African Nationhood

October 1906, 10, Handu (Bulawayo), Meilin Palace.

The entire Meilin Palace was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and there were happy people everywhere.

Today is a good day for Commissioner Shi's eldest daughter to get married.

She and Zhong Qingsheng got engaged last year. At that time, South China was in the midst of a national mourning period to comfort many citizens after annihilating the Zulu rebels, so it was not appropriate to make a big deal out of it.

At that time, Shi Xi also needed to go to Europe to continue her studies. She received her master's degree this year, and Zhong Qingsheng also continued her studies in accordance with her family's instructions.

Now that Shi Xi has obtained her degree, Shi Jintang asked Kelly and Ye Rong to help arrange the marriage for the two children.

Not only is Shi Xi getting married this time, but the two daughters Shi Xin and Shi Han are also getting engaged.

Kelly thought Cai Guoxiang from the Cai family was good, so she asked Shi Xin what he thought. Shi Xin thought Cai Guoxiang was gentle and elegant, and he was a good marriage partner, so he agreed.

Shi Han was bewitched by Zhong Qingsheng, and he suggested that Shi Han consider Tian Chenglong.

Shi Han and Tian Chenglong had been together for more than a year. Jin Xiyue was also very satisfied with the Tian family's youngest son, so the two sisters also took the opportunity to get engaged with their eldest sister.

As for the eldest son Shi Hao, who has not returned for the time being because he is studying abroad, his marriage affects the hearts of all the important officials in Nanhua Kingdom.

Officials from top to bottom of the Nanhua Kingdom, as long as they have daughters at home who are of the right age, they all work hard to train them, hoping that one day they will be favored by the crown prince.

Unfortunately, Shi Jintang had already arranged a marriage for his eldest son, and the girl he was interested in was the daughter of Ding He's family.

This little girl's name is Ding Roujia. Needless to say, she looks dignified and delicate. Most importantly, she is a pure-blood Chinese. As for her educational background, she is a student of Handu Comprehensive College.

After seeing it, Shi Jintang told Ye Rong that Ye Rong himself had met several times and was very satisfied with the girl from the Ding family, so she decided to get married for her son.

The whole Ding family naturally strongly approved of this marriage, which is why Shi Jintang promoted Ding He to the commander of the military police.

Ding He has six children in his family, five daughters, and the youngest is his son.

Everyone in the Ding family believes that the youngest son is the most blessed person, but Ding He is very strict with his youngest daughter and son, for fear that they will disgrace the Ding family in the future.

The two juniors, Shi Hao and Ding Roujia, have never met, but they know that they are engaged.

When Shi Hao returns from college next year, Shi Jintang will marry the two of them.

……

Zhong Wenyao didn't expect that his family would really become royal relatives, and he would be promoted because of his son's marriage, which made him feel very unhappy.

However, the smiling faces of people around him were so flattering that he had to seriously reflect on whether he had really thought wrong.

This issue would be difficult to think clearly for a while. Things had reached this point and he had no choice but to accept it.

Cai Shaoji felt a little disappointed. He had worked hard to educate his children for so many years, but the Cai family could only marry a second princess in the end. It was certain that he would not be reconciled, but he was not the worst offender.

The worst offender is Ouyang Geng. The children in Ouyang's family are not bad in education and education, but their appearance is a bit poor.

Therefore, none of the three princesses chose the son of the Ouyang family, which also made many people privately criticize whether Prime Minister Ouyang had lost power with Chairman Shi.

This made Shi Jintang dumbfounded after receiving the tip, but there was nothing he could do since the three girls disdained the Ouyang children.

The happiest people in this happy event were naturally Tian Liang and Zheng Xiuhong. They did not expect that their youngest son would be favored by the third princess.

This was truly the blessing of the Tian family's ancestors, and it made Tian Liang want to return to the Qing Dynasty to worship his ancestors. Although his Tian family's ancestral graves no longer exist, he still wants to go home to worship his ancestors.

Zheng Xiuhong, on the other hand, disagreed. She had no relatives in the Qing Dynasty, and her ancestral hall had already expelled her.

If she goes back, it will only arouse her sadness. Now her family is a senior leader of Nanhua Kingdom. Although she can get preferential treatment when she returns to Qing Kingdom, there is no need to linger there.

Besides, everything they say and do is related to the state, and Chairman Shi has never thought of worshiping ancestors. Wouldn't they be jealous if they stand out?

Together, the couple decided to build an ancestral hall in Handu to reestablish the Tian family's genealogy. It would be enough for all their former relatives to follow Chairman Shi's example and set up memorial tablets.

……

This time when he marries his daughter, Chairman Shi’s dowry must not be shabby.

The apparent dowry is:

One diamond each of 200 carats, 100 carats, and 50 carats;

100 large pearls from the Sultanate of Sulu and 100 fine pearls from Bahrain;

1 acres of land, and 888 ounces of gold.

The secret dowry:

Shi Jintang took out 1% of the shares of Mercedes-Benz and 1% of the shares of Herstal Arms Company.

Alice directly took out 10% of the shares of Chanel clothing and 5% of the shares of Henry Partners.

Kelly gave away 1% of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Company's shares, Ye Rong gave away 1% of North African Petroleum Company's shares, and Jin Xiyue gave away 1% of Royal Petroleum Company's shares.

The total value of Shi Xi's dowry is immeasurable, which greatly surprised Zhong Wenyao and Zhong Qingsheng's father and son. They couldn't help but sigh, this is not like marrying a daughter-in-law, it is simply marrying a gold mountain!

……

With Shi Xi's proofing, the wedding dowries of Chairman Shi's other daughters have basically been determined.

Shi Xi and Zhong Qingsheng wore red auspicious clothes and followed the wedding process of Nanhua Kingdom.

When Zhong Qingsheng accepted the bride, Shi Jintang and Alice sat at a high place to receive tea from the newlyweds.

Seeing his beloved daughter's smile as bright as a flower, with a sweet, satisfied and contented expression, Shi Jintang was relieved. Making your children happy is the greatest reward of being a parent.

So when the eldest daughter served him tea, Shi Jintang took the tea and drank it in one gulp.

From the bottom of my heart, I gently said to the smiling girl: My dear daughter, you must be happy!

After the newlyweds left, Shi Jintang, accompanied by Alice and others, slowly walked back to Meilin Palace, continued to meet the new in-laws, and witnessed the engagement ceremony of the second and third daughters.

……

The wedding of the eldest princess has become the focus of attention of all people in Nanhua Kingdom. People are curious about what the eldest princess's husband looks like.

I am even more curious about how luxurious the eldest princess’s wedding is!

Only the top officials of Nanhua Kingdom knew that this luxurious wedding was more of a gimmick than reality.

Because the entire wedding banquet was very simple, the dishes and wine at the banquet were very ordinary, and even the gift money was not collected.

After all, Zhong Wenyao is still an official, and he and his colleagues must follow the rules set by Chairman Shi: "Civil servants are not allowed to give gifts when dining."

This wedding was also reported in the "South China Daily", with live pictures of the scene.

At the end of the report, a special sentence was added: The overall situation of South China is still in need of improvement. All officials and citizens must continue to uphold a simple concept of consumption and maintain sufficient motivation to build an independent, prosperous South China. And struggle. (End of chapter)