Chapter 371

Jia Zhangshi wants to eat.

It's just a minor interlude.

Under Yan Fugui's handling, it eventually became a thing of the past in a way that pleased both sides.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill.

They were directed by Yan Fugui to start handling the arrangements for the wedding send-off scene.

Although they called for simplicity.

But some details must not be careless, nor can they be neglected.

For example, the tribute segment.

It must be taken seriously; even a tiny detail the size of a needle tip must be considered, after all, there have been incidents where a loophole in the details left the host unable to get by.

Be careful.

In the end, it's correct.

Liu Guangtian, having received favors from Shazhu, and also because Shazhu is still the cafeteria head at Yagangchang, volunteered to help, bringing a few friends to start cleaning the courtyard.

If it weren't for the fact that this is the wedding send-off scene for Shazhu's sister.

He himself still dared not offend Shazhu.

Liu Guangtian might, in the name of the leader of Yagangchang's Youth Assault Team, order Liu Haizhong to help with the cleaning.

Out of respect for Shazhu's face.

For now, let Liu Haizhong off the hook.

The remaining few friends busied themselves with placing the elderly person's portrait.

It is not the usual paper painting people see.

It is an embroidered cloth portrait of the elderly person's head.

Installed inside a picture frame.

This item is a treasure of Yan Fugui's family.

Inside the Siheyuan.

Whenever there is a wedding, this half-length portrait of the kind elder will be seen on site.

It can also be considered a veteran performer.

It almost has to appear several times each year.

The portrait's placement must be upright, with no tilting, and it must not be placed upside down or facing the wall.

Doing so.

That's like a fly flying into a toilet, deliberately seeking death.

It must be treated cautiously.

Yan Fugui stood before Shazhu, narrowed his eyes, stared at the elderly person's portrait three meters away, and uttered a slight command.

"It's a bit off; the left side, raise it a little."

"It's still off; keep adjusting the left side upward."

"Now the right side is high; just now the left side position, press down a bit, with force, didn't press down, add some effort, yes yes yes, like this."

"Good, good, just like that, release."

Yan Fugui, letting out a breath, turned his head to look at Shazhu.

For careful matters, more people should look to avoid mistakes from blurred vision causing chaos.

The neighboring Dayuan has had such an incident happen.

Vision got blurry.

Clearly it was tilted, yet they insisted it was straight.

The otherwise fine wedding ended in discord.

The host thus ended up unable to get by because of this.

"Shazhu, take a look, is it straight?"

Shazhu imitated Yan Fugui's manner.

He examined it carefully.

Quite straight.

He nodded at Yan Fugui.

Yan Fugui, with a stone lifted from his heart, waved and summoned Da Mao over.

"Da Mao, take a look at this portrait, is it straightened? I and Shazhu think it's fine."

Da Mao moved his body to stand between Shazhu and Yan Fugui, closed his left eye, opened his right eye wide, and gazed at the portrait three meters away.

"It's straightened."

"Then there's no problem." Yan Fugui suddenly thought of something and asked Shazhu: "Shazhu, have you bought the elder's books?"

In these times.

Whether the man takes a wife or the woman marries off her maiden.

Both have an indispensable prerequisite.

They exchange books.

Not ordinary books, but those written by the elder; depending on personal circumstances, one decides whether to buy them all or just one.

How many.

There is no specific standard.

But one must have them.

They used a red rope to tie the outside of the book.

When the bride and groom meet, they first hold the book in their hands and hand it to each other, or they first place the book respectfully on the table.

No book.

This marriage will not turn out well.

Shazhu only realized, after Yan Fugui reminded him, that he had gotten muddled; he had completely forgotten the most important matter.

No wonder, lying in bed last night, he vaguely felt that he had missed something.

In the end, after racking his brains, he simply couldn't think of this step.

Thus he forgot this matter to the back of his mind.

They're all sharp people.

Just looking at Shazhu's expression, one knows he forgot to buy the book.

Yan Fugui then became anxious.

It's now past eight, almost nine.

It's also Sunday.

The bookstore might not even be open; even if it is, there might not be any works by the elders.

No book.

What if someone finds fault with it?

"Shazhu, tell me, how should I talk about you?" Yan Fugui waved and called over a few helpers: "Old Three, Erzi, Gou Dan, you guys ride your bicycles in a bit to check the nearby bookstores—see if they're open and if they have any books by the elders; if so, buy one and bring it back."

As for whether they'll end up buying duplicates,

Yan Fugui didn't worry about it.

It's not like he's paying for it.

Besides,

Once the book is bought, it won't get ruined; when there are weddings in the main house and branch houses, we won't need to buy books.

A few little rascals.

They instantly got excited.

They'll ride bicycles.

