The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Married life after Chapter 5

Zhou Zhiqiang and his companion didn't eat much that evening either; they had steamed buns made from two kinds of flour and coarse grain porridge as their main dishes.

I stir-fried a cabbage and made a cold radish salad.

With normal skills and ordinary ingredients, Zhou Zhiqiang couldn't make anything fancy; however, Guo Yuting really liked the cold shredded radish salad, which was sour, spicy, and refreshing.

She ate most of the plate of shredded radish by herself.

Although there is no famine problem yet, the implementation of the rationing system is already a sign of the need for resource control.

Zhou Zhiqiang thought he could start stockpiling food a year in advance, and then go to the pigeon market to buy more and store it.

Anyway, he and Guo Yuting lived in a detached courtyard house. Once they came back and closed the door, no one would know how much grain they had.

Moreover, Guo Yuting ate quite a lot today: two steamed buns made from two kinds of flour, a bowl of coarse grain porridge, and more than half a plate of cold shredded radish.

Guo Yuting noticed Zhou Zhiqiang looking at her stomach and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I had too much work today, and the cold radish salad you made was quite appetizing."

"It's good that you can eat. If you want to eat it, I can make it for you later. I can even marinate a lot so you can take it to the hospital."

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said, "These are all minor matters and not important."

"Let's get down to business. It concerns our future life. After all, we haven't communicated much before, and we only got married because of my teacher and father-in-law's encouragement."

"To be honest, we had only met three times before we got married. We didn't know each other very well, so it's understandable that we felt a little uneasy about getting married so suddenly."

You don't need to feel pressured; what I want to talk to you about is marriage.

"Here's what I'm thinking: if you think I'm alright and don't have any aversion to me, then let's treat each other like husband and wife and gradually develop our feelings for each other."

This is also a microcosm of most people in this era: they haven't met much before the blind date, they only glance at each other a few times, and if they like each other, they marry directly. They then cultivate their feelings for each other and live together after marriage.

Although freedom of marriage is advocated, only a minority of people actually dare to pursue it.

Putting everything else aside, if you don't have your parents' help when you get married, you'll have trouble even finding a place to live.

Zhou Zhiqiang has come to realize this deeply since he came to this era. If it weren't for Guo Linhua's help, he would still be living in the staff dormitory.

If he lived in a dormitory, no one would marry him. No matter how good his own conditions were, he couldn't be homeless at night.

Their factory didn't have any welfare buildings, and they could only apply for housing through the neighborhood office. At that time, they would most likely only get single rooms, unlike now, where he and Guo Yuting live in a detached two-courtyard house.

What is the typical pattern of a married couple?

Guo Yuting turned her head shyly and asked, her voice getting softer and softer as images flashed through her mind.

"I won't explain anything you already understand."

After a pause, Zhou Zhiqiang continued, "If you still can't accept it, then we can live together as roommates. Although we live together, we won't be husband and wife."

"Being married is just an excuse to deal with outsiders. If you ever want a divorce, I'll go with you. As for the teacher, I'll explain things to him."

“If we live together, I’ll help with the housework more. If you feel uncomfortable, I can apply for factory dormitory accommodation.”

Upon hearing the word "divorce," Guo Yuting immediately asked anxiously, "What do you mean? Why are you saying divorce?"

Zhou Zhiqiang shook his head and said, "There's no other meaning. I'm just thinking of you. After all, we were just 'strangers' who met before, and the choice is in your hands, Yuting."

"With such eloquence, why don't you go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Yuting muttered to herself that these words made her anything but happy. But at least the bad mood she felt upon hearing the word "divorce" was gone.

As for how to choose, Guo Yuting quickly formed a preference after listening.

She didn't spend much time with Zhou Zhiqiang, at most a day.

Despite the short time they spent together, Guo Yuting didn't find it unpleasant. On the contrary, she felt more relaxed with Zhou Zhiqiang than with her old-fashioned father. "I don't want a divorce. My father would be furious, and it would be so embarrassing if word got out."

Guo Yuting's eyes darted left and right as she spoke, her voice growing softer and softer, but her meaning was already quite clear.

"I understand, Yuting. Please take care of me from now on. We are husband and wife now."

Zhou Zhiqiang said with a smile, and then extended his hand to Guo Yuting.

When Guo Yuting saw the outstretched hand, she muttered a few words that were hard to understand before reaching out and shaking Zhou Zhiqiang's hand in return.

The next second, Zhou Zhiqiang pulled her up, and she stood up involuntarily.

"Let's go tidy up the house. Where are you planning to stay tonight?"

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "The teacher said we can stay in the main house. They have already taken their things away. If you don't want to, you can stay in your room."

I only have bedding today; I can move it in later.

"Of course we'll stay in the main house!"

Guo Yuting tilted her head back and said, "My room hasn't been lived in for a long time. My parents didn't even bother to ask someone to clean it up. The windows are even letting in some drafts."

Since they've all said we can live in the main house, then from now on this house belongs to me, to us.

Her older brother is doing well in the military, and her sister-in-law is also a military dependent, so they won't be able to come back anytime soon.

My sister-in-law recently gave birth to a big, healthy baby boy, but both of them have jobs and don't have time to take care of him.

That's why Guo Linhua applied to go to the Northwest for aid work, bringing his wife along so that his grandmother could take care of his grandson.

"Okay, then I'll lend a hand and clean up the main house tonight."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he prepared to get the bedding.

After Zhou Zhiqiang left, Guo Yuting patted her face shyly. She had actually been so eager to live with Zhou Zhiqiang as husband and wife.

The thought of sleeping in the same bed tonight made Guo Yuting's heart race, and she kept thinking about the dirty jokes that her other female colleagues had told her.

A short while later, Zhou Zhiqiang had already covered and made the bed with the bedding. When he came back, he found Guo Yuting still standing there in a daze, so he asked, "Yuting, come and see if there's anything else that needs to be done. Let's try to get it all done in one go tonight."

"Ah? Oh, oh, coming, coming."

Guo Yuting quickly followed and went to the main house to take a look. Finding nothing much to say, she said in a low voice, "That's about right. This is fine."

"Then let's sit down and chat for a while."

Zhou Zhiqiang grabbed Guo Yuting's hand and sat down with her on the edge of the bed. He then said, "You may have heard some things about my family from your teacher, but your teacher won't tell you everything. I'll tell you now."

When I was a child, school was very difficult. If it weren't for the village chief and the teachers at the township middle school, I probably wouldn't have even finished junior high school and would have had to go to farm. After that, my family rarely sent me grain.

He explained his family situation in detail to Guo Yuting, which immediately resonated with the girl and aroused her anger.

"How could your parents be so foolish? Aren't you the eldest son? How could they do this?"

Guo Yuting was furious after hearing this. She thought Zhou Zhiqiang was a good person, and now he was her husband. How could these parents not even care about their own child?

"You know what happened in the past; bringing it up again won't change anything. Regarding my future income, here are my plans."

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Zhiqiang continued, "I give my family five yuan every month, just so they won't bother us."

You can keep your salary and save it yourself. I'll take care of household expenses. If there are large expenses, we can discuss them together.

(End of this chapter)