Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Chapter 1270 Old Gu's Wedding, Little Gu at Ease

Today happened to be Saturday, so Li Long asked the woman if he could complete the paperwork. The woman didn't expect Li Long to be in such a hurry, but she also needed the money urgently, so she said she would call her husband back home and asked Li Long to wait before coming over.

Li Long then left the courtyard to find his wife and children.

He planned to let his family see the yard together.

"You mean you want to buy a courtyard house?" Gu Xiaoxia was pleasantly surprised by Li Long's words. "You've already chosen one?"

“Yes, I just finished looking at it. The yard and house seem nice, similar in style to the house in Uncle Gu’s yard. It’s Russian-style, quite unique, and the price has been agreed upon.” Li Long explained, “They’re in a hurry to sell, so we can complete the formalities today.”

"That's great! Shall we go take a look now?" Gu Xiaoxia was a little impatient.

To be honest, she felt like she was staying in her father's house last night. It was an exotic house with a decor that was completely different from what she had imagined.

That's pretty good.

It's not that I'm blindly worshipping foreign things; it's just that I haven't seen many of these, and I feel their style is quite good, so I like them.

It's similar to the saying "a monk from afar chants scriptures better," or perhaps it's the novelty that makes it appealing.

So Li Long led the way, and the Gu sisters took Mingming and Haohao with them.

Gu Xiaoyu was a little surprised, and she asked Gu Xiaoxia in a low voice:

"Sister, is this how your husband always buys things? Doesn't he consult you at all? After all, this is a house... I'm not saying it's wrong, but I just feel... mainly because the way couples get along in Yanjing isn't like this... Don't misunderstand, I'm definitely not saying it's bad."

"Hehe, I understand what you mean. Don't worry, your brother-in-law is a worrier, and he can make money too. He'll handle these kinds of things. I'm too lazy to bother with them."

Besides, your brother-in-law, despite not having much education, has excellent taste; I really like everything he picks out. So I don't worry about anything else; he's capable, and I'm happy to enjoy the good life with him.”

"Hey, that's really nice." Gu Xiaoyu hadn't expected that her sister would be so happy with this way of getting along; it was quite good.

I've seen many couples in Yanjing who treat each other with utmost respect, but also quite a few who scheme against each other.

People who treat each other with respect generally discuss matters big and small with one another, while those who scheme against each other are usually one person who makes decisions unilaterally and the other is domineering, which easily leads to conflict.

My sister and brother-in-law are quite different. The brother-in-law made the decisions on important matters himself, and my sister showed no dissatisfaction, looking quite content. Is this a case of complementary personalities, or is she simply too smart to interfere?

Li Long walked ahead, and although they were nearly ten meters apart, his hearing was amazing, so he could hear what the two sisters were saying.

Hearing Gu Xiaoyu's question and his wife's answer, Li Long began to reflect on his own actions. Had he been a bit too autocratic in his dealings, especially with important matters like buying a courtyard? Shouldn't he have discussed it with his wife beforehand?

Yes, we should be more careful in the future.

When he led the person to the courtyard, the gate was still locked. Li Long pointed to the courtyard and said:

"It's inside here, but the current owner of the house hasn't come yet. I just talked to her about the price, and she said she'd call her husband over, and if all goes well, we'll complete the paperwork today."

Andrei rushed over from his workplace; the place wasn't far, but he still had some things to take care of today.

He would be even happier if he could sell the yard; he'd had enough of living there—spring, summer, and autumn were fine, but in winter, whenever it snowed, it would take several days of hard work. The snow that needed to be cleared from the entire yard would require at least dozens of cartloads—and he couldn't slack off, since all the neighbors had cleared their snow, and if he didn't, it was his problem.

The company built an apartment building, and he was allocated one, with an area of ​​seventy square meters (at that time, they were talking about the internal area, not the common area), and a separate bathroom. In the dead of winter, he no longer had to freeze his bottom outside to use the toilet.

Although it doesn't have a yard or a large house, it's much more convenient and easier to clean.

Of course, if I want to eat rye bread in the future, I'll have to buy it, because the oven in the yard that bakes rye bread won't be usable anymore.

