latelenovela Chapter 398 The Beloved Little Sister 33
Chapter 398 The Beloved Little Sister 33
"If you ask me," Li Guoqiang thought for a moment, "we should get it done before the New Year. Hongmei is already twenty, she's not young anymore."
The two families, talking back and forth, finally set the wedding date for the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month.
According to custom, the next steps include exchanging betrothal gifts, setting an auspicious date, and preparing the dowry...
But more than these formalities, the two families valued the mutual affection between the two children.
Before leaving, Li Hongmei was finally called out to meet people.
She blushed as she served tea to the elders of the Ji family. When it was Ji Jianjun's turn, she deliberately put on a stern face and said, "You'll have to listen to me from now on!"
"Listen! Listen to everyone!" Ji Jianjun smiled憨厚ly, which made everyone in the room laugh.
On the way back to the village, the Ji family members were all beaming with joy.
As Lin Xiulan passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, she stood behind the counter and saw Ji Jianjun's smug look, which made her so angry that she stomped her feet.
But now nobody cares about her thoughts anymore.
In the days that followed, the Ji family was extremely busy.
Wang Xiuhua, along with Zhou Xiaomei and several other women, began sewing new quilts;
Ji Tiezhu invited the village carpenter to make furniture for the new house;
Ji Jianjun went to the county every day to buy wedding supplies.
What gave him the biggest headache was the bicycle ticket.
Although I saved up enough money, I still couldn't buy a new car without a ticket.
That day, he was worrying at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative when he suddenly saw Li Hongmei riding a brand-new Forever brand bicycle.
"Hongmei? This car..."
"My dad got these tickets through connections!" Li Hongmei patted the car seat proudly. "How about it, isn't it beautiful?"
Ji Jianjun was so moved he didn't know what to say: "This...this should have been prepared by the groom..."
"Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" Li Hongmei glared at him. "Isn't what's mine yours too?"
And so, with the joint efforts of both families, the wedding supplies were quickly acquired: a Forever brand bicycle, a Butterfly brand sewing machine, a Shanghai brand watch, and a Red Lantern brand radio.
This "three turns and one sound" configuration was absolutely top-of-the-line in the rural areas at that time.
On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Ji family was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the atmosphere was joyous.
Men, women, and children from the whole village came to watch the spectacle, and even the commune secretary came to drink the wedding wine.
The bride, Li Hongmei, dressed in a red wedding gown, arrived at the Ji family home on a tractor, drawing exclamations of admiration.
"What a beautiful bride!"
"I heard it's a permanent employee!"
"The Ji family is incredibly lucky!"
During the wedding ceremony, the master of ceremonies loudly proclaimed, "First bow to Heaven and Earth—"
Ji Jianjun and Li Hongmei bowed respectfully to the altar.
"Second worship high hall-"
The two sets of parents sat in armchairs, beaming with joy.
"Husband and wife pay homage——"
Ji Jianjun and Li Hongmei stood facing each other and completed the ceremony amidst the laughter of the crowd.
At the banquet, Ji Jianjun went from table to table toasting, his face almost frozen with a smile.
When he toasted the village chief's table, Li Guoqiang took his hand and said, "Jianjun, I only have one daughter. You must treat her well from now on."
"Dad!" Ji Jianjun changed his address very smoothly, "Don't worry, if I let Hongmei suffer even the slightest grievance, you can hit me with the sole of your shoe!"
This remark drew laughter from the entire room.
Li Hongmei overheard this at the women's table, and was so embarrassed that she stomped her feet, but secretly she felt a sweet warmth in her heart.
The wedding night festivities continued until late at night.
When the last guest left, the new house finally quieted down.
With red candles burning brightly, Li Hongmei sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) covered with red quilts, nervously twisting her fingers.
"Are you tired?" Ji Jianjun asked softly.
"Hmm..." Li Hongmei nodded, then suddenly remembered something and took out a cloth bag from under her pillow. "Here you go."
When Ji Jianjun opened it, he found a brand new Shanghai brand watch.
"this......"
“I bought it with my salary,” Li Hongmei said, blushing. “You’re always delivering vegetables to the county, it’s inconvenient not having a watch to keep track of time.”
Ji Jianjun was so moved that he couldn't speak, and could only hold his wife's hand tightly.
Under the glow of the red candlelight, the shadows of the two people were cast on the wall, merging into one.
Outside the window, a rooster crowed, seemingly from someone's house.
A new day has begun, and their new life has just started.
*
On the other side, the military base.
When You Yong pushed open the door to the office, he was covered in dust and his eyes were bloodshot.
