By the time they left the department store, the two of them were already carrying quite a few bags, big and small!
In addition to that white maxi dress, Li Yi had also bought a suit for each of them.
To go with the suits, each of them also bought a pair of leather shoes.
Of course, they also bought shirts and other essentials.
All these clothes cost nearly a hundred yuan, which really made Tang Xue wince. After they left, she kept complaining to Li Yi about how he was wasting money.
Li Yi didn’t say a word—what’s a hundred or so yuan? Besides, they were spending it on two people.
Just look at the wealthy families of the future—a single wedding dress can easily cost hundreds of thousands, or even millions.
For example, at a grand wedding held at the Ritz-Carlton to celebrate their union, the diamond wedding dress—co-designed by master designers Martin Katz and Renee Strauss—had a total value of 80 million yuan.
By comparison, they weren’t even upstart millionaires!
After buying the clothes, Tang Xue looked at Li Yi and asked, “What should we do now? Should we head back?”
Li Yi glanced at his watch and said, “I checked—the bus doesn’t leave until 3:00 p.m. That’s still more than three hours from now!”
“Should we go wait at the station then?”
“No, I’ll take you to a great spot!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“What kind of place?”
“You’ll find out when we get there!”
“You’re such a tease!” Tang Xue said with a laugh.
“Hahaha!”
Before long, led by Li Yi, the two arrived in front of a shop.
Looking at the sign above the door, Tang Xue said in surprise, “You want to take a picture?”
“Not me—us!”
That’s right—Li Yi had brought Tang Xue to a photo studio.
Li Yi had spotted this photo studio by chance on their way to the shopping mall earlier, and the idea of taking a photo had occurred to him right then.
After all, youth doesn’t last forever, and he wanted to capture Tang Xue at her most beautiful moment to cherish forever.
The photographer was a middle-aged man in his forties. Upon seeing Li Yi and Tang Xue, he asked, “Comrade, are you here for wedding photos or ID photos?”
Li Yi replied immediately, “Wedding photos!”
“Wedding photos are 50 cents each, and we’ll give you the negatives, but they’ll take three days to develop!” the photographer said.
“That long?”
“Yeah, that’s how it goes!”
“It’s like this, sir. We’re from a county down the line, and we can’t wait that long…”
Before he could finish, the photographer said with a hint of regret, “Then there’s nothing we can do!”
“No, we can take the photos first, leave you our address and postage money, and once they’re developed, you can just mail them back to us. Is that okay?” Li Yi said.
Although the photographer had never done this before, he realized there wasn’t much risk involved, so he immediately replied, “That works too!”
After they agreed, the photographer began fiddling with his camera…
After leaving the photo studio, Tang Xue asked in puzzlement, “Why did you take so many photos? That’s such a waste of money!”
Tang Xue had originally thought Li Yi just wanted to take a single wedding photo to use when they applied for their marriage certificate later.
But she never expected Li Yi to drag her along and take over a dozen shots.
If Tang Xue hadn’t finally refused, he might have kept going!
Li Yi smiled and didn’t deny wasting money; instead, he asked, “Do you know what photos are for?”
“Well… to look at them every now and then?”
To be honest, Tang Xue really didn’t know what the point of photos was.
Even if you took them, they’d usually just end up tucked inside a book, only to be pulled out for a look when you happened to remember them.
“No, photos have many meanings. On a grand scale, they can record history, freezing history in a single moment and making that moment eternal. On a smaller scale, they can capture scenery, current events, loved ones, and life itself!”
Li Yi continued, “For me, photography isn’t just about capturing people—it’s about capturing beautiful things, preserving happiness and joy. We may not be able to hold onto time, but photos can capture the passage of the years, making memories eternal.”
“Just imagine: thirty years from now, when our children have grown up, we can pull out the photos we took today and tell them what we looked like on our wedding day. Or fifty years from now, when we’re in our twilight years, we can flip through the photos we’ve taken each year and reminisce about these happy moments—what a wonderful thing that would be!”
Listening to Li Yi’s heartfelt words, Tang Xue couldn’t help but be moved.
She could sense the deep love in Li Yi’s heart, as well as his hope to grow old together with her.
In that moment, she was completely moved by him.
She looked at Li Yi, her eyes brimming with tenderness, and said, “Okay, then let’s take a photo together every year from now on!”
“Sure!”
Just then, Li Yi suddenly heard a “gurgling” sound.
His gaze immediately fixed on Tang Xue’s stomach!
“Hungry?”
Tang Xue hesitated to admit it, but after a moment’s thought, she gave a soft “Mm-hmm.”
There was no need to be shy in front of her man.
“Come on, let’s grab a bite to eat!”
Saying this, Li Yi grabbed her clothes and shoes in one hand and took Tang Xue’s hand with the other, heading straight for the state-run restaurant nearby.
Having her hand pulled by Li Yi like this in broad daylight, Tang Xue’s face flushed instantly. She struggled to pull her hand away a few times but couldn’t, so she could only let it be.
Fortunately, the Reform and Opening-Up had already begun, and the social atmosphere was no longer as rigid and closed-off as it had been in previous years.
Although people still weren’t entirely comfortable with holding hands in public, no one would step forward to criticize you, and certainly no one would use it as a pretext to label you.
There were quite a few state-run restaurants in Ning City, unlike in Qingshan County, where there was only one in the entire county.
Moreover, Ning City’s state-run restaurants were distinctive in their decor, cuisine, and management style.
This is because these state-run restaurants are not only funded by the state or commercial departments at the provincial, municipal, or county levels, but many of them also originated from the public-private partnerships formed with time-honored establishments.
So here, you can indeed find dishes you won’t find anywhere else!
Since it was mealtime, the two found the restaurant quite crowded when they arrived.
However, most were eating noodles or steamed buns, while only a few were having stir-fried dishes.
Li Yi didn’t hesitate; he led Tang Xue to an unoccupied small square table and sat down, then immediately walked over to the ordering window to take a look.
In those days, unlike in later times, there were no menus; all the dishes were written on wooden signs hung on the wall at the front.
Customers had to look for what they wanted, then go up front to pay and hand over their grain coupons before they could eat.
Li Yi ordered braised lamb in red sauce and a bowl of crucian carp soup, and for the main course, he asked for two bowls of rice.
Although it cost four yuan—which was certainly not cheap—Li Yi had absolutely no qualms about the price!
Tang Xue, however, seemed to have grown accustomed to Li Yi’s lavish spending. She didn’t say a word this time, but instead began discussing marriage plans with him.