But it's nothing. The big bread shop on Ahemaitijiang Street is open every day. You can just go there and buy two breads after get off work.

So when his wife said someone wanted to buy the yard, he dropped what he was doing and rushed back.

Seeing Li Long and the others standing outside the courtyard, Andrei hurried over, opening the door as he spoke:
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Come in and have a look."

The woman followed behind Andrei; when the man spoke, she remained silent.

The Gu sisters entered the courtyard and were quite pleased with its decor. It was larger than the courtyard they had stayed in the day before. Although nothing was planted in the vegetable garden, several clumps of flowers that didn't require winter care were now forming buds and would surely bloom soon.

There are quite a few fruit trees, but because the yard is large and there is plenty of sunshine, there is the shade of the grape trellis and also large areas of direct sunlight.

The ground was paved with red bricks and was very smooth. As soon as Mingming and Haohao came in and learned that there were no dogs, they happily started playing in the yard.

Li Long had already gone inside and looked around, so he let the Gu sisters follow the hostess inside while he and Andrei talked outside.

"Four thousand six hundred, no problem. I heard from my wife that you want to complete the formalities today? Is it cash?" Andrei was still a little short of money to buy the housing provided by his work unit, which was why he was in such a hurry.

“Yes, cash. If the formalities can be completed today, I can pay you directly today.” Li Long naturally had no problem with that.

"Okay, there's still time. Shall we go and get it done now? I've already prepared all the paperwork..."

Andrei had already spread the word that he was going to sell the yard, but there were quite a few yards for sale nearby. His yard was a large plot of land that his father had bought, covering nearly two acres, so the price would be higher.

People who want to buy a yard usually choose a smaller one. Some people, in order to save money, simply spend 500 yuan to buy a plot of land and build their own yard, which can save them a lot of money.

So his yard is in an awkward position; it's been out for half a year, but he still hasn't sold it.

Otherwise, the money his father invested in the land and renovation of this courtyard shouldn't have cost this much.

Both sides had a strong desire to see the children, so they let the Gu sisters stay here with their children while Li Long and Andrei went to complete the formalities.

"I never expected that my brother-in-law would buy a yard so soon after we arrived here." Gu Xiaoyu joked, "Sister, do you think my brother-in-law has a house-buying addiction? He buys houses wherever he goes."

“Since Dad is here, we’ll definitely be coming over often.” Gu Xiaoxia could understand her husband’s thoughts. “If it’s just us coming over, that’s fine, but when my parents-in-law, my older brother and sister-in-law come over, it’s definitely not suitable for them to stay in Dad’s yard. That’s why he was thinking of buying a yard, and a big house at that, so it will be more convenient for them to live there.”

“But if you don’t come here often… uh, Dad’s here, finding someone to help with the cleaning shouldn’t be a problem.” Gu Xiaoyu thought about how she often helped her brother-in-law clean those courtyards in Yanjing, so she had no more doubts.

Mingming and Haohao really liked this big yard. They liked their own yard too; with a bigger yard, they could run and play everywhere. This yard was different from their own; there weren't as many buildings along the walls, so there was more space to run and jump. On the east side of the house, they saw a swing chair and a seesaw, which Andrei must have made for the children. The two children immediately went over excitedly and started playing on the swings.

Hearing the children's laughter, the Gu sisters came out satisfied after touring the house. Although the yard wasn't as big as their own in Ma County, it was simpler, consisting of a large house, various fruit trees, open space, and basic facilities, making it easier to maintain.

When Gu Boyuan returned from the purchasing station, he was astonished to hear that Li Long had bought the courtyard.

Andrei and Li Long have completed the formalities and are now moving their belongings into the house.

Li Long returned to Gu Boyuan's courtyard with the Gu sisters and told them about it during lunch.

"Your efficiency is truly amazing." Gu Boyuan smiled. "But it's good. This place, the river valley, is more fertile than Ma County. The climate is good, and there's no shortage of fruits and vegetables. The key point is that you don't need to bury the fruit trees after planting them. I like it just for that reason."

Spending a long time in the countryside can make you develop a genuine attachment to certain things.

