February 12, 2005, Saturday; the fourth day of the first lunar month in the Year of Yiyou, an auspicious day.
Suitable for marriage, travel, cleaning, ground-breaking.
For weddings in the hometown, the groom's family hosts two banquets, one at noon and one in the evening.
The noon banquet is the main one, while the evening banquet is for close relatives and friends who couldn't attend the noon celebration.
As for the bride's side, it was scheduled for the morning.
Picking up the bride required waking up very early.
Originally, Tan Jincheng didn't have much to do, only needing to arrive with his parents before the noon banquet.
This time, he was assigned the job of a driver, so Tan Jincheng had no choice but to get up early.
Celebrating the New Year was actually quite tiring.
People who usually slept until eight in the morning were forced to get up at six or seven every day.
No choice, there were many relatives, and custom did not allow visiting relatives in the afternoon.
Morning and noon had to be scheduled, and this was under the premise of having a car, otherwise, one couldn't visit two places in a day.
In those years, people still paid great attention to etiquette.
"Drive slowly, and make sure to pay attention to safety."
At the time of departure, his mother carefully instructed.
Her son hadn't slept well these past few days.
Sometimes, getting up in the middle of the night to feed Xiao Jinyue, she could still hear him speaking English on the phone.
Every morning he would get up early again, and she was really afraid he couldn't handle it.
"Yes, don't worry, it's fine."
That's what he said, but after the car drove out of the small courtyard, Tan Jincheng still complained to his fourth maternal uncle, who was accompanying him:
"Fortunately, it's not the lead car; picking up the bride requires getting up even earlier."
The uncles were responsible for greeting guests today.
Along the way, there would be people blocking the road asking for "lucky cigarettes," and they were in charge of sending these people away.
"If you bought an Audi, the lead car would be yours," Zhang Qingliang teased.
In rural weddings in '05, there was no talk of wedding planning companies.
Cars for guests were usually sourced through connections in one's social circle, borrowed from relatives.
If none were available, they would charter a mid-sized bus to bring guests all at once.
His maternal uncle's wedding was the same.
The lead car was Tan Jincheng's paternal uncle's Audi, borrowed with the help of Tan Lihua.
After discussing with his wife, Zhang Qingliang had decided to take on two renovation projects for his nephew.
He planned to start work after the Lantern Festival.
Today was his younger brother's wedding, and Zhang Qingliang seemed to be in a very good mood.
"When Wen You gets married, I'll buy him a Rolls-Royce to be the lead car."
Wen You was Zhang Qingliang's son and Tan Jincheng's cousin.
"You haven't even made two pennies yet and you're already bragging. Talk about it when your net worth surpasses your paternal uncle's."
"You're underestimating your nephew, aren't you? Our company was established in October last year, and our 2004 annual revenue was 1.5 million, okay? Surpassing my uncle's net worth is a simple matter."
"500,000 revenue a month? Didn't you say you sell clothes? Can selling clothes make that much money in a month?"
Zhang Qingliang said, somewhat astonished.
This elder nephew was either bragging or truly exceptional.
In just a few months, he bought two houses, and his company also had a car.
Oh, right, he was also at sea for a year; did he get rich at sea?
"I do sell clothes, but I didn't say how I sell them. I'm not in retail; I export clothes abroad and earn foreigners' money."
"Oh, doing exports, I've heard of that. There are people in the Northeast doing business with the Russians too; that seems pretty profitable."
"Yes, but my main business partners are with the Americans and Europe. Just you know this, Uncle, don't spread it around."
"Don't reveal your wealth, I understand that; but since you know this, why are you telling me? I don't believe you're just bragging."
"Well, you're working for me, Uncle, so I might as well give you some confidence; let you know the boss's strength, so you don't have to worry about me defaulting on the 30,000 yuan later."
This elder nephew was truly shrewd.
How had he not noticed before?
Zhang Qingliang was at a loss for words for a moment.
"What are you saying? I'm your uncle. Since I've taken on the job, I'll finish it well even if you don't give me the money later."
"But, don't get too carried away. Doing business carries great risks. If you really achieve something, Wen You might be able to benefit from it in the future."
"Don't worry, Wen You will definitely get into college; it won't be up to me to help him."
"His homework is just for show; he won't get into any college. He might even have to buy his way into high school."
"Boys mature a bit later. My elementary school grades weren't good either, and my college entrance exam wasn't great."
"Stop talking nonsense here. If you weren't too young in elementary school, your teacher wouldn't have let you skip grades. Your uncle doesn't need your comfort."
Before experiencing changes and a drastic shift in personality, Wen You's personality was similar to Tan Jinen's – mischievous, naughty, and with average academic performance. Zhang Qingliang was quite worried about this.
If his uncle could change his fate, this kid probably wouldn't have a drastic change in personality and study hard, and whether he could get into college was really uncertain.
However, the trade-off was unquestionable; if he couldn't get in, then so be it.
His maternal aunt was also a rural person.
The village was about six or seven kilometers from his grandmother's house.
When Tan Jincheng arrived, there were already quite a few people in the courtyard.
Zhang Qingliang quickly got out of the car to offer cigarettes to the people in the courtyard and offer some congratulatory remarks.
Tan Jincheng had nothing to do; he was just a driver today.
Zhang Qingliang pointed where to go, and after getting out of the car, he was invited into the house for tea and snacks.
"This young man can drive at such a young age, truly promising! What's your relationship with the groom?"
"You're too kind, Uncle. I'm the groom's nephew,"
Tan Jincheng replied politely, taking the disposable cup.
"The young man is quite polite; alright then, sit here for a while, have some tea and snacks. Someone will arrange for you when it's time to eat."
For rural celebrations, there would usually be a greeter, often someone from the clan who was eloquent and worldly-wise.
This middle-aged man in front of him was likely such a person.
After offering cigarettes, pouring tea, and exchanging a few pleasantries, the middle-aged man continued to entertain new guests.
Tan Jincheng sat alone on a long bench, leisurely cracking sunflower seeds.
He knew almost no one in the room.
People came and went, it was quite lively.
The last time Tan Jincheng attended such a wedding was when he brought his ex-wife back to his hometown to meet relatives, and a considerable joke was made then.
His ex-wife wanted the plush toys thrown at the wedding, but these were for children to grab, and adults were too embarrassed.
Tan Jincheng was also too embarrassed to compete with a bunch of four or five-year-olds for them.
So he tried to sneakily steal one, but was caught red-handed and had no choice but to shamelessly grab one and run.
"Why are you here?"
Just as Tan Jincheng was immersed in the mood of watching the excitement, a clear voice suddenly came from behind him, and at the same time, his shoulder was patted.
(End of chapter)
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