Chapter 11: Marriage

The girls in the brigade who usually got along closely with Shen Jintao all came to her bedroom, and for a moment, the room felt a bit cramped.

Everyone was teasing Shen Jintao, who was about to get married.

For some reason, Shen Chunmiao also showed up in Shen Jintao’s room. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

“It’s just that you’re marrying a man I didn’t want. How can you have the nerve to show off in front of so many people?” Shen Chunmiao spoke as rudely as usual.

Shen Jintao didn’t really want to argue with her on such an important day, “If you’re sick, go get checked out, but don’t go out of your way to cause trouble.”

Among the girls, the one who was closest to Shen Jintao was Xie Cuiping. They had been best friends since childhood, and Xie Cuiping knew all about the issues between Shen Jintao and Shen Chunmiao.

“Shen Chunmiao, you’re definitely not welcome here. We all know what kind of person you are. Plus, some people saw that you were right next to her when Taozi fell into the water that day. We won’t go into how she fell, but today is Taozi’s big day, so don’t make me want to slap you!”

Xie Cuiping had always had a carefree personality and didn’t really care about how her words affected others.

Shen Chunmiao’s expression changed, but she didn’t say anything further, just glaring at Shen Jintao with an angry look.

Why did Shen Jintao have to be so pretty?

Both were daughters of the Shen family, but Shen Jintao’s looks were much more outstanding. As she looked at Shen Jintao, all dressed up, Shen Chunmiao’s jealousy was becoming harder to hide.

As the sky began to lighten, the courtyard was already bustling with activity.

Although Wang Lanxiu didn’t particularly like her granddaughter, today was a happy day, so she smiled and greeted all the guests, not letting anything spoil the mood.

The people invited to the wedding were all happy as well. These days, weddings were usually simple affairs, with most people only being invited for lunch. But for Shen Jintao’s wedding, her family even hosted a banquet, and to avoid overlapping with the groom’s side, they started the feast early in the morning. How could these guests, who rarely had such opportunities, not be excited?

“Look, is my outfit okay?”

The Huo family didn’t have a full-length mirror, and Huo Beichuan couldn’t see what he looked like. As he was about to head out to pick up the bride, he, who wasn’t normally nervous about missions, suddenly felt anxious.

Huo Nanxi looked at her older brother’s nervous expression and couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I already steamed this outfit for you several times last night with a hot water bottle. There’s not a single wrinkle left, and the collar is perfect. Please, stop turning around! My eyes are going blurry!”

Huo Beichuan flicked his younger sister on the forehead, “What do you know?”

“I don’t know what’s so great about marrying Shen Jintao. We still don’t know what’s going on between her and that young pretty boy, Lu Qingshan!” Huo Nanxi muttered.

Huo Beichuan’s face immediately darkened, “I don’t want to hear that again.”

Huo Beichuan was actually quite nice to this younger sister, which was why Huo Nanxi dared to say things like that. But she really was afraid of her older brother. He was the scariest when he was angry.

Huo Nanxi didn’t dare to say anything else.

The group of men who were picking up the bride were the ones Huo Beichuan used to hang out with before he joined the army. When they saw Huo Beichuan’s expression, they were all stunned.

“Wow! Beichuan, you’re definitely the most handsome guy in the whole area today!”

Huo Beichuan’s best friend, Zhao Erzhu, gave him a thumbs-up.

“Stop joking around! Are you all ready?”

Zhao Erzhu and the others immediately stood up straight, laughing and joking.

“Don’t worry, Brother Chuan, we’ll definitely bring the bride to you today!”

—

The lucky time had arrived.

The wedding procession, riding bicycles in a grand formation, made its way to the Shen family’s house. Since the two families lived so close to each other, they intentionally slowed down a bit.

This scene left everyone stunned. “Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen so many bicycles in a wedding procession before!”

“Isn’t that right? Back in the day, just having one bicycle to pick up the bride felt impressive, but now there are a full eight bikes!”

“Wow! I saw it when the Huo family delivered the betrothal gifts. Huo Beichuan even gave them a radio!”

“That’s true. I also saw some grain. At least three or four hundred pounds!”

“Did you see the watch on Shen Jintao’s wrist? It must have been given by the Huo family. Tsk, tsk!”

“Speaking of which, last time when Shen Jintao fell into the water, Huo Beichuan saved her. Shen Chunmiao threw a tantrum and said she didn’t want to marry anymore. I don’t know what happened after that, but it was like she got possessed and started chasing Lu Qingshan around. Tsk, just look at how well-off Shen Jintao is now. I wonder if that girl will regret it.”

“Stop talking about that. Huo Beichuan is already married to Shen Jintao today. Don’t bring up the past. A wedding is a happy occasion. Let’s not make anyone uncomfortable.”

“…”

As everyone was discussing, Huo Beichuan acted as if he hadn’t heard anything. Along the way, the young men who were with him in the wedding procession were tossing candy toward the crowd.

The people who had been chatting excitedly suddenly stopped talking and scrambled to grab the candy.

Although they had deliberately slowed down their speed, they still arrived at the Shen family’s house in about ten minutes.

Someone, not sure who, shouted loudly, “The groom is here to pick up the bride!”

The courtyard instantly became lively.

Inside Shen Jintao’s bedroom, her close friends also started to stir. For some reason, everyone was busy closing windows and doors, running around the room. Shen Chunmiao was even pushed out.

Before she could react, she heard a “bang,” and the door to Shen Jintao’s room was shut.

Shen Chunmiao gritted her teeth. “As expected, everyone who gets along with Shen Jintao are all annoying pests!”

Xie Cuiping looked at the closed door, pleased, and the room with one less person. Hmm, she really was the smartest girl in the Huaxi Brigade.

“Ah, ah, ah! The door is shut tight. Brother Chuan, it looks like it’s going to take some effort to get in!” Zhao Erzhu said with a grin.

“Get ready!” Huo Beichuan waved his hand.

One by one, red envelopes started to be pushed through the gap in the door, and the girls inside couldn’t stop laughing, cheerfully shouting that they needed more.

Shen Chunmiao’s eyes turned red. Wasn’t this the reason she wanted to stay inside?

Even though each envelope was just one cent, with Huo Beichuan’s generosity, each person would get a few coins.

“To the ladies inside, there’s plenty of red envelopes for everyone, don’t you think it’s time to let Brother Chuan in?” Zhao Erzhu shouted.

“This won’t do, just red envelopes aren’t enough to take away our Taozi. Huo Beichuan, let me ask you, who has the final say in your family after marriage?” Xie Cuiping shouted loudly to Huo Beichuan.