Chapter 53: Emptying the Enemy's House and Marrying a Tyrant 9
The young wife was indeed beautiful, but she was also truly terrifying.
He'd better be honest and obedient.
Ning Yan calculated that, not counting ration tickets, Fan Dahu had spent over three hundred yuan just on clothes and fabric today, plus nearly seven hundred for the three major items, and other things, totaling close to one thousand three hundred yuan.
Anyway, he didn't even blink when spending money, and he was quite generous with her.
So, this man was alright.
"Ning Zhiqing, you ordered so much, we really can't finish it!"
Ning Yan said, "It's fine, the extra braised pork is for you to take home to your family. It's only eight dishes, don't tell me two strong laborers can't finish it."
She hadn't lived in this era for nothing; when men said they were full, they could still eat two large bowls of rice. People in this era lacked oil and fat in their stomachs, so their stomachs were bottomless pits; they had as much appetite as there was food.
Fan Shengli chuckled, "Then thank you, Ning Zhiqing!"
My goodness, even as the Captain's son, he usually only ate seven or eight tenths full each day. If he wanted more, the rice in the basin would already be gone. Today, he could finally eat his fill.
After eating for a full half an hour, the table was clean. Fan Shengli walked out of the state-run restaurant feeling satisfied, still holding a lunchbox when he returned home.
The cart full of goods caused such a stir that Fan Dahu and Ning Yan's marriage quickly became known throughout the entire Production Team.
This matter caused a huge sensation in the Production Team!
From three in the afternoon until past eight in the evening, the educated youth point was constantly busy with people coming to talk to Ning Yan about the Fan Dahu family.
Especially Fat Aunt, who almost sat on Ning Yan's kang and refused to leave, "Girl, Auntie is truly looking out for you, with no selfish motives whatsoever. You can marry any man in the Fan family, but this Fan Dahu, he's really not a good person..."
Blah blah blah...
Regardless of whether there were any selfish motives, everything she said about Fan Dahu was true. Although there was inevitably some exaggeration, Ning Yan listened with great interest.
So, she listened for several hours. People came and went from her room. Ning Yan felt quite sorry for this auntie and had Zhou Xiaomian help pour several cups of tea.
Uh, it wasn't that she didn't want to pour it herself, but Fat Aunt was afraid she'd run off and held onto her, refusing to let go.
In the end, Fan Dahu got the news and sent the four ladies from his family over, which finally scared Fat Aunt away.
Li Xiuhua was afraid her son's marriage would be ruined by Fat Aunt. After everyone left, she grabbed Ning Yan's hand and promised, "Girl, my eldest son might be a bit of a scoundrel, but Auntie promises you that he will treat you well after you marry him. No, our whole family will treat you well.
Don't listen to that woman, Fat Aunt, talk nonsense. She just can't stand to see my Dahu do well!
Back then, her son was on a blind date, and our fourth son snatched the girl, which is why she holds a grudge against our family."
The story was simple: Fat Aunt found a matchmaker to introduce a girl to her son. Coincidentally, on the day of the meeting, Fan Saitu went to look for Gousheng. Seeing guests at the girl's house, he turned around and left.
As a result, his future wife took a liking to him.
Cui'er left Fat Aunt's house and told the matchmaker she hadn't liked the son but had taken a fancy to the tall young man who had just entered.
What could the matchmaker do?
She could only tell the truth, decline Fat Aunt's side, and then go propose to Fan Saitu.
Fan Saitu knew his family had a bad reputation, so if someone was willing to marry him, he was naturally eager to get married.
Thus, the two families' marriage was settled.
Of course, there was also the matter of the bride price. Cui'er's family initially put out word that the bride price would be eighty yuan and a sewing machine. When it came to Fan Saitu, she told the truth: asking for a lot was to directly weed out some people. She couldn't be bothered with those unwilling to spend money on her, and besides, she didn't want to find a poor family and suffer in the future.
However, because she liked Fan Saitu, the bride price only needed to be the same as for ordinary families in the team.
When Fan Dahu heard this, he thought his future fourth sister-in-law was quite sensible and had no character issues. So, he took charge and directly gave a hundred yuan as a bride price and a sewing machine.
Now, Fat Aunt didn't hate Cui'er, nor did she hate Fan Saitu, but she hated Fan Dahu, who paid the bride price.
Well, it wasn't really hate, she just couldn't stand to see Fan Dahu do well.
Ning Yan didn't know why, but listening to this story, she just felt that Fat Aunt — picked on the softest persimmon!
While the four Fan family women were telling the story, they kept an eye on Ning Yan's reaction. They were genuinely afraid that their eldest son's (or brother-in-law's) wife would fly away.
Seeing that she showed no signs of annoyance, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then quickly retreated: "Then Ning Zhiqing, you should rest quickly. We'll go back first. Tomorrow, our family will bring the matchmaker to the educated youth point to propose, alright?"
Ning Yan smiled as she saw them off, then returned to her room and lay down to sleep.
The next day, which was supposed to be the day of the proposal and betrothal, the betrothal gifts displayed by the Fan family truly made everyone in the entire Production Team envious. Of course, the men envied Fan Dahu, that scoundrel, for marrying such a beautiful city educated youth like Ning Yan.
The women, on the other hand, envied Ning Yan: if they had known Fan Dahu was so rich, they would have married him long ago, even at the risk of domestic violence. How could it have been Ning Yan's turn!
Fan Dahu: Heh heh, do I want just any woman?
Ning Yan: You might not believe it if I say it, but what this girl liked was precisely the part of him that you all disliked.
The marriage between the two proceeded incredibly smoothly, with the wedding set for seven days later.
At that time, seven days was enough time to prepare for a wedding.
Fan Dahu had already gone to the Captain's house to ask for leave for Ning Yan. He asked for leave as if he were making a threat, "Third Uncle, we're getting married soon, and you don't want your big nephew to marry a dark-skinned wife, do you?"
The Captain almost shook his head like a rattle drum: "No, no! From today on, your niece-in-law gets seven days off. Just let her stay at the educated youth point."
What if she got tanned, and his big nephew didn't like her anymore? Wouldn't that be a disservice to the female educated youth?
"Dahu, look, Ning Zhiqing clearly can't do farm work. What are your plans for her in the future?"
Ever since the Captain heard from his son that his big nephew liked Ning Yan, he had been thinking about Ning Yan's work situation. He had even made a plan: if push came to shove, he would give the scorekeeper's job to Ning Zhiqing. At most, Dahu would have to give some benefits to the original scorekeeper.
Anyway, Ning Zhiqing was a high school graduate and educated, much better than Old Fifth's middle school graduate. He wouldn't be accused of using backdoors either.
Fan Dahu: "Don't worry, Third Uncle. You're the only official in our Old Fan family, and we, your own people, certainly won't cause you trouble. My wife is delicate, but it's not like I can't support her. Once I marry her, she'll be a member of our team. She just won't go to work and won't earn work points. That's all."
Why arrange any work? There's no easy work in the fields!
Even if there were, she wouldn't do it!
A young wife should be pampered.
The Captain: He truly thanked this big nephew for his consideration!