For the villagers of Fengxiang Village and Fu'an Village, Shu Ping and Huo Feng's wedding was the most lively event in 1999 except for the Chinese New Year.In the morning, first, various firecrackers exploded at the entrance of the village for a long time, followed by eight black imported cars with bright red ribbons driving all the way to the Huo family. The young men driving were either in military uniforms or suits. Those who didn't know thought they were filming in the village for a TV series.
The children ran from one end of the village to the other in groups with their pockets full of distributed wedding candies. The women and the elderly, except those who helped with the banquet, all gathered around the Huo family to watch the excitement.
"The boy from the Huo family is so capable. I, an old woman, have lived for more than 60 years and have really broadened my horizons. I remember when I was in my teens, I followed my brother to walk ten miles to watch the landlords get married, but it was not as glorious as it is today."
"Oh, Auntie, what you are talking about is from many years ago. In the old society, no matter how rich the landlords were, they could not call and go out to take the car when they had something to do like now.
"Look at how energetic that young man in military uniform is. He has three stars and is a company commander." "He is from Huo Feng's unit. When the recruits were training, Huo Feng was his company commander. He specially asked for leave to come here because he knew that the old company commander was getting married."
It is well known that it is difficult for soldiers to ask for leave. There is a kid in the village who has not been able to go home to visit his family for two years. Huo Feng has been retired for several years and he can still come to be the best man. It can be seen that the relationship has not faded and he has always been thinking about him.
In this way, this wedding not only shows Huo Feng's economic strength, but also allows everyone to have a clear view of the social relationships he has cultivated over the years, which should not be underestimated.
After Li Shumei pinned a boutonniere with the word "groom" on Huo Feng, she patted his shoulder with a look of relief and said with emotion, "I have been looking forward to it for so many years, and finally the day when you get married has come. If your father is still here, he must be as happy as I am."
Huo Feng gently hugged his mother's shoulders. "A son wants to support his parents but they are no longer there" is the biggest regret in his life.
"He will know. No matter how long he has been gone, he will be watching us in heaven. "
Li Shumei wiped her tears and nodded, "Yes, no matter where he is, the one he misses most is always you, his proud son. The auspicious time is coming soon, let's set off quickly and don't delay the bride-picking ceremony."
She felt a little regretful that she shouldn't have mentioned her deceased husband on such a happy day, but the happier she was, the more she would think of her beloved.
Huo Feng raised his wrist and looked at the time. According to the procedure, he had to arrive at the Shu family before ten o'clock, pick up the bride and set off fireworks at ten-fifty-eight, return to the village entrance at eleven-eighteen and set off fireworks again, and start the banquet on time at eleven-thirty-six.
Time was indeed tight.
"Then let's set off quickly."
He tightened his tie and called the best man Qin Wei and a group of brothers to get in the car, with a rather grand posture.
"Brother Feng, are you nervous?"
"Brother Feng, this is not called nervousness, but excitement. In ten minutes or so, you will be able to marry the beauty. Look at the dark circles under your eyes. You must not have slept well last night."
The driver of the main wedding car for Huo Feng was Zhuang Yong, the youngest driver of the transportation company, and also the most talkative. In a few words, he outlined the eagerness of the groom to marry the bride.
At this time, Shu Ping had already dressed up. The bright red Chinese dress further highlighted her gentle and elegant temperament. The bridesmaid Yu Lu also wore a modified version of Hanfu, which made the other roommates who didn't draw the lottery jealous.
"I was not jealous when Yu Lu was chosen to be a bridesmaid, but I am jealous when I see this bridesmaid dress."
"The texture is so good, it's worthy of being made by a master chef in the provincial capital. You two standing together look like you're in a costume drama."
Seeing everyone praising the dresses, Shu Ping secretly decided to call Master Jiang after she was done with this period of work and order a few more sets as gifts for them.
In fact, if Huo Feng had enough best men, she could have ordered a few more bridesmaids, and it would be more lively with more people.
"Hey, the groom and the bride-picking party will be here soon. Let's go through the process again. We must not let the groom 'snatch' Pingping away so easily."
"Reciting poems in five minutes, solving math problems in three minutes, doing 60 push-ups in one minute, drawing maps quickly, and hitting all the targets in pitching pots. These projects are still very difficult."
First of all, in a wedding like today, an ancient poem that fits the occasion must be selected. "The Book of Songs·Bei Feng·Ji Gu" made it to the list with its beautiful vision of love. Of course, they would never admit that they were attracted by the poem's difficult pronunciation and number of words.
The math problem was the famous chicken and rabbit in the same cage. As a people's teacher, it is natural to have cultural connotations when stopping the bride. This is something that even elementary school students can do, so it is not difficult.
Of course, the purpose of blocking the marriage is just to increase the difficulty, not to really stop people from getting married. Look, the three items of push-ups, map drawing, and pot throwing are tailor-made. Even if the conditions are a bit harsh, it should not be a problem for Huo Feng, who used to be a soldier.
Shu Ping watched their enthusiastic discussion and did not express her opinion. Lu Meiting teased, "Look, we are just talking here, the bride is really worried about the groom."
She was not worried, the essence of blocking the marriage was to set obstacles for the groom. There were so many people in the wedding reception group, and they were not invited for nothing. If Shu Ping took the blame, she would be laughed at by them for the rest of her life.
She turned the round fan in her hand and smiled, "This is your home court. I can't move when I sit. I can only support you spiritually."
"That's right, this is the only time in my life. If I don't show him some 'color', he'll still think it's so easy to marry a wife."
Amid the laughter, the sound of firecrackers came from afar. It was the convoy of the marriage party that drove into the village.
