He didn’t know how long it had been before he was woken by the sound of things being moved around. He saw that the beauty in his bed was gone.
He simply got up, deciding to find a watch tomorrow so he could keep track of time.
Putting on his clothes, he went outside and saw that they were moving bowls and chopsticks, along with food. This was preparation for the wedding two days later, but was it a bit too early?
They had planned for ten tables for the banquet, and they dared to do this now. But later, when they start controlling the grain, they wouldn’t dare to do this.
“Brother-in-law, you’re awake!”
Little Qin Jing Ru hopped across the threshold of the living room and ran towards him.
“Jing Ru, did you go to school?”
“Not yet, Mom said she’ll enroll me next year.”
Little Qin Jing Ru approached him, tilting her head up, clearly wanting something to eat.
Li Wu Wei smiled and filled her pocket with candy and candied fruits, then gave her a head pat.
The Qin family had really gone all out for this wedding, and they probably spent all the dowry money on it.
Originally they had planned for ten tables, but they added two more. Qin’s neighbors and relatives all brought their own dining tables.
They even borrowed bowls, chopsticks, and plates because they wouldn’t have enough.
They also specifically invited a master chef from the next village to be the head chef, and the Qin women formed the kitchen team.
They had planned to start eating at noon on Tuesday, but the setup was done on Monday, and the invited villagers came to the Qin family with their families. They were welcome to play because they had tables and chairs. Even though they weren’t serving food on Monday, they could come to give gifts.
Qin’s second uncle was responsible for registering the guests. Li Wu Wei, not wanting to just sit around, volunteered to hand out cigarettes.
As long as someone came to give a gift, he would give them a pack of cigarettes. As for snacks, peanuts, and melon seeds were already on the table, and they could add more if needed.
For years, the village had never seen such a lively banquet.
On Tuesday, villagers came early in the morning. It was winter, and they didn’t have much work, so it was a rare opportunity for them to gather together.
The peanuts and melon seeds Li Wu Wei brought were running out, and before he could react, Qin Chang Chun had already told Qin Guang Ming to go to the town to buy some.
At this rate, the fifty yuan dowry he gave might not be enough, and he might even have to spend more.
A pound of peanuts was worth three pounds of flour, it was really expensive.
As for candy, it was even more expensive. Fortunately, Li Wu Wei had prepared a lot and controlled the amount he gave out.
Seeing how hard his father-in-law was working, he didn’t want to be stingy either. He used red paper to wrap a lot of red envelopes with Qin Huai Ru during the day, and he also gave them a chance to sneak out for a private rendezvous.
“It’s time to eat. Let’s have a simple meal first.”
“There’s not much food, it’s not a good reception.”
Qin Chang Chun spoke politely, but everyone looked at the table and saw that there was a whole plate of pork slices. This was a simple meal? It was like the New Year.
For the evening meal, there was a bottle of baijiu on each table, with chicken, pork, and even rare mutton. They had four meat dishes, two vegetarian dishes, and a semi-vegetarian dish of salted duck eggs.
Everyone was full and happy. While eating, they saw the preparation for the next day’s banquet, and there was a lot of meat.
Early Wednesday morning, Qin Huai Ru and Li Wu Wei woke up wearing new clothes.
Li Wu Wei arrived first. To avoid being lonely, he arranged for more than ten people to act as escorts for the wedding procession.
“Here he comes, here comes the groom!”
“Look, he’s so handsome.”
“The boss from the capital is different. He looks like a rich man.”
Okay, the villagers had seen Li Wu Wei last night, but they were acting like they were seeing him for the first time.
The wedding procession lacked only bicycles, but that was fine because they could use red envelopes to save face.
Li Wu Wei held a bag in his hand, grabbed a handful, and scattered them.
“Oh, it’s red envelopes! Quick, let the children pick them up! No, there are too many! Quick, mother of the child! Oh, where’s she?”
“Old Zhang, what are you doing standing there? Come over here!”
A woman was calling out, and she was already holding a red envelope.
