"...Then I'll bring my family. Okay, sure. I'll talk to the kids." Lu Cijiu smiled as he spoke, flashing an "OK" sign to the kids waiting in line. "Haha, they're so happy! They're looking forward to your wedding. We kids are really looking forward to being flower girls."
"Okay, then I'll arrive early and help you then."
Lu Cijiu said congratulations again, congratulating the boss on marrying a beautiful bride, and then ended the call.
"Chirp, chirp, are we flower girls now?" Tail jumped and repeated the words happily.
Dalong said, "Jiujiu said it's okay."
"Yes, sure, four flower girls." Lu Cijiu rubbed the kitten's head and said, "Let's prepare some clothes and dress you up handsomely."
Dalong puffed out his chest.
"pretty."
The tail of the man wagged happily.
"cute."
Dudu showed his dimples.
"Our kittens are a combination of beautiful, cute and handsome." Lu Cijiu said.
The kitten pursed its lips and smiled faintly.
No matter what kind of children they are, the kids love them very much. They look forward to going out to play every day and also care about the dresses.
The eldest brother is called Hao Dongyang, from Xiangzhou. His wife is from an ethnic minority. The wedding ceremony lasted two days, one day was held in the hotel booked by the man, and the other day was held in the bride's village.
Originally, there was no flower girl ceremony, mainly because Hao Dongyang got married young and was an only child. The youngest of his relatives was already in their third year of high school and couldn't possibly serve as a flower girl. As for the bride, it was a traditional wedding ceremony, so no flower girls were needed.
Lu Cijiu suggested that the flower girls bring their own clothes and small flower baskets. Hao Dongyang was not unhappy about it. He happily agreed and discussed the process with the emcee to arrange the movement. It was not a big deal.
The hotel has heating, so it's a good idea to have a small suit and a small skirt. Wei Ba told his father about it that day, and Sang Jinghong agreed to sponsor the flower girl dresses for the children without hesitation.
Lu Cijiu shamelessly thanked Mr. Sang for his sponsorship.
Sang Jinghong was very efficient, and the next day a tailor came to measure the babies' heights. Lu Cijiu took a look at the scene and realized that these were custom-made.
"Is it too late?" After asking this, he felt it was nonsense. Sang Jinghong was very reliable.
Tail sits in his father's arms, looking expectantly with his big eyes.
Sang Jinghong said softly, "It will definitely be in time."
The tailor also said politely: "Don't worry, Mr. Lu, we are a professional team company and will definitely not delay your business."
"Oh, okay. Thank you."
The kids looked forward to it every day, counting the days. Finally, on the 12th, the clothes arrived. Not only formal dresses, but also matching down jackets and coats.
The boys' down jackets are blue, and Dudu's is pink. They're light but warm, with a simple and elegant style, and come with matching leather boots. Formal suits: the boys wear a white shirt, a black suit, and a white vest. A three-piece suit, complete with a small bow tie, looks adorable and handsome.
Dalong stood in front of the dressing mirror, reluctant to leave.
The little skirt is made of pink gauze, puffy, with puff sleeves and a doll collar, just above the knees, and white leggings - after all, you don't want the child to be frozen.
That day, a stylist came to help the kids cut their hair.
Lu Cijiu: ...If it weren't for Weiba, he really wanted to ask Sang Jinghong if he still needed a goose. Ugh, brother.
"Why are you always looking at Sang Jinghong?" Gong Xichao had been noticing for a long time.
Lu Cijiu Lemon said, "I want to be Mr. Sang's younger brother, so I don't have to work so hard."
He just said that, and everyone on the internet was making fun of it. Then he went to cook. He didn't even notice Gong Xichao's thoughtful look.
The babies were styled, their new clothes were taken off and carefully placed in the suitcase. Each of them packed a small backpack and they were ready to set off tomorrow.
The wedding was on the 16th. They first went to Hao Dongyang's house on the 13th, then went to the bride's house. The ceremony was held at the bride's house on the second day, and they returned to the city hotel for the groom's ceremony on the third day, and then they could go home.
It's equivalent to a three-day and two-night trip.
Lu Cijiu was also looking forward to it, as he had never seen a village wedding.
Yan Junbo arrived at around seven in the morning on the 13th. He parked his car on the side of the road, and before he even arrived, his voice reached the courtyard. "I bought some popcorn chicken, chicken wings, and French fries. Anyone want some?"
"Uncle Bozi is here." Tail jumped out of his father's arms and ran to the door.
Yan Junbo laughed and said, "Hey, Tail, good morning."
"Good morning, uncle."
