Chapter 1649: The Wedding

The house was already bustling with activity. The relatives had arrived in Shangjun County yesterday afternoon and were now all at the Su home. Su Wenjun and Guo Suhua were beaming with joy as they poured brown sugar tea for everyone.

By six o'clock, Su Xinghui had everything prepared. Zhang Cheng, acting as the master of ceremonies, directed Su Xinghui to sit in the Mercedes-Benz that had been beautifully decorated. He then had the son and daughter of Yu Gaoping and Yu Gaoshan sit in the car as well; they would act as flower children, helping the bride hold her wedding dress, and together they would go to pick her up.

In the midst of his busy schedule, Su Xinghui told Zhang Cheng to arrange for a car to go to Jiangcheng to pick up some guests. These guests included Professor Qin, Professor Tang, Professor Rao, Professor Luo, Professor Huang, as well as calligraphers and painters like Qu Ziqing. Of course, this also included Tailor Zhu. Su Xinghui had already called them yesterday to tell them that a car would be coming to pick them up today and to wait at home.

Zhang Cheng told him not to worry, as he had already made the arrangements.

The ten brothers boarded the Audi cars. At the very back of the motorcade was a large truck, which was intended to transport the bride's dowry back.

At eight minutes past six, following Zhang Cheng's order, the sound of firecrackers rang out. The motorcade set off toward Jiangcheng. When leaving the city, the motorcade took the river embankment, and they would take the national highway on the way back, symbolizing that they would not be retracing their steps.

These cars all had excellent performance, and the speed was maintained at around eighty kilometers per hour. By around seven o'clock, the motorcade arrived in Jiangcheng and headed straight for the Provincial Party Committee compound.

Li Shanlin, Lu Zhenghong's secretary, waited at the gate of the Provincial Party Committee compound. Seeing the motorcade arrive, he directed it into the compound and parked it in an open space not far from the Lu residence. Only the Mercedes and the truck drove up to the entrance of the Lu residence.

The sound of firecrackers rang out. The ten brothers got out of the cars and crowded around Su Xinghui, who was dressed in his formal wedding attire, as he entered the Lu home.

Today, Lu Zhenghong and Song Qiaoli were no longer a Vice Governor and his wife; they were just like any ordinary parents whose daughter was getting married, their faces full of smiles.

As soon as Su Xinghui entered the door, he called out "Grandma" to Grandma Lu, and then "Mom and Dad" to Lu Zhenghong and his wife. Lu Zhenghong nodded with a smile and said, "Xiaoya is in her room. Go and knock on the door."

This door was not so easy to knock open. It was tightly shut, with only a small gap at the bottom serving as the only channel for communication between the inside and outside.

Lu Xiaoya's classmates and close friends inside were posing all sorts of difficult problems for Su Xinghui, demanding red envelopes. One moment they had Su Xinghui guessing riddles, the next they had him matching couplets, then reciting poetry, and then singing songs. Su Xinghui solved these problems one by one, stuffed a dozen or so red envelopes through the gap, and finally, the door opened. Lu Xiaoya's ten sisters crowded around the bride as she emerged.

The moment he saw Lu Xiaoya today, Su Xinghui felt as if his heart had been seized by someone; for a split second, it even stopped beating. In the noisy living room, all sound suddenly died away. Everyone was stunned; Lu Xiaoya was truly too beautiful today.

Lu Xiaoya's long, jet-black hair was coiled into a bun today, revealing her smooth, slender neck. Her face was lightly made up, making her look bright and moving, and her shy, timid demeanor made her appear incomparably charming.

She was wearing that beautiful white wedding dress, and its form-fitting design revealed her wonderful figure perfectly. The fishtail design made her look exactly like a mermaid princess from a fairy tale. The lace trim trailing on the floor seemed to ripple like waves as Lu Xiaoya walked; from a distance, it looked just like a mermaid princess stepping through the waves to meet her prince.

The living room was quiet for a moment before a round of applause broke out. Su Xinghui finally came back to his senses, stepped forward, took Lu Xiaoya's hand, and then walked together toward Lu Xiaoya's grandmother and parents to pay their respects and say goodbye.

