Xia Qiuming had to leave, even if he didn’t want to.

He glanced at Leng Yuan.

It was enough to know his nephew was doing well.

"Alright, I’m off then. If anything comes up, send me a telegram."

With that, he stuffed a piece of paper into Leng Yuan’s hand and pushed him aside.

He secretly slipped another one to Gu Jiaojiao and whispered.

"Jiaojiao, this is my home phone number. If this little brat dares to bully you, just give me a call. I’ll come over and set things right for you."

"My address is on there too. If there’s ever anything you can’t handle, you can also write me a letter."

Gu Jiaojiao took the slip of paper and nodded obediently. "Thank you, Uncle."

Xia Qiuming only had two sons and no daughters, so seeing how sweet and well-behaved Gu Jiaojiao was, his heart filled with affection.

’How did my nephew get so lucky, marrying such a beautiful girl?’

’She absolutely can’t be mistreated.’

Leng Yuan was speechless.

’He didn’t mind his uncle caring for his wife, but could he at least lower his voice when talking about beating him up? He’d heard everything.’

After giving Gu Jiaojiao his instructions, Xia Qiuming got into the car.

As for his nephew, he just tossed him the piece of paper and paid him no further mind.

The young couple watched the two cars drive away. Gu Jiaojiao carefully tucked the note into her pocket.

Leng Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Afraid I’ll bully you, so you’ll write to Uncle?"

After putting the note away, Gu Jiaojiao came over and linked her arm with Leng Yuan’s, her voice gentle and sweet. "That’s right! You can’t bully me from now on, or I’ll tell Uncle."

A smile touched Leng Yuan’s lips. He leaned close to Gu Jiaojiao and whispered, "Uncle can’t beat me."

Gu Jiaojiao was at a loss for words.

Heh.

’Right, you’re so amazing. You’re incredibly strong. You’re the best, happy now?’

Gu Jiaojiao rolled her eyes, looking completely exasperated, but she couldn’t suppress the smile playing on her lips.

Seeing his new wife relax, Leng Yuan led her toward their room.

"I have something else for you."

Gu Jiaojiao raised an eyebrow, her face full of curiosity.

The two returned to their room, where Leng Yuan handed Gu Jiaojiao a box and a red envelope that were on the table.

"These are from Aunt and my cousin."

Gu Jiaojiao picked up the red envelope first. Red envelopes in this era weren’t very elaborate and usually had no patterns, but the one in her hand was different. It had a tulip printed on it and was clearly handmade.

A message was written on the outside of the envelope.

Wishing my brother and sister-in-law a happy and blissful life, good fortune, and peaceful days ahead.

Below that was a smiley face, and at the very bottom, it said, "For Sister-in-law to open personally."

’Gu Jiaojiao found this a little funny. Was this line meant to prevent Leng Yuan from pocketing it himself?’

She opened the red envelope. Inside was a stack of "Great Unity" ten-yuan notes. She counted them—it was two hundred yuan.

"Getting married is great. So many red envelopes."

Gu Jiaojiao held the money, her watery eyes curving into a smile.

After opening the red envelope, she turned to the box from her aunt.

The box was rectangular. It was made of high-quality rosewood, with master-level carvings on the outside. From its style, it was clearly an antique. A small, golden lock hung on the front of the box, similar in style to a child’s longevity lock.

It looked incredibly valuable.

Gu Jiaojiao used the key placed on top of the box to open the small golden lock. As she turned it, the feel of it seemed a little off. She couldn’t help but squeeze it. "This lock... it doesn’t seem to be made of iron."

Leng Yuan glanced at it and explained, "It’s gold."

Gu Jiaojiao was speechless.

’In her past life, she wouldn’t have given something like this a second glance, but in this era, a gold lock was incredibly rare.’

’At a time when most families couldn’t even get enough to eat, to be able to use a solid gold lock... they were practically nouveaux riches.’

"Leng Yuan, isn’t this too valuable?"

The box alone looked expensive; the contents were sure to be even more precious. She felt a bit awkward accepting it.

Leng Yuan, however, wasn’t surprised.

"It’s a gift from Aunt. Since she gave it to you, you should take it."

"But you can’t wear it out just yet. Wait until the policies ease up, then you can take it out and wear it."