Throughout the entire safe zone, there were no shops selling wedding dresses; only rentals were available, and not just any establishment could offer them. Rentals were exclusively handled by the Civil Affairs Department in each sub-zone.
It was an official establishment.
There was no alternative. The scarcity of both traditional Chinese and Western wedding attire meant the safe zone had no time to find people to produce them. Thus, collected wedding dresses were offered for rent to fulfill the wedding needs of the safe zone's populace.
After handing over their catch to the guards on duty, Lin Yuan and Wu Tian boarded a commuter vehicle heading to the Civil Affairs Department in the South Second District.
The location was still quite a distance from the north city gate, and the commuter vehicle took 40 minutes to arrive.
Lin Shouyi and Wang Yixin had already been waiting there for quite some time. Weddings and marriage registrations at the Civil Affairs Department required appointments.
They had arrived early and secured the first slot.
"Meng Yue, come quickly. Mom has picked out a few for you to look at. Deposits have already been paid, and if we're any later, the deposits will be returned, and others will get to choose," Wang Yixin said as soon as Lin Yuan and his companion alighted from the vehicle, eagerly pulling her chosen daughter-in-law to select clothes.
Lin Yuan and Lin Shouyi, being ignored, exchanged glances and offered helpless smiles.
"It seems that from now on, I'll have to be a henpecked husband too~" Dad Lin chuckled with a hint of schadenfreude.
Lin Yuan retorted without backing down, "Meng Yue stayed in Yuezhou for several years before returning. I think Mom might have more authentic Shuzhou characteristics, hahahaha (ಡwಡ)hiahiahia!"
"Cough, cough, don't talk nonsense. This is called being free-spirited and lively. I don't like gentle and delicate girls from Jiangnan. My stomach is quite good; I can't stomach 'soft rice.' This little chili of yours suits my appetite perfectly."
"I understand, I understand, Dad. Don't force yourself. Speak your mind freely; don't hold back."
"Hey, that's where you're wrong. What grievances could I possibly have? Don't you go spreading rumors."
"I never said grievances, you said it yourself!"
"Alright, you're trying to trick your dad now."
The process of selecting a wedding dress didn't take too long, as the Civil Affairs Department in the South Second District only had 36 wedding outfits available for rent. Of these, 30 were Western-style wedding dresses, and 6 were traditional Chinese wedding dresses.
Wu Tian had originally wanted to experience Western romance. However, the moment she saw the outfit displayed in the very center of the traditional Chinese wedding dress section, her eyes were captivated.
A black silk cap, a crimson robe.
Ming Dynasty wedding attire.
Left side, the Zhou and Tang dynasty styles did not satisfy her. The Xiuhe and dragon-phoenix褂 on the right also felt somewhat inappropriate.
She seemed to have instantly fallen in love with the Ming Dynasty wedding attire in the middle. It was as if this was the scene from her dreams. It was also a wedding scene where she wore the phoenix coronet and cape seen on television, with the sounds of suona echoing through the heavens beside her. She sat in a red palanquin, lifted the curtain, and saw a sky full of brilliant fireworks.
These were merely the small dreams of her youth.
But now, the dream was about to come true.
The staff at the Civil Affairs Department, seeing Wu Tian gazing fixedly at the wedding dress in the center, smiled slightly. "Miss, the traditional Chinese wedding dresses here were delivered just a few days ago, and no one has rented them yet. They are a bit expensive, and this Ming Dynasty wedding attire is the most costly."
"I'll take this one."
Wu Tian was still deliberating when Lin Yuan entered from outside. Without asking any questions, he immediately agreed.
After the second military merit points were credited, the original members of their team were all rich. They weren't lacking this amount.
It wasn't a purchase; renting for a day wouldn't bankrupt Lin Yuan.
"Meng Yue, do you really want to choose this one? But there are no tall horses, no palanquins carried by eight bearers, not even a red embroidered ball. Are you okay with that?" Lin Yuan was a little worried that without these elements, the wedding might not be perfect.
"It's alright. Even if we wore Western wedding attire, we don't have churches, pastors, or rings here. We're even using borrowed ones. So, the steps aren't that important, as long as it's us in the end.
This was a scene I dreamed of as a child, so I want to choose it." Wu Tian felt a little touched. Was this man in front of her pampering her just now?
He's really opened up (/w＼) shy~
"Okay, please pay 1500 work points," the staff member said, seeing Lin Yuan's attitude, without any further comment, maintaining a smile.
Holy cow! _(:з」∠)_
So expensive!
Although his heart cried out in pain, he paid the money cheerfully.
Upon seeing the payment confirmation, the staff member nodded, called over two girls, and carefully took out the outfit, placing the accessories and various small items into boxes.
The remaining main part of the dress was folded according to the learned methods, ensuring no creases when unfolded.
"Comrade, the rented attire has been packed. We are offering complimentary photography and makeup services, as well as dedicated car transportation. Please proceed to the marriage registration office to process your marriage certificate now."
Although they had secured the first spot, there were still many people choosing to get married that day. There were 5 other couples in the South Second District.
Fortunately, the rental price of the Ming Dynasty wedding attire was very high, so the remaining five couples did not choose it. The marriage certificate processing could also be done by queueing according to appointment and arrival time.
Therefore, they had no complaints. Instead, they offered words of blessing to Lin Yuan's parents, who were waiting there.
"Look at the camera, look at the camera. Stand closer together, show a bit more of your eyebrows. Okay! Perfect!!"
Lin Yuan and Wu Tian both had clean faces, but their skin conditions were not very good. Prolonged training and combat prevented them from seriously taking care of their skin.
Usually, they just squeezed out some facial cleanser to get by.
Wu Tian was doing better, being a girl, she tried to be more refined when conditions allowed. Lin Yuan, being a man, didn't bother; his face was already a bit rough.
Fortunately, with touch-up makeup, both of them appeared fair-skinned and beautiful, bright and handsome, with excellent气质 in the photos.
"The photos are being processed. Please confirm if there are any errors in the information you've filled out. If you're sure, please give me your identity card so it can be entered into the system."
"Okay."