At this moment, Lu Xiaoya began to cry. Song Qiaoli's eyes also turned red. She took out a handkerchief, wiped Lu Xiaoya's tears, and said, "Xiaoya, don't cry. If you keep crying, you'll ruin your makeup and won't look pretty. Today is your big day, don't cry. Live a good life with Xinghui from now on..."

As the master of ceremonies, Zhang Cheng faithfully fulfilled his duties. He directed the ten brothers to move Lu Xiaoya's dowry onto the truck outside.

Lu Xiaoya's dowry consisted mainly of bedding, as well as some daily household utensils, clothing, and ornaments. Originally, the bride's dowry should have included household appliances, but Su Xinghui had already bought a set of appliances at the Hou Group's electrical factory, so that item was saved.

Although there were no household appliances, the dowry still filled the entire truck.

After saying goodbye to her parents, Su Xinghui and Lu Xiaoya poured tea for some of the elders of the Lu family. After drinking the tea, these elders took out red envelopes one after another and placed them on the tray they were holding.

These red envelopes were called "tea money," a blessing from the elders to the younger generation. This could not be refused, and there was no need to refuse the well-wishes of one's own elders.

After the tea was served, it was time for Lu Xiaoya to get into the wedding car. Su Xinghui held Lu Xiaoya's hand, and the two flower children held the lace trim of Lu Xiaoya's wedding dress as they both got into the car.

Zhang Cheng also invited Lu Zhenghong, his wife, and Grandma Lu to get into the cars. Additionally, one of Lu Xiaoya's uncles, as a representative of the bride's family, got into an Audi to follow them to Shangjun County.

Amidst the loud sound of firecrackers, the motorcade slowly set off toward Shangjun County. By this time, it was already past eight o'clock.

When they returned to Shangjun County, it was nearly ten o'clock. The motorcade drove directly to the new house by Zhong Ming Lake. The truck carrying the dowry had set off first and had long since arrived at the entrance of the new house. Naturally, people had already moved the dowry inside and placed it where it belonged.

The bedding was moved into the couple's new room, and Su Xinghui's two aunts-in-law made the bed for them, which was also a local wedding custom.

Su Xinghui's two aunts-in-law were quick and nimble. Before long, they had spread a set of bright red bedding on Su Xinghui and Lu Xiaoya's wedding bed and scattered many dried fruits like red dates, peanuts, longans, and melon seeds on it. Paired with the colorful decorations in the room, the entire new house was filled with a festive wedding atmosphere.

By the time the motorcade arrived at the entrance, the entire new house had been decorated anew, and the room was already filled with guests.

Su Xinghui got out of the car first, then directly picked up Lu Xiaoya and carried her horizontally into the living room of the new house before putting her down. This was also a local custom: the groom must carry the bride into the house on his back or in his arms.

This custom had stumped many grooms who lacked strength or had brides who were on the heavier side. Who knew that getting married was also a test of physical strength? Of course, this was no problem for Su Xinghui; he was strong, and Lu Xiaoya was not at all heavy.

After entering the house, Lu Xiaoya first paid her respects to Su Wenjun and his wife, served them tea, and called them "Mom and Dad." Although this was not the first time she had called them that, it had a different significance on their wedding day. Su Wenjun and his wife beamed with joy as they accepted, each taking out a thick red envelope and placing it on her tea tray.

Next, under Su Xinghui's introduction, Lu Xiaoya served tea to his maternal grandparents, paternal aunts and uncles, maternal uncles and aunts, and cousins in order of seniority. They were also happy to take out large red envelopes and place them on Lu Xiaoya's tea tray.

No one could say anything about the amount of money in the red envelopes given by these relatives, so Su Xinghui did not need to refuse them.

After serving the tea, Lu Xiaoya went into the wedding room to change her clothes. Although the wedding dress was beautiful, it was truly too tiring to wear, so she wanted to change into that equally beautiful qipao. Meanwhile, Su Wenjun and his wife went to exchange pleasantries with Lu Zhenghong and his wife.

Su Xinghui caught sight of a bamboo weaving painting hanging in the living room. The pattern on it was a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water. The pair of ducks were woven so vividly that they looked as if they were about to swim right off the painting.

On the painting was a line of text: "Wishing Brother Xinghui and Sister Xiaoya a happy marriage and a lifetime together," and the signature was "Respectfully, Little Sister Xia Zhu."