And how come he remembered that when the two families were discussing the banquet process a few days ago, they didn't seem to mention the tea ceremony or the changing of address?
Although he was a little surprised, Third Uncle still took the tea immediately.
However, the next second he handed the tea to Grandpa Huo who was standing next to him.
"Come, come, my dear in-law, have some tea."
Grandpa Huo didn't take it, but said with a smile.
“My dear in-law, this cup of tea is from Xiaozhou to offer you.”
Third Uncle's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air. He glanced at Huo Tingzhou, then at Jiang Si beside him.
"A toast...a toast to me?"
As Jiang Si nodded, she knelt directly in front of her third uncle.
Huo Tingzhou followed closely behind and knelt down on one knee.
Third Uncle quickly reached out to stop you, "What are you doing? Get up, get up, the ground is cold."
"Third Uncle, I have something to say. Please let me finish."
"Can't you just stand there and say it?" Uncle San was so anxious that he was almost sweating.
But Jiang Si was very stubborn about this matter.
Uncle San had no choice but to sit down nervously.
Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou came up and kowtowed to him three times earnestly.
"Third Uncle, although I've always called you Third Uncle, I probably won't be able to break this habit in the future."
"But in my heart, you are no different from my grandfather."
"Thank you for always tolerating me when I was willful, temperamental, or even unreasonable."
"You gave me unconditional favoritism and gave me the confidence to make choices."
"Thank you for protecting me and shielding me from the wind and rain all these years."
“If it weren’t for you protecting me since I was a child, Ah Zhou and I wouldn’t be where we are today.”
After a pause, Jiang Si took a deep breath. "Today is my wedding day with A-Zhou. I want to formally acknowledge you as my grandfather in front of all our relatives and friends."
As she finished speaking, she also took out the "Letter of Adoptive Relatives" that she had prepared in advance.
"For the first half of my life, you, Third Uncle, have always protected me. Now that I've grown up, I'm capable of taking care of you and Uncle Zhong. Let me stay with you until we grow old, okay?"
"You child..." Third Uncle opened his mouth, but before he could speak, large tears fell down his cheeks.
He quickly wiped his face. "Good boy, get up."
Jiang Si shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "You haven't agreed to be with me yet."
"You silly child, we still have to go to the auditorium later, what if your eyes get swollen from crying?"
Without saying a word, the third uncle pulled the man up.
He wiped away her tears and said, "Why do we need such formalities between us? In my heart, you've long been my granddaughter."
Jiang Si knew, but this meant something different.
With the kinship certificate, it will be more convenient for my third uncle to come and go from the family compound when we go to Qiongzhou Island.
But before she could even speak, her third uncle said in a tone that showed he couldn't do anything about her.
"I'll sign, I'll sign, okay?!"
Jiang Si nodded. "That's more like it."
After signing the papers, she and Huo Tingzhou offered a cup of tea to the elders present, symbolizing the change of address.
After a few cups of tea, Jiang Si suddenly had more than a dozen thick red envelopes in her hand.
Because the two of them were having a banquet today, many relatives from Huo's mother's side also came.
Seeing that she had some free time, I pulled her aside and introduced her to everyone one by one.
"Sisi, these are your eldest uncle, second uncle, third uncle, fourth uncle, and fifth uncle."
Huo's mother was the youngest in her family, with five older brothers.
After introducing her uncle, Huo's mother introduced her to her five aunts, as well as her cousins.
They spent quite a bit of time just introducing themselves and chatting casually.
Jiang Si greeted them one by one.
In fact, besides her five older brothers, Huo's mother also had a twin sister.
"Your aunt married someone from far away, in Chengdu."
Mrs. Huo explained, "Her youngest daughter-in-law is still in her postpartum period, so she can't come back for your wedding this time. By the way, come with me for a moment."
Before Jiang Si could react, Huo's mother pulled her into the room.
Huo Tingzhou originally wanted to come along, but his mother blocked him at the door.
"There are so many people outside, you should hurry up and greet them, what are you doing following us?"
Seeing that he wanted to say something more, she bluntly said, "Don't pry into women's affairs!"
After saying that, he slammed the door shut.
Just as Jiang Si was lamenting Huo Tingzhou's precarious position in the family, Huo's mother took a box out of the wardrobe.
Given that they've been stuffing her with things every now and then lately, Jiang Si has almost developed a conditioned reflex to it.
Moreover, she remembered very clearly that her mother-in-law had taken this box when the family divided the property last time.
Sure enough, when the box was opened, there was a thick stack of red envelopes inside.
"These are all the red envelopes you received for your banquet. We've already recorded the gift accounts, so please keep these safe."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Si quickly pushed it back, "Mom, A-Zhou and I don't really understand these social etiquettes, and we rarely come back."
"Keep these. If anyone has a wedding in the future, just pass them on to us."
Fearing her mother-in-law would worry, Jiang Si added, "You don't need to worry about us, we have enough money."
"Mom knows you don't lack money, but what you have is yours."
Seeing that Jiang Si didn't take it for a while, Huo's mother simply stuffed the box into her arms.
"These are not just monetary gifts, but also blessings from everyone."
"Take it. The wedding gifts for your second and fourth brothers were also given to them..."
"Knock knock knock—"
A knock on the door suddenly interrupted the conversation between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
It was Mr. Huo's voice: "Yue Ling, it's almost eleven o'clock. Shouldn't we go to the auditorium first?"
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Mrs. Huo responded and quickly took a thick coat from the wardrobe and put it on.
"Sisi, we'll go to the auditorium first. You go back to your room and rest for a while. We'll be there in half an hour."
Jiang Si also stood up: "Mom, let's go together."
After all, today is the day she and Huo Tingzhou are having their wedding banquet, so it wouldn't be good to be late.
Mrs. Huo did not object, "Then go back to your room and put on another layer of clothing. There is no heating in the auditorium, so don't catch a cold."
Jiang Si nodded, "Okay, Mom."
I went back to my room, put the red envelope away, and put on a sweater.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Si took out the badge that the Ministry of State Security had sent her last time and pinned it to the most conspicuous place on her chest.
When she went downstairs, she saw Huo Tingzhou about to carry her out again.
Jiang Si shook her head at him, "Let's walk there."
Knowing what Huo Tingzhou wanted to say, Jiang Si stepped forward, grasped his hand tightly, and then shook it.
"This is called holding hands and growing old together, isn't that better than you carrying me out the door?"
Huo Tingzhou was speechless, because everything she said was true.
After a long pause, he said, "Okay, I'll do whatever you say!"
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