Restarting life in Siheyuan

The fat man helplessly watched Sha Zhu and five other people push the cart out of the yard. He hesitated unwillingly, which made Liu Lan, who was cleaning up, anxious.

"Fatty, can you be quicker? Others have almost finished theirs, but you've only cut half of it and you still want to go pick up the bride. You don't even look at yourself. If I were the team leader, I wouldn't even bring you along, given your slowness."

Since Sha Zhu was not around, the fat man was not afraid of Liu Lan. He acted as if he didn't hear her. He kept muttering to himself, but his hands were not busy at all. From time to time, he looked up at the people who were being pushed out of the hospital in carts. He blinked his little eyes and no one knew what he was thinking.

"The team leader is finally going to start a family. If you continue to be so blind, you will be punished when you get home."

"Why do you care? What do you think you are? You are just like me, a kitchen helper. I am just learning how to cook. I am half an apprentice. What qualifications do you have to command me?"

The fat man became angry after hearing what Liu Lan said. Seeing Sha Zhu leading his men out of the yard, he threw the knife onto the chopping board and dropped his carrying pole.

"You are awesome, just wait, it's the team leader's big day, you dare to give up..."

Liu Lan put her hands on her hips and became aggressive. The fat boy was a little scared and pretended not to see it. He walked to the bucket, scooped some water to wash his hands and face, and picked up the kitchen knife again.

"I'm sweating from cutting. Is there anything wrong with washing my hands and face before cutting? You're really nosy. People like you deserve to have no progress. If you become the team leader, everyone in our cafeteria will run away."

Sha Zhu brought four apples and two boxes of snacks. This was also the rule. He gave four apples and the Lou family had to return eight, which was considered to be a safe bet. The man had to bring two boxes of snacks and the woman's family had to return two, so there had to be six boxes at home.

There are also requirements for the number of people picking up the bride, it must be an even number. According to Lou Bancheng's suggestion, the whole process should be low-key. Sha Zhu only arranged six bicycles, and even electric bicycles were not allowed to be used, in order to comply with the father-in-law's request for a low profile.

Wearing new clothes, several people rode bicycles to the Lou family. The Lou family had not changed at all. From the outside, it was impossible to tell that this family was going to marry off their daughter.

"Why don't you two go together? Otherwise, there won't be any elders around and it won't be nice for others to see you." Sha Zhu was still not giving up and wanted Lou Bancheng and his wife to participate.

"Zhu Zi, I know you are filial, but it is not appropriate for us to go there with our status. Forget it. When we go back tomorrow, we can just close the door and make up for it at home." Mr. Lou politely rejected his son-in-law's suggestion.

Mrs. Lou also said, "That's right. We don't live our lives for others to see. It's enough for us that you two can love each other."

"Let's go. My parents won't go. I've advised them many times. Just do as my father says and let's talk about it when we come back tomorrow." Lou Xiao'e tugged at Sha Zhu's clothes and reminded him in a low voice.

"Zhu Zi, go. I don't want anything else but I hope you two will be happy. I don't ask for glory, but peace and safety is the best." Mr. Lou's words were sincere. Sha Zhu could see that his father-in-law's greatest wish was for the two of them to be safe and sound.

There was no other way, so Sha Zhu had to pick up Lou Xiao'e and put a wedding sign with the word "bride" on her. Apart from wearing new clothes, the two of them didn't even wear red flowers. They went out with the apples and snacks that were given as gifts in return.

All the dowry was just one box, which had already been secretly delivered by hiring a cart. Delivering the dowry should have been a happy and proud thing, but the father-in-law was treated like a thief. Looking at the happy-looking Lou Xiao'e, Sha Zhu actually felt a little uncomfortable.

Although it had been agreed long ago that everything should be kept simple, when the time came, Sha Zhu still felt that it was too streamlined. Many procedures were not followed, and even the most grand delivery of the dowry was done quietly.

"Ezi, I always feel that it is too shabby and I have wronged you."

"What are you talking about? My father has already said that we don't need to be famous, but we need to live in peace. Let's go. I'll be satisfied as long as you have me in your heart."

No one mentioned seeking wealth and fame at this time. Being famous and glorious was the greatest luxury. After being persuaded by Lou Xiao'e in a low voice, Sha Zhu felt even worse. He rode his bicycle onto the street and headed west along the street. As is the custom for picking up a bride, one should go out one way and come in another way, so as not to go back.

