Chapter 90 - 90

Chapter 90 FeastIn the evening, Aunt Meihua made a special trip to the courtyard to invite Yun Ting to her home for dinner. Her grandson told her that it was Yun Ting, an educated youth, who had taken the fish out of the house. Considering Yun Ting's usual care for her grandson, she was truly grateful toYun Ting.Unable to refuse Aunt Meihua's hospitality, Yun Ting had no choice but to go with her.Caiyun has already finished high school. High school is only a two-year program now, and it's hard to find a job right now, so she's staying at home for the time being.Starting this year, we'll be going back to working in the fields.After having dinner at Aunt Meihua's house, Yun Ting sat for a while before returning to the courtyard.She strolled slowly towards the courtyard, and perhaps because she enjoyed gossiping, she ran into Zhang Wei and Li Hongxia again.As soon as she turned the corner of the fence, she heard a hushed argument coming from inside the yard.It was Zhang Wei and Li Hongxia. The two stood with their backs to the gate outside the fence. Zhang Wei was so anxious that he grabbed his hair: "That's just my mom's temper, don't take it to heart..." Li Hongxia's voice trembled: "Temper? That's called being polite! I kindly bought her a scarf, and she didn't even glance at it. The things she said at the dinner table were so sarcastic, who couldn't tell that she thought I wasn't well-off?"Yun Ting paused, then quietly moved behind the woodpile. They'd only publicly announced their relationship before the New Year, and were usually inseparable; she never expected a visit during the holiday to cause such a commotion.Didn't they say they'd get married after meeting each other's parents during the New Year? So, can they still get married? She peered through the cracks in the firewood. Zhang Wei tried to take Li Hongxia's hand, but she shook him off. His face turned bright red, like a red chili pepper drying in the yard."Do you think she did it on purpose? She knew I was dating you, but she kept saying that the girl next door was better, that she was educated and could sew shoe soles. Well, I can do that too!" Li Hongxia became angrier and angrier as she spoke, her voice even sounding like she was about to cry.Yun Ting almost burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth.Saying someone is cultured is understandable, but what kind of advantage is it to be able to sew shoe soles?This is quite an interesting story. Li Hongxiausually seems gentle and mature, but when faced with difficulties from her future mother-in-law, she acts like a wronged little hen.She squatted behind the woodpile, listening to the two arguing about everything from the "future mother-in-law's attitude" to "whether or not to stay together," and then back to "whether or not to throw away that scarf." She thought that dating was really complicated, and love was such a tormenting little devil, it was terrifying.Just as she was about to slip away quietly,Zhang Wei suddenly turned around, his eyes fixed on the woodpile, where he spotted Yun Ting peeking out.Yun Ting paused, feeling a little embarrassed…She quickly stood up straight, pointing innocently to the small courtyard not far away: "I...I was just passing by."Then he turned around and ran faster than a rabbit.The two fell silent instantly, their faces flushing red and then turning pale.Yun Ting didn't inquire about what happened next; that was their business. However, she didn't hear any news about the two getting married.Work will begin soon, and preparations for spring plowing will continue as usual.Caiyun asked her father to arrange for her to work with Yun Ting. The two girls chattered away all day long, and their laughter filled the construction site, which was very infectious." Sister Yun, I have something to tell you! Li Cuier is getting married." Caiyun whispered toYun Ting."What? What happened? Tell me.""She said her aunt introduced her to a family who works at a food factory in town! They said the man is a bit old, but his family is well-off.""If someone is so well-off, why did they get married at such an old age?""I heard that the man's first wife died, and he had a five-year-old son! But only a few people know this."The two whispered a few words to each other and then stopped.To everyone's surprise, before finishing work, Li Big Mouth made a special detour to find Yun Ting, looking as happy as if she were about to get married."Little Educated Youth Yun! My Cuier is getting married the day after tomorrow, come to our house for the wedding banquet!"Three question marks above Yun Ting's headDid he specially invite her to the banquet? Are they that close? Something's not right."Oh my! Congratulations, Aunt