Song Xiaojuan, however, felt that buying another courtyard would be a waste; she quite liked a lively atmosphere, and said:
"Actually, you can stay in this courtyard when you come over in the future. It would be so nice to have a lively family gathering. Mingming and Haohao are such good children, they will definitely come over often in the future. It would be better if we lived together."

Li Long explained that he might bring his parents, brother, and sister-in-law over in the future, and it would be inconvenient to live there then, so he bought a courtyard house. Since they are all family, they bought it close by so it would be easier to visit each other.

Li Long also jokingly said to Lao Gu:
"Uncle Gu, I'll need you to find someone to take care of my yard in the future."

"That's no problem."

Li Long, as Gu Boyuan's son-in-law, calls him "uncle," a fact that Song Xiaojuan noticed yesterday. She privately asked Gu Boyuan about it last night.

Gu Boyuan explained to him that this was the way his older brother addressed his father-in-law, so it was nothing.

I don't care—as long as we have a good relationship, the way we address each other is secondary.

Although Teacher Song did not understand, she accepted it.

By the afternoon, Andrei had finished moving all his belongings and handed a set of keys to Li Long.

Li Long looked at the courtyard and was very satisfied.

Originally, I planned to take the Gu sisters and Mingming and Haohao for a walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon and visit the Yili River, but now that the new house is available, it's time to clean it up.

While Mingming and Haohao were playing in the yard, Li Long, along with Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Xiaoyu, were cleaning inside the house. Andrei and his group had moved in a hurry and hadn't taken some things with them, things they thought might still be usable, but Li Long and his group wanted to bring in a completely new set of items.

So Li Long cleared out some of the slightly worn items.

When Gu Boyuan came to look at the house and saw the situation, he simply drove to the recycling station, called a truck and a few young men, and helped load all the things onto the truck and haul them away.

After cleaning the house, Li Long asked Gu Boyuan about furniture making places so he could order suitable furniture.

"You came all this way to celebrate with me, and you've ended up this busy." Gu Boyuan was both amused and exasperated by Li Long's hectic schedule. "You just can't stay still anywhere."

The next day, Wu Yongbo, Geming Bieke, and others who knew the news came to meet Li Long. Gu Boyuan was getting married in two or three days, and these people were invited to attend.

Gu Boyuan got busy. Although it was just a simple wedding banquet, and both were getting married for the second time, it was relatively low-key. However, given Gu Boyuan's status, he was bound to incorporate business elements.

Privately, Gu Boyuan also told Li Long that only when the fourth team held a banquet could they eat a meal without any extra elements, just to celebrate.

Since Li Long had nothing else to do, he met with people he knew, ordered furniture, and then drove around the neighborhood with the Gu sisters, Mingming, and Haohao.

Several oddities about river valley cities: Flower City has no flowers, Hanren Street has no Han people, Xidaqiao has no bridge, and what else is there?

That's not entirely true. Many cities in northern Xinjiang have Jiefang Road, Xida Bridge, and Xi Park—and this place has them too.

In the West Park, there are poplar trees planted before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the old house of a famous person, and some elderly people resting and dancing in the open space in the middle.

Mingming and Haohao especially like this place because there is handmade ice cream, yogurt shaved ice, sour cream, and yogurt curds sold at the stalls—although they don't like the taste, they can try it out.

Freshly baked naan is delicious, and it's even more fragrant with milk tea.

They traveled and ate their way through the area. At this time, the valley town was not yet as large as it would be in later years. Once you passed the Pegasus roundabout, you were considered outside the town. So, on this day at the end of May, Li Long and his group returned to their large courtyard. The furniture had been made and delivered. Since some of the furniture was pre-ordered and it was convenient to buy things now, the house was ready for people to live in.

The wedding ceremony is tomorrow, and even though Gu Boyuan has arranged everything, he still has some odds and ends to take care of today.

Li Long originally intended to help, but Lao Gu said he didn't need to do anything, as there wasn't much to do. He and Teacher Song mainly went over the procedures.

The old and new wedding customs are changing, which is a bit confusing. If you want to have a modern wedding, it's very simple, but in some places the old customs still apply, which are quite complicated.