Soon the other three arrived and lined up to welcome Uncle Bozi.
Yan Junbo greeted everyone one by one, and when he saw Tail's father, he said, "I bought some popcorn chicken and chicken wings and fries. Can Tail eat it?"
My father is right here.
"Dad!" Tail looked at his father expectantly, blinked his eyes and hugged his thighs to act coquettishly.
Sang Jinghong knew that Wei Ba was not an ordinary child, so he had never been particularly strict with him about eating. Especially since he had just met his son halfway, he naturally wanted to get along with his son and said, "Okay, eat less in the morning."
"Great, thank you Dad, thank you Uncle Bozi."
Lu Cijiu made preserved egg and lean meat porridge in the morning and fried some vegetarian buns, which were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Everyone ate in the yard. Yan Junbo didn't buy much, just snacks. Lu Cijiu took a look and said to the kids, "One chicken wing per person will be fine."
The cubs were very obedient and nodded happily.
Kids still like fried food, it tastes delicious.
After packing up and carrying their luggage, Lu Cijiu said goodbye to Cheng Ge and Sang Jinghong, and the family of six, a cat and Hu Sanniang set off.
Yan Junbo: "I'm driving my dad's seven-seater today, it's perfect. You only have this one suitcase for your luggage? You'll be staying here for three days."
"That's enough," Lu Cijiu said. If the kids hadn't wanted to change into flower girl clothes, he wouldn't even want to bring a box. Gong Xichao's Qiankun bag would have been more convenient. He was bringing this box for outsiders to see.
After getting in the car and sitting down, Yan Junbo drove straight to the airport.
They arrived in Xiang City a little after eleven o'clock. Hao Dongyang drove to pick them up. Knowing that there were many of them, two cars came. At a noodle shop, Hao Dongyang punched Yan Junbo on the shoulder and said cheerfully, "Good buddy."
Yan Junbo covered his shoulder and said, "Boss, please control yourself. You don't know how strong you are."
"Oh, the young master is angry."
My roommate, Yan Junbo, was from a wealthy, delicate family, and sometimes everyone called him "Young Master." Yan Junbo actually disliked the name, but he never said anything, knowing no one meant it well. Lu Cijiu never called him that, and Yan Junbo's affection for him grew, and they became close friends.
I don't even know this.
After beating Yan Junbo, Hao Dongyang turned around to beat Lu Cijiu, and then he saw a tall, handsome and beautiful man standing in front of Lu Cijiu, looking down at him coldly.
"..." The 1.72-meter-tall Hao Dongyang spontaneously put away his fist and asked politely, "Who is this, Old Four?"
In the dormitory ranking, Lu Cijiu and Yan Junbo were ranked a few months apart. Lu Cijiu ranked fourth and Yan Junbo was fifth, so he was called Brother Lu.
"My friend, Gong Xichao." After Lu Cijiu introduced each other, the kids greeted him warmly.
Hao Dongyang forgot about the embarrassment just now. He felt a little uneasy being stared at by Mr. Gong.
"My cousin is driving, so we have to sit separately."
Gong Xichao said coldly: "Lu Cijiu, take the kitten Dudu and ride in his cousin's car."
Lu Bijiu: ...
Hao Dongyang: ...
This division.
Hao Dongyang found Lu Cijiu and whispered, "What's going on? Your friend seems to dislike me a little? How did I offend him? No, it's our first meeting."
"It's no big deal. He just doesn't like you hitting me." Lu Cijiu said.
Hao Dongyang: "??? That's it? No way?" He got into the car with a look of wonder on his face. Gong Xichao stared at him closely, and Hao Dongyang couldn't resist. Although the excuse was too far-fetched, he said tentatively, "Old Four and I haven't seen each other for a long time. I just lost control and won't move anymore. Also, I'm strong, so this won't work."
"It's good that you know your mistake." Gong Xichao nodded and looked away.
Hao Dongyang: ??? That's really the reason!
After getting in the car and having a meeting, Hao Dongyang was a warm and down-to-earth person. He was mainly intimidated by Mr. Gong sitting next to him in the passenger seat, so he took the initiative to talk to him: "You two are so handsome, hello."
"Thank you, uncle." Tail said sweetly.
Dalong said, "Hello, uncle." Then the conversation fell silent again.
Hao Dongyang:...Forget it, it’s good to just concentrate on driving.
Finally, we arrived. Hao Dongyang's family lived in the city, and their new house was in the same complex as his parents'. It was a small, three-bedroom, just over 90 square meters. After touring the house and greeting each other, it was lunchtime. Hao Dongyang's parents were entertaining guests at a restaurant. After dinner, the Hao family hired a bus for all the groom's relatives and friends who were going to the bride's home.
