In the early summer of 1986, a warm breeze carrying the fragrance of locust blossoms drifted through the city streets, rustling the branches and leaves of the old locust tree in front of the Shen family's house. Lin Wanqiu was standing in the yard, airing out the newly harvested cotton. The white cotton fibers shimmered softly in the sunlight, much like the tenderness welling up in her heart at that moment. Shen Tingzhou gently embraced her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head, his voice carrying the warmth unique to early summer: "Wanqiu, let's set the wedding for the sixth day of next month. It's an auspicious day, and the children will be on summer vacation then, so it can be a lively celebration."

Lin Wanqiu paused, a few cotton fibers slipping from her fingers. She turned around, meeting Shen Tingzhou's deep eyes. Those eyes had once reflected the smoke of battle and the bitterness of separation, but now they held only her image, like obsidian bathed in warm water, shining so brightly it warmed one's heart. "Are you really going to have one?" she asked softly, her fingertips unconsciously clutching the hem of Shen Tingzhou's clothes—in her past life as a food blogger, she had witnessed countless grand weddings, but she had never imagined that she could have a ceremony of her own in the late 1960s.

"Of course I'll do it." Shen Tingzhou held her hand, his fingertips tracing the thin calluses on her palm, marks left from years of cooking and farming, which he considered more precious than any jewel. "When you married me, all we had was an old quilt and two rough porcelain bowls, not even a decent new dress. You've suffered with me all these years, but now that things are better, I have to make sure you have a grand wedding, so everyone knows that you, Lin Wanqiu, are my only wife in this life."

These words were like a pebble thrown into a still lake, rippling outwards. She recalled struggling in the snow wrapped in a tattered cotton-padded coat when she first transmigrated, remembered Old Mrs. Shen's harsh face, Zhang Lan's greedy eyes, and Shen Nian'an's thin, bean sprout-like appearance. Those bitter days, like faded old cloth, were now covered by layers of warmth before her, making her nose tingle slightly. "Okay," she looked up at Shen Tingzhou, a bright smile playing on her lips, "Then we must prepare well, so the children can be happy too."

When the news reached Old Mrs. Shen's ears, she was sitting in the living room embroidering tiger-head shoes for Shen Nianxi. The needlework suddenly stopped, the needle poking a small red dot on her fingertip, but she was completely unaware, only staring wide-eyed at Shen Tingzhou: "You... really want to hold a wedding ceremony?" These days she had learned a lot of new ideas from Lin Wanqiu, but she still felt that "holding a wedding ceremony" was a novel thing - in her time, couples didn't have so many rules, it was good enough to be able to live together.

Shen Tingzhou smiled and nodded, placing the silk fabric he had just bought from the department store on the table. It was a piece of pomegranate-red soft satin, gleaming delicately under the light. "Mother, this is the fabric for Wanqiu's wedding dress. Please take a look and see if it fits." Old Mrs. Shen reached out and touched the fabric, feeling its silky smooth texture, even more exquisite than the best fabric she had ever seen in her youth. Looking at the earnestness in Shen Tingzhou's eyes, and remembering how kind Lin Wanqiu had always been to her, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. "Okay, okay, I'll make it for her. I promise it will be beautiful, making Wanqiu even more presentable than the girls in the city."

In the days that followed, the entire Shen family was busy. Shen Tingzhou was busy arranging a venue—he specially booked the banquet hall of the "Red Flag Hotel," the largest state-owned hotel in the city, and asked his comrades-in-arms to bring colorful balloons and red carpets from other places, so that the venue would be decorated in a festive and lively manner. Lin Wanqiu was busy preparing wedding candies and invitations. She used sesame candy and peanut brittle from her own food workshop to make wedding candies, and she personally pasted a red paper-cut "double happiness" character on each invitation, the warmth of her fingertips seemingly transmitted through the red paper.

Shen Nian'an and Shen Nianxi were even busier than usual. Shen Nian'an, now twelve years old, had grown into a handsome young man. He took the initiative to write the invitations, writing each stroke carefully, even checking the names of his father's comrades several times, afraid of making a mistake. Shen Nianxi, only six years old, wore two pigtails and followed her grandmother around every day, helping her thread the needle. Although she often threaded the needle incorrectly, she was still very enthusiastic: "Grandma, I want to embroider little phoenixes on Mom's wedding dress, so that Mom will look like a fairy!" Grandma Shen was amused by her and laughed heartily. But as she laughed, tears welled up in her eyes—she had never imagined in her life that she could have such a harmonious family, and that she could personally make a wedding dress for the daughter-in-law whom she had once made things difficult for.

The day before the wedding, the banquet hall of the Hongqi Hotel was completely transformed. A red carpet stretched from the entrance to the center of the stage, with colorful balloons hanging on either side, each tied with a red paper strip bearing the auspicious phrases "May you have a long and happy marriage" and "May you be forever united." In the center of the stage stood a long table covered with a white tablecloth, upon which rested two large red thermos flasks and a set of brand-new enamel mugs, each adorned with the character "囍" (double happiness), shimmering under the lights. Shen Tingzhou stood in the banquet hall, gazing at the scene before him, his heart filled with anticipation—he imagined Lin Wanqiu walking in tomorrow in her red wedding dress, imagined the smile on her face, and his heart softened as if bathed in warm water.

Lin Wanqiu was currently trying on her wedding dress at home. Old Mrs. Shen, with her exquisite craftsmanship, had transformed the pomegranate-red satin into a beautiful gown in just half a month. The collar and cuffs were embroidered with delicate lotus scrolls, and the hem was adorned with two phoenixes with outstretched wings, their tail feathers outlined in gold thread, shimmering brilliantly under the light. Standing before the mirror, Lin Wanqiu looked at herself in the red wedding dress, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She reached out and touched the phoenixes on the hem, feeling the smooth silk against her fingertips. She seemed to hear the voices of her parents urging her to marry in her past life, and she recalled Shen Tingzhou's protection of her after she transmigrated, and the children's dependence on her. These memories intertwined, filling her heart with happiness—she had truly found her own happiness in this unfamiliar era.

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