Chapter 133: Pre-Wedding Preparations
Over the next few days, Li Yi—and indeed the entire Li family—was busy preparing for the wedding!
After all, for the Li family, marrying off a son was a monumental event—it not only concerned the continuation of the Li family line but also signified that Li Yi, that troublesome little rascal, was finally settling down and starting a family!
So, the entire Li family took this matter very seriously.
It wasn’t just Li Shankui and his wife; even distant relatives from the Li family’s collateral branches came to lend a hand.
On top of that, the entire village of Nianzishan was now on tenterhooks over Li Yi’s wedding.
They say a reformed rogue is worth his weight in gold, and Li Yi is exactly that kind of rogue!
Over the past few years, he’s certainly committed his fair share of misdeeds—the kind that make people cringe and dogs run for cover. While he hasn’t committed any major crimes, he’s certainly been a real nuisance!
Now that he’s finally turned over a new leaf and is striving to improve himself, this is definitely a good thing.
Not to mention, the entire village is now counting on him to help them make money!
Everyone remembers that Li Yi promised to take them all out to gather mountain produce and make a fortune after the wedding—and everyone is eagerly waiting for him to do just that!
As a result, a steady stream of people has been coming to the Li household every day to lend a hand!
With so many people pitching in, the preparations for Li Yi’s wedding were moving along very quickly.
Soon, the bridal chamber was ready.
Not only had the tall brick-and-tile house been fitted with glass windows and doors, but the side rooms, storage shed, drying shed, and outhouse had all been built as well. Even the high courtyard wall had been erected. With such grandeur, it was undoubtedly the finest in all of Nianzi Mountain Village.
Although the black rocky soil made some feel it was a bit of a waste, it still left many people green with envy.
The courtyard was swept spotless, and bright red couplets were pasted all over the place, creating a festive atmosphere.
This was a tradition in the northern frontier: new couple, new home, new couplets.
The windows inside and out were polished to a mirror-like shine and adorned with bright red “Double Happiness” characters, adding even more festive cheer.
The entire house featured a uniform cement floor—hard and smooth—which gave the villagers a whole new perspective on floor finishes.
A new bedspread covered the kang, and four new quilts and mattresses were neatly folded at the foot of the bed.
Two bright red cabinets stood against the north wall; on the wall above them hung two symmetrical glass paintings in wooden frames and two mirrors.
In addition, the house contained a sewing machine and a radio, while a 26-inch bicycle was parked in the main room.
With the watch on Tang Xue’s wrist, all the essentials for a wedding in that era—the “three spinning items and one ringing item”—were now complete.
Beyond that, the household was fully equipped with pots, pans, bowls, a water jar, a laundry basin, a washboard, and the like.
To make bathing more convenient, the family had even built a dedicated bathroom.
This was truly rare in the countryside!
It could be said that the wedding home Li Yi had prepared for him and Tang Xue would certainly be considered luxurious by today’s standards.
Seeing all the things the Li family had prepared to marry Tang Xue, everyone in the village was nothing but shocked and envious!
These days, with so many weddings and marriages happening in the village every year, there wasn’t a single family that could match such a lavish display.
Some villagers did a quick calculation and realized that the Li family alone had already spent at least 1,700 or 1,800 yuan.
That’s an absolute fortune!
In an era when the average annual household income didn’t exceed 200 yuan, spending seven or eight years’ worth of total income to marry a wife was absolutely unheard of.
Not to mention, that doesn’t even include the wedding banquet and other expenses!
It’s safe to say the Li family has really gone all out!
Many people’s attitudes toward Tang Xue had completely changed!
A month ago, when the two of them were caught half-dressed on the kang, everyone felt sorry for her.
They all said it was like a beautiful flower planted in cow dung—and this pile of cow dung wasn’t even nutritious.
But now, everyone’s saying Tang Xue’s lucky to have married into a good family like the Lis and to have landed a capable man like Li Yi.
In just a single month, the same incident had sparked completely different reactions from everyone.
……..
While things in the village proceeded smoothly, Li Yi had made his way to the county seat.
He rode his bicycle there alone, mainly to finalize the banquet arrangements and notify his close friends.
The banquet is the highlight of the wedding, and the villagers take it very seriously.
Whenever a family hosts a wedding, everyone compares the spread—how many meat dishes there are, and what brands of cigarettes and alcohol are served.
If one couldn’t afford it, that was one thing, but now that everyone knew Li Yi had made money, they were all eager to see how he planned to entertain his guests.
Li Yi wasn’t stingy about it; he had already discussed the matter with his family long ago. They decided to hold the banquet at Liu San’er’s second uncle’s place.
Although 18 yuan per table was indeed a bit extravagant—in an era when wedding gifts typically amounted to only one or two yuan—this standard was absolutely beyond the imagination of the vast majority of people.
But Li Yi didn’t think twice about it. If someone treats me with sincerity, I must show them the utmost respect!
So when he returned to Master Liu’s home, Li Yi told him straight out to organize the banquet at the highest standard of 18 yuan per table, with 40 tables in total.
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Master Liu was truly stunned. He’d heard from his nephew that Li Yi was a wealthy man, but he never imagined he’d be this extravagant.
Ordering 40 tables off the bat—not counting the cost of renting tables, chairs, and tableware—the total cost of the food alone exceeded 700 yuan. This was the largest order he had ever received in all his years in business.
He was a straightforward man himself, so he agreed on the spot and even waived the 20-yuan change for Li Yi.
To put Master Liu at ease, Li Yi paid him half the amount in advance so he could buy the ingredients.
After all, with Liu San around, Li Yi wasn’t worried he’d run off!
After taking care of these matters, Li Yi went to Old Man Wang Guoguang’s home.
He explained the reason for his visit and sincerely invited the old man to attend his wedding.
Old Man Wang was delighted. He genuinely liked this young man, Li Yi. On one hand, Li Yi had saved his life and that of his youngest son—a debt of gratitude as heavy as a mountain for the Wang family.
More importantly, this young man didn’t take credit for his deeds; unlike others, he didn’t constantly try to get close to him or his eldest son through various means.
This was exactly to Old Master Wang’s liking!
Upon learning that Li Yi was getting married, Old Master Wang immediately assured him he would definitely attend, adding that he intended to prepare a generous gift for Li Yi!
After informing Old Master Wang, Li Yi paid another visit to the county bureau to share the news of his wedding with Wang Anguo and Li Gang, and invited them to attend.
At the same time, Li Yi mentioned that he wasn’t sure whether he should invite Secretary Wang Anmin, so he asked Wang Anguo to pass along the message on his behalf.
In addition to the aforementioned individuals, Li Yi also made a point of inviting Liu Jingshan from the state-run restaurant and Liang Yukuai from the sugar factory. After all, they all got along quite well, and if he didn’t invite them to his wedding, they would surely hold it against him.
The last person Li Yi invited was Liu San’er. Although this young man was just a small-time hustler dealing in tickets, he was a decent person.
Moreover, he had actually been a great help to him lately. Whether out of courtesy or for other reasons, Li Yi felt he should extend an invitation.
While Li Yi was busy notifying these friends in the county seat, Li Shankui began reaching out to other relatives and villagers.
In short, everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.