Unable to resist the urging of the crowd, Zhao Jingyu had no choice but to go inside and ask Xu Qingning, "Everyone wants you to go out and offer toasts, are you physically capable?"

He wouldn't force her if she didn't want to.

He never intended for her to leave in the first place.

"Okay, I'm much better." Seeing that he had changed into his new black suit, Xu Qingning went over to straighten his blue shirt collar and couldn't help but say with a smile, "You look quite handsome in a suit, and you would look even better with a tie."

Most men in that era wore Zhongshan suits, and Zhao Jingyu was the first person she had ever seen wearing a Western suit.

However, it's not hard to understand; he spends most of his time on ships, traveling all over the world, and is a man who has seen the world.

The new red cardigan and red corduroy pants he bought for her today are quite stylish for this era.

"I bought this suit through someone at the department store, but they were out of ties." Zhao Jingyu was quite surprised that she would accept wearing a suit and tie. Looking down at her pretty face, he couldn't help but tease her, "Are you interested in me?"

Because he had worn a suit a few times, the people in the tenement building called him a heretic and a hoodlum.

Unexpectedly, this woman has rather unique taste.

“I’ve got my eye on your suit.” Xu Qingning gave him a meaningful smile and took his arm. “We already have a child, so whether I like it or not doesn’t matter anymore.”

Even if you don't like him, you have to follow him.

He's her partner in raising her child!

"You like men like Xiao Tingshen, don't you?" Zhao Jingyu's lips curled into a mocking smile. "One day, you'll realize that I'm far superior to him. Besides being good at pretending, he doesn't have much ability. You have poor taste in men."

"On such a joyous occasion, let's not mention that unlucky man again." Xu Qingning looked up at him, her face innocent. "My taste in men is indeed not as good as your taste in women. For example, I am definitely much better than Tang Wenya."

"It seems you're not humble at all." Zhao Jingyu felt much better after hearing her say that Xiao Tingshen was unlucky. He let her take his arm and they went out the door side by side.

The groom was tall and handsome in a black suit, while the bride was beautiful and radiant in a red cardigan and red corduroy pants.

"The bride looks beautiful!"

"Oh my, Zhao Jingyu has really married a good wife."

Everyone who saw Xu Qingning showed expressions of amazement.

Xu Qingning didn't wear braids; her long, black hair fell casually over her shoulders. Her skin was very fair, and her slightly upturned peach blossom eyes were beautiful and lively, just like a movie star.

No wonder Zhao Jingyu got married in such a hurry. He was at sea for more than half a year, so it was already difficult for him to find a wife. Such a beautiful girl was willing to marry him, so he had to hurry up and bring her into the family.

Two leaders from Zhao Jingyu's workplace came to the main table. They sat at the main table with Zhao Futang, Yang Yuelan, Xu Jianguo, Jiang Yumei, and Liang Yufeng and her husband.

"Jingyu went to great lengths to propose marriage. He asked me for special permission and not only borrowed the company car, but also took whole pigs and sheep from our company's kitchen as dowry." Office Director Gao Dejian, wearing a brand-new Zhongshan suit, looked at the bride and groom walking out of the house and said with emotion, "They are a perfect match, a truly handsome man and a beautiful woman. Their future days will be increasingly happy."

"Thank you, leader. I appreciate your kind words." Zhao Futang immediately stood up to offer a toast. "I also wish our company continued prosperity and great success."

Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei silently raised their glasses in response.

The couple didn't say a word.

“Our Jingyu is handsome and very loyal.” Sitting next to Gao Dejian was Fang Meiyuan, a female leader in her forties or fifties. She was wearing a dress and looked dignified and elegant. She smiled and said to Xu Jianguo, “I was thinking of introducing my niece to him, but who knew he would get married so easily, and the bride is so beautiful. This guy is lucky. As the father-in-law, are you satisfied with this son-in-law?”

"Satisfied, satisfied." Xu Jianguo felt a little restrained sitting with such a high-ranking leader. The Ocean Shipping Company was a good company, and its leaders were all very impressive. In comparison, their No. 3 State-owned Cotton Mill was not up to par.

