Chapter 432: A delicious treat, everyone wants a bite
October 1, 1984, the seventh day of the ninth lunar month,
Taboo: opening a business, starting work, installing doors, opening a store, opening a market,
Suitable for: moving, moving into new house, traveling, praying, accepting marriage proposals, getting married, and relocating.
Lanterns with the word "happiness" on them were hung at the entrance to the courtyard of Zaojun Temple one day in advance. After Li Zhongfa had prepared the wedding banquet in Qingshui County, he brought a large group of relatives and friends of the Li family to see Li Yue off to her wedding.
The Zaojun Temple courtyard, which had been quiet all the time, suddenly became lively with the chirping of people, as if there were three more swallows' nests.
A young man like Li Ye would naturally be ordered around at this time, and the work would never end.
It was already the middle of the night, and he had to take his two younger sisters, Li Juan and Li Ying, to follow Dongshan's rules and paste red paper on the trees and manhole covers around the yard.
This rule and custom is popular in many places in the north. Before sunrise on the day of the wedding, people use red paper to press down the manhole covers according to the chosen wedding route to suppress the unlucky things.
In ancient times, it was easy for wronged spirits to be trapped in the "well", so people used talisman paper to ward off evil spirits. However, after later evolution, red paper was used instead.
Li Juan carried the paste bucket and applied the paste, Li Ying held a flashlight to provide lighting, and the two girls helped Li Ye paste the red paper while whispering to each other little bits of information.
"Brother, originally grandma didn't allow my eldest aunt to come this time, but she insisted on coming along, and she also brought my eldest uncle along. The day before yesterday, grandma scolded her for being wishful thinking, and sternly warned her not to talk to you and sister. Didn't you see how stifled she was just now?"
"That's right. I heard from grandma that although my uncle is still a big shot in the county, he is still 18 levels behind the selection department in the capital. Isn't that wishful thinking?"
"My eldest aunt has the right to be delusional, but those uncles and uncles wanted to come along, and my grandfather didn't agree. He even blocked our door and scolded us for a long time."
"That's right, we originally arranged for their children to work as construction workers in an instant noodle factory, but they all ran back home because they found it too dirty and tiring.
Now that Uncle Xiaoman has become a team leader and earns 70 or 80 yuan a month, they all regret it and want to come back. The whole family is not satisfied with just two yuan for a meal, and they want to follow him to the capital. Is two yuan enough for a ride?"
Seeing that there was no one else around, the two sisters started talking one after another, telling each other everything about what happened in their hometown.
Eldest aunt Li Mingyue and eldest uncle Cui Zhixian have always looked down on Li Kaijian, and even more so on the fool Li Ye and the picky Li Yue.
But now! Hehe.
When Cui Zhixian, who had just been transferred from the township to the county, saw that Yang Yumin had joined the Central Selection Department, he became jealous and thought that it was not too late to mend the situation.
But Li Ye knew her sister Li Yue's temper. After her aunt insisted on introducing her to that college student who went to Hebin Township to get some experience, Cui Zhixian's idea of "having someone in the court to be in charge" could no longer be realized.
It's good enough that I didn't step on you, but you still want my wife to support you? Are you the kind of person who knows how to repay kindness?
There are some people in the world who are kind-hearted and attach great importance to family ties, such as my aunt Li Mingxiang's family, Li Dayong's family, Jin Peng's family, and so on.
But there are also some people who have the "heroic qualities" and would rather let the world down than be let down by the world. As long as there is a chance to climb up, no matter who she is, they will take advantage of it.
If Li Ye hadn't suddenly appeared, maybe sister Li Yue would have really been introduced to that college student!
"Brother, look, there's a car coming."
Li Juan, carrying a bucket of paste, suddenly pointed to the entrance of the alley.
Li Ye looked at the familiar car lights and knew it was Pei Wenhui's little BMW.
The little BMW stopped beside Li Ye. The first to get off was Pei Wencong, followed by Pei Wenhui and Fu Yiru.
Pei Wencong smiled and said, "What is Mr. Li busy with?"
Li Ye raised the red paper in his hand and said, "It is a Dongshan custom to put red paper on the manhole cover to ward off evil spirits and keep away darkness."
Pei Wencong was surprised and said, "There is such a custom in Dongshan? This is the first time I know about it. I have learned a lot from this trip."
Li Ye looked at Pei Wencong and said meaningfully: "You must have gained a lot of experience during your visit to the capital!"
Pei Wencong cupped his hands and said sincerely, "It's all thanks to Mr. Li. If I hadn't met Mr. Li, I don't know if my literary club could survive. How could I be here today?"
