After marriage, when Ma Dalan wanted to take her sister Ma Xiaolan with her to the military base, the Zhong family sent a matchmaker to propose. At that time, Zhong Daming was the only high school graduate in the village and the only person working at the steel mill with a state-subsidized job. Many girls in the village had their eyes on him, including Ma Xiaolan.
When Ma Xiaolan heard about the marriage proposal from the Zhong family, she became unwilling to follow her older sister to the military base. She insisted on marrying Zhong Damin. Ma Dalan, believing Zhong Daming to be a steady and honest man with a good job, agreed to the match. However, since Ma Xiaolan was still two months shy of her eighteenth birthday, the wedding had to be set for two months later. Ma Dalan delayed her move to the military base to host her sister’s wedding feast first.
Zhongli Ming only had a one-month leave. He contributed both money and effort to help his sister-in-law prepare a generous dowry before rushing off on his mission. The day after Ma Xiaolan’s wedding, Zhong Daming returned to work, leaving her in the countryside to live with his mother, as he lived in a four-person dormitory at the mill and had not yet been assigned a house. It would take three years before he was finally allocated housing. Ma Dalan, meanwhile, left for the military base three days after her sister’s wedding.
Chapter 203