Chapter 35 Zhou Family Wedding Banquet
By the end of the month, almost the entire Xie family, except for the elderly grandmother, the sick cousin-in-law, and the young cousin Ruoer, went out to Baihua Street in the south of the city to attend the wedding banquet of the Zhou family's youngest son.
The two brothers Xie Yuming and Xie Yuduo rode ahead on horseback.
Following them came a rented green carriage, with two elders, Xie Yan and Xie Ang, inside.
At the very end was the brand new carriage with green curtains and blue silk. Second Aunt, Yu Jin, Yu Jing, and Chen Qi were sitting squeezed together inside, while Xiao Ling, Gui Xiang and other maids walked along the carriage.
Originally, Second Aunt should have sat in the front car with the two elders so that the girls could sit more comfortably.
However, she would not miss the opportunity to ride in a new car.
Ever since Chen Qi returned home after her wedding, Second Aunt had been planning to park the carriage in her own yard. She had tried to borrow it several times under various excuses, but it was always unsuccessful.
The first time she borrowed the carriage, Chen Qi smiled and told her that she had to go back to her parents' home the next day and the carriage was not available.
The second time he borrowed the carriage, Xie Yuduo pressed the armrest and said that he had to go out to discuss something and would leave immediately.
The third time she asked to borrow the car, Chen Qi readily agreed, and then asked her where she was going, and just in time to give her a ride to buy some things.
…
Not even a single one of them was pleasant! Not to mention parking the carriage in your own yard, it was hard to even look back and forth.
This time, An Ansheng got into the car. She touched here and looked there, which made her daughter Yu Jin roll her eyes, thinking that she had never seen the world.
The Zhou family is located on Baihua Street in the south of the city. The previous generation used to run an oil, salt and noodle shop on the corner of the street. The descendants of this generation have become rich and opened a two-story restaurant in the middle of the street. It has always been well-known in Pingshan County.
The restaurant is doing a lot of business and has dealings with almost all merchants in the city, so naturally there are many guests coming to the banquet today.
When we reached the entrance of Baihua Street, the carriage was squeezed so tightly that it couldn't pass through.
The Xie brothers dismounted, and Xie Yuduo came over to help Chen Qi get out of the car. Everyone saw a red carpet laid out in front of the entrance of Zhou's Restaurant, firecrackers blasted, and the place was bustling with people. It seemed that men, women, and children from the nearby streets had all come out, waiting to see the bride.
As Xie Yuduo walked into the crowd, he was stopped by several young people he knew and started talking to them.
"Xie Erlang, long time no see. I asked you to come out for a drink but you refused. What are you busy with?"
A fair-faced young man patted Xie Yuduo on the shoulder and teased with a smile.
Xie Yuduo also smiled and patted him, "Brother Zhou, I've been busy with family affairs lately and really can't spare the time."
"Hey, my beautiful new wife doesn't accompany her beautiful bride, but eats with you!" Another young man pointed in the direction of Chen Qi and others and laughed.
"Hey boys, stop making fun of Erlang. I heard that the Xie family has opened a new shop and the business is booming." The man who spoke was a bit older and more steady.
"That's right. The Xie family's herbal medicine shop is already the largest in Pingshan County. Now they've opened branches. I'm afraid that all the clinics in the neighboring county will come to you to buy medicine. Other small shops can't catch up."
"The other day, I passed by your new store and went in to take a look. It's a huge shop with three rooms in a row. It's really impressive."
Xie Yuduo smiled at everyone and said, "Thank you! It's just for show, a small profit but quick turnover, it's not worth much."
A few days ago, the Xie family really bought up all the medicinal materials, and reached an agreement with a drug store involved in the incident, selling the entire batch of medicinal materials and the store to the Xie family, and then they returned to the countryside to retire.
Xie Yuduo sent a senior clerk named Han to the branch store as a supervisor and recruited four or five new junior clerks. Seeing that the business was growing, he was too busy these days to spare any time.
Before noon, the bridal sedan finally arrived, firecrackers crackled, the groom was smiling happily on the horse, and everyone joined in the cheering.
Chen Qi was very emotional.
Two months ago, I was the bride waiting in the sedan chair to be watched by everyone, but now it is my turn to watch other people's brides.
I recall the day of my wedding, when I was under the veil and felt that the crowds of people around me were terrifying. Now, it seems that the atmosphere at a wedding was actually so joyful.
She looked at her husband who was always not far away from her and felt relieved.
Today he was wearing a dark blue brocade robe and a green belt, which made him look taller and more handsome. Across the crowd, he smiled at her with a very clear and bright smile.
Even among a group of young talents, his appearance still stands out.
Chen Qi naturally saw him smiling at her and couldn't help but smile.
As the curtain of the sedan chair was lifted, firecrackers started to pop again. When the bride got out of the sedan chair, she was squeezed by the children watching and almost fell down. The crowd started to make a fuss again. Then she entered the house, bowed in the hall, entered the bridal chamber, and lifted the veil... Naturally, there were the same flowers and the same congratulations.
"Look, the groom is laughing so hard that you can hardly see his eyes!" everyone started to cheer.
"On this happy day, I've got my beautiful wife, how can I not be happy? And when we get to the bridal chamber, I'll be even happier! Hahahaha..."
Soon, when the meal was about to start, the crowd dispersed slightly. Before Xie Yuduo had the chance to say a few words to Shen Qi, he was pulled to the male guests' side again.
Xie Yuduo had already told Yu Jing that in order to prevent Chen Qi from not knowing distant relatives and neighbors, whenever she met an acquaintance, she should be the first to greet them, and Chen Qi would follow her to greet them.
Yu Jing wasn't sure what to call some distant relatives she didn't see often, so Chen Qi would just nod and greet them. Everyone would naturally exchange a few pleasantries, praising the grandeur of the wedding and the beauty of the bride, which was enough to get by, and the whole atmosphere was very harmonious.
After the banquet, the Zhou family also invited a troupe of actors so that everyone could go to the backyard to watch the show and have tea.
After the meal, Second Aunt and the others had already gone somewhere unknown, so Chen Qi and Yu Jing went to the stage to watch the show together.
Yu Jing couldn't sit still. It was such a good show that after just listening to the beginning, she started to insist on going to the Zhou family's small garden with Shen Qi.
Chen Qi knew that children didn't like watching plays, so she smiled and nodded in agreement, then hugged her and walked towards the garden. As soon as she walked out of the crowd, she realized that she had forgotten to take her handkerchief.
Xiao Ling followed him all the time and volunteered to go back to find the handkerchief, allowing the two of them to go to the garden first.
In the small garden, there were several hibiscus flowers in full bloom. Chen Qi picked one and pinned it on Yu Jing's head. As the two were chatting and laughing, a young girl waved at them over there.
"Yujing, come here, this way!"
Chen Qi looked at the unfamiliar girl and didn't know what to call her, so she turned to look at Yu Jing. However, this time, Yu Jing not only didn't go up to greet her, but hid behind her sister-in-law.
Chen Qi felt strange and looked carefully at the person waving at her.
The girl looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, with almond-shaped eyes, a thin figure, and fair skin. She was quite pretty and at first glance, she looked a bit like Yu Jin's sister.
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