Chapter 50 Marriage
1955 8 Month 14 Day.

It was the 27th day of the sixth lunar month and the weather was fine.

Suitable for marriage, travel, construction, prayer, and seeking children...

Wang Mengde woke up early in the morning. He dressed vigorously and did some boxing. Just after he finished washing up, his parents, grandparents and uncle's family came to the yard.

When they got here, Aunt Zhou Lingling and her cousin's wife started washing vegetables. They were preparing two banquets today, so there was no big stove. There were only a few coal stoves placed in a row on the open space in the middle courtyard.

At this time, Sha Zhu heard the noise outside, and walked out rubbing his eyes and yawning.

After a busy day, time soon came to around nine o'clock and it was time to pick up the bride. After bringing the bride back, the two had to go to the street office to get the marriage certificate.

If it is later, we will miss the auspicious time. According to the custom in Beijing, the wedding ceremony must be completed before noon.

After changing into new clothes, Wang Mengde took the lead, pushing his bicycle, followed by Xu Damao, Liu Guangqi, Yan Jiecheng and several other young people from the courtyard. Just as they were about to go out, they saw Zhao Xiaotao walking towards them from the front yard.

Following behind her was a woman who was about 27 or 28 years old.

"Doctor Wang, we are not too late, are we?" Zhao Xiaotao said with a smile. "This is my cousin Li Qingning. She is here to take photos for you today."

"It's not too late, not too late, thank you." Wang Mengde quickly put away his bicycle and went to meet him.

"Sister Li, thank you for your hard work today."

Li Qingning looks just like Zhao Xiaotao, both are ordinary.

She took out a camera from her bag and said with a smile, "Are you going to pick up the bride? It's a good opportunity to take some photos first."

When they heard that they wanted to take photos, several young people became interested and quickly pushed their bicycles and stood in a row.

Standing in the middle and looking at Xu Damao on the left, Wang Mengde always felt that something was missing. He looked around and found Sha Zhu looking at him with a spatula in one hand, his eyes full of envy. He quickly greeted him.

"Silly Zhu, come on, let's take a picture together."

After Sha Zhu stood on his right, Wang Mengde stood up straight and looked forward, smiling, revealing his eight neat teeth.

After taking the photos, several people pushed the cart and excitedly left the yard.

Behind him, Li Qingning looked at Wang Mengde's back with admiration, and whispered to Zhao Xiaotao quietly: "Your colleague is so pretty. If I were born ten years later, I would definitely compete with that girl."

Four bicycles together attracted countless eyes on the street.

Among these bicycles, except for his newly bought one, Xu Damao rides Lao Xu's, and the remaining two are specially borrowed by Wang Hao from his colleagues in the hospital.

Soon, the group arrived at Caochang Hutong. He Shengnan was wearing a casual outfit with light makeup on her face, waiting for Wang Mengde to pick her up.

He chatted with He Shengnan's grandfather, parents, and uncles for a few words, and then led the bride, who looked reluctant to leave, out the door.

After successfully picking up the bride, Wang Mengde rode a bicycle in the front with He Shengnan, walking slowly forward. The large group behind them also included He Shengnan's younger brothers and sisters and cousins-in-law.

They came with the bride.

In Nanluoguxiang Hutong, before they reached the courtyard gate, Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiefang, who were standing at the door looking out, couldn't wait to light firecrackers with matches.

The crackling sound immediately attracted many adults and children from the nearby yards to come out to watch the fun. He Shengnan stopped her bicycle and just got off. Ran Xiaomei came forward happily and handed her a cloth bag that she had prepared in advance.

There were some candies and peanuts in the cloth bag. She grabbed a handful and scattered them to the crowd.

After distributing the wedding candies, everyone surrounded Wang Mengde and He Shengnan and walked towards the middle courtyard. Li Qingning also took photos of the two from various angles. After a short rest, the two of them came to Jiaodaokou Street with their household registration books and certificates issued by their work units.

At the marriage registration place, there were already two people queuing in front of them. After waiting for a while, it was finally their turn to go in.

After entering the house, the staff carefully checked the household registration book and the certificate, asked a few simple questions, then took out a marriage certificate and started filling in the information.

In this era, the name, age and date on the marriage certificate still need to be handwritten.

After filling in the information, the staff handed the marriage certificate to Wang Mengde and asked him to check whether there were any errors or omissions in the information.

Holding this thin piece of paper, Wang Mengde was excited. In this era, he finally had a family and a career.

He looked at the information carefully and saw that the marriage certificate was surrounded by flowers such as peonies and ears of wheat.

In the middle of the top are the three big words "Marriage Certificate", followed by the font size information.

Below that is the name, age and a paragraph saying "this certificate is issued for voluntary marriage and after review it is found to be in compliance with the provisions of the national marriage law on marriage."

The style of the certificate is beautiful and warm, full of the sense of the times.

The only drawback is that there is currently no space to stick a photo on the marriage certificate.

After verification, the staff stamped the official seal, and only then did the two become a legal couple.

After getting the marriage certificate, you have to go to the side and pick out some items. These items include towels, soap, tooth powder and other daily necessities. These are some benefits given by the state to newlyweds to encourage everyone to get married and have children.

After making the selection, Wang Mengde went out and looked at He Shengnan, whose face was rosy, and said softly, "Shengnan, from now on, you will tolerate me and I will support you, and we will live our lives by supporting each other."

"Yeah." He Shengnan didn't say anything, but nodded vigorously, and then looked at him tenderly.

When we returned to the courtyard, it was already past eleven o'clock. Sha Zhu had almost prepared the dishes, and everyone started to sit down and prepare for the banquet.

Although there were only two tables today, the dishes were delicious. Wang Hao had spent a lot of money on his eldest son's wedding, and there were chicken, fish, meat, and eggs. The staple food was steamed corn bread.

Fortunately, the ticket policy has not yet been implemented, otherwise, everyone would need to bring food coupons to the banquet.

The sumptuous banquet ended at around one o'clock. All the dishes on the table were eaten up, and there was not even any soup left in the plates or bowls.

Wang Mengde didn't eat much, but he drank a lot of wine. Fortunately, he was strong and didn't get drunk.

After simply clearing away the dishes on the table, the He family went back. Then Wang Mengde and He Shengnan sent Zhao Xiaotao and Li Qingning to the entrance of the alley.

After coming back, I sent my grandparents and uncle's family, who insisted on going back to their hometown, to the Deshengmen bus.

Watching the bus drive away, the two smiled at each other and slowly walked home.

night.

Ran Xiaomei and He Shengnan cooked dinner together.

After finishing their meal, seeing that it was getting late, Wang Hao and Ran Xiaomei took their two younger brothers away.

There were only two of them left at home, so the next step was naturally the most important part of the day. . .

(End of this chapter)