The two old men: "...Okay."
Song Qing smiled and said, "Alright, now you can put the two old ladies down."
The old men were so angry they nearly fell over, and they all whispered to me, "When did you make such a nasty friend?"
I thought to myself, you guys are just looking for a bargain, who knows what you'll do when his brother comes?
Next came the bride and groom's turn to address their parents. I'm thick-skinned; I'd already called them that morning, so I easily called them twice and received two red envelopes. Baozi is usually very outgoing and has accompanied me home quite a bit these past two years, but this was truly the first time she'd called them "Mom and Dad." She blushed and timidly uttered the first word. As usual, the two elders were overjoyed and slapped two large red envelopes into her hands; the bags were practically bulging like small flour sacks, containing at least eight or ten thousand yuan. For the older generation, "being able to manage a household" is the primary requirement when choosing a daughter-in-law. Ever since Baozi's first visit to our home, where she quickly got my mother out of the kitchen to set out a meal, the two elders have genuinely liked this girl, and now they're beaming like two flowers.
The four elderly people were somewhat bewildered by today's scene. The old accountant and his wife, in particular, were like steamed buns, initially assuming that a large portion of the crowd had come from outside to watch the spectacle. When they later learned that they were all my friends, they were utterly astonished.
Once the ceremony was over, the banquet officially began. All six halls of the Happy Forest Hotel were packed. That means there were probably around 2000 people attending our wedding today. Initially, I was racking my brains about where the clients and friends should sit, but then I just gave up and let them sit however they wanted—I couldn't control that anymore.
So Yan Jingsheng sat in the middle of the Four Heavenly Kings, and the heroes were pulled to the tables of the martial arts tournament. The scholars were probably seated next to a parent from a family who had helped them develop their talents. My former deputy manager, Lao Pan, the one who did antique appraisal, was specially arranged by me to sit at the table of close relatives because he was really a dangerous person. I even wrote his invitation myself.
Baozi and I changed into neat traditional dresses and began toasting at each table. After toasting in several private rooms, I pulled her into the room where the original five-person group was. The original five-person group, along with Wu Sangui and Hua Mulan, were all gathered together, along with Jin Shaoyan, Fengfeng, and Cao Xiaoxiang. As soon as Cao Xiaoxiang saw us come in, he said, "Happy wedding to Dad and Sister Baozi!" Everyone laughed.
Baozi pulled out a big red envelope and stuffed it into his little hand, laughing as she said, "What generation is this?!"
I raised a glass of wine to Qin Shihuang, who had been by our side the whole time, and said, "Brother Ying, you've worked the hardest today. Let me toast you."
Qin Shi Huang laughed and said, "We don't need to talk about these things among our own people."
Baozi then remembered something and asked Hua Mulan and Li Shishi, "Hey cousins, why aren't you at the main table?"
Hua Mulan and Li Shishi exchanged a glance, unsure of what to say. I quickly said, "Who cares about kinship? Let's just sit however we like." Luckily, Baozi was careless enough, otherwise she wouldn't have considered why my cousin, as a member of her family, would make things difficult for us. I'm afraid even my mother is meeting these two nieces for the first time.
Over the past six months, we've shared countless joyful moments together, like a family. In this setting, Baozi surprisingly seemed rather awkward, holding his glass of wine and saying, "I have an idea… I know it's rather inappropriate, but I still want to say it…"
Everyone said, "Go ahead and say it."
"...Well, we've had so much fun together for so long, and I...please don't laugh at me. I was wondering if we could stay together forever—"
Apart from Fengfeng, everyone present knew each other's backgrounds. Most of them were definitely leaving in less than six months…
After a moment of surprise, Li Shishi clapped her hands and said, "Great! We'll never be apart again." Baozi laughed and said, "Even the big star agrees, what about you?" In order not to spoil her mood, everyone said, "We agree."
Baozi dreamt to himself, "After Qiangzi and I get married, we'll all still live in the pawnshop. When we've saved enough money, we'll buy a big house. You all work hard too, and we'll buy all the houses together. When you get married, we'll live together for generations."
Seeing her optimistic outlook, everyone laughed and said, "That would be best."
Baozi was so excited that he drank a glass of wine and said, "I need to go to the restroom first..."
Liu Bang pulled me aside and whispered, "Xiao Qiang, you'd better treat Baozi well. She's my dream girl, and you tricked her away. In my entire life, I've never lost so badly in a fight over something..."
At that moment, I saw him rise into the sky, and Liu Bang danced around in the air, saying, "Damn, I've touched someone's sore spot again."
Xiang Yu tossed him aside, picked up his wine cup, and said to me with a hint of dejection, "Xiao Qiang, it still comes down to this: I can't give you anything..."
