Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 228 Eldest Brother's Wedding
This winter, the winds have been howling, but it hasn't snowed yet. Yanjing Station was packed with students; universities were all on holiday, and it was Liu Yimin's first time sharing a train with so many students.

Standing next to Liu Yimin, Zhu Lin looked at the young faces and green clothes and said subconsciously, "This reminds me of when my parents sent me to be an educated youth."

It was a sea of ​​people; some were shouting slogans, and some were crying.

What about you? Did you cry?

"I was strong, I didn't cry until I got off the bus!"

"Hahaha!"

After the train smoothly entered the platform, Liu Yimin waved to Zhu Lin and began to board the train with the crowd.

"Teacher Liu, come back soon!" Zhu Lin waved and said.

During the Spring Festival, there were quite a few people in the soft sleeper compartment. As soon as Liu Yimin entered, the entire compartment was full. He put his things away and lay down on the bed.

The winter sun, not being direct, didn't appear as bright as the summer sun. Adding to the problem, the clouds were quite thick today, making the light in the private room even worse. Unable to read, he simply lay down in bed and fell asleep.

The two people below are both middle-aged and speak the same dialect, so they must know each other, but for some reason they don't seem to be very interested in talking.

The short-haired middle-aged woman across from me made rustling noises from time to time.

Despite the mix of various sounds, Liu Yimin slept remarkably well.

Twenty hours later, the bus stopped in Zhengzhou. This time, I couldn't get a ticket to transfer in Luoyang, so I had to transfer in Zhengzhou.

Liu Yimin got off the train and walked to the platform. He felt a chill on his neck and looked up at the sky as small snowflakes began to fall.

My heart skipped a beat. I prayed that the snow wouldn't be too heavy, lest it cause any unforeseen problems. If it snowed too much, it would be difficult for my brother to pick up his wife!

I bought a ticket for the nearest train and stood the whole way home.

Even before the Little New Year, the entire Maiji Brigade was already bustling with activity. Every household was filled with joy, knowing that the eldest son of the Liu family was getting married, and that county leaders would be attending.

The second son of the Liu family also came back; he was the one who gave his older brother a color TV for his wedding.

Many young people and people of Liu Fuqing's generation gathered at Liu's house to listen to the shouts. At this time, the whole brigade had to come and help.

"Yimin is back!" With a shout and the sound of a tractor, a group of people immediately ran out of the yard.

Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun were in front, and Li Lanyong's father, Li Dashan, was behind them.

"Yimin is back! Come in and warm yourself by the fire!"

Liu Fuqing helped carry the luggage, while Liu Yimin was being pulled by Yang Xiuyun with one hand, and with the other hand he invited his classmate Tian Qingping to walk inside.

Li Dashan and Liu Fuqing borrowed a tractor from the commune to help. The commune readily agreed, and Tian Qingping was even happier. These past few days, he has been busy with many things, and Qingping has been driving the tractor to bring them back.

Red ropes were tied in the Liu family's courtyard, along with red festive couplets. It is customary to put up festive couplets for weddings.

"These couplets were written by Director Zhang of the cultural center. We didn't even say a word; he just had someone deliver them," Liu Fuqing said proudly. He had originally planned to go to the next brigade to find an old teacher in their village who could write large, bold characters to write a few more, but now he didn't need to.

Because it was cold, a large fire was burning in the yard, and many children were gathered around it.

"It's been so long since our brigade has been this lively!" Li Dashan said with a smile.

"Yes, weddings weren't this lively before!"

Liu Fuqing pointed to the person in charge of setting off the cannons and said, "Yimin is back. Go outside and make a noise."

"Dad, where's my older brother?!"

"Your older brother will be back soon!"

A large pot, about the size of a pig-slaughtering pot, was set up in the yard, filled with vermicelli and pork, its aroma filling the air. Everyone who came to help could eat a bowl or two of stew and unlimited steamed buns.

Liu Yimin pulled Tian Qingping aside and asked, "Qingping, how's your work at the commune going?"

“You’ve done a great job. Young people are quite popular in the commune and county these days. The commune is even planning to put me in charge of the armed forces department,” Tian Qingping said happily while eating his stew.

"Great! You'll be our commune's top official in no time!"

Today, the communes under Rucheng have not yet been renamed townships and are still organized as communes.

"Hahaha!" Tian Qingping laughed a few times, then said in a low voice, "If I really become the commune director, the pressure will be immense. Our commune is a big one, with tens of thousands of people. Just thinking about it keeps me up at night."

"Things will work themselves out in the end. It's easy to be a director, but it's hard to be a good one! You've had a tough time lately."

"Don't mention it, there's no need for such formalities between us. You're doing well studying in Yanjing, aren't you? I often read your novels and read the news. Well done, you've even made it to Sichuan Province. I don't even know if I'll ever be able to go to Yanjing in my entire life!"

