country bumpkin

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month is an auspicious day, and many people get married or engaged on this day.

Today is Sunday, so school starts tomorrow. The children all went to a wedding with the adults.

Su Ze and Tian Yanyan's wedding banquet today was held at the largest hotel in Yicheng.

Many relatives, friends, and colleagues came. Almost all of Tian Yanyan's roommates came.

Apart from Kong Xiufang and Bai Linlin, who got married today, no one else came, but the monetary gifts they sent arrived.

Bai Linlin and Song Ke went to register their marriage today and didn't come to the wedding banquet. Shao Yuwei will get engaged in two days, on the 18th day of the first lunar month.

Kong Xiuyan and Lu Gangtie from Kongjia Village held their engagement and wedding together. The scale of their event was unparalleled in the town.

There were six cars, all of which were there to pick up the bride's family.

The car was followed by a pickup truck with musicians playing instruments and singing. The whole procession was very lively.

The wedding banquet was held in a large tent erected at the entrance of Lu Steel. There was also a large stage for performances.

The singing and dancing performance the night before attracted half the town to watch.

Lu's mother also watched the performance with great joy. Lu Gangtie's eldest sister, Lu Qinqin, also came to attend her brother's wedding.

Seeing so many people attending her brother's wedding filled Lu Qinqin with joy.

She walked over to Lu's mother and said softly, "Mom, my little brother's wedding this time was truly spectacular." Lu's mother smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into slits, and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

At this moment, the performance on stage became increasingly spectacular. An acrobat was performing a fire-breathing stunt, with flames shooting high into the air, eliciting gasps and cheers from the crowd.

Meanwhile, in the banquet tent on the other side, the chefs were busy at work, serving up one delicious dish after another.

That evening, all the guests were relatives. They ate meat and drank wine until their mouths were greasy and they were completely satisfied.

On stage, a glamorous and alluring woman was singing a pop song. The audience below praised her performance, saying it was beautiful and engaging.

Several bachelors stared intently at the actors on stage, drooling. Women from the neighboring village mocked them for being spineless bachelors.

Another burst of laughter erupted. The atmosphere reached its climax.

Just then, a melodious suona sound came from afar.

It turned out that someone from a neighboring village had heard about the commotion and brought their own band to join in the fun.

In an instant, the whole scene became even more joyful and festive, with laughter, singing, and music intertwining together, as if to leave this joy in the town forever.

The wedding banquet was the talk of the village. The night before, some villagers, not minding the long journey, even went to the gate of the Lu family's house in town to watch the performance.

He was so excited when he got back that he didn't sleep all night, and the next day he started promoting it in the village.

Kong Shangbiao was very satisfied. Although the man his daughter had found was much older than her, he was a caring person.

They were wealthy, and their second daughter wouldn't need to worry about her future. After they passed away, they could also entrust their son to her care with peace of mind.

The eldest daughter is struggling to make ends meet herself, so she can't be expected to take care of Jinbao.

The elderly couple knew that someone like their son, Jinbao, would never find a partner; what parent would marry their daughter to a mentally challenged man?

They wouldn't admit to outsiders that their son was mentally challenged, but they couldn't help deceiving themselves.

When Kong Xiuyan, with her red veil covering her face, went out to get into the wedding car, Kong Jinbao followed behind reluctantly, calling out "Second Sister."

The villagers who witnessed this scene were all moved to tears. Kong Xiuyan was getting married, leaving behind only her mentally challenged younger brother and elderly parents.

Those who understand clearly envision Jinbao's tragic fate a hundred years from now. That's why they were moved to tears.

Among the onlookers, Kong Chunhua felt a pang of heartache as she watched Jinbao crying and following behind. She touched her face, and two tears slid down her cheeks.

She felt that she must have been touched by such a moving scene. It couldn't be that she genuinely felt sorry for Jinbao.

They are just friends. What kind of person am I to care about him? I can't even take care of myself and my daughter, so why would I care about Jinbao?

After the wedding car drove away, Liu Fangxiang took her son home. Passing by Kong Chunhua, she glanced at her and thought to herself, "Why is this woman here? And she's even crying over her son. What bad luck!"

She's the village's lunatic herself, yet she has the nerve to laugh at Jinbao. Her own son has loving parents, and his second sister will take care of him in the future. Why should he need this crazy woman's pity?

With a snort, he led his son into the yard without looking back.

Kong Shangbiao watched his wife and son's retreating figures, thought of something, glanced at Kong Chunhua, said nothing, and returned to the courtyard.

After returning home, I comforted my son and told him to wait in the living room. He would then go to my second sister's house for a banquet in the afternoon.

Jinbao recovered quickly and is now happily eating candy and going back to his room to watch TV.

Kong Shangbiao took his wife to his second daughter's side room to discuss matters with her.

He closed the windows and doors, afraid his son would overhear. He whispered, "Honey, I've noticed something's going on between Kong Chunhua and our son. Did you notice anything?"

Liu Fangxiang nodded: "That's right, it seems to me too." Kong Shangbiao said: "Our son is so handsome, could it be that she's taken a liking to him?"

Liu Fangxiang said angrily, "Even if she takes a liking to him, it won't work. Although our son isn't very bright, he still needs to find a normal young woman to marry. This woman is crazy, so old, and has a child. She's really dreaming if she takes a liking to my son. Even if my son can't find a wife for the rest of his life, we can't agree to marry such a crazy woman with a child in tow."

Kong Shangbiao agreed, saying, "That's right, that's what I think too. Our son will have a hard time supporting himself in the future, how can he take care of others? We don't want our son to suffer like that!"

The couple reached a consensus that their son could manage on his own with the help of their second daughter, and their lives wouldn't be too bad.

After discussing it, the couple decided they needed to keep a close eye on their son and prevent him from making a fool of himself and being bewitched by Kong Chunhua.

Although my son is mentally challenged, he is still young and full of vigor. If he makes a mistake, he still has to give an explanation.

If Kong Chunhua tries to extort money from me, that would be troublesome.

At 1 p.m., Kong Xiuyan changed into a cheongsam and began collecting money from people who kowtowed.

Lu Gangtie's relatives and elders all came. As his older sister and brother-in-law, they received the most money.

The older sister took out a wad of cash from her purse and handed it to the bookkeeper.

After checking the price, he shouted, "Sister and brother-in-law, 6000 yuan. Kneel to sister and brother-in-law."

After speaking, Lu Gangtie and Kong Xiuyan knelt down and kowtowed together. At this time, her belly was not yet showing, but after an hour of kowtowing, Kong Xiuyan was also exhausted.

The wedding banquet only begins after all the extended family members, including aunts and uncles, have given their money.

The car that was supposed to pick up the bride's family has returned. The bride's parents were among them. Jinbao also came along.