Indeed, in the group of five plus two, everyone except him was a great help at my wedding. Xiang Yu had been sullen ever since he arrived. After finding Yu Ji, I only saw him be happy for a short while that night; he still looked melancholy now. It's clear that it's hard to say what's truly important when it comes to gains and losses. Zhang Bing doesn't get along well with any of us, so he didn't invite her to come today.
I clinked glasses with him and said, "Brother Yu, don't say that..."
This was bad news! Baozi's father, seeing the large gathering of guests, including several city leaders, felt his daughter's presence was overshadowed by her family, despite the attention she received. His stubborn pride flared up again. Emboldened by a few drinks, he swayed onto the stage, pulled a photograph from his pocket, and said, "...Actually, it's not unreasonable for Xiaoqiang to marry my daughter with such a grand ceremony; we are, after all, from a distinguished family—"
The crowd below joined in the jeering: "What prestigious family?!"
The old accountant waved the photo in his hand: "Our Xiang family are descendants of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu! This photo is the proof that my grandfather donated the ancestral thumb ring to the government back then—that thumb ring was personally used by the Hegemon-King of Chu!"
I covered my face and let out a long sigh...
Xiang Yu ran out in shock, picked up the photo that everyone was scrambling to look at, and walked back with a smile behind his back. "It really is the one I wore." He patted me hard, his previous dejection vanishing. "Xiao Qiang, it seems the most precious gift you received at your wedding was from me."
That's right, he gave the bride to her.
I said with a bitter face, "You are my ancestor, your whole family are my ancestors."
Xiang Yu chuckled and said, "Just call me brother."
After Baozi came back, we still had to go and toast other tables. But there were just too many people. Not to mention how tight the schedule was, how much alcohol would we have to drink? So, naturally, I thought of that age-old solution: use cold water instead.
Before this, relatives and leaders had already offered their toasts. Following the proper order, I led Baozi to the group of Yue Fei's men and heroes first. Xu Delong was with several heroes and teachers from Yucai School, and everyone naturally offered their blessings. I poured wine for Baozi and myself, and drank it all in one gulp. Baozi, unaware that I had tampered with the wine—the one I used with the five-man group was genuine, of course—drank it in surprise and exclaimed, "This wine..." Luckily, she wasn't completely naive and knew this was a necessary measure, so she exaggeratedly said, "...It's really good!"
"That acting was terrible! What kind of boss praises himself like that?" Dong Ping and Yang Zhi immediately sensed something was amiss, snatched the bottle, took a swig, and shouted, "The newcomers are using cold water instead of wine! What do we do?"
"Punish him!" the crowd roared with laughter.
They drank cup after cup without stopping, and Baozi finally collapsed on the table. Hu Sanniang and Xiuxiu helped her to rest, and the people stopped making things difficult for me.
Seeing me sit down, Xu Delong came over and took out a calligraphy scroll, saying, "Xiao Qiang, congratulations on your marriage! On behalf of Marshal Yue and the entire Yue Family Army, I am here to present you with a gift."
I stared at the words for a moment, then realized what was going on and exclaimed excitedly, "Written by Marshal Yue?"
Xu Delong nodded slightly. At this moment, the 300 soldiers scattered around suddenly stood up all at once, startling those around them.
I solemnly accepted the scroll, opened it, and saw eight large characters: "Pure and upright, with an awe-inspiring spirit." This was both a reflection of Yue Fei himself and an earnest exhortation to future generations. Judging from the paper and handwriting, it was a modern item, meaning: Yue Fei's army had found him!
Xu Delong knew I had a lot of questions to ask, so he patted my hand and said, "I'll explain it to you in detail later. For now, you should take care of your own business."
I nodded.
Although the bride was drunk, I couldn't be impolite, so I continued my charade with a bottle of cold water. The men didn't bother to expose me. I saw Li Tianrun sitting next to a well-dressed woman with a gloomy expression, not daring to drink, only constantly picking at his food. Between them sat a little girl of about eight or nine, with big eyes and a round face, very cute and bright-eyed. When I went over, Li Tianrun quickly introduced her. The woman next to him was indeed his wife, and not as he had described, she was quite pretty. His wife greeted me politely and whispered in Li Tianrun's ear, "Since the groom is here, you're allowed to have a drink."
Li Tianrun, as if granted a pardon, eagerly clinked glasses with me. I looked at his young girl and smiled, "How about we arrange a marriage? You've met Xiao Xiang, he's so clever."
Li Tianrun said disdainfully, "Are you sure about this? How old is the child?"
I lowered my voice and said, "If we get married, you'll be Cao Cao's relative by marriage."