"Leave it to me, old master. You can rest assured," Ninth Master said with a smile. "The ten men I found this time may not be as handsome as the groom, but they’re much better than the last batch."
"Also, I’ve arranged for half a pig, a whole lamb, over ten pounds of beef, and plenty of liquor."
"We didn’t prepare too many vegetable dishes—just seven or eight varieties."
"As for peanuts, melon seeds, and candies, I followed your instructions and picked only the finest."
"Oh, and I also got a few packs of Daqianmen cigarettes. Folks in the capital swear by this brand."
"They’ll bring everything over first thing tomorrow morning. Then we’ll close the doors and have ourselves a proper celebration!"
Third Uncle nodded in approval.
These days, weddings weren’t allowed to have gongs, drums, or fanfare. In the countryside, at least, you could still set off firecrackers and put up red banners, but here in the capital, even that was forbidden.
There was nothing they could do about policy restrictions, so they had to make up for it with an extravagant feast.
After all, everyone attending tomorrow’s banquet was family—they deserved a lavish meal.
Jiang Si had originally planned to take some things out from her space, but she hadn’t expected Third Uncle to have everything arranged already.
She didn’t know how other brides spent the day before their weddings, but for her, it was downright boring.
Tradition dictated that the bride wasn’t allowed to leave the house today.
As Jiang Si wandered restlessly around the courtyard with her cat in her arms, Uncle Zhong brought out a set of southern-style mahjong tiles as soon as the quilts were finished being sewn.
Aside from Jiang Si, everyone else present was a seasoned mahjong player.
Luckily, the game wasn’t too hard to learn—the rules were similar to modern mahjong.
After a brief explanation from Third Uncle, Jiang Si declared that she understood.
She even boldly challenged them, saying, "Don’t go easy on me! Bring out your best skills!"
But those very words sealed her fate. In less than an hour, she had already lost dozens of yuan.
And that was with Third Uncle and the others holding back—otherwise…
Meanwhile…
Mother Huo had been so excited about the wedding banquet that she barely slept a wink all night. She woke up long before dawn.
She thought she was up early, but when she went downstairs, she found Huo Tingzhou already there.
Before she could say a word, he asked, "Mom, what time is it?"
Mother Huo replied, "A little past five."
Only five?
Huo Tingzhou lowered his gaze, silent. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl today—as if someone had hit pause.
Seeing his distracted expression, Mother Huo couldn’t help but chuckle.
"What are you doing sitting around at this hour? If you’ve got nothing better to do, go shovel the snow outside."
"Otherwise, the car won’t be able to get in tomorrow."
Huo Tingzhou: "Already done."
Mother Huo didn’t catch it at first. "What?"
Only after he repeated himself did she realize.
"You didn’t go out in the middle of the night to—"
But then again, it wasn’t that surprising.
When Father Huo was about to marry her, he’d reportedly done hundreds of push-ups in his room the night before—only to sprain his wrist.
When Old Second got married, he spent the whole night cleaning windows.
And when Old Fourth tied the knot, he mopped every inch of the house at ungodly hours.
Now that it was Huo Tingzhou’s turn, it’d be stranger if he could sleep.
Mother Huo had no intention of coddling her son. Men were meant to be put to work.
Seeing that he had no plans to return to his room, she shoved a rag into his hands.
"If you really can’t sleep, go wipe the windows. After that, mop the floors. Then help me take down all the curtains."
The compound had strict rules against hanging wedding decorations, but no one could object to red curtains, right?
Huo Tingzhou truly couldn’t sleep, so he nodded and got to work without another word.
By the time the rest of the family emerged, he was bustling around like a diligent house fairy, tidying up indoors and out.
Father Huo was puzzled. "What’s gotten into him today?"
Mother Huo shot him a look. "What else? He takes after his father."
Getting sassed first thing in the morning, Father Huo didn’t dare ask further. He grabbed a rag and joined the cleaning brigade. Soon, Old Second and Old Fourth pitched in too.
The four men worked with gusto!
Meanwhile, the women of the Huo family sat leisurely in the living room, sipping tea and cracking melon seeds, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
And so, on the eve of the wedding…
One half of the couple was bored out of their mind at home, while the other was so busy they could barely catch their breath.
For Jiang Si, this night was destined to be sleepless.
Even though Third Uncle had reminded her to rest early—or she’d struggle to wake up the next morning—she tossed and turned for hours, only drifting off near dawn.
Huo Tingzhou wasn’t faring much better.
If Mother Huo hadn’t mentioned how Father Huo had sprained his wrist doing push-ups the night before their wedding, he might’ve attempted two hundred himself.
The agonizing night finally passed.
Early the next morning, while it was still pitch dark outside, the courtyard erupted with bustling noise.
Knowing everyone was working hard for her wedding, Jiang Si couldn’t bear to stay holed up in her room.
Surprisingly, Third Uncle didn’t rush her today.
Seeing her drowsy expression after she washed up, he said fondly, "Silly girl, why didn’t you sleep a little longer?"
Jiang Si leaned against his arm, her eyes slightly moist.
"You and Uncle Zhong didn’t sleep at all either."
"Old folks like us don’t need much rest."
"Go on, lie down a bit more."
But with so many people hustling about in the yard, sleep was the last thing on Jiang Si’s mind.
Just then, Uncle Zhong brought over a bowl of sweet glutinous rice porridge.
"There’s a lot to do later, Miss Jiang Si. Have something to eat first."
As Jiang Si accepted it and opened her mouth to speak, Uncle Zhong chuckled.
"Still want a cup of coffee? Black, no sugar?"
Jiang Si nodded, touched. "Uncle Zhong, you know me so well!"
He smiled modestly. "Drinking coffee on an empty stomach isn’t good for you. Finish this porridge first, then I’ll brew you a cup."
Jiang Si agreed with a smile.
The porridge had simmered for nearly two hours, rich with brown sugar—sweet and sticky, melting on the tongue.
By the time her coffee was ready, Old Lady Ye had arrived.
As the matchmaker and a well-known "lucky woman" (one blessed with a harmonious life), Old Lady Ye had been entrusted by Grandma Huo to do Jiang Si’s makeup and prepare the bridal bed.
But the moment she saw Jiang Si’s radiant face—peach-blossom cheeks, flawless skin, breathtaking even without cosmetics—she laughed.
"Honestly, I don’t think we need powder or eyebrow pencil. Just a touch of lip color will do."
"Whatever you think is best."
Jiang Si exhaled almost imperceptibly in relief. She hated caking her face with products anyway.
Fresh and natural was perfect.
If Old Lady Ye had gone heavy on the rouge, she might’ve panicked—this era’s makeup trends leaned hard into rosy cheeks.
From a distance, it looked like two red suns hanging in the sky.
Such an embarrassing scene had already happened once in the residential compound, and this time, she absolutely refused to relive it!
As they spoke, Old Lady Ye gathered Jiang Si’s long hair into an updo, revealing her slender neck.
The hairstyle was done exactly as Jiang Si had requested.
At first, Old Lady Ye had worried that the style might be too simple, but the result was unexpectedly stunning.
Without the stray strands framing her face, Jiang Si’s already lively features now radiated a striking, elegant charm.
Paired with the wool coat she had chosen, she looked both poised and breathtakingly beautiful.
Before Old Lady Ye could even voice her admiration, a sudden wave of excited shouts erupted in the courtyard.
“He’s here, he’s here—the groom has arrived!”
