The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 134 - 133: Can Only Look, Can’t Eat

The day after the acceptance letters arrived, all the educated youth who could leave were gone.

Wang Shumin waited for Xue Yue’s acceptance letter to arrive before coming to say goodbye.

"I’ll wait for you in Beijing City."

Xue Yue nodded. "Travel safely."

Wang Shumin had visited often over the past few years, sometimes bringing little trinkets for the two children. Xue Yue was quite fond of her. She was direct and guileless, without any hidden agenda. In contrast, the woman who had once insisted on calling herself their "auntie" hadn’t been in contact at all since she left. Xue Yue hadn’t heard a single word of concern from her via Wang Shumin, and naturally, felt no affection for her.

Xue Xingzhou had also received his acceptance letter. He had already submitted his resignation to the bureau. They had held him in high regard and had planned to groom him for advancement, so they hadn’t expected him to suddenly resign.

When everyone learned he’d been accepted to the People’s Public Security University in Beijing City, they didn’t believe it at first. It wasn’t until they saw his acceptance letter that they couldn’t help but admire him.

Zhang Hongjie clapped him on the shoulder. "Not bad. I knew I wasn’t wrong about you, kid. Take good care of Qianqian from now on. Look after her over there."

Zhang Qian had also gotten into Transportation University in Beijing City. Her acceptance letter had arrived earlier than Xue Xingzhou’s.

Xue Xingzhou pressed his lips together. "Master, we got our marriage certificate this morning."

Zhang Hongjie nodded. "That’s good. Huh—? What did you say???"

Liu Chunming slung an arm over Xue Xingzhou’s shoulder and gave him a little shake. "What’s going on? We don’t get it. Aren’t you going off to university, kid? Who’d you go and marry?"

Xue Xingzhou chuckled. "Master, didn’t I tell you during the New Year? I said if we both got into universities in Beijing City, we’d get married. Didn’t you nod in agreement back then? Now that Qianqian and I have both received our acceptance letters, we went to get our certificate this morning. Qianqian even said she wanted it to be a surprise for you all."

It was only then that Liu Chunming and the others understood. "Captain Zhang, has this kid gone from your apprentice to your son-in-law?"

Zhang Hongjie shot Liu Chunming a look. "What, you got a problem with that?"

Liu Chunming shook his head. "How would I dare? It’s just... are you keeping it all in the family?"

A smile was in Xue Xingzhou’s eyes. "Captain Liu, this really has nothing to do with my master. Qianqian and I fell in love on our own."

Liu Chunming shivered theatrically. "Tsk tsk, you young people are so shameless. But hey, now you’ve gone from master and apprentice to father-in-law and son-in-law. Becoming one big family is a good thing, isn’t it?"

Xue Xingzhou smiled and nodded. "It is a good thing. My master was probably just a bit taken by surprise."

’Of course it was sudden.’ Zhang Hongjie was still in a bit of a daze.

After work that day, Zhang Hongjie called Xue Xingzhou back to his house.

As for Zhang Qian, after getting the certificate with Xue Xingzhou, she went to the newspaper office to resign. Huang Ying had also just found out about her daughter getting married today and was happily cooking in the kitchen. She was a hundred percent satisfied with Xue Xingzhou as a son-in-law.

Zhang Hongjie had also collected himself. He had intended for the two of them to get married anyway. They had been dating for several years, after all. If he hadn’t known what kind of person Xue Xingzhou was, he wouldn’t have let his daughter wait this long.

But now that they had the marriage certificate, there was no point in saying anything more.

"You got your certificate so suddenly. What are your plans for the wedding?"

Zhang Qian glanced at Xue Xingzhou, then said, "Mom, Dad, I don’t want to make a big deal of it. There’s no time anyway. There are only about ten days left until school starts, and we need to go to Beijing City early to find a place to live. We plan to rent an apartment in Beijing City instead of living in the dorms, so we were thinking we could just have a simple meal with both our families."

