Unable to resist the crowd’s urging, Zhao Jingyu had no choice but to go inside and ask Xu Qingning, “Everyone wants you to come out and toast. Are you feeling well enough?”
If she wasn’t willing, he wouldn’t force her.
He hadn’t planned on making her go out in the first place.
“Sure, I’m feeling much better.” Seeing that he had changed into the newly bought black suit, Xu Qingning stepped forward to adjust the collar of his blue shirt and couldn’t help but chuckle, “You look quite handsome in a suit. It’d look even better with a tie.”
Most men in this era wore Zhongshan suits, and Zhao Jingyu was the first person she’d seen wearing a Western-style suit.
But it wasn’t hard to understand—he spent years on ships, traveling all over the world, so he was a man who had seen the world.
The red cardigan and red corduroy pants he had bought for her today were also quite fashionable for this era.
“This suit was bought for me by someone I asked at the department store. They were out of ties.” Zhao Jingyu was quite surprised that she could accept wearing a suit and tie. He looked down at her lovely face and couldn’t resist teasing her, “Did you take a fancy to me?”
It was precisely because he had worn a suit a few times that people in the compound had called him a rebel and a hoodlum.
He never expected this woman’s taste to be so unique.
“I took a fancy to your suit.” Xu Qingning gave him a meaningful smile, then linked her arm with his. “We already have a child. Whether I fancy you or not isn’t important anymore.”
Even if she didn’t fancy him, she’d still have to stay with him.
After all, he was her parenting partner!
“You like men like Xiao Tingshen, don’t you?” A hint of mockery curled at the corner of Zhao Jingyu’s lips. “One day, you’ll realize that I’m far more capable than him. Besides putting on an act, he doesn’t have much skill. Your taste in men isn’t great.”
“On such a joyous day, let’s not bring up that unlucky man again.” Xu Qingning looked up at him with an innocent expression. “My taste in men really isn’t as good as your taste in women. For example, I’m definitely much better than Tang Wenya.”
“It seems you’re not modest at all.” Hearing her call Xiao Tingshen unlucky, Zhao Jingyu felt much more at ease. He let her hold his arm as they walked out side by side.
The groom wore a black suit, tall and handsome; the bride wore a red cardigan and red corduroy pants, beautiful and radiant.
“The bride is so pretty!”
“Oh my, Zhao Jingyu really married a wonderful wife.”
Everyone who saw Xu Qingning showed expressions of admiration.
Xu Qingning hadn’t braided her hair; her dark locks cascaded loosely over her shoulders. Her skin was fair, and her slightly upturned peach-blossom eyes were enchanting and lively, just like a movie star.
No wonder Zhao Jingyu had rushed into marriage. He was away at sea for most of the year, which already made it hard to find a wife. With such a beautiful girl willing to marry him, of course he had to hurry and bring her home.
Two leaders from Zhao Jingyu’s unit had come. They sat at the main table with Zhao Futang, Yang Yuelan, Xu Jianguo, Jiang Yumei, and Liang Yufeng and her husband.
“To propose marriage, Jing Yu went to great lengths. He asked me for special permission—not only did he borrow the unit’s car, but he also took the whole pigs and sheep from our unit’s kitchen to use as betrothal gifts.” Gao Dejian, the office director, wore a brand-new Zhongshan suit. Watching the bride and groom walk out of the room, he remarked with emotion, “They’re a perfect match, truly a talented man and a beautiful woman. Their life together will only get happier.”
“Thank you, leader, for your kind words.” Zhao Futang immediately stood up to toast. “And may our unit prosper and flourish, achieving great success.”
Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei silently raised their glasses along with him.
The couple didn’t say a word.
“Our Jing Yu is handsome and very loyal,” said Fang Meiyuan, a female leader in her forties or fifties sitting next to Gao Dejian. She wore a bulaji dress, looking dignified and graceful, and smiled as she spoke to Xu Jianguo. “I was actually thinking of introducing my niece to him, but who knew he’d get married so suddenly? And the bride is so beautiful. This boy is truly blessed. As the father-in-law, are you satisfied with this son-in-law?”
