Chapter 93: Discussing Wedding Arrangements

The tranquil and beautiful three months of life in the countryside town were gone, never to return, and in the blink of an eye, it was time to leave.

What she brought when she came, she would take back when she left. As for those extra items that had appeared, Lan Mo tossed them all back into her space.

If it weren’t for the fact that things in plain sight couldn’t be thrown into the space, she would have wanted to toss everything in there.

Elder Brother said last time that he would come to pick her up, but he probably wouldn’t arrive until around twelve, right? Yet all her other colleagues were already preparing to leave…

She decided to wait a little longer!

Knock, knock, knock!

“Who is it?”

“Momo, it’s Dad!”

Lan Mo opened the door and peeked out, saying, “Dad, why are you here?”

“Dad knew you had a lot of things, so I specially asked Xiao Zhang to drive over to pick you up. Is it convenient? I’ll have Xiao Zhang come in and help you carry your things!”

So her dad had specially arranged for someone to drive over and pick her up. Since there was a car, it wouldn’t be too much for her to take out a few extra things, right?

“Dad, wait at the door for a minute. I’ll tidy up a bit more.”

Lan Mo quickly closed the door, returned to the room, took out a basket of eggs from her space, and also brought out that twenty-pound jar of Nu’er Hong.

After finishing these tasks, she swiftly opened the door again. “Dad, come on in!”

As soon as Lan Jingtian entered, he noticed a jar of wine placed by the bed and asked, “Momo, why is there a jar of wine here?”

Lan Mo’s eyes flickered, and she smiled as she replied, “Oh, this? I asked the old Chinese medicine doctor at our hospital to prepare a tonic for me, then bought twenty pounds of white wine from someone, and by the way, I also added the little radish that Elder Brother didn’t want…”

Lan Jingtian chuckled. What little radish? Wasn’t that the century-old ginseng? But with an outsider present, he couldn’t say much.

He gently patted the wine jar. “Dad will carry this jar of wine later!”

“Dad, this jar holds twenty pounds of wine! You don’t need to carry it. Just put it in the back seat, and I’ll hold it steady.”

It took the three of them three trips to move all of Lan Mo’s luggage into the car. Lan Jingtian glanced at the basket of local eggs but didn’t say anything—it was perfectly normal to buy such things in the countryside.

Halfway through the drive, Lan Mo suddenly said, “Dad, Comrade Gu Yan’an said he wants to bring his grandfather to propose marriage.”

“Although Dad hasn’t interacted much with Xiao Gu, based on my years of Experience, I can tell he’s a decent person!

If Momo likes him too, Mom and I both support you. Just come back to see us whenever you have time…” As Lan Jingtian spoke, his eyes grew moist.

“Dad, whether Gu Yan’an is good or not, I can only judge by feeling. Life is long, and in the end, everyone is taking a gamble. Of course, I hope he will treat me well for a lifetime, but the outcome can only be left to fate. Don’t you think so, Dad?”

“That’s true, but feelings develop over time! The longer two people spend together, regardless of whether it’s love or not, at least affection will grow.”

Lan Mo agreed. No matter how beautiful love is, it will eventually turn into affection. Whether love remains fresh depends on how the couple lives their lives.

Some men are naturally blockheads, lacking any sense of romance. How can you talk about feelings with them? If you ask them to buy you a box of face cream, they might take it upon themselves to buy you a bar of soap to wash your face with.

Lan Mo sighed. “Isn’t mutual effort the best form of love? Marriage also requires effort, but it must come from both people.”

If only one person is giving, one person is tolerating, one person is waiting, and everything is done by one person alone, then there’s no need for such a relationship to exist.

Lan Jingtian knew his daughter had a very clear head, so he didn’t say more. That Gu Yan’an wanted to bring his family to propose marriage—well, if they were coming, let them come!

After the New Year, Momo would be twenty-one. One of his colleagues had a daughter who became a mother at eighteen.

…

Gu Yan’an was extremely happy at this moment. After finishing the safety lecture in the countryside and working another week at his unit, he received Momo’s reply within a couple of days, saying her family agreed to his marriage proposal.

He went to see Director Tan, who waved his hand and granted him a long leave directly.

