Chapter 294: Remarriage

"What do you know? They aren't an ordinary family, and this isn't the right time for a big, flashy affair. Just do as Ping'an said," Dong Dani rolled her eyes at Zhang Laohan.

"Oh, alright."

In late October, Zhang Ping'an and his parents took gifts to visit the Li Family.

Only upon introducing each other did they discover that Zhang Laohan was only three years younger than Li Laoyezi. Fortunately, Zhang Laohan looked much younger, so while calling him 'Uncle' was a bit awkward, one had to respect the seniority.

"Alright, then it's settled. We two families will just go out for a meal together when the time comes."

"Yes, yes, yes, we'll listen to Uncle Li."

"Hmm, then let Ping'an and Aihua hurry up and get their marriage certificate."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Zhang Laohan kept echoing him like a broken record; this Li Laoyezi was indeed about his age, and they certainly had plenty in common.

After Zhang Ping'an and Li Aihua had made their relationship clear, they had spent a few months together. Zhang Ping'an truly felt the young girl's sincerity, but he was still a bit reserved, feeling more pity and affection for her.

In early November, Zhang Ping'an and Li Aihua got their marriage certificate. In the middle of the month, the two families had a meal in a private room at Donglaishun, and Li Aihua was brought back to the small courtyard by Zhang Ping'an.

That evening, Zhang Ping'an and Li Aihua carried some candies and peanuts to distribute door-to-door, taking the opportunity to introduce Li Aihua.

"Congratulations, Ping'an."

"Senior sister?"

Yi Jiabao was slightly surprised. He had found Li Aihua a bit familiar just now, and once his younger sister spoke, he confirmed it. At the same time, he admired Zhang Ping'an immensely; Li Aihua was, after all, the top school beauty voted for by the busybodies at their high school.

"Who are you? Do you know me?"

When Li Aihua came to the courtyard to play, she basically never left Zhang Ping'an's yard, so she wasn't familiar with the Yi siblings.

"Oh, oh, I'm Yi Jiabei from the first year of high school, and this is my older brother Yi Jiabao. You are our high school's top school beauty; who wouldn't know you?"

"Hello to you both," Li Aihua said, slightly shy.

"Ahem, Jiabei, you'll have to call her Aunt Zhang from now on."

"..."

"Brother Yi, it's fine. Let them address us however they like. We still need to go to the Back Courtyard to take a look."

They were about the same age and were schoolmates, so they would likely get along well in the courtyard.

"Right, right, right. You two go ahead with your business; there's plenty of time later."

By eight o'clock, everyone in the Siheyuan knew that Zhang Ping'an had taken a wife, and a young, pretty one at that, whom they had all seen before.

"Uncle Zhang is truly impressive," Xu Damao said with an envious look.

"Impressive, is it? Are you thinking of learning from Uncle Zhang, too?"

"No, no, wife, you've misunderstood."

"Hmph, tonight I'm punishing you by having you 'teach homework' three times."

"No, please!"

It was much the same at Shazhu's house; he let out a sigh of envy and was subsequently forced to pay the 'grain tax' three times.

"Hmph, Uncle Zhang is really something. Mingzhu has been gone for less than a year, and he's already taken a wife," Ding Qiunan was still standing up for Zhong Mingzhu.

"Shh, Qiunan, when it comes down to it, Uncle Zhang and Zhong Mingzhu just weren't meant to be. Besides, she's been gone for five years; should he have waited for her forever? And look at what times these are."

"Uncle Zhang is probably in a similar situation to his parents-in-law now, and a large part of the reason for the marriage is likely because of that."

"Of course, Uncle Zhang isn't a casual person. His wife used to come to the courtyard to play with Uncle Zhang and the others often, so everyone basically knows her; you just might not have seen her."

Liu Guangtian, now working in Public Security, occasionally had to go out on patrol even though he was in the household registration department, so he saw through many things more clearly than others.

"Aihua, let's go to sleep."

"Mm..."

The night passed in silence. The newlywed Li Aihua was certainly no match for the old hand Zhang Ping'an. Because it was her first time, Zhang Ping'an only tasted a little and stopped.

