Chapter 55
The last time the Ye family was so lively was when they visited my second brother-in-law.
But my second sister's grandmother only gave birth to a son and a daughter, and even if Uncle Li brought his entire family, there were only twenty people in total.
This time, to meet Ye Manzhi's partner, the Chang family not only sent a luxurious lineup of an uncle and three aunts, but the eldest uncle also brought his four sons to strengthen the team.
When Wu Zhengrong walked into the Ye family's gate, the first people he faced were Ye Manzhi's three brothers and four cousins.
The three brothers are fine.
My four cousins are really tall, strong and sturdy.
His first thought was that with his physique, it would be a shame not to join the army.
Uncle Chang was very satisfied with the surprise on his face. Three generations of the Chang family worked in the sausage factory and never lacked meat to eat. The men in the family all had strong physiques.
Although the future son-in-law is an officer, they are not inferior to each other either. If you want to bully his daughter in the future, you still have to think twice!
The uncle pretended to pat his youngest son on the shoulder and scolded him, "The guests are here, why are you still blocking the way? Let the young man in!"
Wu Zhengrong was holding things in both hands, so he didn't salute him. He naturally called him "Uncle", and then greeted his mother-in-law whom he met formally for the first time.
Chang Yue'e happily responded, greeting him warmly, "Xiao Wu, come in and sit down! Lai Ya is the youngest girl in our family. We heard her boyfriend is coming home, and the elders all want to come and meet him. There are so many relatives and friends at home today, so please don't be surprised!"
She only looked at Wu Zhengrong a few times through the window in the corridor when he brought Bud home.
Today is the first face-to-face contact between the two sides.
Looking closely, this child is really good-looking. No wonder Ye Lai Ya is always so confused.
Before Wu Zhengrong could say anything polite, the female comrades in the room started praising him.
"Second sister, our new son-in-law is really handsome. Lai Ya has good taste!"
"I heard it was the organization that introduced him. They really have good vision!"
"Sister Chang, your son-in-law has fine eyebrows and handsome eyes. He is much more attractive than my big and strong son-in-law."
The Ye family's small living room was packed with people, leaving barely any room to step.
In addition to the Ye family's relatives and friends, there are also several neighbors on this floor.
The first time a girl's boyfriend comes to visit her home is a top priority for anyone. Chang Yue'e started preparing for today's meal a week in advance.
However, even if she grew eight hands, it would be impossible for her to prepare food for dozens of people in just one morning.
Fortunately, neighbors are close these days, and when someone has a big event or a happy event, everyone will lend a hand.
Today's meal was prepared with the help of our good neighbors!
Some helped add two dishes, some helped steam buns and make pancakes, and finally the food was served on the table before the son-in-law came.
After seeing Wu Zhengrong, the neighbors satisfied their curiosity, greeted Chang Yue'e, and left laughing.
There was some space freed up in the house, but not much.
Wu Zhengrong's eyes quickly swept across the room. In addition to the people in the small living room, there were people in several rooms!
It's not that he hasn't seen the world, but no matter how much he has seen, this kind of meeting a son-in-law is the first time he has experienced it.
Seeing sweat on his forehead and a blank expression on his face for a moment, Ye Manzhi almost died of laughter.
Since Wu Zhengrong entered her house, he only said two sentences.
The first sentence is "Uncle".
The second sentence was to greet Chang Yue'e, "Hello, Auntie."
After handing over the gift in his hand, there was no room for him to interrupt.
There were many people in the room and a stove was burning. Ye Manzhi asked him to take off his military coat and then took him to identify his relatives one by one.
My uncle and aunt, my third aunt, my fourth aunt, my youngest aunt, my uncle and my aunt, these are the elders.
After that there are brothers and sisters, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, cousins, nephews and other peers and younger generations.
Wu Zhengrong looked around at the people and tried his best to match their names with their faces.
If you have a bad memory, it would be quite difficult to marry a girl from the Ye family. Just recognizing relatives is a big project.
Ye Shouxin was very proud of today's event. While preparing to serve the meal, he said to Wu Zhengrong, "All the relatives here today live in the city. There are some relatives in my hometown that I haven't informed yet. I'll introduce them to you when I have the chance!"
