“Er-ni, Er-ni, wake up quickly! You can’t wake up late today of all days.”
The continuous rushing made Xia Xianxian, who was sleeping soundly, incredibly irritated. She buried her head in her arms, turned over, and went back to sleep.
Seeing that Xia Xianxian remained asleep, the person actually ran to the bedside, lifted her quilt, and shouted loudly right into her ear.
“Er-ni, the groom’s wedding party will be here in a moment! If you don’t get up now, people are going to laugh at you!”
“So annoying! Is there no end to this?! I’m the master of my own dreams. If you keep making noise, believe it or not, I will throw you out!”
These words, spoken as if she were in a delirium, startled Lin Jiafeng so much that she stumbled away from the bedside.
As Lin Jiafeng left, she muttered under her breath, “If she behaves like her soul is lost on a day like today, Er-ni won’t be able to hold her head up at her in-laws’ house for the rest of her life.”
Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, and Lin Jiafeng rushed out of the house into the courtyard in a great hurry.
Wu Hong, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xia family, who was brushing her teeth at the doorway, looked at her rushing mother-in-law and asked curiously, “Mother, what are you doing so early in the morning? Weren’t you going to wake Second Sister up to get dressed and ready?”
Lin Jiafeng paused and made up an excuse to dismiss her gossipy eldest daughter-in-law.
“I’m going to pluck a few flowers to dress Er-ni up. I left the food on the stove, so hurry up and cook breakfast.”
Not long after, Lin Jiafeng returned to Xia Xianxian’s room clutching a few peach blossom twigs.
It had to be said that Xia Xianxian’s sleep quality was truly excellent and she was incredibly thick-skinned; despite all the commotion, she slept without even a twitch of her eyelids.
She deserved to be whipped awake by the peach wood branches.
Xia Xianxian woke up the very first time the soles of her feet were whipped. But no matter how she scurried around on the bed, she could not escape the lashing of the peach wood branches. Lin Jiafeng’s voice rang continuously in her ears: “Let the evil spirits disperse, let the soul return to the body!”
As she was being beaten, a flood of unfamiliar memories surged into her mind all at once. Based on these memories, Xia Xianxian recognized the woman whipping her in front of her. This was the original owner’s mother, and the word “Mother” slipped out of her mouth!
Once the first cry was out, the subsequent words were much easier to say.
“Mother~ Mother~ Mother! Stop hitting me!”
Seeing that Xia Xianxian’s eyes were clear, Lin Jiafeng finally felt relieved. Her mouth immediately fired off words at Xia Xianxian like a machine gun, though fortunately, she didn’t actually expect Xia Xianxian to answer and just talked to herself.
“Er-ni, you’ve finally come to your senses! I was so anxious this whole morning! Were you scared because you’re getting married? It’s fine, every woman goes through this. Thankfully this method worked; it seems it wasn’t in vain that I used to help Aunt Wang make paper effigies.”
After saying this, she pulled Xia Xianxian up from the bed. Before Xia Xianxian could even stand firmly, she dumped a set of military green clothes over her head, while continuously nagging, “Hurry up and change your clothes. The wedding party has definitely left by now. Clean yourself up and get dressed quickly, don’t let them arrive while you’re still unchanged.”
With a loud thud of the door closing, the room finally fell silent. At this moment, Xia Xianxian was pacing around the room in deep anxiety. What kind of nightmare start was this? To open one’s eyes and transmigrate directly onto her wedding day?
Running away was hopeless. The villagers here were all kinds of relatives passed down from their ancestors. With so many people coming and going today, she feared she would be caught and brought back the moment she slipped out of the main gate. What’s more, she didn’t have a letter of introduction; if she left the village, she would just be a vagrant, and if caught, she would be sent to a labor farm for reformation.
Thinking about the miserable fate of running away, Xia Xianxian sighed and resignedly picked up the military uniform in her hands. Forget it, a wise woman knows when to submit. She would get through today first and make other plans later.
The wedding party arrived much later than expected. Fearing they would miss the auspicious hour, the Xia family didn’t dare to hold them back too much. The groom simply stuffed a handful of fruit candies into the hands of the bride’s young friends in the room, and easily led her out of the main gate.
When Xia Xianxian finally saw today’s male lead, her eyes widened in shock, and she climbed onto the back of the bicycle behind him as if she were sleepwalking.