There was also a wedding procession of bicycles passing by on the street. Looking at the huge convoy of more than a dozen vehicles, Sha Zhu muttered to himself.

"Ezi, I still feel that it is unfair and too hasty to take you over so easily."

Lou Xiao'e's face was already pressed against Sha Zhu's back, and her heart was filled with sweetness. "Don't be so long-winded. I'm very satisfied that you have this intention. If you really feel guilty, treat me better in the future. I don't have any brothers, but I still have several cousins. If you dare to let me down, I will ask them to come and beat you up."

As he said this, he hit Sha Zhu. Before Sha Zhu could say anything, Ma Hua on the side responded.

"Master's Wife, my master won't do that. He's always thinking about you while he's at work. How dare he?"

"You little bastard, don't talk nonsense if you don't know how to speak. When did you see me missing your master's wife at work..." Sha Zhu turned around and cursed, and Lou Xiao'e smiled with her hand covering her mouth.

"Here they come, hurry up." Liu Guangfu ran back from the entrance of the alley, panting. Hearing the noise in the yard, the huge crowd all rushed out. Even the young wife holding her child couldn't help but watch the fun.

The job of lighting firecrackers at the gate of the compound was snatched away by the two boys from the Liu family. Bangbang originally wanted to grab it, but he was no match for the two boys from the Liu family. He could only stare at the side in hatred, still yelling.

"My silly uncle promised to let me order it, give it back to me."

"Just stay away. You are not as tall as a bamboo pole. Go play on the side, little brat, or you will get blasted."

Liu Guangtian would not give in to Banggeng. He was much older than Banggeng and was now fourteen years old, considered a grown-up boy, while Banggeng was less than eleven years old. There was a huge difference in their sizes, and Liu Laoer easily squeezed him aside. Liu Guangfu looked at the bicycle team coming over and couldn't wait to light the fire without waiting for them to stop. The firecrackers started to pop.

Sha Zhu grinned as he parked the car.

"The two boys are sensible. I'll give each of them a piece of meat later. Haha."

He turned back and reminded her, "Don't get off the car for a while. I have to carry you in."

"I know. I've told you several times." Looking at the crowds of people surrounding the gate of the courtyard and the little kids trying to stand on tiptoe in the crowd to see the bride, Lou Xiao'e suddenly felt a little shy and could no longer raise her head.

Sha Zhu parked the car and carried Lou Xiao'e on his back amid everyone's cheers. An old man had already placed a brazier at the gate of the yard, with a sack behind it. Sha Zhu was yelling.

"My dear old man, please make way. I have to carry the bride on my back and step over the fire basin."

The little kid in front of the brazier quickly moved away. Sha Zhu lifted Lou Xiao'e up a little more. Lou Xiao'e raised her legs and buried her face deeply in the back of Sha Zhu's neck. Then she heard Xiao Liu in the backyard asking with a smile.

"Groom, is the bride too heavy? If you can't do it, we brothers will help you and carry the bride over. What do you think?"

"Okay, let's carry the bride!" A group of onlookers started to make a noise.

Sha Zhu laughed and scolded, "Don't make trouble. You can get carried by everyone tomorrow when you get married. Let's go."

As he said this, he stepped over the brazier and stepped on the sack. He meant that his descendants would be safe and sound. While dealing with the jokes of the men, young and old in the compound, Sha Zhu quickened his pace and headed straight for the central courtyard. Many people from the neighborhood who came to watch the fun also poured into the yard.

"The groom needs to take it easy and not hurt his back. It's not appropriate to be idle in the field in the middle of the night, haha."

"You old pervert, don't you feel ashamed to face people after seeing your new daughter-in-law? Speak less." A neighbor on the side reminded with a smile. Sha Zhu originally wanted to turn around and say something to this disrespectful neighbor, but when he saw someone trying to persuade him, he kept silent.

The occasional noises of laughter made Lou Xiao'e unable to raise her head. She did not notice the envious looks of the two women not far away. Since everything was to be simple, there were no other arrangements. Sha Zhu carried Lou Xiao'e into the house breathlessly and carefully placed her on the bed. His cautious attitude caused another burst of laughter at the door.

"The groom is holding him up because he's afraid of getting hit, hahahaha."

The old lady and the first, second and third aunts were already sitting in the main room chatting. He Yushui poked her head out of the room opposite, then shrank back. After a while, she came over with two beautiful bridesmaids and accompanied Lou Xiaoe to dress up again.

