Happy Occasion

The ninth day of the eleventh month, the day before Liu Yuanbo formally went to fetch his bride.

Early that morning, Zhang Shi called over the womenfolk she was close to in the village to help decorate Liu Yuanbo's bridal chamber, which the locals generally called the new room. Liu Yuanzhou found time to visit Third Master's home, secretly bringing Miss Qin some of the pastries, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and other things prepared for the banquet.

"Tomorrow is the day your brother goes to fetch his bride, isn't it?" Miss Qin asked, sitting on the kang and cracking sunflower seeds.

"Yeah. I have to go with them to fetch the bride tomorrow, so I won't be able to cook for you," Liu Yuanzhou said.

"I have hands of my own," Miss Qin said.

Liu Yuanzhou shrugged and laughed. "Hehe, then I'm finally free. I'm leaving first—there's still a mountain of things waiting to be done at home. Tonight, I'll bring you some Mutton Heluo Noodles my mother made."

"How is your stance training going? Have you found any clue about Entering Samadhi?" Miss Qin asked. Liu Yuanzhou had been busy with his elder brother's wedding preparations lately and had not come to Third Master's home for morning practice, so she had no idea how his training was progressing.

"Sigh, just mentioning it gives me a headache. I have no clue at all about Entering Samadhi. My stance training has improved a little—I can barely make it to the fourth section now," Liu Yuanzhou said with a bitter smile.

"As for Entering Samadhi, you must not be impatient. Let nature take its course," Miss Qin said.

"I know. I'm leaving first," Liu Yuanzhou said, then turned and walked out.

Miss Qin shelled another peanut, placed it in her mouth, and chewed slowly as she thought about Liu Yuanzhou.

Martial arts ultimately depend on talent. Generally speaking, entering samadhi within half a month means superior aptitude; within a month means ordinary aptitude. If one still cannot enter samadhi after three months, then there is basically no hope of ever doing so.

He has practiced stance training for nearly a month and still has not even brushed against the threshold of entering samadhi. It seems his aptitude is quite ordinary.

The lingering poison in my body has now been completely purged, and the depletion caused by taking the sect's secret medicine has mostly been replenished. Judging by my current condition, my body will fully recover in at most another month. It is about time for me to return.

Hehe, I never expected the first disciple I taught to have such poor aptitude. Sigh.

Although she had initially taught Liu Yuanzhou martial arts in order to keep her promise, with a faint intention of repaying him as well, his meticulous care for her over the past month had touched her deeply. People were not grass or trees—who could be without feelings? This feeling had nothing to do with love between man and woman. Thus, she had begun to care about Liu Yuanzhou's affairs as well.

When Liu Yuanzhou returned to his own courtyard, he saw that more and more people had come to help. The cook, along with several assistants, was setting up a temporary stove in one corner of the yard. Liu Yuanzhou walked over and asked, "Uncle Jialv, is there anything I can do?" The cook was called Liu Jialv. He waved his hand. "No need. It'll be finished soon."

Liu Chuang and Zhang He, along with Liu Yuanfan and seven or eight others, were carrying tables and benches into the courtyard. There were square tables and round tables, all of different sizes, borrowed from other households in the village. When Liu Chuang saw Liu Yuanzhou arrive, he called out, "Second Child, come help carry the tables." Liu Yuanzhou followed Liu Chuang and the others from house to house, carrying tables and chairs.

"Second Child, I haven't seen Xiucai come help. He really thinks of himself as some lordly xiucai," Liu Chuang said, panting as he carried a huge round table.

"I didn't go call him. He probably doesn't know. Forget it, there are enough of us," Liu Yuanzhou said as he carried a stack of stools. He set them down and took a breath.

"Hmph. You're thinking for him, but would he think for you?" Liu Chuang curled his lip.

"Enough, stop talking about him. Hurry up and work. Later, we still have to fetch bowls, plates, and the other tools for eating," Liu Yuanzhou said with a bitter smile.

By the time Liu Yuanzhou and the others had finished moving the tables and chairs, it was already past noon. A table had been set up in the courtyard, bearing a large basin of steaming meat soup, a plate of pickled shredded radish, and a plate of fried cakes. At the temporary stove in one corner of the yard, several kitchen helpers were pressing Helao Noodles. A man in his forties came out from the cave dwelling and shouted to everyone, "Those who came to help, it's noon—come eat!" This man was the chief steward for the wedding. By local custom, whenever a family held weddings and funerals, they invited a highly respected villager to serve as chief steward and coordinate all affairs. Such stewards generally knew every procedure and taboo involved in weddings and funerals.

Everyone came over to eat, and for a time, the place was bustling with excitement.

"Second Child, go call your great-grandfather, Fourth Master, and your great-grandmother and the others to eat," the chief steward instructed Liu Yuanzhou. Liu Yuanzhou hurried off to call them.

