Knowing that her parents and sister were still outside, Yu Li could only grit her teeth and bear it. Fortunately, Sha Zhu knew his limits, so he didn't make a big fool of himself.
Neither Yu Li's parents nor He Yushui disturbed them. They cleaned the table and left immediately, wanting to get them into the best state of mind as quickly as possible.
Sha Zhu and Yu Li had no idea what they were thinking, nor did they know that they had already left. This had caused them a lot of anxiety.
The passion didn't truly erupt until late at night. The next morning, Yu Li stayed in bed and didn't get up, while Sha Zhu's eyes looked like panda eyes. It was obvious that the night had been filled with intense passion.
Sha Zhu was planning to treat everyone to a meal yesterday, but his mother-in-law's family was pressuring him to come, so he didn't have time to hold a banquet.
Holding a belated ceremony the next day seemed a bit excessive; those who didn't know better might think he was greedy for the money. To avoid upsetting his wife, Sha Zhu decided to invite a few close friends over for a meal.
This way, there would be no extravagance, and Yu Li would save face. After delivering breakfast to the room, Sha Zhu took the money and receipts and left home.
Before long, he returned with quite a lot of things, including a piece of meat, a fish, and even a duck. After killing the duck, Sha Zhu started calling for people.
Inviting someone to dinner requires notifying them a little in advance. If you wait until the food is cooked before inviting people, it seems like you're just trying to make up the numbers.
Sha Zhu didn't call too many people. He only called Wei Hua and Yan Jiecheng in the front yard, Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi in the back yard, and Huang Tao in the middle yard.
Aside from these few people, Sha Zhu didn't notify anyone else. He didn't want anyone else to take advantage of him, unless they weren't on good terms with him. These five people already represented most of the people in the courtyard.
Sha Zhu would never call out to Yi Zhonghai or the deaf old lady, no matter what. After calling them, Sha Zhu went back to his house to prepare lunch.
Seeing that her brother was preparing to host a dinner party, He Yushui arrived at the kitchen early to help. Even Yu Li didn't linger in bed.
Seeing his wife get up, Sha Zhu found He Yushui somewhat of an eyesore. An excuse to get rid of her immediately came to mind.
"Rain, hurry up and call my father-in-law and the others over. Let's all have a good time today."
Seeing her sister-in-law's expression, He Yushui didn't refuse and immediately turned around and left the courtyard.
Yu Li was very satisfied with her husband's performance. She went into the kitchen and took over He Yushui's work. They say teamwork makes the dream work.
Yu Li washed the vegetables while Sha Zhu chopped them, and soon the vegetables were almost ready. When they were nearly finished, Sha Zhu started cooking.
Before long, a delicious aroma wafted from the courtyard. This made many people involuntarily swallow hard. Due to the wind direction, the Jia family and the deaf old lady were particularly tempted.
Just then, the issue of pension payments came to light, and even the deaf old lady dared to come to Sha Zhu's house to act like an old woman taking advantage of her age. Jia Zhangshi didn't send Qin Huairu to feign pitifulness. From Sha Zhu's actions towards Qin Huairu, one can see her current position in his heart.
Thinking about her family's situation, Jia Zhangshi was also in a dilemma. In the end, she took out one yuan and a pound of meat coupons from her pocket.
"Qin Huairu, hurry up and take some money to buy a pound of meat. That damned idiot Zhu only knows how to eat well at home and doesn't know how to show filial piety to us."
Qin Huairu didn't respond to her mother-in-law's words. Because no matter how she responded, she would ultimately be the one who suffered.
Qin Huairu took the receipts and left the courtyard house, only pausing briefly at Sha Zhu's house in the middle courtyard. Finally, she turned and left the courtyard house.
Qin Huairu, who had gradually evolved, also harbored some hatred for Sha Zhu, as well as some hatred for Wei Hua.
She hated Sha Zhu for being so heartless and ungrateful; he had already gotten married just three or four days after the incident. If Wei Hua hadn't interfered, Sha Zhu would never have known what had happened.
But what's done is done, and Qin Huairu is powerless to change it. She can only bury all her hatred in her heart.
