“Nuo’nuo, run quickly! Your mom really might beat you to death!”
Mother Jiang broke free from her husband’s grasp, picked up a shoe sole, and prepared to swing it straight at Jiang Nuo’s face.
Seeing the shoe sole about to strike her face, Jiang Nuo closed her eyes, having no intention of resisting at all. In her heart, she thought: Go ahead and hit me. Once the beating is over, it will wipe away any remaining debt of upbringing, and I’ll have an even better reason to completely cut ties with this family!
Right at that moment, Chu Yanhan reached out and grabbed Mother Jiang’s arm in a firm grip. “What era is this, and you’re still selling your daughter? Do you know this is illegal and a crime?”
Without a second thought, Mother Jiang snapped, “Our family business is none of your concern! Don’t think that just because you’re wearing a military uniform, I’m afraid of you.”
Because of the famine, countless young men from the village had gone off to join the army, so Mother Jiang assumed Chu Yanhan was just another person who went into the military because his family couldn’t afford to eat!
Even though the shoulder insignia on the man’s uniform had a few extra circles, she felt there was no real difference!
Mother Jiang started running in circles around a massive, multi-arm-span tree at the village entrance, chasing after them.
Standing right behind Chu Yanhan with an upright and righteous expression, Jiang Nuo declared, “I’ve already returned Old Man Gao’s fifty yuan! It’s completely impossible for me to be his wife, so you can give up on that idea once and for all!”
Mother Jiang grew even angrier. “It’s precisely because you ran away that he’s now demanding compensation from me—he opened his mouth and asked for five hundred yuan! You tell me, our family only collected fifty from him in total, and now we have to fork over an extra five hundred to him? Get back here with me right now, or see if I don’t beat you half to death today!”
The bus at the side of the road started its engine, billowing thick black smoke!
Reaching into his chest pocket, Chu Yanhan pulled out five hundred yuan and tossed it onto the ground beside them. “Isn’t it just money you want? Take it!”
Seeing the crisp, brand-new banknotes on the ground, Mother Jiang hurriedly shoved her feet back into her shoes, scooped up the money, and held it against the daylight to check if it was real!
Right at that instant, Chu Yanhan swept Jiang Nuo up into his arms in one fluid motion and strode onto the bus.
The bus conductor quickly pulled the door shut, and the vehicle sped away in a cloud of dust!
Leaving Father Jiang and Mother Jiang standing there in utter bewilderment in the wind. “Wait, that’s not right… Who was that man just now, and why did he just take my daughter away?”
Father Jiang curled his lip. “Now you remember she’s your daughter? Why didn’t you think of that when you sold her off to an old bachelor?!”
“Stop talking! The grain and fine white flour we bought with that money—if you’ve got the spine, don’t eat it, just starve instead, then!”
There weren’t many passengers on the bus. The moment Chu Yanhan carried her aboard, he greeted the driver, “My wife twisted her ankle, so we’re heading into town to get her foot checked out!”
“This young man is truly wonderful, so good to his wife!” The surrounding passengers all gave Chu Yanhan thumbs-up!
Holding his wife in his arms, Chu Yanhan didn’t put her down until they reached the very back row of the bus!
Her face burning red with embarrassment, Jiang Nuo spoke in a tiny voice, “The money you paid for me—I will definitely pay you back. By the way, how much is the monthly salary at the health station?”
The man had given fifty yuan to Old Man Gao on her behalf, and just now, he had handed another five hundred yuan to her parents. That came out to a total of five hundred and fifty yuan!
In this era, an ordinary person couldn’t even earn three hundred yuan in a whole year. Suddenly owing such a huge sum of money meant it would take at least two years to pay it off!
Knowing that newcomers like Jiang Nuo wouldn’t earn very high wages in their first few years, Chu Yanhan knew she really couldn’t afford to pay him back anytime soon.
“Since you’re just starting out and lack clinical experience, it’s probably around thirty-eight yuan a month—not including grain and oil ration coupons, of course!”