“Satisfied, satisfied,” Xu Jianguo replied, feeling somewhat restrained sitting with such high-ranking leaders. The Ocean Shipping Company was a prestigious unit, and its leaders carried an air of authority. In comparison, their State Cotton Mill No. 3 seemed far less impressive.
“Brother-in-law, didn’t you disagree with their marriage? Why are you satisfied now?” Liang Yufeng had long disliked Xu Jianguo and spoke without restraint. “If you were satisfied, you wouldn’t have returned the betrothal gifts, would you?”
“Sister-in-law, Qingning herself took the betrothal gifts away. We didn’t return them,” Jiang Yumei retorted, feeling a pang of regret at the mention of the gifts. She rolled her eyes and added, “You were there at the time. You can’t just make things up.”
What did it matter if the betrothal gifts included whole pigs and sheep?
They hadn’t benefited from them anyway.
“Exactly because I was there, that’s why I’m saying this,” Liang Yufeng shot back, growing even more irritated at the sight of Jiang Yumei. She turned to Xu Jianguo and asked, “Brother-in-law, didn’t you say that day that you disagreed with their marriage, which is why they took the betrothal gifts away?”
“Yufeng, today is Qingning’s big day. Do you really have to say such unpleasant things?” Xu Jianguo suspected Liang Yufeng had lost her mind. Why bring up such matters on an occasion like this?
“Now you find these words unpleasant?” Liang Yufeng retorted sarcastically. “When you said you disagreed back then, you didn’t consider Zhao Jingyu’s feelings either. Don’t forget, Qingning is your own flesh and blood.”
Her voice was loud.
Guests at the neighboring tables turned to look.
Tsk, tsk. With such generous betrothal gifts and such a fine young man, Xu Jianguo still wasn’t satisfied? He must have been deliberately making things difficult for Zhao Jingyu.
As the saying goes, with a stepmother comes a stepfather!
Gao Dejian and Fang Meiyuan exchanged a glance, instantly understanding the situation. Both lost interest in speaking further with Xu Jianguo and turned instead to chat with Zhao Futang about rural affairs, ignoring Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei completely.
Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei were so angry their faces turned green.
But with so many people present, they couldn’t argue with Liang Yufeng openly. They had no choice but to swallow their anger.
After all, Tang Wenya would also be marrying into the family soon. Even if not for Xu Qingning, they had to think of Tang Wenya.
Xiao Tingshen was also there, sitting at a table with Wang Yaqiang and Liu Dawei. Tang Wenya had wanted to join them, but their table was all men, smoking, drinking, and telling crude jokes, so she felt too embarrassed to go over.
Tang Wenya sat at a table with Zhao Jingyu’s two sisters-in-law, his sisters, and their children. Fortunately, she and Xiao Tingshen were seated back-to-back, so they could still exchange a few words.
The only problem was that the others ate too quickly and focused only on the meat dishes.
As soon as Tang Wenya picked up her chopsticks, the meat on the plate was already gone.
Zhao Jingyu led Xu Qingning around, starting from the main table, toasting each table in turn. Leaders and elders offered heartfelt advice, urging the couple to live well together, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.
Apart from the main table and the table where Zhao Jingyu’s brothers sat, Xu Qingning didn’t know anyone at the other tables.
Not knowing anyone didn’t matter—she just followed Zhao Jingyu’s lead, wearing a smile, holding a glass of plain water, and accepting everyone’s well-wishes.
She had never been married in real life, but she had attended several weddings. Though the times were different, the overall experience was largely the same!
When they reached the brothers’ table, they started teasing and making a fuss.
Wang Yaqiang had prepared a red string and wedding candies, eagerly standing on a chair and insisting that the two bite the candy tied to the red string.
Zhao Jingyu knew their little game—they simply wanted him and Xu Qingning to kiss. To spare Xu Qingning any awkwardness, he simply stuffed all the candy into his mouth.
This drew another round of laughter from the crowd.
Wang Yaqiang and the others knew Xu Qingning was pregnant, so they only teased them a little before letting it go. If they went too far, their boss would get angry.
“Jing Yu, I wish you both happiness,” Xiao Tingshen looked at the two of them with a smile in his eyes. “And may our friendship last forever.”
“Thank you!” Zhao Jingyu clinked glasses with him and downed his drink in one go. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend your wedding banquet. When I return, I’ll make it up to you.”
