Chapter 136: with translation of chapter title

The factory director Qin's son is getting married, and the wife he's marrying is the daughter of the Capital's Zhang leader!

This news spread throughout the entire Qingshan Factory in just a short afternoon! Everyone worked even harder, for the factory's backing is so strong—who would dare to bully us now?

Actually, after the October power-cut incident passed, no one dared to cause trouble anymore; the Men'gou District government leaders even inspected several times, each visit friendly and full of praise. At year's end, Qin Jianhua even went to Men'gou District to collect an award certificate.

But he had remained unmarried all along, which still worried people; now, finally, we can relax!

In the family quarters, Aunt Liu, Aunt Zhao… a dozen or so women sat together, chatting and laughing while their needles flew, swiftly sewing… bedding.

For a wedding, you definitely need to prepare a new home, and the new home must have bedding!

Qingshan Factory isn't in the city proper; the factory grounds are sizable, and almost all the veteran workers have apartments in the staff building. After Niu Guishan was expelled last time, his unit became vacant; now, after cleaning and repainting, it's perfect for Qin Miao to use as his wedding home.

No one objected; everyone pitched in, working busily and happily.

New bedding, new bed and wardrobe, appliances too—all bought from the Capital; the cooperating department store vied to bring the wedding goods here.

In the 1970s, the three big items for a wedding were a bicycle, a watch, and a sewing machine; in the 1980s, they were replaced by a refrigerator, television, and washing machine. Having those three would absolutely make the trendiest wedding, but at Qin Miao's place, evidently that's not enough.

"Have you heard? That sedan in our factory is the dowry car provided by Leader Zhang."

"Yeah, that's a sedan—only leading officials can ride in it, and reportedly it's a foreign make, with all foreign lettering!"

"Leader Zhang's dowry is so generous; our Qingshan Factory can't be shabby—everything used in the home must be the best!"

"Come on, everyone, make way, make way—the appliances are coming in!"

All the women looked toward the doorway; several staff members from the department store were carrying in large boxes, and judging by that, the contents inside must be huge.

"Is this… a tape recorder?"

"It's a component stereo system, originally imported from Japan!"

"This set must be expensive, right?"

"Over a thousand, I think."

Countless people gasped—the 23‑inch color TV alone was eye‑catching enough, but this component stereo costs even more than the TV! Below is the tape deck, in the middle the radio, and on top… probably a record player? Those big speakers on either side really pack a punch!

Capital, Xidan Mall.

"Hmm, not bad—this big red windbreaker is perfect; let's buy it!"

"San Shui bro, forget it—haven't we already bought an outfit?"

"You can't have just one outfit for a wedding; we two will be standing at the hotel door seeing guests off—wearing a wedding dress would surely be cold, and a military overcoat wouldn't look elegant either. So we'll wear this woolen windbreaker: warm and it'll make you look lovely."

"All right, I'll follow your lead."

After a day of shopping, we carried dozens of big and small packages, left the mall, put the stuff in the back seat, then drove off—dropping Miaomiao home before heading back ourselves—really convenient!

"San Shui bro, are we… maybe being a bit too showy? Could it cause a bad impression?" In the car, watching ordinary people pedaling their bicycles under the streetlights, Chu Miaomiao still felt uneasy.

"This is an era of rapid development; the state encourages some people to get rich first, and 'the more you work, the more you gain' is a state‑advocated principle. Ha Gong Da developed with our help; the school gave me a salary, and before we came back they also gave me a bonus. Now everything we spend is our own hard‑earned money—perfectly above board!"

In this era, the rich second‑generations and official second‑generations spend public money like water, so what's wrong with spending our own? A person only gets married once in a lifetime—of course it should be grand and glorious!

"All right. By the way, do we have anything else tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow we'll go invite Teacher Zhao or Teacher Ju from the TV station to host our wedding."

Chu Miaomiao widened her eyes: "San Shui bro, this… won't it be too ostentatious?"

"What's ostentatious about that? The hotel originally wanted to book the Jianguo Hotel or the Friendship Hotel, but couldn't get them, so we had to go to the Bada Chun instead." Qin Miao said: "I've booked thirty tables—I don't know if that'll be enough."

"Thirty tables? Who could use that many! Are all the Qingshan Factory people coming together?"

"No, the factory's banquet will be held separately at the factory; the Capital's banquet is mainly for our friends and relatives from the Capital."

In this era, weddings emphasize distinguishing the new kin from the old kin: the new kin are the bride's side, treated as guests with the best hospitality; only after they leave do the groom's relatives—the old kin—get to sit down and eat.

Qin Miao didn't bother with those formalities, but since the factory still had to keep producing and the workers couldn't leave, we could only hold it in the factory canteen.

Chu Miaomiao furrowed her brows: "Wouldn't one table be enough for our Capital friends and relatives?"

Qin Miao smiled: "You'll see when the time comes!"

"All right."

Chu Miaomiao knew her father's character—he certainly wouldn't treat the wedding as a chance to extort money; his subordinates invited to the banquet would be at most one table, and they wouldn't accept gifts, just come here to liven things up and feel the joy of the wedding.

San Shui bro is booking so many tables—surely they're all coming for him. Over the past six months he's helped many people and made many acquaintances, so those who show up will definitely be from his side.

Before we knew it, the car had driven into the compound.

"Mom, I'm back!"

"Hurry in, you must be exhausted today, right?"

"Yeah… really tired." Chu Miaomiao plopped onto the sofa. After a day like this, her legs felt like they were about to give out.

Then… Qin Miao sat beside her, placed Chu Miaomiao's legs on his lap, and began to knead them gently, his expression natural. Aunt Chu's face broke into a smile—this boy really knows how to cherish his wife.

"Just wait a moment, the food will be ready soon."

"No need, Mom—I'll go eat."

Qin Miao had called her that before; now he just does it outright, since they'll be officially married in a few days anyway.

"No way—you have to eat before you leave!"

Knock knock knock! Just then, a knocking sounded at the door.

"Come in, the door isn't locked!"

A young man walked in.

In this freezing weather he wore only a suit—even with a thermal undershirt underneath, wouldn't that be cold enough to make him shiver? Otherwise, why would his body be trembling involuntarily?

Qin Miao glanced at him, didn't recognize him, but continued to massage Miaomiao's legs as the priority.

"Hey, Xiao He, you're an honored guest—you went abroad for summer studies, this must be your first time back, right? Come, sit, sit! You said you'd come, so just come—what did you bring?"

Xiao He held a cardboard box wrapped in foreign lettering—likely something he deliberately brought back from abroad—but… his eyes were locked on Qin Miao, blazing as if he could spit fire.

"Miaomiao, don't just stand there—come over and say hello! You young lady, haven't you seen guests before?"

"Auntie, who is this?"

Xiao He's finger pointed at Qin Miao.