novellhall Chapter 978 - 851: The Wedding
Chapter 978 - 851: The Wedding
Zhang Guoqing seated Zhou Jiao next to his sisters-in-law. The table was full of familiar faces, so he wasn’t worried about anyone making things difficult for his wife. He took the three brothers who promised not to embarrass their grandfather to the front."Have a glass of water to warm up first. Where were you just now? Were you freezing outside? My eldest sister-in-law and I looked for you for a long time."
Zhou Jiao accepted the cup Lin Juhua handed her and smiled at them, "I just ran into someone familiar and chatted a bit."
"Jiao Jiao, have you seen Yuanyuan’s wedding quilts?" Huang Cuilan lowered her voice, "I was stunned in the new room just now. One red bed, one green bed, one thin and one thick, four sets in total, all with silk covers. And this isn’t even counting the blankets and towel blankets. I heard her family prepared for the whole four years."
"It made my heart race. If you’re spending money on school for a daughter and still need such a large dowry, who can afford to raise a daughter? I’m already worried about what to do with Mai Miao in the future."
How shallow-eyed!
Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of her mouth as she listened.
Lin Juhua was sitting next to Zhou Jiao, who was in between her and Huang Cuilan. Huang’s voice was soft and the room was buzzing with conversations, so she didn’t catch what Huang Cuilan said, but judging by her sister-in-law’s expression, it probably wasn’t anything good.
Seeing this, she smiled and said, "Eldest sister-in-law, no matter how much you like Jiao Jiao, you can’t ignore us, right?"
The young wives at the table immediately joined in teasing, and the atmosphere eased up considerably.
Zhou Jiao half-heartedly chimed in a few words, her glance sweeping toward the four father and sons at the front. She couldn’t help but wonder what was being said over there, with all the laughter and enjoyment.
...
"Will you stay until after the New Year this time?"
Zhou Jiao shook her head, "We’re leaving tomorrow; we need to rush back to work."
"Such a pity. Next time you come back, be sure to visit my house. I live near your small courtyard, you should still remember where, right?"
Zhou Jiao nodded with a light smile.
"Jiao Jiao, come with your aunt for a moment." Unknown when, Cheng Hongli had appeared beside her. "You girls keep chatting; I’m borrowing her for a bit."
Zhou Jiao glanced at Cheng Hongli’s hand holding hers, smiled helplessly, and followed her away. The ceremony was about to commence; she wondered if there was anything she could help with.
Indeed, Cheng Hongli just brought her to the front to take a seat. "We’ll sit in the front so we can see Yuanyuan clearly. Your mother-in-law and Aunt Zuo are waiting for you there."
Seated at the front, Zhang Guoqing waved her over when he saw her. He then leaned down to joke with a young man in his thirties next to him, "Comrade Lao Yu, Comrade Zhou Jiao is here."
"I knew my sister was here a long time ago; do I need your reminder?" The other man gave him a sideways glance.
"You’re so arrogant; my hands are itching now."
"Go ahead. I’m not afraid of you now. Last time you fooled me and gave me a headache for two days. Watch out when New Year’s comes; I’ll make you drink until you drop."
Zuo Lin was nearby and raised his eyebrows in surprise at their familiar banter. From his investigation, this workgroup leader wasn’t from Beijing.
At the same time, as Zhou Jiao approached, she was also curious. She greeted everyone and sat close to Zhang Guoqing, intentionally observing her surroundings.
"Stop looking; your sister-in-law isn’t here."
Zhou Jiao moved a step forward and asked in a low voice, "How come I didn’t hear you being sent over? Did you make a mistake?" Of course, this was a joke, seeing that he was invited as an honored guest.
Yu Shihai winked at her and whispered, "Besides me, several of your other brothers also went to work in various places; let’s talk when we get home."
Hehe... Whenever pals close to Zhang Guoqing were around, they loved teasing him, so Zhou Jiao had many brothers, and Zhang Guoqing naturally gained quite a few self-proclaimed "brothers-in-law."
Zhou Jiao knowingly blinked and nudged Zhang Guoqing. Certain people were definitely in the investigation team and didn’t want to avoid suspicion, yet he chatted so warmly.
Zhang Guoqing gave her a comforting smile. Unlike his wife, who avoided issues, he liked to take the initiative. Knowing this, he decided to confront their relationship to prevent any future incidents where people would come from the hometown to intercede.
He even had the excuse ready - "You see, that person is my buddy, too, but there’s still no room for leniency; asking me to intercede won’t work."
Hehe... In ensuring no wrongful cases occurred, Zhang Guoqing wouldn’t believe these people were entirely innocent of corruption, embezzlement, or pocket-filling.
Even amidst laughter and chatter, the table was full of shrewd people; Zhou Jiao had no desire to engage much with Yu Shihai.
Especially since Yu Shihai and his wife had always taken good care of her, she didn’t want others to use her as a pretext to get close to Yu Shihai.
...
In the cafeteria, dishes began to be served one after another. A plate of sautéed pork liver with cabbage, a plate of braised pork with beans, a plate of sweet and sour ribs, a plate of braised river fish, and a large bowl of lamb offal soup.
Four dishes and a soup, accompanied by a basket of mixed-grain steamed rolls at each table.
Unlike autumn when fruits and vegetables were in season, it was already the twelfth lunar month, and having such a standard was already a grand gesture nowadays.
In Zhou Jiao’s workplace, many colleagues had very simple weddings.
Before getting married, they applied for a matrimonial room to move out from the collective dormitory, then received a set of double beds and tables and chairs from the unit. The house and furniture still belonged to the unit, with usage fees deducted from their salary each month.
The so-called wedding quilt was just combining their existing bedding, with one or two new quilts for better-off families; the outfits for the wedding day were usually their regular clothes, cleaned and pressed. There was no dining at restaurants or banquets, just a tea party with a few pieces of wedding candy to sweeten the mouths.
As the food was brought out, a young man wearing glasses appeared in the front space where a portrait of Chairman Mao hung, starting to play the accordion with the familiar melody of "The East is Red."
"The bride is coming..."
Amidst the lively laughter, a group of young people escorted Zhang Yuntao, grinning foolishly, and the blushing Zhao Yuanyuan.
Zhou Jiao glanced at the well-behaved three brothers sitting beside her, clapping along with the elders, then took in the bunch of children rushing forward, hiding a smile.
As the melody of "Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman" played, Cheng Hongli’s eyes were already red at the sight of her daughter upfront. It wasn’t until Mother Zhang patted her hand that she snapped out of it and smiled.
With the bride welcomed, the wedding formally began.
Li Qinglin’s father, Li Aiguo, acted as the marriage officiant, as Zhao Yuanyuan and her husband held their marriage certificate like a diploma, declaring their vows at the front.
"Forever loyal to the Chairman, committed to the socialist path..., unified and helping each other, diligent in managing the household, mutual learning, and progressing together..."
After the solemn ceremony, once Li Aiguo stepped down, the newly minted couple became the subject of everyone’s good-natured teasing, and the traditional cigarette offering ceremony was moved to their home for the evening.
"Lovers united as a couple." This joyful feast was both grand and lively, and as it concluded in the evening, guests began to gradually disperse, leaving only those who would stay overnight.