The moment An Jianmin said this, the others genuinely began to consider it.
Especially after hearing An Jianping mention earlier that he couldn’t even scrape together enough money to buy a wedding house for his son.
Among the An siblings, aside from the eldest brother’s children—all of whom were already married—most of the others’ children were still unmarried.
Among the brothers and sisters, An Jianping was considered relatively good at making money.
After graduating from technical secondary school, he had gone straight into Shuncheng’s No. 1 Silk Weaving Factory, and the wife he married was also a city woman with a stable, formal job.
Even after reform and opening up, he had helped many private factories with their accounting.
Although his earning power couldn’t compare to An Jianmin’s fruit business, which had been booming in recent years, his family’s financial foundation should still have been one of the stronger ones among the siblings.
Yet even he said he couldn’t come up with enough money to buy his son a new house—let alone them…
“So you’re not planning to buy Songlin a new house after all?” Second Aunt asked in disbelief.
Since ancient times, marriage had required sincerity.
In the old days, wealthy families preparing betrothal gifts could provide everything from food and clothing to daily necessities, lacking nothing.
Later on, things gradually became more simplified.
But tastes and expectations kept changing, and if you weren’t careful, you’d fall behind the times.
When she and her eldest brother got married, the trend had still been the “three major items and a sound”—a bicycle, a sewing machine, a wristwatch, and a radio.
By the time it was her third brother’s turn, the “new three items” had become popular.
When it came to her eldest niece’s generation, on top of the new three items, people were already adding small household appliances.
Stereo systems and video disc players had become common.
Some wealthier families even included air conditioners and mobile phones.
Now, with the new millennium approaching, marriage had reached the point where buying a house was required.
In another two years, would a car be mandatory as well?
The more Second Aunt thought about it, the stronger her sense of urgency became.
“It really is unfair to the two kids. We’re planning to find a way to save up for a couple more years and then see if there’s something more suitable,” An Jianping said frankly, without hiding anything from his siblings.
Hearing this, everyone sighed with emotion.
Songlin had truly found an exceptionally good partner.
If even his in-laws weren’t understanding enough, this bride really wouldn’t have been easy to marry.
The more they thought about it, the more ideas began to form in their minds.
They all knew An Jianping’s character well.
If he admitted this had shortchanged the two children and said he planned to save for another two years, then it meant that after those two years, he would definitely make up for the marital home for the young couple.
But given everything he was doing now in Jiang Village…
Did Jiang Village really have that much potential?
Enough for him to be so confident that his investments could be recovered within two years—and still generate a decent return?
That night, the An family members squeezed together for the night, staying either at An Songyu’s home or with several nearby neighbors.
Early the next morning, everyone got up and immediately started getting busy.
At the same time, the An family members who hadn’t been able to come the day before all arrived early that morning as well.
Among them were the ceremonial boy and girl for the wedding.
The An family’s wedding was being held in the residential compound.
So all the wedding procession items also had to be carried out from within the compound.
Before ten o’clock, the wedding procession gifts were already lined up downstairs.
At the very front was a pair of big white geese, still honking loudly.
In Shuncheng, this symbolized “exchanging a cherished goose for a cherished daughter.”
Next came the book box, followed by wedding candies, wedding wine, tea leaves, and the four categories of fruits.
There were also incense, candles, wine pots, red umbrellas, and more.
Everything was first carried to the entrance of the residential compound by people who had already been arranged in advance, then transported over in An Jian’an’s small truck.
For his nephew’s wedding, An Jian’an had not only thoroughly washed the small moving truck he usually used for work, but had also decorated it with red “double happiness” characters and festive ornaments.
In addition, there were three small cars and several motorcycles joining the wedding procession.
These had all been borrowed by pulling every favor the An family had.
As the auspicious time approached, amid rounds of firecrackers, the convoy finally set off.
An Songyu and her sister, dressed in brand-new clothes, rode in one car together with two cousins.
In the car ahead sat An Songlin, his groomsmen, and the ceremonial boy and girl.
In the car behind them were Second Aunt, several younger cousins, and the eldest aunt.
The final truck carried the ceremonial attendant responsible for safeguarding the gifts, along with Fourth Uncle, who was driving.
As for everyone else, they could only ride on motorcycles and enjoy the wind.
The joyful procession arrived at the Xuan family’s home—only to be stopped outside the door.
The groom’s party braced themselves.
The first challenge was a test of intelligence: riddles first, then brain teasers.
An Songyu and her sisters also chimed in with suggestions from the side, and after considerable effort, they finally passed this round.
Then, thanks to the persuasive power of red envelopes, they were allowed through the main door.
But they were still far from seeing the bride!
Next came the physical challenge.
This was something An Songyu and the others couldn’t help much with.
From the groom to the groomsmen, everyone had to endure rounds of push-ups, squats, and frog jumps.
After that, An Songyu even sang “The Moon Represents My Heart” at the doorway before they were finally allowed to see the bride.
But even then, it wasn’t over.
The prepared bridesmaids and the Xuan family’s sisters brought out chopsticks and plates.
On the plates were peanuts and red dates, and the men had to pick up a required amount within a set time limit to pass.
This time, it wasn’t the groomsmen who stepped up.
Instead, it was the cousin from Uncle’s family, who had long since trained his hand speed while working in the orchard at home.
Sure enough, he didn’t disappoint.
As the bridesmaids counted down faster and faster, he successfully picked up enough items.
The bridesmaids laughed and joked in mock disappointment.
The groomsmen immediately clamored to take the bride away, but the bridesmaids refused.
They brought out balloons instead.
“This is the last challenge!”
With a rather smug smile, they explained:
“You have to create a balloon shape that represents the groom’s feelings for the bride.”
Looking at the colorful but plainly round balloons, everyone was momentarily stumped.
An Songyu and her sisters quickly huddled together to discuss.
After a short while, they began directing the groomsmen to start inflating the balloons.
Ordinary round balloons were difficult to shape on their own.
So they decided to inflate them first, then tie and combine the balloons into a heart shape.
Although they relied on additional tools, it still met the requirement.
Finally, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The bridesmaids kept their promise—after accepting the red envelopes, they stopped making things difficult for the groom.
Still, taking the bride away was clearly not going to be that simple.
Seeing the bride’s small feet clad in red socks, the groom and groomsmen searched together for the wedding shoes.
The bride’s side had hidden them cleverly.
After several more red envelopes and a few hints, An Songlin finally found the pair of beautiful bridal shoes.
He knelt on one knee in front of Xuan Ying and carefully put the shoes on her.
Then he looked up and said solemnly:
“A-Ying, today you are my bride. I am so happy, and so excited.”
“From today onward, we will spend a lifetime together. I promise I will be good to you.”
“I will listen to you carefully and respect your thoughts. I will work hard to earn money, take you to eat good food, and go to fun places.”
“I will take the initiative to do housework and help share the worries of life and work.”
“If conflicts arise in our life, I will admit my mistakes first. I will place you—and our family—first in my life.”
“I will do everything I can to let you live easily and freely.”
“I will spend my entire life proving my love for you.”
“So, A-Ying, come with me now. I will protect you for the rest of my life!”
(End of Chapter)