"We live over there. The conditions are a bit simple. We have a big bunk bed."
"We haven't seen each other for a long time. It's a good opportunity to chat all night." Yan Junbo said without any hesitation.
The bus drove out of the city and quickly got on the highway. It took three hours to get off the highway. I fell asleep in a daze, and when I woke up and looked out the window, I saw endless snow-capped mountains. The scenery was beautiful.
"It should be here soon, right?"
"No, I just asked, it will take more than an hour." Yan Junbo turned around and said.
Lu Cijiu said: "That's quite far."
"Yes. I heard that the bride's family is quite traditional and simple." Yan Junbo said.
Lu Cijiu checked on the kids, who were asleep too. He pulled a small piece of bread from his schoolbag and ate it, hungry. They drove for another hour or so. The mountain road was incredibly steep, winding up and down. Lu Cijiu sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the towering cliffs outside. His heart wasn't quite beating.
The car drove for a full five hours and finally arrived at around seven o'clock when it was dark.
The village is nestled in the mountains, and as Yan Junbo said, it is indeed very traditional and conservative. The architecture is very ethnic, and the villagers who come and go wear traditional clothing.
The cubs rubbed their eyes, half asleep, and looked curious at the scenery.
"We live in Uncle Xinxin's house." said Hao Dongyang.
The bride's name was Rangxin, not a Chinese surname. It's said that "Rang" (rang) has totemic connotations and is the phonetic equivalent of the Chinese character for dragon. The bride didn't come to pick them up, and the bride and groom didn't meet before the ceremony. The people who came were relatives and elders from the bride's family.
The path in the village was winding. The elders who came to pick them up were holding paper lanterns and lighting candles. The lighting was not very good, especially since the road was uneven. Lu Cijiu held the children's hands, and Gong Xichao carried the luggage.
After a 20-minute hike up and down, we finally arrived. The village was a wooden structure with a three-story main house and a smaller two-story building next to it. It was pitch black and there was no electricity.
The relative said in heavily accented Mandarin: "The power is off... it's useless... go to bed early."
Road to old just understand the key words.
Hao Dongyang's parents and relatives politely thanked him and sent him off. Hao Dongyang's relatives jokingly said, with a hint of complaint: "It's so far away, and it's pitch black without electricity."
"Is there any food? There's no dinner to eat."
Hao Dongyang said, "Uncle Abei just said he'd bring food over soon. Auntie, I've got a flashlight. Let's put our luggage down first. Thank you all for your hard work."
Yan Junbo was the first to say, "It's not hard. We all take the bus. This is my first time here. It's really fun."
No wonder Weiba likes Uncle Bozi, they are both supporters.
After Yan Junbo said this, Hao Dongyang's relatives didn't know what to say. Instead, they agreed and said that it was not hard at all, and it was a happy day for Dongyang.
We were given flashlights. The main building is large. No one sleeps on the first floor, and there are three rooms on the second floor. The rooms look shabby from the outside, but once you go inside you can tell that the bride's family has taken great care of them. Not only are they cleaned, but they have also been dried in advance so they are dry and not cold.
The bedding was clean.
Large bunk bed.
Hao Dongyang's female relatives shared a room, while the male elders slept in one. Lu Cijiu and his college classmates shared a room. That was Lu Cijiu's family of six and Yan Junbo. The third brother and his friends could only take one day off, and they agreed to meet at a city hotel on the 16th.
There were thick candles in the room, and it felt much better after they were lit.
After a while, there were a lot of people talking downstairs, all speaking the local dialect, which Lu Cijiu couldn't understand. Hao Dongyang said, "Dinner is here, let's go downstairs and eat."
"Now that you have a local wife, you have learned these words." Yan Junbo joked.
Hao Dongyang said: "I only listen to simple words like sorry, eat, you're welcome, thank you, etc."
"From what you said, I can tell that you worked hard to pursue your sister-in-law."
"Haha, yes, but it's worth it." Hao Dongyang began to brag about his wife.
The locals were xenophobic, and Hao Dongyang had certainly put in a lot of effort to convince his parents to marry their daughter to him. Everyone went downstairs, and the local women carried wooden buckets and basins filled with rice, vegetables, and rough bowls and chopsticks. After delivering the food, they went back home, telling Hao Dongyang to leave it at the door when he was done.
Everyone was hungry and no one was polite. Everyone took a bowl to fill up their rice and eat some vegetables.
