“The groom and bride are here!”
The newlywed couple slowly appeared hand in hand. In that instant, the once noisy main hall and courtyard fell completely silent. Then came a wave of suppressed gasps and exclamations. Even many of the seated elders were so shocked that they stood up.
“My heavens, everything the bride is wearing is made of silver!”
Yu Dazui’s voice carried through half the village, naturally triggering another chorus of sharp inhalations.
Huang Dachao and Qiu Mengyuan, who had been invited to sit at the main table, both stood up as well. Qiu Mengyuan’s eyes were filled with amazement, along with a hidden glimmer that outsiders could not detect. Seeing that everyone else seemed frozen in place, she quickly stepped forward with a smile.
“Yinong, you’re so beautiful today. The most beautiful Miao bride. Your parents and your brother are surely watching from heaven and feeling happy for you.”
“Auntie, this wedding dress was sewn by Grandma herself before she passed away. The entire set of silver ornaments was also handcrafted by her. Today, I finally get to wear them. I want to be the most beautiful bride.”
Qiu Yinong’s voice trembled slightly, and a mist gathered in her beautiful eyes.
Cheng Yuanche’s gaze remained fixed on her. Sensing the change in her emotions, he tightened his grip on her hand.
“Yinong, today you are the most beautiful.”
Even without this luxurious and exquisite bridal attire, she was already the most beautiful girl here. Now, dressed in full ceremonial splendor and wearing flawless makeup, her beauty was utterly breathtaking.
“Yuanche, it’s time. Start the ceremony first,” Father Cheng reminded him in time.
“Alright.”
Cheng Yuanche ignored the teasing looks around him and refused to let go of her hand, leading her step by step to stand before the ancestral altar.
Today, Commander Tan had personally attended the wedding banquet. As the elder and leader with the highest status present, he was naturally and respectfully invited by the Cheng family to serve as the officiant.
Standing in the place of honor, Commander Tan cleared his throat. His booming voice carried a trace of laughter.
“Today is an unforgettable day for Comrade Cheng Yuanche. This morning brought some unfortunate experiences, but in the end, heaven favored him, allowing him to meet a more suitable person at the right moment. Here, I sincerely bless him and also wish the couple a happy and fulfilling marriage.”
“Clap clap clap…”
Led by Battalion Commander Lu and the others, everyone present burst into enthusiastic applause.
Commander Tan knew the groom was anxious and eager to complete the wedding, so he didn’t waste time with unnecessary speeches and immediately got to the ceremony.
“First bow to Heaven and Earth! Give thanks for this union blessed by fate!”
Holding Qiu Yinong’s hand, Cheng Yuanche slowly turned and bowed deeply toward heaven and earth outside the doorway.
“Second bow to the parents! Give thanks for the grace of raising you!”
The newlyweds turned again and deeply bowed toward Cheng Guangrong and He Xiuhua, who sat at the head seat with tears shining in their emotional eyes.
“Husband and wife bow to each other! From this day forward, be united in heart and virtue, and grow old together!”
Facing each other, Qiu Yinong lowered her head slightly. The tassels hanging from her silver crown swayed gently, releasing clear and beautiful jingling sounds.
Cheng Yuanche pressed his lips tightly together, his gaze firm yet tender, and solemnly bent at the waist.
“The ceremony is complete!”
Commander Tan’s voice rang powerfully through the courtyard.
“I wish Comrade Cheng Yuanche and Comrade Qiu Yinong mutual respect and love on the revolutionary road ahead. May you help each other, progress together, and soon be blessed with children. I also wish for the Cheng family to overcome their hardships soon and for their lives to become increasingly prosperous.”
The simple blessings echoed through the small courtyard. The newlyweds bowed in thanks, and the Cheng family members all applauded excitedly.
After the wedding ceremony ended, the banquet immediately began. The villagers and guests who had come to watch the excitement quickly found seats and settled down.
Commander Tan, Battalion Commander Lu, and the others were treated as honored guests and seated at the same table as Huang Dachao and his wife. Father and Mother Cheng, the Cheng family’s eldest uncle and aunt, along with the production team leader, accompanied them.
