“I don’t like these clothes. I’m not buying them!”
Feng Jiaojiao pouted, looking visibly unhappy.
“Hmph! You said our clothes weren’t nice. I think you simply can’t afford them. Here, this is a genuine silk blouse brought in from Shanghai. There are only three of them, so they’re not something just anyone can afford.”
The saleswoman immediately brought out the most expensive clothes in the shop.
Each silk blouse cost 35 yuan, which was more than a worker’s monthly salary.
Many temporary workers only earned a little over twenty yuan a month, so the arrival of these blouses had attracted quite a bit of attention.
But very few people could actually afford them. The shop usually kept them stored away because they were afraid customers might damage them by touching them.
Feng Jiaojiao hadn’t expected the shop to have genuine silk blouses.
And they actually looked pretty good.
There were three of them: one white with small black polka dots, one plain beige, and one blue-and-white striped.
An Jianguo immediately noticed that Feng Jiaojiao liked them.
“Which one do you want?”
“I don’t want any!”
Even though she had money, she refused to let that rude saleswoman earn a single cent from her. She wasn’t going to give her an easy profit.
“Hmph! This blouse costs 35 yuan. If you can’t afford it, just admit it. How dare you say our clothes aren’t nice? What a joke!”
The saleswoman proudly shook her head and was about to put the shop’s prized items away.
“I could buy all three without even blinking. Who are you to say I can’t afford them?!”
Feng Jiaojiao was about to argue with her.
An Jianjun quickly pulled her back and pointed toward another saleswoman who had been watching the commotion.
“Miss, could you please wrap up all three of these? My wife wants them.”
He took out his money and the required ration coupons.
“Huh? Oh! Of course!”
The other saleswoman quickly recovered from her surprise and hurriedly wrapped up all three blouses.
“That’ll be 105 yuan.”
An Jianjun paid without hesitation.
“You…”
Feng Jiaojiao hadn’t expected him to spend so much money on her so readily.
“Come on. I’ll take you to buy a watch.”
An Jianjun carried the bags and headed straight toward the watch counter.
“No need. I already have a watch.”
The watch had been bought for Feng Jiaojiao by her mother. It was a Shanghai-brand watch that had cost 125 yuan at the time.
The original owner had treasured it deeply.
She would often take it out and look at it, probably because it reminded her of her mother.
Feng Jiaojiao unconsciously touched the watch.
She, too, would cherish it.
An Jianjun glanced at the watch on her wrist and immediately came up with an idea.
He walked straight to the counter displaying Titoni watches.
After looking around, he quickly picked one.
“Could you show me this watch?”
An Jianjun was tall and imposing, dressed in his olive-green military uniform. The saleswoman stared at him for a moment.
“Ah… Oh, yes!”
Her face flushed slightly as she began introducing the watches to him.
“If you’re buying one for yourself, I’d recommend another model. It looks more dignified and steady. This one is especially suitable for women. It’s small and delicate, and it costs 290 yuan.”
An Jianjun looked at it.
He thought it suited Feng Jiaojiao perfectly.
“I’ll take it. Ring it up.”
He paid immediately.
The saleswoman was still lost in her own little daydream when she saw An Jianjun take the watch and walk straight toward Feng Jiaojiao.
“I already told you I don’t need it!”
An Jianjun took the watch out and placed it directly on her other empty wrist.
“Keep that other one safe when we get home. Don’t scratch it.”
What kind of eyesight did An Jianjun have?
One glance was enough for him to see how much Feng Jiaojiao treasured her old watch. Whenever she looked at it, her eyes became noticeably softer.
He had originally planned to buy her a sewing machine as well, but he figured Feng Jiaojiao probably wouldn’t know how to use it.
Since that was the case, he might as well buy her a better watch.
Feng Jiaojiao raised her wrist.
The watch shimmered beautifully under the shop lights, and the corners of her lips curled upward.
“We’ve bought almost everything. Let’s go home.”
An Jianjun had already bought the wedding candies, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and all kinds of things they would need for the wedding.
The betrothal gifts for Feng Jiaojiao were also basically prepared.