If it weren't for those two, her husband would have become a level 2 fitter long ago. Perhaps he wouldn't have been implicated by Yi Zhonghai. If they hadn't been struck by lightning, the Jia family's life would have been much, much better.
After buying the meat, Qin Huairu went into the kitchen. She knew her mother-in-law would never cook. Rather than endure her mother-in-law's nagging, she figured she might as well take the initiative; the final result wouldn't change anything.
As Qin Huairu entered the kitchen, the others gradually arrived at Sha Zhu's house. Wei Hua had no idea what the others had brought. Wei Hua brought a thermos and some pastries.
Sha Zhu didn't mention it was a wedding banquet, so Wei Hua naturally wouldn't give a monetary gift. But it was still a wedding banquet after all, so even though he didn't have a monetary gift, he should at least give something as a token of his appreciation.
After handing the items to Yu Li, Wei Hua was seated at the table. Since everyone knew each other, there was no awkwardness.
However, quite a few people had their eyes on Yu Haitang. Compared to He Yushui, Yu Haitang was much taller. Yu Haitang was naturally quite lively, and since these people were invited by her sister and brother-in-law, she should have a good relationship with them. Yu Haitang didn't want to ignore them.
As soon as he sat down, he started chatting with Xu Damao and the others. Wei Hua didn't say much, but Xu Damao and Yan Jiecheng's eyes were gleaming with greed.
Compared to Yan Jiecheng, Xu Damao was far more eloquent. If Yu's parents hadn't been there, Xu Damao might have already taken further action.
Wei Hua had to admire Xu Damao's eloquence; even with her parents around, Yu Haitang couldn't help but focus her attention on him. If today's main characters weren't Sha Zhu and Yu Li, Xu Damao would probably have debuted as the center of attention.
What Wei Hua found somewhat unbelievable was He Yushui. Ever since arriving at Sha Zhu's house, Wei Hua had noticed that He Yushui would occasionally steal glances at him.
Wei Hua couldn't help but lament the dreaded passing of youth. To avoid awkwardness, Wei Hua could only chat with other people.
Fortunately, Sha Zhu managed to defuse the awkward situation in time. Just as everyone was chatting happily, Sha Zhu and Yu Li walked in.
After clearing the table, the dishes were brought in. Due to the times, Sha Zhu didn't cook many dishes; there were only eight dishes for a dozen or so people. However, in this era, eight dishes were considered extravagant.
After everyone was seated, Sha Zhu brought out two bottles of good wine.
"Today is just a casual meal, so please don't stand on ceremony. I happened to get two bottles of Fenjiu a while ago, so please have a taste today."
After saying that, he started pouring wine for his father-in-law and mother-in-law. Then he poured a glass for each of his friends. In this era when even food was scarce, having a glass of fine wine was already a great blessing.
Today's main character is Sha Zhu, and everyone's attention is on him and his wife. A dozen or so people shared two bottles of liquor, each person only drinking about an ounce or two. Even those who don't usually drink much wouldn't get drunk.
After a couple of casual walks, the effects of the alcohol would be mostly gone. Once everyone was full and satisfied, they left Sha Zhu's house one by one.
As soon as I left Sha Zhu's house, I found that the Huang family in the middle courtyard were actually tidying up.
"Huang Tao, what happened to your family?"
"My dad received a transfer order a couple of days ago, asking him to work in Northeast China. Even my job was transferred there. The organization wants us to move as soon as possible, probably because my dad wants to move away sooner!"
"I originally thought we wouldn't move until after the New Year. Now that they've started moving their things, it means the organization has already started urging us to move."
“When you get there, you can write a letter or send a telegram if you have nothing to do. After all, we’ve spent so much time together.”
"Once I have a stable job, I'll write you a letter and we can keep in touch. After all, we've been friends since we grew up together."
"I wish you and your family a safe journey!"
"Thanks!"
Wei Hua patted Huang Tao on the shoulder and returned to the front yard. He had been wondering why the Jia family was still living in the back yard. Now it seemed that after the Huang family moved out, Yi Zhonghai used his position as an elder to get the Jia family to move to the middle yard.
After all, the story begins in 1965, and it's only the end of 1958 now. A full six years have passed, enough time for anything to happen. However, now that Yi Zhonghai is crippled, the Jia family probably won't be able to move to the Central Court.
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