On October 27th, the sky was gloomy when I woke up.

Li Weijun got up early this morning to prepare for the wedding ceremony and tidied himself up neatly.

The oxcart outside had long been washed clean by Liu Yuliang, without a trace of manure or dirt. He had even built a shed with reed mats and pasted a large red "double happiness" character on it.

Inside the oxcart were four bundles of vermicelli with the character for "happiness" pasted on them, a whole piece of plump hindquarter meat, two slices of spare ribs, and four bottles of Lutai Chun liquor, tied together in pairs with red yarn, and each bottle had a "happiness" character cut out of red paper pasted on it.

Next came one pound each of peanuts, red dates, chestnuts, and melon seeds—these were the four dried fruits, packed in a small cloth bag.

There aren't many fresh fruits available in winter, so we prepared four large watermelons, round and cute, which is quite a presentable gift.

Everything is put into the Luo, and the whole Luo is called "Cui Zhuang Shi Luo".

The cloth is woven from wicker twigs; it comes in rectangular and square shapes. The one in the picture is 1.8 meters long and 80 centimeters wide.

Li Jin and Zhao Sufang didn't get enough rest yesterday; they had dark circles under their eyes and weren't in good spirits.

Li Weijun looked up at the gloomy sky, where the sun was nowhere to be seen, and muttered to himself that Grandma Jiang had been watching him for a long time and he hoped it wouldn't snow tomorrow!

Li Xiangdong was helping Li Yan try on clothes, specifically the white fox fur coat he had bought from Huaiguo. The little girl was quite conscious of her appearance now; ever since she saw the coat, she had insisted on wearing it.

It was a cold day, so Li Xiangdong helped Li Yan button up her clothes. The little girl had a red dot on her forehead, and her big, round, grape-like eyes looked just like the dolls in New Year's paintings.

Hearing his elder brother's unpleasant words, Li Xiangdong retorted sarcastically, "Didn't you beg my master to choose an auspicious date back then? If you don't like it now, then change the date!"

Li Weijun glared at Li Xiangdong first, then said, "Xiangdong, I think the woolen coat you bought in Shanghai is quite nice. Our mother didn't prepare any clothes for your sister-in-law for this wedding. How about I borrow that yellow woolen coat for now?"

This refers to that sable coat with a starry sky pattern; the taste is quite good.

“Brother, if you don’t give Mother money, how will she buy you a wedding dress? That starry dress already has an owner and will not be lent out.”

Li Xiangdong swiftly shut Li Weijun down.

Just then, laughter and chatter came from outside the door. Li Ping skipped into the room, "Second Brother, our Third Sister and Third Brother-in-law, our dear Mother Da Xia, and your Master, Doctor Gu, are all here!"

Logically, when a brother gets married, the aunt who is getting married should come and stay at the house for two days in advance.

Li Xiangdong ignored Li Weijun, took Li Yan's hand, and went out to greet his master, Third Sister.

Li Weijun, feeling embarrassed, also left with his hands behind his back.

The reunion of everyone was lively, but before they could even invite Grandma Hong and Grandma Jiang to the kang (heated brick bed), there was another commotion outside the gate.

Then they heard Li Kang shout in a loud voice, "Sixth Brother, Sixth Sister-in-law! Come out quickly! Your Da Lanzi is back!"

I haven't seen my eldest daughter for several years since I left Yongxing County. Everyone is struggling financially, and visiting relatives is a long and tiring journey. We don't have much money to spare.

When Li Weijun got married, Li Jin called Yongxing Winery to invite his daughter and son-in-law to the wedding.

I never expected my eldest daughter to actually come!

The couple beamed with joy, said goodbye to their in-laws, and hurried out to fetch their daughter.

Li Yinghong naturally followed, and Grandma Jiang and Grandma Hong helped each other to sit on the kang (heated brick bed) in the inner room.

Li Xiangdong followed behind and saw a young woman who was about 1.65 meters tall, extremely thin, with dry hair and a sallow face, hugging Zhao Sufang.

Is this the eldest sister?

Li Xiangdong was shocked. The woman, who was in her twenties, looked like a middle-aged woman in her forties!

When Li Lan saw her parents, she couldn't help but shed tears. A little girl of about five or six years old stood timidly next to her, her big eyes darting around, looking at this person and then at that person.

Li Ying is one year younger than Li Lan; the two sisters grew up together.

The eldest sister was also shocked to see the withered old woman, but she wasn't the type to make a fuss. Today was her younger brother's big day, and even if something was wrong, it would have to wait until after the wedding.

Li Ying stepped forward and urged, "Elder sister, mother, father, let's go inside and talk! It's a joyous day!"

Li Lan immediately wiped away her tears and forced a smile, "Yes, yes, Yingzi is right. I couldn't help myself when I saw you all."

Zhao Sufang took her eldest daughter's hand and led her into the house.

What kind of life is Da Lanzi living? His hands are dry and hard, and if you rub them carefully, you'll see big cuts!

Li Jin picked up his granddaughter, who was standing helplessly beside him. The little girl gasped slightly, then covered her mouth with her hand.

The group entered the house, which was now packed with people.

Li Zhen placed the peanuts, melon seeds, and fruit candies that she had prepared beforehand on a tea tray and put it on the kang (a heated brick bed) for everyone to eat.

It was nine o'clock quickly. Li Tang entered the house, lifted the curtain, and asked, "Sixth Brother, Sixth Sister-in-law, is the big red rooster ready?"

Zhao Sufang came out and pulled out two big red roosters from under the overturned bamboo basket in the west room.

These two bright red roosters have bright red combs, yellow feathers all over their bodies, and shiny, colorful tail feathers that are held high, making them look extremely energetic.

To prevent the rooster from escaping, both of its feet were tied with red cloth strips.

Li Tang carried one in each hand. "Sixth Sister-in-law, is there anything else you want to bring?"

Zhao Sufang shook her head. "Everything is here."

As Li Tang walked, he said, “It’s only because our village is wealthy that we can afford such a grand ceremony; there’s no one like this for miles around!”

Even so, Li Weijun still felt somewhat unsatisfied.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!