Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 398 The Feeling of Peeling Potatoes

The next day was quite busy. There was a wedding ceremony, a wedding night festivities, and traditional greetings to the bride's family. Then came the banquet, toasts, and cigarette lighting. On the actual day, the bride would light the cigarette.

Starting at eight in the morning and continuing until four in the afternoon, Xia Maosheng's wedding finally came to a successful close. Needless to say, Xia Maosheng and Geng Hui, even Xiao Wei and Chen Hui who accompanied them, were almost exhausted.

After a hearty meal, the group of relatives and friends bid farewell and left. Some went straight to catch a bus back to Chuanzhou, while others took the opportunity to stroll around Longcheng. Most of them, having eaten and drunk their fill, boarded the shuttle bus to sleep, waiting for the Xia family to take them back.

When the car was heading back in the afternoon, only half of the two cars that were full when we arrived were empty.

Xia Maosheng's older sisters all came and helped out from morning until afternoon. After lunch, they took a bus back home. They all had a lot to do, so no one stayed to stroll around. Xia Maosheng's parents were the last to leave. Xia Xiaolan's side had a banquet on the second floor of the restaurant, with people from Sichuan and Longcheng, all of whom were officials. As the groom's parents, they naturally had to accompany them.

Xia Maosheng's parents and sister didn't come to the courtyard. No one knows what they were thinking; they all left immediately after the banquet. The elderly couple rode in Xia Xiaolan's car. Everyone was busy all day; they only exchanged greetings with Xiaowei and Chen Hui, and even the housewarming party was just Xia Maosheng, Xiaowei, and a few others accompanying Geng Hui's family.

"Get up, wash your face and eat, then go back to sleep." Xiaowei's mother knocked on the window to wake him up, and then asked him to call the other four. It was a little past eight o'clock, and Xiaowei's mother and the others were about to go to sleep, worried that the six children wouldn't get to eat, as two of them were pregnant.

Xiao Wei got up, washed his face, coaxed Xiao Hong to wake up, then got dressed and went out to call Chen Hui and Xia Maosheng. He managed to wake them all up. By the time the four of them had finished getting ready and came out of the house, it was already 9:20. Xiao Wei told his mother to go inside and sleep, and the six of them went to the dining room for dinner.

The daytime meal consisted of leftover cabbage stew, steamed buns with rice porridge, freshly steamed egg custard topped with meat sauce, and a bowl of tofu soup.

The six of them were hungry, so they started eating their steamed buns. People in this era preferred this kind of mixed stew of leftover food from banquets; it was oily, fragrant, and had a unique flavor, making it a rare delicacy.

After eating a steamed bun, Xiao Wei felt better and said, "I'm done for. Getting married is just too tiring. Xiao Hong, how about we have a destination wedding someday?"

Xiao Hong looked conflicted, and after a long pause, she asked, "Will your in-laws agree?" She was genuinely scared. Even she herself was suffering from leg cramps, and seeing what Geng Hui had been going through these past two days, she felt a chill run down her spine. Frankly, getting married these days was much easier than in later generations. In later times, marriage wasn't just a matter of marriage; it was like being forced into labor and skinned alive.

Chen Hui glanced at Chen Xiao and said with a smile, "My wife and I are lucky. We escaped unscathed." Chen Xiao, unusually, agreed with Chen Hui's point of view and nodded in agreement.

Geng Hui was indeed exhausted. She was already thin, and being around two months pregnant was a very tiring time. In the past two days, she looked completely drained, with no energy at all. She listlessly ate her porridge. Xiao Wei said, "Geng Hui, you need to eat more, even if you can't. Otherwise, the baby won't be able to eat. You'll feel better after resting for a couple of days."

Geng Hui put down her chopsticks, thought for a moment, and silently reached out and took a steamed bun.

Xiao Hong said, "Hui'er, if you really can't eat anymore, just break it in half and eat more of this." She pushed the sponge cake towards Geng Hui.

Geng Hui said, "Yes, I'll eat. I never imagined getting married would be so tiring."

Xiao Hong said, "The main reason is that you're pregnant, and you're already thin."

Geng Hui glared at Xia Maosheng, took a bite of the steamed bun, ate a few bites, and said, "This steamed bun tastes better. The ones we make at home never taste right."

Chen Xiao paused for a moment, then held the steamed bun under her nose and smelled it, saying, "Is there a difference? Aren't all steamed buns the same?"

Xia Maosheng said, "If it's delicious, eat more. Tomorrow I'll go learn how to steam these buns."

Xiao Hong said, "Could it be because you bought the steamed buns you ate in Chuanzhou, or did you steam them yourself?"

Xia Maosheng thought for a moment and said, "I don't know, I always eat in the cafeteria. Hui, you also eat in the company cafeteria, right?"

Geng Hui nodded. Xiao Hong said, "Your cafeteria must be using yeast. This is old yeast. This steamed bun tastes a bit more sour than one made with yeast. Xiao Hui, are you craving sour things because you're pregnant?"

Geng Hui thought for a moment and nodded. Xiao Hong said, "That's right, sour for boys and spicy for girls. Only Chen Xiao is a freak, he likes sweets."

Chen Xiao rolled his eyes and said, "What's wrong with eating sweets? You can still have a son even if you eat sweets."

Chen Hui chuckled and said, "I had someone check it out. It's a boy. Let him eat sweets if he wants. As long as he's healthy, that's all that matters, hehehe."

Xia Maosheng said, "My family loves sour food, so it's definitely going to be a boy."

Xiao Hong glanced at Xiao Wei, sighed, and said, "The pressure is immense."

Xiao Wei said, "It's okay. If we have a daughter, the bride price is two million. She has to have a car, a house, and support us in our old age. Otherwise, we won't marry her."

Everyone laughed, and Chen Hui nodded and said, "It's okay, my family can definitely afford it." This time, Xiao Wei laughed even louder, and Xiao Wei tapped Chen Hui on the head a few times with his chopsticks.

Xia Maosheng looked at Chen Hui, then at Xiao Wei, and frowned, saying, "Xiao Wei, why don't you two consider having two girls?" This time even Xiao Wei laughed, his little red face flushed, seemingly lost in thought.

After a hearty meal, the group finally perked up. The three men cleared the table and washed the dishes, while the three women chatted together. Chen Xiao shared her experiences with Geng Hui, since she was close to giving birth and had some knowledge to share. Xiao Hong blinked and absorbed the information.

Xiaowei said, "I plan to travel around during Xiaohong's summer vacation, and visit Shanghai and Yangcheng. Our information here is too limited. We need to go out and learn more, broaden our horizons. You two will be the ones taking care of things at home then, so keep an eye on things."

Chen Hui was definitely not going anywhere, so he nodded. Xia Maosheng turned to look at Geng Hui, and Xiao Wei said, "Don't even think about it. It's too far. If it were closer, it would be alright."

Chen Hui said, "Old Xia, don't take chances with this. Last time in Anton, I was almost scared to death. If anything goes wrong, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. There will be plenty of opportunities to go out and have fun in the future. We're not short of money."

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "Alright, it's really not easy to become a father. Now I understand how my dad felt back then."

Chen Hui said, "Come on, how many do you have? I bet your dad doesn't care anymore, he'd be more concerned about you than if you were digging up a potato in the field." Xiao Wei burst out laughing, almost dropping the bowl he was washing. The three women over there giggled.

(End of this chapter)