“You bought me so many things. Aren’t you afraid your mother will complain?”
Feng Jiaojiao glanced at An Jianjun.
She didn’t believe for a second that his mother would willingly agree to give her so many betrothal gifts.
“The official betrothal gifts are based on the same standard as my fourth brother’s wife: 100 yuan and one set of clothes. Everything else is from my own money. No one will say anything.”
Over the years, An Jianguo’s mother had saved nearly all of his military allowances for him.
Other than the fixed five yuan she took every month, she hadn’t kept any of his money for herself. She had deposited everything else into a savings passbook under his name.
An Jianjun had been serving in the military for eight years.
When he first enlisted, his monthly allowance was only six yuan.
Later, as he accumulated more military achievements and rose through the ranks, his allowance gradually increased.
There had originally been 3,200 yuan in his savings account, which was already an enormous amount of money.
An Jianjun withdrew 800 yuan, leaving 2,400 yuan in the account.
He gave his mother 300 yuan to cover the wedding banquet and kept 500 yuan for himself to take Feng Jiaojiao shopping.
By now, most of that money had already been spent.
Feng Jiaojiao thought to herself:
No wonder the female lead has always been hung up on this man. He really is something. At the very least, he’s genuinely willing to spend money on his wife.
The two of them carried their large and small bags all the way back to the An family home.
“Grandma! Third Uncle and Third Aunt are back!”
The children in the courtyard immediately started cheering.
So this was their third aunt!
She was really beautiful!
Feng Jiaojiao was a little overwhelmed when so many young girls suddenly surrounded her.
Fortunately, An Jianjun reacted quickly.
He grabbed a handful of candies.
“Da Ya, Er Ya, take these and share them with your younger brothers and sisters.”
“Yay! Candy!”
The happiness of children was simple.
Once they had candy, they forgot about everything else.
“Oh my goodness! Don’t use up all the candy! We won’t have enough for the wedding banquet!”
An Jianjun’s mother felt her heart ache when she saw him handing out such a large handful.
The wedding hadn’t even happened yet. They could give the children more after the banquet.
“Mom, I bought plenty. There’s definitely enough.”
An Jianjun had deliberately bought an extra three pounds of candy.
“Hello, Auntie.”
Feng Jiaojiao couldn’t very well ignore her future mother-in-law.
After thinking about what to call her, she decided to use the more polite “Auntie.”
“Oh, little sister-in-law, why are you calling me Auntie? In two days, you’ll be officially part of our An family. You’ll have to call me Mom sooner or later, so why not start now?”
An Jianjun’s eldest sister-in-law had just snatched a piece of candy from her eldest daughter and couldn’t resist making her presence known.
“You greedy and lazy woman! Did you steal food from the children again? Hurry up and go cook!”
An Jianjun’s mother immediately sent her eldest daughter-in-law away.
“Jiaojiao, don’t listen to her. Call me whatever you like. I don’t mind.”
His mother certainly wasn’t going to fuss over two days.
Feng Jiaojiao: “…”
“Come on, let’s go inside and take a look. Your two sisters-in-law and I have cleaned up the room. Tell me if you like it.”
An Jianjun’s mother took Feng Jiaojiao into An Jianjun’s room.
The room had already been completely transformed.
The windows were spotless, and festive paper cuttings had been placed on the glass.
The quilts and bedding for the wedding had already been sewn.
The furniture had been made at the same time as the furniture for the fourth son’s wedding. Since the third son only returned home once a year during the New Year holidays, the furniture was practically brand-new.
Thankfully, his mother had planned ahead back then.
Now she didn’t have to panic. Everything was already prepared.
“Thank you, Mom. I really like it.”
Feng Jiaojiao could see the sincerity of the An family.
They had prepared so much in such a short amount of time.
Hearing Feng Jiaojiao call her “Mom,” An Jianjun’s mother immediately broke into a huge smile.
“You like it? Good. Here, I’ll give you the betrothal money. Keep it for yourself.”
She took out a hundred-yuan bill wrapped in red paper and handed it to Feng Jiaojiao.
Feng Jiaojiao accepted it.
“Thank you, Mom.”