Second Aunt Lin’s face turned beet red with anger. “What kind of things are you saying? Do you think that’s what I mean? Is it appropriate to take someone away when there’s no one to take care of the house?”
“Inappropriate, true. But if there’s no one from the Lin Family to take care of things, didn’t I hear that Uncle Lin is Guangshan’s uncle? With Guangshan and his family not at home, why didn’t Second Aunt Lin help look after things? Didn’t you know that the Lin Family had two daughters getting married today? Or were you not aware that Guangshan and his family followed Jiayi to her new in-laws?”
Aunt Liu, who stood by, also thought it made sense and hurriedly asked, “Right, when the Lin Family left, didn’t they ask you to look after the house?” There’s still a daughter waiting to get married at home.
Second Aunt Lin didn’t expect to become the target of blame, “What’s it got to do with me? They didn’t ask me to look after anything. Besides, who knew they would be so unreliable with their arrangements, with another daughter waiting to be married and they’re off attending the wedding rituals.”
“That’s true. When I heard both of the Lin Family’s daughters were getting married, I thought everything was taken care of. Who would have thought such a joke could happen?” Aunt Liu agreed, nodding her head.
“Oh, you don’t know, the Lin Family’s second has always been honest, quiet and just knows to work every day. I’m afraid Guangshan and his wife probably forgot they still have a second daughter at home waiting to be married.”
“I heard that their marriage arrangement wasn’t supposed to be like this, seemed like it was changed before?”
Second Aunt Lin cautiously looked around, “Who did you hear that from? Let me tell you, if you were to start on that… Tsk tsk, isn’t it said that Lin Family’s second is too honest…”
Seeing the two inquisitors immediately start to gossip with each other, whispering and making faces, Sun Lanlan pursed her lips and did not go to the Lin Family’s but instead headed straight home.
On the other side, as the tractor left the village, it picked up speed, and Lin Chuxia, worried about her bridal veil being blown off, directly took the corners and tied them two by two together.
Not to mention, it was windproof and also dustproof.
The bridal party, which had been attentively watching over the bride on the vehicle: “…”
Even Qin Yang couldn’t help but curl the corners of his mouth.
Two months ago, he got a letter from home, saying his father’s illness had worsened again, the doctor said it was due to excessive worry and that the illness lingered.
He knew his family would be rushing him to get married again.
He hadn’t planned on getting married, but he felt somewhat guilty hearing this.
Whether or not his father’s sickness was caused by him, his parents did worry about his marriage for many years.
If getting married could ease the minds of his old folks a bit, he could agree to their arrangements, as a way of showing filial piety.
After he wrote back, his family quickly told him about a prospective match, the eldest daughter of the Lin Family from Daqing Mountain Village. He had no objections.
Unexpectedly, last month he received another letter from home, saying that the marriage was switched to the younger daughter of the Lin Family.
He did not care who he was to marry; it was all for fulfilling his parents’ wishes and giving them peace of mind.
Whoever his family arranged for him to marry, that was who it would be. Many of his colleagues got married the same way.
As long as the girl was willing and his mother thought it was a good match, that would be enough.
While he was thinking, “clang” went the tractor, passing over a large pothole.
The men who got on the vehicle stood in the trailer, jolting along.
But it was tough on Lin Chuxia.
Not only was she sitting in the trailer, but having been reborn, she had long forgotten what it felt like to ride a tractor. All she thought about was clasping the side of the vehicle so she wouldn’t jolt too much, completely forgetting her hand.
She only felt her whole body lift off and then land heavily.
Her little face under the veil contorted for a moment; if she hadn’t clenched her molars, she might have made some noise.
Her buttocks, ah!!
Qin Yang was standing right beside her; even through the veil, he could see her twisted expression and couldn’t help but “pfft,” suppressing a chuckle at the corner of his lips.
Beside them, Qin Jianjun’s eyes widened in shock, “Little Unc, you laughed?”
Goodness, he actually saw his Little Unc laugh.
Qin Yang’s lips pressed even tighter, “No.”
“You were laughing, I saw it,” Qin Jianjun said with firm conviction.
Normally, the younger generation wasn’t allowed to attend the fetching-the-bride event, but he had followed along because he was only a few years younger than his uncle.
He had always admired his uncle, who was smart since a young age and the only college graduate from their village, even though his uncle rarely came home throughout the year.
Having a rare close encounter, his eyes never wandered off his uncle.
“There was no such thing,” Qin Yang stubbornly denied, deliberately turning his head to the side.
Qin Liang slapped his son on the head, “You silly boy, it’s your uncle’s wedding, what’s so strange about smiling,” while giving his son a meaningful look.
Whether Qin Yang smiled or not, he didn’t know, but he was sure that since Qin Yang denied it, he must not smile.
People who have been married for many years understand that.
Lin Chuxia had no idea she was being made fun of, wondering whether she should sit on the quilts from her dowry since there was still some distance to Qin Family Village and the roads of that era were almost all dirt roads.
After much consideration, Lin Chuxia decided not to mistreat herself, and to the astonishment of everyone, she pulled over a well-packed quilt and sat on it.
Those still discussing whether Qin Yang had really laughed or not: “…”
The timing was perfect upon reaching Qin Family Village. Firecrackers were set off even before they reached the Qin Family’s doorstep.
As the tractor slowed down, Lin Chuxia untied her bridal veil. She was going to live in Qin Family Village from now on, so she wanted to make a good impression, whether with the Qin Family or the other villagers.
The tractor came to a halt, and someone placed a stool under it for Lin Chuxia to alight, assisted by a woman.
Once in the courtyard, someone presided and spoke a series of blessings, and with that, the ceremony was completed.
Lin Chuxia was ushered into the bridal chamber, and the feast began outside.
At weddings in that era, aside from enjoying a good meal, there wasn’t much else.
Lin Chuxia sat in a room that had clearly been decorated, so different from her previous life at Li Family’s home.
In her past life, she had no dowry, the Li Family didn’t decorate the bridal chamber, they didn’t even host a meal for relatives and friends. She was married in the afternoon, rested for a while, and then Li Guangyuan asked her to cook dinner. Naturally, there was no transition; it was as though she had been with the Li Family for a long time.
The excitement and expectations of a bride never existed for her.
Of course, neither did they in this life.
For her, who she married or for what reasons didn’t matter.
Her goal in this life was to make money, nothing could replace the substantiality of wealth and status grasped in her hands.
Even the fact that Qin Yang worked away from home all year round and didn’t come back was fine by her.
Men, they only slowed down her money-making pace.
Outside was lively and boisterous, while Lin Chuxia sniffed the tantalizing aroma of food drifting through the air and rubbed her growling stomach.
Whether early or late, she had arrived at the Qin Family before lunch, and it seemed she wasn’t included in the meal.
Right now, the Qin Family were busy entertaining guests outside, and she had neither relatives from her own family nor new relatives on this side, unsure when she would be able to join the meal.
Just as she thought about taking something to eat from her space to satisfy her hunger, rustling sounds came from the doorway, seemingly a child’s voice.
“That’s my aunt inside, my new aunt,” a boy’s milky voice said.
A little girl’s voice asked, “What does the bride look like? My mom says the bride is the prettiest. Is your new aunt pretty?”
“Prettiest, my uncle’s wife is definitely the prettiest,” the boy’s voice was filled with certainty.
Another boy interjected, “You’re lying, my mom said your uncle’s wife was switched, surely for an ugly hag.”
“Not true, my uncle’s wife is the prettiest, if you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see.”