Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1088 Guangqi's Wedding
Back home, Yan Bugui was very calm, as if he hadn't been the one standing in the front yard just moments before. The Yan family was very curious, as they had all seen everything that had just happened clearly.

Yang Ruihua couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Honey, why have you suddenly changed so much? Why have you given up all at once?"

All the children looked at their father, but Yan Jiekuang turned and went back into the house. Yan Bugui didn't care. He reached into his pocket, took out five yuan, shook it, and said, "Five yuan in compensation. Why should I make a fuss? Let her eat whatever she wants. Anyway, she didn't use my money."

Yang Ruihua then realized that Yi Zhonghai had secretly slipped five yuan to his boss while saying those words, which explained why Yan Bugui had turned around and gone home.

In a small room in the east wing of the backyard of courtyard number 95.

After returning home, Liu Guangqi was very depressed. Today, he went home with his girlfriend, Wang Meijuan, to visit his parents-in-law.

His parents-in-law also warmly welcomed him. His father-in-law was the workshop director of the machine repair factory. After a few rounds of drinks, his father-in-law brought up a matter: supporting the construction of the Third Front. His father-in-law's meaning was very clear: he had no choice but to go because his superiors had assigned him to do so. However, he only had one daughter at home, and he and his wife were reluctant to part with her. The implication was that they wanted Liu Guangqi to marry their daughter as soon as possible and then go with them.

Liu Guangqi was initially reluctant, but his father-in-law said that he would be the deputy director of the new factory there. As long as Liu Guangqi went, he would not only have a house, but he would also be promoted to deputy section chief. With his father-in-law's support in the future, section chief and department chief would be no problem.

This was too tempting for Liu Guangqi. You have to understand, it takes at least ten years to go from deputy section chief to section chief in a factory, let alone from clerk to deputy section chief. This would save him from so many detours.

After discussing it with Wang Meijuan, Liu Guangqi kept the matter a secret from his family. He only urged his father, Liu Haizhong, to hold the wedding, since his future father-in-law's family was also a cadre family.

Liu Haizhong thought about it and, since this was something that would allow him to show his face, he gritted his teeth and agreed, which was at the end of September.

There's a happy occasion in the courtyard today. Everyone in the compound has met Wang Meijuan, so they don't have any expectations for the bride. But most people are curious about how Liu Haizhong managed to prepare all the "three turns and one sound" (a traditional Chinese accessory) at this time of year. In any case, Liu Haizhong has really gone all out.

Liu Guangqi is the eldest son of Liu Haizhong, the second uncle. He is the most valued eldest son in the Liu family, has never been beaten, and can drink and eat eggs with his second uncle.

At the age of 20, after graduating from vocational school, he could have been introduced to a steel rolling mill as a technician by his second uncle, who was a level seven forging master. At that time, technicians were highly sought after by various factories, but he ended up working as a technician in a machine repair shop.

I just passed the 13th level technical assessment at the machine repair shop and officially became a technician, earning a monthly salary of 45.5 yuan. My second uncle is very proud.

Even during such a difficult time, Uncle Er was determined to help Liu Guangqi hold his wedding banquet. The house was cleaned spotlessly, with large red "double happiness" characters pasted on the windows and a sign by the door wishing everyone a joyous union on this auspicious day. (Important note: this was written by Uncle San, who received over ten pieces of wedding candy.)
Friends and relatives arrived one after another, bringing gifts ranging from one mao, three mao, five mao, to one yuan, depending on the closeness of the relationship. Yan Bugui sat at an octagonal table, taking down the gift list. On the table were peanuts, melon seeds, candy, and Daqianmen cigarettes.

In the courtyard, the eldest uncle gave a gift of one yuan, the third uncle, Xu Damao, and Shazhu gave 50 cents, and other families with better conditions gave 30 cents, while those in difficulty would give 10 cents.

Liu Guangqi, dressed in a brand-new Zhongshan suit with a large red flower pinned to his chest, rode his bicycle with his coworkers to pick up the bride. Yan Jiecheng also wanted to go along, but since he was unemployed and still considered a child, they didn't include him.

About an hour later, a child shouted.
"The bride has arrived!" A burst of firecrackers went off.

More than a dozen of the hundred-shot firecrackers were set off.

Liu Guangqi led the bride over, and the wedding officially began.

The neighbors in the courtyard all brought out their own tables and chairs. Everyone brought their own bowls and chopsticks, and the backyard of the courtyard was packed with people.

The wedding emcee begins the ceremony:
The first activity: Everyone sang the revolutionary song "The East Is Red," and the song echoed in the courtyard.

The second item: Reading quotes from great figures. The emcee reads a sentence and everyone reads it aloud, "Grasp revolution and promote production..." The third item: Reading the marriage certificate.

Fourth item: The bride and groom bow three times to the statue of the great man.

Finally, the wedding ended with the song "Sailing the seas depends on the helmsman, all things grow by the sun..."

"Let the feast begin!"

The meal consisted of six main dishes: braised chicken with mushrooms, braised carp, braised pork with vermicelli, stir-fried eggs with chives, fried peanuts, four-happiness meatballs, and steamed buns made with a mixture of wheat and vegetables. The wine was Xifeng liquor.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Yan Jiecheng. At the head of the table were his second uncle and his wife, the bride and groom, the bride's parents, the leaders of the steel mill, and the first and third uncles from the courtyard.

Other relatives and friends were treated equally; everyone, adults and children alike, received a bowl of pork and cabbage stew with vermicelli, unlimited free-flowing liquor, and two steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water.

The dishes cooked with lard were indeed very fragrant. Although I didn't see any meat, today's meal was worth the wait and tasted much better than the Yan family's meal.

Everyone praised Uncle Er for his generosity; this wedding couldn't have been held for less than a few hundred yuan.

The second uncle also bought Liu Guangqi a watch and added a radio to the house. No wonder Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu later said that their eldest brother's wedding had spent all the family's money.

Liu Guangqi's wedding, from the second uncle's family, was the most grand one ever held in the courtyard. Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e also didn't have a big wedding because of their family background.

Other people's weddings were simply "not worth mentioning." Yes, I'm talking about the Jia family. Their conditions were much better back then than they are now. Yan Jiecheng remembers that the family only had two pieces of candy and ate boiled cabbage and cornbread. Yan Jiekuang cried terribly at that time.

After the meal, the men dispersed, and the women helped clear the table and wash the dishes. The mischievous children surrounded the bride, chatting with her, and those who could say auspicious words could even get a few pieces of candy. Only Yan Jiecheng and his fellow teenagers were left with nothing to do.

The wedding was only considered over after all the relatives and friends had left.

Weddings in this era are still very interesting and memorable.

It was lively, festive, and joyful; the second uncle was truly good to the eldest son. Following the feudal patriarchal style, the eldest son was expected to be the head of the household, and Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu were frequently beaten, adhering to the educational principle of "spare the rod and spoil the child."

When Yan Bugui got home, he was already quite drunk. He had built up his alcohol tolerance by drinking diluted liquor, so if he were to drink real strong liquor, he would be knocked out after just one glass.

When attending a banquet hosted by Yan Bugui, one should eat and drink as much as possible, so that one can eat less at home at the next meal.

These were all minor issues, and Yan Jiecheng had no intention of changing Yan Bugui's decades-old habits.

As times progress and people's lives become more prosperous, these minor problems will naturally disappear.

(End of this chapter)