“Everything I said is true. The military wives all go to the beach to gather seafood, and so do the nearby villagers. The shoreline is usually quite lively.”
Whenever he had free time, Zhou Beihan also enjoyed gathering seafood by the sea.
The two of them soon arrived at the commune.
Zhou Beihan called his military unit, and his regimental commander immediately agreed to his request and promised to process his marriage application right away.
“You brat, you’re in such a hurry to get married. She must be incredibly beautiful. You’ve obviously fallen for her looks.”
Regimental Commander Lin Guodong joked over the phone.
“Commander, I also need to apply for family housing. Why don’t you approve it directly? I’ll bring my wife to the military base so I won’t have to ask for leave again.”
Zhou Beihan spoke eagerly.
“I can arrange the housing for you, but you have to return early. If you agree, I’ll sign the paperwork immediately.”
Lin Guodong was already looking forward to meeting Ye Qinglan.
“Deal. I’ll buy my train ticket and return in five days. Please have someone clean the house and ask the logistics department to prepare the tables and chairs. I should arrive in about ten days.”
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
“Qinglan, five days from now you’ll come with me to the military base. The commander has agreed to arrange family housing for us. That means you won’t have to work in the fields anymore, and we’ll finally be together all the time.”
Zhou Beihan was overjoyed.
He hadn’t expected his commander to be so efficient.
“Alright. Let’s register our marriage first, then take our wedding photos and have a meal. That way we won’t have to make another trip.”
Ye Qinglan had no objections.
Since she had already agreed to marry him, she had no intention of changing her mind.
Zhou Beihan took out their introduction letters, and they immediately completed the marriage registration.
Since both of them were marrying willingly, the paperwork was completed very quickly.
“Now that you’ve received your marriage certificate, you can purchase wedding candy. You don’t need ration coupons for up to two jin. It’s a special benefit for newlyweds.”
The staff member kindly reminded them.
“Thank you, Comrade.”
Ye Qinglan smiled gratefully and took out a handful of fruit candies, offering them to the staff member.
Zhou Beihan carefully put away their marriage certificate before taking Ye Qinglan to have their wedding photos taken.
The photographs would be ready in three days.
After paying the fee and putting away the receipt, they headed to the state-owned restaurant.
It was lunchtime, so many people were waiting in line.
Zhou Beihan joined the queue to order food while Ye Qinglan found them a table.
Just like that, Ye Qinglan, the former richest woman, was now married.
Still, Zhou Beihan was genuinely a good man.
By the standards of this era, he had excellent qualifications.
He was young, handsome, and had a promising military career.
Her parents-in-law were also kind and easy to get along with.
She had even heard that the family had already divided the household.
In the future, she would manage her own home without having to answer to anyone else.
Many women dreamed of marrying into wealthy or influential families.
But that didn’t necessarily guarantee happiness.
Unless both families were equally matched in status, such marriages often weren’t happy.
Although Ye Qinglan possessed enormous wealth inside her space, she couldn’t reveal any of it yet.
Marrying Zhou Beihan was undoubtedly the best choice.
She already liked his handsome appearance.
Another advantage was that she would no longer have to work in the fields.
Most women disliked getting tanned and cared deeply about their appearance.
As a military wife, she wouldn’t have to do farm work.
Every month, her husband would hand over his military allowance.
Ye Qinglan was extremely satisfied with that arrangement.
Zhou Beihan bought sweet-and-sour crispy pork, stewed chicken with mushrooms, mapo tofu, a jin of rice, and egg drop soup.
“Wife, try to eat as much as you can. I’ll finish whatever you can’t.”
The moment they received their marriage certificate, Zhou Beihan immediately started calling her “wife.”
“Alright. I’ll do my best to eat more.”
Ye Qinglan loved sweet-and-sour crispy pork.
The sweet and tangy flavor was truly delicious.
That afternoon, they visited the supply and marketing cooperative.
They bought wedding candy along with clothes for the wedding.
The outfit was a brand-new military-green suit designed to resemble a military uniform.
It was the fashionable choice for weddings during this era.
Ye Qinglan liked the outfit very much.
She could continue wearing it even after the wedding.
It was practical, timeless, and looked great.
With her fair skin, beautiful face, and long legs, she looked stunning in anything she wore.
