Li Jianguo and Li Long sat squatting on the stones beside the canal outside the courtyard gate, talking about it.
Although Li Long already felt that he and Wu Shufen were two parallel lines that would never cross again, hearing that she was getting married still surprised him a little.
"That was pretty quick," Li Long said.
"Your sister-in-law can go when the time comes," Li Jianguo said. "We haven't split into separate households, so one gift from our family will do. Of course, it'd be best if he didn't invite us."
"That's not going to happen." Li Long shook his head.
Although Li Jianguo was the youngest of the village's founding elders, he carried considerable weight. In his prime and full of vigor-among the people in the village, at least, those words described Li Jianguo.
So whenever someone in the village got married, if they were on reasonably good terms with him, they usually invited Li Jianguo to oversee the arrangements. He had been a mess officer and could always keep everything well organized.
Li Jianguo also commanded respect in the village. Otherwise, when he had gone to Gu Ermao's house with a stick last time, someone would have stopped him or fought back.
After all, the Gu family counted among the village's earlier arrivals.
"I'm not going. Dad and Mom are here, and there's work at the Threshing Ground, so I need to get things ready-oh, right, are you joining the team's wheat harvest this year?"
"No." Li Long waved a hand. "I'm not going to embarrass myself. In those earlier years, you and my sister-in-law did the work while I slacked off and never went. If I went now, I'd probably be the slowest. Even the women would cut faster than me. Better not make a fool