Eating melons

As cups clinked, blessings and laughter filled the entire space, and the two families, who met for the first time, became much closer.

April 18, 1982, the 25th day of the third lunar month, is an auspicious day.

As soon as the sky was getting light, Jiang Qi was pulled out of bed by Ning Lanzhen and her two sisters-in-law.

There were sporadic footsteps and bicycle bells in the alley outside, but the house was filled with a tense and excited atmosphere.

"Nannan, sit still and don't move."

Ning Lanzhen held a thin cotton thread in her hand and skillfully twisted the hairs on Jiang Qi's face.

This is the old custom for marrying off a daughter - "opening the face", which means the end of a girl's time.

Jiang Qi closed his eyes and felt a slight tingling sensation. He was glad that he and Wei Wei had taken off the hair together. Otherwise, the pain would definitely not be this severe. It would be many times more intense.

Miao Su carefully took out the wedding dress. It was not a traditional red wedding dress, nor was it the military uniform or Lenin suit that was common at the time. Instead, it was a wedding dress sponsored by Wei Wei.

You can tell at first glance that it is very expensive but very beautiful.

The off-white brocade is decorated with fine lace at the neckline and cuffs, the waist is just right, and the skirt is fluffy but not exaggerated, which is in line with the restrained aesthetic of this era.

"Oh, this dress is really..."

Ye Li helped unfold the wedding dress, her eyes sparkling. She wanted to praise it but couldn't find the right words. "It's so stylish! It really suits our Xiao Qi!"

Ning Lanzhen looked at the wedding dress and her eyes became red again. She murmured while helping Jiang Qi put it on.

"Okay, our daughter looks good in anything she wears...but...it's just this color, isn't it a little too plain?"

After all, the older generation still misses the traditional bright red.

Besides, white seems unlucky, but since her daughter likes it, she can't say anything.

"Mom, nowadays, sophisticated young people wear white for their weddings. It's called a wedding dress, and it symbolizes purity."

Ye Li smiled and comforted her mother-in-law.

Jiang Qi smiled, but thought to herself, if she wasn't afraid of being too extreme, she would even want to drag her tail.

Wei Wei was also afraid that the older generation would think white was unlucky, so she chose beige.

After being dressed neatly, Wei Wei took out an exquisite jewelry box as if by magic. Inside was a thin gold necklace and the pendant was a small, round jadeite.

You can tell at first glance that it is expensive, and in fact it is.

Wei Wei took out a simple makeup bag and put on makeup for Jiang Qi herself.

Four years later, there are more cosmetics now, and she can use more things, which are much easier to use.

The tools were ready, and Wei Wei's technique was naturally deft. She applied light makeup, and when the makeup was done, the room fell silent for a moment.

Ning Lanzhen looked at Jiang Qi and finally couldn't hold back her tears. She wiped them away with her handkerchief as soon as they fell. "Good, beautiful... My daughter looks the best today..."

Ning Lanzhen felt as if it was just yesterday when she held the little ball Jiang Qi in her arms, but now she was getting married, and marrying so far away, and she felt very reluctant to let her go.

At nine o'clock in the morning, there was a noise and the sound of gongs and drums outside the door, and the wedding procession arrived.

As agreed, there was no grand motorcade, but Wu Lichun had managed to get a band from somewhere, playing cheerful gongs and drums and loud suona, and the atmosphere immediately became lively.

Wei Wei and Jiang Qi were completely dumbfounded. To be honest, before this, they really didn't know there was a band.

Jiang Qi didn't like this very much, but Ning Lanzhen liked it very much. She felt that this was more like a wedding, lively and festive.

Li Zhibin was wearing a brand new suit today, which was also sponsored by Wei Wei. She gave him a complete set of wedding clothes, and a red flower brooch on his chest. He looked energetic.

Behind him followed Li Shiyuan and a group of young men wearing military uniforms or Zhongshan suits, who were considered the groomsmen.

Blocking the door, asking for red envelopes, answering all kinds of difficult questions... the laughter and joy never stopped.

Jiang Qi sat in the inner room, listening to the hustle and bustle outside, his heart beating faster involuntarily.

When Li Zhibin finally broke through the "siege" and appeared at the door with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, Jiang Qi still didn't feel it was real.