Lu Cijiu wiped the kids' hands and served them in large, coarse bowls. The rice was served in long, thin strips with a fragrant aroma. The dish was a big stew, with smoked meat, stir-fried garlic sprouts, vegetables, and some kind of powder. It had chili peppers and garlic in it, and it was salty and spicy, and went especially well with rice.
Everyone praised the good craftsmanship.
Finally, eat it all.
Hao Dongyang's relative wanted to buy some smoked meat and asked the aunt to ask. But the aunt packed up the dishes and left without delay. The relative was stunned and said, "Why do I feel like they are afraid of us?"
"They're not afraid of us, they're afraid of this house," said Hao Dongyang.
The relatives were curious, and one said, "Oh, could it be a haunted place where someone died?"
"What are you talking about? It's a happy day. Don't talk nonsense. It's unlucky." Someone said unhappily.
Hao Dongyang laughed and said, "No. Aunt, don't let your imagination run wild. This is Uncle Xinxin's house. Her uncle used to be a Gu Master. People in the village both fear and respect Gu Masters. I don't understand why. Ten years ago, Uncle Xinxin was working away from home. He later settled down and got married. He doesn't live here anymore, so he rented this place out to us."
Everyone was quite afraid of ghosts, and they hadn't heard much about Gu Masters. Besides, they had been away for ten years, so any insects would have died long ago. So, relieved, they washed up, and went upstairs to sleep.
The battery is out, the cell phone signal is poor, and I don’t dare to play with the phone. I’ll go to bed early.
Hao Dongyang shared a bed with Lu Cijiu and the others, saying his uncle's snoring kept him awake, so he squeezed in. They hadn't seen each other for over six months after graduation, and sharing a room was a constant source of conversation about work and relationships. Hao Dongyang, like a wife-boaster, recounted the hardships of courting his wife and the triumph of winning her.
Lu Cijiu and Yan Junbo attended the event.
After hearing this, Gong Xichao said with a slightly sour tone, "You can still get a wife like this."
Why can't he do that? He has many more ways to chase her.
Lu Cijiu: ...I heard it.
"Mr. Gong is so handsome, isn't it easy to find someone? Why bother chasing him?" Hao Dongyang said, "Alas, if I had Mr. Gong's potential, my wife would have been with me a long time ago. She's obsessed with looks. Fortunately, Mr. Gong is not my best man."
Gong Xichao glanced at Lu Cijiu and said, "Some people may not be obsessed with looks. Even if I put my face right in front of his, he wouldn't be moved."
Lu Bijiu: ...
"Is there anyone who doesn't care about looks?" Hao Dongyang was surprised. He said, "Mr. Gong, you're rich and good-looking. You're a friend of the fourth brother, so you're a reliable person. Everything about you is top-notch, but you don't like this. Is she just obsessed with ugliness?"
Gong Xichao was curious, "What is the aesthetics of ugliness?"
“I only like ugly ones.”
Gong Xichao looked at Lu Cijiu. Lu Cijiu said first, "I have an aesthetic sense." Then he received a sad look from Gong Xichao.
Lu Cijiu: ...changing the subject.
“What’s the process tomorrow?”
"It's a bit complicated here. I've memorized it. I don't want to make any mistakes, otherwise Xinxin's family will be angry." After saying this, Hao Dongyang took out his phone and opened the memo. "When we go, there must be eleven or twenty-one people. It must be an odd number. After picking up the bride, we will go around and return in an even number. Odd number for going and even number for returning..."
If Hao Dongyang were from the village, then of course the man would pick up the bride and the woman would escort her. But Hao Dongyang didn't have a house in the village, so he could only start from his uncle's house, pick up the bride on an odd number, and have the woman escort her around before returning to her home.
There are also roosters flying over heads, singing duets, etc.
Hao Dongyang sang it for them again, making Yan Junbo almost die of laughter on his bed. Hao Dongyang felt embarrassed and said, "Oh, I've been learning it for a while, but it just doesn't taste right."
After chatting for a while and being busy all day, everyone was sleepy as they had to get up early to pick up the bride tomorrow.
Hao Dongyang was so alert he couldn't fall asleep, forcing himself to sleep while mumbling about tomorrow's schedule. As Lu Cijiu drifted off to sleep, he could still hear the lyrics of some duet. It was a toxic cycle.
The more I sleep, the colder I feel.
Lu Cijiu shivered, waking from the cold. He opened his eyes to see the room was pitch black, and the window next to the bed was open. He complained about being cold. He turned to look at the cubs, whose heads were buried in the covers, likely cold too.
It's not good to sleep like this, it makes it hard to breathe. Lu Cijiu tucked the quilt in for the baby and got up to close the window.