The courtyard was filled with the clatter of bowls and chopsticks and the satisfying sounds of people chewing on fatty meat. Everyone was wolfing down their food, their mouths dripping with oil.

"Uncle Fuqing finally didn't skimp this time! The stew is full of meat! Uncle Fuqing, look at this big piece of fatty meat, it smells delicious!" A young junior shouted at Liu Fuqing.

The others chimed in, "This is more meat than my family eats during Chinese New Year!"

Standing on the millstone, Li Dashan said, "Some of you are uncles, and some are peers from the same country. Old Liu slaughtered three big fat pigs! It cost over a hundred yuan! Eat the meat!"

"We ate!" a group of people shouted.

"You've drunk all the soup, haven't you?"

"Drink!"

"Will you do it or not?"

"Dry!"

"Men, young and old, we must do a good job for the master, do it beautifully. Yiguo is a good boy, I watched him grow up, and he's not young for our village."

He was so young, yet he went to work in the coal mine to support his family, and he almost got into an accident. Back then, Lao Liu and I were like madmen, pedaling our bikes all the way to the mine. Lao Liu was so scared, his face turned as red as the pig liver in your bowls, hahaha. Now, life is better, we shouldn't be envious, we should be happy for Lao Liu, and our lives will all get better and better.

A country has finally found a wife, and she's a teacher! We must make sure the bride enters the house in a lively and joyful atmosphere.

"Tomorrow the new bride is coming home, so everyone better hurry up and run, or I'll yell at you!"

After Li Dashan finished speaking, the group of people laughed and continued to pick at their vegetables.

Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun, a married couple, were urging everyone to eat while gently wiping away their tears.

The three pigs weighed a total of over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg). Nowadays, pigs don't eat feed and generally weigh around 60-70 jin (approximately 30-35 kg). The pigs raised by the production team themselves would gain 10-20 jin (approximately 5-10 kg) a year, taking two to three years to reach that standard.

Liu Yimin found a towel and wiped away Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun's tears, smiling as he said, "Father, Mother, this is a good thing. It's not nice to cry!"

"Yimin, are you full? Let me get you another bowl!" Yang Xiuyun asked with concern.

"It's okay, I'll go myself!"

The aroma filled the air above the entire Maiji Brigade with a layer of oil, and every now and then a firecracker would rise into the air and explode.
"Who the hell blew the snow down?" Li Dashan cursed at the sparse snowflakes falling from the yard.

"Hahaha!" The snow, which had stopped, started falling again, and with yellow clouds filling the sky, it seemed to be snowing even harder.

Looking at the worried Liu Fuqing and Yang Xiuyun, Li Dashan put a cigarette in his mouth and said loudly, "Old Liu, even if it's raining knives, we have to bring Yiguo's wife back tomorrow!"

"We have to take the knife even if it's aimed at us, otherwise Uncle Fuqing will feel sorry for his own flesh!"

"Hahaha!"

After a while, Liu Yiguo returned with a few people, leading two horses. They would be riding horses to pick up the bride for the wedding tomorrow.

If we pick them up by bicycle, it's difficult to ride up to the main group with someone on board, especially with the snow.

"Yimin, you're back!" Liu Yiguo patted Liu Yimin on the shoulder and said excitedly with a big grin.

"You're back. Where did you borrow this horse from?"

"Shiling Brigade!"

Yang Xiuyun and several women measured the horse, took out a red cloth, and prepared to decorate the horse to make it look more festive.

As evening approached and they finished their stew, Li Dashan arranged a time for the next day, and the group dispersed.

That evening, the four members of the Liu family sat inside the house, and Liu Yimin took out the gifts that his teacher's wife and Zhu Lin had given him from his bag.

"This quilt cover is so nice!" Yang Xiuyun said with delight, touching the quilt cover. Then she looked at Liu Yimin and said, "What a good girl! She's not even married yet, and she's already thinking about your older brother. When will you bring him back to meet us?"

"Didn't we see the photos?"

"You silly child, a photo is a photo, and a person is a person. That girl in the photo is really pretty. Where is she from?"

"A person from Yanjing!"

"Haha, the second son is doing well, he found a girl from Yanjing!"

Liu Yiguo picked up the scarf and looked at it: "When we get to your sister-in-law's house tomorrow, give her this scarf. She'll be very happy!"

“Pingping will definitely look good in it!” Yang Xiuyun said happily.

Liu Yimin then gave Liu Yiguo several boxes: "These are from my teacher and his wife. I haven't opened them, so I don't know what they are. I'll give them directly to my sister-in-law later. This is a gift from my teacher and his wife."

"How could you take money from your teacher when they're not even coming to our house for the feast!" Yang Xiuyun complained.

