For a moment, no one spoke in the room.
Shen Qingwen was pushed aside, holding the flowers as if she hadn't reacted yet.
Li Shuhe's expression gradually turned cold.
Xu Ruantang stepped forward and said with a smile, "Shen Qingwen, how about this, you have them count thirty red envelopes, and I'll distribute them to everyone. We'll open the door after that, okay?"
Get it done in one go, without dragging things out and making things look bad.
Everyone thought Xu Ruantang's solution was good.
Once outside, everyone had a red envelope in their hand, which looked quite nice.
The burly man stared at Xu Ruantang with a blatant scrutiny in his eyes. After a moment, he reached out and grabbed the steel bars. "Twenty."
After saying that, he even flicked his non-existent hair, which even the greasy Xu Ruantang couldn't stand.
She stopped talking and silently retreated to the bedside.
The two sides were locked in a stalemate, and the situation became awkward at one point.
Not wanting to put her older cousin in a difficult position, the younger cousin slowly moved closer to Li Shuhe and whispered in her ear, "Cousin, how about I go open the door?"
Li Shuhe pursed her lips and remained silent.
Just as my little cousin was about to stand up, I grabbed her arm and said, "Don't move. Thirty red envelopes, not one less."
A hint of determination flashed in her eyes, her expression stubborn.
Everyone in the room heard this.
They thought the groom would back down after the bride spoke, but the man blocking the window chuckled and turned away.
The people who came to fetch the bride also dispersed in a flash.
"Let's go, let's go eat first!"
At the same time, the man's voice rang out from not far away, "He left so early just to help his buddy get married, and he hasn't eaten anything yet."
"Exactly, we're not in a hurry anyway, let's just wait it out together."
Their voices were not quiet; everyone in the Li family courtyard could hear them.
The atmosphere in the bridal chamber became somewhat strange for a moment.
In the small room, no one went to open the door. They stood in twos and threes, looking at each other.
Soon, some people couldn't stand the atmosphere and started chatting with those around them as if nothing was wrong, trying to liven things up.
Shen Qingwen quickly reappeared at the window, holding flowers, and smiled at the person inside.
I don't know if he's genuinely simple-minded or just plain stupid.
Li Shuhe looked at him without saying a word, her eyes welling up with tears, but more than that, she felt embarrassed.
"Groom, where's the red envelope?"
At this moment, Cheng Dan, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
She walked directly to the window, looked at Shen Qingwen, and asked.
Shen Qingwen held flowers in one hand and awkwardly straightened his suit and tie with the other, looking quite clumsy.
"They're eating, they'll be here soon."
Shen Qingwen gently comforted him.
Cheng Dan frowned. "Get this straight, today is your wedding, not your so-called brothers' wedding."
Those present didn't understand why, since the groom was Shen Qingwen, his friends shouldn't have put him first in everything, considered his feelings, and helped him complete the banquet in the most dignified way.
What's the situation now?
His so-called friends, who were taking the money that Li Shuhe had prepared, were reluctant to give it to Li Shuhe's relatives.
They didn't expose him directly because of Li Shuhe, not because of Shen Qingwen, and certainly not because of his rude and ill-mannered friend.
The reason why no one spoke up was to avoid embarrassing Li Shuhe.
"I'll go ask."
After holding it in for a long time, Shen Qingwen finally managed to utter this sentence.
He had just turned around when he almost bumped into someone.
Fortunately, the man stepped to the side and quickly dodged him.
It is Chen Ji.
Chen Ji was originally going to come with Xu Ruantang. They were about to go to sleep last night when Li Shuyang knocked on the door.
It turned out that Shen Qingwen couldn't find anyone who could drive.
Although it's still common to pick up brides by bicycle in rural areas these days, it's a thing of the past in cities.
Having a car at a wedding makes it more presentable, whether for the groom to attend or to transport the dowry.
The car was arranged by the Li family.
Unfortunately, the Shen family couldn't even find a single person who could drive.
Li Shuhe thought of Chen Ji and came to find him late at night with Li Shuyang.
Chen Ji agreed out of consideration for Xu Ruantang.
He went to the Shen family early in the morning.
He drove the wedding car today.
Cheng Dan spotted Chen Ji immediately; he was wearing the same black coat as Xu Ruantang.
The style was unique and made him appear even taller.
Its elegant and refined character remains unchanged.
A flicker of excitement crossed Cheng Dan's face. She shifted her feet slightly, but quickly withdrew them, and her eyes darkened.
Chen Ji didn't notice any of these changes in her.
He went to the window, spotted Xu Ruantang in the crowd, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said in a deep, magnetic voice, "Wife, come here."
Xu Ruantang ran over quickly, but before she could say anything, her hand suddenly felt heavy.
She looked down and saw a thick stack of red envelopes, at least fifty or sixty of them.
"Take these and distribute them to everyone, so as not to affect the start of the banquet later. The cameraman hired by the Li family has also arrived."
Chen Ji's appearance was like that of a savior, and the scene quickly changed.
Xu Ruantang gave all the red envelopes to her little cousin so that she could share them with everyone.
From the very beginning, there were children making a fuss in the bridal chamber, saying they were hungry and wanted to go out to eat.
As soon as the red seal was issued, all of Shen Qingwen's friends who had just gone invisible reappeared.
As if nothing had happened, they ushered Shen Qingwen inside as soon as the door to the bridal chamber opened.
Soon, people started chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
The cameraman hired by the Li family squeezed into the crowd with his camera to capture precious images of the newlyweds.
Everyone was pushing their way in, while Xu Ruantang was walking out.
As they pushed through the crowd, Chen Ji, dressed in a black overcoat, reached out and shielded her behind him.
Everyone gathered around the new house to watch the excitement, and Xu Ruantang pulled Chen Ji away to walk a little further away.
"Where did you get this red envelope?"
She asked.
Chen Ji touched her cold hands, clenched them together, and put them into the warm pocket of his coat. "Shen Qingwen prepared this."
"Then why doesn't he post it?"
Xu Ruantang blinked. "You don't know, it was so awkward just now. The groom's party was halfway through picking up the bride when they abandoned her to go eat at the banquet."
This is an outrageous event, no matter the era in which it occurred.
“Shen Qingwen gave all the red envelopes to his buddies, hoping they would help him take charge.”
Chen Ji spoke slowly and deliberately, raising his chin and pointing to the burly man in the bridal chamber, "That's him."
Xu Ruantang was momentarily stunned, but quickly realized, "Shen Qingwen thought his friends were reliable, but he didn't expect those people to have their own ulterior motives?"
Because they were still in the Li family's courtyard, and relatives were coming and going from time to time, Xu Ruantang didn't speak very directly.
It means those people also wanted to get the red envelope.
If one less is given out, all these red envelopes will end up in their hands.
Those people weren't trying to save money for Shen Qingwen; they just wanted to pocket all that pitiful red envelope money.
"But this..."
Xu Ruantang was simply incredulous.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime banquet for most people. Aren't they afraid Shen Qingwen will turn against them? Don't they want to be friends anymore?
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