Chapter 196 - 157 A Different Wedding

Chapter 196: Chapter 157 A Different WeddingAccording to the wedding customs in the villages of Linghai County, after Zhang Lan married Xu Mingyuan, the newlyweds were expected to visit the bride’s parents within three days, a tradition called "returning to the parental home." Xu Mingyuan is now a squad leader, currently coordinating with industry and commerce, and customs to conduct an investigation. He would not have time to accompany Zhang Lan to "return home" in the next few days, so all wedding-related procedures had to be completed within one day. For this reason, after the photo session and seating, the banquet hosted by the bride’s family, the "sending off the bride banquet," was about to begin. Suddenly, so many leaders and relatives and friends arrived, with leaders from both the police and local village administrations. Eight tables had been prepared for the banquet, certainly enough to seat everyone. However, the arrangement of the seats was a challenge, and both Mr. Zhang and Zhang Lan’s uncle were at a loss, only able to seek help from Xu Sanye. In terms of popularity, he certainly wasn’t the best. In terms of administrative level, he was not the highest either. But when it came to fame, all the attendees combined couldn’t match Xu Sanye. He unreservedly took over the command, walked to the entrance of the hall, and greeted everyone with enthusiasm: "Uncle, don’t hide, your seat is over here. The sky is high and the earth wide, but Uncle is the greatest. If you don’t sit down, no one else dares to!" "Director Xu, I would rather sit over there... I can’t make good conversation..." "It doesn’t matter if you can’t speak, I’m here, aren’t I? Mingyuan, Zhang Lan, please escort Uncle here." Xu Sanye looked around and then laughed: "Master Ren, I’ve been looking for you for ages; there you are hiding, come, please join us." A short, thin, and plainly dressed old man repeatedly waved his hands: "Director Xu, you can’t be joking. If I go in, what will it look like? I’ll just sit outside with Captain Qi." "You’re not just Zhang Hao and Zhang Lan’s teacher; you’re also Old Zhang’s teacher. Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parent, Teacher—you’re the most important after Uncle today. Old Zhang, organize your family and invite Master Ren to sit down. Xiao Han, Xiang Ning!" "Here!" "Master Ren has taught many students, it’s truly remarkable, quickly take a small photo to commemorate this." "Understood." Village teachers earn a low salary; after classes, they return home to do farm work and are essentially peasants. The old teacher never expected such treatment and was embarrassed to sit in such a prominent place like Uncle, but with the Zhang family’s men and women mobilizing, he was led to sit next to Zhang Lan’s uncle. "Chairman Xi, Secretary Long, today is a day to celebrate with drinks, let’s not talk business. Come on, sit down quickly." "Director Xu, we’ll sit outside, and later I’ll go in to offer a toast to you and Uncle." "What are you offering me a toast for? You are the local authorities, you must come in, and I have a task for you." "What task?" Xu Sanye pushed the village chief and party secretary to the side seats, pointing to four empty spots on either end of an eight-seat table: "I’ll sit next to you shortly. Keep these three seats free; three guests will be arriving soon. Later, you’ll represent not just Zhang Lan and Xu Mingyuan, but also Old Zhang, and even Yuelai Town People’s Government to host the guests properly." Chairman Xi only knew Old Zhang and wasn’t close to him, let alone had any personal dealings. He came today because Xu Sanye had asked Old Zhang to invite him. He could disregard Old Zhang, but didn’t dare disrespect Xu Sanye. Seeing Xu Sanye speak so grandly, he couldn’t help asking: "Is there a leader coming?" "Today, there are only guests, no leaders." "Director Xu, I can neither talk well nor drink well, I’ll sit outside instead." Uncle was startled and stood up to leave. "But like I said, I’m here." Xu Sanye laughed heartily, then turned and smiled: "Old Zhang, they say one generation over another, now it’s your turn to organize. Please invite Old Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle (maternal grandfather), Old Aunt (maternal grandmother), Old Aunt (mother’s sisters) to sit." Old Zhang recovered from the surprise and hurriedly smiled: "Alright." "Mingyuan, quickly invite your elder cousins to sit; you young folks take a table first, then others can follow." "Yes!" ... In a blink, three tables in the hall were filled. The main table hosted Zhang Lan’s uncle, teacher, and hometown officials; the second table was for Zhang Family’s elders, and the third was for the wedding procession, including