"Brother-in-law, didn't you disagree with their marriage? Why are you satisfied now?" Liang Yufeng had long disliked Xu Jianguo and said without regard for others, "If you were satisfied, you wouldn't have returned the betrothal gifts, would you?"

“Auntie, Qingning carried the bride price away herself, we didn’t return it.” Jiang Yumei felt a pang of heartache upon hearing about the bride price and rolled her eyes, saying, “You were there at the time, so you can’t just say things like that without knowing the facts.”

What about a dowry of a whole pig or a whole sheep?

They didn't benefit from it.

"I said that precisely because I was there." Liang Yufeng got angry when she saw Jiang Yumei, and then asked Xu Jianguo, "Brother-in-law, didn't you say that you didn't agree to their marriage that day, and that's why they took the bride price away?"

"Yu Feng, today is Qing Ning's big day. Do you really have to say such unpleasant things?" Xu Jianguo suspected that Liang Yu Feng was out of her mind. Why would she say such things on this occasion?

"Now you know these words are unpleasant to hear?" Liang Yufeng retorted sarcastically. "When you said you disagreed, you didn't consider Zhao Jingyu's feelings at all. Don't forget, Qingning is your biological daughter."

She has a loud voice.

The guests at the next table all looked over.

Tsk tsk, such a generous dowry, such a fine young man, and Xu Jianguo didn't even take a liking to him. He must have been deliberately making things difficult for Zhao Jingyu.

As expected, having a stepmother means having a stepfather!

Gao Dejian and Fang Meiyuan exchanged a glance and instantly understood what was going on. Both of them lost interest in talking to Xu Jianguo and turned to chat with Zhao Futang about things in the countryside, no longer paying attention to Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei.

Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei were so angry that their faces turned green.

But with so many people around, they couldn't very well argue with Liang Yufeng, so they could only swallow their anger.

After all, Tang Wenya will eventually marry into the family, and even if it's not for Xu Qingning's sake, they have to do it for Tang Wenya's.

Xiao Tingshen was also there. He was at a table with Wang Yaqiang and Liu Dawei. Tang Wenya originally wanted to sit there, but since their table was full of men who were smoking, drinking, and making crude jokes, she felt embarrassed to go over.

She sat at a table with Zhao Jingyu's two sisters-in-law and older sister, as well as the children. Fortunately, she and Xiao Tingshen were sitting back to back, so they could still exchange a few words.

It has to be said that rural people are rural people; their table manners are quite unsightly, and they only eat meat and vegetables.

The moment she picked up her chopsticks, all the meat on the plate was snatched up.

Zhao Jingyu led Xu Qingning from the main table, toasting them one by one. The leaders and elders all gave the couple earnest advice, wishing them a happy and harmonious life together.

Apart from the main table and the tables of Zhao Jingyu and his brothers, Xu Qingning didn't recognize anyone at the other tables.

It doesn't matter if she doesn't know him. She will just say whatever Zhao Jingyu says. She just needs to put on a smile, hold a glass of water, and accept everyone's blessings.

She has never been married in real life, but she has attended several weddings. Although the times are different, they are generally similar!

When we got to the brothers' table, they started making a fuss.

Wang Yaqiang prepared red rope and wedding candy, and stood excitedly on the chair, insisting that the two of them bite the candy tied to the red rope.

Zhao Jingyu knew their little trick; they just wanted him to kiss Xu Qingning. To avoid embarrassing Xu Qingning, he simply stuffed all the candies into his mouth.

This drew another round of laughter from the crowd.

Wang Yaqiang and the others knew that Xu Qingning was pregnant, so they made a little fuss and that was it. If they made any more trouble, their boss would get angry.

"Jingyu, I wish you happiness." Xiao Tingshen looked at the two of them with a smile in his eyes, "and I also hope our friendship will last forever."

"Thank you!" Zhao Jingyu clinked glasses with him and drank it all in one gulp. "I'm afraid I won't be able to attend your wedding banquet. I'll make it up to you when I get back."