However, it doesn't resemble some of the hybrids of later generations.

Since Li Long and the others weren't allowed to participate, Li Long was happy to have some free time. He simply tidied up the vegetable garden, found some tools, turned over the soil, leveled it, and then planted the vegetable seeds he had bought.

I don't know when I'll come back, but since there's a vegetable garden, it's not good to leave it empty.

Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Xiaoyu were about to help Mingming and Haohao, but Li Long stopped them. There wasn't much land to begin with—although the yard wasn't small, most of it was paved with bricks and hardened, and the remaining land for planting was divided into plots, totaling less than five-tenths of an acre. Li Long quickly finished it all by himself.

When he finished, he realized that the Gu sisters and Mingming and Haohao were not there. He guessed that they might have gone to Old Gu's courtyard.

Li Long guessed correctly; the Gu sisters had gone to deliver a gift to Teacher Song.

Originally, Li Long had suggested that since he and his wife were giving a set of jade items, which were relatively expensive, they shouldn't give them together with Gu Xiaoyu, but rather give them to Teacher Song privately.

To avoid embarrassment.

However, after Gu Xiaoyu arrived, she discussed this matter with her sister.

Gu Xiaoyu herself also chose a specialty product from Yanjing, a cloisonné tea set—this kind of thing has a relatively complex craftsmanship, although it is not as good as jade, it is not an ordinary thing either.

Gu Xiaoxia then explained that the gifts she and her husband had given were jade items.

Cloisonné is a relatively complex craft, and it's covered in middle school textbooks. In any case, it's a valuable item for people in remote areas.

The two sisters arrived at the Gu family's house with their belongings. Teacher Song was gesturing to the clothes she would wear the next day. When she heard the commotion, she came out, her face still flushed.

After learning the purpose of the two sisters' visit, Teacher Song looked extremely apologetic.

"I'm so sorry. As an elder, I should be giving gifts to you two..."

The two sisters have also noticed these past few days that Teacher Song is genuinely good to Lao Gu, and it's not an act. Lao Gu might not be so happy here that he'll forget about home, but he'll probably spend less and less time back in the fourth team in the future, and might even live here permanently.

So the two sisters were very happy that Teacher Song was able to take good care of their father, and they said a lot of nice things to her, which made Teacher Song very happy, and she accepted two gifts.

When Li Long finished his work and went to have dinner, he offered to decorate the yard. He bought some balloons, blew them up, tied them to the yard wall and trees, and pasted up auspicious couplets.

That evening, Li Long and his companion moved into the new courtyard. After all, Gu Boyuan and Teacher Song were getting married, and there were bound to be many things to do that day. Since the two of them had made it clear that they didn't want Li Long's help, they simply decided to stay in the new courtyard and experience it firsthand.

The next morning, after Li Long and the others got up, they made a simple breakfast in the new courtyard and then went to Old Gu's place.

Li Long and the others, including Mingming and Haohao, had all changed into new clothes. Old Gu had also changed after breakfast. Although the wedding banquet was at noon, they needed to arrive early to greet the guests and do the setup.

So the two cars drove over to the hotel.

A little while later, someone from the purchasing station drove over, bringing with them the wine, candy, melon seeds, and other items that would be displayed today.

Gu Boyuan introduced Li Long to the people involved in the acquisition. These people from the acquisition station had already heard about Li Long, his son-in-law, from Gu Boyuan, so it was no exaggeration to say that they had heard of him beforehand.

Li Long also chatted with them and exchanged experiences on running a purchasing station.

"The officiant today is a leader from the state," Gu Boyuan whispered to Li Long. "I don't think I have that much influence; he's probably here for you. I'll introduce you when he arrives."

“Okay.” Li Long nodded. He knew that the leader must have been his bodyguard, and later he became a leader in the state.

With his help, Old Gu's business of running a purchasing station here was much less cutthroat.

People arrived one after another for the banquet. Some were Lao Gu's business partners, and he would call Li Long over to introduce them one by one; others were Song Xiaojuan's colleagues and friends, and she would also call Xiaoxia and Xiaoyu over to introduce them.

