“Yes, Uncle Wu, is my Fourth Brother here?” Jiang Qian asked with a smile.
“You came at an unfortunate time. Your Fourth Brother and the others set out early this morning. The work unit needs to purchase a batch of grain, so they all went to handle it. They probably won’t be back until tomorrow,” the security guard uncle replied.
Jiang Qian could not always manage to catch her Fourth Brother when he was free. Upon hearing this, she smiled and nodded. “All right. When my Fourth Brother comes back, Uncle, please tell him to come home for a meal when he has time.”
“All right.”
Jiang Qian did not stay any longer. Sitting on the back of the bicycle, she went around with Han Shiguo, looking at one place after another.
“Let’s go see my old classmate. Her family arranged for her to work at the department store.” Jiang Qian had a very good friend in the city where she had come to attend school.
She did not have many friends, only this one, but they got along very well and had a close relationship.
“All right.” Han Shiguo had no objections.
The two of them soon arrived at the department store.
Jiang Qian’s good friend was named Su Lili. She was selling goods at the counter for high-end silk fabrics, and there happened to be two customers.
“Lili!” Jiang Qian called out with a smile.
When Su Lili saw Jiang Qian, her eyes lit up as well. “Qianqian, wait a moment.”
After collecting the customer’s cloth coupons and money, she swiftly fetched the piece of fabric they had chosen. Once the transaction was complete, the customers left, and she was free.
“I was just saying that you haven’t come into the city in ages. I was even thinking of writing to tell you to come and walk around when you had time!” Su Lili said.
“I haven’t had any free time either. We were busy with the autumn harvest some time ago, and now that it’s over, school has started again. I’ve been rushing around nonstop every day.” Jiang Qian smiled, not forgetting to introduce him. “Lili, this is my partner, Han Shiguo.”
“This is my high school classmate, Su Lili,” Jiang Qian introduced her to Han Shiguo as well.
Han Shiguo and Su Lili exchanged a brief introduction. Then Jiang Qian told Han Shiguo to rest on a stool over there, and Su Lili leaned close to Jiang Qian and whispered, “Oh my, is he in the military? Where did you find such a prize? He’s far too handsome!”
“My family introduced us.” Jiang Qian felt embarrassed, but she also shot back, “You dare call another man handsome? Just wait—I’ll tell Brother Fu!”
Su Lili’s partner was Qin Fu, their former class monitor. The two were also neighbors and had been childhood sweethearts.
They had not been allowed to date while studying, but Jiang Qian knew their situation perfectly well. Now that they had graduated, they had naturally made their relationship official.
Both families were delighted to see it happen.
Su Lili covered her smile with her lips. “I’m not afraid even if Qin Fu comes. Am I not allowed to speak the truth? But, honestly, he really is excellent. You two look very well-matched—an outstanding man and a beautiful woman!”
Clearly, she was genuinely happy for her good sister.
Before this, Su Lili had actually wanted to introduce her older brother to Jiang Qian. However, before she could say anything, her brother had started a relationship on his own, so she abandoned the idea.
Otherwise, she truly would have wanted to bring Jiang Qian home as a sister-in-law!
Jiang Qian smiled.
“How long have you two been together? When are you holding the wedding?” Su Lili asked.
“He doesn’t have many days off, and he had to request leave to come back this time. If everything goes smoothly, we should hold the wedding in a few days.” Jiang Qian felt no embarrassment about it.
“If you’re sure about him, marry him!” Su Lili agreed.
That was simply how things were in this era. Everyone did the same.
If you were sure there would be no problems, you got married. Dating for several years before discussing marriage? That was impossible.
“Will you have time then? If you do, come and see me off when I leave for my wedding.” Jiang Qian smiled.
“Yes, yes, I will! Your Fourth Brother will definitely have to come back then too, right? I’ll bring Qin Fu, and we’ll return with him.” Su Lili immediately agreed.
“All right.” Jiang Qian was naturally delighted, but she did not forget to ask about her good friend’s wedding. “When are you and Qin Fu holding yours?”
“I could get married at any time, but his family’s place is too crowded. If I married into that household, there wouldn’t be anywhere for me to live.” Su Lili sighed.
Jiang Qian naturally knew how tight housing conditions were in the city. “If you can buy one, buying a place would work too.”
Su Lili thought the same way. “Qin Fu wants to rent, but I’d rather buy a place. The problem is that they’re hard to find, and outrageously expensive. The other day, we went to look at one. That shabby little house cost several hundred yuan—it was practically robbery!”
“There’s nothing to be done about it.” Jiang Qian knew the situation well. “If buying doesn’t work, you can rent one first.”
“Mm. I guess we’ll rent one when the time comes.” Su Lili muttered softly, “I absolutely refuse to move into his family’s home. It’s cramped enough already, and his two sisters-in-law aren’t easy to get along with. Then there are all those nephews and nieces. My goodness, if I moved in, my head would explode!”
Her partner, Qin Fu, wanted to marry her as soon as possible. He said he could only look and not touch, and even when he did get to touch her, it was merely a brief taste. It was driving him crazy with desire.
Actually, it was not only him who was hungry for her. She was hungry for him too and wanted to devour him.
But they did not even have a nest of their own yet. No matter how much they wanted each other, there was nothing they could do!
The two always had endless things to talk about. After chatting for quite a while, Su Lili finally smiled and said, “All right, it’s getting late. Go keep your soldier brother company. Don’t leave him neglected.”
Jiang Qian smiled. “When the time comes, I’ll have my Fourth Brother come find you two. I’ll also tell Qin Fu that if he can get leave, he should come; if he can’t, then there’s no need. I’ll understand that he means well!”
“All right.” Su Lili did not make any guarantees. She could probably obtain leave, but Qin Fu’s side still needed to be checked.
Jiang Qian waved goodbye to Su Lili and went over to find Han Shiguo.
“Sorry. Lili and I hadn’t seen each other in so long, so we talked a little longer and kept you waiting.” Jiang Qian smiled.
“It’s fine.” Han Shiguo was quite happy that she had been willing to bring him to meet her friend.
After leaving the department store, Jiang Qian looked at him. “Where are we going now?”
“To eat.” It was already getting late, past eleven o’clock. Han Shiguo carried her on the bicycle to the state-run restaurant.
The server brought over the menu, and Han Shiguo handed it directly to her. “What would you like to eat?”
Jiang Qian glanced at it. “Pork and cabbage dumplings will be enough for me.”
Being able to eat pork dumplings was already a rare luxury.
But that was clearly not enough for Han Shiguo. “This is our first time coming into the city together. There’s no reason to let you eat only dumplings. How about I order?”
Jiang Qian was pleased by his consideration, so she let him order.
“Would you like braised pork trotters?” Han Shiguo began ordering, naturally asking her opinion as well.
“Sure.”
“What about red-braised pork?”
“That works too.”
Han Shiguo ordered two more vegetable dishes and a soup, asking her opinion about each one. Only after she confirmed that everything was fine did he have the server place the order.
Two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, with steamed rice as the staple food, were brought out before long.
Jiang Qian had been in this era for two years. She had gone out to eat before, but it had only been noodles or dumplings, paid for by her Fourth Brother. She had never truly eaten a meal like this.
However, after becoming accustomed to all the excellent things in her spatial storage, ordinary food could no longer easily satisfy her palate. Even so, the food at the state-run restaurant really was fragrant.
Jiang Qian did not hold back. After eating two bowls of rice and a considerable amount of meat and vegetables, she had another bowl of soup. That was her limit.
When he saw that she could not eat any more, Han Shiguo finished everything that remained.