Li! You've finally married off your daughter."Li Big Mouth didn't notice anything amiss in what he said and just chuckled."Remember to come! No need to bring any gifts." With that, she turned and swayed away."Caiyun, what do you think she means by this? Everyone in the village knows how much she hates me."Caiyun shook her head. "Could it be that she's trying to show off how magnanimous she is?""So you mean she didn't even hold it against someone as difficult as me?""Who knows? Her thinking is different from ours."On Li Cuier's wedding day, Yun Ting went withAunt Meihua and Aunt Liu, because she was the only one invited from Educated Youth.Yun Ting gave a gift of 50 cents, which was just right—it prevented Li Big Mouth from finding fault with her for "looking down on people," and it also prevented her from appearing overly eager.During the banquet, Li Big Mouth glanced at the gift list, pursed his lips, but said nothing.His voice was so loud it could pierce through the snow and fog: "Little Educated Youth Yun, you're so thoughtful! Please sit down, please sit down. The pork stew with vermicelli is fresh out of the pot, it's piping hot!"Yun Ting didn't reply, but sat down and picked up a piece of pork belly with the skin on. The glass noodles were smooth, the pork was fragrant, and the sauerkraut was sour—it was much more appetizing than Li Big Mouth's little tricks.Aunt Liu leaned closer: "Is she apologizing to you?" Yun Ting swallowed the meat and smiled as she scooped a piece into her bowl: " Auntie, eat meat, eat meat, this meat is stewed until it's very tender.""I have to say, Li Big Mouth was quite generous this time; there were even meat dishes included."Aunt Meihua chuckled softly and whispered, "Be careful, she might hear you and kick you out."Yun Ting didn't care about her purpose. She gave a gift and ate meat, so this trip wasn't a loss. Yun Ting watched Li Big Mouth busy greeting guests at the main table, unable to hide the smugness on her lips. She chuckled to herself: Let her show off her generosity if she wants. Anyway, this pork stew with vermicelli is really delicious."The groom is here to pick up the bride...""The groom is here..."The banquet had already begun when the groom finally arrived late.The little kids were shouting outside, making a lively scene.Yun Ting also looked curiously towards the door, "Oh my god... this groom..."The man was very short, probably not even 1.6 meters tall, with dark skin and a receding hairline. I heard his name was Zhao Laosi. Could Li Cuier really be interested in someone like that? Or perhaps she'd never seen him before?"Oh dear, this groom looks a bit old!""Who says otherwise! His appearance isn't exactly handsome either..."People around them were also talking about it.When Li Cuier came out, she was all smiles, but her smile froze when she saw the groom.Li Big Mouth seemed to know what his daughter was about to do, and quickly went over to stop her, saying, "Son-in-law, the auspicious time is almost here, you should all go back together! Don't delay, Cuier is in your care now."Holding her daughter tightly in her hand, Li Cuier lowered her voice and said something unintelligible. Reluctantly, she followed the groom onto the bicycle.Yun Ting even doubted whether Zhao Laosi, with his small stature, could possibly take down Li Cuier.Sure enough, Zhao Laosi pedaled with his teeth clenched, the chain almost sparking, but the bike didn't move more than three feet."You, you get down first!" He was covered in sweat, his face flushed red. Li Cuier mumbled as he got down, patting his new trousers that were covered in dust.Zhao Laosi took a deep breath, pedaled hard, and sped off, shouting back, "Jump! Jump on now!"Yun Ting couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight.Seeing the wheels spinning rapidly, Li Cuiermustered all his strength and charged forward, grabbing the back seat and lifting himself up—with a loud crash, the handlebars veered sharply to the left, and Zhao Laosi, like a spinning top being pulled, tumbled towards a nearby woodpile along with the bike.Li Cuier lost her balance and leaned forward, landing right on top of Zhao Laosi. Her newly made red cotton-padded jacket rolled a mark on the snow.The bicycle's front wheel was still spinning freely, and the bell rang incessantly, as if making a fuss. Zhao Laosi was panting heavily under the weight, and Li Cuier tried to get up by supporting himself on his back, but his hand slipped and he sat back down. The two of them rolled around in the snow, forming a red and black ball.The onlookers were doubled over with laughter, pointing at the two and shouting, "Are you two getting married? And you're even rolling around on top of each other!""Ha ha…"