Chapter 792: He Was Actually a Poor Man in the Past

It was one thing that Li Dayong's wedding banquet was held at the largest hotel in the capital, but the banquet hall was also decorated with traditional, ancient-style features, and they had even set up a scene symbolizing the Magpie Bridge.

This kind of arrangement was not at all in line with the hard work and plain living that had been advocated in the mainland in recent years, so many guests were amazed the moment they walked through the door.

"He really is a big boss from Hong Kong! He's truly treating his girl like a princess for this wedding! I just don't know if that kid surnamed Li can handle this kind of blessing."

"He won't be unable to handle it. The grander the display here, the more it proves how much they value this marriage, and how much they value us in the mainland... even more."

"Hiss, you're right. I almost didn't catch the meaning behind it."

There were quite a few guests today; not only were there Li Dayong's relatives, but also his classmates, colleagues, and even teachers. Naturally, some of them saw what was going on.

But these people certainly did not include Fan Chunhua.

She stared blankly at the banquet hall before her. After a long while, she gritted her teeth and asked Wang Jianqiang, "Qiangzi, go ask how much it costs to hold a banquet here for a day. Your father and I will scrape together..."

Wang Jianqiang was already numb to his mother's competitive nature. He said coldly, "You have to book this place several months in advance. It's useless even if you have the money."

"Then go ask Li Ye for help!" Fan Chunhua said, unwilling to give up. "Isn't Li Ye a cadre in the capital? You should get him to find someone to put in a word..."

Wang Jianqiang shook his head slowly. "I don't have the face for that. I can't do things like puffing up my face to look like a fat man."

"You really are stupid! These magpie bridges, silks, lanterns, and such are a waste if used only once. Get Li Ye to pull some strings; it's guaranteed not to cost much. Forget it, since you're too embarrassed to ask, I'll go ask Li Ye myself."

The more Fan Chunhua thought about it, the smarter she felt. Once Li Dayong was done using these ancient-style props, they would be second-hand. Why should they have to spend money to use them?

However, Fan Chunhua searched for a long time but couldn't find Li Ye. Being anxious and angry was useless.

Li Ye was in the backstage rehearsing lines with Dong Yuejin.

"Li Ye, are you sure you don't want to use 'Welcome, distinguished leaders' as the opening?"

"Yeah, I've discussed this issue with Pei Wencong and several elders. There shouldn't be any problem."

"That's good. You've finished memorizing yours? I'm going to memorize mine a bit more."

Li Dayong being able to tie the knot with Pei Wenhui was inseparable from Li Ye, and also inseparable from Dong Yuejin. So today, both of them had to go on stage, and the work involved was not light.

But Li Ye had finished memorizing his lines two days ago, while Dong Yuejin was still cramming at the last minute, muttering to himself.

"I say, Old Dong! The lines were sent to you a week ago, and you only know how to work hard now! Is it because you've only been reading scripts at meetings for the past few years and haven't been using your brain?"

Dong Yuejin had been smooth sailing all these years, rising from editor-in-chief of *New Wind* magazine to the second-in-command of Blue Sea Publishing House, and successfully taking the top spot this spring. He probably had a whole bunch of "Little Lis" and "Little Zhangs" under him, and he didn't even write his own scripts anymore; he just read them when they were handed to him. That was why Li Ye teased him like this.

But Dong Yuejin stomped his left foot and said angrily, "Who says I'm not using my brain? I've had several meetings to attend this week, and I've been memorizing them every day whenever I have time. My memory isn't good because I'm getting on in years. Why don't you young people show some consideration for an old comrade?"

"Oh my, you're an old comrade now too!"

"That goes without saying, I'm almost fifty."

"Don't rush, don't rush. Memorize slowly. If you can't memorize them, I'll prompt you later."

Li Ye could only be considerate of Dong Yuejin. After all, it was normal for the memory of someone approaching fifty to decline. The more you forced him to memorize, the less he would remember.

While Dong Yuejin was sweating over his lines, the cameraman in charge of the projection, Wang Luyang, also ran over, his face covered in sweat.

"Deputy Factory Director Li, you'd better hurry and call our factory leaders to send people to reinforce us! This scene is a bit too big; I'm afraid I can't handle it!"

"It's just a matter of a few slides. You can't handle it? What kind of joke are you making?"

Wang Luyang was the cameraman who shot the first Fenghua Clothing advertisement. He used to be a regular employee at the Beijing Film Studio, but later jumped ship to Fenghua Clothing to specialize in shooting advertisements.

But Director Wang, who usually acted all high and mighty in front of a group of models, actually got stage fright today.

Wang Luyang smiled bitterly and said, "Why don't you go out and take a look! Reporters from several major newspapers have all come. Do I even need to mention the rank of the leaders who will be here later? If I make any mistakes, the impact will be huge."

"Alright, alright, alright. This is your time to shine; it's impossible to make mistakes. Stop dawdling and get ready to start immediately."

"I... sigh..."

Wang Luyang ran back helplessly.

In the past few years, he had been acting high and mighty, and he had even become a bit arrogant, feeling that his talent was no longer suppressed and was finally being displayed. But today, seeing the rank of the people at the venue, the pressure from within the system weighed on his heart again, still making him feel a wave of insecurity.