He Yushui brought over two sets of clothes, "Sister-in-law, this is what I prepared for you and me. You will look beautiful when you put on this later."

"You girl, you haven't changed your words yet, you can't call me sister-in-law."

The old lady reminded him, but He Yushui didn't dare to argue with her. This was something she was used to calling him, so it came out naturally.

"Sister Ezi, try changing it on."

Lou Xiao'e looked up at He Yushui. No one had told her about this part. Holding the bright red wedding dress in her hand, she was very excited and nodded.

"Thank you sister."

Sha Zhu took the new dress handed to him by his sister with surprise.

"I have one too? This one of mine was specially made. It looks good, right? Do you want to change too?" "Brother, hurry up. You and Sister Ezi are a set. If she changes, it doesn't matter if you don't."

Sha Zhu looked at his new clothes, then at his new dress, and shook his head.

"You, just do it. These two sets of clothes must have cost a lot of money, ah."

He Yushui smiled and said, "None of your business. Hurry up. It will be time to serve tea soon after you change."

"Hurry up, why are you still hesitating about your sister's kindness?" Seeing that Sha Zhu was still nagging, the old lady spoke directly.

Sha Zhu also understood that he had to change, so he took the new dress and went to his sister's room. The bridesmaids were all across the street and there was no one in the room, which was convenient.

When Lou Xiao'e came out in a red dress, everyone was dazzled. Lou Xiao'e looked elegant and pleasing to the eye in her new dress with her hair tied up. The wedding dress was divided into upper and lower parts, which was very similar to the wedding dresses of later generations. There were two golden phoenixes on the chest, and two golden phoenixes were vaguely visible on the hem embroidered with golden silk thread. This was made by He Yushui herself after a long time, and it was very beautiful.

Sha Zhu's outfit was simpler, with a Ma褂 on the upper body without any embroidery, and a horse-faced skirt like in later generations, but with many slits, which matched the hem of Lou Xiao'e's outfit very well. The overall color was bright blue, which made Sha Zhu look quite spirited, which was rare.

"Thanks, sister. I won't say anything else."

Shazhu's eyes were a little red. His sister did a great job. With this dress, the wedding would not be shabby anymore.

"Girl, you are so thoughtful. This dress is so beautiful. In the past, only a princess would be worthy of this dress." The deaf old lady expressed her admiration for He Yushui for the first time.

"This girl is so skillful. This dress looks so nice. Yu Shui, did you make it?" An old lady was also very amazed by the dress.

"I found a master to do the embroidery, and I did the rest." He Yushui's tone was calm. Her brother had treated her very well in the past few years, and there was no other way to express his gratitude. It took a lot of effort to make these two sets of clothes. You know, many things couldn't be bought, so she had to ask Zhu Xuefeng to get them for her.

There was nothing that could be done about the tea serving process, so the uncle and aunt had to bear with it. The deaf old lady happily sat on the side watching the two people serve tea, and she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.

After toasting the uncle and aunt, Sha Zhu gave Zhu Xuemei a look, and the junior high school girl happily took out another set of teacups.

Lou Xiao'e knelt respectfully in front of the old lady and served her tea. The deaf old lady was so happy that she kept nodding her head.

"Good girl, good girl, but there is no need to offer tea to grandma."

"Grandma, please take it quickly. There are no rules. It's a gift from us young people." Sha Zhu reminded loudly, and the old lady took it.

"Uncle, I see that all the neighbors are here. It's getting late. Let's arrange for them to sit down at the table."

The second uncle asked in a low voice, and the first uncle nodded.

"It's almost time, so take your seats. There won't be any outsiders here anyway."

The second uncle finally had the chance to show his presence in the yard again. He was arranging tables one by one, not including the children's table. A total of six tables were prepared, which was considered a good start. People came from every household in the yard, not too many, not too few, exactly six tables. The main table was occupied by the two uncles, three aunts and an old lady, as well as Uncle Liu from the outer yard and two newlyweds.

The third uncle was still insisting at the door and would not come over until the food was officially served.

With so many kitchen helpers, the dishes were served quickly. No matter what others thought, it was in the compound after all, and Sha Zhu had mobilized a lot of connections, so the wedding banquet was indeed sumptuous, and many families couldn't afford such a grand banquet during the New Year.

There is a whole chicken on each table, which is different from the third uncle's house where the chicken is chopped into pieces and then served. A big fish is indispensable. Meat dishes account for nearly half, and the vegetarian dishes also include dried shrimps and cabbage. It is extremely rich. The child had smelled the fragrance a long time ago, and now it was finally served on the table, but he could only watch.

