“How about this, I’m doing this for everyone’s sake. If it’s feasible, let’s call the Third Uncle to be the wedding accountant, he should be coming back to the courtyard soon.”
Elementary school now has classes for six days, but school ends quite early.
The aunties muttered for a while, then the Third Aunt spoke up: “Okay, let’s do it your way. It’s best if everyone participates, that way no one will spread gossip.
We’ll go around to each household to discuss this. Your Third Uncle will come later to write the invitations for you, but you can’t skimp on the writing fee.
Normally, Old Yan at our place charges for writing couplets during the New Year.”
“Okay, even though my family is poor, I’ll pay for this.”
Li Wuwei was just pretending to be poor, he wasn’t really stingy. He was willing to pay a normal fee for any labor provided by Yan Bu Gui, but if he wanted to take advantage of him, it wouldn’t work.
“That’s settled then.”
The Third Aunt felt she had outsmarted this bad boy, didn’t she?
She hurried towards the front courtyard, even forgetting her stool.
Second Aunt and the others also dispersed, going to each household to spread the word. A scheme against the Jia family was set in motion.
Li Wuwei hadn’t originally planned to sabotage Jia Dong Xu’s wedding, but wasn’t this a golden opportunity?
Thinking about how Qin Huai Ru had been serving him diligently after marrying him, he felt she deserved a proper courtyard wedding, and it would surely make her even more devoted to him for life.
He brewed a cup of tea and pondered how to make this happen. If they were going to do this, they had to go big.
“Li Wuwei, you’ve got to be kidding! Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?”
Yan Bu Gui arrived in a rush, carrying a bag containing his tools for making extra money – red paper and ink he’d procured from school.
“Third Uncle, come in, I need your help with planning this wedding. After it’s all done, I’ll give you a fishing rod.”
Li Wuwei ushered him into the house. If he had to hire a professional accountant, he’d have to give a red envelope. A fishing rod was a good deal, he thought.
“You can be sure, your Third Uncle will take care of everything for you.”
Yan Bu Gui pushed up his glasses, feeling like he’d learned something new. Previously, Li Wuwei had used five yuan for the bride price, giving him a lesson.
Now, he wanted to organize a crowdfunding wedding feast, no need to spend any money, and they could still make it look grand. This was a new idea for him.
You don’t get poor by eating or spending, you get poor if you’re not smart.
Li Wuwei might be poor, but he was smart, so his life wouldn’t be bad. He had to learn more.
He just had to be careful not to fall for this kid’s tricks and get dragged into trouble himself.
Immediately, Yan Bu Gui laid out the red paper on the table and started writing invitations. His calligraphy was quite good.
“Li Wuwei, you have to invite He Da Qing to be the chef.”
Yan Bu Gui wrote as he simulated the wedding process in his mind.
“Well, Third Uncle, I don’t have any money. I need to wait until everyone gives their gifts before I have funds for these arrangements.”
Li Wuwei rubbed his hands, pretending to be broke.
Yan Bu Gui paused with his brush, almost forgetting that this was a different kind of wedding.
“No problem, we’ll work together. You go invite the chef.
Once I’ve finished the invitations, I’ll deliver them to each house and collect the gifts.
We’ll discuss the dishes with the chef tonight, and tomorrow morning we’ll go buy groceries. That way we’ll be ready to serve lunch.
Tables, chairs, bowls, and plates, everyone will bring those over tomorrow. We can squeeze them into the backyard, and set up two more tables in your room, ten tables shouldn’t be a problem.”
After a pause, Yan Bu Gui continued: “I’m telling you, the more people we get to contribute, the more money we’ll have, and the better the dishes will be. We can even include some expensive dishes we usually can’t afford.”
“Third Uncle, you’re such a shrewd planner.”
Li Wuwei gave him a thumbs-up and was about to leave.
But then Yan Bu Gui said, “Don’t pay He Da Qing, save some money so we can have a few extra dishes.”
Yan Bu Gui smacked his lips, thinking about how he was going to eat like a king tomorrow. He had to make sure they put a lot of dishes on the main table, and any leftovers could be packed up.
“Don’t worry about that, I couldn’t afford it even if I wanted to.”
As Li Wuwei was about to leave, he stopped, thought for a moment, and turned back: “Third Uncle, what if we invited my former colleagues from the factory?
Think about it, they’ll have to give gifts. I’ll specifically invite those who are single or only have a wife, they won’t be able to eat back their gift.
We can use that money to have a late night gathering. Don’t just eat lunch and break up, it’s the weekend, let’s have a whole day of fun.”
“Hmm! That’s a great idea.”
Yan Bu Gui put down his brush, increasingly excited.
This bad boy, aside from being shameless, he really needed to learn from him.
“Okay, no need to rush with He Da Qing, he’s in the courtyard with no job, he won’t run away.
You go to the steel mill now and invite people. Do you have a list? I’ll write invitations for you.”
Li Wuwei smiled: “I have a list. I can invite at least five tables, and I expect to collect over a hundred yuan in gifts.”
“Good, good, that’s fantastic.”
Yan Bu Gui was incredibly excited, he’d never organized such a large-scale wedding feast before. He would have bragging rights when he went out.
“Alright, I’ll head to the factory now. It’s getting late, I don’t want to miss the end of work.”
Li Wuwei brought out his bicycle from the house and left.
He would return the gifts from his factory colleagues later. He had to let his former colleagues know that he hadn’t mistreated Qin Huai Ru.
“Old man, having a rest?”
Li Wuwei reached the gate of the steel mill and greeted the guard before heading inside. Only the small gate was open at this hour, so he had to get off his bike and push it in.
“You’re Li Wuwei, what are you doing at the factory? Didn’t your wife take over your position?”
The guard recognized this notorious figure in the factory.
“I haven’t completed my resignation procedures!”
Li Wuwei casually brushed him off, got back on his bike, and left.
He went straight to the Second Workshop, his old stomping ground. He’d spent almost four years working here.
He had sweat and shed his youth for this factory. He was still a part of it. He could milk it for all it was worth, and he wouldn’t forget his former colleagues.
“Hey, Li Wuwei, what are you doing at the workshop? It’s not payday yet!”
A worker at the workshop entrance recognized him and took the opportunity to tease him.
But this sly fellow, Li Wuwei, suddenly pulled out a thick stack of red paper and started searching through it.
“Here it is! Tang Ru De, tomorrow, Qin Huai Ru and I are getting married. Here’s the invitation, it has the address. You need to be there at noon tomorrow, don’t forget to bring a gift.”
Li Wuwei slapped the red paper into his hand.
Tang Ru De looked at the invitation with a blank expression. He felt like he’d swallowed a fly. He was single, so he couldn’t bring his mother to the wedding.
He was going to be eating alone and wouldn’t get his money back. What a waste, he wished he hadn’t opened his mouth earlier.
This was the most shameless guy in their workshop, even in the whole steel mill.