On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Peng Liang and He Ling got married.

Because they held their wedding at a hotel in the county town, all of the couple's relatives and friends went to the hotel for dinner.

He Wenlin's whole family went.

After a series of procedures were completed, the banquet finally began.

This is actually the part that everyone is most looking forward to.

Although the hotel wasn't high-end, the food tasted just like home, very delicious, and suited He Wenlin's taste perfectly.

Halfway through the meal, the handsome newlyweds came to offer their toasts.

He Wenlin took out two red envelopes, and He Wenjun, He Wenhua, and Lin Fei each took out a red envelope and placed it on the table.

Then, He Wenlin poured a bowl of beer on each red envelope to weigh it down. Afterwards, He Wenlin said with a smile, "Boss Peng, Boss He, you are both my friends. I will give you two red envelopes for your wedding, but the money is not so easy to take. Drink it all, and it's yours."

He Wenjun chimed in, "That's right, it's yours if you do it."

"After a few bowls of beer, you're probably going to get drunk," Peng Liang laughed. "Wen Hua, you're doing this too? Have you forgotten your divination on the sixth day of the first lunar month? What will happen then..."

He Wenhua was a coward. Upon hearing this, he quickly took away the bowl of beer and replaced it with a disposable cup that was a little over half full.

He Wenjun: "Brother, what are you afraid of? At worst, I'll drink it for you."

He Wenhua chuckled: "Never mind, I'll let him off this time."

Peng Liang then looked at He Wenjun and said with a smile, "Wenjun, you have a girlfriend now. Maybe this time next year, I'll be drinking your wedding wine. If you play like this today, do you believe I'll bring you a bottle of baijiu? And Lin Fei, you're both getting married after me. Do you believe I'll put a bottle of baijiu there?"

"Do you think I'm easily scared?" He Wenjun said. "Stop talking nonsense, do you want the red envelope or not? If so, let's do it."

"Yes, if they want a red envelope, then we'll do it."

Peng Liang, holding his cup, pointed at them and said, "Alright, you two remember this. When the time comes, I'm definitely betting a bottle of baijiu on you!"

He Wenjun: "Hey, if that's what you're saying, I'll get you a bottle of baijiu right now!"

Upon hearing this, Peng Liang quickly picked up the bowl of beer in front of him and drank it down.

The old lady at the next table, seeing them playing like this, joked, "If you let him drink so much, he won't be able to consummate the marriage tonight."

"Hahahaha." The people around them also laughed.

Peng Liang can actually drink a lot of beer; everyone knows his alcohol tolerance, otherwise he wouldn't dare to do this.

However, Peng Liang felt full after drinking two bowls, since he had been toasting people all the way here and had already drunk several cups before these two bowls.

But on the third bowl, his brother-in-law deliberately bumped into him, and he cooperated, pouring out more than half of the beer from the bowl. In the end, he essentially only drank the first two bowls.

The banquet ended around 2 a.m.

He Wenlin's family of five, along with the brothers He Wenhua and He Wenjun, went together to apply for Taiwan travel permits, planning to visit Taiwan after the New Year.

Since they were already there, He Wenlin asked them to get their passports and Hong Kong and Macau travel permits processed as well.

He Wenlin and her family of five had already obtained passports and travel permits to Hong Kong and Macau. They planned to visit the Olympic City in Hong Kong and also wanted to go abroad to Bali.

~

The next day was the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Early in the morning, before He Wenlin even got up, she heard arguing and cursing coming from her uncle's house.

Immediately following was a crackling sound.

He Wenlin put on her clothes and ran outside to see He Wenjun and He Wenhua beating Zhang Xintian.

Tang Ping kept wiping away her tears.

He Wenlin asked, "What happened?"

"What else could it be?" Old Mrs. He said irritably, "That little brat, during the New Year, came to his mother asking for 50,000 yuan to buy a car."

"Fifty thousand?" He Wenlin's eyes widened. "Did you think Auntie was printing money?"

“If we don’t give him money, he’ll start cursing, saying that Tang Ping only has her current husband in her heart and not him, and that she won’t acknowledge her as her mother anymore. Your brother couldn’t stand it and said, ‘Do you think your mother is printing money?’ Then he started cursing, cursing your brother’s own mother.” Old Mrs. He said, “Where did your brother say anything wrong? He just needs to be taught a lesson, he’s used to being beaten.”

Grandma He disapproved of Zhang Xintian, thinking he was no good son.

Because Tang Ping and He Dashun got married, and since they both have their own children, they keep a portion of their money separate, as they both need to plan for their children's future.

The old lady knew that Tang Ping had given Zhang Xintian money before. Zhang Xintian was such a grown man, yet he still asked his mother for money, asking for 50,000 yuan at a time. He would deny everything if she didn't give it to him. Is that something a human being would say?

Zhang Xintian was no match for the He brothers, He Wenhua and He Wenjun. He was beaten black and blue, and he hated the whole family to the core.

After the He brothers, He Wenhua and He Wenjun, let him go, they told him to get lost and never come back!

"Why can't I come? This is my mother's house!" Zhang Xintian remained defiant, glaring venomously at Tang Ping. "Are you just going to watch your two stepsons beat me? Are you my mother?"

“You insulted someone’s mother, who else would they hit if not you?” Tang Ping wiped away her tears. “Fifty thousand yuan, where am I supposed to get fifty thousand yuan for you? Those two brothers bought a car and a house, that’s because they earned it themselves. You, on the other hand, don’t work properly, you won’t even set up your business, all you do is go online and gamble. Even if I had mountains of gold and silver, it wouldn’t be enough for you to squander.”

"Fine, you won't give it to me, huh? Fine, then I'll disown you as my mother! Keep the money you earn for yourself, take it with you to your grave!" With that, Zhang Xintian left in a huff.

Upon hearing her biological son say this, Tang Ping's tears flowed like a broken string of pearls.

"How dare you talk to your mother like that, you brat?" Even the neighbors who were watching the commotion couldn't stand it anymore.

“If you want five hundred or five thousand, your mother will scrape together the money for you, even if she doesn’t have any. Fifty thousand yuan, how many families can come up with fifty thousand yuan?”

...

"None of your business!" Zhang Xintian snapped at everyone he met. "Mind your own business!"

...

Zhang Xin returned home in a rage, slamming the door shut.

When his sister saw him like this, she couldn't help but say, "What's wrong with you?"

"Shut up!" Zhang Xintian said irritably. "Got any money? Lend me five hundred?"

"I have no money."

"You're a master now, and your salary is over a thousand, how could you not have money? Lend me five hundred!"

"You borrow money from me every month, where am I supposed to get so much money to lend? Can't you just find a job yourself? I don't have any money!"

Ever since Zhang Yuhong disobeyed when she first entered the cake factory, wearing jewelry to work and being criticized by He Wenlin in a meeting, and then being lectured by Tang Ping, she has become much more obedient.

She is also very proper in her work and is willing to spend time and energy learning cake decorating. Now she earns a monthly salary of about 1,000 yuan, and there is also a bonus at the end of the year.

In 2004, this salary was quite good.