"Definitely." Xiao Tingshen knew that he would be going to sea in a couple of days and would indeed miss his and Tang Wenya's wedding banquet.

Xu Qingning held a glass of water, took a symbolic sip, and glanced at Xiao Tingshen. It turned out that there could be fake friendships between men, like Zhao Jingyu and Xiao Tingshen.

Xiao Tingshen glanced at Xu Qingning but said nothing.

Xu Qingning's pursuit of him had already caused him trouble. It's good that she got married, so that he and Tang Wenya won't have any misunderstandings because of her in the future.

In front of Xiao Tingshen, Tang Wenya's toast to Zhao Jingyu and Xu Qingning was still very friendly: "Wishing you a happy marriage and a blissful life together."

"Thank you, sister," Xu Qingning said with a smile. "I also wish you all your dreams come true and everything goes smoothly."

As long as Tang Wenya speaks politely, she won't make things difficult for her.

Otherwise, she would definitely have retorted.

After toasting, Xu Qingning went back into the house amidst the varied expressions of the crowd.

Yang Yuelan brought the food in for her: "Eat first, I'll have Jingyu come in and keep you company later."

"Thank you, Mom." Xu Qingning smiled.

Tang Wenya originally thought that Zhao Jingyu and Xu Qingning's wedding banquet would be rushed and very shabby.

Surprisingly, it wasn't like that at all. The meat dishes, vegetable dishes, and cold dishes were all very well made, even comparable to a wedding banquet held in a guesthouse.

Seeing the lively scene made her feel depressed.

But seeing Wu Xiufang and Zhou Chunyan sitting next to her, she felt inexplicably more at ease. No matter how much dowry Zhao Jingyu gave, it couldn't compare to Xiao Tingshen's.

Just look at Zhao Jingyu's two sisters-in-law; these two families are absolutely bottomless pits that can never be filled.

With several poor relatives like these, Xu Qingning's future is definitely not going to be easy.

Xiao Tingshen was different.

He is the only son in his family, so he doesn't have many ties. Moreover, his parents will support the young couple after marriage, so their life will definitely be better than Xu Qingning's.

Thinking of this, she turned around and whispered to Xiao Tingshen, "Come to my house tonight, I have something to tell you."

"Don't worry, our family is also making preparations." Xiao Tingshen knew that Tang Wenya was anxious about Zhao Jingyu and Xu Qingning's wedding banquet, so he comforted her, "My mother said that there is a custom in Jiaodong City that sisters from the same family cannot get married in the same month. Since Xu Qingning got married first, then we will get married next month. It won't make a difference if we don't get married in one month."

"Then let's try to arrange it at the beginning of next month. You know, I don't want to delay any longer." Tang Wenya hadn't heard of this custom and was a little disappointed, but she still reminded him, "We don't need to be too extravagant, just something decent will do."

"I know." Xiao Tingshen nodded and quietly squeezed her hand. "Trust me, our wedding banquet will be even better."

"I believe you." Tang Wenya looked at his handsome face, smiled at him, and then turned back to continue eating.

In a good mood, she found Wu Xiufang, Zhou Chunyan, and Zhao Lei much more agreeable. She even took out some candy from her pocket and gave it to the two children: "Here, Auntie will give you some candy."

The two children took it, looked at her, and chuckled.

Zhou Chunyan sat next to Tang Wenya. Knowing that she was from Xu Qingning's family, and seeing that she had neat braids, was handing out candy to the children, and was dressed very fashionably, Zhou Chunyan felt a little favorably toward her: "Are you Xu Qingning's sister?"

"No, it's my older sister," Tang Wenya replied gently.

"Oh, it's the older sister!" Zhou Chunyan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "That's interesting. The younger sister got married before the older sister."

“Her situation is special, so she has to get married sooner rather than later…” Tang Wenya hesitated, then, seeing Wu Xiufang and Zhao Lei looking at her, she smiled and said, “You’re all family, you must already know, anyway, it’s a good thing!”

"You've got it?" Zhao Lei asked suspiciously.

Tang Wenya smiled but remained silent.

Hey everyone, second update!