Chapter 137 Hairy Feet
In a blink of an eye, it was the day when the prospective son-in-law came to visit.
On this day, Song Yuanchao was dressed neatly, with his bicycle loaded with gifts, and he pushed the bicycle out of the courtyard.
That's right, he did not stay in the dormitory for the first time yesterday, but slept in the courtyard for a night. After all, today was an unusual day, and it was not convenient to keep the gifts he had bought after running across half of Yanjing City in the past few days in the dormitory, so he left them all in the courtyard. After sleeping for a night, he got up early, washed and cleaned himself, and set off when the time was almost right.
In order to show respect and courtesy, Song Yuanchao prepared eight gifts in the old Yanjing style, including cigarettes, white wine, cakes, fruits, etc. He specially asked Master Jiang of the calligraphy and painting shop for these things, and he finally bought them all after running around for several days.
In addition, Song Yuanchao also brought a gift for Lin Daoyuan and Chen Yuqin respectively. The one for Lin Daoyuan was a fine Hu brush, while the one for Chen Yuqin was an electric curling iron produced in Shanghai.
Let’s not talk about the former for now, the latter is a rare thing in this era.
As for women, no matter who they are, they all love beauty, and this has been the case since ancient times.
Even in the most difficult times, women would still try their best to dress themselves up and show their best side. Many years ago, "hot irons" were popular among the people. Many women would use this simple tool to do their hair to make themselves look more beautiful.
In recent years, with the gradual opening up of the country, female comrades have become more obsessed with beauty. In order to meet their needs in this regard, Huhai has produced this product to replace the original curling tongs - the electric curling iron.
From the perspective of later generations, this kind of electric curling iron is no longer outdated. It is an electric heating tube wrapped with an aluminum material, with an electric wire at the end. When plugged into a power source, the aluminum tube is heated and the hair can be directly curled on it to achieve a similar effect to perming.
But in this era, such electric curling irons are extremely rare items and not easy to buy outside. This is all thanks to Luo Yang's great help.
Carrying these gifts, Song Yuanchao rode his bike to Lin Yan's home. Half an hour later, he arrived at the Planning Commission's staff housing complex where Lin Yan lived. When he arrived, he saw Lin Yan waiting downstairs from a distance.
"Are you here?"
“Here it comes!”
After getting off the car, Song Yuanchao took a few quick steps forward and looked at Lin Yan with a smile. In his eyes, Lin Yan was particularly beautiful today.
"Yan Zi, is this your girlfriend?" Just when Song Yuanchao was about to say something, a questioning voice came from the side. It was a middle-aged woman in her 40s who was passing by.
"Hello, Auntie. I'm Yan's boyfriend Song Yuanchao." Seeing Lin Yan's face blushing slightly, Song Yuanchao greeted .
"Hi, you are such a lively young man..." The plump middle-aged woman was very cheerful. She looked at Song Yuanchao and Lin Yan with a smile. Her eyes lingered on the dazzling array of gifts hanging on Song Yuanchao's bicycle frame. "Are you here today? Is this your first time?"
"I can't hide it from you, you have such a keen eye!" Song Yuanchao gave the old lady a thumbs up in admiration, and responded with a polite and slightly shy smile. Lin Yan, who was standing next to her, greeted the old lady a little shyly, calling her Aunt Zhang.
When Song Yuanchao said this, the auntie immediately laughed: "You kid are still joking with me, hahaha, not bad, not bad, I live in the front building, and I am very familiar with Yan Zi's mother Yuqin, just call me Aunt Zhang."
"Hello, Aunt Zhang." Song Yuanchao bowed respectfully to Aunt Zhang.
"Good boy, really a good boy." Aunt Zhang was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth. She looked at Song Yuanchao like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law. After a few glances, she waved at them and said, "Alright, alright, Yuqin must be waiting anxiously upstairs. You guys should go and don't delay here."
"Thank you, Aunt Zhang. Shall we go upstairs first? See you later." Song Yuanchao parked the car downstairs, took the gift and said hello to Aunt Zhang. Under Aunt Zhang's smiling gaze, he and Lin Yan walked into the building together.
After going upstairs, Lin Yan took the key and opened the door. The moment the door opened, Song Yuanchao couldn't help but feel dazed.
Once upon a time, Song Yuanchao had dreamed of this scene countless times, but when he woke up, he found that all this beauty was just a dream.
For a moment, Song Yuanchao couldn't help but stop and stared at the open door, but did not step in immediately.
"What's wrong?" Lin Yan seemed to sense something was wrong with Song Yuanchao behind her, and turned around to ask in confusion.
"It's nothing, I just didn't expect happiness to come so suddenly..." Song Yuanchao gently held Lin Yan's hand. The warmth and softness from his palm told him that all this was real and not a dream.
"Look at you, you look so silly. Weren't you able to talk to Aunt Zhang downstairs with ease just now? Why are you scared now?" Lin Yan asked with a smile.
Song Yuanchao took a deep breath, shook his head and smiled: "Let's go in."
"Um"
After entering the door, Lin Yan shouted inside: "Dad! Mom! The aid from North Korea is coming!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the study opposite opened and Lin Daoyuan walked out of the study.