Pei Wencong was telling the truth. When he received Li Ye's call, he had already sold his old Toyota to raise money for printing costs.
But now, in just three years, he has moved into a luxury mansion on the top of a mountain, and those wealthy people would call him "Mr. Pei" when they see him.
In early September, Li Ye asked Pei Wencong to make a lot of preparations. Pei Wencong didn't know why at the time, but when the news of the joint statement came out on September 26, even if Pei Wencong didn't know what was going on, his bank account would tell him what was going on.
This kind of thing has happened countless times over the years.
What's more, after dawn today, Pei Wencong will still be qualified to watch the National Day celebrations. Think about those so-called big guys, do they have this qualification?
So how could Pei Wencong forget this kindness? How dare he forget it?
"Old Pei, you are being too polite when you say that," Li Ye said amiably, "Help is always mutual. You are relying on me, so shouldn't I also be relying on you? Let's not talk about that."
"Hahaha, I'm so ashamed. Mr. Li, you're too kind to me. I'll go congratulate Mr. Li and let Xiaohui help you here!"
Pei Wencong was of course very happy after hearing what Li Ye said. Then he wanted Pei Wenhui to stay and help Li Ye put up the manhole cover while he went to meet Li Zhongfa.
Because he has to attend the National Day ceremony tomorrow morning, he will not be able to attend Li Yue's wedding, so he came here in advance to express his gratitude.
However, Li Ye looked at Pei Wenhui and Fu Yiru beside her and said with a smile: "You are not suitable for this job. My sister is worried about how to put on makeup! You two go over and give her some advice."
"Oh, oh, I know a little bit about makeup."
"I understand a little bit."
Pei Wenhui exchanged a glance with Li Ye, then pulled Fu Yiru inside.
In the darkness, Fu Yiru saw Li Ye waving at them and naturally understood what he meant.
Today, Fu Yiru came here with the same identity as Pei Wenhui as an "overseas compatriot", and had the responsibility to send her sister off to marry on behalf of her mother Fu Guiru.
After the few people left, the little sister Li Ying asked Li Ye in a low voice: "Brother, what is makeup?"
Li Ye smiled and said, "You are still young, don't ask this. When you are old enough, you will know what makeup is."
But Li Juan pouted and said, "Makeup is just putting on rouge and powder. I always think that my sister looks better without makeup than with makeup!"
Li Ye smiled but said nothing, thinking that it was because you have not seen the power of the "Four Great Evil Spells of Asia".
Li Yue is indeed very beautiful without makeup, but if she can put on makeup correctly, she will definitely be more beautiful.
. . . . . . . . .
At around five o'clock in the morning, when the sky was just beginning to turn pale, the Yang family's wedding procession arrived.
Compared with the gossipy group of people on Li Ye's side, the composition of the Yang family's team seemed too simple. Except for the leader, Secretary Li from the Beijing University Youth League Committee, the rest were all Yang Yumin's classmates.
Li Huaisheng is Yang Yumin's best man today. He has the loudest voice when it comes to knocking on the door and is very gifted at sweet talk to create an atmosphere.
The Li family is certainly not the kind of family that would block your door and flash your payment code, and won't let you see the bride until all your borrowed money and gold bars are taken out.
So after the two little sisters Li Juan and Li Ying played a few red envelope jokes, they naturally opened the door.
Then a group of Yang Yumin's classmates rushed in, clamoring to see what the bride looked like.
Things like wedding night pranks have actually become much more civilized nowadays, but it is impossible to completely ban them. As long as everyone knows their limits and makes a few jokes, there's nothing wrong with it.
As a result, when they saw it this time, everyone exclaimed, "What a great guy!"
Among these classmates, only Li Huaisheng had seen Li Yue, and the rest had never seen her at all. Now it seems that Yang Yumin has married a goddess!
"Oh, when I first saw my sister-in-law, I just thought that the clothes were extremely bright, but when I looked at it again, Old Yang, how many lifetimes of blessings have you accumulated?"
"Old Yang, what kind of fate do you have? Why didn't I see that you would have this kind of luck when you were in school?"
"Well, this romantic luck is not visible to most people, they are just holding it back to do big things honestly."
“.”
Everyone praised Li Yue for a long time with laughter, making the Li family feel proud.
After all, Yang Yumin is a graduate of Kyoto University and joined the Central Selection Committee. If Li Yue didn't have some outstanding advantages, wouldn't people think they were not a good match?
Although a group of classmates made the atmosphere very lively, Li Ye always felt that there was a hint of obvious sadness in the corners of Yang Yumin's eyes.
Li Ye pulled Yang Yumin aside and asked in a low voice: "Did you not sleep well? What day is today? Why are you so listless?"