Jiang Nuo was completely dumbfounded. When on earth would she ever be able to pay back five hundred and fifty yuan?!
“However…” Chu Yanhan curved his thin lips into a smile as he looked down at the young woman beside him!
“However what?” Jiang Nuo’s curiosity was instantly piqued!
“If you have a military dependant status while working at the health station, you get forty-five yuan a month!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the corners of Chu Yanhan’s mouth lifted uncontrollably. He knew for a fact that Jiang Nuo would definitely choose the higher salary.
To his surprise, Jiang Nuo paused for a moment and said, “I’ll just take the thirty-eight-yuan one. I’m not a military dependant!”
Chu Yanhan was laughed into exasperation. Here he was, offering himself up like a free bargain, and she didn’t want to take advantage of it at all!
Was thirty really that old? Did she really prefer younger guys that much?
While they were talking, the bus arrived at the station. Although the town couldn’t compare to Beijing, when Chu Yanhan had arrived, he had spent a night at the town’s guesthouse.
After walking through it once, he had already memorized the layout. As for a decent place to grab a bite to eat nearby, it was the state-run restaurant.
However, in this era, the only people willing to spend money to eat there were the town’s factory workers. Country folks could only farm, had no salary, and struggled just to get enough to eat.
Seeing customers arrive, the restaurant clerk greeted them with a smile. “Comrade, I’m terribly sorry, but today we only have noodles left. If you want steamed buns or rice, you’ll have to come back this evening!”
Chu Yanhan had originally planned to say, Fine, then let’s have two bowls of noodles, as his stomach was already screaming with hunger and had rumbled quite a few times!
“What kind of noodles do you want to eat?” Chu Yanhan looked down at the woman whose height only reached his shoulder.
Ever since she was a child, Jiang Nuo had loathed eating noodles. “I don’t like noodles!”
The clerk assumed that in a place this remote, the two of them would just compromise and settle for a bowl of noodles, and was already getting ready to tell the kitchen to boil water!
Chu Yanhan swallowed hard. “Never mind, then. Let’s go look somewhere else.”
Tossing a white towel over his shoulder, the clerk muttered under his breath, “If you don’t eat noodles, I suppose you’ll just have to starve!”
To the clerk’s surprise, Chu Yanhan took Jiang Nuo by the hand and walked over to the supply and marketing cooperative next door. The moment they stepped inside, the rich aroma wafting through the air reeled them in instantly!
Looking at the steaming-hot pastries sitting inside the glass counter, Jiang Nuo felt her mouth start to water!
Her parents had never brought her out alone to a place like this, let alone ever thought of buying such treats for her to take home.
Golden sponge cakes, flaky and crumbly round peach biscuits, crescent-shaped honey-glazed pastries encrusted with white sugar crystals…
Chu Yanhan called the clerk over, had them weigh a portion of each, and even grabbed a few jars of canned fruit.
Leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, they headed straight to the town’s only guesthouse, where all of Chu Yanhan’s luggage was stored.
The guesthouse clerk lit up upon seeing the tall military man return, accompanied by a sweet-looking young girl.
“Comrade Chu, are you back after finishing your business?”
Chu Yanhan smiled and nodded. “Yes, I am. I’m here to pick up my luggage; I won’t be extending my stay today! Please settle the bill right away; I’ll be heading out shortly.”
“Alright. By the way, Comrade Chu, is the young girl behind you your spouse? She is so pretty!”
Jiang Nuo’s face flushed, and she was just about to open her mouth to deny it.
Instead, she was pulled tightly into the crook of the man’s arm as Chu Yanhan curved his lips into a smile. “Yes, she’s my wife!”
“My, your wife is so blessed!”
Jiang Nuo: “……”
Why was she the blessed one? Shouldn’t people be saying Chu Yanhan was the blessed one? Country girl though she was, she was a whole twelve years younger than him!