the groom and bride. Once these three tables were settled, the other five tables outside were easier to manage. Han Xiangning saw her junior schoolmate sneaking into the table where Sister Wei and Sister Jiang from the Police Department’s logistics were sitting, not just letting Xiao Yu continue pretending to be part of the wedding procession, but also nibbling on appetizers before the meal had officially begun, so she immediately came over and tapped him on the arm. "Sister Xiang Ning, why aren’t you sitting?" "I need to take photos, you hold a spot for me." "Okay, if anyone asks, I’ll say it’s taken." "No snacking." "..." Operating the outboard boat wasn’t exactly tiring, but one always had to hold the steering rod, and with the diesel engine making loud noises and vibrations, Han Yu had been rattled and hungry for a while. Moreover, stealing a few bites of the appetizer had been approved and even encouraged by his master’s wife and Sister Jiang. Now, being scolded by his senior, Han Yu felt a bit embarrassed and simply stood up: "Sister Xiang Ning, why don’t you join my master’s wife and Sister Jiang, you hold my spot, I’ll go take photos." The camera sponsored by customs was imported and heavy. Han Xiangning, having been busy for a long while and tired, simply took the camera off her neck and handed it to him, chuckling: "That’s more like it, go ahead and shoot." "Is there enough film?" "Don’t move, just take the bag, the film is inside." Seeing Han Xiangning send Little Salted Fish away like this, Sister Wei pulled her to sit beside her, revealing a motherly smile. Sister Jiang, seeing Little Salted Fish being well managed by this Mandarin-speaking girl, couldn’t help but smile too. "Xiao Han, did Director Wei say that leather shirt was a gift from you to Salted Fish?" "I don’t even have one myself, how could I afford to give one? It was a gift from our unit leaders." "Real leather?" Sister Jiang was genuinely curious. Han Xiangning glanced at the junior student taking pictures everywhere like a reporter and proudly said, "Of course, it’s real leather. I heard it was custom-made at a military factory that manufactures leather jackets for Air Force pilots." "That must have cost a pretty penny." "Either one thousand six hundred or one thousand seven hundred, it’s not cheap." "You Port Supervision guys really have money!" "Sister Wei, Sister Jiang doesn’t know the situation, but you do. This is a pilot’s leather jacket, there’s only one like it, even our Director doesn’t have one." Three women in a show, after discussing the leather jacket, they moved on to topics about Zhang Lan’s wedding dress and dowry. As they were chatting enthusiastically, Old Zhang, who had been waiting at the intersection, approached the Zhang family’s door with a leader in a Sun Yat-sen suit, one in a western suit, and one in a police uniform. Xu Sanye, along with Chairman Xi and the Zhang family, came out to receive them. Relatives and friends sitting in the temporary tent all squeezed out to join the excitement. "Ningning, is that Director Wang?" "Seems so." "And the one in front of him?" "Looks familiar, I think I’ve seen him somewhere." While everyone was discussing, Xu Sanye shook hands with the two uninvited guests under the introduction of Wang Xiazhi, then confidently announced before the banquet officially started, "Dear family and fellow friends, before we start the feast, I have a good news to announce. Assistant Secretary Chai from the Binjiang Municipal Government, Political Commissioner Wang from the Binjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau Water Police Branch, and Director Qiao from the Linghai Government Office are here on behalf of Mayor Cao of Binjiang Municipal Government, Chief Zhong of the Binjiang City Police Department, and the Linghai County Government to attend Zhang Lan and Xu Mingyuan’s wedding celebration. Let’s welcome their arrival with warm applause!" The mayor, police chief, and county leaders have all sent representatives to offer their congratulations... Zhang Lan couldn’t believe that the casual remark Mayor Cao made on the platform 001 was actually taken seriously by the office of the Municipal Government and the City Bureau. She couldn’t believe it herself, and neither could others. In the village, it was hard enough to meet a village chief, let alone city and county leaders. Fortunately, many colleagues came to the wedding celebration today, and at Xu Sanye’s command, the officers immediately started clapping. With someone leading, the clapping sounded like thunder. Han Yu finally came to his senses and hurriedly went forward to take pictures. Normally, after Xu Sanye finished announcing, he would have invited people to put down their gifts and go