Yang Yumin pursed his lips, suddenly sighed, and said something that shocked Li Ye for several seconds.
It turned out that Yang Yumin’s biological parents arrived in Beijing last night.
Li Ye heard about Yang Yumin's situation from his sister Li Yue. He knew that he was adopted by Yang Huaihua, so he took his mother's surname Yang.
But Li Ye didn't know that Yang Yumin's biological father and mother would show up today.
Yang Yumin gritted his teeth and said anxiously: "In fact, after I was admitted to university, they wanted to claim me back, but I scolded them back.
When my mother picked me up, I was only three months old and hadn't been weaned yet. I was only one breath left.
My mother raised me and went through so much hardship. I brought her to Beijing because I wanted to cut off contact with my hometown."
Seeing Yang Yumin, a grown man, actually started to wipe his tears, Li Ye quickly said, "Don't cry on a day like today. Tell me the details first. You can't hide it from me now! My sister is getting married today. If you lose her, I will beat you up."
“.”
Hearing that Li Ye wanted to help him discuss countermeasures, Yang Yumin felt a little ashamed, but he still told Li Ye the whole story of Yang Huaihua's adoption of him.
It turned out that Yang Huaihua's husband died in the war with the White Elephant in 1962. Yang Huaihua gritted her teeth and did not remarry. She took care of her elderly parents-in-law and provided for them until the end of their lives.
It was the end of the natural disaster, and you can imagine how difficult life was. Moreover, it was not a good idea for a woman to live in the countryside without a child.
At this moment, Yang Huaihua picked up Yang Yumin who was thrown at the door.
When there are many people in a family and they are not well fed, the first ones to be abandoned are actually the children who are the most difficult to feed and the elderly who have lost their ability to work.
"This time my mother wrote a letter and asked two aunts who were very kind to me to come and make a quilt for me, but she didn't say that I was getting married, but somehow the news leaked out."
“.”
"They didn't come to recognize you earlier, and they didn't come to recognize you later, so why did they come to recognize you on your wedding day? What the hell?"
After listening to Yang Yumin's explanation, Li Ye couldn't help but start cursing.
Yang Yumin was raised by Yang Huaihua alone since he was a child, and it was especially difficult when he was in school and high school. However, during these more than ten years, Yang Yumin's biological parents never showed up.
This is like an old farmer who accidentally plants a crop in his neighbor's field. When he waters, fertilizes, weeds and drives away insects, the neighbor says nothing. But in the fall when the crop is ripe and ready to be harvested, the neighbor jumps out to demand a share of the profits.
Yang Yumin also said angrily: "I also think they are worthless, but our unit leader is here today, you said I can't beat them or scold them?"
"You can't hit or scold me? So I can't hit or scold you?"
Li Ye cursed, then said, "Don't worry about it. Don't say anything today. Talk to my sister first, and I'll go talk to Grandpa."
Yang Yumin hesitated for a moment: "Do I need to trouble you, Grandpa?"
Li Ye said: "Grandpa has to step in on this matter, otherwise people will put pressure on us because of our generational background, and we will not be in the right."
“.”
According to the rules of Dongshan, when a girl gets married, the grandfather will definitely not go with her. But today the situation is special, so Li Ye can only move out the big Buddha statue of Li Zhongfa.
After listening to Li Ye's narration, Li Zhongfa was not very surprised. He had seen a lot of things in his life.
Li Ye's aunt and uncle are now eyeing Yang Yumin, this popular commodity, and want to take a bite, so how could his biological parents miss out?
Li Zhongfa met with Wu Juying, and then called over the twelve "guests" who had sent Li Yue there today.
"This kid had a hard life since childhood, but now he's successful, so it's normal for him to have some troubles. No one is allowed to laugh at him later, understand?"
Wu Juying also said fiercely: "After today, you must be more careful and sensible. The groom's leader is here. You can't let others laugh at you, but you can't let others bully you either."
Li Kaijian could not become the "chief commander" at that time, so he could only appoint two younger ones.
"Xiaojuan and Xiaoying, after you two follow them, stay by your sister's side and don't allow those two old guys to get close to you. If they come to you in a rude way, just cry, cry as hard as you can."
“.”
Then he turned to Li Ye and said, "Today you are sending your sister off to get married. According to the rules, you should sit at the seat of honor. You should act like a good-looking guy. Put on your airs and show them how to be a good-looking guy."
“.”
"Yeah, I understand, Dad."
Li Ye couldn't help but touch his nose and nodded in agreement.
How come it doesn't sound the same between wanting to act tough and being called a fool acting tough?
(End of this chapter)
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