Zhou Beihan was practically mesmerized.
His wife was unbelievably beautiful.
He also bought cigarettes and fine liquor.
Those would be needed in a couple of days for the wedding banquet.
Since he purchased so much, he arranged for everything to be delivered directly to the village.
“Wife, let’s go watch a movie later. Tonight we’ll have dinner at my parents’ house.”
Zhou Beihan had already informed Li Chunxiang in advance.
“Sure. That saves me from having to cook dinner after we get back.”
Thinking about the secret of her space, Ye Qinglan felt she probably wouldn’t be able to hide it forever.
She decided not to worry about it for now.
She would deal with it when the time came.
After all, Zhou Beihan was a soldier.
His powers of observation were exceptionally sharp.
Unless she stopped using her space altogether, he would eventually notice something unusual.
Ye Qinglan certainly wasn’t going to confess everything on her own.
She would wait until he discovered something suspicious.
Now that they were husband and wife, it would be impossible to keep the secret forever.
Besides, there was no way she could simply leave all those supplies unused.
“Beihan, I have one hundred watches. I can’t tell you where they came from yet, but I’ll explain when the time is right.”
Ye Qinglan decided to test him.
“Shh. Don’t talk about something like that here. Let’s go somewhere private.”
After saying that, Zhou Beihan led her beneath a large tree where no one else was around.
He carefully checked the surroundings to make sure no one was listening.
“I want to exchange the watches for money. They came from a completely legitimate source. I didn’t steal or rob anyone. Would it be alright if I sold them to Huang Chao?”
Ye Qinglan fully intended to continue doing business on the black market.
She was testing Zhou Beihan’s limits.
“That’s fine. But give the watches to me. You stay out of it. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility.”
Zhou Beihan had no intention of letting his wife put herself in danger.
“Beihan, you trust me that much? We’ve only known each other for a short time.”
Ye Qinglan was deeply touched.
“Wife, we’re already legally married. From now on, we’re one family. I’m the man, so it’s my responsibility to protect you.”
Zhou Beihan had an exceptionally strong sense of responsibility.
Ye Qinglan was very satisfied with his answer.
In this era, the shortage of supplies was exactly why black markets existed.
Many black market leaders were retired soldiers.
Sometimes information had to be passed through people like them.
Did the government really not know about the black markets?
Of course they knew.
Every town was only so large.
Many things were simply ignored as long as they didn’t become too serious.
Even the families of government officials sometimes struggled to obtain enough food.
The two of them went to watch a movie together.
Movies at this time were mostly war films.
Ye Qinglan found them fascinating because everything was new to her.
Zhou Beihan, on the other hand, had already seen them all.
Throughout the film, he kept turning to look at his wife instead.
That evening, the newlyweds returned to the village and went to the Zhou family home for dinner.
Zhou Beihan took out their marriage certificate and told everyone about moving to the military base.
“Father, Mother, we’ll return to the military in five days. The commander has already approved my application. I’ll take Qinglan with me to live there. Tomorrow I’ll tell Uncle so her household registration can be transferred with mine.”
Everyone in the Zhou family understood.
“It’s good that you’re going back early. You’ll probably need time to prepare the house. Don’t worry about things here. Whenever you have leave, come home to visit. We’ll write letters to you too.”
Zhou Baoguo said.
“Beihan, from now on, take good care of Qinglan. Hand your money and ration coupons over to your wife. Women should manage the household finances. Men spend money too carelessly.”
Li Chunxiang wasn’t the type to take her son’s side blindly.
Zhou Beihan: Now my wife is everyone’s treasure. I can only come second—and I’m your biological son!
Ye Qinglan couldn’t help feeling happy after hearing those words.
However, she wisely kept quiet.
After all, they hadn’t held their wedding banquet yet.
That night, Zhou Beihan escorted her back to the educated youth residence.
Ye Qinglan returned to her room and brought out the watches.
All of them were brand new and still in their original packaging.
However, none of the boxes displayed the name of the manufacturer.
In the end, Ye Qinglan gave Zhou Beihan one of the watches.
It was a waterproof Rolex that looked exceptionally elegant.
“This is my wedding gift to you.”
After saying that, she walked him to the courtyard gate before seeing him off.