In short, she never treated the two sisters as outsiders.

Liu Gaolou arrived around 1:00 PM and was quite happy to see Li Long.

First, they gave Lao Gu a large red envelope—actually, Lao Gu and Teacher Song had discussed not writing a gift list, which meant they wouldn't accept gifts; the main purpose was to invite everyone to sit down and witness the occasion.

This was agreed upon beforehand. As a result, Liu Gaolou felt bad about it, so he specially prepared a large red envelope and stuffed it into Lao Gu's hand, saying words of congratulations, and then came to Li Long's side.

Having met them before, Liu Gaolou was familiar with Gu Xiaoxia and Gu Xiaoyu. After greeting them, he started talking to Li Long about his affairs.

"My second uncle said he can get his hands on that counter you wanted, and it'll be shipped over with the next trip. Oh, and he asked if you could get your hands on canned goods. He said it's okay in the summer, but canned goods sell better in the winter."

However, these things are difficult to transport in winter, especially glass bottles, which freeze easily, so he plans to stock up on a batch now. "Fruit cans or meat cans?" Li Long asked.

"Anything is fine," Liu Gaolou said. "They're not picky over there. The main issue is that food is scarce in winter, so anything edible is acceptable."

Li Long had a better idea of ​​what was going on, and he said he would go back and check the situation first.

The supply and marketing cooperative has a lot of canned goods, but these things sell quite well. The gifts people bring when visiting relatives now are about the same as a few years ago: two packets of sugar cubes, two bottles of wine, two bottles of canned goods, and maybe two boxes of biscuits at most.

At this time, canned goods were comparable to gift-boxed milk or yogurt in later generations.

So you can still find them if you want, but to find a large quantity, you have to go to food factories or canning plants directly.

More and more people arrived. The wedding hadn't started yet, but some people were eating melon seeds and smoking, while others had already started playing cards.

Because this hotel is of a relatively high standard, people's voices are not too loud, and some people are a little hesitant.

Li Long called over a service staff member and told him to open the windows and doors for ventilation, otherwise the smog would make him uncomfortable later.

Wu Yongbo also sat down. He had visited Li Long a couple of days ago and chatted with him. Li Long currently runs a small purchasing station in Qingshuihe, just a small storefront, buying things from the nearby villages and then reselling them to Lao Gu's purchasing station to make a profit.

It's basically just a large-scale middleman.

He had seen Li Long's purchasing station before, so he always maintained a high level of respect for Li Long. He came over to try and build a relationship, ask about the market prices of medicinal herbs, and see if he could get some useful information.

Then there's Revolutionary Buick. His wife has already given birth, but as a member of the Communist Party, he absolutely believes that the ability to have a child is due to the prescription given by Li Long and the result of taking the medicine, so he is very grateful to Li Long.

As the group was chatting, Old Gu called Li Long over again, this time to meet his business partner. Old Gu's purchasing station bought medicinal herbs, and his model was somewhat similar to Li Long's. He mainly bought from middlemen, but of course, he also bought from farmers who came to sell their herbs.

What I'm seeing now are just a few middlemen.

These traffickers were mostly in their thirties or forties, a bit older than Li Long, and some were even over fifty, a bit older than Lao Gu.

These people looked at Li Long as if he were a junior—in their view, was Old Gu going to mentor a younger generation?
However, when Gu Boyuan introduced this as his son-in-law, who ran a purchasing station in Ma County that was even larger than their own, these people were skeptical.

Too young.

Li Long noticed their expressions but didn't explain; he simply greeted them one by one.

His business focus isn't here, so there's no need to argue with these people.

Some people felt that Li Long, as a junior, should say a few words, so they talked about their business acumen in front of Li Long.

Gu Boyuan's expression darkened upon hearing this. "What? You only make a pittance a year and you want to give Li Long a lecture?"
Li Long didn't expect Old Gu to change his attitude. Just as he was about to stop him, he heard voices outside, and more guests arrived.

Then I saw a tall guest walk in, accompanied by a secretary.

The middlemen's eyes lit up—they had been waiting here for so long without taking their seats, just to see this person.

