As it turned out, once things were decided, the process moved very quickly.
Back then, you needed an official letter of introduction from your workplace or neighborhood committee, proving that you were unmarried and giving consent to the marriage. You also had to undergo a simple premarital physical exam and obtain a health certificate. Only then could you take your household registration booklet to the civil affairs bureau to apply.
The marriage certificate was issued on the spot. Yin Li opened the paper booklet and looked at the patterns on it—red flags, five-pointed stars, harvest wheatears—along with slogans like “Diligence and Thrift, Family Planning” printed on it.
“When did you prepare all this? That was way too fast.” She stuffed the marriage certificate into Li Hanting’s hand and asked, her cheeks puffed out in frustration.
Even though she had set all of this in motion herself, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he had been waiting all along for her to walk right into his trap.
They had now arrived at their new home—not the small place Li Hanting had been living in, but a courtyard house in the county seat.
The normal school she was about to attend was also located in the county seat.
Li Wenyue’s house, of course, had been allocated by the textile mill. It was close to the factory, a fair distance from the county seat, but not terribly far.
Today, aside from getting their marriage certificate, they were going to see the new house.
Li Hanting’s courtyard had been allocated by the Dache Company. It wasn’t in a remote part of the county—it sat next to a row of poplar trees at the foot of a wall.
It wasn’t a cramped apartment building. Instead, it consisted of two main rooms plus a small kitchen he had built himself, enclosing a courtyard of about twenty square meters, separated from the neighbors by a red brick wall just over a person’s height.
In Yin Li’s opinion, having a standalone place like this felt much freer.
The courtyard gate was made of two wooden doors painted sky blue, with a mailbox attached to the side.
“Why didn’t you live here before? This place is really nice.” Yin Li asked curiously as they stepped inside.
On the left was the small kitchen, built of red bricks with asbestos tiles on the roof. By the door, a coal bunker held neatly stacked honeycomb briquettes.
Li Hanting set down the bags he was carrying and led her inside. “Living here alone would’ve been too lonely.”
That was true. There were neighbors around, but it wasn’t nearly as lively as the textile mill’s family compound.
“Hmph, there’s so much about you I don’t even know.” Yin Li was starting to feel a bit dissatisfied. They had known each other for so long, yet there was so much about him she was unaware of.
Her father had personally come to inspect this courtyard and had overseen the painting and renovations.
But Yin Li hadn’t known a thing about it. She had even wondered why the house allocated by his work unit had been so small.
She had always assumed Li Hanting was living frugally and spending whatever money he had on her.
Who would have thought he not only had a small courtyard house but could also produce so much money? Eight thousand yuan plus the “Three Turnings and One Ringing”—that was no small sum.
Yin Li admitted she was money-minded, but she also realized he had kept her in the dark about a lot.
Li Hanting just smiled. “How have I never told you? It’s just that you always have your head down eating. How could you possibly hear a word I said?”
“Really? That’s not true.” They were already very familiar with each other, and even though their relationship had changed, Yin Li was slowly starting to adjust.
The main rooms faced south—there were two of them. The exterior walls were rough sand and stone, painted halfway up with yellow paint.
The windows had wooden frames with two layers: small panes of glass on top and large panes below. The windowsills were wide.
The inside of the house wasn’t fully set up yet. The bed and other furniture still needed to be arranged by Li Hanting.
There was also a separate bathroom that Li Hanting had to finish improving, knowing that Yin Li didn’t like using public restrooms.
While he tidied up the rooms, Yin Li wandered around exploring.
The ground of the courtyard wasn’t paved with bricks—it was just packed earth. Against the western wall hung various tools, clearly used by Li Hanting.
By the edge of the yard, a small flower bed had been built from old bricks. The courtyard not only had a shared water spigot but also a hand-operated well dug into the corner.
Yin Li was very satisfied. More than that, seeing all of this—knowing she had escaped the fate from her dream—made her genuinely happy.
The smaller of the two main rooms next door was used for storage. Everything was neatly arranged, though there wasn’t much inside.
That was why Yin Li immediately noticed the large chest. It looked like Li Hanting had made it himself. The chest was big and heavy, fitted with a reinforced lock.
“What’s in here? So mysterious.”
She walked over to look, but couldn’t open it.
“Here, see for yourself.” Li Hanting walked in from outside and handed her a set of keys along with a slightly plain cloth bag.
Yin Li took them. “What’s this?”
Li Hanting didn’t speak. He just gestured for her to look inside.
She opened it and saw a neatly stacked pile of ration tickets. From what she understood, leaving the local area required nationwide tickets, but it was clear Li Hanting hadn’t used many of them.
Some high-priced goods no longer required ration tickets, though most people weren’t shopping at that level anyway.
There were also two industrial vouchers—purchase vouchers. He would have needed these to buy her the “Three Turnings and One Ringing.” She had no idea how he had obtained them.
Yin Li was starting to get curious about him. It seemed there were many things she didn’t know.
There was also a thick stack of cash, underneath which lay a small, palm-sized booklet with a dark red plastic cover.
“A passbook?” Yin Li understood. He was handing over control of the household finances. The corners of her mouth curled up involuntarily. “You’re giving all of this to me?”
“Mm, you keep it.”
The inner pages were filled out by hand. The amounts in the passbook were irregular and not very consistent, but they had indeed increased little by little.
Yin Li checked the dates. It seemed he had started saving around the same month they first met. In recent months, though, the amounts had grown larger. She had no idea where he had gotten the money.
They had spent quite a lot on their wedding.
But this gesture put Yin Li’s mind at ease considerably.
A man handing over all the household money to his wife—that was a sign of trust and a commitment to building a life together.
As far as she knew, Aunt Li didn’t give her money to Yin Li’s father for safekeeping. Instead, it was the other way around—Yin Jianguo gave all his money to Aunt Li.
She couldn’t be sure about feelings and emotions, but having this money in her hands was especially reassuring.
Yin Li took it without hesitation, then pointed at the large chest nearby. “What’s in this?”
Li Hanting pointed to one of the keys. “Open it and see.”
Inside the chest were neatly arranged items rarely seen in Anfeng: flared pants, frog-eye sunglasses, digital watches, and the like.
Yin Li immediately understood. He traveled around by truck, which saved him shipping costs. He could then sell these goods in a small place like Anfeng and pocket the difference.
No wonder he had made so much money. Roughly calculated, he was actually a “ten-thousand-yuan household.”
No wonder her father and Aunt Li hadn’t shown any dissatisfaction. They had seen this potential.
But wasn’t this essentially speculation and profiteering?
Yin Li decided to ask Aunt Li about it when she had the chance.
“So, where do you usually sell these? How come I never knew?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Tell me now~ I want to know~”
Li Hanting took her hand. “Right now, we have something more important to do.”