Li Zhibin walked up to Jiang Qi step by step, handed the flowers to her, and said in a low voice due to excitement, "Xiao Qi, I'm here to pick you up."

Finally, he was going to win the beauty, and Li Zhibin was almost crying with excitement.

Jiang Qi took the flowers and smiled, "I haven't found the shoes yet!"

Li Zhibin was stunned for a moment and started looking for it immediately.

Seeing Li Zhibin's anxious look, everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Li Zhibin had also chosen the groomsmen before and knew about this step, so there were scouts among the groomsmen and they found the shoes in no time.

Seeing this, Wei Wei pouted and felt it was boring.

It’s the same whether she gets married or Jiang Qi gets married.

In front of these people, these little games are like cheats, nothing can be hidden, and it even feels like showing off one's skills in front of an expert.

She really wanted to hide the shoes in Xiao Xuemu's space, or in her system backpack, since the shoes were bought in her system mall anyway.

According to etiquette, the two bowed to Jiang Qi's parents who were sitting on the chairs. This step was skipped when Wei Wei got married.

Jiang Jianshe's eyes were red and he patted Li Zhibin's shoulder hard.

"Zhibin, I leave Xiaoqi to you. You guys... take good care of yourself."

Li Zhibin assured, "Dad, don't worry, I will definitely protect Xiaoqi with my life."

Ning Lanzhen held Jiang Qi's hand, and her thousands of words turned into a tearful warning, "Nannan, you will be an adult from now on..."

After bidding farewell to the small courtyard, everyone boarded a Shanghai-brand sedan decorated with big red silk flowers and headed for the Jingshi Hotel.

On the way, Li Zhibin held Jiang Qi's hand tightly, for fear that Jiang Qi would be nervous.

Li Zhibin wasn't sure whether Jiang Qi was nervous or not, but he was quite nervous himself.

The banquet hall of the Jingshi Hotel had already been decorated, with a big red wedding character hanging high, and a portrait of the Chairman and the national flag hanging above the main table, making it solemn and festive.

Quite a few guests have already arrived, including Li Zhibin's relatives, colleagues and comrades-in-arms from his parents' workplace, as well as several good classmates and teachers of Jiang Qi and Li Zhibin at Peking University.

Li Jing and Wu Lichun had already been standing at the door to welcome the guests. Li Jing was still serious, but there was a sense of ease in his eyes and brows. Wu Lichun was all smiles, interacting with the guests with ease.

Wei Wei wanted to laugh when she saw this scene. It turned out that no matter how high one's status was, one had to stand at the door to welcome guests when their son got married.

The wedding ceremony was simple and solemn, with no priest and no complicated vows, and was presided over by Xiao Song.

In front of the Chairman’s statue, bow to the leader’s statue, bow to both sets of parents, and the couple bow to each other.

When Xiao Song announced that "Comrade Li Zhibin and Comrade Jiang Qi have officially become revolutionary husband and wife," the audience burst into warm applause.

Then the master of ceremonies and witnesses gave speeches, which were nothing more than words of blessings and encouragement.

When it was the turn of the parents from both sides to speak, the atmosphere reached a climax.

Jiang Jianshe was excited for a long time when he learned about this segment, and he also carefully prepared his speech for a long time.

In Mandarin with a Shanghai accent, he expressed his reluctance to part with his daughter and his best wishes to the newlyweds, and finally said modestly:

"Xiao Qi is young, so please bear with me in the future, and please be more tolerant, Zhibin."

Wei Wei felt a little emotional after hearing this. Jiang Qi was pretty lucky in her life. Apart from anything else, her parents really loved her very much.

After the banquet began, Jiang Qi and Li Zhibin toasted at each table.

Wei Wei couldn't help but complain in Xiao Xuemu's ear, "Fortunately, when we got married, it wasn't too big a celebration, so not so many people came.

Otherwise, even if the wine was replaced with water, I wouldn’t be able to handle so many toasts, and it wouldn’t be comfortable to drink so much water, so I’d feel full after drinking water.”

Wu Lichun and Li Jing finally welcomed their daughter-in-law back, and they celebrated it with great fanfare. Today's scene was still very shocking.