Wu Zhengrong: “…”
He had nothing to say but smiled and nodded.
The Ye family had already arranged marriages for four of their children. When it came to Ye Manzhi's turn, Ye Shouxin and Chang Yue'e had already accumulated rich experience in marriage.
Ye Shouxin believed that when a son-in-law came to visit for the first time, especially when the son-in-law of a leader came to visit for the first time, they must not be stage-frightened and must overwhelm the other party in terms of numbers and momentum!
When the two parties are not very close yet, they cannot just sit and chat. They must first go to the table and have a few drinks. Once they have drunk some wine, it will be easier to chat.
Therefore, the Ye family started the meal very early, and Wu Zhengrong was invited to the dinner table not long after he entered the door.
Uncle Chang asked, "Xiao Wu, should we use a cup or a bowl?"
The subtext of this statement is, how much alcohol can you hold, kid?
Wu Zhengrong glanced at the wine jar with a large capacity and thought that since the wine jars were already laid out, he had to drink to his heart's content today.
So he smiled and said, "This is your first time meeting my uncle and my uncle, so please use a bowl. I'll drink a few more bowls with you two. Please forgive me if I make a fool of myself after drinking."
"Hahaha, what's so embarrassing about drinking at home?" Uncle Chang helped him fill the wine bowl and asked casually, "When you first walked in, you were shocked to see so many people in our family, right? Your family shouldn't have so many people, right?"
Everyone pricked up their ears, knowing that the uncle was asking about Wu Zhengrong's family situation.
Today's actor is coming.
Wu Zhengrong clinked his glasses with him, drained his glass, and then spoke truthfully, "I have quite a few relatives and friends, but due to work, they're scattered all over the country and can't often get together. I have an older brother and an older sister who live and work with my parents in the south. I have a younger sister who attends university in Beijing. Here in Binjiang, I only have my grandparents, my aunt, and my uncle. When Lai Ya comes to my house, she might not be able to offer the same high-level hospitality you've shown me today."
"That's nothing! A large group is more lively, and a small group has its advantages. The key to getting along with others is to get along with each other." Uncle Chang sighed and said, "Although Lai Ya and you were introduced by the organization, we are still quite worried..."
He pointed at the table and said, "As you can see, we come from an ordinary working-class family. I heard your family is a family of scholars and intellectuals. I'm afraid that if Lai Ya goes to your house, the elders will laugh at her."
Wu Zhengrong took the initiative to fill his wine bowl and said nonchalantly, "Uncle, no matter what your background is, we all have to serve socialist construction. Coming from a working-class family is actually a very prominent advantage. Otherwise, the organization wouldn't have introduced us."
"Laiya is a very outstanding lesbian. My grandmother gave away a book she published some time ago to the older sisters in her reading club, and the response was very good. To be honest, my grandmother has been urging me to bring her home to play for a long time, but the main reason is that I have never met our elders, so it is not convenient to bring her home directly."
Chang Yue'e asked in surprise, "Has your grandma also read our Lai Ya books?"
"Well, I gave her two copies. She thought the content was very good, so she bought twenty more copies out of her own pocket and gave them to her friends."
In fact, it was his pocket that was taken out by grandma.
But it is true that I gave the book to my old sisters.
Hearing this, Uncle Chang asked, "The elders in your family must be very worried about your marriage, right?"
As the eldest uncle, he is here today to act as the annoying villain.
Therefore, the task of inquiring about the in-laws' situation was to be completed by him.
The father-in-law and mother-in-law will have to live with their son-in-law for a long time in the future. Some topics that may easily offend the son-in-law cannot be asked by them personally. They need someone like the uncle, who has enough status but does not meet his nephew and son-in-law often, to ask the questions.
"I'm definitely anxious, but I've listened to Lai Ya about everything related to marriage. After we get married, we'll be living alone in the military industrial compound, and my parents and grandparents won't be around. There are no elders at home, and Lai Ya is still young, so living alone might take some time to adjust."
After the initial surprise and shock, Wu Zhengrong, who had drunk two bowls of white wine, came to his senses.
