Gu Yanxiao's friends arrived one after another. Yesterday, they had already helped deliver the tables and chairs, and today they came to process live poultry—sheep, chickens, ducks, and fish. Any live poultry was their responsibility. Gu Weiguo had asked Gu Yanxiao to pick up his uncle from the train station, and Gu Yanxiao had been busy picking up one person after another all day. Xia Liang was busy entertaining guests, and Han Yulan was with her. Gu Weiguo and Xia Youshun chatted in the main room, while the other elderly people and children watched TV. At noon, Zhou Xiaohui's mother arrived. She had regretted what happened at the hospital, but she still harbored some resentment towards Xia Liang. She felt that Xia Liang, as an elder, hadn't shown her any respect. When she told Zhou Xiaohui's father about it, her husband scolded her, saying she didn't know how to behave. He said he knew what kind of life his daughter was living in her husband's family, and that she shouldn't be so arrogant, thinking she was superior just because she was from the city. That's why she came today. Upon arriving at the Xia family home, Zhou Xiaohui greeted her daughter's mother and went into her room. Seeing her daughter lying in bed with her granddaughter beside her, Zhou's mother went over and asked, "How are you? Do you have breast milk yet?" Zhou Xiaohui was happy to see her mother. While she was in the hospital, her mother visited every day, but since her discharge, her mother hadn't come to see her. She wondered if her mother was too busy or if something was wrong at home, so she asked, "Mom, is something wrong at home? Why haven't you come over these past few days?" Zhou's mother, her face grim, told her daughter what had happened that day, and then asked with concern, "Did your mother-in-law and Xia Liang give you a hard time? Did they give you the cold shoulder?" Zhou Xiaohui was speechless: "Mom, I fell down on my own that day. My mother-in-law was cooking in the kitchen, and I was watching TV in the living room. My stomach hurt, and I lost my balance and fell. It had nothing to do with my mother-in-law or Xia Liang. They didn't give me the cold shoulder; they were still as good to me as ever. How am I supposed to face my mother-in-law now that you've done this?" Zhou's mother stammered, "I was just worried about you..." "Well, I'm afraid she won't treat you well. All those things before were just for show for your dad and me, after all, it's your dad." She wanted to say that her husband was a worker and that her family was on government-supplied food, but she stopped herself when she remembered what her husband had told her before. But Zhou Xiaohui was her daughter, how could she not know what kind of person her mother was? The night before the wedding, her mother had taught her all sorts of ways to manipulate her mother-in-law, saying that her mother-in-law's family were all from the countryside and had no experience, so they were easy to control. At the time, she just thought that her mother-in-law didn't understand her in-laws, so she said that. After nearly a year of getting along, she should have understood her in-laws' character. She didn't expect that they still hadn't let go of their prejudices. Zhou Xiaohui was very sad. Zhou's mother then asked, "Did your in-laws dislike that you gave birth to a daughter?" Zhou Xiaohui replied weakly, "No, they were all very happy. I didn't have much breast milk, and A Liang bought the formula." Seeing that her daughter and granddaughter were not disliked by her in-laws, Zhou's mother felt a little better, but she was too embarrassed to go out and face them, so she stayed in her daughter's room and didn't go out.
Gu Yanxiao was quite surprised to receive his uncle. He thought none of his relatives in Beijing would attend his wedding, but his uncle had still come all this way. Gu Yanxiao stepped forward to greet him, "Uncle, didn't my aunt and cousin come?" Han Yucheng looked at his nephew, who was taller than him, and said with satisfaction, "Your aunt has been busy with work lately. She was supposed to come, but she was sent on a business trip at the last minute. As you know, your cousin is always very busy, but they both prepared gifts for me to bring you. Your aunt and uncle also asked me to bring you gifts." Gu Yanxiao thanked him and then led his uncle towards the Xia family home. Upon arriving at the Xia family home, Han Yulan, standing in the courtyard, was somewhat surprised to see her brother. After all, when she called them, they hadn't explicitly stated whether they had time, so she assumed they probably wouldn't be coming back. She stepped forward and asked, "Brother, you must be exhausted from the train journey of the past few days?" Han Yucheng looked at his sister, who seemed much the same as before, probably without any worries, and smiled, saying, "Not tired at all. Mom and Dad originally wanted to come, but I stopped them; they're too old for such a bumpy ride." As they talked, Gu Yanxiao called Xia Liang over to greet her: "Ah Liang, this is your uncle. He specially traveled from Beijing for several days by train to come for our wedding." Turning to her uncle, she said, "Uncle, this is my girlfriend, Xia Liang." Xia Liang politely greeted him, "Uncle, please come in and sit down. I'll make you a bowl of noodles." Han Yucheng was pleased to see that the girl was capable and efficient, so he gave Xia Liang the gift he had prepared earlier. Xia Liang accepted it, thanked him, and went to the kitchen. Han Yucheng and his sister entered the main room, where Gu Weiguo was boasting. When he saw his brother-in-law arrive, he quickly stood up and greeted him, "Brother, you're here! Please sit down. You must be tired from your journey." Han Yucheng told Gu's father to attend to them, while Gu Yanxiao went out to greet the others. A little while later, Xia Liang brought in a bowl of noodles that was even larger than the one she had given to Zhao Weiting before, and gave it to Han Yucheng.
By evening, most of the guests had arrived. Gu Yanxiao's friends helped set up the tables and then went to the kitchen to serve the dishes. There were twelve dishes in total: mutton stew with radish, chicken stew with potatoes, sweet and sour pork ribs, braised pork, chopped chili fish, and several vegetarian dishes and desserts. Gu Weiguo and his wife, and Xia Dahe and his wife, led Gu Yanxiao and Xia Liang to each table to toast. After they finished drinking, Gu Weiguo said, "Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my son and daughter-in-law's wedding. I, Gu Weiguo, thank you all for your presence. Please forgive any shortcomings in our simple hospitality." Thus, the wedding banquet reached its climax, and everyone enjoyed themselves.
After dinner, Han Yulan called Xia Liang over and handed her a large bag, saying, "This is for the sisters-in-law who helped with the cooking today. Come with me and give it to them." Xia Liang thought to herself, "My mother-in-law is so thoughtful and considerate!" She followed her. Han Yulan thanked each of them individually for their help and then presented them with gifts: a small piece of fabric and a bag of candy weighing about half a pound. The women were all pleasantly surprised, as they had helped many families before, and no one had ever thanked them individually, including at Xia Rong's wedding. Xia Liang thought her mother-in-law was a very thoughtful person, something she had never considered before. It seemed she still had much to learn from her mother-in-law. The smiles on their faces as they received the gifts showed how happy they were. Han Yulan then went to Gu Yanxiao's friends' place, where they were all young men. She had prepared fabric and cigarettes for them; the fabric could be taken home to their mothers or sisters, and the cigarettes were for them to keep. The young men all declined, saying, "Aunt Han, don't be so polite. We're all Yanxiao's good friends. It's nothing to do for such a small thing." But Han Yulan said, "You're all so busy. The fact that you took time off to help Yanxiao shows how good you are. Come to my house for dinner when you have time, and I'll treat you properly. Please take these things; share in the joy of the newlyweds." Only then did they accept them. Xia Liang silently gave her mother-in-law a thumbs up.
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