On a serene morning with gentle sunshine and a light breeze, accompanied by the humming sound of the throttle, the time had come for the Ye family's eldest daughter, Ye Xiaotong, to get married.
The village's old and young, all those idle, flocked to see the spectacle.
To show off, Xie Fengmian borrowed an oil-burning tricycle, even though the body was rust-stained. But it was, after all, a flashy vehicle, and he tied a red ribbon on the handlebar specially.
The throttle was roaring all the way; that humming sound was his doing.
The village only had one tractor to head to town.
There's a tradition in the village when daughters marry, inviting ten unmarried girls of similar age to the house, commonly known as accompanying ten sisters. As the younger sister, Ye Manman naturally had to sit at the table.
Xie Fengmian slicked back his hair, wore a neat new outfit, and had shiny leather shoes on his feet; the vehicle was piled with many expensive new gifts, causing envy among everyone.
He entered the house just as Ye Xiaotong was emerging from her maiden chamber.
The ten girls around the table all stood to offer blessings to the couple. Among them, Ye Manman was the most striking, causing Xie Fengmian's eyes to fixate on her in an instant, neglecting even the bride he was about to wed.
A few days ago, Ye Manman had taken the bride price money and went to the town's supply and marketing cooperative with the village's tractor, choosing two sets of clothes and shoes of the most comfortable material, along with basics like soap, shampoo, and vanishing cream.
She had been keeping clean all these days, so today her naturally beautiful face looked even more fair and charming.
Her hair was simply tied in a ponytail with a red ribbon, her slender figure dressed in a brand new teal Dacron jacket, making her look extraordinarily pretty.
Even in her usual coarse hemp clothing, she was recognized as the village's beauty, while today, so dressed, standing next to other girls, she appeared strikingly like those city college students, capturing everyone's gaze directly.
However, Ye Manman didn't like getting up early, so she came out with a touch of morning temper, her expression somewhat displeased, uttering only a few perfunctory blessings before sitting back down to herself.
Ye Xiaotong was quite upset.
She knew Xie Fengmian was taken by Ye Manman's face; otherwise, he wouldn't have proactively visited them to express thanks. If Ye Manman hadn't been so reserved before, and if she weren't rather adept with hospitality, Xie Fengmian might not have taken a liking to her.
Now everyone's attention, including Xie Fengmian's, had shifted to Ye Manman, making her nearly explode with rage.
Today was supposed to be her wedding!
Ye Xiaotong couldn't help calling to her.
"Manman."
Ye Manman glanced at her without offering any expression.
Ye Xiaotong clenched her teeth, suspecting she was deliberately ignoring her.
Thinking that she must feel resentful about taking Xie Fengmian away, she thus deliberately boasted.
"I see your brother-in-law brought a lot of gifts today. If there's anything you like, why not pick something as your dowry? After all, you'll be getting married soon, and your future husband isn't wealthy or capable, probably won't come with a vehicle or any gifts."
Her tone and expression were as if granting charity to a beggar, with a condescending attitude, almost saying to Ye Manman's face that the man she was marrying was a pauper.
With a couple of sentences, she dragged He Chen and Xie Fengmian into a comparison, rendering He Chen utterly worthless.
Xie Fengmian felt Ye Xiaotong was acting strange today; this deliberate provocative tone was unfamiliar and unpleasant.
He wanted to say something, but Ye Manman lazily raised her gaze to look at the vehicle he drove over, showing disdain.
"You call that a vehicle? Rust-covered, it's about to rust away."
"Even the cars dragged from the repair shop look newer than this."
Ye Manman looked at the vehicle with nothing but disdain in her eyes, looking genuinely unimpressed.
Originally, some hadn't seen such a vehicle and were curiously touching it; now seeing their hands, they were truly dumbfounded.
"Oh dear! It's true, my clothes and hands are covered in rust! I bet this vehicle is about to be scrapped."
That person muttered a couple of lines, and instantly everyone started looking at Xie Fengmian with peculiar glances.
"Don't talk nonsense, my friend said it's rusted from the rain. If it's about to be scrapped, how did I drive it here?"
