Wu Shufen felt a pang of sadness as she listened. She turned her head, wiped away a tear, took a deep breath, and then smiled as she picked him up. "My dear grandson, let’s go outside and see. Your Uncle Xiangyang should be here to pick up the bride soon."
Little Douzi nodded. "Grandma, put down. I can walk by myself."
"Little Douzi, you’ve got lipstick on your face." Lin Gang and the others laughed when they saw the red mark on Little Douzi’s cheek.
"Little Douzi, Little Jun, the wedding party’s here!" The voices of Little Kai, Dandan, and the others rang out from outside. "They’re here to get the bride! They’re here to get the bride!"
Lin Guoliang lit the string of firecrackers hanging by the door. The sound of CRACKLING and POPPING filled the air as bits of red paper scattered everywhere.
Little Douzi and the other children bolted toward the courtyard gate.
Li Xiangyang arrived at the gate with several of his maternal cousins, along with Dongzi and his friends.
Little Douzi, Dandan, and the others imdiately surrounded him. "Uncle Xiangyang, give us red envelopes!"
"The red envelopes are right here! Co and get ’em!"
Xu Dong, grinning, pulled red envelopes from his shoulder bag and handed them to the children. Once they got their envelopes, the kids scattered in a flash.
Zhang Xiuqing and Zhao Xiaohui helped Lin Lan out of her room. Li Xiangyang gazed at Lin Lan, and their eyes t. The joy in their gazes threatened to spill from their hearts.
Wu Shufen and Lin Changyou watched the couple, their eyes filled with gratified smiles.
After Li Xiangyang and Lin Lan formally bade farewell, the three Lin brothers led the bride’s escort party, which included Little Douzi, along with Zhang Xiuqing and her sister-in-law. They carried the smaller dowry items—porcelain basins, thermoses, duvet covers, and more—all decorated with the red "Double Happiness" symbol.
Together with the groom’s party, they all set off for Yucai Road, riding bicycles that had large red flowers tied to the handlebars.
****
At the Li family’s ho on Yucai Road, a portly chef with a grease-stained apron tied around his waist deftly wielded a spatula. On an earthen stove sat a stack of bamboo stears nearly half a story high, billowing hot steam and the fragrant aroma of stead dishes. A simple prep table was piled high with prepared food and dinnerware. The wives from the Yang family who were helping bustled about; so chopped vegetables, while others plated one delicious dish after another and carried them out to the dining tables.
After another round of firecrackers, the wedding procession returned on their bicycles.
The bride’s escort party and Lin Lan were led to tables already set with lon seeds and candy to rest.
Lin Lan rested for a mont before Li Xiangyang’s eldest maternal aunt helped her into the main hall. She was seated before the family altar, with Li Xiangyang standing to her left. They both faced the shrine, which bore the characters for "Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Parents, and Teacher."
Liu Da drew out his words as he announced the ceremony: "Bride and Groom, begin the ritual bows!" As Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang perford the bows, the sound of POPPING and CRACKLING firecrackers erupted outside.
Liu Da, beaming, watched them and continued to announce the next steps. Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang knelt and bowed to Old Li... and then the two of them went upstairs to the bridal chamber...
Firecrackers went off again in the courtyard, and the friends and relatives who were helping began to serve the food, starting with the table for the bride’s escort party.
A whole sweet-skinned duck, chopped and reassembled on a platter; cold-dressed chicken pieces; old duck soup; pig ears; various stir-fries; stead bowl-pork; stead pork knuckle; savory and sweet stead pork belly...
Dandan, Little Kai, and Lin Jun had also co over. "Little Douzi, eat faster! Let’s go play in the attic."
"Dandan, Little Kai, have so wedding candy." Zhang Xiuqing smiled and offered them so sweets. The two patted their pockets. "No thanks, our pockets are already full."
After finishing his al, Little Douzi looked around but didn’t see Lin Lan. He asked Zhang Xiuqing, "Auntie, has my mom eaten yet?"
Zhang Xiuqing took out a handkerchief and wiped a grain of rice from the corner of his mouth. She smiled and said, "Your mom is upstairs. Soone will bring her food in a little while. You go upstairs and play with the older boys."
