At this time of year, everyone is getting married, and even if there are disagreements, people generally won't say anything and will go to help, unless their own family is no longer holding such events. This is a characteristic of the compound at that time.

"Since everyone trusts me, I'll just give you a simple breakdown of tasks. See if it's feasible. If it's not right or not thorough enough, please let me know and we'll correct it immediately." Yi Zhonghai handled these tasks with ease.

"The first thing is to decorate the wedding room. This is something the Yan family has to do themselves, with the help of the residents in the front yard. It must be finished before Saturday."

The so-called "decoration" is actually just cleaning the room, pasting newspapers on the walls, hanging up a few "double happiness" characters, and hanging a few lanterns.

"The second thing is the hospitality on the day. One is the hospitality after the guests arrive, which is overseen by the Second Uncle, with other people in our compound assisting by pouring water and bringing out stools. The specific people chosen are a few people from the middle courtyard who are at home."

Regarding the meals for the day, Sha Zhu is in charge of cooking, and he and Yan Jiefang go grocery shopping together. The other women who are home on Sundays will help with washing and chopping the vegetables.

This year has been the most difficult year, with many people not holding weddings. But Yan Jiecheng is now a full-time employee, and his wife is from the city. Old Yan considers himself a scholar, and he wants to maintain a good image, so he decided to hold the wedding. Besides, he had calculated that he would naturally receive money as a wedding gift, so he wouldn't lose money either way.

"The third thing is to keep track of the gifts given that day. This is done by Uncle San's colleague, who is also a teacher, so we don't have to worry about it."

Another thing is the wedding procession on the day of the wedding. This can be interpreted as riding one bicycle, Da Mao riding one bicycle, Liu Guangtian riding one bicycle, ...

There were four cars in total. Xu Damao's family contributed two liang (a unit of weight), and He Yushui contributed one liang. Although two of the cars belonged to women, a total of four cars was still considered a decent team for that era.

"That's how things are arranged. Everyone, please make time for the Yan family and make sure they handle things perfectly," Yi Zhonghai concluded.

"Hey old man, who's officiating this wedding? How about I officiate it for you?" Sha Zhu joked from the side.

“You don’t need to worry about that. Teacher Yan’s school principal is personally in charge,” Yi Zhonghai said.

This silly Zhu felt resentful seeing younger men like Xu Damao and Yan Jiecheng all married while he remained single. He thought, "Why doesn't anyone want me when I'm so good-looking and successful?"

Xu Damao got up early Sunday morning.

"Da Mao, you're up so early? Are you having dinner at Uncle San's house?" Wang Minzhi asked from beside her.

“Given Uncle San’s temperament, he probably won’t have anything to eat. Even if he does, he won’t be full. I’d better eat something at home first.” Xu Damao knew Uncle San’s family all too well.

"Then you do it yourself, I'm going to sleep a little longer." The two of them consulted each other until midnight last night, and Wang Minzhi was still half asleep.

Xu Damao ate steamed buns with dipping sauce at home, the same kind he brought back from Qing'an last time; they tasted especially delicious. It's true, Southerners and Northerners have different personalities, and even their food is very different. After lingering at home for a while, Xu Damao finally went to the front yard.

When he arrived at the front yard, everything was already bustling about. But just as Xu Damao had predicted, no one from the Yan family came to ask him if he had eaten.

"Uncle, what are we having for breakfast?"

A little while later, Liu Guangtian arrived and immediately asked what he wanted for breakfast. Liu Guangtian usually didn't get to eat anything good at home, and he thought that since he was helping out at the wedding, he could at least have a decent meal. However, he underestimated Yan Fugui's stinginess.

“Guangtian, it’s still early in the morning. If you’re hungry, go home and get something to eat first.” Yan Fugui’s answer was perfectly reasonable.

Liu Guangtian wasn't one to think like everyone else. Since you said there was still plenty of time, he decided to wait until the time came before eating. Today, he was determined to argue with Yan Fugui.

"It's almost time, Jiecheng, you should set off." Seeing that everyone had arrived and it was about time, Yan Fugui urged Yan Jiecheng to set off to fetch the bride.

"No, Uncle, we haven't eaten yet."

Yan Jiecheng didn't say anything, but Liu Guangtian, who had been waiting to eat breakfast, got upset. He had gotten up so early just to have breakfast, but he didn't expect to have to leave before he could even eat.

“Guangtian, it’s not that your third uncle doesn’t want to give you breakfast, but the auspicious time is almost here. We can’t make everyone wait for you just so we can eat, and then let the auspicious time pass by.”

Yan Fugui was no ordinary person; he had already guessed this, so he timed it precisely so that the Yan family would eat breakfast a little later.

“Then, Uncle, I can’t go to pick up the bride on an empty stomach,” Liu Guangtian said, dissatisfied.

"In broad daylight, you could either go home and see if you have any steamed buns or something to eat first, or you could wait until you find out what your future wife's family has to eat." Old Yan is no ordinary man; he's even starting to scheme about his future in-laws now.

"Alright then, I'll go check on my sister-in-law's place." Liu Guangtian had no choice but to give in. He'd rather go home and starve than go home to find food.

"Let's go..." The four people and four bicycles set off.

Yan Jiecheng is the groom today. He is wearing a Zhongshan suit that he borrowed from someone. He is excited and takes the lead.

"Yan Jiecheng, slow down. I didn't eat breakfast this morning, I'm not feeling well," Liu Guangtian called out from behind.

"When you get married, you'll ride even faster than him. The sooner you bring your wife into the house and into the bridal chamber, the sooner you'll understand," another cousin of the Yan family, who was in charge of the wedding procession, said with a smile.

“Who doesn’t understand? It’s just the same old stuff. I’m unemployed now, but the day I find a job, I’ll get married right away,” Liu Guangtian retorted.

The group chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at the Yu family's house. Like the Yan family, the Yu family lived in a courtyard house with a front yard, which saved everyone the trouble of walking inside.

Seeing a group of people surrounding the Yu family's gate, Yan Jiecheng didn't hold back and immediately took out wedding candies from his pocket to distribute.

"Wait a minute. There are so many people here, do you have enough candy in your pocket?" Xu Damao stopped Yan Jiecheng and asked in a low voice.

“It’s not enough. I only brought 10 candies, and I heard they need to be distributed. What should we do?” Yan Jiecheng also noticed that there were quite a few people at the scene, and the candies he brought were simply not enough to distribute.

Don't underestimate these 10 candies; they were saved up by Old Yan's family through frugality. Many of them were saved from when people gave out candy during holidays. Xu Damao even found one that looked like a wedding candy he had given out himself. Old Yan is really something; he can turn a single candy into an antique.

"Here's what we'll do," Xu Damao suggested. "You throw a few candies outside and let them scramble for them. We'll sneak in while they're grabbing the candies."

"Okay." Yan Jiecheng had lost his composure at this point and would do whatever others told him to do.

Sure enough, when Xu Damao said he was handing out candy, Yan Jiecheng threw a few candies outside, and a group of people immediately rushed forward to grab them, opening the blocked door.