“Definitely,” Xiao Tingshen knew he would be setting sail in a few days, so he truly wouldn’t be able to attend his and Tang Wenya’s wedding banquet.
Xu Qingning held a glass of plain water and took a symbolic sip, her gaze lingering on Xiao Tingshen for a moment. So, even men could have superficial friendships, like Zhao Jingyu and Xiao Tingshen.
Xiao Tingshen glanced at Xu Qingning but said nothing.
Xu Qingning’s pursuit of him had already caused him trouble. It was just as well that she was married now—there would be no misunderstandings between him and Tang Wenya because of her in the future.
In front of Xiao Tingshen, Tang Wenya was still quite friendly when toasting Zhao Jingyu and Xu Qingning: “I wish you a happy marriage and a blissful life together.”
“Thank you, sister,” Xu Qingning said with a smile. “I also wish you success in all your endeavors and smooth sailing in everything.”
As long as Tang Wenya spoke politely, she wouldn’t make things difficult for her.
Otherwise, she would definitely retort.
After finishing the toasts, Xu Qingning returned to her room under the varied gazes of the crowd.
Yang Yuelan brought her meal inside: “Eat first. I’ll have Jing Yu come in to keep you company later.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Xu Qingning replied with a gentle smile.
Tang Wenya had originally thought that Zhao Jingyu and Xu Qingning’s wedding banquet, being hastily arranged, would be quite shabby.
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t. The meat dishes, vegetable dishes, and cold dishes were all well-prepared, even comparable to wedding banquets held at guesthouses.
Seeing the lively scene, she felt frustrated.
But when she saw Wu Xiufang and Zhou Chunyan sitting beside her, she inexplicably felt much more at ease. No matter how much dowry Zhao Jingyu offered, it couldn’t compare to Xiao Tingshen.
Just look at Zhao Jingyu’s two sisters-in-law—these two families were undoubtedly bottomless pits that could never be filled.
With such poor relatives, Xu Qingning’s future life was bound to be difficult.
Xiao Tingshen was different.
He was the only son in his family, without so many burdens. Moreover, after marriage, his parents would support the young couple, ensuring their life would surely be better than Xu Qingning’s.
Thinking of this, she turned around and whispered to Xiao Tingshen, “Come to my house tonight. I have something to tell you.”
“Don’t worry, our family is also making preparations.” Xiao Tingshen knew Tang Wenya was anxious after seeing Zhao Jingyu and Xu Qingning’s wedding banquet, so he comforted her, “My mom said there’s a custom in our Jiaodong City—sisters from the same family can’t get married in the same month. Since Xu Qingning took the lead, ours will be next month. It’s just one month, after all.”
“Then try to arrange it for early next month. You know I don’t want to delay it.” Tang Wenya hadn’t heard of this custom and felt a bit disappointed, but she still reminded him, “We don’t need to be too extravagant either—just decent enough is fine.”
“I know.” Xiao Tingshen nodded, secretly squeezing her hand. “Trust me, our wedding banquet will be even better.”
“I trust you.” Tang Wenya looked at his handsome face, smiled at him, then turned back to continue eating.
In a good mood, she even found Wu Xiufang, Zhou Chunyan, and Zhao Lei more pleasant to look at. She took some candies from her pocket and handed them to two children nearby: “Here, Auntie gives you some candy.”
The two children took the candies, looked at her, and giggled.
Zhou Chunyan was sitting next to Tang Wenya. Knowing she was Xu Qingning’s family member, and seeing her neatly braided hair, her gesture of sharing candy with the children, and her stylish attire, she felt a slight fondness for her: “Are you Xu Qingning’s younger sister?”
“No, I’m her older sister.” Tang Wenya replied gently.
“Oh, the older sister!” Zhou Chunyan paused for a moment, then smiled, “That’s interesting—the younger sister got married before the older sister.”
“Her situation is special, so she had to marry earlier…” Tang Wenya trailed off, noticing Wu Xiufang and Zhao Lei also staring at her intently. She smiled and said, “You’re all family, so you must already know. Anyway, it’s a good thing!”
“Is she pregnant?” Zhao Lei asked suspiciously.
Tang Wenya smiled without answering.