Little Douzi nodded. "I have the key. I’ll take the older boys to my house."
Dandan pulled Little Douzi along. "Let’s not go to your house. I bought a new picture book yesterday. Let’s go to my house and read it upstairs."
"Oh!" And with that, the children scampered off like a gust of wind.
Upstairs, Li Xiangyang grinned as he looked at Lin Lan, whose cheeks and lips were sared bright red. He handed her a mirror. "Honey, who did your makeup? You look like an opera singer on stage."
Lin Lan looked at her reflection in the mirror and couldn’t help but chuckle. "It was Sister-in-law. She said this is how she did her makeup back in the day. Go get so water so I can wipe it off."
Li Xiangyang laughed and kissed her cheek, then hugged her joyfully. "Don’t. It looks festive!"
Lin Lan rested her head on his shoulder, her arms around his neck, and giggled. "But you just said I look like an opera singer!"
Her breath tickled him, stirring a desire within him. But thinking of all the people upstairs, downstairs, inside, and out, he simply picked her up and laid her down on the bed. Gazing at her smiling face, he said with unsteady breath, "You little temptress. I’ll deal with you later."
"Groom, hurry up and co out for the toasts!" The voices of Xu Dong and Yang Dingbang sounded from the doorway.
Li Xiangyang turned to look at the door and gritted his teeth. ’You troublemakers, just you wait!’
Outside, Yang Dingbang and Xu Dong snickered. "Bro, don’t you rember how you made us drink when we got married?"
Xu Dong knocked on the door. "Hurry up and co out. We’re waiting for you."
Lin Lan looked with amusent at the teeth-gritting Li Xiangyang. She kept her arms around his neck and gave his nose a playful tweak. "Go on, they’re waiting for you!"
Li Xiangyang kissed her on the forehead. "Wait for , honey."
"Mhm! I’ll wait." Lin Lan watched as Li Xiangyang opened the door and walked out. She could hear the sounds of his playful roughhousing and laughter with Xu Dong and Yang Dingbang from outside.
After Li Xiangyang and his friends went downstairs, a girl of about fourteen or fifteen ca up, carrying a large tray of food. She knocked and entered the room. "Sister-in-law, have sothing to eat."
"Thank you, little sister." Lin Lan gave her a red envelope. The young girl accepted it, blushing. "Thank you, Sister-in-law. I’ll co back to collect the dishes later."
Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Thank you!"
The young girl clutched the red envelope and happily went downstairs.
Li Xiangyang started making the rounds, toasting the elders table by table. His eldest maternal aunt even pulled him aside to lecture him a bit, pulling rank as an elder. When he got to the table where Lin Lan’s brothers were sitting with Yang Dingbang and Xu Dong, he poured on the charm and flattery, and ultimately managed to avoid having to drink too much.
After dark, everyone flocked to the bridal chamber for the wedding night hazing.
The elders stood at the doorway, watching the cousins haze the couple. One of the older cousins poured two glasses of wine, grinned at the pair, and said, "Little cousin, Sister-in-law, on this joyous day, I wish you a hundred years of happiness together."
"Thank you, cousin," Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang said as they took the glasses, but soone stopped them. "It’s your wedding day! You can’t just drink it like that. You have to link arms!"
Li Xiangyang glanced at Lin Lan and smiled. "Alright. We’ll link arms."
Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang linked their arms, gazed into each other’s eyes, and saw their own reflections there. Amid the laughter of their friends and family, they drank the wine in one go.
"Cousin, Sister-in-law, after the wine cos the wedding candy." A younger cousin ca forward, holding a red string with a White Rabbit candy tied to it.
Everyone in the room started whooping and cheering. Blushing, the two of them bit the White Rabbit candy off the string. Then soone else shouted, "Kiss, kiss, kiss!"
Li Xiangyang gave Lin Lan a peck on the cheek.
The eldest maternal uncle said to his sons and nephews, "Alright, that’s enough. The newlyweds have had a long day. Let’s go downstairs and play cards."
Seeing that the eldest uncle had spoken, the group had no choice but to leave the bridal chamber.
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