"Humans are never satisfied, otherwise, what would we be human?" Gu Chuanming said with a smile.
At nine o'clock, Yang Yongjian and his son Yang Lijun arrived first.
Zhang Shouyi and Zhang Hongmei, along with Zhenye and his seven brothers, went out to greet them. No matter how important the person was, today he was the man's father.
Yang Lijun dressed up a little today; how could a girl not have fantasies about this day?
Zhang Hongmei led Yang Lijun into the living room.
When we introduced Cheng Guangxu and the other two to him, the children all came over to introduce themselves.
Yang Lijun smiled and nodded. She recognized a few of the children, but had never met most of them before.
Yang Yongjian knew that they had eighteen children together, but Zhao Yulun was not there, so he had prepared seventeen gifts for Lijun long ago.
It means one Hero fountain pen for each person. The meaning is good.
Liu Pengfei felt extremely embarrassed, as he was the oldest person there.
The women gathered around Yang Lijun, talking. A little while later, Qin Shuang's family arrived—five people in total. Qin Shuang's grandmother still didn't come. The old lady felt her health wasn't good and didn't want to upset her granddaughter.
Yang Lijun and Qin Shuang sat together. They smiled at each other. Although they had met a few times, they were still not really familiar with each other.
Wang Ying looked at the two pretty girls. "Hongmei, you've chosen the right daughter-in-law."
Both of them blushed when praised like that.
Next came Zou Haiyin's family; they had a large family, with thirteen members in total.
After the adults exchanged pleasantries, the children got to know each other.
Both of them prepared fountain pens. That's about all the gifts you'd give to boys; there are many more options for girls.
The last to arrive were Tang Feiyan and her family of six.
By 10 o'clock, everyone had arrived, and the ceremony could begin.
There was no master of ceremonies; the elderly man sat at the head of the table, while eight young men knelt down, kowtowed, and offered tea.
The first person they paid their respects to among the eight was Gu Chuanming.
The old man laughed heartily. Looking at his great-grandchildren kowtowing to him below, he felt truly delighted.
"Alright, alright, get up. This is a gift from Grandpa to you. From now on, the four of you are part of our family. Remember, our family can't cause trouble, but we are definitely not afraid of trouble. You are girls, and if anyone bullies you, come back and tell Great-Grandpa. Great-Grandpa will definitely stand up for you."
All four girls thanked Gu Chuanming. Their boyfriends helped them up.
Next was Zhang Xingguo. He sat there receiving the children's obeisance. He also had Song Junsheng give each of the four children a wooden box, filled with fine jade jewelry.
“Your great-grandfather just said that, and that’s what I mean too. Our family can’t be bullied.”
"Yes, Grandpa!"
Next up are Liu Aimin and his wife. This was at Zhang Hongmei's insistence. The process is the same.
Hearing the eight children call them "Grandma" and "Grandpa" brought tears to the couple's eyes. They presented the gifts they had prepared.
Now it was Zhang Shouyi and his wife's turn. Zhang Hongmei looked at her sons kowtowing to her below, and her mind went blank for a moment. Her sons were of marriageable age, and she was getting old. Unconsciously, she touched her face.
Zhang Shouyi watched his wife closely, and seeing her like this, he guessed what she was thinking.
"Alright, you can all get up now." Ganlu and Xiaoli handed the prepared gifts to the four of them.
"The eight of you are one family. From now on, you should treat your brothers and sisters-in-law with respect and harmony."
"Yes, Dad!"
Zhang Hongmei smiled and said, "All four of you still have to go to school. I've chosen a bodyguard for each of you, someone the same age as you. They'll protect you from now on. It might feel a little awkward, but it'll ensure your safety."
I think many people already know that you've become part of the Zhang family, so to avoid trouble later, the four of you should just bear with it.
"Yes, Mom!"
Hearing the four girls call her "Mom" in unison, Zhang Hongmei felt a little excited.
Gan Lu led four bodyguards over, and they stood behind the four families respectively.
After that, Zhang Weiyu and his wife kowtowed to Liu Jingze.
Liu Jingze sat at the head of the table, his heart filled with a mix of emotions: excitement, bitterness, and everything in between.
"You two must respect and love each other from now on."
"Yes, Godfather!"
Next, the young couple paid their respects to their father-in-law and mother-in-law.
The simple ceremony wasn't completed until 11:30.
Only then could the woman's family feel half relieved.
Lunch was very lively, even though there were no outsiders, there were still a lot of children.
All four families went home in the afternoon. Of course, Zhenye and the other three also went to the woman's house together.
Zhao Changlong and the other two accompanied the old man.
Er Ya and the others were sitting in the living room. "Hongmei, what are your thoughts today?"
"Me? I don't know. I just have mixed feelings. My sons are growing up and will be getting married soon. From now on, their wives will be the closest people to them."
"Heh! Hongmei, you're lucky you don't have a daughter, otherwise you'd be heartbroken, wouldn't you? At least you'd bring a son home instead of letting him go." Wang Ying sighed. She herself had two sons, but she thought it was good that she didn't have a daughter.
"Who says otherwise? I'll be heartbroken when Annie gets married. My daughter is going to be given away to someone else."
"Hongmei, you're just being dramatic." Er Ya glared at her.
"How could it be being pretentious?" That's just the truth.
"Alright, stop being sad. In two or three years, you'll have grandchildren."
"Yes, I'm getting old too."
Several people looked at Zhang Hongmei, who looked like a girl in her twenties, and said that they were so angry that they stopped talking to her. There was no way to compare her to Zhang Hongmei. "Look at her, she has had seven children, but she hasn't changed at all."
After sitting for a while, the women took their children and went home. Let her grieve her fate alone.
After learning from the study that the guests had all left, Zhang Shouyi wandered into the living room and saw his wife sitting there reading a book.
He sat down next to her and said, "Wife, we're getting old."
Zhang Hongmei put down her book and looked at Zhang Shouyi.
"Honey, are you still angry about that? I really didn't find anything, but I absolutely didn't have any other intentions."
"Well, that's settled then, but I still have some unresolved issues in my mind."
Zhang Shouyi understood what his wife meant. She believed in him, but she couldn't get past her own internal struggle.
He sighed, "We're all old now, and we can still get angry. I thought our lives would go smoothly forever."
Zhang Hongmei fell silent, picked up her book, and continued reading, but she couldn't concentrate on a single word. Yes, so many years had passed. Thinking about it, it wasn't so bad; it would just be a memory in the future, a reminder that even a mundane married life has its ups and downs.
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