"Hello, uncle..." Song Yuanchao greeted Lin Daoyuan. Lin Daoyuan looked at Song Yuanchao with a smile and nodded. At this time, Chen Yuqin, who heard the voice, also came out from the kitchen.
"Hello, auntie. This is my first visit today. A small gift is my token of respect." Song Yuanchao greeted Chen Yuqin neither arrogantly nor humbly, and put down the gift in his hand.
"Come if you want to. It's just a simple meal. Why bring any gifts? Xiao Song, our family doesn't have so many rules. Yan Zi, you are so silly. Why didn't you remind Xiao Song?" Chen Yuqin said this, but her eyes swept over the gifts.
Although there is some difference between Zhao Minglei and her original choice in her mind, who can make her daughter like him? In addition, Lin Daoyuan has already recognized this young man. As a mother, Chen Yuqin can only reluctantly agree. However, Chen Yuqin still has some complicated feelings about Song Yuanchao, the person Lin Yan chose herself.
Chen Yuqin had thought about letting Lin Yan take Song Yuanchao home for a long time. She had originally planned to put it off for a while, but after encountering them by chance last Sunday, Chen Yuqin suddenly felt that this matter could not be delayed any longer. Her daughter had a boyfriend, but the boyfriend had never made a formal visit, and even she didn't know this young man, Song Yuanchao, very well. This couldn't go on.
Whether for Lin Yan or as a mother, since she could not stop them, she could only let nature take its course. That's why Chen Yuqin suddenly asked her husband Lin Daoyuan to tell Lin Yan to bring Song Yuanchao to visit them formally.
When Chen Yuqin saw that the gifts Song Yuanchao brought were ordinary but arranged according to the old etiquette, she felt somewhat satisfied and thought that Song Yuanchao was a very sensible child. People like Chen Yuqin who came from the old era paid great attention to these things, and her expression when she looked at Song Yuanchao also became much softer.
"Yuanchao, please sit down. Yan Zi, go make a cup of tea for Yuanchao." Lin Daoyuan was much more kinder. After all, Song Yuanchao had already been recognized by Lin Daoyuan. He greeted him with a smile.
Song Yuanchao responded, but did not sit down on the sofa. Instead, he took out the gifts specially given to Lin Daoyuan and Chen Yuqin: "Uncle, this is a Hu brush, I hope you like it. Aunt, this is an electric curling iron for you, the latest product from Huhai."
"Why are you carrying these, kid?" Lin Daoyuan said with a smile, but he calmly accepted Song Yuanchao's gift.
Although Lin Daoyuan never accepts gifts, he has to distinguish between good and bad people. Song Yuanchao is Lin Yan's boyfriend, her future son-in-law, and today is the first time he officially visits her. Lin Daoyuan feels at ease accepting his gift.
Moreover, in addition to the eight old gifts, the gifts Song Yuanchao brought included a Hu brush, which was a good thing but not very expensive. Besides, he also liked calligraphy and painting. Last time, Song Yuanchao gave him an inkstone, which he had been using very smoothly. This Hu brush could also be used in his daily life.
When Song Yuanchao took out the beautifully packaged electric curling iron, Chen Yuqin's eyes lit up, but she said, "What's the point of buying such a trendy thing? I'm not used to using this at my age. It's really a waste..."
"Aunt, you are not right. You look young. Besides, I heard from Yan Zi that you work in the Labor Model Office of the Federation of Trade Unions. This job is very important. You often come into contact with comrades below. As the leader of the Labor Model Office, you represent the Federation of Trade Unions and the image of our capital. Although this thing is small, it can help you show a better demeanor at work. What do you think?"
Song Yuanchao explained with a smile. His words sounded a bit far-fetched, but Chen Yuqin felt very comfortable listening to them. She immediately took the gift and opened it. After taking a look, she wondered, "This is a little different from the fire tongs. How do I make it?"
"It's very simple. Auntie, please plug this into the power supply first. There is a switch here. Turn on the switch after the power is turned on. When the red light comes on, it means the heating temperature is high enough. Then you can use this to curl your hair. Remember not to curl it for too long. It would be better if you use a comb when doing it. How about this? If it's convenient for you, I'll give it a try first. I guarantee you'll like it."
As he spoke, Song Yuanchao asked Chen Yuqin to sit down and picked up the electric curling iron to fiddle with it. After trying it, Chen Yuqin looked at herself in the mirror and was very happy: "You know what, this thing is really easy to use. It doesn't bite my hair, which is much better than a pair of tongs."
"That's for sure. This is Huhai's new product. Look, does it look more energetic now?" Song Yuanchao helped Chen Yuqin with her hair. Although he was not the Tony teacher of later generations, Song Yuanchao had been single for so many years in his previous life that he could still use this kind of simple equipment. Moreover, his vision was unmatched by people of this era. He curled Chen Yuqin's medium-length hair slightly inwards, somewhat similar to the inward curl of a child's flower head, and made a simple flip on the bangs. This hairstyle was very popular in Hong Kong and Macau a few years later. With this, the overall look suddenly became completely different from before, making Chen Yuqin look a lot younger and more beautiful.