"Here they are, here they are, let's take our positions. Sisters, hold on."
At this time, the bride became the most idle one. She only heard cheers coming from outside the house from time to time. It didn't take long before the door was opened from outside. Huo Feng, wearing a Chinese wedding dress of the same color, appeared with flowers in his hands. His eyes were burning. Shu Ping could feel the warmth in his eyes from a few meters away. Shu Ping blushed unconsciously.
"The bride is embarrassed to be seen by the groom. Groom, is our bride beautiful?"
Huo Feng smiled, grinned with his big white teeth, nodded and said "beautiful". His usual solemn temperament was gone, and he became a real big fool.
"The first two levels were easy for our groom. He passed the cultural test. Now it's time to test his physical strength. Since we seriously underestimated the groom's strength before, we have to change the rules temporarily. The groom can only do it by himself. Others can only watch and cannot help."
The remaining three challenges are 60 push-ups in one minute, drawing a map, and pitching pots. After Jiang Yi said this, the young men in the wedding reception group were not happy.
"No, how can you change the rules temporarily? Wouldn't our brothers have no place to use their skills?"
Jiang Yi ignored the other party's rebuttal and looked at Huo Feng proudly, "Let's listen to what the groom says."
As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Feng strode forward, handed the bouquet to Shu Ping's arms, buckled the hem, and did push-ups directly on the spot. Everyone was stunned for two seconds before they reacted and began to count and time.
"3, 4, 5...59, 60!"
"51 seconds, 60 push-ups in just 51 seconds."
"As expected of my brother Feng, he has great physical strength."
"The bride will be blessed in the future."
"Okay, then we have passed the third level. For the next two levels, we can accommodate the groom if he needs help."
While Huo Feng was tidying up his hem, he turned his head and smiled at Shu Ping and raised his eyebrows, as if to reassure her.
"Give me a pen and paper. If I can't even draw a map of our country, then my service is in vain."
With one stroke, a big rooster appeared on the paper, and then the locations of various provinces were marked, and their respective numerical codes were also marked.
Now the people in dormitory 506 were convinced, and nothing could stump him.
"Then there is no suspense in the remaining level of pitching pots."
Can a shooting champion fail in pitching pots? This level is supposed to be a free score.
Sure enough, all ten chips were hit, and two or three of them were hit together.
"The five levels took eleven minutes, nearly twenty minutes less than expected. Since you fought for it yourself, I'll give you more time to express your feelings to the bride."
This is the part that everyone likes to watch the most, of course, except for the wedding night.
Outside the door, relatives and neighbors gathered in a circle, all watching the fun. Huo Feng was not afraid. He walked in front of Shu Ping and half squatted down, took her hand and put it in his palm, raised his head and looked at her face, his expression was particularly solemn.
"They laughed at me for having too obvious dark circles under my eyes. To be honest, I didn't sleep well last night. It's hard to describe the feeling. I was eagerly looking forward to the dawn, wanting to see you as soon as possible and take you home to be my wife. It felt very unreal, and I was afraid that I was just dreaming... Until this moment, I really held your hand, and my heart was at ease."
There was something he had never mentioned to Shu Ping. He had a dream half a year ago. In the dream, Shu Ping was not the director of Hongyuan Food Factory. She died young after being deceived by Chen Yibin. She did not go to work in the food factory, nor did she open a transportation company. She was guarding her retirement allowance and one acre of land.
His mother was in poor health and was always afraid that she would not survive, so she asked someone to find him a partner to marry. However, he met many women, but either the other party disliked his family burden or he was not satisfied with them. He wasted time until his mother passed away when he was in his thirties and still had not met someone he was satisfied with.
Through the strength of his palms and the redness of his eyes, Shu Ping could clearly feel the strong fluctuations in his heart. His emotions suddenly changed.
When she was brought up, she reached out and touched the shadow under his eyelids to comfort him, "Don't worry, you are still a handsome guy even with dark circles under your eyes."
Huo Feng chuckled, lowered his head and kissed the back of her hand, "As long as you like it."
The two smiled at each other.
In the main hall, Liu Yanfang had already prepared cakes and wedding tea. Shu Ping's parents died early, and her uncle and aunt loved her as their own daughter. At such an important moment today, they strived for perfection. Cousin Shu Jun was also busy helping to greet relatives and friends.
"Xiao Huo, we have known each other for so long, your uncle and I know your personality best, and we know that you will definitely treat Pingping well..."
Liu Yanfang choked up just after she finished half a sentence, and even Shu Weimin, who was usually silent and introverted, showed reluctance.
"Live a good life after marriage, love each other and support each other, we will always be a family."
"Well, I know, although I am married, I still come to the village every day, no different from before. So, I am finally married, you should be happy, do you want to keep me at home as an old maid?"
Her aunt burst into tears and laughed, the atmosphere of reluctance was mostly dissipated, leaving only deep blessings.
Late at night, after seeing off the last wave of relatives and friends who made trouble in the bridal chamber, Shu Ping finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat down to rest.
After Huo Feng cleaned up the debris on the ground, he came over and sat behind her, helping her press the acupuncture points on her shoulders to relax, and with his other hand, he held her waist and pulled her into his arms.
Shu Ping found a comfortable position without hesitation, even closed her eyes, more lazy than the tabby cat raised in the factory, the red round pattern cheongsam outlined her beautiful curves, Huo Feng was distracted while pressing, his hands unconsciously shifted from the original position, and when Shu Ping reacted, she was already lying on the sofa.
The eyes were as charming as silk, and their hearts surged with just a glance. Huo Feng lowered his head and kissed her lips, and when Shu Ping responded, his heart exploded like a wildfire. S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
The night was long, and their happy life had just begun.