Chapter 36

The next day He Yushui got up early, and after washing up He Yuzhu didn't cook either; he directly took He Yushui out to eat breakfast. After finishing breakfast, He Yuzhu rode his bicycle with He Yushui to school.

Along the way He Yushui was jumping for joy, constantly greeting classmates; today He Yushui was extremely excited, almost wanting to tell the whole world that it was He Yushui's brother who rode a bicycle to bring He Yushui to school.

In the blink of an eye it was the day of He Yuzhu's wedding; the night before, Yang Fen brought over a new quilt for He Yuzhu, and He Yuzhu's teacher's wife also made him a new quilt. In those days having two new quilts was considered very good, since cloth coupons and cotton coupons were hard to come by.

Ma Hongtao even had his old friend come over to take charge of cooking for He Yuzhu's wedding banquet; the ingredients were, of course, prepared by Li Qiang. Although Ma Hongtao had originally wanted to do the cooking himself, He Yuzhu wouldn't let him, no matter what. He Yuzhu's mother had died early and his father wasn't around; in those days a teacher-student relationship was like father and son. As He Yuzhu's teacher, Ma Hongtao naturally took on the father's role.

In the morning He Yuzhu wore a crisp Zhongshan suit, his black leather shoes polished to a shine. Accompanying him to fetch the bride were Xu Damao and Liu Guangqi. Liu Guangqi had already graduated from a technical secondary school and now worked at a machinery repair factory; it was said he had found a partner who was the daughter of the factory's deputy director. This made Liu Haizhong immensely pleased, for graduating from a technical secondary school meant a cadre position, and his future in-laws were the deputy director of the repair factory. As an official-obsessed man, Liu Haizhong might not have become an official himself, but his son was on the cadre roster, and he couldn't help boasting to anyone he met about his son's situation.

Yi Zhonghai's paternal great-uncle had been taken away, so this time He Yuzhu only invited Liu Haizhong and Yan Butgui to come help. Liu Haizhong was in charge of overall arrangements, and Yan Butgui was in charge of keeping accounts.

He Yuzhu, Xu Damao, and Liu Guangqi rode three bicycles to Yu Li's home.

Before they arrived at Yu Li's home, Yu Li's younger sister Yu Haitang was already waiting at the alley entrance; seeing them arrive, she excitedly turned and ran home.

When the three reached the gate of the siheyuan where Yu Li lived, Liu Guangqi started setting off firecrackers, while Xu Damao helped distribute cigarettes and sweets.

"Dad, Mom, I've come to pick up Yu Li," He Yuzhu shouted loudly at the gate of Yu Li's home.

"Good, good, good, come in quickly," Yu Li's mother said with a smile.

"Brother-in-law, you may come in, but have you prepared the red envelopes?" Yu Haitang, who was about the same age as He Yushui and also clever, said.

"I have them ready," He Yuzhu said, pulling out two red envelopes and handing them to Yu Haitang.

"Thank you, brother-in-law," Yu Haitang said happily as she took the red envelopes.

"Zhuzi, I entrust Xiao Li to you; I hope you will treat each other with respect and stay united, living happily together," Yu Li's father said solemnly to He Yuzhu and Yu Li.

"Dad, don't worry, I will definitely treat Xiao Li well," He Yuzhu said earnestly.

"Alright, hurry back, don't miss the auspicious moment."

"Dad, Mom, we're heading back first; you come over later for a meal," He Yuzhu said to Yu Li's father.

"Okay, you go ahead; we'll be there soon."

He Yuzhu took Yu Li, with Xu Damao's bicycle carrying two quilts and Liu Guangqi's bicycle carrying a box and a bag containing Yu Li's clothes. Although weddings in that era were simple, and Yu Li's family was ordinary, they still gave her a dowry of two new quilts.

Just as He Yuzhu and his two companions reached the alley entrance of the siheyuan, Yan Jiecheng saw them returning and quickly called Yan Jiefang to set off firecrackers.

Weddings in the 1950s and 60s were very simple: the couple bowed three times before a portrait of the great leader, everyone sang revolutionary songs together, and then they served tea to the elders.

"Teacher, teacher's wife, please have some tea," He Yuzhu said, offering a cup of tea to Ma Hongtao and his wife together with Yu Li.

"Good, good, Zhuzi, after marriage you're an adult; from now on live well with Yu Li," Ma Hongtao said with a smile, the elders' advice in those days basically being to live well.

Ma Hongtao's wife took the teacup, pulled out two red envelopes, and gave one each to He Yuzhu and Yu Li.

After the ceremony, Yu Li's parents also arrived, and Liu Haizhong announced the start of the banquet.

At the main table sat Ma Hongtao, Yu Li's father, the Li Family Brothers, plus Li Huaide and Liu Haizhong. This made the deaf old lady very unhappy; she thought she was the eldest person in the siheyuan and deserved to sit at the main table, but He Yuzhu deliberately placed her and Yi Zhonghai at another table, which besides the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai also contained Jia Zhangshi, Yan Butgui, and several other neighbors from the siheyuan.

With the ingredients Li Qiang had prepared for He Yuzhu, the wedding banquet was extremely lavish, with a full ten dishes, six of them meat dishes: chicken, fish, red-braised pork, beef, mutton, and scrambled eggs. He Yuzhu and Yu Li had few relatives, but adding the workers from the Yagangchang factory and the siheyuan neighbors, there were only about five or six tables of guests.

As soon as the dishes were served, Jia Zhangshi began hurriedly piling food into her own bowl, and Yan Butgui, needless to say, was afraid that if he moved slowly others would take the food before him.

"Old sister-in-law, slow down, leave some for others," Yi Zhonghai said, seeing that Jia Zhangshi had already filled her bowl to the brim but showed no sign of stopping, so he had to speak up to remind her.

"Old Yi, don't just point at me—look, Yan Lao Xi is taking no less than I am, why don't you say something to him?" Jia Zhangshi said without lifting her head.

"You two elders, stop talking about the second brother; neither of you is easy to deal with," Yi Zhonghai said.

"I'm preparing this to take home for my eldest grandson; do you really want to fight a child over food?" Jia Zhangshi countered Yi Zhonghai.

While Yi Zhonghai and Jia Zhangshi were talking, Yan Butgui paid them no attention, just burying himself in his food, as if to say, "You argue among yourselves; just don't disturb my meal."

The deaf old lady was also a glutton, but she couldn't keep up with Jia Zhangshi and Yan Butgui; fortunately Yi Zhonghai helped her by putting plenty of food on her plate, otherwise she might have gotten nothing to eat.

He Yuzhu and Yu Li began going from table to table to offer a toast; the other tables still had some leftovers, but at the deaf old lady's table, aside from the large bowls still in front of Jia Zhangshi and Yan Butgui, everything else was gone—especially the meat dishes, not even a drop of soup remained.

Looking at the other people at the tables, most seemed not to have eaten enough; He Yuzhu was so angry he wanted to curse, but if Yu Li hadn't secretly restrained him, his shameless nature might have made him actually start swearing.