Downtown. The Ye Family Mansion!
The Ye family was in a particularly festive mood today, with lanterns and decorations everywhere, radiating joy.
By the time Li Yi arrived at the Ye family home with his father-in-law, Jiang Shiying, his mother-in-law, and Jiang Xue, it was already 10:30.
By then, the Ye family’s ancestral home was already filled to capacity with guests, while outside, firecrackers were going off and gongs and drums were blaring, creating a lively atmosphere.
Although the Ye family had intended to keep things low-key and avoid a lavish celebration,
However, as a prominent family, no matter how low-key they tried to be, certain things were simply unavoidable.
Take today’s wedding, for instance. Even though the Ye family had repeatedly tried to keep the scale down—and had even specifically chosen to hold the ceremony at the ancestral home rather than at a state-run hotel or the unit’s large dining hall—
it still failed to dampen the guests’ enthusiasm, and the number of attendees exceeded two hundred.
Fortunately, the Ye family’s ancestral home was spacious enough, with over a dozen rooms in total; otherwise, there simply wouldn’t have been enough room to accommodate so many people.
Li Yi and his party were, of course, treated with the utmost courtesy by the entire Ye family.
As soon as they entered, Jiang Xue and her mother were escorted by several of her aunts to the inner rooms, where they joined a group of distinguished ladies and socialites in conversation.
After all, this was Jiang Xue’s first visit to the Ye family home—a sort of formal introduction to the household. At the same time, these aunts intended to help Jiang Xue get acquainted with the female members of Beijing’s prominent families!
Li Yi, of course, had no interest in joining the fray. He followed Jiang Shiying over to Old Master Ye and joined the men of the Ye family in small talk.
After chatting for a while, the sound of firecrackers suddenly erupted outside, one after another, and someone immediately shouted, “The bride is here!”
Hearing this, many people in the room hurried outside.
Li Yi noticed that Jiang Xue, standing not far away, kept her gaze fixed on the window. He immediately said his goodbyes to Old Master Ye and his father-in-law, then headed toward the inner room.
Standing before his wife, Li Yi whispered, “The bride has arrived. Do you want to go out and take a look?”
Jiang Xue was tempted, but after glancing at her large belly, she shook her head and said, “Never mind. I’ll just wait here at home for my cousin and his wife!”
“Alright! Then I’ll go check on them!”
“Sure, go ahead!”
After Li Yi left, one of the middle-aged women looked at Ye Lingyun with some surprise and said, “Lingyun, that young man just now was really handsome. Is he your son-in-law?”
Ye Lingyun immediately smiled and said, “Yes, he’s Xue’er’s husband!”
“What does that young man do? He’s not only handsome, but he’s got such a commanding presence—you can tell right away he’s no ordinary person!”
Ye Lingyun smiled and said, “Right now, he runs a small restaurant…”
Just as these aristocratic ladies were discussing Li Yi inside the house, he had arrived at the entrance of the old family residence.
At that moment, several Jeeps were parked in front of the alley where the Ye family’s old mansion stood. All of them had large red “Double Happiness” characters stuck on their hoods, giving the scene a particularly festive air.
Ye Jianhua looked particularly sharp today, dressed in a light gray suit paired with polished leather shoes, which added an extra touch of handsomeness.
The bride, Lin Ying, was also very beautiful. Although she wasn’t wearing a wedding dress, the traditional red bridal gown she wore made her look even more elegant.
As soon as the car door opened, Ye Jianhua lifted the bride, Lin Ying, out of the vehicle.
However, a crowd of relatives and friends had gathered at the entrance to the alley, forming a human wall to block the newlyweds—a local wedding custom.
Ye Jianhua was clearly prepared for this; he immediately instructed Jiang Longcheng, who was accompanying him, to hand out candy and cigarettes to the relatives and friends.
With a barrage of sweets and cigarettes, they quickly cleared the way and carried the new bride to the entrance of the old family home.