But I clearly closed it before going to bed, how come it opened in the middle of the night?
He walked to the window. It was quiet and dark outside. The whole village was in a deep sleep. The moon was so round, big and round. Lu Cijiu thought, it's almost the fifteenth day of the lunar month, isn't it a full moon? He reached out to close the window and suddenly saw a white shadow on a roof in the distance. In the blink of an eye, it was in front of his face.
Lu Cijiu was so frightened that he fell backwards—
"Lu Cijiu, what's wrong with you?"
Gong Xichao's voice. Lu Cijiu opened his eyes, still a little confused. When he looked up, he saw Gong Xichao's enlarged face, "Didn't I close the window?"
"What do you mean by closing the window? You kept trying to get into my arms, and you were just trying to leave." Gong Xichao hugged Lu Cijiu tightly. The bully said, "You can come in if you want, and you can leave if you want. Did you ask for my opinion?"
Lu Cijiu: ... "Really close the window, I feel so cold, the window is open."
"See for yourself."
Lu Cijiu tilted his head to look over. The window was tightly shut, and the wind hadn't blown it open at all. Lu Cijiu was half asleep, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "I'm dreaming. This dream is too real."
The cubs also slept soundly, with their heads sticking out and not crawling into the bed.
He ran into Gong Xichao's arms. Lu Cijiu: ...
"I was just dreaming. I didn't mean to take advantage of you."
"I wish you did it on purpose." Gong Xichao said.
Lu Cijiu: ... "Go to sleep."
The coldness just now was very real, but now he was in Gong Xichao's arms, warm and cozy. It was a little strange.
"You didn't feel anything else?"
"I only feel you." Gong Xichao said with his head down.
Lu Cijiu: ...What kind of corny love talk is this. And this question and answer seems familiar.
He soon remembered that something was wrong when they were watching "Hospital Strange Stories". Lu Cijiu asked Gong Xichao if he had noticed anything else wrong. Gong Xichao replied, "I was watching you."
"..." It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it? It couldn't be that wherever they went, something was wrong. Could he really have become a radar scanner?
Continue sleeping.
Because this village holds a ceremony, there's no need to get up too early. The groom's side has a ritual of eating noon. This doesn't mean literally eating lunch; there's no time or place restrictions. It's primarily a tribute to the hungry ghosts of the mountains and the four directions, feeding them to ensure a smooth and successful wedding.
The aunties brought local breakfast, and after eating, Hao Dongyang changed into local clothes.
The master of ceremonies arrived and took a headcount. The bride's reception required a matchmaker, a secondary matchmaker, and a groom's escort (the groom's escort had to be his younger brother). Since Hao Dongyang was an only child, he had to ask his high school senior cousin to take on the role. There were also the bride's parents (here referring to the groom's relatives, a couple with both sons and daughters), wine and meat bearers, and food carriers.
Everyone changed their clothes. If there were an even number of relatives to pick up, the extra ones could just quietly go over after the relatives were picked up.
The kids were curious about what they were looking at. Dudu liked the girls' jewelry here, which sparkled and shone in the wind. Lu Cijiu wanted to wait until the wedding was over to see if he could buy some.
There were many of them, and it just happened to be an odd number. It seemed Hao Dongyang had calculated everything well before he came. Apart from the necessary relatives for the wedding procession, those who could have stayed away stayed away.
Lunch was held in front of my uncle's house.
They lit incense and candles, and prepared yellow paper and gold ingots. The memorial was written on the yellow paper in the local language, which no one could understand.
It was a gloomy winter morning.
After the candles were lit, the emcee sang a few words and began burning paper and gold ingots. A gust of wind sent the ashes flying from the basin. Lu Cijiu heard someone whisper that the ghosts had come to eat, and that lunch was served.
But he saw that the place was clean and clear, without any ghosts. It was just the wind blowing by.
After the ceremony, everyone went to the bride's house with the wedding gifts.
Mr. Yali was holding a rooster. The child was afraid of chickens, so his expression was complicated, but he was forcing himself to hold it in for the sake of his eldest cousin's happiness. Lu Cijiu approached and heard Hao Dongyang's cousin muttering "two thousand yuan, two thousand yuan."
It seems that Hao Dongyang persuaded his cousin to hold the chicken and gave him two thousand.
That's quite generous.
The road to the village wound around and around. After walking for a while, Lu Cijiu looked back at his uncle's house, and then at the bride's house where he was pointing the way. This direction was the place where he had dreamt of a white shadow on the roof last night.
My right eyelid twitched.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
