Chapter 652 - 650: The Brick Phone

Every single item was something the Wu Family had carefully prepared—clothes, shoes, various gifts, as well as metalwork, jade, and jewelry.

Aside from these, the most valuable and eye-catching items were the bright red wedding dress and the phoenix crown with its ceremonial cape.

This was a real phoenix crown and ceremonial cape, not the set from the photoshoot earlier. This one was far superior, from the wedding dress to the headdress. Su Li gasped, her hands trembling slightly as she looked at it.

Lifting the wedding dress, it shimmered with a deep, iridescent light. Su Li looked closer, getting the feeling... that it seemed to be woven with legendary golden thread.

In short, it was so beautiful it was unreal—the kind of beauty no woman could resist.

It was beautiful, yes, but... wasn’t it a bit too extravagant?

Although Su Li, with her somewhat old-fashioned aesthetic, had always found Western wedding dresses beautiful, she felt a wedding wasn’t complete without a traditional wedding dress, phoenix crown, and ceremonial cape.

Getting married in a church wearing a white gown was picturesque, but the lively ceremony of paying respects to heaven, earth, and one’s parents in a bright red wedding dress felt like something that shouldn’t be skipped if possible.

So Su Li was thrilled about getting married in a traditional gown, but if it was this extravagant...

"It seems a little too extravagant..."

Hearing Su Li, Wu Sheng replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Of course it has to be extravagant. On such a joyous occasion, the more extravagant, the better."

Su Li: "..."

When Su Li didn’t answer, Wu Sheng turned to her, puzzled. "You don’t like it?"

"No, I love it." Su Li quickly shook her head.

"As long as you like it." Wu Sheng nodded. He looked at her expression, paused, and then added,

"Don’t worry about it. Mom gave it to you, and it was passed down to her from her own mother. Besides, once you marry me, it’ll be coming back to the Wu Family anyway. You don’t need to feel pressured because it’s so valuable."

Su Li: "..."

She found herself thinking that Wu Sheng’s logic was surprisingly sound. It wasn’t a loss for them at all, since she and the gift would both end up back with the Wu Family after the wedding.

Su Li was only conflicted for a moment. After hearing Wu Sheng’s explanation, she dropped the subject.

’The main reason is that it’s just too beautiful. There’s simply no way I can refuse it!’

Wu Sheng, however, tested the weight of the phoenix crown. "This isn’t light. It’s probably going to be heavy on your head."

Su Li blinked. "Of course it’s not light. But for the sake of beauty, it’s worth it!"

She had seen it often on TV and in books—brides so weighed down by their phoenix crowns that they could barely move their heads. She was mentally prepared.

Hearing her words, Wu Sheng chuckled and shook his head. "When the time comes, I’ll see if I can help you support it."

Besides the phoenix crown and ceremonial cape, there was another betrothal gift that left Su Li speechless.

It was a... brick phone.

That’s right, you’re not mistaken. It was the legendary brick phone.

Brick phones had been on the market for a while and were exceptionally rare. Su Li, nostalgic for cell phones, had thought about buying one, but ultimately decided against it.

They were just too big and bulky. The signal was poor, you had to shout to be heard and constantly hunt for reception, and on top of all that, the battery only lasted for half an hour of talk time. It was practically useless.

’Having used the slick, modern phones of the future, I really, truly, honestly find this brick phone a little... pathetic.’

So, even though the image of a rich man—with slicked-back hair, a dab of gel, and a brick phone in hand—had become an aspirational symbol for countless people, Su Li hadn’t taken the plunge.

The brick phone was rare and highly sought after, a status symbol that had even surpassed the passenger car.

After all, no matter how nice the car you were driving was, you might just be a chauffeur for your boss.

But a brick phone was different. If a person was carrying one of those, their status instantly changed.

When negotiating a deal, all you had to do was place the brick phone on the table, and you’d have an air of boundless confidence. Negotiations would go much more smoothly.

