Good News

November 9th, the day before Liu Yuanbo's official wedding.

Early that morning, Zhang Shi called the women she was friendly with in the village to decorate Liu Yuanbo's new house, which was generally called the "new house" locally. Liu Yuanzhou took the opportunity to go to Third Master's house and secretly took some pastries, melon seeds, peanuts, and other things prepared for the wedding banquet to Miss Qin.

"Tomorrow is the day your brother welcomes his bride, right?" Miss Qin asked, sitting on the kang and cracking melon seeds.

"Yes, tomorrow I have to go with the wedding party, so I can't cook for you," Liu Yuanzhou said.

"I have hands," Miss Qin said.

Liu Yuanzhou shrugged and smiled, "Hehe, that's good, I'm finally free. I'll go first, there's a lot of work waiting for me at home. I'll bring you some Mutton Heluo Noodles made by my mom tonight."

"How is your Stance Training going? Do you have any clues about entering stillness?" Miss Qin asked. Because Liu Yuanzhou had been busy with his elder brother's wedding recently, he hadn't come to Third Master's house for morning practice, so Miss Qin didn't know how he was doing.

"Alas, it's a headache to talk about it. I have no clue about entering stillness, and I've made a little progress in Stance Training, barely reaching the fourth section," Liu Yuanzhou said with a wry smile.

"Regarding entering stillness, you must not be impatient, but let it happen naturally," Miss Qin said.

"Understood, I'll go first," Liu Yuanzhou said, and turned to leave.

Miss Qin peeled another peanut, put it in her mouth, and chewed it slowly, thinking about Liu Yuanzhou's affairs.

"Cultivating martial arts ultimately requires talent. Generally speaking, entering stillness within half a month is considered top-notch talent, within a month is average, and if you still can't enter stillness after three months, then there is basically no hope of entering stillness."

"He has been practicing Stance Training for almost a month and hasn't even touched the edge of entering stillness, it seems his talent is very ordinary."

"The residual poison in my body has been completely cleared, and the deficiencies in my body caused by taking the sect's secret medicine have also been almost replenished. According to the current situation, I estimate that my body will fully recover in at most a month, and it's time to go back."

"Hehe, I didn't expect the first disciple I taught to be so poor in talent, alas."

Although she initially taught Liu Yuanzhou martial arts to keep her promise and with a hint of gratitude in her heart, Liu Yuanzhou's meticulous care for her in the past month had also made her feel quite moved. People are not plants, how can they be without feelings? This feeling has nothing to do with love between a man and a woman. Therefore, she also became concerned about Liu Yuanzhou's affairs.

Meanwhile, Liu Yuanzhou entered his own courtyard and saw that there were more people helping out. The cook and several assistants were setting up a temporary stove in a corner of the courtyard. Liu Yuanzhou walked over and asked, "Uncle Liu Jialv, is there anything you need me to do?" The cook, called Liu Jialv, waved his hand, "No need, it will be built soon."

Liu Chuang and Zhang He, along with Liu Yuanfan and seven or eight others, were moving tables and benches into the courtyard. The tables were square and round, and the sizes were not uniform. These were all borrowed from other families in the village. Liu Chuang saw Liu Yuanzhou coming over and called out, "Second Child Bro, come and help move the tables." Liu Yuanzhou followed Liu Chuang and the others to move tables and chairs from house to house.

"Second Child Bro, I haven't seen the Xiucai come to help. He really thinks of himself as a Xiucai master," Liu Chuang said, panting, carrying a large round table.

"I didn't call him, he probably doesn't know. Forget it, the few of us are enough." Liu Yuanzhou carried a stack of benches, put them down, and took a breath.

"Hmph, you're thinking for him, will he think of you?" Liu Chuang curled his lips.

"Okay, let's not talk about him, let's hurry up and work. We still have to get bowls and dishes and other eating utensils later," Liu Yuanzhou said with a wry smile.

Liu Yuanzhou and the others finished moving the tables and chairs, and it was past noon. At this time, a table was set up in the courtyard, with a large basin of steaming meat soup, a plate of pickled radish shreds, and a plate of fried cakes. On the temporary stove in the corner of the courtyard, several assistants were pressing Heluo noodles. A man in his forties came out of the kiln and shouted to everyone, "Those who are helping, it's noon, come and eat." This person was the chief steward of the happy event. According to local custom, whoever has a wedding or funeral will invite a highly respected person in the village to serve as the chief steward, coordinating and arranging everything. The chief steward generally knows the various processes and taboos of weddings and funerals very well.

Everyone came to eat, and it was very lively for a while.

"Second Child, go and call your Grandfather, Fourth Grandfather, and Grandmother to eat," the chief steward instructed Liu Yuanzhou again. Liu Yuanzhou quickly ran to call people.

