As night deepened and the banquet ended, the Liu family helped see the guests off and tidied up the courtyard.
The newlyweds could finally breathe a sigh of relief. They changed into loose-fitting pajamas, sat facing each other, blushing and unsure of what to say.
Mr. Wen got up, took a box out of his luggage, and handed it to his wife, saying, "Jinrou, look at this. It's a gift for you."
Cui Jinrou was curious and delighted, and quickly opened the box, taking out a pearl crown.
"Wow, it's so pretty! I can wear it with my clothes tomorrow morning!" She glanced at her husband and said, "Did you get this from Fu Niu'er?"
"Ah, how did you know?" Mr. Wen asked in surprise, then laughed and said, "That's right, this girl has the most pearls in the house. You don't know, when she gave them to me, she was so heartbroken she almost cried. I had to be polite with her, but she told me to take them back quickly, or she would regret it!"
"Hahaha!" Cui Jinrou laughed heartily, her laughter as radiant as spring flowers. "This girl is such a little money-grubber. I'll find her a nice set of jewelry to repay her..."
But before she could finish speaking, she was embraced tightly in a warm and generous hug.
Mr. Wen held his wife tightly, as if he possessed the whole world, cherishing her a thousandfold. "Jinrou, you are finally my wife!"
Cui Jinrou was stunned for a moment, then hugged him tightly as well. "Yes, although we have taken many detours and wasted too many years, we are finally husband and wife. From now on, we will grow old together and love each other without doubt!"
A large red dragon and phoenix candle burned beside them, popping out with a "snap," and the gentle night was fully unveiled...
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. On the morning of this day, the Liu family welcomed the newlyweds to their door and naturally prepared a banquet in celebration.
Seeing his niece's rosy complexion and smiling face, Old Master Liu was even more satisfied with his niece's husband. He instructed, "When will you go to the new village to ask Doctor Zhang to take a look and help you get your body in good shape? It would be best if you could have a child."
"However, if it doesn't work out, don't worry. You can choose two good children to adopt later. As long as they are properly educated, they can still uphold the reputation of the Cui family!"
"Even if you don't want to adopt, there's still Zhimin and Xiujie, and Jiaren is good too... When you get old, they will all take care of you!"
Mr. and Mrs. Wen both stood up and bowed, thanking the old man for his long-term plans for them.
After lunch, the two said goodbye, got into the carriage, and headed straight for the new village.
The village chief and Uncle Zhao and a few others stood with their hands behind their backs on the path at the village entrance, chatting idly.
The melon field in front of me is lush and green, growing very well. I imagine that by the end of summer, it will be full of "silver nuggets".
In fact, Uncle Zhao and his family lived with the Li family on weekdays, and they never had to worry about food or drink. Their clothes and shoes for all four seasons were always delivered on time.
They really have no use for money, but who would complain about money getting on their hands?!
Especially for the Li family, with so many children who need to go to school and get married, the more money the better.
They don't have any great skills, but they feel more at ease when they help out with chores and contribute to the family.
Seeing the Cui family's carriage arrive, the old men were even happier and waved to greet it.
Mr. Wen jumped down from the carriage and bowed to the gentlemen. The gentlemen had put in a lot of effort to arrange their marriage.
The old men laughed and told him not to be shy, to hurry back to the village, as they would definitely be having a feast at their homes that evening, and the best part was yet to come...
Sure enough, two more tables were set up in the Li family's courtyard that evening.
Although Lord Hou, Li Laosi, and Li Yong were not present, the place was still incredibly lively, almost turning the world upside down.
Mr. Wen was half-drunk from being forced to drink, but it was only thanks to Old Lady Li's intervention that he was rescued and sent back to the Cui family's courtyard.
Mr. Wen took ten days off and wasn't in a hurry to return to the city, so the couple stayed in the village.
At this time of year, the orchard is already bursting with blossoms.
The hot spring valley was packed with guests. Many flower lovers couldn't squeeze in, so they stayed overnight at Dahuaishu, Dawangzhuang, or Xiaowangzhuang, and then spent the day wandering around the foot of the mountain.
Some people wanted to give money to go for a walk in the mountains, sit under the flowering trees, drink wine and recite poetry, but unfortunately, the villagers disagreed.
The orchard is the second treasure trove of Suijintan. Not to mention that too many people can easily cause chaos, there are also those who are not careful and break the branches, which means how many fewer fruits will be picked in the autumn!
But on this day, this rule was broken.
Because Lord Hou and Li Laosi personally welcomed a group of seven or eight people up the mountain.
The villagers on patrol didn't know who those people were, but they knew that the people the Marquis brought back were their own people!
If our own people want to go up the mountain to see their own fruit trees and admire the flowers, of course there's no problem.
Li Laosi went home in person and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Tao Hongying had not gone to the restaurant. He then said, "The Marquis has brought a distinguished guest to enjoy the flowers on the mountain. I will take some tea and snacks over first. At noon, you should prepare some new dishes and set the table in the thatched pavilion in the orchard."
“Okay,” Tao Hongying said without thinking too much. Cooking was her specialty, so she smiled and said, “My second brother bought a lot of pastries yesterday, so I’ll plate them up.”
After saying that, she went to find the snack box, then turned around and asked, "Is the guest male or female? Go ask your daughter for some more fruit. We've just run out of what we have at home. Since they are honored guests, let's treat them well."
"Okay." Li Laosi didn't dare to say more, gave a vague reply, and went around to the backyard.
Jiayin was sitting at the table practicing calligraphy, while Old Lady Li was doing needlework beside her. Li Laosi came in and said, "Daughter, give your father some fruit to entertain the guests. The Marquis has brought guests to enjoy the flowers on the mountain!"
"Oh, Godfather is back!" Jiayin was overjoyed and quickly jumped down.
There were so many people and so much noise on the day of Mr. Wen's wedding that she didn't even have a chance to talk to her godfather. He left early the next morning.
Having finally caught her godfather free today, she smiled and looked at her grandmother, pleading, "Grandma, the flowers on the mountain are blooming, shall we go and see them?"
Grandma Li glanced at the large characters her granddaughter had written; they were quite neat and tidy. "Go with your father, but your godfather is entertaining guests, so don't cause any trouble."
"Grandma, don't worry, Fu Niu'er is the best!" Jia Yin hugged and kissed the old lady, then ran next door and took two small straw baskets from her space.
One basket was filled with bright red apples, and the other with golden yellow pears. They were all clean and glistening with water droplets, looking exceptionally fresh!
Shui Ling and Shui Yun happened to come in from outside, so they helped carry the teapot and teacups to the front yard.
Li Laosi picked up his daughter and carried her on his shoulder, while Shuiling and Shuiyun followed behind carrying things, and they went up the mountain.
On the way, they encountered Li Lao Er and Mr. Wen returning from the hot spring valley. Li Lao Er asked curiously, "I heard that the Marquis has brought guests back? May I ask who these distinguished guests are?"
Li Laosi didn't want to say it outright, so he just smiled and said, "You'll know when you see it."
So, the group of six, young and old, followed the path up the mountain. They vaguely saw a few people in a thatched pavilion halfway up the mountain, so they quickened their pace.
Shui Ling was lively and cheerful. She was walking beside someone carrying a basket when she saw a rabbit run past. She exclaimed in surprise, bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it at the rabbit!
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, but instead of seeing the rabbit, they saw that the stone that Shui Ling had thrown out had been thrown back.
Shui Ling moved nimbly to the side, and the stone was behind her.
Walking behind her was Li Laosi, with Jiayin slung over his shoulder...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com