"Hello everyone, welcome to the wedding of Comrade Li Dayong and Ms. Pei Wenhui... I am Dong Yuejin from Blue Sea Publishing House. In '79, because of a 'Searching for Relatives Across Ten Thousand Miles' event, I came into contact with the bride's brother, Mr. Pei Wencong."

Dong Yuejin had a hard time memorizing his lines, but after going on stage with Li Ye, he performed quite well, with clear articulation and a steady stage presence.

The lines Li Ye wrote didn't use the standard "Welcome, distinguished leaders" to start, which made many people in the audience feel strange, but the few sitting in the very front were more relaxed and at ease.

Some things don't need to be overly flaunted; the parties involved know it in their hearts. And when Li Ye opened his mouth, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became joyful.

"Hello everyone, I am Li Ye from Qingshui County. I knew Comrade Li Dayong, the groom, when I was still wearing split-crotch pants."

"Hahahaha~"

"Is this kid doing a crosstalk act?"

Li Ye smiled and continued, "Everyone, don't laugh! Let me explain some things first. You might have some doubts about our venue layout and the groom and bride's attire, but please listen patiently as we explain, and you will know the reason."

"Because our bride comes from the distant Hong Kong. Because of well-known reasons, the situation in Hong Kong is a bit special, but the marriage customs of Hong Kong people still retain the ancient traditions of our Zhonghua family. Please look at the screen."

The lights in the hall dimmed significantly, and the photos that had been prepared long ago began to rotate and play.

"This is what Hong Kong people's weddings looked like sixty years ago, this is the scene of a Hong Kong wedding in the sixties, and this is a Chinese-style wedding of a newlywed couple in '86."

"Everyone can see that in the past hundred years, Hong Kong people have still insisted on the inheritance of Zhonghua culture, still identified that their roots are here, still kept Zhonghua in their hearts, and still kept the motherland in their hearts."

"..."

Following Li Ye's narration and the rotation of numerous wedding photos on the screen, the hall, which had been a bit noisy just a moment ago, quieted down.

Holding a Chinese-style wedding in '87 would certainly make some people gossip; after all, the XXX was only a dozen years ago. But today, this wedding had risen to another level, and the situation was completely different.

If anyone gossiped now, they would just be looking for trouble for themselves.

When the atmosphere at the scene became solemn, Li Ye changed the subject and began to liven up the atmosphere again: "Some people say, we came to the wedding to see the groom and the bride, what are you two rough men doing chattering on stage?"

"We have to clarify this; we two are very important, very important indeed~"

"But if you ask how we two are important, hmm, hmm, hmm, wait a moment, it will be explained in the next installment."

"Hahahaha~"

Li Ye waited for everyone to laugh for a moment, then said, "Before we reveal our importance, let me introduce the situation of the groom and bride first! Please look at the screen!"

A silly little boy appeared on the screen.

Li Ye pointed at the little boy and said, "In 1963, in a small county in Dongshan, a baby boy was added to the Li family. Because he was timid when he was young, his family named him Dayong, hoping he would be braver..."

The image on the screen changed, and a young boy practicing martial arts appeared.

"This is the ten-year-old groom. Everyone, pay attention to his eyes. By this time, he was no longer timid. He often sneaked down to the river with me to catch fish, and then we were chased all over the street by our parents."

"Hahahaha~"

The crowd laughed again. Even the few cadres in the front row couldn't help but smile.

Who hasn't had a time when they were naughty? Don't look at this minister or that XX as having an extraordinary aura; they were just as afraid of their mother's feather duster when they were young.

However, the image on the screen changed, and everyone stopped laughing.

Because the person on the screen was no longer Li Dayong, but a thin and small little girl.

And this little girl was working at a food stall, struggling to hold a large stack of bowls and chopsticks, showing a dull expression toward the camera.

That stack of bowls and chopsticks was almost piled up to the little girl's head; it was very heavy.

The hearts of the guests looking at the photo seemed to be tugged, and it hurt.

The person in charge of the narration also changed to Dong Yuejin.

The old comrade narrated in a deep tone, "In 1964, in an ordinary family in Hong Kong, the bride Pei Wenhui was born. This is a photo of her at six years old."

"We thought about looking for earlier photos, but we couldn't find any, because before she was six, she had only taken a photo once, but that photo, along with most of the things in the house, was blown away by a typhoon."

"The six-year-old bride was already very sensible. She knew her mother, who was helping out at the food stall, was very tired, so she would help her mother do what she could."

At this time, the mother and son of the Pei family were already in tears, especially Pei Wencong, who was already sobbing.

Why did Pei Wenhui go to the food stall to help her mother?

Because her mother was in poor health, and because he, Pei Wencong, had to go to school.

Even though the family was dirt poor, Mother Pei and her daughter still gritted their teeth and supported his schooling without any complaints.

Everyone at the scene turned to look at Pei Wencong and his mother. They didn't believe that the Hong Kong tycoon Pei Wencong before them would actually let his six-year-old sister go to a food stall to work.

He was the Hong Kong tycoon Pei Wencong! He was actually a poor man in the past?

That's right, Pei Wencong was a "poor kid" with a clean background, who didn't get involved with gangs, didn't touch private interests, kept the motherland in his heart, came from three generations of poor peasants, and rose against the trend.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 793 =====