Once the large, boisterous crowd escorting the oxcart, draped in red and adorned with colorful decorations, drew near, the onlookers waiting for the spectacle erupted. In an instant, the air was filled with endless laughter and chatter.

In truth, the wedding was almost humble and plain—all the betrothal gifts and dowry items were simple and unadorned, with nothing extravagant. Yet, the wedding was also lively and grand. The entire village was in high spirits, welcoming the bride’s arrival with beaming smiles.

Big Mouth Zhao, dressed in bright red wedding robes, had a brilliant smile plastered on his dark, ruddy face. He gazed at the oxcart that had stopped before him, rubbing his hands together and chuckling foolishly.

His goofy demeanor made the crowd roar with laughter, and they all started shouting for him to hurry up and help the bride down from the cart.

Li Gengtian’s wife, Mrs. Fang, and a matron from the bride’s party were acting as the wedding attendants. They stepped forward together and helped the bride down from the cart.

The bride, also dressed in bright red wedding attire, wore a red veil over her head. She was quite tall, and after being helped down, she stood there awkwardly, wringing her hands. Though she couldn’t see, she seemed to feel the stares of the curious crowd, which made her very nervous.

The attendant from the bride’s side gestured for the groom to carry the bride—it was tradition for her to be carried piggyback into her new home.

Big Mouth Zhao rushed forward. Gazing at the bride, who was nearly as tall as he was, he let out a couple of foolish chuckles. After sizing things up, he turned around, squatted in a horse stance before the bride, and waited for her to get on his back.

But he waited for a good while, and nothing happened.

He turned back, surprised. He lowered his head, tilted it to the side, and tried to peek up from under the bride’s red veil as he asked, "What’s wrong? Did your legs go numb from the ride?"

The onlookers had been trying to hold back, watching to see what the pair would do. But at this, they simply couldn’t restrain themselves any longer and erupted in gales of laughter.

Juhua couldn’t help but smile at the sight, while Meizi and Li Jinxiang were laughing so hard they had to cover their mouths—with so many people around, they didn’t dare laugh too loudly.

Juhua, feeling she was a little too short, found it uncomfortable to crane her neck, so she grabbed onto Meizi’s shoulders to peer outside.

Just then, Li Changxing’s voice boomed, "Her legs must have fallen asleep! Big Mouth, you’re so clueless! With everyone watching, how can you ask her something like that? She’s the bride today, how could she possibly answer you in front of all these people? Just carry her in already, or she might fall over!"

Taking him at his word, Big Mouth Zhao bent down, reached out his arms, and was about to scoop her up to carry her inside, with one arm around her back and the other under the crook of her knees.

The bride grew flustered. Seeing this simpleton believe everything he was told, she became both embarrassed and annoyed. She pushed him away to stop him from picking her up, then turned him around and pressed his shoulders down, motioning for him to squat.

The onlookers saw this and stomped their feet, howling with laughter.

Liu Ershun said to Li Changxing with a laugh, "Look, the bride’s getting anxious. Xingzi, you just had to run your mouth. Let’s see if Big Mouth’s wife doesn’t make you pay for this later. You’ll have it coming."

Li Changxing replied with a wide grin, "This makes it more fun! Besides, what’s wrong with carrying her in? When I get a wife, I’ll carry her through the door myself."

When Big Mouth Zhao saw the bride refusing to be carried in his arms, insisting instead on being carried on his back, he finally realized Li Changxing had been messing with him.

He didn’t get angry, though. Chuckling, he squatted down. Once the bride was on his back, he stood up, even giving her legs a little hoist to secure her, which drew another wave of laughter from the crowd.

He started to walk away, but after a couple of steps, he seemed to remember something. He turned back and yelled to the group of young women in Zhao San’s courtyard, "All of you, come over! Come inside and keep Guizhi company. She just arrived and has no one to talk to, so you come and..."

The bride clapped a hand over his mouth, muffling the rest of his words.

This sent the onlookers, both inside and outside the courtyard, into fits of laughter, doubling over one after another. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Juhua and Meizi were also laughing so hard they clung to each other.

’This Big Mouth Zhao is hilarious,’ she thought. ’He doesn’t even try to hide how much he cares for his wife in front of everyone. But it’s her first day arriving at his home, with so many people watching, and he doesn’t know how to be a little more reserved. They haven’t even performed the marriage ceremony yet, and he’s already carrying on like this.’

’That Guizhi has sharp eyes. She only met him once and was taken with his simple, honest nature. She’s definitely found the right husband.’

But since Big Mouth Zhao had made the request, everyone naturally had to respect the bride’s feelings and go talk to her. And so, the group of young women emerged from behind the courtyard wall and made their way into Big Mouth Zhao’s yard.

This group of girls immediately drew everyone’s gaze; even the members of the bride’s escort party stared at them intently.

Because Juhua was wearing a veil, she was a peculiar sight among the group and stood out. The visitors from the bride’s party eyed her with curiosity. One of them even asked a nearby person from Qingnan Village, "Why isn’t that young woman showing her face?"

Liu Sanshun happened to be standing nearby and retorted unhappily, "Because she wants to. Is there a problem?"

The man from the bride’s escort was offended. The bride’s party were honored guests, after all. He had only asked a simple question and received such a sharp retort, so naturally, he was displeased.

Since the bride was Old Cheng’s niece, someone in her escort party knew about the Zheng Family having an "ugly daughter." He quickly tugged on the offended man’s sleeve to stop him from speaking further and whispered the reason to him. Only then did the man fall silent.

Their whispering made the little fatty, Liu Sanshun, unhappy again. However, it was a joyous occasion, and he couldn’t very well offend the bride’s escort, so he merely shot them an angry glare.

He turned to look at Juhua in the crowd and then involuntarily glanced at Zhang Huai’s expression nearby. Just as he expected, Zhang Huai was staring at Juhua, and a sour, unpleasant feeling welled up in his chest.

And so, after the bride and groom completed their wedding ceremony, the village chief, Li Gengtian, shouted, "Let the feast begin!" Liu Sanshun squeezed through the crowd to Zhang Huai’s side and said, "Why aren’t you helping serve the food?"

He had seen Zhang Huai gazing at Juhua with a faint smile, lost in some pleasant thought, and he couldn’t stand the sight. He decided to snap him out of it and ruin his daydream.

Zhang Huai had been gazing at Juhua, thinking, ’When will it be my turn to carry her like that, into our own wedding ceremony?’

He couldn’t help but fantasize about his own wedding ceremony with Juhua. He hadn’t expected the little fatty to target him again. Annoyed, he retorted, "You haven’t gone either, have you?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, they heard Zhao San call out loudly, "Huai Zi, Sanshun, Changxing, get over here! We’re serving the food for the feast."

The two had no choice but to head to the kitchen to help carry out the dishes.