Jijiu Village hadn't produced a scholar in more than ten years, but Fei Lian passed the exam when he was still a young man. Even the village chief went to praise him. For a time, the Fei family was in great glory.

Originally, Madam Fei was going to hold a grand banquet, and everyone in the village was secretly preparing to attend the banquet. However, the Fei family only invited a few wealthy families in the village and their own close relatives, and did not allow anyone else to join in the fun. Even the Xu family did not receive an invitation.

This made Xu Shaochun and Liu Xianglan very angry: "What does the Fei family mean! Now that he has passed the examination, they think it is a big deal. They said it was nice before, but now they have changed their mind. It is really chilling!"

Liu Xianglan was cursing in the yard. Xu Shaochun felt uncomfortable as she listened to her mother's increasingly unpleasant words. If the marriage with the Fei family could not be completed, she would have to choose another family. However, there was no other scholar in the village for her to choose from. There was an old scholar, and his grandson was as old as herself.

She was anxious, but she still tried to help the Fei family make excuses: "Maybe we didn't know the way out. Now they just asked us to come over for dinner. Wouldn't that tell everyone in the village that the two families are engaged?"

Liu Xianglan's eyes widened: "It's just right to let the villagers know about this during the banquet. I think the Fei family wants to change their minds. We really can't get along!"

"Mother, you can't say that. After all, Doctor Fei has passed the imperial examination, so his status is naturally higher than before."

When Xu He came back from outside, he saw the mother and daughter complaining. He knew it was about the Fei family's affairs without asking. To be honest, he didn't know whether Fei Lian would come to his house to propose marriage. But whether he did or not, it was none of his business. After March, time passed quickly and it was less than ten days away from his wedding.

The piece of red cloth I brought back from the city has just been cut. If I don’t hurry up, I’m afraid I won’t be able to wear a wedding dress on my wedding day. If it weren't for the busy farming season when I was the only one to take care of the land at home, this wouldn't have happened.

He walked into the house, washed his hands and went back to his room to make clothes. Xu Shaochun passed by outside, glanced at the red in the room, his eyes felt a little hot, he snorted and went back to his room.

Xu He sewed the wedding dress with great care, and the money for the cloth was given to him by Xu Changren.

Most of the family's money was in Liu Xianglan's hands, so she naturally refused to give her money to buy cloth for clothes.

Xu Changren didn't like to ask about the trivial matters at home, but he thought that if he didn't even have a wedding dress when he got married, the villagers would definitely laugh at him, and the Zhang family would also be unhappy. Men like to save face, so he called Xu He over and took out some money.

Liu Xianglan did not argue with Xu Changren about this matter because Zhang Fang gave the betrothal gift.

The money was not much, and the cloth they bought was not of good quality, but Xu He was already very satisfied. When he was sick, Liu Xianglan was reluctant to spend money on his treatment, so it was already great that his family could give him money to buy cloth. Anyway, this wedding dress will only be worn once before it will be put in the bottom of the closet. The material is too good and he feels it is a pity. As long as it is festive, it will be fine when it goes to the Zhang family.

He sewed clothes and let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know what Zhang Fangyuan was busy with recently. He hadn't shown up since he had dinner at home last time, and he never came to the fields to look for him again.

Zhang Fangyuan is really busy these days. For the wedding banquet, he has to start shopping early in the morning and hire a cook who can cook a village banquet. Apart from these, he has to invite villagers to come for a banquet. It may not seem like a troublesome job, but when all these things accumulate, it is very tiring.

He was the only one in the Zhang family, so naturally he was busier than the average family in getting married. Fortunately, his fourth uncle's wife helped with the affairs, otherwise he would have no idea where to start by himself.

"I see you've got enough." He bought a large portion of pork, chicken, duck, and fish. As for side dishes, he had them in the fields at home. "The house is also in good shape."

New wardrobe, dressing table, new quilt...

Zhang Shicheng walked around the room and expressed his satisfaction: "We should invite all the cousins ​​of the Zhang family to join in the fun. When your father was alive, he was a bit of a taciturn person, but he loved fun. Every time he came home to do things, he would be very happy and busy."

Zhang Fangyuan gave a bitter smile when he heard this. Most people with a discerning eye would think that his father had only been dead for seven or eight years. But in fact, in Zhang Fangyuan's eyes, his father had been dead for decades. It was sad to say the least. Although he was reborn, he was not able to do so while his parents were still alive.

Zhang Shicheng clearly felt that the person next to him had a heavy breath, and he sighed slightly.

"Please come, all of you." Although many of his father's brothers and sisters did not get along, it was indeed difficult for a family with many children to make sure that all brothers and sisters loved each other. There would always be rifts and unhappiness. His marriage was a happy event, and if he did not invite all his relatives, outsiders would laugh at him: "But I'm afraid that the second aunt can't come."

There were six brothers and sisters in Zhang Fangyuan's father's generation, namely Zhang Fangyuan's eldest uncle, second aunt, third aunt, fourth uncle, sixth uncle, and the fifth one was his father. Among them, his eldest uncle inherited the old house of his grandparents, which was in the village. His second aunt married far away, his third aunt died when she was a child, his fourth uncle was Zhang Shicheng, the uncle closest to him, and the next uncle was his sixth uncle.

