Baozi, blushing with shyness, suddenly lifted her wedding skirt and kicked me, saying seductively, "I was still tricked into marrying you with just a few pieces of broken furniture."
...That's when I realized the problem. Li Shishi had decorated the pawnshop to look brand new, with a strong festive atmosphere. But of course, the new furniture I had promised Baozi wasn't placed there. So, although the atmosphere was nice, our three-legged sofa was still leaning against a brick, and the refrigerator door still needed a small piece of paper to close...
I interrupted, saying, "You saw it too, the ceremonial procession alone cost a lot of money, so we'll have to postpone the home appliances for now."
Baozi glared at me, sighed, and said, "Fine, it's worth it. I'll just pretend I was carried here on a new sofa, while you rode a refrigerator."
I put my arm around her shoulder and said, "We're in our wedding night now, shouldn't we do something?"
Baozi pushed me away and said, "Go to the outhouse! So many people are waiting for us. Shouldn't we go to a restaurant?"
Indeed, having hundreds of people waiting in your bridal chamber would definitely not create any passion. In order to avoid misunderstandings, we quickly ran out.
The sedan chairs and ceremonial processions had already left; waiting for us downstairs were Jin Shaoyan and Tiger's motorcade. Baozi and I got into the lead car, and Baozi looked back at the long line of car doors opening and closing behind us and asked me, "I've never even heard of the restaurant you booked. Can so many people fit?"
I looked back and said, "It should be about right."
When the car was still half a kilometer away from the restaurant, I saw a huge banner: Congratulations to Xiaoqiang and Baozi on their wedding!
Judging from the brushstrokes, it should be from Wang Xizhi, and those characters were probably written with a mop.
Baozi laughed and said, "It's really well written."
I asked, puzzled, "You can tell the quality of handwriting too?"
Baozi said, "It's much more comfortable to read than writing about Mr. Xiao and Miss Xiang."
Just as we approached, suddenly, a deafening cannon roared, followed by a series of cannon shots. There, in front of the Happy Forest Hotel, stood twelve gleaming yellow cannons. I asked, puzzled, "I didn't ask for any cannons."
Baozi covered her ears tightly and said, "Is someone else getting married here too? Is there a mistake?"
This is my first time visiting this Happy Forest. Although it only has three stories, it soars into the clouds and is decorated in a magnificent golden style. I never expected this place to be so elaborate. If it were an ordinary family's home, it could easily accommodate four or five wedding parties at the same time.
I glanced at the entrance; it was already a sea of cars, some I recognized and some I didn't. Apart from a few extended Mercedes-Benzes that had just picked up my and Baozi's parents, I didn't recognize most of the cars. They weren't part of Jin Shaoyan's convoy, nor were they brought by Tiger. It was likely that another family was holding a wedding here.
I felt a surge of displeasure. I had agreed to cover everything, so did Jiang Menshen see an opportunity to profit and promise it to someone else?
At the entrance, Sun Sixin, Liu Bang, and Fengfeng were there to greet my guests. Now, there's also Qin Shi Huang, who's there specifically to entertain my clients.
Amidst the sound of celebratory cannons, I pulled Sun Sixin aside and asked, "Has everyone from our bar arrived yet?"
Sun Sixin laughed and said, "How could the shopkeeper not come to his wedding? They're all sitting inside."
I said, "What's with the cannon salute?"
"Then you'll have to ask General Manager Jiang—oh, he's here."
Upon hearing the cannon fire, Jiang Menshen came out to greet me. Dressed in a sharp suit with his hair slicked back, he greeted me with a warm smile, saying, "Brother Qiang, congratulations."
I thanked them and asked, "Besides me, how many other families are hosting banquets here today?"
Jiang Menshen retorted, "What are you saying! Can Brother Qiang hold his wedding with others? Today, it's just your family here. See these cannons? And that row of hostesses? I've given you all the equipment I had for my business opening."
I patted him on the shoulder hard: "That's a true friend!"
In that brief delay, hundreds of people poured out, laughing and shouting, blocking the door and preventing anyone from getting in. I hurriedly slung the steamed buns over my shoulder and rushed inside. The changing room was on the third floor. Under the cover of my comrades, I fought my way up. Throughout the process, we were surrounded and blocked by dozens, even hundreds, of people on almost every floor—what puzzled me was that while most of these people looked familiar, I couldn't quite place them. This was probably because I was in such a rush that I didn't have time to look closely. Many of them were indeed my friends or former neighbors, but where did the others come from?
I changed into a suit in the dressing room and came out first, only to run into Bai Lianhua—the very same Bai Lianhua cult leader who sold me the villa. Bai Lianhua smiled at me and said, "Brother Xiao Qiang, happy marriage! Our CEO Chen asked me to convey her blessings to you. The flower basket at the door is a token of her good wishes."
I laughed and said, "Is your General Manager Chen a flower basket? She sent me a bunch of flower baskets when my school opened last time."
Bai Lianhua leaned closer to me and said, "Brother Xiaoqiang, you have quite a few distinguished guests here today."