But Xu Daming insisted on ruining their good deed.

Biesun guessed that he had anticipated Shazhu would forget to buy the book; while speaking to stop everyone, he also showed off by patting his green messenger bag.

A heavy messenger bag.

It immediately drew everyone's attention.

Under the watchful, mixed-emotion gazes of Yan Fugui, Shazhu, and others.

Xu Daming unfastened the buckle of his messenger bag with his hand.

He pulled out two brand-new works of the elders from inside.

He handed one of them to Yan Fugui with both hands.

Looking at the familiar handwriting on it.

Yan Fugui's heart settled; an oversight had occurred in Yushui's wedding, and as the overall person in charge of the He family's wedding celebrations, he bore the brunt.

"Daming, you've really done a big favor for San Daye; otherwise this matter couldn't be resolved."

Shazhu let out a heavy sigh; he didn't want anything bad to happen on his sister's happy wedding day, which would spoil the celebration.

"Xu Daming, I'll remember this favor for life; how much for the book? I'll pay you back later."

Xu Daming gave Shazhu a sideways glance.

He deliberately let out a cold snort.

"Don't talk nonsense; it's just the price of one book, and I could still ask you for it. This isn't for you—it's my gift to Yushui for her wedding. Who in the world asks for money back when giving a gift?"

Xu Daming began to show off his status.

"I'm a film projectionist at Yagangchang, and I'm someone with standing there; if word got out that I asked for money when giving a gift, I'd lose face at Yagangchang. Shazhu, don't drag me into this—bro, I care about face too."

Xu Daming's good intentions.

Shazhu accepted; seeing Xu Daming, who had helped him but insisted on acting nonchalant, he changed his mind.

"Then I, on Yushui's behalf, thank Brother Daming for the gift—I won't say more; when Yushui returns to her parents' home tomorrow evening, I'll make sure she has a few extra drinks to toast Brother Daming."

"For Yushui's wedding wine, I, Xu Daming, will start with at least nine cups."

"Drinking the wedding wine is tomorrow night's affair; right now there's still an important task that you, Xu Daming, must do."

Judging by position.

Shazhu is the best choice to accompany the guests.

The canteen director of Yagangchang.

He also counts as a leading figure.

But because today is Shazhu's happy day of marrying off his sister, Capital City has no precedent for the host accompanying guests; after thinking it over, Yan Fugui had to pick the tallest among the short and assign the guest‑accompanying duty to Xu Daming.

Yagangchang film projectionist.

Say it out.

It also gives him extra face.

"San Daye thought it over and decided that you, Xu Daming, are the right person for this."

Meeting Yan Fugui's gaze, Xu Daming replied without hesitation.

"It's just accompanying guests; leave it to me, Xu Daming—I'll make sure they have a great time."

Xu Daming readily agreed.

Regarding the duty of accompanying my parents.

I had already made preparations in my heart.

The film projectionist accompanied the parents.

It inadvertently boosted Shazhu's prestige.

It also increased He Yushui's importance in her in-laws' family.

Being one of the eight major staff, a film projectionist was a profession that many people envied and looked up to in that era.

After the accompanying guests were decided.

Yan Fugui sent a few children outside to see what was happening.

Each child received three fruit candies, and the little ones happily waited outside.

Half an hour later.

From outside the courtyard came the sounds of the children playing and roughhousing.

"The groom has arrived!"

"They even came by bicycle; they arrived riding bicycles!"

Amid the children's voices, the wedding procession led by Liu Jianguo appeared on time outside the courtyard.

A thousand firecrackers were set off.

Amid the crackling sounds.

Liu Jianguo, dressed in a clean Zhongshan suit, parked his bicycle at the courtyard gate.

That was also quite a grand gesture.

There were three bicycles in total.

The bicycle Liu Jianguo rode was his own new bike. Its handlebars had a wooden board tied with red rope, and a red paper was pasted on the board, bearing slogans in black ink such as "We are what kind of people," "What kind of guards," and "We want to become what kind of pillars."

Soon, He Yushui came out of the courtyard, sat on the back seat of this bicycle, and was carried back by Liu Jianguo.

The remaining two bicycles.

Liu Jianguo borrowed them from his colleagues.

Three bicycles.

It truly dazzled everyone's eyes, and many felt envious. Although He Yushui's father had run off with a widow to Baocheng, he fortunately had a brother who raised He Yushui, put her through high school, and arranged this good family for her, arriving to fetch the bride on three bicycles.

In those days.

In marriage, having a bicycle is a matter of face.

Liu Jianguo can manage that.

He suddenly managed to get three.

He wasn't afraid of gossip; the remaining two bicycles also bore the elders' words.

If it were really to be investigated, it would also be the responsibility of those who pursue it.

