Siheyuan: He Yuzhu since 1958

Chapter 245: Confrontation between Yan Jiecheng and Yan Bugui (Part )

Yan Jiecheng replied: "I plan to give a betrothal gift of 30 yuan. After all, my family is so poor that we can't afford to buy big things when we get married. We can only be generous with the betrothal gift. After we get married and make some money, we can buy big things."

Aunt Zhang nodded in agreement and said, "Okay! Come over on Thursday at the agreed time!"

Yan Jiecheng took out fifty cents from his pocket and said, "Aunt Zhang, this is the deposit. I'll give you the rest after the deal is done."

"Okay!" Aunt Zhang smiled and sent Yan Jiecheng out the door, then turned around and went home.

"Yan Jiecheng!" Yan Jiecheng just came out of Aunt Zhang's house when he heard someone calling him from behind. Yan Jiecheng stopped and saw Xu Damao riding a bicycle in front of him. Yan Jiecheng smiled and asked, "Xu Damao, where did you make your fortune again?!"

Xu Damao replied, "How can I make money?! Although the situation in the countryside is better now than two years ago, it is not much better. I go to show them movies, and they give me some food and drink, which is normal." Then he asked, "How did you get out of this courtyard?!"

Yan Jiecheng replied, "I started dating someone a while ago. Now we are almost done. I will ask someone to go to her home to propose marriage."

Xu Damao said, "This is a good thing! If you need help, let me know in advance."

Yan Jiecheng said: "The current conditions do not allow for a grand wedding. So the wedding will not be held. When the time comes, the two families will have a meal at a state-owned restaurant, and that will be considered done."

Xu Damao thought about it and agreed, "Although the state-owned restaurant is a bit more expensive, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. It's reasonable to spend a little more." Then he asked, "Where are you going now?!"

Yan Jiecheng replied: "Return to the courtyard."

"Come on! I'll take you for a ride!" Xu Damao motioned for Yan Jiecheng to get on the bike. How could Yan Jiecheng refuse a free ride? Yan Jiecheng sat on the back seat of the bike, and the bike started to move slowly.

Tickets were needed to buy gifts for marriage proposal, and Yan Jiecheng used all the tickets he had bought from the black market when he went to the door. In order to look decent when he went to propose marriage on Thursday, just after ten o'clock in the evening, Yan Jiecheng wrapped himself up tightly, so that even if Yan Bugui was in person, he might not recognize him. After leaving the house, Yan Jiecheng first walked to the outside of his parents' house, waited for a while, and saw that there was no movement inside, so Yan Jiecheng opened the door.

Yan Jiecheng was familiar with the black market because he had been there many times. When he arrived at the alley where the black market was located, Yan Jiecheng took out a dime and gave it to the gatekeeper, then walked in. Soon Yan Jiecheng found the ticket scalper. When Yan Jiecheng approached, the ticket scalper asked, "What tickets do you want?!"

Yan Jiecheng replied: "Ten packs of Daqianmen cigarette tickets, two Erguotou liquor tickets, two kilograms of sugar tickets and two kilograms of cake tickets."

The ticket scalper said, "We are all old acquaintances. Give me a dollar!"

Yan Jiecheng was slightly stunned and asked, "Do you know me?!" Then he took out a dollar from his pocket and handed it over.

The ticket scalper said, "You wrapped it very tightly. I can't recognize you, but I can recognize your voice. Come to me if you need tickets next time." After that, the ticket scalper took the money, took out a stack of tickets from his pocket, found the ticket Yan Jiecheng needed, handed it to Yan Jiecheng and said, "The candy and snack tickets are about to expire. Don't blame me for not reminding you. You should use them soon!"

Yan Jiecheng looked at the date on the ticket in the dim moonlight. Fortunately, there was still half a month before the expiration date. It didn't matter to him. Yan Jiecheng put the ticket away and didn't stay in the black market any longer. He tightened his clothes, looked around secretly, and then walked out of the black market.

After leaving the black market, Yan Jiecheng was worried that someone would rob him, so he unconsciously quickened his pace.