After months of border duty, he finally had nothing to do but call Ji Xiaosong.
"Company Commander!" The communications officer, Xiao Zhang, rushed in. "You're finally back! There are three telegrams from your family here, they've been piling up!"
You Yong's heart sank.
In the military, a letter from home is worth a fortune, and a telegram is only used in extremely urgent situations.
He grabbed the three telegrams, his fingers trembling slightly.
The first letter was from eight months ago: "Congratulations on your good news! Please reply immediately, Mother."
You Yong's knees buckled, and he almost lost his balance.
pregnant?
Is Xiao Song pregnant?
If you count the days, isn't it already...?
He trembled as he opened the second letter, sent two months prior: "The baby is healthy, don't worry. Sister."
The third letter was from two weeks ago: "My due date is approaching, could I please take some time off, Dad?"
You Yong felt dizzy and disoriented.
Is Xiao Song about to give birth? And he was completely unaware, on a mission at the border!
"Xiao Zhang! Get me to the Pingyang County Health Center immediately!" His voice was frighteningly hoarse.
The call took an eternity to connect.
When he finally heard the voice of the clinic clerk on duty, You Yong practically shouted, "I'm looking for Ji Xiaosong!"
"Dr. Ji," the duty officer said slowly, "she went home to prepare for childbirth, just a couple of days ago."
"Pregnant?!" You Yong's voice shook the office windows. "When will you give birth?"
"It'll be in the next few days," the duty officer seemed startled, "I heard it's twins or triplets, and Director Chen specially approved early leave..."
Multiple births?
You Yong's head buzzed.
He hung up the phone and turned to rush out, but bumped into the political commissar who had come to find him.
"Old You! Just what I was looking for!" The political commissar stopped him with a smile. "You did a great job on this mission. The division headquarters has decided to award you a third-class merit and promote you to deputy battalion commander!"
Normally, You Yong would be extremely excited.
But at this moment, all he could think about was the news that his wife was about to give birth.
"Political Commissar! My wife is about to give birth! I need to ask for leave immediately!" You Yong's eyes were red with anxiety.
The political commissar was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "What a coincidence! The division headquarters just approved your leave for half a month! Go on, the new appointment will be announced when you return!"
You Yong didn't even bother to pack his luggage; he just grabbed his ID and wallet and ran out.
Xiao Zhang caught up with him and handed him a bag of dry rations: "Company Commander! The train is still two hours away!"
two hours?
You Yong couldn't wait.
He went straight to the garage, jumped into the old military jeep, and said, "I'm going to the city to catch a plane!"
The journey from the residence to the provincial capital airport, which usually takes four hours, was completed in just two hours and forty minutes by driver You Yonghe.
Just as the jeep was about to fall apart, he finally caught the last flight to Ji Xiaosong's province.
On the plane, You Yong was restless.
"Are you alright, comrade?" the flight attendant asked with concern.
You Yong then realized that his fingernails had dug deeply into his palm.
"It's nothing..." he forced a smile, "It's just... my wife is about to give birth..."
The flight attendant nodded knowingly and poured him a glass of hot water: "First time being a dad?"
You Yong shook his head, then nodded.
Since he and Xiaosong got married, they have spent little time together.
Every time we met, it was as sweet as a newlywed couple, but I never imagined we'd have a child so soon...
And they were twins!
It was late at night when the plane landed.
You Yong rushed to the train station and caught the last night bus to the county town.
In the dim light of the train carriage, he repeatedly recalled every moment he shared with Xiaosong: her shyness when she first visited the army base, her focused care for the soldiers at the clinic, and the tears she held back every time she saw him off on a mission…
Now, she is facing the pain of childbirth alone, and he is not by her side.
The train rattled along all night.
As dawn broke, You Yong got off the bus in the county town and then took an early bus to Jijia Village.
The car bumped along the rough dirt road, and his heart pounded with anxiety.
When You Yong saw the old locust tree at the entrance of the village in the distance, his eyes welled up with tears.
Before the car had even come to a complete stop, You Yong jumped out and ran wildly towards the Ji family's house.
From afar, he could see that the courtyard was crowded with people, coming and going, creating a lively scene.
"Has she given birth yet?" You Yong asked, grabbing a teenager who was running outside.
"Not yet!" The child shook off his hand. "The Ji family is having a big celebration today!"
You Yong's heart was in his throat.
He rushed into the courtyard, taking three steps at a time, and bumped into Wang Xiuhua, who was boiling water.
"Mother! Where is Xiao Song?" You Yong's voice trembled.