This official banquet was only possible because Lijiapo suddenly became wealthy; otherwise, there would never have been such a lavish feast.

Actually, in this day and age, the bride's mother doesn't come with the wedding procession. Only the bride's father, uncles, aunts, and sisters-in-law are present as guests.

But Shan Yongju and her husband were unconventional; not only did Liu Dagai come, but Shan Yongju also came.

At this moment, Shan Yongju looked at the table full of steaming meat dishes and searched everywhere for her youngest son, Gou Dan'er, afraid that he would miss out on the good food.

Gou Dan'er isn't here to freeload this time; he and Brother Liu Dagai's grandson are the golden boy carrying the little lantern at this wedding!

Carrying small lanterns is also a wedding tradition in Huichuan area. The boy carrying the small lantern is usually the bride's younger brother or nephew.

In the past, they used real red lanterns, but later they simplified it to flashlights. Before the bride got into the car, they would shine a red lantern or flashlight around the car to ward off evil spirits.

The two young lovers, having undertaken such an important task, would naturally receive red envelopes upon arriving at the groom's home. The amount of the red envelopes depended on the groom's family's financial situation and generosity.

Liu Yuxiu noticed her mother's eyes darting around and her bottom feeling like it was covered in needles. Not wanting her mother to embarrass herself, she quietly tugged at her sleeve. "Gou Dan'er is with my father; he's also an official."

Dan Yongju thought it made sense, so she felt relieved and began to eat heartily.

......

Li Yan and Da Xia are about the same age. Li Lan's daughter is named Zhang Huan, who is six years old this year, one year younger than Li Jiabao.

Just one night later, the children quickly became friends and played together.

Today is my eldest brother's wedding day. Li Yan, Li Jiabao, and Li Ping all dressed up in extravagant fox fur coats. Each of them had delicate features and a red dot between their eyebrows, making them extremely beautiful.

It was the newlyweds' feast, and the regular feast hadn't started yet, so the group of them quietly played outside. Li Zhen broke off a piece of steamed bun for each of them and told them to eat it first.

Gou Dan'er and his little cousin Liu Shuangliang are both ten years old this year. With red envelopes given by the Li family in their arms, they quickly devoured the food at the official banquet.

The children couldn't stay still, so they ran out of the house to pick up unexploded firecrackers to play with. While they were playing, they saw Li Yan and a few others playing hide-and-seek.

They were all wearing new clothes for the Chinese New Year, which initially seemed quite nice.

Upon seeing Li Yan's fluffy, round white fox fur coat and Da Xia's brand-new floral cotton-padded jacket, they immediately felt ashamed of themselves.

Liu Shuangliang whispered to Gou Dan'er, "Uncle, look at those two girls, their clothes are actually quite nice!"

Gou Dan'er was spoiled at home. His parents always said that he was the root of the family, and that the girls were a waste of money. They always gave him the best food and drinks first.

"I wonder whose these two little girls are?"

“My third aunt’s husband’s little sister, I just heard them talking.”

Dog Egg's little eyes darted around, "Haha, if it's my third sister's husband's, then it belongs to my third sister, and what belongs to my third sister is mine!"

According to the Liu family's logic, that's correct.

"Shuangliang, do you think I'd look impressive wearing that wool coat?"

Liu Shuangliang nodded jealously. His third aunt had married so well!

Although both of them believed that everything belonging to the Li family now belonged to the Liu family, they weren't foolish enough to openly steal the clothes. So they devised a plan.

......

This time, Li Ping was the one who searched, while the others hid.

Li Ping covered his eyes with his hands, stood facing the wall, and counted, "One, two, three..."

The other children giggled and ran around, looking for places to hide.

The adults were so busy that no one paid any attention to them.

Li Yan and Da Xia held hands and ran towards a less crowded area.

Just then, Gou Dan'er and Liu Shuangliang came up to them with grins, "I'll take you to hide somewhere no one can find you!"

...

Li Ping found Zhang Huan, then Li Jiabao, and even his niece Fengru from next door, but he couldn't find Li Yan and Daxia.

She assumed the two had gone home, so she wasn't in a hurry to look for them.

After playing several more rounds, Li Ping still hadn't seen the two of them, and he started to get a little anxious.

She pulled Li Jiabao and Zhang Huan to find Li Zhen, "Fourth Sister, Fourth Sister, have you seen Little Sister and Daxia?"

Li Zhen was helping in the kitchen. "No, didn't you take them to play hide-and-seek?"

Before they could explain, they ran home and looked around inside and out.

Inside the room, only Li Xiangdong was talking with Grandma Jiang, Grandma Hong, and Doctor Gu.

Seeing Li Ping covered in sweat and with a flushed face, Li Xiangdong called out to her, "Xiao Wu, why are you running? You're all sweaty! Be careful not to catch a cold from the sudden change in temperature!"

Li Ping asked anxiously, "Second Brother, have you seen Little Sister and Da Xia?"

Grandma Hong chimed in, "No, weren't you all playing together?"

"Oh dear, we were playing hide-and-seek, but we can't find these two kids!"

Grandma Hong was startled and sat up straight, asking, "How long has it been?"

Li Xiangdong said gently, "Or maybe they went somewhere else to play. Don't worry, I'll go check on them."

After comforting the elderly man, Li Xiangdong picked up a thick coat and strode outside, with Li Ping following behind, telling him about the situation.

There are very few human traffickers now, and since it's in my village, I shouldn't have been abducted. So where could I have gone?

Could it be that Aunt Niu or Old Liu's family took advantage of the chaos to retaliate?

Or were they from Kong Xiaolong's side, the one who shot him and was sentenced to death?

The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became. Li Xiangdong called on Li Guoqing, Li Xiangjie, Zhao Xiaojun, and Guo Yuxi, who were helping out, to go and search separately.

Wang Erhu was helping to serve the dishes when he saw Li Xiangdong hurriedly call Li Guoqing and the others away. He wanted to go up and ask if they needed his help.

However, remembering that Li Xiangdong hadn't been very friendly to him lately, he didn't approach him.

Li Xiangdong had no time to notice Wang Erhu's hesitation and left with his men.

"Go to Niu Yonggui's house and Liu Laonian's house and take a good look, especially listen for any children crying! Also, whatever you do, don't tell them what you're there for."

After hearing the instructions, the group quickly split up. Li Xiangdong took Zhang Huan, and Li Ping took Li Jiabao to search for Li Yan in the places she often played.

If they still can't find it after searching all over the place, then Li Jin will have to mobilize the whole village to look for it.

At this moment, weddings and such are irrelevant; the child is the most important thing.

While searching, Li Xiangdong carefully inquired about Zhang Huan's situation at the time, asking if any strangers had appeared.

Although Zhang Huan was young, he was very observant. "At that time, my fifth aunt was about to catch us, and we were hiding. I think I saw two little boys walking towards my little aunt and Da Xia."

"What kind of little boy is he?! Do you know him?"

Zhang Huan had only glanced at it at the time, but seeing his second uncle asking anxiously, he tilted his head and thought for a long time, "It seems to be from my eldest aunt's side."

Just then, two loud cries suddenly rang out!