You can't pin the blame on Liu Jianguo and them.

I ride my bicycle to promote the elders' great achievements.

Could I be wrong?

Who dares say it's wrong!

Even if you borrowed the courage of two dogs, you still wouldn't dare.

Liu Jianguo only dared to ride three bicycles to fetch the bride after considering these things; upon entering, he immediately handed the book in his hands respectfully to Shazhu.

Shazhu took the book, placed it beneath the portrait of the kind elders, then picked up the book given by Xu Damao and returned it to Liu Jianguo as a courtesy.

Behind Liu Jianguo was the person in charge of accompanying him to fetch the bride, who was responsible for carrying the book.

After the book exchange was completed.

Xu Damao, acting as an accompanying guest, welcomed Liu Jianguo and his party to Shazhu's house, where everyone drank tea and nibbled on melon seeds, peanuts, and biscuits, chatting casually.

As a film projectionist at the steel rolling mill.

Xu Damao first explained his own identity, then, amid the astonished gazes of the wedding party, he shared some of his experiences showing films in the countryside.

He tried to liven up the atmosphere as much as possible.

Amid the lively atmosphere.

The time had come to ten-thirty.

Next door, He Yushui had finished getting ready, and accompanied by Yu Li, she came out of the house to meet Liu Jianguo, who had been waiting outside.

After they met.

Under Yan Fugui's direction.

They bowed three times respectfully before the portrait of the kind elders.

After the bowing came the statement segment.

Liu Jianguo straightened his posture and, with an earnest and moving tone, began to speak eloquently before the portrait of the kind elders.

"Respected elders, I, Liu Jianguo, following your instructions, have become lifelong partners with He Yushui of the He family. After marriage, we will heed your words, live happily together, strive to build our own small family while also contributing as much as possible to the collective; await my victorious news."

He Yushui's words.

And Liu Jianguo's words.

Much the same, little difference.

The meaning is about the same, except she added the sentence: "I will do my best to be a wife."

After the bride and groom expressed their statements.

This is the segment where the groom fetches the bride and they depart.

At the moment of leaving.

Unable to bear it any longer, He Yushui took a firm step and lunged into Shazhu's embrace, bursting into tears.

The people around.

They were also infected.

Regarding the He family's affairs, as neighbors, they all know the situation inside out; this is because Shazhu is responsible—if it were replaced by an irresponsible jerk.

As for Yushui, let alone attending college.

It's estimated she couldn't even finish middle school.

That can be said.

In Yushui's heart, Shazhu is less like a brother and more like a father.

"Waa waa waa!"

"Yushui, don't cry." Shazhu's eyes also turned red, like all fathers in the world thinking, 'His own cabbage being arched by a pig,' 'Today is your happy day, you shouldn't cry, you should smile. Brother knows what you want to say, brother knows it all, don't cry.'

"Yushui, listen to your brother's words, let's not cry, this is getting married, nothing else, you can still come back to visit your brother and sister-in-law." Yan Fugui advised He Yushui, "Your thoughts, the neighbors all know."

"Yushui, San Daye is right, don't cry, if you keep crying it won't look good." Shazhu's hand gently patted Yushui's back.

In his warm embrace.

He Yushui gradually stopped her own crying.

From Shazhu's embrace.

She broke free.

She sobbed while wiping the tears from her face with her hand.

Yu Li took out a new red handkerchief from her pocket, used it to wipe Yushui's cheek, and also softly comforted her.

"Yushui, no matter when, the doors of the home are always open for you."

"Sister-in-law."

"Yushui, brother still says that: after marrying into the Liu family, you must attend to your husband and educate the children; if you have any grievances, come find me, I will certainly make Liu Jianguo give you an explanation."

The conversation shifted.

He placed Yushui's hand into Liu Jianguo's hand.

A pair of eyes.

They earnestly stared at Liu Jianguo.

They began to instruct him word by word.

"Jianguo, you've known Yushui for three or four years, you also understand our family's situation; this girl Yushui, since she was six or seven, has depended on me for survival; back then I was both brother and father, painstakingly raising Yushui, watching her grow up, watch her go to school, watch her get married; if there's anything wrong in the future, as her husband Liu Jianguo, you should show more understanding toward Yushui."

"Brother, even if you don't say these things, I will do them; Yushui is entrusted to me, you can rest assured; if after marriage I make Yushui unhappy, brother can come find me anytime, I guarantee I won't fight back or talk back."

"With these words from you, I'm relieved; it's about time, let's go back!"

Shazhu waved his hand and issued the order to evict guests.

In his aching gaze.

It was the sight of Liu Jianguo taking Yushui's hand and stepping away.

Firecrackers burst.

Yushui sat in the back seat of the car, being carried back to the Liu family by Liu Jianguo.