Most of these people were not present when Gu Boyuan's purchasing station opened, but they had seen him on the TV news. They had heard that he was the officiant at the wedding, so they took the initiative to come and get acquainted with him.

The leader warmly shook hands with Gu Boyuan, congratulated the couple on their marriage, and presented them with gifts he had brought—a set of notebooks and a fountain pen.

Gu Boyuan hurriedly expressed his gratitude. The leader looked around, his gaze lingering on Li Long for a moment, before asking:
"Are you Li Long?"

"Yes, I am Li Long." Li Long stepped forward with a smile and said, "Hello, leader."

"Not bad, not bad, judging by his physique, he's good material for the army." The leader praised Li Long's tall stature, "Didn't you join the army?"

“No, I wasn’t this strong when I was old enough to be in the army,” Li Long said, shaking his head. “It wasn’t easy to join the army back then; the competition was quite fierce. My physique grew later—after the reform and opening up, life got better, and I grew taller again.”

“I went to Yanjing for a meeting and met with the leader. He praised what you’ve done, saying it was very good.” The leader praised Li Long, “You’re young and promising. Come over often in the future. The scenery here in the valley is beautiful, and the resources are abundant. Your father-in-law is doing a great job here too.”

After chatting with Li Long for a while, the leader went over and took a seat.

This time, the middlemen were all staring intently at Li Long, and the feeling was completely different.

It seems Li Long is more favored by the leadership than his father-in-law.

Li Long had already returned to his seat. Gu Xiaoxia had just seen Li Long talking to the leader and asked him a few questions in a low voice, to which Li Long gave an explanation.

Gu Xiaoyu knew the general situation of Li Long in Yanjing, so she wasn't surprised. She silently peeled melon seeds and peanuts for Mingming and Haohao, quietly watching the lively scene.

Actually, I'm not at peace at all—after all, my father started a family here, and my mother started a family over there.

All things considered, both sides treated her well, and Teacher Song never treated her like an outsider. As for the other side… well, let's not talk about that. But her mother was very good to her.

Is this considered home on both sides, or...?

Gu Xiaoyu didn't think much of it. At worst, she could just live in her own courtyard. Would anyone make things difficult for her?
When the time came, Gu Boyuan personally went on stage, expressed his gratitude, and introduced the leaders.

The leader then went up on stage to officiate the wedding for the two, praising both Gu Boyuan and Teacher Song before applauding and leaving the stage.

Firecrackers were already going off outside—the security guards at the purchasing station had been waiting to set them off.

The banquet began as soon as the cannon fired.

The waiters began serving dishes to each table. Li Long glanced at them and saw six cold dishes and ten hot dishes, a very lavish spread. Although most people had solved their basic needs for food and clothing these days, and those who could attend a wedding were not exactly poor, the feast here was truly impressive.

Gu Boyuan and Teacher Song went from table to table toasting. The leader did not leave, but ate and drank with Li Long and others at the same table, and even chatted about some past events.

Li Long thought to himself, "They really treat me like one of their own."

Old Gu was the first to come over and toast the leader. The leader offered his blessings again, but didn't drink much, saying he had to go to work in the afternoon and that it was enough to just show his appreciation.

Many people were watching this scene closely. Now that they saw the leader was drinking and hadn't said he was leaving, some people started to get restless. After Lao Gu left, they came over with their wine glasses.

The person, whether assistant or secretary, simply blocked the way. The leader, as if not seeing anything, chatted with Li Long for a while, then proactively picked up his glass and clinked it against Li Long's, saying:

"I know you often go to Yanjing. Please give my regards to the leader next time you go."

After finishing his drink and eating a couple of bites of food, he left with his assistant.

Li Long hurriedly stood up, went over to call Lao Gu, escorted him to the door, got him into the car, and left the courtyard before they came back in.

When Li Long came in, he could feel that many people were looking at him with complicated expressions.

However, he didn't care. Anyway, Old Gu was in charge of things here, and he didn't plan to stay here for long. He could ignore those people's attitudes.

Liu Gaolou, however, said half-jokingly:
"Old Li, I never expected you to have this connection. What a surprise!"

