When they arrived at the Jiang family home, Jiang Ye’s friends greeted the couple and then left.
Jiang Ye explained, “They still have to work. They’ll come over tomorrow evening so we can get together. That’s how we usually do things. On the wedding day, we invite relatives, elders, leaders, and coworkers to fill two tables. The next day, we gather a table of childhood friends and brothers.”
Ji Yang scratched her head. She had only ever heard of close friends getting together for a bachelor or bachelorette party the day before a wedding. She’d never heard of people gathering the day after the wedding. Perhaps… different places had different customs?
Since it was their wedding day, Jiang Ye’s mother and his three older sisters were all at home. With the children there as well, the house was crowded and lively.
Jiang Ye led Ji Yang around, introducing her to everyone.
His mother looked to be around fifty. She seemed cheerful and straightforward, and whenever she laughed, she laughed heartily. Taking Ji Yang’s hand, she said, “People need time to get to know each other. Once we’ve spent more time together, you’ll understand what kind of person I am. From what I can see, you have a pretty good temperament, too. I’m sure we’ll get along wonderfully as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.”
Ji Yang hurriedly nodded. “Mom, I already feel that you’re so approachable. My biological mother passed away when I was young, and I never really got to know her. From now on, you’ll be my own mother. If I ever do anything wrong, please tell me directly.”
To show her respect, Ji Yang even addressed her with the more formal and respectful form of “you.”
“Hahahaha! Good, good! Oh, look at this pretty little face. You’re truly beautiful!”
After introducing her to his mother, Jiang Ye continued taking Ji Yang around to meet his eldest sister.
Perhaps she spent too much time worrying about everyday matters, because her face looked a little weathered. When she spoke, she had that authoritative air of an eldest sister who was practically a second mother.
“Now that you’ve married into the Jiang family, you need to put the Jiang family first in everything. As long as you take good care of our Gouzi, our family certainly won’t mistreat you.”
Ji Yang blinked.
Gouzi? That nickname…
Then another thought occurred to her. Was Jiang Ye’s eldest sister dreaming or something? She actually expected Ji Yang to put the entire Jiang family first and take good care of Jiang Ye. Was that even remotely possible?
What an irritating thing to say.
Of course, she couldn’t voice those thoughts aloud. Instead, Ji Yang let a hint of shyness appear on her face, lowered her head, and answered timidly, “Eldest Sister, I will. I’ll definitely take good care of our Gouzi.”
Jiang Ye, standing beside her, was speechless.
He glanced at Ji Yang, who was pretending to be shy with her head lowered, and ran his tongue over his back teeth.
Go on, keep pretending.
Satisfied with Ji Yang’s answer, his eldest sister smiled.
His second sister then came over. She was gentler in temperament than the eldest sister and offered Ji Yang some advice about getting along with her husband.
“Marriage isn’t about being passionately in love for a little while. It’s about living and working together through the years.”
“When something comes up between the two of you, discuss it with each other.”
“Men care about their pride. Give your husband some respect in front of other people. If there’s a problem, discuss it at home.”
“Don’t worry about how other people live. As long as the two of you build a good life together, that’s what matters most.”
Ji Yang nodded. “I understand, Second Sister. We’ll definitely build a good life together.”
When it was time to meet Jiang Ye’s third older sister, Ji Yang couldn’t help taking a few extra looks at her.
Jiang Ye’s third sister also had a storyline in the novel. First, she divorced her husband and tried to return to her parents’ home. But Ji Man refused to let her stay and drove her out. With no other choice, she took the two daughters her husband’s family no longer wanted and went away to find work.
Unfortunately, both girls were abducted by human traffickers.
In the end, neither daughter was ever found.
The woman eventually went insane. She would grab strangers on the street and repeatedly ask them, “Have you seen my daughters? Do you know where my daughters went? My girls are so adorable! Have you ever seen them?”
One day, she was struck by a heavy truck whose driver had been driving while exhausted.
She died without ever seeing her daughters again.
“Come visit me at my place when you have time,” the third sister said. “I’m home with the children every day and don’t have much to do. When you come over, we can have a nice long chat.”
“Of course, Third Sister. I’ll come visit.”