I followed her gaze and saw that the doors to several private rooms were tightly closed, giving off an air of mystery. I asked, "Who is it?"
Bai Lianhua laughed: "You'll see when you get there. Some of them aren't the type to give empty praise easily. I think you're going to make a fortune today."
Just then, Baozi came out in her wedding dress. I led her to knock on the door of the first private room, which was indeed packed with distinguished guests. At the head of the table was Secretary Liu, whom I had greatly appreciated during the martial arts tournament, though he had also been relegated to a district head position because of it. Next to him was the director of our city's education bureau, and then other relevant leaders. As soon as Baozi and I entered, the leaders all stood up with smiles, clapping their hands. My status was different now, after all, so people were very friendly. I quickly offered cigarettes to the leaders. These seemingly aloof figures on television each had a cigarette in hand, chatting and laughing. Before leaving, Secretary Liu gave me a small red envelope on behalf of the government. With the rise of Yucai School, their careers would be smoother than their colleagues'.
I took the steamed buns out and went into the second private room. This time, there were only two people in the room, an old man and an old woman. The old man was wearing a wrinkled silk robe and was slowly drinking tea; he was Master Gu. The old woman's face was full of wrinkles, like a country grandmother, but she was calm and composed in her every move; she was Jin Shaoyan's grandmother, Empress Dowager Jin.
From the moment we walked in, those two old hags stared at Baozi, finally nodding and saying, "Hmm, a good woman." I was speechless. Does being ugly make someone a good woman?
Old Master Gu tossed a snuff bottle into my arms and said, "Kid, you're getting married now. Smoke less from now on. Here's a snuff bottle for you to play with."
When I saw that the snuff bottle was crystal clear and lustrous, I knew it was no ordinary item. I nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Master Gu."
Grandma Jin beckoned kindly to Baozi, saying, "Girl, come here." After Baozi went over, the old lady held her hand and asked her all sorts of questions, finally smiling as she placed a small box in Baozi's hand. I couldn't help but curiously lean forward. Baozi opened it and saw a pair of gold and diamond rings. I hadn't expected this old-fashioned lady to give such a fashionable gift. Baozi thought it was too expensive and declined, saying, "Grandma, we can't accept this." I also said, "We bought our wedding rings a long time ago."
The old lady waved her hand and said, "Take it. Don't think you can just buy a random ring and marry that girl. Besides, these days girls all want a big diamond." And it's true, we just bought a pair of random rings for our wedding rings, which only cost a few hundred yuan.
I knew I couldn't refuse, so I just stuffed it into my pocket and said, "Thank you, ma'am. We'll come and wish you a Happy New Year."
Grandma Jin said, "Go ahead, just go about your business for a while, don't worry about this house anymore."
When we came out again, Baozi already sensed something was off. She grabbed my hand and said, "Um..." Before she could finish, Fengfeng arrived with Mayor Liang. This bootleg seller, of course, had no idea that his lover was the emperor, so he was very proud to be able to talk to Mayor Liang, and he fawned over him as he entered. Mayor Liang had now been promoted to work in the provincial government, but he had served as mayor of our city for three years, and almost everyone knew him. Baozi was surprised to see him and exclaimed, "Mayor Liang?"
Mayor Liang smiled and said, "Good, good, the bride has a very auspicious appearance." Then he took my hand and said, "To be honest, I'm very busy with work, but I had to come in person just for these two words." As he spoke, he showed me the invitation in his hand, "Could I meet the person who wrote these words later?"
Upon closer inspection, I recognized the calligraphy as likely written by Liu Gongquan. It was just an ordinary piece, yet Mayor Liang managed to discern its merits. I had long heard of his love for calligraphy, but I always assumed it was merely for show in public. I never imagined he was so passionate about it.
I quickly agreed to introduce him to Liu Gongquan later, and Fengfeng led him to Secretary Liu's table. After they left, Baozi scratched his head, puzzled, and said, "Why did you call Mayor Liang when we're getting married?"
I'm quite surprised too. Most of the list didn't pass through my hands; Yan Jingsheng probably remembered it. He sent invitations to Secretary Liu, so surely he should at least send one to Mayor Liang as a token gesture, right? Who would have thought the county magistrate would actually come?
This was quite a surprise. I saw Sun Sixin leading a group of people upstairs, including a bald monk and an old Taoist priest. These days, begging really goes all out! And Sun Sixin, why bring them up here when you could just give them a little money and be done with it? I was about to speak when I spotted an old acquaintance—the chairman of the martial arts tournament. The monk and the old Taoist priest were none other than the other judges of the tournament. I hurried down to greet them. Behind the judges followed a large group of people, shouting noisily, "Team Leader Xiao, do you still recognize us?"
I actually recognized a few of them. The bald guy was the head of the Jingwu Martial Arts Club, which had our first team match against us. The guy next to him was a Taekwondo practitioner from Northeast China, and the guy next to him was the manager of Beijing Yucai Martial Arts Club. The people behind him were all people we had met at the Martial Arts Tournament. Fang Xiaorou, who had fought Hu Sanniang, and the drunken boxer who knocked Ruan Xiaoer off the stage were among them.