"Well... everyone has connections," Li Long said with a slight smile, "Eat up, eat up. Don't waste such a fine meal."

There were only five people at the table, including Li Long and his group of five, Liu Gaolou, the leader, and the assistant. Now that the leader and assistant had left, the table felt a little empty.

Children are not usually considered to have seats (at this time), but because Hao Hao is a relative of the man, Gu Boyuan specifically reminded them to give the two children special seats.

The leader just praised the two children, saying they weren't shy, were good-looking, and strong.

After Gu Boyuan finished toasting at all the tables, he had also drunk quite a bit, his face was flushed, and he was clearly quite drunk.

Li Long went over and helped him up, and Teacher Song followed and sat down at the table.

Both of them had slightly dazed eyes—the male guests drank baijiu (Chinese liquor), while the female guests drank sweet wine (red wine). Teacher Song's alcohol tolerance was not as good as Gu Boyuan's; after a few drinks, she felt a little dizzy.

"You two should eat something to calm yourselves down," Li Long and the Gu sisters said. "Otherwise, you'll throw up in a bit."

"I'm so happy," Old Gu exclaimed. "Finally... I'm settled down again."

He raised his daughter alone, and originally thought he would find a wife and live happily ever after, but he never expected that his wife had already remarried long ago.

For a time after learning about this, Gu Boyuan was heartbroken. Even after arriving in the valley, he didn't think about remarrying. However, the way he met Teacher Song was too legendary, and Teacher Song herself was also a persistent person.

Although she has a gentle personality, she will take the initiative to make a move once she has made up her mind. Old Gu had never experienced anything like this before, and as a result, he fell for her.

Yeah, it feels good.

A smile appeared on Teacher Song's lips. She was naturally very satisfied, and it could be considered a successful outcome.

Remarriage in middle age is different from that of young people; feelings are very important. In short, she felt that she and Lao Gu were a good match and that she could feel happiness, so that was enough for her.

Although Li Long and the Gu sisters tried to persuade them to stay, the two had drunk quite a bit and hadn't eaten much. So Li Long simply drove them home to rest, and then came back to pick up his family.

The distance wasn't far, but both of them had been drinking, so walking was definitely not an option.

When Li Long returned after settling the two people in, most of the people had already left, but two tables of people were still drinking and playing drinking games.

These people from the private purchasing station came to collect the remaining stock. Li Long picked up his family, said goodbye to Liu Gaolou, and then went home.

Because he had made an appointment with Liu Gaolou to drive his family to Khorgos the next day, Liu Gaolou didn't chat with Li Long anymore and went back after finishing his meal.

On the way back, Gu Xiaoyu sighed:

"I never expected it to be so simple—but Dad has finally achieved his goal. We can rest assured that he and Aunt Song will live a good life together from now on."

“Yes.” Gu Xiaoxia thought the same thing, but she was a little disappointed. “It’s just too far. It takes two days to get here from Ma County, and it’s even farther if you’re coming from Yanjing. It would be better if it were in Wucheng or Shicheng, or even Kuiwu.”

“Uncle Gu is getting old. Think about it, neither Wucheng nor Shicheng has a climate as good as this, right? We all know about Teacher Song's situation. She could easily go back to her hometown. Why does she stay here? Isn't it because this place is a good place to live?”

Actually, all three of them knew that Teacher Song's staying here wasn't entirely due to this reason, but it was part of it.

They could feel it after staying here for a few days. The climate here is more humid than in Shicheng, Ma County. It's not as hot, and there are fewer mosquitoes. It's a good place to live.

Back in Gu Boyuan's courtyard, they went inside to check on him. Gu Boyuan and Teacher Song were both asleep. Li Long and the others didn't disturb them, closed the outer gate, and went to the other courtyard.

Li Long also drank several cups and went back to the courtyard to rest. The Gu sisters were not sleepy, and neither were Mingming and Haohao, so they played in the courtyard.

In the evening, Li Long got up, and they went to check on Gu Boyuan and his wife. They found that they were still resting, so they quietly made dinner—noodle soup.

When drinking alcohol, eating sour soup noodles is a good way to sober up.