Ji Yang had already met Jiang Ye’s youngest sister, Dongya. She was a lively and cheerful girl. As soon as she saw Ji Yang, she greeted her enthusiastically.
“Sister-in-law, I’m so glad you married into our family! From now on, if my brother bullies me, you can help me deal with him. The two of us can gang up on him. Otherwise, I can’t keep him under control by myself.”
Jiang Ye rolled his eyes. “Have you considered the possibility that your sister-in-law and I might team up to bully you instead?”
“Impossible! My sister-in-law wouldn’t be like you. Right, Sister-in-law?”
“That’s right, that’s right. Between you and your brother, I’ll definitely take your side.”
“See? My sister-in-law really is the best!”
People in this era tended to have lots of children. It was perfectly normal for a couple to have three or five kids. Although only three of Jiang Ye’s sisters were married, they had a total of eight children between them, and whenever all the kids played together, the house became incredibly noisy.
The children were a little afraid of their uncle Jiang Ye. Whenever he called them, they immediately came running. Under his guidance, they greeted Ji Yang in unison.
“Hello, Auntie!”
Ji Yang couldn’t let them call her Auntie without giving them anything in return. Regardless of their ages, she gave each child twenty cents as a welcoming gift.
After meeting all the relatives in Jiang Ye’s immediate family, she still had to meet the extended family, including Jiang Ye’s third granduncle and his second maternal aunt.
In short, the entire morning passed in a blur of meeting relatives and making small talk.
It wasn’t until half past ten that they finally headed to the restaurant.
Ji Yang’s family, Jiang Ye’s factory supervisors, and his mother’s coworkers went directly to the restaurant.
Only four members of the Ji family showed up. Jiang Ye’s mother greeted them warmly, but they pretended to be reserved and responded in a distant, indifferent manner.
When someone asked why none of their other relatives had come, they simply said that the relatives had other matters to attend to and couldn’t make it.
Jiang Ye’s mother frowned several times during the exchange. Marriage was one of the biggest events in a person’s life. How could the bride’s relatives not attend?
From the looks of things, it seemed as though the Ji family intended to sever ties with Ji Yang.
Still, Ji Yang’s father and stepmother cared about their reputation, so they didn’t cause any trouble at the wedding banquet.
Jiang Ye’s mother worked for the Women’s Federation, and both of her coworkers were extremely talkative. As soon as they sat down at the table, the two women began chatting nonstop. With the three of them together, the table practically turned into a full-blown stage show.
As for Jiang Ye’s factory supervisor, he maintained his dignified air perfectly. He smiled as he presented the couple with a red envelope, offered a few words of congratulations, and even presided over the wedding ceremony.
When it was time for the newlyweds to give their speeches, Jiang Ye stood up and took out a sheet of paper. He began reading from it.
“Dear relatives, friends, and respected elders,
“Good day, everyone!
“Today, Ji Yang and I are joining our lives together on this hopeful and vibrant day. At this moment, my heart burns like a blazing flame, filled with passion and excitement!
“Our country is currently marching forward by leaps and bounds, and we young people shoulder the important responsibility of building our motherland and creating a better life.
“The fact that Ji Yang and I have come together is not only a matter of fate, but also a calling from this great era.
“We understand that marriage is not merely a sweet romance. It is also a heavy responsibility.
“Here, I solemnly promise everyone that in the days to come, my wife and I will stand shoulder to shoulder and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to both our lives and our work.
“In our personal lives, we will respect and love each other, help one another, honor both sets of parents, and maintain harmonious relationships with our siblings. We will build a thriving household together and become a model family praised by our neighbors!
“At work, we will actively respond to the nation’s call. We will not fear hardship or exhaustion, and we will strive to become exemplary workers, contributing our share to the construction of our country and allowing our youth to shine through our hard work!
“We firmly believe that when husband and wife stand united, their combined strength can overcome anything.
“No matter how great the difficulties we encounter, we will keep moving forward bravely and never retreat!
“Let us follow the pace of the times, summon all our energy, strive for excellence, and contribute all our strength to building a new socialist China!
“Finally, I wish everyone good health, success in your work, happiness in your families, and good fortune in everything!
“Thank you all!”
After finishing his speech, Jiang Ye even took Ji Yang’s hand and led her in bowing to everyone.