He immediately notified Xu Duo, asking him to take a train to Shanghai a day early and wait there.

Then he went straight back to his own home, deciding to discuss the matter once more with his parents.

“Yan’an, why are you back today?”

Gu Yan’an grinned. “Dad, my partner’s family has agreed to let us come and propose marriage.”

Gu Wenlin looked at his silly, beaming son and felt genuinely happy for him. He really wanted to go along to help with the proposal, but he truly couldn’t get away.

“Yan’an, I’d like to go with you to help propose, but the round trip would take five or six days, and I probably really can’t get away. How about having your mom take a week off to go with you instead?”

Gu Yan’an wanted to say that having Grandfather go along would be enough. He was really a bit worried that his mother might suddenly say something inappropriate and undermine him—what then?

But one of his parents had to go; only then would it show their family’s seriousness about this marriage.

Ah, better let his mom go. At worst, he could drag his second aunt along to keep his mother company.

Pan Huijuan walked over and sat beside Gu Wenlin, saying, “Yan’an, how much bride price do you think we should give for the engagement? In our compound, it’s usually three or four hundred. In the countryside, one or two hundred is already very good.”

“Mom, my partner is a university student. I’ll pay for my own bride price. For six-six great smoothness, let’s make it six hundred yuan!”

Seeing his son so carried away, Gu Wenlin looked up and stared straight at him. “Keep your money for raising children. We can’t get you a house, but as parents, we should give the bride price for your marriage!

Besides the six hundred yuan, your mother and I have decided to have a set of furniture made for you, and buy a bicycle and a sewing machine.

Yan’an, what do you think? We don’t have a watch coupon on hand right now—you’ll have to figure that out yourself.”

“Dad, I already have a watch myself, so there’s no need to buy one. I’ll buy one for her when the time comes.”

Although he knew Lan Mo wore a watch, it wasn’t one he bought, so naturally it didn’t count!

He earned money to spend on her anyway, so what needed to be bought should definitely be bought in full.

Pan Huijuan suddenly suggested, “Yan’an, should we also buy half a pig to send over? Many people give pork as part of the bride price.”

Gu Wenlin looked at his foolish wife and shook his head. “Our son’s partner is in Haishi, not Jingshi!”

Pan Huijuan pouted. “I didn’t say buy the meat in Jingshi!”

“Mom, don’t worry about that! For the four-color gifts, I’ll prepare them when I get to Haishi. Cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and pork—I won’t miss a single thing that should be bought. We’ll also bring four types of Jingshi pastries!”

Pan Huijuan shot Gu Wenlin a glare. Hmph, who’s the foolish one here?

Pan Huijuan carefully thought about whether anything was missing and offered a reminder when something came to mind. “Yan’an, you should also buy a set of clothes for your partner and her grandparents.”

“I know, Mom! We can buy all these things once we get to Haishi. Besides our luggage, let’s just bring four types of pastries.”

“Since it’s decided, let’s buy train tickets for tomorrow night.”

For the eldest son’s marriage proposal, it would be unbecoming for her, as the mother, not to go. Her husband’s job situation made it impossible for him to take such a long leave.

At this point, Gu Yannan chimed in, “Dad, how about I go on your behalf? I think having one more person from our family for the marriage proposal would make it seem more formal.”

Gu Yan’an looked at Gu Yannan with suspicion. This guy usually avoided getting involved in such matters—was he acting strange today?

“Elder Brother, the way you’re looking at me, I’d think you have a crush on me!”

“Cut it out! Don’t joke around with me! Tell me, why do you want to go?”

Why else? First, he was afraid his mom might ruin his brother’s marriage prospects. Second, he genuinely wanted to see what the woman his elder brother liked looked like. Third, he’d heard Haishi was even more bustling than Jingshi and wanted to take this chance to see it for himself.

Gu Yannan smiled faintly. “Elder Brother, if I go, I can help lighten the mood in between.”

“Do you have leave?”

“If Mom can take leave, why can’t I?”

Gu Wenlin slapped the table and declared loudly, “It’s settled then! Yannan will go along! Huijuan, tomorrow morning, go back to your unit and buy an extra train ticket for our second son…”

…