The main reason for the brick phone’s high status was its exorbitant price. It wasn’t something ordinary people could even dream of affording; even some small business owners couldn’t handle the cost.

Furthermore, you needed connections to buy one. Sometimes, you couldn’t get one even if you had the money. On the black market, the price was often double.

But no matter how expensive, it was convenient. Even if the call quality wasn’t clear or stable, and you often had to shout so loudly that the whole street could hear your conversation...

But due to the lack of communication devices at the time, the public’s desire for status, and its promotion in blockbuster movies, the brick phone’s popularity skyrocketed. Owning one became the dream and ambition of many.

Su Li had both the connections and the money to buy one, but in the end, she didn’t.

Li Hongqin and Yin Cuihua, on the other hand, had both bought them and seemed to be having a blast using them. They kept trying to persuade Su Li, but to her own surprise, she just wasn’t tempted.

’I wanted to wait for real cell phones to come out before buying one. I never expected Wu Sheng would give one to me.’

Su Li stared blankly at the behemoth in front of her, her gaze shifting from Wu Sheng to the phone and back again.

"What’s with that expression?"

Wu Sheng found her reaction a little odd and explained,

"I know you said they’re heavy, but you often need to contact people. With this, it’ll be easier for Sister Hongqin and the others to reach you."

Of course, it would also be easier for him to contact her.

"...You shouldn’t have spent so much." Su Li finally managed to say after a pause.

Su Li thought that if she hadn’t bought a car beforehand, Wu Sheng might have bought one for her.

Since he didn’t buy a car, he bought a brick phone instead. This was an incredibly generous gesture.

"What do you mean, ’spent so much’?" Wu Sheng gently tapped Su Li’s nose. Just as he was about to lean in closer, he heard a cough.

It was her little aunt’s cough. Wu Sheng quickly stood up straight, and he and Su Li hurried out.

"Wu Sheng, if you have anything else to say to Su Li, say it quick. After that, it’s time for you to go."

The little aunt said with a grin, "In the few days before the wedding, it’s best if you two don’t see each other, you know?"

Su Li and Wu Sheng nodded. They had heard of this tradition.

"Isn’t it that you can’t see each other for three days before the wedding?" Wu Sheng asked after a moment of thought.

"I’m just giving you a heads-up so you can prepare. Besides, an extra day or two won’t hurt. Let’s do this: starting tomorrow, after you’ve been to the new house, you two are not to see each other again."

The little aunt was very good-natured.

Wu Sheng looked like he wanted to say something, but held back. In the end, he could only agree.

’Fine, I won’t see her. Once I get through the next couple of days, I’ll have Su Li as my wife. Then we can see each other every day!’

One day was spent busy with the betrothal gifts; the next was spent busy with Su Li’s dowry.

All the items that needed to be prepared according to old customs had been readied over the past few days, either by Su Li herself or with the help and guidance of her little aunt and others.

The new house where Su Li and Wu Sheng would live after their marriage had also been prepared long ago.

In fact, Wu Qihua had prepared it many years ago; it had just recently been redecorated.

Unlike a typical mother-in-law, Wu Qihua didn’t insist that her son and daughter-in-law live with her. Although a new suite had been prepared for them in the Wu Family home, with everything they could possibly need, she had no intention of having Wu Sheng and Su Li live there permanently.

In Wu Qihua’s own words:

"Everyone has different habits. Living together requires too much adjustment. Some couples spend their whole lives trying to adjust to each other and still fail, just bickering and fighting. There’s no need for us to go through all that and hurt our relationship."

"That boy, Wu Sheng... if he weren’t my son, I’d have kicked him out ages ago. It’s a good thing he’s not home often since he’s always with his unit. Otherwise, we’d definitely have a lot of conflicts."

"There’s an old saying: ’Too close, and you start to stink; from a distance, you smell sweet.’ Let’s not get to the stinking part. Let’s just stay sweet, like we are now."

Wu Qihua made her thoughts perfectly clear, and had promptly prepared a new house, giving Su Li and Wu Sheng a space of their own.