After carrying the bride back to the old family home, Ye Jianhua proceeded to wash her and adorn her with flowers, as custom dictated.
After all that, it was already past eleven o’clock.
Just as Li Yi was about to go back inside to call Jiang Xue out and show her the bride, Jiang Longcheng suddenly walked over and pulled him aside.
“What’s with you? You look like a thief.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Stop beating around the bush. What’s going on? If there’s nothing…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Longcheng immediately asked, “There is something… there is something. Why haven’t I seen your sister and the others?”
Li Yi shot him a look and said, “If you want to ask about Zhang Xinyao, just ask her. Why drag my sister into this?”
“It just makes it sound a little more tactful!”
“Hah, you’ve always been so straightforward before. Now you’re being tactful? You’re not actually serious, are you?”
“No, I just thought today is Jianhua’s big day, so I should bring her to meet my relatives and friends!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“Then why didn’t you say so sooner? My sister and Zhang Xinyao went to the store today!” Li Yi said.
“I completely forgot about it because I was so busy helping Jianhua with his wedding!”
“So what’s the plan? Are we going to pick her up now?” Li Yi asked again.
Jiang Longcheng glanced at his watch and said, “There’s still over an hour before the banquet starts. If we hurry, we should make it in time!”
Before Li Yi could say a word, Jiang Longcheng grabbed him and dragged him outside.
……..
Beiguan Village. Grill & Hot Pot Restaurant!
It was already noon, and the restaurant was filling up with customers. Li Na and Zhang Xinyao were already busy at work.
Just then, Jiang Longcheng and Li Yi suddenly arrived, and to everyone’s astonishment, they took Zhang Xinyao with them.
As soon as she got into the car, Zhang Xinyao was completely taken aback when Jiang Longcheng told her he was taking her to meet his parents and family.
“You… I… maybe we should do this another day? Look at me—I’m not dressed up at all. How can I meet your family like this?” Zhang Xinyao said nervously.
But Jiang Longcheng grinned and said, “I think you look just fine the way you are. There’s nothing to be ashamed of!”
“But… what if your parents don’t like me?” Zhang Xinyao asked again.
“Just relax. My parents are practically dying of worry over my marriage right now. As long as I bring a woman home, they won’t have any objections!”
Listening to this guy spout one impossible demand after another, Li Yi felt as if thunder were rolling overhead.
He couldn’t help but interject, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. My uncle and aunt have pretty high standards for a daughter-in-law, but you’re so beautiful and well-educated—they’ll definitely be pleased!”
“Should I go back and change my clothes?”
“Change what? There’s no time for that…”
Before Jiang Longcheng could finish his sentence, Li Yi suddenly blurted out, “Let’s go to the cotton mill!”
“What are we going to the cotton mill for?”
“Stop blabbering—let’s go!”
Jiang Longcheng didn’t ask any further questions and immediately drove to the cotton mill. Following Li Yi’s instructions, he drove the car to the garment factory in the back.
Li Yi then immediately took Zhang Xinyao to the production workshop and instructed Director Tan to find a suitable outfit for her right away, telling her to go find an empty room to change into it.
Soon, Zhang Xinyao appeared before them, dressed in bell-bottom pants, a batwing-sleeve top, and a wool coat.
Seeing Zhang Xinyao in her new outfit, as if she were a completely different person, Jiang Longcheng was completely mesmerized.
Zhang Xinyao, however, blushed deeply under his gaze and looked down, saying nothing.
Seeing this, Li Yi instantly sensed a strong surge of chemistry in the air.
However, time was of the essence, and there was no time for small talk. The group got back in the car and drove back to the Ye family’s old mansion.
However, since changing clothes had taken some time, even though Jiang Longcheng had been flooring the gas pedal the whole way, by the time they returned to the Ye family’s old mansion, the wedding banquet had already begun, and all the guests were seated.
When the two of them walked into the Ye family’s old mansion with Zhang Xinyao, everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to the fashionably dressed young woman before them…
…….