Seeing that no one was paying attention, Xia Xianxian slyly poked Meng Wenzhou, who was riding the bicycle in front of her.
“Tsk~ don’t move around, I’m still riding.”
This familiar tone made Xia Xianxian instantly beam with joy.
She whispered a secret code to Meng Wenzhou: “The mountain of books has a path, diligence is the path.”
“The sea of learning has no bounds, hardship is the boat.”
Xia Xianxian’s heart skipped a beat. Before she could even feel disappointed, she heard Meng Wenzhou say lazily, “It’s useless even if a bad student studies. Xia Xianxian, you really are a little idiot.”
Tsk, who else could be this annoying besides that guy Meng Wenzhou? Xia Xianxian considered herself a generous person, so she just gave him a light pinch, forgiving this rude, bad guy.
Meng Dazhu, who had come along with the wedding party, looked at the affectionate pair in front of them and immediately winked mischievously at Meng Yang beside him. “Look at those two in front. Didn’t Zhou-zi look reluctant to leave the house this morning? Did he see how pretty she is and fall in love again?”
Meng Yang gave Meng Dazhu a casual glance and said, “Isn’t it good that they have a good relationship? I say, don’t be so picky either, hurry up and find a wife to live your life with.”
Meng Wenzhou’s marriage meant he was moving out of the old family house, so the wedding ceremony was held at the new house, though the guests would still eat over at the old house.
As they neared the village entrance, there were young children waiting on the road. Seeing people approaching, they took off running into the village to deliver the news.
In front of the entrance to the Meng family’s new house, it was packed tightly with layers of people. Seeing the wedding party returning, everyone craned their necks to look inside, making it incredibly lively for a time.
Standing in the crowd, Meng Wenzhou whispered to Xia Xianxian about the upcoming process.
“Oh, Auntie Cuihua, your family married a good daughter-in-law! She’s so handsome. Look how much Old Fifth likes her, he’s even hiding by the door whispering secrets to his wife.”
“These two both look so good. Wearing this military uniform with the red flower makes them look as energetic as can be. I reckon the babies they have in the future will definitely be beautiful too.”
The two people talking intimately were naturally spotted by the sharp-eyed aunties, who chimed in one after another to tease the newlyweds.
The Village Party Secretary was highly respected, and he had hosted all the weddings in Xiahe Village over the past few years. Today was naturally no exception.
In front of the portrait of Chairman Mao, the Secretary gave a brief opening speech, and then left the stage to the newlyweds.
Fortunately, Meng Wenzhou was well-prepared. He pulled two copies of the Selected Works of Mao from his bag, read a passage, and then led Xia Xianxian in reciting a quote.
The Village Party Secretary beside them then asked the newlyweds, “Are you voluntarily uniting as a revolutionary couple?”
“To fight for the cause of communism for the rest of our lives!”
At this point, the ceremony was considered complete.
……
In the evening, Meng Wenzhou returned with the ingredients he had brought over from the old house.
“Why didn’t you bring back cooked dishes? We still have to cook it ourselves!” Xia Xianxian looked at the ingredients that required manual labor and asked Meng Wenzhou coquettishly.
Meng Wenzhou looked at the pampered girl beside him speechlessly and said crossly, “Who knows how many people poked at the daytime dishes with their chopsticks. As long as you can stomach it, I’ll go back and get them for you right away.”
Hearing this, Xia Xianxian smiled sheepishly, nervously pinched her clothes out of embarrassment, and said with a pleasing smile, “Then, then shall we cook together?”
“Of course you have to give me a hand. This is a firewood stove, it’s hard for me to manage the fire and cook all by myself.”
“Then let’s just make something simple. After being tired all day, having to cook makes me feel like my life is so bitter!”
Meng Wenzhou looked exhausted and nodded his head in deep agreement.
Holding the kerosene lamp in their hands, the two arrived in the kitchen to begin their grand dinner plan for today!
Just as they started, Xia Xianxian began to shout, “Meng Wenzhou, how do I handle this vegetable? Do I pinch off everything at the bottom?”
“You, you… forget it, let me do it. You go wipe the pot down.”
Meng Wenzhou took the bunch of green onions from Xia Xianxian’s hand. The moment their hands touched, an electronic voice echoed in Xia Xianxian’s mind.
“Ding!”
[The Feather-for-Candy Barter System has been activated!]
[Novice Mission: Recycle 10 discarded green onion root sprouts]
[Reward: 2 eggs]