After lunch, there was nothing for Liu Yuanzhou and Liu Chuang to do in the afternoon. He walked into Liu Yuanbo's new house and saw that it had been decorated. Big red "double happiness" characters were pasted on the windows, cabinets, and mirrors. The kang was covered with a big red bed sheet, and two big red quilts were neatly placed on the side. The room was cleaned spotlessly, and because the kiln roof and kang edges were painted with white ash, it looked very bright.

Liu Yuanzhou came to the middle kiln and saw his mother, Zhang Shi, and several women sewing clothes on the kang. Seeing Liu Yuanzhou coming in, Zhang Shi said, "Second Child, come and try on this dress, I just made it for you."

Liu Yuanzhou held the clothes up to his body and showed them to Zhang Shi. One of the women smiled and said, "Second Child has grown into a handsome young man. I still saw you running around the village naked when you were a kid." Several women laughed. Liu Yuanzhou was teased by a group of aunts and didn't know how to respond. He blushed and asked Zhang Shi, "Where are my dad and my brother?"

"They went to your Grandmother's place to get Steamed Buns and wedding wine," Zhang Shi looked Liu Yuanzhou up and down, nodded, and said, "Well, the clothes fit well."

At this moment, there was a burst of noise in the courtyard. Liu Yuanzhou lifted the door curtain and saw a group of people entering the courtyard. The leader was wearing a white sheep belly towel on his head, his beard and eyebrows were all white, and his face had deep wrinkles. He was holding a five or six-year-old boy in his hand, followed by five or six people. Liu Yuanzhou's maternal family had arrived.

Liu Yuanzhou turned his head and shouted, "Mom, Grandpa and my uncles are here."

Zhang Shi quickly jumped off the kang and went out to greet them, with Liu Yuanzhou following behind. After a round of greetings, Zhang Shi led her father and his group into the cave dwelling where Liu Yuanzhou lived, told Liu Yuanzhou to entertain them, and then busied herself with other things.

Liu Yuanzhou asked his grandfather and the others to sit on the kang. He went out to get some melon seeds and peanuts, placed them on the kang, and served hot tea. Everyone chatted while eating melon seeds and peanuts and drinking tea.

Before long, Liu Yuanbo came in, greeted his grandfather and uncles, chatted with them for a while, and then went out to attend to his own affairs.

Dinner was still oil cakes and Heluo noodles. Everyone in the village who had received an invitation came to eat.

After dinner, Liu Chuang, Zhang He, and a few others clamored for a drink. Liu Yuanbo prepared some snacks to go with the wine and gave Liu Yuanzhou a jar of wine. Because Liu Yuanzhou's house was going to be occupied by relatives, or used to store things, there was no place to sit, so Liu Yuanzhou suggested going to Liu Chuang's house to drink. Liu Chuang said, "Isn't Third Master's house empty? Let's go drink there. It's uncomfortable being watched by the adults at my house." Everyone agreed.

Liu Yuanzhou didn't dare take them to Third Master's house. He sighed and said, "Alas, I also want to go to Third Master's house, but Third Master told me before he left not to bring you hooligans to his house. You all know Third Master's temper."

In the end, everyone took the wine and snacks to Liu Chuang's house.

Because Liu Yuanzhou had to follow the wedding procession the next day, he only drank two cups and then stopped. He stayed overnight at Liu Chuang's house, and nothing was said that night.

The next day, early in the morning, before dawn, Liu Yuanzhou got up. When he returned home, it was already quite lively. The people who were going to welcome the bride were arriving one after another, and the Heluo noodles had already been placed on the table, ready for everyone to eat at any time.

Liu Yuanzhou first ate two bowls of Heluo noodles, then went into the cave to change clothes. Zhang Shi hadn't been willing to let him wear the new clothes yesterday. Liu Yuanbo had already changed into his bright red wedding attire, sitting upright in a chair, as if afraid of messing up his clothes. Liu Yuanzhou asked him if he had eaten, and Liu Yuanbo said he had.

Liu Yuanzhou ignored him and found his mother, Zhang Shi, who was busy running around, reminding this person what to pay attention to and asking that person if they had brought everything. Seeing Liu Yuanzhou coming, she quickly found the clothes from the cabinet and stuffed them into Liu Yuanzhou's hands, saying, "Hurry up and change, it's almost time to leave." Liu Yuanzhou took them and began to change. Since it was just outerwear, he didn't need to avoid anyone. At this time, the loud voice of the master of ceremonies called out, "The wedding procession is ready, let's go!"

Liu Yuanzhou walked out of the door and saw a crowd of people in the courtyard. Liu Da led a donkey and handed the reins to Liu Yuanzhou, telling him to lead it. A large red flower was hung around the donkey's neck. Under the command of the master of ceremonies, the wedding procession quickly formed a line, with Liu Yuanzhou leading the donkey at the front.

"Dong, dong, dong," with a few cannon shots, the suona horns began to play, and the wedding procession slowly set off.