"Uncle, you don’t need to buy these duvet covers and sheets," Tang Yue said, teasing him without explaining the reason.
In her free time, Tang Yue started frantically searching for fabric around the county. The fabric from the factory was all for making clothes, not suitable for making quilts, but she was sure the county stores would have it.
As the saying goes, effort pays off. At the seventh fabric store she visited, Tang Yue found cotton material printed with bright red ’happiness’ characters and burst into laughter. She explained how much fabric she needed, then took it back to the factory.
She had already measured the size for the quilt. As for the sheets, they just needed to have sufficient width on both sides.
This was her first time making a duvet cover, but it wasn’t a difficult task for her.
It took her half a day, but she managed to plete the four-piece set, even taking special care to stitch the edges. The female workers at the factory kept praising the duvet cover Tang Yue made, saying it would definitely look beautiful on a bed.
Tang Yue giggled and, that evening, brought Zhang Hualian to the neighboring room to try fitting the quilt into the cover. It was a perfect fit, and the matching sheets and pillows made the bed look significantly more attractive.
"Xiao Yue, can this cotton quilt be directly fitted into the cover like this?" Zhang Hualian, seeing this method for the first time, instantly asked.
"Absolutely," Tang Yue ensured confidently, patting her chest proudly as she showed the finished product to Tang Mingli.
Tang Mingli was thrilled to see the festive, bright red quilt. He almost wanted to hug Tang Yue, but remembered the differences between men and women, and that Tang Yue was no longer a little girl. He managed to hold back, but his eyes couldn’t hide his joy as he said, "Xiao Yue, Jiajia will definitely love it if she sees this."
When Tang Mingli spoke of Jiajia, his eyes softened tenderly. During this period, he had been busy preparing for the wedding. Invitations needed to be sent, and some people needed personal visits; he couldn’t afford to overlook anyone.
Because the wedding was being held in town and not like in the rural areas where every household helps, Tang Mingli reserved banquet services at a nearby restaurant half a month in advance. He also put a lot of thought into selecting the dishes.
Tang Mingli cherished Wei Jiajia deeply, personally attending to every aspect of their wedding.
No matter how busy he was, he always found time for preparations, especially now as their wedding day was drawing near. Tang Mingli often called the Wei family.
On the wedding day, they’d have a banquet at the Wei’s place by noon and another in Wangjiang County by night.
As the wedding day approached, Tang Mingli felt both urgency and anticipation.
One Saturday, Tang Yue acpanied Tang Mingli to the bride’s home, meeting the soon-to-be-wed Wei Jiajia, whose characteristic dimples and sweet smile were truly delightful to see.
As a representative of the groom’s side, Tang Yue couldn’t stay overnight at the bride’s house, so she stayed in a hotel with Tang Mingli.
Due to the distance, Tang Mingli didn’t bring many people; just Tang Yue and her brother, along with Tang Zhengyuan and Tang Zhengde, as well as Zhu Yuanchao and Ding Chao.
Tang Mingli had wanted Qi Song to e along, but Qi Song declined due to his bad leg.
Tang Yue, exhausted from the day, fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She woke up early the next morning to join Tang Mingli going to Wei Jiajia’s house, where the Wei family held a grand banquet.
Ever since Tang Mingli saw Wei Jiajia in her bright red wedding dress, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Wei Jiajia, who’s often away from home either running or opening stores, doesn’t have pale skin, but she’s healthy and radiant. Dressed in a bright red wedding gown and wearing lipstick, her beautiful face looks all the more stunning.
Although Tang Mingli is from the county and not highly regarded by the Wei Family, his presence alone, along with Factory Director Ding Chao who has a bit of a reputation in Jiang City, makes people maintain superficial goodwill towards Tang Mingli even if they don’t actually think highly of him.
Tang Yue was in charge of weling the bride and acpanying her. Since the place was far, they started distributing the dowry not long after lunch.
When she saw the dowry, Tang Yue was truly amazed.
The Wei family did not skimp on the dowry at all; it included a washing machine, refrigerator, bicycle, sewing machine, and other large items. The bedding and other items were also very beautiful, making the dowry highly respectable.
When leaving the Wei family, Wei Jiajia couldn’t stop her tears. Tang Mingli, initially happy, now felt heartache. Holding Wei Jiajia’s hand, he earnestly said, "Jiajia, don’t worry. Once we have time, we can often e to the city to see mom and dad."
"Okay." forted by Tang Mingli’s thoughtfulness, Wei Jiajia’s sadness of parting gradually turned into anticipation mixed with nervousness and apprehension.
The wedding car made its way back to Wangjiang County.
Tang Mingli’s new home was already crowded with many relatives and friends. Hearing that Tang Mingli was marrying a girl from the Provincial City, anyone who could e brought their families along.
"A bride from Provincial City, huh? I heard the dowry gifts cost thousands."
They had never seen such a large dowry in their village before, so in the afternoon, everyone waited outside the courtyard for the dowry’s arrival.
Granny Tang was beaming, proud that her son was marrying a girl from Provincial City, which brought extra honor to her face. Listening to everyone’s flattering words, she felt immensely satisfied.
When the dowry truck, adorned with big red ’happiness’ characters, parked at the courtyard entrance, Zhang Hualian, who had sharp eyes, saw that the driver was from their side. He hurriedly asked someone to prepare firecrackers to wele the dowry.
Earlier, people gathered around chatting, but upon hearing that the dowry had arrived, they stretched their necks, eager to see what dowry the Provincial City girl brought.
"Wow, is that a refrigerator?" someone asked as they saw the tall box with ’refrigerator’ written on it when the truck door opened.
"And there’s a washing machine."
"A sewing machine."
Granny Tang immediately called her family to start moving the dowry. As they moved each item upstairs, the onlookers, initially there to enjoy the spectacle, suddenly fell silent, their eyes filled with shock and admiration.
Indeed, they could only look up in admiration.
In other marriages, having a bicycle or a sewing machine was considered good enough. Although refrigerators and washing machines were being mon, very few people in Qianjin Village could afford them.
Tang Mingli’s new home, which already had a color TV, now had even more household appliances.
Granny Tang, smiling as she watched the dowry being unloaded, thought to herself with concern — with such a substantial dowry, what if she doesn’t listen to Mingli in the future?
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