Huang Ying frowned. "If time is that tight, will Huier and his family be able to make it back?"

Zhang Hongjie’s eyes widened. "They didn’t even come back for the New Year. Now their sister is getting married, how dare they not come back? They’re just in the provincial capital. Is that farther away than Beijing City?"

Huang Ying nodded. "Alright, I’ll call them in a bit and tell them to take leave and come back as soon as possible."

Zhang Hongjie asked Xue Xingzhou, "What are the thoughts on your family’s side?"

"Master, I’ve told you a bit about my family situation. My biological father is in Beijing City, so he definitely can’t come back. But we’re going to Beijing City soon, so we’ll definitely see him then. As for my adoptive parents, I’ll go back and ask their opinion. And then there’s my sister and her family—they’ll definitely come."

"Okay then. Once Qianqian’s brother and sister-in-law get back, our two families will set a date and have a meal together."

"Okay."

After dinner, Zhang Qian walked Xue Xingzhou out. The two of them stood at the doorway.

"Don’t see me out any further. It’s pretty cold now, go back inside," Xue Xingzhou said, tidying the hair at Zhang Qian’s temples.

Zhang Qian held onto Xue Xingzhou’s hand and pouted. "I just want to look at you a bit longer. Can you believe our wedding night is just going to pass like this? I feel so unsatisfied."

Xue Xingzhou raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you want to do? Come home with me?"

Zhang Qian pursed her lips. "I’d love to. It took so much work to finally make you mine, and now I can only look but can’t touch."

Xue Xingzhou’s eyes were filled with amusement. "Good things come to those who wait. How about you wait a couple more days?"

Zhang Qian shook his hand, letting out a drawn-out whine.

Xue Xingzhou pointed at the front door. "Should I go in and tell my master that you’re coming with me tonight?"

Zhang Qian fell silent for a few seconds, then let go of his hand. "Forget it. I’ll wait a few more days. Once our families have met, it’ll count as our official wedding. And then... heheh—"

Xue Xingzhou smiled and leaned down to press a kiss on Zhang Qian’s red lips. He was just about to pull away when she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down.

When Xue Yue found out her brother and Zhang Qian had gotten their marriage certificate, she grinned from ear to ear and clapped her hands.

"My dear big brother! I’ve finally lived to see you and Zhang Qian get married! Do you have any idea how much I’ve worried about your love life all these years? I was afraid you’d slip up and stay a bachelor forever, and then I’d be the one supporting you in your old age."

The corners of Xue Xingzhou’s mouth turned up in a slightly smug smile. "Well, you can rest easy now. You won’t have to support me in my old age."

Xue Yue nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah! So I have to thank Zhang Qian for taking you off my hands."

Xue Xingzhou raised an eyebrow. "Still calling her ’sister’?"

Xue Yue paused. "Right, I should be calling her ’sister-in-law’."

Then, Xue Yue remembered something else. "Big brother, how much are you planning to give my new sister-in-law for the bride price?"

That question stumped Xue Xingzhou. He had completely forgotten about it.

"How much do you think is appropriate?"

Xue Yue thought for a moment and said, "The ’Three Rounds and a Sound’ are the popular thing now. With that and a bride price of two or three hundred, that should be enough. But since we’re all going to Beijing City, it might be better to buy those things there, or you could just give the cash equivalent for now. You should discuss it with Zhang Qian."

"Alright."

Xue Yue winked at him. "Have you saved up a ’wife fund’ over the years? If not, I can give you some."

Xue Xingzhou’s face glowed with confidence. "Who do you take me for?"

Xue Yue giggled. "As long as you have it, that’s good."

Afterward, the siblings discussed whether to invite Xue Changlin and Liu Hongxing.

Xue Yue thought for a moment. "I’ll make a trip back tomorrow morning to ask his opinion. I’ll also let him know we’re going to Beijing City soon. But, have you told Uncle Zheng yet?"

"Not yet. He can’t come back anyway. I’ll just give him a call another day."

"Oh. Well, don’t you forget."