He himself is a native of Binjiang, and from childhood to adulthood he has never heard of any family making such a grand ceremony to select a son-in-law.
The Ye family's move was simply to let him know that Ye Manzhi was the darling of the family and had a large and powerful family to support her.
As long as he made it clear that Ye Manzhi would continue to be treated as his treasure after marrying him, and then had a good drink with his father-in-law and uncle, he would be able to safely get through this hurdle today.
Wu Zhengrong's words really satisfied Old Ye and his uncle.
When it comes to marriage, it’s better to listen to Lai Ya. After all, listening to Lai Ya means listening to the father-in-law and mother-in-law!
Although the Ye family is a large family, they do not want to find a husband for their daughter with a family with too complicated relationships.
From then on, Ye Manzhi and Wu Zhengrong lived alone, without their parents-in-law and siblings around them.
Such conditions are rare even for ordinary families.
Chang Yue'e and her aunt immediately asked the new son-in-law to eat quickly.
…
In the east room next door, the eldest sister Ye Manjin whispered, "This Captain Wu you found is quite good at coaxing people!"
"How am I trying to fool people?" Ye Manzhi denied it. "I was speaking so sincerely!"
Today, the Ye family set up three tables for dinner, one in the living room and two on the kangs in the two rooms.
The main table was reserved for the protagonists and elders. Ye Manzhi was not considered the protagonist and was sent to the children's table, leaving Wu Zhengrong alone to face the elders.
The eldest sister picked up a chicken wing for Mai Duo and put a chicken drumstick in her own bowl, snorting and laughing, "Just because he didn't wear a military uniform the first time he came to our house, I can tell that he is very good at coaxing people!"
Being able to coax people is a euphemism.
The eldest sister would like to say that Captain Wu is very cunning.
Soldiers have a very high status and reputation among ordinary people. Generally, when a young military officer first visits his father-in-law's house, which one of them doesn't put on a full set of military uniform?
She had previously grumbled to her second son that if Captain Wu came to the house in a full military uniform, with shining epaulettes and collar badges, it would be difficult for the old men in the family to show off.
It turned out that he was not wearing a military uniform at all. He took off his military coat and was only wearing a gray sweater. Then the old men took him to the table for a drink.
This military representative comrade is not very old, but he is quite flexible when it comes to finding a wife.
He didn't wear a military uniform to show his identity, and his family situation was exposed from head to toe. Now Old Ye's name for him has changed from "Xiao Wu" to "Zhengrong".
The eldest sister leaned on the kang table and glanced into the living room. Her own Hu Jiannan and the second sister's Xu Dajun were both sitting at the table entertaining guests.
Hu Jiannan has always regarded himself as "the father-in-law's favorite son-in-law."
Now that there is a new son-in-law, he may lose his position as the old son-in-law.
The eldest sister's eyes swept around the table, and when she saw Uncle Ye, she frowned and whispered, "Why did our father call Uncle and his wife here?"
Ye Manzhi also doesn't like his uncle, but this is Chang Yue'e's request.
"We only have a few relatives in the city, and the new son-in-law will have to meet them sooner or later. Instead of meeting them individually, it's better to meet them together. Even if he has something to say, he can't bring it up in front of everyone."
The second sister stopped eating and asked, "Has uncle been looking for you again recently?"
"He didn't look for me, but he did look for our dad. It was about his son Xiaodong."
When the Ye sisters get together, they always have endless gossip to talk about.
Ye Manzhi didn't intend to hide it for her uncle. She pushed her nephew, who was enjoying eating and making things, aside and then approached her two sisters and said, "Xiaodong is making a fuss about going to support the construction of Xinjiang. Our uncle and eldest cousin don't agree."
The second sister asked in surprise: "How old is Xiaodong? Why is he going to Xinjiang?"
"Sixteen isn't considered young. You might not know this, but there's a lot of surplus labor in the city right now. Our neighborhood office has been mobilizing farmers to return home and engage in production for the past few months. But there are also many unemployed young people left in the city. The city recently issued a document mobilizing educated youth under 29 to support Xinjiang's development. Xiaodong is a junior high school graduate, so he meets the requirements. Encouraged by his classmates, he went to the neighborhood office near his home to sign up, but his father caught him in time."
