Chapter 284

On the 28th day of the twelfth month of the year 62, with only two days left before the New Year, the Siheyuan unusually had a few crooked red Double Happiness Characters pasted, adding a glaring yet cheap festive touch to the drab courtyard. In the Front Courtyard, Yan Bu Gui's family, the eldest son Yan Jiecheng is getting married today.

The wedding was arranged, fully reflecting the Yan Family's supreme tradition of "diligence and frugality". There was no bridal procession, no clamorous gongs and drums; the Bride Yu Xiulian was only accompanied by her perpetually frowning brother Yu Dazhuang, carrying a small bundle, and silently entered the Yan Family's gate.

The red new cover shirt she wore was said to be a cloth ticket issued by the Yan Family, but judging by its tight fit and somewhat coarse texture, it was probably the cheapest fabric that Yan Bu Gui had schemed to pull back.

The wedding took place in the Yan Family's cramped house and the palm‑sized courtyard space at the doorway. There was no master of ceremonies; three elders from the courtyard filled the role.

Yi Zhonghai uttered a few ceremonial words of "May you be united for a hundred years, practice frugality at home", Liu Haizhong, with his belly out, emphasized "mutual help and mutual progress", while Yan Bu Gui himself focused on "from now on we are one family, must work together to make a good life", never mentioning material matters.

The real highlight was the collection of wedding gifts before the feast. Yan Bu Gui personally presided, with a small wooden box before him, a brush and red paper beside it, his posture fully dignified. He pushed up his glasses, his face bearing a restrained yet unmistakable hopeful smile.

The courtyard neighbors arrived one after another, most with a blank expression, pulling out the already prepared cash vouchers.

"Lao Wang's Home, five mao!"

"Old Li's Home in the Rear Courtyard, three mao!"

"Zhang's Home in the Middle Courtyard, four mao!"

Yi Zhonghai, as an elder, could not be too stingy, produced a one‑yuan note, causing Yan Bu Gui's eyes to brighten briefly, and he hurriedly recorded it himself.

Liu Haizhong, to show the bearing of a second elder, gritted his teeth and also gave a one‑yuan note.

When it was Jia Zhangshi's turn, Jia Zhangshi, carrying Bang Geng, fumbled for a while, produced two crumpled one‑mao cash vouchers, and shouted, "We have many family members, Bang Geng is growing, he eats a lot!" After speaking, without waiting for Yan Bu Gui's reaction, he dragged Bang Geng forward, his eyes fixed on the pitifully small amount of dishes on the table.

When it was Li Ping'an's turn, he came alone, took out a brand‑new one‑yuan note from his pocket, calmly placed it into the wooden box. "Yan Teacher, congratulations."

Yan Bu Gui saw the one‑yuan, his face blossomed with a smile, exclaiming, "Oh, Ping'an is here! Congratulations, congratulations! Come inside quickly, the feast will start soon!"

Li Ping'an, however, shook his head slightly, his tone distant yet polite: "No, Yan Teacher, the children at home are still young, Xueqing's health is also inconvenient, I have to go back to look after them. The sentiment is enough." After speaking, they nodded to the elders, turned and left, showing no intention of staying for the meal.

Yan Bu Gui watched his departing back, feeling a slight regret for losing a chance to get closer, yet clutching that one‑yuan, he thought it was a good deal.

Li Ping'an knew that the Yan Family's setting was better left uneaten, to avoid the annoyance. They would rather go home and use the Spiritual Spring Space's water to make clean, tasty food for the bride's son.

Sure enough, the so‑called "wedding banquet" was truly unbearable to look at. The table still held the same staple dishes—stir‑fried cabbage, salted vegetable strips, the only difference being that the shrimp chip plate was replaced by… a plate of meat slices stir‑fried with wood ear mushrooms, barely enough to count the pieces and with little oil, constituting a meaty dish. The staple was still the unchanging barley‑noodle buns, not even a plain steamed bun was afforded.

When the feast began, the already famished Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng pounced like hungry tigers. Jia Zhangshi's chopsticks fluttered rapidly, targeting that plate of meat slices with wood ear mushrooms, shoveling several pieces into both his and Bang Geng's bowls, his mouth bulging, muttering nonstop, "Eat quickly! Bang Geng, eat more! This meat smells!" Their gluttony made everyone at the same table frown. Yu Dazhuang, Yu Xiulian's brother, watching this, grew even more sullen, barely lifting his chopsticks.

The other neighbors also ate with their heads down, the atmosphere heavy and swift. No one drank wine, because the Yan Family had not prepared any. This wedding banquet was more like a task‑oriented eating activity, gulping down the pitifully small amount of grease, merely to save face for the Yan Family.

The banquet ended hastily, the neighbors wiped their mouths and scattered like birds and beasts. Yan Bu Gui could not bother to tidy the aftermath; he immediately grabbed the small wooden box, rushed back into the house, and latched the door.

Under the dim kerosene lamp, he poured out the cash vouchers and the few yuan notes inside, his fingers dipped in saliva, counting them one by one, his face showing an excited glow.

"Damn it! Come see!" he lowered his voice, calling the San Dama, "Count this amount!" He gestured, not many, but in his view, after subtracting the twenty yuan bride price and today's 'feast' cost, there seemed… a slight surplus?

At that moment, Yan Jiecheng, pulling his new bride Yu Xiulian, entered hesitantly. Yu Xiulian still lowered her head, her hands nervously clutching the hem of her clothes.

Yan Jiecheng cleared his throat for a while, then whispered, "Dad... about the wedding gift... Yu Xiulian's natal family..."

Yan Bu Gui immediately, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, snatched the money into his arms, his face expressionless, pushing his glasses, and began his "family rules" lecture:

"Jiecheng! You are now a head of a household, you must understand that running a family is not easy!" he pointed at both inside and outside the house, "For your wedding, how much did the family spend front and back? That twenty yuan bride price was the main part? Today's banquet, buying vegetables and meat, which part cost nothing? All of that was paid by the family!"

He paused, observing his son and new daughter‑in‑law's expressions, and continued, "This wedding gift, given because of the Yan Family's face, is for me as the father! It must be used to cover household expenses! As for you two..."

He shifted tone, his voice becoming earnest, "From now on, you cannot keep eating for free at home, you must contribute to meals! Living in this house, though it is yours, maintenance and repairs cost money, and you should pay a symbolic rent! Moreover, Yu Xiulian just arrived, has no job yet, so her living expenses..."

After a long tirade, the core message was simple: the wedding gift, I keep it! You two, from today onward, handle all expenses yourselves, and still pay the family!

Yan Jiecheng stared dumbfounded, opened his mouth but could say nothing. Yu Xiulian's head drooped even lower, her shoulders trembling slightly, the red cover shirt, under the dim light, appeared especially glaring and thin.

Outside, the cold wind still howled, the red Double Happiness Characters trembling in the gust. Inside, an "economic accounting" led by Yan Bu Gui, targeting the small family, had only just begun.

This meticulously calculated marriage, from the start, was suffused with cold calculations and heavy burdens.

The Bride Yu Xiulian's future seemed also tightly bound by this invisible abacus, with little warmth in sight. Yan Bu Gui, however, was immersed in the satisfaction of "balanced accounts" and even a "slight surplus", unaware that what he calculated away might be something more precious than money.