"My master's wife insisted on giving it to me, I couldn't refuse!"

"Go to sleep early, we have to pick up Pingping tomorrow!" Liu Fuqing said.

The next morning, at five o'clock, before dawn, the sound of cannons rang out again throughout the Maiji Brigade.

A group of people gathered in the Liu family's courtyard, all holding flashlights, ready to go and pick up the bride.

Liu Yimin got up at three o'clock. They had already started cooking in the yard. After eating, the group set off.

Liu Yimin also had to go to fetch the bride, with Liu Yiguo riding on horseback. The people behind them walked, their bodies tied with red cloth ropes or flowers. A few people in front sat on the tractor driven by Tian Qingping, playing suona horns, and there were people on the tractor who occasionally set off firecrackers.

A group of people set off in high spirits. The weather was kind, but not so kind. Snow fell intermittently, but not heavily, just hanging there.

It took us more than two hours to reach my sister-in-law's house. It was just past eight o'clock, and it was still quite dark. Everyone's shoes were wet, and their noses were red from the cold, but none of us felt tired.

When they arrived at the sister-in-law's house, they started scattering candy, and the women, men, and women of all ages from the woman's side began to scramble for it.

The woman had someone blocking the door, but the man managed to break through it.

Because Gu Ping's parents had passed away and she only had an uncle, the bride's family wanted to send her off smoothly and specifically instructed that there shouldn't be too much traffic congestion.

In the room, there were only a few "double happiness" characters pasted on the wall. The eldest sister-in-law, Gu Ping, sat on the edge of the bed, smiling quietly, but she looked so lonely.

He was very tall with a broad frame, which explains why Yang Xiuyun said he was tall, strong, and healthy. He also had large eyes, similar to Siqin Gaowa's, but more delicate, and didn't have that fierce look about him.

Amidst the cheers, Liu Yiguo walked in and said softly, "Pingping, I've come to pick you up!"

"Mmm!" Gu Ping nodded shyly, and the group of people started to cheer again.

Liu Yiguo reached out, and a bag appeared beside him. He took out a scarf from it and slowly wrapped it around his sister-in-law Gu Ping's neck. The pink scarf made her look even more delicate.

"Whether Gu Ping is pretty or not, whoever marries her will be the one to say!"

"nice!"

"Oh wow wow, let's go, let's go!"

The sound of firecrackers grew even louder in the courtyard. Liu Yiguo and Gu Ping said to their uncle and aunt, "Uncle, Aunt, we're leaving!"

"Let's go, let's go, drive carefully!" the uncle said with a smile.

As they stepped into the courtyard, candy began to scatter through the air again. Many people picked it up, remarking, "Gu Ping is so lucky to have married; she's throwing candy around like it's free!"

"Of course, the man works for the mining bureau, his salary is high!"

"There are two big brick houses in the house!"

"Who's that young man over there? He's handsome, he looks good!"

"I heard it's the man's younger brother!"

"One of our brigade members is a great writer. Oh, here's some more candy for you guys, let's go!"

Gu Ping and Liu Yiguo, on the woman's side, didn't mention Liu Yimin much, but those with wider connections knew a little about him, saying he was some kind of writer, while those with limited access had never even heard of him.

Several strings of firecrackers went off at the door at the same time, billowing smoke, and two horses pawed at the snow restlessly with their hooves.

Liu Yiguo helped his sister-in-law Gu Ping onto the horse. After mounting himself, Liu Yiguo waved his hand and said, "Let's go home!"

Oh wow wow! We've caught the bride! Bang bang bang!
When they returned, the bride's wedding party followed, and some young men from the Maiji brigade took the opportunity to mingle with the bride's party and chat with the young women.

Those walking below weren't too cold, but Liu Yiguo and Gu Ping, riding on horseback, were shivering. So they simply took a new quilt each and draped it over themselves, which warmed them up considerably.

And so, amidst the commotion, they returned to Maiji Brigade. Along the way, they bumped into Old Zhang, the curator of the cultural center, and Yang Yushan, who were traveling towards Maiji Brigade in a jeep.

Liu Yimin held Old Zhang and Yang Yushan's hands and thanked them, saying, "Old Zhang, Secretary Yang, thank you for coming!"

"Don't call me Secretary, just call me Old Yang!" Yang Yushan said cheerfully.

"This smells so good!" Old Zhang sniffed it greedily a few times, then pulled Yang Yushan over to pay his share of the gift money.

Liu Yiguo led Gu Ping into the new house. The bride's family followed them in and saw that the house was spotless, with a television and radio. They all praised Gu Ping for finding such a good family.

Next, both the groom and bride were having a lively time in the bridal chamber. Someone shouted, "Those of you who are wet, come and warm yourselves by the fire! You won't be able to warm yourselves by the fire when we have the feast later!"

(End of this chapter)