After returning from his morning exercise, Zhang Ping'an had already finished boiling the porridge. His grandparents and parents had also gotten up one after another to practice Tai Chi. It was still early, so Zhang Ping'an didn't wake Li Aihua, who was still fast asleep.

"Brother Ping'an, what time is it?" Li Aihua was still a bit bleary-eyed.

"Almost eight. Don't rush; we don't have to go to work today anyway."

That's right, Li Aihua had also joined the Xicheng Branch Bureau, working a clerical job in the office, responsible for organizing and distributing documents.

"Oh, have Grandpa, Grandma, and my parents-in-law already gotten up?"

"It's fine, they've either gone to work or out to buy groceries. You put on a coat first, and I'll bring the porridge over to you."

"No need, Brother Ping'an, I'll get up and eat myself."

"Alright then, I'll heat up the side dishes for you."

"Mm, okay."

Li Aihua endured the discomfort in her lower body, put on her clothes, and muttered to herself, "Why is it different from what the storybooks say?"

Rolling Mill

"Big Brother, what's got you so happy so early in the morning?"

"Hehe, Ping'an got married."

"Ah, why didn't you tell us in advance? We didn't prepare anything. Whose daughter is she?"

"No need. She's the younger sister of a friend of Ping'an's in the city. Our two families had a meal and it was settled; we didn't hold any wedding banquet."

"Keeping it simple is fine too. But as his uncles, we should give him a red envelope when Ping'an comes."

"Right, Second Brother is right."

"Alright, you can just find him when the time comes," Zhang Laohan said happily, walking off with his hands behind his back toward the Fermentation Room.

"Big Brother can finally rest easy this time."

"Yeah, and that girl Xiao Ling, she took all of our old Zhang family's seeds with her."

"It's fine, it'll be better once Ping'an's current wife has children."

Three days later, for the return visit to the bride's family, Zhang Ping'an brought the usual Medicinal Wine and tea leaves, along with some pastries.

At lunch, Zhang Ping'an enjoyed sitting in the seat of honor once again; when they left, his mother-in-law prepared quite a lot of cigarettes and alcohol, making Li Aiguo's mouth twitch uncontrollably—most of these were his own rations.

"Ahem, Mom, Ping'an rarely smokes," the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Brother, you should smoke less too; I'm taking these back for Father-in-law and Grandpa to smoke."

Now both father and son's mouths began to twitch; this "little cotton-padded jacket" had only been married for three days and already knew how to funnel things to her husband's family.

"Ahem, Aihua, Grandpa smokes dry tobacco, so we won't take these cigarettes; leave them for your big brother and Dad to smoke."

"Alright then," in the end, Li Aihua took back half.

"Ping'an, come visit often in the future; as for you, little sister, don't come back unless there's something important."

"......"

In the afternoon, the two of them specifically went to visit the courtyard of Li Aihua's grandfather and discovered that the layout was about the same as theirs.

"Grandpa, you smoke dry tobacco too? I'll bring you some next time; it's all grown by my own grandfather, though you should still try to smoke less." Zhang Ping'an still had quite a lot of tobacco leaves left that he had grown in his space back in the day.

"Hehe, sure, I'm not addicted, just used to it; it's only one pipe a day to relieve fatigue."

Zhang Ping'an checked the old man's health once more, and they chatted until evening before heading home.

"Aihua, from now on I'll call you to get up every morning to exercise with the younger brothers; it'll be good for your body once you've mastered the Body Refining."

"Mm, okay."

Li Aihua did not refuse; it was only when they were "fighting" at night that she realized she had absolutely no power to parry, being pinned down and beaten every time—Zhang Ping'an's physique was nothing like that of a man in his thirties.

Moreover, she and Lou Xiaoe had once made a bet about some embarrassing things; thinking that she had now occupied Zhang Ping'an a step ahead of Lou Xiaoe, she couldn't help but giggle foolishly.

"What are you giggling about? Did you remember what I told you?"

"No..."

Looking at her limp body, Zhang Ping'an didn't continue; the Body Refining Technique was indeed not suitable for practicing in bed.

At 5:30 in the morning, Zhang Ping'an started stewing Lamb Soup in the kitchen, and after finishing his workout at 6:30, he woke the others up one by one.

"You all practice what I taught you before first."

"Alright, Big Brother (Uncle) (Great-Uncle)."