Xie Fengmian's expression soured, mostly liking to save face, now feeling unable to explain.
Ye Xiaotong glanced at the vehicle outside, her expression too suddenly complex.
Gazing at Xie Fengmian, her eyes seemed to question why he didn't bring a better vehicle.
At this moment, Xie Fengmian felt utterly embarrassed.
However, Ye Manman had no intention of letting them off.
"Didn't you say you'd ruin the car someone lent you? Borrowing a rusty old wreck to drag your wife over, people who don't know better might think you're hauling trash."
As soon as Ye Manman finished speaking, everyone inside and outside the house burst into laughter.
Ye Xiaotong quickly realized that Ye Manman was insulting her, calling her trash. She was angry at Ye Manman's sharp tongue and at Xie Fengmian for borrowing a lousy car, her lips quivering in rage.
"Hmph, if you don't want to, then forget it. Fengmian, let's go."
Xie Fengmian was quite displeased. He originally wanted to show off a little; the villagers were already craning their necks to praise him. But because Ye Xiaotong flaunted too much, he felt humiliated.
His great mood was completely ruined by Ye Xiaotong's big mouth. Remembering it was their wedding day, he forced himself to suppress his displeasure and got back in the car.
"Let's go."
This place was somewhere he didn't want to stay a moment longer.
Ye Xiaotong felt utterly embarrassed too, fuming with anger, and left without saying a word to Yang Xiumei and Ye Guoqiang.
Ye Guoqiang set off a string of firecrackers, marking Ye Xiaotong's departure as a bride.
The mountain village roads were difficult and rough, so Xie Fengmian's metal car bumped along, and in his bad mood, he wanted to leave quickly, driving too fast and overturning the car midway.
Their new clothes were covered with rust and mud, and Ye Xiaotong's jacket got torn, making her unable to hold back her tears.
She thought Xie Fengmian would comfort her, but unexpectedly, he sat in the car with a sullen face.
"Are you getting in or not? If not, I'll leave. Why are you crying? It's just a piece of clothing."
Ye Xiaotong's sobbing suddenly stopped. She looked at him incredulously for a while before lowering her head and silently getting into the car. The two of them left again with the buzzing clamor of an argument.
Passersby from the village saw this scene and talked about it for quite a while.
Ye Manman initially planned to take a nap, but before she could lie down for long, He Chen came alone to fetch the bride.
As expected, he brought nothing, not even a single relative behind him.
Wearing a faded short coat, facing everyone's curious or complicated gazes, He Chen felt somewhat embarrassed and uneasy.
The "Ten Sisters" crew hadn't left yet. Besides Ye Manman, another new girl joined them.
When Ye Manman came out, the girls, as usual, said some blessings, making He Chen blush with embarrassment.
Ye Manman, however, looked impatient and didn't even really listen.
"Let's go."
She urged, ignoring everyone's watchful eyes, and directly walked outside. Inside the house, Yang Xiumei and Ye Guoqiang had no intention of seeing her off.
Another string of firecrackers went off behind them, marking Ye Manman's departure as a bride too.
They had to walk back to the He Family, moving very slowly because Ye Manman was too grumpy from waking up to want to move, and she hadn't had breakfast today.
He Chen cautiously walked beside her, secretly glancing at her delicate face, unsure and afraid to speak.
He could sense Ye Manman was upset but didn't know how to make her feel better, anxious to the point of panic, fearing that saying something might make her even angrier.
Suddenly, Ye Manman yawned and didn't notice her foot step on a small stone, almost tripping.
He Chen quickly steadied her shoulder, then withdrew his hand as if it were burned.
"Are you... okay?"
He Chen carefully observed Ye Manman's fair face, his heart pounding even harder, feeling like if he got any closer, she'd hear it.
Ye Manman pouted, the accumulated displeasure of these days since her transference surging all at once.
She stopped suddenly, lifting her head in grievance, "He Chen, I don't want to walk anymore."
He Chen feared Ye Manman didn't want to get married anymore, and in his nervousness, his tongue got tied.
"Then... I'll carry you."
"... Is that okay?"