Wherever Li Wu Wei went, he scattered red envelopes, and the crowd followed him, scrambling to pick them up.
He felt like he had awakened a new skill: throwing money!
There were five hundred red envelopes, each containing only four cents, but it was still a lot of money, a total of twenty yuan.
Qin Huai Ru felt heartbroken for a long time, but she accepted it for the sake of her husband’s prestige.
There were also dozens of red envelopes worth ten or twenty cents each, enough to make a statement without being too extravagant.
“Last time, I’m going all in.”
Li Wu Wei handed the bag to Guang Ming, then grabbed all the red envelopes inside with both hands and threw them into the air, creating a shower of red envelopes.
“Er Ya, hurry up and pick them up!”
“Ah, I got two!”
“Don’t step on it, this is my hand, not a red envelope!”
The villagers were in chaos. It took a while before they finished picking up the red envelopes. Some families came together and collected more than thirty red envelopes, can you believe it?
There were about one hundred people for lunch, each with five red envelopes. The scene was lively, and everyone was praising Li Wu Wei’s generosity.
“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, I only got one red envelope.”
Qin Jing Ru ran over crying. She was small and couldn’t compete with the others.
“It’s okay, brother-in-law will give you two. Keep them well.”
Li Wu Wei gave the little girl two red envelopes worth ten or twenty cents each.
Then he shouted, “Kids, come here, I’m giving out red envelopes.”
“Brother-in-law, I’m here.”
“Brother-in-law, I’m here too.”
The children followed Qin Jing Ru and called him brother-in-law, not sure what else to call him.
Li Wu Wei had asked Qin Huai Ru to calculate in advance. He had enough red envelopes prepared. He gave out dozens more. It was good that there were no convenience stores in the village, or those children would have been a lot thinner.
“Wow, mine is worth ten or twenty cents.”
“Mine is worth ten or twenty cents too, so much money.”
“Mom, this is my red envelope, you can’t have it.”
Adults were already trying to coax their children to give them the red envelopes. Amidst the noise and commotion, the banquet began.
Mushroom Chicken Stew, Bamboo Shoot Beef, Radish Mutton Soup, Braised Fish, Braised Pork, Stir-Fried Pork Slices…
The dishes were very plentiful and the amount was enough. There was also plenty of alcohol. When they finished the bottled wine, there was still loose alcohol from the Qin family.
The banquet started with breakfast, so their appetites weren’t as big. At some tables with more children, there was some leftover food.
Qin Chang Chun, despite feeling sorry for the money, told his relatives and friends to take the leftovers home. This wedding was so grand, they couldn’t be stingy at the end.
Qin Chang Chun had his own calculations. Now everyone knew that he had a good son-in-law, and his two sons would have no problem finding wives.
Qin Huai Ru, unlike other daughters getting married, didn’t cry and wail. Instead, she was happily packing things.
She brought so many things to her new home, she had to bring some things back.
Qin Huai Ru brought a lot of mountain products, like dried radishes, wood ear mushrooms, and dried mushrooms.
There were also two chickens that hadn’t been eaten, and some leftover meat dishes. She had enough to eat for a while.
She didn’t hesitate to stuff her backpack with anything she thought was good, useful, and easy to carry.
Li Wu Wei couldn’t stand it anymore, “Huai Ru, that’s enough. At least leave some for your parents.”
“It’s fine, spring is coming soon, my family doesn’t lack these things. Yang Da Ge, you go rest outside.
I’m going back inside to look around. Relatives gave us a lot of good things, and we can use some of them.
And the gifts they gave, there are quite a few.”
After cleaning up her own house, Qin Huai Ru was eyeing the gifts. Of course, she wanted some of the gift money. When she got it, she would have Yang Da Ge keep it for her.
“Huai Ru, I think you should take it easy. Your parents raised you for so long, you can’t make them lose money, right?”
Li Wu Wei couldn’t shake the feeling that marrying Qin Huai Ru was going to be profitable.