Old Gu was lured in by the aroma. After getting up, he saw his eldest daughter, Gu Xiaoxia, serving rice in the kitchen and asked:
"When did you get here? How long have we been asleep?"

"It's been several hours," Gu Xiaoxia said softly. "Aunt Song still hasn't gotten up."

Although she spoke softly, Song Xiaojuan still heard her—in fact, she was awake too, but she was too embarrassed to come out.

She was supposed to cook for the guests, but she drank too much.

This is only natural, but she felt a little embarrassed.

"Aunt Song, you're up? Are you still feeling unwell? Come, come, have some food, some sour soup will make you feel better," Gu Xiaoxia said.

Gu Xiaoyu came in from outside, holding cilantro in her hand—it was picked directly from the vegetable garden. She greeted Old Gu and Teacher Song, washed the cilantro, chopped it, and sprinkled it into a bowl.

Cilantro can be eaten raw.

Li Long came in with Mingming and Haohao, carrying a bag filled with freshly picked mulberries. Seeing that Old Gu was already up and washing his hands, he smiled and said:

"Uncle Gu, you've had quite a bit to drink today."

"Well... sigh, my alcohol tolerance isn't what it used to be. But at least I got this done, and it went very smoothly. I thought the leader would just come to officiate the wedding and leave, but I didn't expect him to stay and have a drink. This really boosted my prestige."

Old Gu was quite happy. Just because of today's event, anyone who saw or inquired about it will pay extra attention to his company in the future.

Of course, there are good and bad aspects. This is essentially labeling it, and it's hard to say what might happen if the leader has any issues in the future.

Li Long brought his family to attend the wedding. However, he didn't plan to leave immediately afterward. After this matter was settled, Gu Boyuan would make arrangements and then take Teacher Song back to Ma County to hold another ceremony in the fourth team.

Therefore, Li Long will return with Gu Boyuan and the others.

"I'll call your older brother tomorrow and have him get things ready for me," Gu Boyuan said while eating his soup. "Once we get back, it'll be much easier to get things done. Your older brother will have to be in charge."

Gu Xiaoyu asked while eating:
What is a general manager?

“He’s the person in charge of the banquet,” Gu Xiaoxia explained to her. “My older brother is often the one in charge in the team, so he’s experienced. Now, when there are weddings in the team, people who are close to him usually ask him to be in charge.”

Gu Xiaoyu nodded, indicating that she understood.

"So, which day do you want to set? You want my older brother to prepare in advance, so we need to set a date, right?" Li Long asked. "It's summer now, and some things like meat can't be prepared in advance."

"Hmm, tomorrow's the day before, we'll go back the day after, and arrive the day after that." Gu Boyuan calculated, "Then let's do it on June 6th? That sounds more natural." After he finished speaking, he turned to ask Teacher Song:

"Xiaojuan, what do you think?"

“Sure.” Song Xiaojuan naturally had no objections; she was actually quite curious about what weddings were like in the countryside.

“We’re not like the young people. Actually, it’s pretty much the same as today. We just call everyone in the team together for a meal.” Gu Boyuan knew what she was thinking and said, “I’ve been in the team for so many years and have old friendships with a lot of people. I’m also considered one of the founding members of the village, so if there’s something important, I definitely have to go back to handle it.”

And that was the end of it. After dinner, Teacher Song refused to let Gu Xiaoxia clean up the kitchen and "sent" them away.

Li Long and his companions were happy to have some free time, so they took a stroll nearby.

At that time, Liuxing Street was not as bustling as it would be in later years, and the alleys were not as spacious. They walked along Jiefang Road and eventually arrived at the Teachers' College.

It was already after school, and students were coming and going in twos and threes at the school gate, all exuding youthful energy.

Gu Xiaoyu didn't think much of it, but Gu Xiaoxia was a little envious.

She has already obtained a bachelor's degree from the Open University, but that kind of education is different from this kind of full-time study.

This is a regret in life, but looking at Li Long, and then at Mingming and Haohao beside me, as well as the younger sister who came over, I feel that it's pretty good.

How blissful!

(End of this chapter)