Zhang Huai saw that for some reason, this pudgy guy was dead set on dragging him along today. He shot the other man an annoyed glare, wondering, ’How can I get out of this?’

He wasn’t so conceited as to think girls would burst into tears and demand to marry him on sight, but after the incident with Yu Qin, it all struck a little too close to home. He was terrified of getting entangled in more trouble.

Before Zhang Huai could even speak, Zhao San laughed and chided, "You two are just daydreaming! What, you think the girl can’t find a husband? Stop dawdling. Both of you, get going. Any later and you won’t be able to escort the bride back in time."

The two of them had no way out of it and had to go together.

An ox-cart, festively decorated with red cloth, was used to fetch the bride. A crowd of young men surged noisily out of the village, shouting as they went. They called out that when they were bringing the bride back, they would light firecrackers from a distance to signal the groom, who should then come out of the village to meet them.

Juhua wanted to see the wedding festivities too; she’d never seen one before.

Seeing that she wanted to watch the excitement, a woman from the Yang family quickly gave her an idea. "Go over to Third Uncle Zhao’s house and play with the baby for a bit. When the bride gets here, you’ll be able to see everything from their place without getting stuck in the crowd."

Juhua nodded.

After lunch, she copied Meizi and the other girls, tucking a shoe sole to work on into her pocket. She invited Liu Xiaomei along, and together they went to Zhao San’s house—which was right next door to Big Mouth Zhao’s—specifically to wait for the bride to arrive.

Little Shitou’s sister had grown even rosier and more delicate. Her face was so chubby and soft that Juhua absolutely adored her. She held the baby without letting go, teasing her until she giggled nonstop.

Having gone to school, Shi Tou had personally chosen a name for his sister: Zhao Qing.

He reasoned that since Qingnan Village was near Little Qing Mountain and bordered the Little Qing River, he’d picked the name Zhao Qing. He pointed out that even though the ’qing’ in each name was written with a different character, the sound was the same.

He had also been afraid his father would just pick a random, unrefined name for his sister, so he’d rushed to choose one himself. After all, his father was named Zhao San, and he had given his own son the nickname Shi Tou. If he were to name his daughter, it was sure to be something equally plain.

Juhua listened to him chatter on with his explanation, inwardly amused but outwardly praising him for picking such a wonderful name.

Seeing her son puff up with pride at Juhua’s praise, Shi Tou’s mother rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, aren’t you the clever one."

With Juhua holding her daughter, she was able to quickly tidy up the house before joining them for a chat. Normally, she had to do her chores with the baby strapped to her back.

Juhua asked, "Ma’am, are there many guests at the Zhao family’s today?"

Shi Tou’s mother replied, "Not too many. We Zhaos don’t have that many relatives to begin with, so the rest are all people from the village. I’d say there are about ten tables in all."

Liu Xiaomei smiled. "From all the commotion outside, I would’ve thought there were over a dozen tables of guests."

Shi Tou’s mother took little Zhao Qing and rocked her to sleep. Then, the three women chatted while doing their needlework, waiting for the bride to arrive so they could watch the show.

Shi Tou’s mother smiled and asked, "Are you two going to the feast tonight?"

Juhua quickly replied, "Oh no. My brother is already there. We didn’t give a very large gift, so it wouldn’t be right for both of us to go to the feast."

Liu Xiaomei smiled. "Your brother is one of the helpers, and helpers are always given a meal. The feast is a separate thing. But I’m not going either. It’s not very relaxing to eat with so many people around."

Juhua nodded. That was exactly what she was thinking.

Shi Tou’s mother laughed. "I had a feeling you two wouldn’t go. That’s why I was thinking you could just eat here with me tonight. I won’t bother making anything fancy, I’ll just stew some acorn tofu with pickled vegetables. We can have a nice, relaxed meal, and you won’t have to fight the crowds at the banquet."

Juhua shook her head. "Ma’am, you should go to the feast yourself and save yourself the trouble of cooking. We’ll be heading home right after we see the bride. I still have a long way to walk."

Liu Xiaomei added that since she lived close by, she wouldn’t eat here either, and instead invited Juhua to have dinner at her house.

Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. "That’s enough, now. It’s not like I’m a formal guest you have to keep trying to host. Shi Tou, I think I hear firecrackers! Go check if the bride is here."

Little Shitou immediately dashed outside.

A moment later, he came tearing back, shouting at the top of his lungs, "She’s here! The bride’s here!"

Sure enough, the three of them could hear the distant sound of gongs and drums. They hastily put away their needlework and headed out into the courtyard.

They had barely found their footing in the courtyard when a whole flock of girls—Li Jinxiang, Meizi, Yan, Xiu, Cui, and others—surged in.

It turned out they also wanted to watch the festivities but were too shy to join the crowd outside. They had come to this neighboring courtyard to peek over the wall instead. At least the wall offered some cover and would keep people from gossiping about them.

Giggling, they all picked their spots, finding an angle from which they had a clear view of Big Mouth Zhao’s courtyard.