setting other things aside, Ye Qingsong also liked such a lively, cheerful, and enthusiastic girl.
“We’ve already confirmed our relationship and have also discussed it. I’ll be a live-in son-in-law,” Ye Qingsong said very naturally.
“What?” Hearing Ye Qingsong’s words, Ye Qinglan was completely stunned. Her fifth brother was going to be a live-in son-in-law? “Fifth Brother, you don’t have to be a live-in son-in-law just to leave that family, do you?”
“What?” Hearing this from the side, Ye Qingzhi immediately took the receiver and asked directly, “You’re going to be a live-in son-in-law?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then a relaxed voice came over, “Fourth Sister, I’m not a three-year-old child.”
The two sisters returned home in a daze, speechless. When He Qiming came back, he was surprised. “What’s wrong with you two?”
“It’s nothing, it’s just…” Ye Qingzhi organized her words and told He Qiming about Ye Qingsong going to be a live-in son-in-law. She also asked him to help investigate the woman’s situation. If she was really not bad, it would be fine to be a live-in son-in-law.
“What? Your younger brother is going to be a live-in son-in-law?” He Qiming paused for a moment. “You tell me her name. I’ll have someone investigate.”