The clock soon turned to Wednesday. Over the past few days, due to Xu Damao's intentional or unintentional spreading, the news that Yan Jiecheng was going to get married spread throughout Nanluoguxiang. When the neighbors saw Yan Bugui and his wife, they asked about it. At first, Yan Jiecheng and the third aunt were quite happy to answer the neighbors' questions, but after too many questions, the two of them got tired of being asked and were unwilling to go out.

After get off work, Yan Jiecheng went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought the gifts he would bring to propose marriage tomorrow. Carrying the gifts, Yan Jiecheng walked home with a proud and confident look. When Yan Jiecheng walked into the alley, he found something wrong. Yan Jiecheng always felt that someone was pointing fingers at him from behind. But Yan Jiecheng didn't take it seriously.

Yan Bugui, who was resting in the house, heard the sound of Yan Jiecheng coming back and immediately came out of the house. Seeing the things in Yan Jiecheng's hand, Yan Bugui was stunned for a moment, and then a look of grief appeared on his face. He asked: "Jiecheng, are these the things you are going to take to Yu Li's house tomorrow?!"

"Yes!" Yan Jiecheng responded, and said, "Proposing marriage is a big deal. I can't be so stingy, right?!"

Yan Bugui said: "Daqianmen, Erguotou, milk candy, Daoxiangcun snacks. You are so generous! You got such good things this time, what are you going to do next time?!"

Yan Jiecheng was stunned for a moment and asked, "Dad, what do you mean by this?!"

"You've taken the bait!" Yan Bugui muttered to himself, and said, "You can't go to Yu Li's house empty-handed next time, right?!"

Yan Jiecheng nodded and said, "Yes!" Then he asked, "What's the matter?!"

Yan Bugui said: "You set the standard so high now, what will you do in the future?!"

Yan Jiecheng had reacted by now and said, "Dad, are you really stupid or just pretending to be stupid?! I have already married my wife. When you go to my father-in-law's house in the future, it is still up to me to decide what to take. The most important thing now is to bring my wife home." After saying that, Yan Jiecheng walked around Yan Bugui and walked into his own room.

Yan Bugui glanced at Yan Jiecheng's back and thought to himself, "When did this kid become so smart?!"

The third aunt came out of the house and asked, "Old Yan, what are you mumbling about?!"

Yan Bugui replied: "Nothing?! I suddenly felt that the sons I gave birth to were all money-losing goods, and I felt uncomfortable."

The third aunt smiled and said, "You are just saying the grapes are sour because you can't eat them." Then she reminded, "Oh, right! Jie Cheng will go to propose marriage tomorrow. Isn't it time to clean up the house?"

Yan Bugui said, "Didn't our family hide some wood when we dug the air-raid shelter a few years ago?! Tomorrow I'll have someone make those wood into planks. We'll have a day off on Sunday and let Jie Cheng do it himself. As for the furniture, I saw some red paint at school. I'll ask around tomorrow. If you don't need it, bring the red paint back. Then move those pieces of furniture out. If Jie Cheng wants it, we'll sell it to him. If not, we'll use it ourselves."

"Dad, what do you want to sell me?!" After Yan Jiecheng put the things in the cabinet and locked it, he came out of the house and just heard Yan Bugui's last words.

Yan Bugui asked: "Do you need a house for your marriage?!"

Yan Jiecheng replied: "Yes!"

Yan Bugui then asked: "You want the house, but do you want the furniture?!"

Yan Jiecheng said: "How can I get married without a house and furniture?!"

Yan Bugui said, "As the saying goes, if you work hard, you will have enough food and clothing. The house where you get married is the same one you live in now. But we need to separate a room for Jie Kuang to live in. Shouldn't you be the one to separate the rooms?!" Seeing Yan Jiecheng nod, Yan Bugui continued, "You know the situation in our family. It is basically impossible to buy new furniture. So I want to pack up the furniture that was moved from Yi Zhonghai's house and give it to you for your wedding."