in to eat. But today was not a normal day; he willingly played a supporting role, raised his hands to calm the crowd, and waited until his disciples had formally greeted the leaders before smilingly suggesting, "Secretary Chai, Director Qiao, Political Commissioner Wang, since you’re all here, please say a few words." "Comrade Sanye, we are here on behalf of our leaders to enjoy the wedding candy and drinks, not to give a report." "No, no, you must say a few words." "Sanye, how about this, we ask Secretary Chai to represent us all." "That works, Secretary Chai, please." Secretary Chai smiled faintly, had Xu Mingyuan and Zhang Lan come to his side, and spoke with deep emotion, "Comrades, you all must know that this wedding feast was supposed to be held before the Spring Festival. However, due to urgent tasks, Comrade Xu Mingyuan, the groom, and Comrade Zhang Lan, the bride, had to postpone their wedding to today. Firstly, please allow me to express, on behalf of Mayor Cao and Director Zhong, our sincerest apologies for not being able to hold the wedding on the originally scheduled auspicious date, and our deepest gratitude to the parents and friends of the couple for your understanding and support of their work..." Searᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. City and county leaders don’t just talk idly. As soon as Secretary Chai finished speaking, before the applause even stopped, Old Zhang led several colleagues to carry over the gifts from the City Government, City Police Department, and the county for everyone to admire. The gift from Mayor Cao had to be a special product of Binjiang. However, it wasn’t trivial items like crisp cakes, but a fourteen-inch Sanyuan brand color TV! The packing box was not only tied with red silk but also flamboyantly marked "Gift from Binjiang Municipal Government." The gift from the City Police Department wasn’t cheap either; it was also a red Mulan brand light motorcycle, with the bike’s head also tied with red silk. Everyone was stunned, Zhang Lan clutched her mouth tightly, afraid that the excitement might make her scream out. Han Yu was even happier, thinking that my light motorcycle would finally carry the Han surname. In contrast, the gift from the Linghai County Government really exemplified what "spiritual rewards primarily, material rewards secondarily" meant—it was actually two commendation orders. Awarding Xu Mingyuan a Second-class Merit once, with a bonus of two hundred yuan. Awarding Zhang Lan a Third-Class Merit once, with a bonus of one hundred yuan. The senior disciple had made significant achievements this time; the suppression on the uninhabited sandbar was just what was publicly reported, the unreported achievements were even more astounding. Moreover, after getting married today, he has to return tomorrow morning to continue deeper investigations. Xu Sanye felt that all these were well-deserved by his senior disciple, seeing the astonished faces of friends and relatives, he felt it necessary to summarize. "Old Zhang, Su Zhen, don’t be shy, come over here." He invited Mr. Zhang and Mrs. Zhang to his side, with a dramatic inflection, he said, "Dear elders, dear friends and relatives, Secretary Chai had previously entrusted Political Commissioner Wang to communicate with me; their original plan was to visit Xu Mingyuan’s house in the evening. I didn’t agree, do you know why?" Seeing no one reacting to the Director’s words, Han Yu quickly asked, "Why?" It seems that the junior disciple also has great potential. Xu Sanye was pleased, turned around and pointed at Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, "Because Comrade Zhang Shugen and Comrade Gu Suzhen have raised and nurtured Zhang Lan, and it was not easy for them to raise their daughter into an adult and cultivate her talent. It’s even harder to marry their daughter off to Xu Mingyuan. Therefore, I strongly suggested to Secretary Chai, Political Commissioner Wang, and Director Qiao to come to the bride’s home at noon to congratulate and to enjoy the wedding festivities here! Xu Mingyuan, as your master, I take this opportunity to make a request to you, from today onwards, you must treat Zhang Lan’s parents as your own parents, and Zhang Lan’s brother and sister-in-law as your own brother and sister-in-law..." With this summary, Zhang Lan could no longer hold back, and clung to Mrs. Zhang sobbing. Mr. Zhang, with tears streaming down his face, tightly grasped his hand, continually expressing his gratitude. The relatives and friends attending the Zhang’s daughter’s wedding banquet were full of sighs, marveling at how a marriage could be conducted like this. Even Han Xiangning was moved to tears and murmured, "Sister Wei, Director Xu is really good to Sister Zhang."