“Yinong, I’ll accompany you back to the room first. Eat something there to fill your stomach a little, then come out later for the toasts.”
Cheng Yuanche was worried she would go hungry. Earlier, he had already instructed his younger sister to bring food over.
Qiu Yinong had eaten very little in the morning and was indeed a bit hungry. Just then, she noticed a plate of fried meatballs being served. Her lively eyes shifted cleverly as she lowered her voice and said to him:
“It’s fine to eat here. Help me pick some meatballs to tide me over. I’ll eat the rest later.”
As she leaned closer, the sweet fragrance of the young woman drifted toward him. Cheng Yuanche’s throat tightened.
“Alright.”
Cheng Yuanshu came running over with a large bowl piled full of food. The moment she saw Qiu Yinong, she grinned.
“Sister-in-law, you’re seriously too beautiful! Earlier, Auntie and the others were all saying you’re like a fairy descended from heaven. My brother really stepped in dog shit and struck it rich.”
Cheng Yuanche rolled his eyes at her.
“Can you speak properly?”
“I’m not the one who said it. The elders did.”
Cheng Yuanshu immediately pushed the blame elsewhere. Her eyes stayed glued to the exquisitely beautiful silver ornaments as she whispered curiously:
“Sister-in-law, are all these silver ornaments heavy?”
“Yes. The entire set, including the silver sewn onto the clothes and skirt, weighs a total of 32.8 jin.”
“Gasp!”
Cheng Yuanshu sucked in a sharp breath, then excitedly asked:
“Are all Miao people this wealthy? Do all brides wear these?”
“Yes. Every girl wears them when she gets married. Some are family heirlooms passed down through generations, while many are prepared by elders starting from the day a girl is born.”
“In our Miao culture, there’s a saying: ‘The golden pheasant is beautiful because of its feathers, and Miao girls are beautiful because of silver ornaments. Without silver and flowers, a girl is incomplete; with clothes but no silver, there is no grand attire.’”
“During weddings and major festivals, we all wear our most magnificent silver ornaments and our most beautiful ceremonial clothing while singing and dancing.”
“In ordinary households, silver ornaments usually weigh around eight jin. Wealthier families typically have ten to twenty jin. My family used to be well-off, and my grandmother was a famous silversmith master in our area. She handcrafted all of these herself. My grandparents adored me and prepared the most expensive and beautiful set for me.”
As the sisters-in-law chatted, the endlessly curious Yu Dazui wandered over to listen. After hearing everything, she suddenly exclaimed:
“Which idiot was it that said the inland mountain villages were so poor they had to eat tree bark and grass roots?”
Qiu Yinong laughed softly.
“Auntie, there are poor areas in the mountains, but as long as people work hard, it’s not to the point of eating tree bark and grass roots. You people live off the sea, while we live off the mountains. The mountains are rich in resources too.”
“I don’t know about other mountain areas, but your hometown mountains must definitely be rich.”
Yu Dazui stared at the silver ornaments covering Qiu Yinong from head to toe, her eyes glowing. But her expression held only admiration and envy, not greed or scheming.
“Mom, come eat already. If you keep staring like that, your drool’s going to drip onto the bride,” Yu Dazui’s son shouted at her.
“Get lost.”
Yu Dazui shot him a glare, then assigned him a task.
“You brat, when you find a wife in the future, find one like Yuanche’s wife. I don’t need her wearing thirty jin of silver to the wedding ceremony—eight or ten jin is enough. I promise I won’t hog it. I’ll just touch it every day and absorb some fortune from it.”
“Hahaha… hahaha…”
The banquet guests were all thoroughly amused by her.
Yu Dazui’s son laughed too.
“Mom, hurry home and sleep after dinner. In your dreams, you can have anything you want. Dream up several wives for me, each wearing eight or ten jin of silver. Together it’ll add up to thirty jin.”
The mother and son clowning around kept everyone laughing nonstop.