“Yinong, eat some shrimp.”
Cheng Yuanche stuffed another shrimp into her mouth. Qiu Yinong glanced at it and asked, “This is shrimp too? Is it a different kind from before?”
“Yes. The one earlier was a prawn. This one is mantis shrimp, also caught during the coastal harvest.”
Earlier, Cheng Yuanshu had already piled her bowl with shrimp and pork. Qiu Yinong stopped chatting with everyone and focused on eating. After finishing her bowl, she immediately stood up to accompany Cheng Yuanche around the tables to offer wedding toasts.
They started with the main table. Commander Tan poured each of them a cup of wine and happily offered his congratulations. Then he said to the bride:
“Little Qiu, I heard the Miao people have a strong drinking culture—things like blocking-the-door wine, entering-the-house wine, and even hundred-table feasts where the entire clan gathers to drink. I imagine your alcohol tolerance must be pretty good too. Today’s your wedding day, so you absolutely have to drink a cup.”
Qiu Yinong lifted her wine bowl boldly and generously.
“Commander Tan, thank you all for coming to our wedding. If there’s ever a chance in the future, you’re warmly welcome to visit our Miao village. Yinong will definitely host you with a hundred-table feast.”
“Good, good. We’ll definitely visit someday and see the mysterious Miao village for ourselves.”
The wine here was homemade as well, not particularly strong. Qiu Yinong drank it down in one smooth gulp. She even poured herself another cup and went around the main table to toast her parents-in-law and the elders one by one.
After toasting the elders, they also drank with Battalion Commander Lu and the others. If they had been in the military camp, they definitely would have forced drinks on each other, but today everyone only lightly touched cups, agreeing to gather for a proper drinking session after returning to the army.
“Yuanche, you and your wife should head back to the room and eat first.”
Cheng Yuanyuan had already prepared a full table of dishes in the bedroom for them. Most of the guests outside had nearly finished eating anyway. The siblings planned to eat together after the guests left.
The table was filled with dishes, most of them seafood. Qiu Yinong washed her hands before sitting down.
“You must be hungry too. Hurry and eat.”
“Yinong, are the silver ornaments heavy? Do you want to take them off?” Cheng Yuanche asked.
“No need. During important festivals, we wear them all day long. I’m already used to the weight. It’s not tiring.”
Qiu Yinong placed a large crab into his bowl and grabbed one for herself too, her eyes sparkling.
“I’ve never seen such a big crab before. The crabs in our mountains are only about one-tenth this size. They’re almost all shell, and there’s barely any meat in the legs to pick out. This kind looks so delicious.”
“I’ll peel it for you.”
Cheng Yuanche immediately cracked open the shell himself and patiently explained:
“There are parts inside a crab you can’t eat. I’ll teach you.”
“Oh, okay. Teach me, then next time I’ll do it myself.”
Just then, Mother Cheng knocked and entered. The young couple were chatting happily together. Seeing how well they got along, her eyes crinkled into a smile.
“Yuanche, Commander Tan and the others have all finished eating. They’ll stay here for the night. I just arranged for them to rest at your second brother’s house this afternoon. They drank quite a bit earlier and said they’ll come talk to you after they wake up.”
“Okay.”
They had driven four or five hours from the military base. Cheng Yuanche had specially invited them to stay the night. Then he added:
“Mom, the fishing boats from the brigade leader’s family and Dongsheng’s family will probably head out tonight. Tell them to save the best catch for me. Pack it in foam boxes tomorrow morning so Commander Tan and the others can take some back.”
“Alright, I’ll go tell them now. I’ll also have your brother-in-law buy some good seafood at the docks as return gifts.”
Commander Tan and the others had brought many valuable gifts today—even an entire pork leg. The Cheng family didn’t have anything equally expensive to give in return, so they could only repay them with fresh seafood.
Seeing how much her daughter-in-law loved shrimp and crab, with shells already piled up beside her, Mother Cheng smiled and asked:
“Yinong, do you want more shrimp and crab?”
