The day before Xia Liang's wedding, the family was tidying up the house, preparing to put up red "double happiness" characters after cleaning, when they suddenly heard a knock at the door. Xia Liang put down the rag she was wiping and opened the door. Two middle-aged men were standing outside, with a box on the floor. One of the men asked, "Excuse me, is this Xia Liang's house?" Xia Liang nodded and asked, puzzled, "Yes, and who are you?" The man who had spoken earlier smiled and said, "Your partner bought a television set from us and asked us to deliver it to you, wishing your brother and sister-in-law a long and happy marriage." Xia Liang quickly stepped aside and invited the two men in. The two men carried the television set into the house. Actually, a television set wouldn't require two people; one person could do it. However, a television set was a very precious item in those days, and they dared not be careless. Zhao Danxiang, who was cleaning the house, came out to see what was going on since her daughter hadn't returned after being gone for so long. Seeing strangers carrying things in, she asked Xia Liang, who was leading the way, "What's this for?" Xia Liang replied, "This is a wedding gift from my friend to my brother." She hadn't told her parents about her relationship yet. It was her brother's wedding, and there were many things to do, so Xia Liang wanted to wait and find another opportunity. However, the two men carrying the television said, "Yes! It's a television from your daughter's boyfriend. This television is a really good thing, and it's quite expensive, over four hundred yuan apiece. Your daughter really found a good boyfriend!" Xia Liang was speechless. Zhao Danxiang was momentarily stunned, unsure whether to be surprised by the television or by her daughter's boyfriend. Even after the two finished installing the TV and left, Zhao Danxiang was still standing there, stunned. Xia Liang approached her guiltily and asked, "Mom, are you alright?" Zhao Danxiang snapped out of her daze and looked at her daughter, "You, you, you didn't even tell us you were dating. If we had known, we could have helped you choose. If this guy hadn't let it slip today, when were you planning to tell us?" Zhao Danxiang didn't mean to blame Xia Liang; it was just that as parents, they felt their daughter was still too young and were afraid she would be deceived by men outside.
Early in the morning, Xia's father and Xia Rong went to the village to pick up Xia's parents. Although they might not want to come, as a grandson, if he didn't invite his grandparents to his wedding, who knew what people would say? After all, reputation was very important in this era. If word got out that Xia Rong was unfilial, it could affect his job. When the Xia family arrived in the village, they saw Xia Gui coming out to fetch water. Seeing Xia Dahe and Xia Rong, they greeted him, "Second Uncle, Rong, why are you back at this hour?" Xia Dahe smiled and said, "Let's go home first." Xia Gui carried the water and followed them back. It was still early, and no one in the family had gone out to work yet. The whole family was busy cooking and feeding the chickens. Xia Dahe went into the main room and saw only Xia's father there. He asked, "Dad, where's Mom?" Xia's father glanced at him and said, "Your mother went to the back of the house to pick vegetables." "Oh, is there something you need at this time?" Xia Dahe asked happily, remembering the purpose of their visit. "Your grandson Xia Rong is getting married tomorrow, so I came with him to pick you and Mom up for a visit." Old Man Xia looked up at him directly and asked, "Rong is getting married? Where is his wife from, and what does she do?" Xia Dahe replied, "She's from the county town and works in a garment factory." Old Man Xia was surprised that his quiet grandson could find a wife from the city. He didn't even realize that his grandson was now a city dweller and was receiving government-supplied food.
Just then, Old Mrs. Xia, who had been picking vegetables outside, returned. Seeing her debt-collecting son return with her grandson, she was about to yell at them when she remembered her son's previous visit to transfer his household registration. Her husband had said that things were different now; three out of the four family members received government rations, so they couldn't be as lenient as before. Old Mrs. Xia suppressed her anger and asked, "What are you doing back here?" Xia Dahe, seemingly oblivious to his mother's dark expression, smiled and said, "Your grandson is getting married, so I've come to pick you up to go to the city." Old Mrs. Xia instinctively wanted to refuse, but then she remembered that her second son's family now received government rations, so there should be meat at the wedding banquet! She could take the whole family to eat their fill. Old Mrs. Xia's eyes darted around, and she said, "We don't have that much money for travel." Xia Dahe replied, "How could we let you pay for travel?" He had only planned to pick up his parents; the travel expenses would only be a few yuan. He hadn't expected his mother to mean the whole family would go. Seeing his entire family, young and old, packed their bags, looking like they were about to come to the city with him, Xia Dahe was speechless.
Xia Rong went to the village chief's house to invite Xia Youshun. He had helped his family a lot before, and Xia Rong felt he should tell him about his wedding. Xia Youshun smiled and congratulated him repeatedly, saying he would definitely come back. Xia Rong said, "Second Grandpa, come with us today. We're here to pick up my grandparents, so we can look after each other." Xia Youshun said, "I hope there's enough room at your place. Please don't spend money on a guesthouse." Unlike other villagers, he knew that housing was scarce in the city, unlike in the village where people had large plots of land and big houses. Xia Rong thought to himself that even his own grandparents wouldn't care about him as much as this second grandfather, so he said with even more sincerity, "Don't worry, Second Grandfather, we can accommodate you. My sister rented a courtyard house before, about the same size as the ones in the village." Xia Youshun was relieved: "Okay, then see how many people are going, I'll get the introduction letters too." Xia Rong then remembered that he didn't know if his grandparents would be going, so he quickly said to Xia Youshun, "Then Second Grandfather, I'll go back and ask first, then come back to get the introduction letters from you." After saying goodbye, Xia Rong ran home and was speechless to see that the whole family was going. But since they wanted to attend his wedding, he had no reason to refuse. Even though they weren't close, in the eyes of outsiders, they were still family. So, when they came, it was Xia Dahe and his son Xia Rong, and when they left, it was the old man and his wife, and their eldest son... My eldest uncle and aunt, along with my eldest brother and his newlywed sister-in-law, my second brother and Xia Hua, my third uncle's family, my third aunt and her husband with their three children, and the village head and his wife—a large group of people—traveled in an oxcart to the town. From there, they took a bus to the county seat. After a long and tiring journey, they finally arrived at their doorstep. Xia Rong opened the door, and Old Man Xia asked, "Is this your home?" Xia Rong replied, "This is a rented house. Otherwise, we wouldn't have anywhere to live in the city." Upon hearing that it was a rented house, my eldest uncle and third uncle's families were relieved. They had been thinking how enviable it was that their second brother (or second brother) had such a big house in the city, but it turned out he was renting. It seemed their second brother wasn't doing so well in the city; he didn't even have his own house. Although they weren't very successful in the village, at least they had their own house and didn't have to pay rent to others every month.
Upon entering the house, Zhao Danxiang came out to greet them. She was taken aback to see so many people, but still smiled and welcomed them in. Because they hadn't prepared in advance and didn't expect so many people to come, they didn't have enough cups. Zhao Danxiang then asked Xia Liang to go out and buy some more. Xia Liang went out as soon as she received the instruction, as she didn't want to face such unpleasant relatives at home.
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