After lunch, Liu Yuanzhou and Liu Chuang had nothing more to do that afternoon. He entered Liu Yuanbo's new room and saw that it had already been decorated. Large red double-happiness characters had been pasted on the windows, cabinets, and mirror. A bright-red bedsheet covered the kang, and two bright-red quilts lay neatly beside it. The room had been scrubbed spotless, and since both the cave ceiling and the edge of the kang had been whitewashed, it looked especially bright.

Liu Yuanzhou then went to the middle cave dwelling, where he saw his mother, Zhang Shi, and several women sewing clothes on the kang. When Zhang Shi saw Liu Yuanzhou enter, she said, "Second Child, come try on this outfit. I just made it for you."

Liu Yuanzhou held the clothes against himself for Zhang Shi to see. One of the women laughed. "Second Child has grown into quite a handsome young man. When you were little, I even saw you running all over the village bare-assed." The women all burst into laughter. Teased by a group of aunties and older women, Liu Yuanzhou did not know how to respond. Blushing, he asked Zhang Shi, "Where are Dad and my brother?"

"They went to your great-grandmother's place to get the Steamed Buns, wedding wine, and such," Zhang Shi said. She looked Liu Yuanzhou over, nodded, and said, "Mm, the clothes fit very well."

Just then, a burst of noise came from the courtyard. Liu Yuanzhou lifted the door curtain and looked out, seeing a group of people enter the yard. The man at the front had a white lamb-belly headscarf wrapped around his head. His beard and brows were both white, deep wrinkles covered his face, and he held the hand of a five- or six-year-old boy. Five or six people followed behind him. Liu Yuanzhou's maternal grandfather's family had arrived.

Liu Yuanzhou turned back and called out, "Mom, Grandpa and my uncles are here."

Zhang Shi quickly jumped down from the kang and went out to greet them, with Liu Yuanzhou following behind. After everyone exchanged greetings, Zhang Shi led her father and the others into the cave dwelling where Liu Yuanzhou lived, told Liu Yuanzhou to attend to them, and hurried off to continue her work.

Liu Yuanzhou invited his grandfather and the others onto the kang to sit. He went outside, brought back some sunflower seeds and peanuts, placed them on the kang, and served hot tea. The group chatted while eating the seeds and peanuts and drinking tea.

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

Dinner was still fried cakes and Helao Noodles. Every household in the village that had received an invitation also came to eat.

After dinner, Liu Chuang, Zhang He, and several others clamored to drink. Liu Yuanbo prepared some dishes to go with the wine and gave Liu Yuanzhou a jar of liquor as well. Since Liu Yuanzhou's home had to accommodate relatives and store things, there was nowhere to sit, so Liu Yuanzhou suggested they drink at Liu Chuang's home. But Liu Chuang said, "Isn't Third Master's home empty? Let's drink there. It's no fun drinking at my place with the adults watching us." Everyone echoed their agreement.

How could Liu Yuanzhou possibly dare take them to Third Master's home? He sighed. "Sigh, I'd like to go to Third Master's place too, but before he left, Third Master told me not to bring you bunch of fair-weather fox friends to his house. You all know Third Master's temper."

In the end, they carried the wine and dishes to Liu Chuang's home.

Since Liu Yuanzhou still had to accompany the bridal party the next day, he stopped drinking after two cups. He stayed the night at Liu Chuang's home, and nothing happened through the night.

Early the next morning, before dawn had broken, Liu Yuanzhou got up. By the time he returned home, it was already quite lively. Those going to fetch the bride were arriving one after another, and Helao Noodles had already been served on the tables for everyone to eat whenever they wished.

Liu Yuanzhou first ate two bowls of Helao Noodles, then went into the cave dwelling to change clothes. Zhang Shi had not been willing to let him wear his new clothes yesterday. Liu Yuanbo had already changed into his bright-red wedding robes and sat upright in a chair, as if afraid of rumpling them. Liu Yuanzhou asked whether he had eaten, and Liu Yuanbo said he had.

Liu Yuanzhou paid him no more attention and went to find his mother, Zhang Shi. Zhang Shi was running around in circles with busyness, one moment reminding this person what to watch out for, the next asking whether that item had been brought. Seeing Liu Yuanzhou, she hurriedly pulled out his clothes from the cabinet and stuffed them into his hands. "Hurry and put these on. We're about to set off." Liu Yuanzhou took them and began changing. Since they were only outer garments, he did not need to avoid anyone. Just then, the chief steward's booming voice rang out: "Everyone going to fetch the bride, come out! We're setting off!"

Liu Yuanzhou stepped outside and saw the courtyard packed with people. Liu Da led over a donkey, stuffed its reins into Liu Yuanzhou's hand, and told him to lead it. A large red flower hung around the donkey's neck. Under the chief steward's direction, the bridal party quickly formed into a line, with Liu Yuanzhou standing at the front, leading the donkey.

Boom, boom, boom! As several firecrackers exploded, the suona began to play, and the bridal party slowly set off.