“Mom, add some more. Yinong doesn’t really like sea fish, but she loves shrimp and crab,” Cheng Yuanche answered for her.
There were several kinds of sea fish today, all bought fresh from the fishing boats early that morning. Qiu Yinong had tried a little of each, but because of differences in eating habits, she found some of the fish too fishy for her taste.
But the shrimp and crab? She truly loved them.
“Alright, there’s still more in the kitchen. I’ll bring some over.”
Mother Cheng immediately headed out.
When the two of them came back outside after eating, many women and children still hadn’t left. They were waiting to admire Qiu Yinong’s exquisite wedding dress and accessories.
She generously let them look and even allowed them to touch the outfit.
Most of the villagers in the fishing village were simple and kind-hearted. They knew their limits too. No one tugged or pulled recklessly; they only lightly touched the fabric a few times.
“Mengyuan, you’re also a Miao woman. Why didn’t we see you wearing silver ornaments like these when you got married?” Bigmouth Yu suddenly asked.
Qiu Mengyuan and her family still hadn’t left. She herself had also been carefully examining her niece’s silver jewelry. Before she could answer, Old Madam Huang pulled a long face and said sarcastically:
“A daughter adopted out to outsiders is no longer a real daughter. How could she compare to a biological granddaughter?”
“Grandma is way too biased,” Huang Ya muttered unhappily beside her.
Her voice wasn’t quiet. Qiu Mengyuan frowned and glared at her daughter.
“Huang Ya, how can you speak like that?”
“She’s not wrong,” Old Madam Huang immediately defended her granddaughter.
Qiu Yinong ignored the old woman entirely. Her gaze landed on Huang Ya as she replied calmly:
“If Grandpa and Grandma were still alive, they definitely wouldn’t have agreed to Aunt marrying into a family with crooked values.”
Huang Dachao, standing not far away, immediately changed expression. He forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Yinong, that’s going too far.”
“Uncle.”
Qiu Yinong turned to look directly at him, her voice crisp yet cool.
“You work in a government office and hold a state job. Naturally, your character must be able to withstand the country’s scrutiny.”
“Still, as your niece, I’d like to offer a small suggestion. You and Aunt shouldn’t only focus on work and making money. No matter how busy you are, you should still spend some time educating your children and keeping your family in line.”
“After all, their words and behavior also affect your reputation. If they’re too petty, lacking grace, jealous of others, obsessed with tiny immediate gains, narrow-minded, and speak without thinking, it won’t benefit the Huang family at all. In the future, it may even affect their own careers and marriages.”
She never mentioned Huang Ya by name, but every one of those labels clearly landed on her.
Huang Ya wasn’t stupid. The thirteen-year-old girl understood immediately, and her delicate face flushed red on the spot.
When Qiu Yinong saw her still glaring resentfully, she gave a cold smile before turning toward her aunt, her expression becoming more complicated.
“Aunt, even though you were adopted by Great-Aunt, Grandpa and Grandma never treated you unfairly. Whatever I had, you had too. Your wedding dress was also embroidered by Grandma herself, and your full set of silver ornaments was handmade by Grandma as well. She started preparing them when you were only three years old. The weight and expense were exactly the same as mine. They never favored one over the other.”
“They really didn’t. Mom and Dad prepared everything for me too,” Qiu Mengyuan answered quickly.
“Then why didn’t you wear them when you got married? We never even saw you take them out,” Old Madam Huang immediately questioned.
Qiu Mengyuan seemed to deeply dislike her mother-in-law. Her voice rose as anger filled her face.
“What year do you think we got married in? If I had worn all that out during our wedding, so you could show it off everywhere, did your Huang family want everyone to wear tall political hats and get denounced, struggled against, and sent off for labor reform?”
Their wedding had taken place right when the political movement began—a chaotic and turbulent era. If she had worn that Miao wedding attire and silver jewelry openly, tragedy would absolutely have followed.
Even Old Madam Huang, foolish as she was, understood that immediately.
She finally stopped talking.