"Now you're scared? It's too late. There are too many people here. You just stay put and wait until my sister's wedding is over before we settle accounts with you."
Jiang Ruyi struggled and roared, "Why are you settling scores with me? This may be your home, but I came to see Grandma. Can you stop me from seeing her? Is your home some kind of den of wolves and tigers? You can only enter but never leave."
Looking at Jiang Ruyi's fearful eyes and her stubborn attempts to argue, Jiang Lin sneered, "If you want to deny it, you'll have to wait until my sister's wedding is over. I'm not going to let you out now to ruin my sister's wedding. Who knew you would be so vicious as to dare to break the law?"
Jiang Ruyi retorted, her neck stiff, "What are you saying? I don't know, I don't understand."
Jiang Ruyu knew nothing about what was happening on their side. When Jiang Lin pretended to be nonchalant and came out of the kitchen, Jiang Ruyi had already been tied up with rope, her mouth gagged and her hands and feet bound in the kitchen.
A fierce glint flashed in Jiang Lin's eyes. He locked the kitchen door, walked out, and put on his usual smile. But Jiang Hui, who had grown up with him like brothers, knew something was wrong as soon as he saw him like that.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Jiang Lin shook his head: "We'll talk about it after this is over."
Jiang Hui didn't ask any more questions.
On the Zheng family's side, Zheng Yang and Jiang Ruyu walked into Zheng Yang's house on a red carpet. Zheng Dali, dressed in a specially made Zhongshan suit and black leather shoes, sat upright in a grand chair. When he saw his son and daughter-in-law walking in hand in hand, he couldn't stop smiling.
"Hahaha, my son is finally getting married." Zheng Dali couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The neighbors and relatives nearby all laughed: "Old Zheng is very happy. Look how happy he is, his gums are showing."
Aunt Zheng was also happy: "Oh, marriage is such a joyous occasion, a new member has joined the family, how could we not be happy?"
The person who came to find a wife for Zheng Yang was Zheng Yang's former boss, the director of the transportation team.
"Zheng Yang is young and promising, and he is already the captain of the team. He is hardworking, a good driver, and a good mechanic. He is a good comrade in our unit. It is an honor for me to be invited by him to be the officiant at the wedding today. Here, I would like to congratulate the newlyweds on their happy marriage and long life together."
Zheng Yang and Jiang Ruyu smiled and thanked the man.
Next, they bowed to the portrait of the leader to show their respect, and then they served tea to Zheng Dali. Jiang Ruyu smiled and knelt down with Zheng Yang to serve tea to Zheng Dali.
"Dad, please have some tea."
Zheng Dali responded with a strong voice, "Yes, have some tea."
Someone outside the door started jeering, "Was that 'Dad' you calling me nice, Old Zheng?"
Zheng Dali laughed heartily and said, "It sounds great, it's so comfortable."
He took out two large red envelopes and gave them to Jiang Ruyu: "You are the child I watched grow up. I know you are a good child. I hope you two will live a good life together from now on. Here, this is a red envelope for addressing her as a new daughter."
Jiang Ruyu accepted it: "Thank you, Dad."
The officiant smiled and said, "The ceremony is complete. Congratulations to the newlyweds on embarking on the path of contributing to socialism. We wish them a happy and harmonious married life."
"Good, well said."
The onlookers applauded as they watched Zheng Yang, who had just returned, walk steadily towards their new home with a smile in his arms, carrying his former beloved girl.
Sun Li, who had returned sometime earlier, stood beside him and said, "Do you regret it? If you had listened to me back then, you would be the one carrying her into the bridal chamber now, watching the person you love so much wearing beautiful clothes marry another man. Doesn't it hurt?"
Fang Da turned to look at Sun Li, whose skin was rough and whose complexion was sallow, and after a long while, he smiled and said, "I don't have anything to regret, but what about you? Look at yourself now, do you regret it?"
After Fang Da finished speaking, he went into the new house. He wanted to personally give them the wedding gifts and also personally offer his blessings to the girl he once liked.
Sun Li lowered her head, looking at the calluses on her hands. Did she regret it? She probably did. Her life shouldn't have turned out this way. If, if she hadn't gotten stuck on that person who wasn't meant for her that year, would she have ended up like this?
Thinking back on the more than two years of labor in the countryside, the insatiable greed of the villagers, and the scheming between the new and old educated youth, she was exhausted both physically and mentally, and really didn't want to go back.
Years of hard work made her realize how wrong she had been. Why hadn't she given in to the hardships and exhaustion in the countryside and just married any man? It was because she was unwilling to accept this that she returned here, only to be filled with regret. Even without Zheng Yang, she wasn't that bad herself. As long as she worked hard, she could definitely find a job, even if it was just a temporary one.
However, one wrong step leads to another. Greed and jealousy clouded her judgment, causing her to do wrong things. Compared to Fang Da, she was far inferior to him.
In the new house, Fang Da smiled as he looked at the perfectly matched couple: "You two are finally married. Congratulations! I'm so glad I made it in time."
Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Yang both stood up with smiles: "We thought you wouldn't make it back in time. When did you arrive?"
"I just arrived and happened to see you completing your ceremony."
"That's great, let's have a couple of drinks at noon." Zheng Yang put his arm around his shoulder, acting like they were best buddies.
Fang Da retorted, "Fine, let's see if you can stand up after this."
He then took out the gift he had prepared: "I know you like colorful things. I've been collecting this stamp collection for many years and have been thinking about finding a suitable opportunity to give it to you. Today is just right. I also wish you both a lifetime of happiness and all the best."
Jiang Ruyu held the stamp album with a heavy heart. The album was valuable, but its value lay in the sentiment it represented. Although it wasn't worth much money now, the sentiment was precious, and decades later, the album would be worth a lot of money.
Looking at Ruyu's expression, Fangda could tell what she was thinking: "Don't worry so much. Actually, I'm very happy right now. I met a pretty interesting woman in the countryside. Maybe I can bring her back to introduce her to you all sometime. You'll have to give me a big gift then."
Jiang Ruyu accepted the stamp album. She had decided that she would keep it now and return it to him later when its price went up.
"Thank you for coming back. Let's have a good get-together at my place after this is all over."
"Okay, you guys go ahead and get busy."
After Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Yang's wedding ceremony was completed, relatives and friends from both the Zheng and Jiang families went to a state-run restaurant, where the Zheng family hosted a banquet with five tables.
By the time the banquet ended, it was already around 3 p.m. Zheng Yang and Jiang Ruyu had both inevitably drunk alcohol, their faces were flushed, and they smelled of smoke and alcohol.
The elders all drank quite a bit, especially the eldest uncle, aunt, and uncle-in-law, including the newlywed father-in-law Zheng Dali and his wife Zheng Dagu.
Jiang Lin didn't drink because he had something on his mind. Jiang Hui also knew that Jiang Lin was hiding something, so he only drank a little. Jiang Jun and Jiang Kai didn't drink too much either. When they returned to the tenement, Jiang Lin invited his two cousins over. His uncle had drunk a bit too much, but he still had to come.
Jiang Lin didn't plan to tell his sister. She only gets married once in her life, and she couldn't let a bug ruin her mood.
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