An old man gave an enthusiastic speech, sent his sincere blessings to the newlyweds and welcomed the new members on behalf of the compound. However, the neighbors, who were stunned by the sumptuous wedding banquet and the newlyweds' formal attire, did not seem to pay much attention to them. Even the applause only became enthusiastic after they were reminded.

The blessings from the two old men at the back didn't seem to attract anyone's attention. Apart from staring at the greasy braised pork, everyone couldn't help but take a few more glances at Lou Xiao'e who was accompanying Sha Zhu at the banquet, which made Sha Zhu laugh and scold constantly.

"Yu Shui, I changed my mind." The bridesmaid, who had been holding the wine jug, took the opportunity to walk to He Yu Shui and said with her head down.

"Haitang, what's your idea?"

"If I get married, not only will you be my maid of honor, but you will also have to make me a set like this. It's so beautiful."

"You silly girl, you are making things difficult for me. You don't know how much effort I put into finding these materials."

The bridesmaid bit her lip. She could guess that these materials were hard to get, but she still made up her mind, "Don't worry, I'll find a way to get the materials. It's settled."

Without waiting for He Yushui to express his opinion, he hurriedly followed the bride and groom and turned around to toast the next table.

"Is this your classmate?"

"Well, beautiful, right? I originally wanted to wait a moment before introducing them..." Looking at the two newlyweds who were toasting, He Yushui was embarrassed to continue.

"She is very beautiful, but your sister-in-law is also beautiful, and she has that kind of temperament, which she doesn't have."

"I don't understand, but my sister-in-law seems to have something that other people don't have. It's very vague and can't be explained. It's just a feeling."

The banquet, which had just started with great difficulty, was interrupted by the noise of a car. It was obvious that a car had arrived at the gate of the courtyard. It should be a wedding. Sure enough, someone was seen walking over from the front yard soon. Seeing this, the third uncle quickly finished the braised pork in the bowl, tore off a small piece of chicken, and hurried to his post.

"Comrade He Yuzhu, you didn't even report the exact date of your marriage to your superiors."

"Leader, I was thinking of doing it in the yard and didn't want to disturb everyone. Why are you two here?"

The person who came was Director Zhang, and following behind him was unexpectedly Director Yang. This caused a huge commotion. Most of the people present were employees of the steel rolling mill, and they all put down their chopsticks. The remaining two old men also quickly stood up.

Seeing the third uncle keeping accounts, the two of them consciously paid the wedding money, and Lao Yang patted Sha Zhu's shoulder.

"You, you, we are here to share in the good fortune, aren't we welcome?"

"Don't you dare, please."

Sha Zhu gritted his teeth and took the meal to the main table. The second uncle was also startled and quickly pulled the second aunt down from the table.

"Leader, please sit here."

"That's not necessary. We are here to congratulate you, old lady. You are so lucky to see your grandson getting married. The food on this table is not simple, and there is also this couple."

The deaf old lady stood up tremblingly, and Lou Xiao'e hurried to support her.

"It's all thanks to the leader that I, an old man, can still have this day. The leader is here, so let's have a simple meal together."

Old Yang shook his head. He knew this old ancestor well. She was very old and had lived in this yard a long time ago. When the steel rolling business was in progress and the workers needed housing, the old lady helped a lot.

"We are just here to congratulate you and remind Comrade He Yuzhu that Comrade Lou Xiao'e is an outstanding comrade in our steel rolling mill. You must treat her well, make progress together, and achieve greater results together."

Sha Zhu held Director Yang's hand and said, "I will definitely not let the organization down. Please rest assured. I will never let Comrade Lou Xiao'e down, even if I have to. Right?"

Everyone burst into laughter. "You idiot!" Director Yang cursed with a smile. "The senior leader also knows about it and asked me to bring you a gift. There are too many people here. I'll ask someone to deliver it later."

Then he said loudly, "You said this in front of everyone. Haha, remember your words. I came here in a hurry and didn't prepare any gifts. I'll give this to you."

As he spoke, he took out a neatly folded piece of red paper from his bag, opened it and read, "A match made in heaven!" Four big characters. Although the calligraphy was ordinary, it was also very distinctive. The four characters looked like they were carved, with powerful strokes and full handwriting. It can be said that the brushwork is full of ink and the expressiveness is excellent.

(End of this chapter)