His sixth uncle was the youngest of his grandparents and the old couple's most beloved son. He got the most money when the family was divided. His sixth uncle was also quite capable. After the division, he did not make a living in the village, but sold the land he was allocated and used the money to buy a house in the city. Now his family all make a living in the city.

Zhang Shicheng said, "There's nothing we can do about it since your second aunt married far away. Not to mention you, I haven't seen her for more than ten years. It's really a miserable life." He sighed.

"I asked someone to write a letter for you and sent it to your second aunt. Let's see if she can come."

Zhang Fangyuan responded: "If Second Aunt comes, I will definitely entertain her well."

Zhang Shicheng nodded. "Your uncle is coming. When you went to propose marriage, you asked me about it. I told you the day you would do it. As for Lao Liu, I don't have much contact with him. You are making a living in the city anyway, so you can go and call him on the way."

"good."

"As for the rest of the villagers, I will go and greet them."

As the day drew closer to the wedding banquet, the Zhang family became more and more lively. No one in the village was invited to the banquet by the Fei family, but Zhang Fangyuan's family invited them instead, and the villagers were happy to go.

The villagers agreed to come and show their support, and it was even easier for Zhang Fangyuan to ask for help when he went to their homes to borrow tables, benches, bowls and dishes for the banquet. Some village women not only borrowed things, but for Zhang Shicheng's sake, they were willing to put down their day's work and go to Zhang Fangyuan's house early to help. The day before the wedding banquet, they started building a temporary earthen stove, boiling water, slaughtering chickens and ducks, and preparing dishes. People were coming in and out. Zhang Fangyuan's house had not been so lively for a long time.

At one time, everyone was helping out. Even his fourth uncle and aunt were in charge of receiving and greeting guests. As the host, Zhang Fangyuan didn't have much to do, and ended up becoming the idlest person. Seeing that the house was full of people, Zhang Fangyuan told the chef who was invited to prepare the banquet that he should prepare two main dishes just to entertain the people who came to help, and not to be stingy.

Taking advantage of the free time, he slipped out the back door.

The wedding was tomorrow, and he didn't expect to find Xu He outside today. It was not a good idea to go to Xu's house to look for him today. He walked around the back of Xu's house, picked a handful of locust leaves, rolled them into a ball and threw them at the back window of Xu's house. There was a noise in the house, and he exchanged a glance with the person who came to open the window: "Haitang Bay."

After saying these three words, he turned and left.

…

"Why do you come to see me today? Shouldn't your family be busy right now?"

As soon as Zhang Fangyuan left, Xu He rushed out. He jogged all the way but still couldn't catch up with him. He was breathing slightly and looking at the man sitting on the grass who seemed to be in deep thought.

Zhang Fangyuan turned his head to look at someone he hadn't seen for several days, patted the grass beside him, and motioned Xu He to sit down.

"I haven't come to see you for a while."

Xu He responded: "Yeah."

Zhang Fangyuan glanced at Xu He, who sat next to him as he said, but there was a distance of one person between them.

He frowned slightly, moved his butt, and immediately moved closer. Seeing that Xu He was only looking ahead and not looking at him, he couldn't help but said sourly: "Don't you miss me?"

Xu He's eyes moved, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Don't change the subject!" Zhang Fangyuan frowned, looking as childish as a kid who demands his parents buy him candy at the market. He didn't want to hear anything else.

Xu He's ears turned red: "Yes."

Zhang Fangyuan was a little unhappy with the ambiguous answer, but thinking that they were getting married tomorrow, it would be inappropriate for them to quarrel at this time.

"Is everything ready at home?"

Xu He nodded slightly. There was nothing to prepare. The Xu family would not prepare much dowry for him, and all he had to prepare was a wedding dress. Besides, his family was currently annoyed about Xu Shaochun's marriage and had no intention of caring about him.

"Then...will you miss your home?"

"Won't."

Not to mention that they were from the same village and saw each other often, even if they hadn't seen each other for a long time, he didn't feel that they were inseparable.

Zhang Fangyuan felt relieved when he heard the voice. He had seen weddings in the village. Usually, the wedding party had loud gongs and drums, laughter and joy, while the bride and groom had tears in their eyes.

"Nervous?"

Xu He pursed his lips and said honestly, "A little bit." He had never been married, and no one would not be nervous when encountering such a major event in life.

He lowered his eyes slightly, but if this person was Zhang Fangyuan, he did not seem to be worried about the uncertain future, but rather looking forward to the future.

A hand suddenly stretched out in front of me and slowly spread out like a small boat. Xu He hesitated for a moment and gently placed his hand on it. Zhang Fangyuan immediately held his own hand and wrapped his hand, which was a little cold. The boat turned into a blue brick house that could shelter from the wind and rain: "Don't be nervous. This is my first time getting married too."

Although it’s a little strange and there are many things I don’t understand, I still say: “I will protect you.”