I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 284: A Joyous Day

Two days later, it was Shen Xiaobin and Lu Xiangxiang’s wedding.

Due to surgery, Su Xiaomei was still in the hospital, delayed only by a day, but she survived the ordeal and felt no regrets. She was delighted to have her children by her side!

The Shen Family hired a chef to handle the wedding banquet, and Shen Meng was fully in charge of the purchasing. Shen Fugui and Wang Guizhi also thought it proper to entrust her, considering her broad acquaintances, perhaps she could procure some fine items.

Indeed, Shen Meng brought twenty chickens, a hundred pounds of fish, bean sprouts, tofu, fifty pounds each, along with some mountain and sea delicacies, vegetables and fruits. The chef’s eyes lit up upon seeing them, as previously, the host family could hardly provide any decent ingredients.

He felt his talents had nowhere to be displayed.

Now that this family had prepared so much, he was determined to fully demonstrate his skills, make a name for himself, ensuring that for any festivities in the surrounding towns, he would be the first chef people thought of.

Shen Meng also delivered some items to the Lu Family, mentioning naturally that the Shen Family had bought extra, fearing there might not be enough here.

Zhu Juying, looking at the baskets of food and drink, trembled with excitement.

"Aiyo, Xiao Meng, why did your parents send so much? Just the chickens alone are twenty; this is too much. With the meat and other items, our family doesn’t have that many relatives; we don’t need so much food."

"Aunt, you just go ahead and cook. If the chicken and fish are too much, they can be given to my brother Xiangxiang, or just keep them yourselves. My parents are happy, it’s been so long, and finally, we are bringing Xiangxiang back home. I went around the streets and alleys, bought all these old things, some were even bartered, but we mustn’t publicize this!"

"Yes, yes, we should keep it quiet. So, these were bought from wealthy families, right? Look at how well these chickens are raised, they’re really plump."

Shen Meng: "....Yes!"

The Lu family was seeing off a daughter, and the Shen family was hosting a wedding.

Both families hired bands, wanting to celebrate the occasion with great fanfare.

Shen Fugui and Wang Guizhi went back to the village early from the county, and before leaving, they even gave Shen Shoutian two yuan, asking him to prepare a good lunch for Su Xiaomei. On such a festive day at home, they couldn’t return to partake, but they also didn’t want to neglect themselves.

Lu Zhenping was not at home; Shen Meng brought her four children to wait at Lu Xiangxiang’s home for the morning banquet, surrounded by circles of people drawn in by the music.

Lu Xiangxiang’s table was set with various pots and bottles, and Shen Meng held an eyebrow pencil to do her makeup.

Nowadays, makeup should not be applied too obviously, or else, without even waiting for the next day, rumors would spread that the bride looked like a ghost on her wedding.

She applied cold cream, a layer of BB cream, slightly improved the shape of her eyebrows, sketched them a bit with the pencil, drew an eyeliner, brushed a layer of powder on her cheeks, added a touch of blush, and applied a light coat of lip gloss on her lips.

Her hair was tied in a low bun with two small red flowers inserted, and small silver earrings dangled from her ears.

The entire makeup look was complete.

She changed into a fresh blouse, covered with a red jacket, wore black pants, red cloth shoes, and pinned a big red flower on her chest.

Lu Xiangxiang, observing her reflection in the mirror, couldn’t stop exclaiming.

"Sister-in-law, you’ve applied the makeup so beautifully. How are you so skilled? I can hardly believe it, I didn’t expect to look this good."

"There’s nothing unbelievable about it, you are naturally beautiful. These are just embellishments. Thinking about you getting married, my heart truly aches; I’m losing a confidante. If you ever feel unhappy in our house, just tell me. If Xiaobin does something wrong, feel free to complain. My parents and I will stand by you. Don’t just endure because it’s our family. Never do that. The most important thing is for you to be comfortable."

Lu Xiangxiang’s eyes reddened as she threw herself into Shen Meng’s arms.

"Sister-in-law, thank you so much. Really, thank you. Our family’s good days now wouldn’t be possible without your help. Rest assured, after I get married, I will definitely honor and take good care of dad and mom, and Xiao Bin as well."

"Ai, I know. Today is your wedding day, and it’s not appropriate to shed tears. Try not to cry during the bridal send-off either, so Aunt and Uncle Guai won’t feel sad seeing it."

"Um!"

Shen Meng packed all the makeup items on the table into a cloth bag.

"All these are for you. Now that you’ll be a leader at the subsidiary food factory, meeting with other leaders and such, learning to put on makeup appropriately won’t do you any harm in the future."

Lu Xiangxiang nodded heavily, holding the makeup bag.

"Thank you, sister."

Shen Meng smiled. She suddenly changed the topic and sounded a bit unaccustomed, making Lu Xiangxiang realize that Shen Meng wanted her to work well in the food workshop, and would support her in the future.

The sisters didn’t talk much longer, as Zhu Juying outside started urging incessantly.

"Xiangxiang, are you ready? Open the door, lots of relatives are here, they are waiting to see you, greet them."

"Ah, all right, mom, I’m opening it now!"

As Lu Xiangxiang opened the door, the relatives at the entrance began exclaiming, "Aiyoyo, so pretty!" Lu Xiangxiang, having dabbed on some blush, blushed even deeper amidst the crowd, causing Shen Meng to feel somewhat regretful, thinking how such a fresh and young girl didn’t even need any blush!

After greeting several people, Huang Maochun, who was usually arrogant, approached with two crumpled yuan in his hand.

Zhu Juying’s smile faded slightly on her face, but considering it was her daughter’s big happy day, she didn’t show any displeasure or drive anyone away.

"I heard their daughter-in-law is a troublemaker."

"You heard right, a good family hasn’t found a good daughter-in-law. Now they’ve separated, and life isn’t going well. I heard they’ve pleaded many times, wanting this old lady to help her get into the Head Flower Factory, but how could she let her in?"

"The Head Flower Factory has strict requirements. My daughter works there; she earns more than ten yuan a month, half of which she gives to our family and the other half she saves for her dowry."

"Some old lady, living off her daughter’s money, doesn’t seem right at all."

"What’s there to feel embarrassed about? I haven’t spent it all on our household, I’ve also set some money aside for her. Everyone knows just earning work points isn’t enough to get by. My daughter willingly contributes, she’s a good child, how could I ever wrong her?"

Upon hearing this, the others shifted the conversation.

Shen Meng listened and raised an eyebrow. She knew that her Head Flower Factory recruited people fairly, yet being truly fair towards girls was nearly impossible. Considering what this elder said was already quite good.

But at last, initial effects were being noticed; every family wants to live a better life. Most recruits at her Head Flower Factory were female workers. Guo Xiuxin was clear when recruiting: she wanted women in her factory who could earn money to support their families. Houses that exploited their daughters-in-law were not what she wanted; she proactively sought out harmonious families that treated their daughters properly.

Those who wanted a better life had a role_model, whether genuinely or pretentiously. Being able to improve the treatment of female comrades, she felt it was meaningful.