Because his grandson almost ran away to Xinjiang secretly, the uncle went to the military industrial compound several times recently.
Let Lao Ye help think of a way to help Xiaodong find a decent job.
If Old Ye had any connections, he would have found a job for his fourth son long ago.
But it is indeed too young to let a 16-year-old go to Xinjiang alone to support construction.
He suggested that Xiaodong go to work in a coal furnace factory.
Ye Manzhi is only two years older than Xiaodong, but she is older in generation and is Xiaodong's aunt.
If his uncle was willing, Ye Manzhi could really find a way to arrange for Xiaodong to work in the coal furnace factory.
The key point is that my uncle looked down on the coal furnace factory. It paid piece-rate wages and had no labor insurance or public medical care, which was almost the same as a public-private joint venture or collective enterprise.
The matter was left unresolved.
After hearing her explanation, the elder sister curled her lips and said, "Even beggars complain about bad food. Once Xiaodong really goes to Xinjiang, he will be obedient!"
“Who says it’s not?”
While talking, Ye Manzhi was concerned about what was happening outside.
It turned out that it was not a big deal. When Wu Zhengrong stood up to clink glasses with his fifth brother, he was already staggering.
She quickly left the table and ran outside to ask, "Uncle, how much did you let him drink?"
"Haha, I didn't drink much!" Uncle Chang said guiltily, "I'll be fine after a good sleep!"
This new son-in-law is worthy of being a soldier. He can drink a lot and is a very honest person!
The Yue family accepted all the toasts.
In half a meal's time, the jar of liquor he brought was empty.
Chang Yue'e was also afraid that her future son-in-law would get sick from drinking, so she asked him and Lao Wu to finish the last bowl of wine, and then quickly asked someone to help him into Ye Manzhi's room to rest.
Ye Manzhi didn't use this room for any other purpose today. She just left it here for her new son-in-law to sober up.
She had foresight, and now it comes in handy!
Ye Manzhi helped him take off his shoes and wiped the sweat off his neck with a towel.
As a result, Wu Zhengrong was drunk and confused. He smelled the faint fragrance coming from her body, pulled her over and kissed her on the lips.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb, muttered, "You play by yourself, I'm going to take a nap first", then turned his head and fell asleep.
Ye Manzhi stood there in a daze, his hand holding the towel frozen in mid-air.
After a long while, she finally mustered up the courage and turned to look at Chang Yue'e, who was scowling, and her elder sister, who was smiling.
Chang Yue'e took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "What are you standing there for? Go out and entertain the guests!"
She was an experienced person, and as soon as she saw how skillful the movements were, she knew that these two young people must have kissed before!
Fortunately, there was no outsider in the room, otherwise it would be embarrassing if someone saw us!
The blush spread from her cheeks to the base of her neck, and Ye Manzhi was speechless, not knowing how to explain.
Chang Yue'e didn't need to listen to her explanation. She dragged the person out with a sullen face, as if the person lying on the bed was some dangerous person.
Wu Zhengrong, who was in a drunken dream, had no idea that he had revealed his true identity to his mother-in-law.
This is his first visit today, so he has to show some sincerity.
The Ye family members took turns toasting him and he was successfully drunk as expected.
By the time he was fully awake, it was already dark outside the window.
There was no light in the room, the door was closed, and the sound of a deliberately suppressed argument could be faintly heard outside.
Wu Zhengrong still remembered this voice, it seemed to be Ye Manzhi's uncle.
He sat on the bed and listened for a while, then got up and groped to open the door.
Seeing that he woke up, the people talking in the living room suddenly fell silent. Ye Manyi wanted to pour him a glass of water, but after catching a glimpse of her mother's expression out of the corner of her eye, she sat back down obediently.
Wu Zhengrong didn't notice her abnormality and said to Uncle Ye, "Uncle, Lai Ya already mentioned Xiaodong's matter to me. But I'm just a military representative, so I can't interfere in the personnel matters of Factory 656. I have comrades in the Xinjiang Military Region. If you're willing to let your grandson suffer, I can arrange for him to serve there."
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