After seeing off Ding Jiangchuan and his two companions, Mrs. Chen finally started asking about serving the meal.

The village chief, being an elder, saw it was about time and told Mrs. Chen they could start serving.

Chen JianShe immediately got up to help.

The dishes were already plated—eleven for each table—and they filled the entire kitchen to the brim.

It took Chen JianShe, Zhao Tiezhu, Xu Chongfeng, and Xu Chongshan several trips, but they finally managed to bring out all the dishes.

Mrs. Chen and the others who had helped with the cooking sat at their own separate table.

Everyone was admiring the sumptuous feast and just about to pick up their chopsticks when an old woman burst through the doorway.

"Leng Yuan, there are a few cars outside! They’re all here for you! Quick, come take a look."

As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes landed on the banquet tables in the courtyard, and they went wide.

Good heavens.

’This wedding feast at Leng Yuan’s house is so lavish!’

’Not only is there pork and fish, but there’s chicken and rabbit meat too. This is just too sumptuous.’

She couldn’t help but gulp, trying desperately to look away, but her eyes were glued to the sight.

Seeing this, Gu Jiaojiao grabbed a handful of peanuts and candy, walked over, and placed them in the old woman’s hand.

"Thank you for coming all this way to let us know."

The old woman was the ringleader of the village’s gossip brigade.

At seventy-six, she was still on the front lines of gossip. There was nothing that happened in the village that she didn’t know.

Earlier, she had been sitting with Liu Xiqing, waiting to see what kind of commotion would break out over at Leng Yuan’s.

She had even been wondering what sort of embarrassing spectacle would unfold today!

The old woman felt a little guilty accepting the handful of peanuts and candy from Gu Jiaojiao.

She was of a mind to refuse, but Gu Jiaojiao had already pressed the treats into her hand.

Four or five milk toffees, a few melon seeds, and some peanuts. The old woman’s eyes crinkled into a smile as she looked. ’This girl is thoughtful; she gave me all the milk toffees.’

After all, she had noticed the way Gu Jiaojiao had deliberately picked out the toffees for her just now.

She didn’t know Gu Jiaojiao well, and this was the first time she had been so close. She couldn’t help but take a good look at her.

The young woman was beautiful, with fair, supple skin. When she had leaned in, her eyes were dark and glistening, and her every expression was captivating.

Gu Jiaojiao was getting married today, so her hair was swept up in a beautiful bun. The old woman had never seen hair styled that way before. She couldn’t make heads or tails of how it was done, but she knew it was gorgeous.

She was wearing a red dress, and in the old woman’s opinion, Gu Jiaojiao was the most beautiful person she had ever seen in red.

It was mainly because she was so fair-skinned.

In those days, everyone not only worked the fields but also didn’t get enough to eat, so fair-skinned people were rare. Gu Jiaojiao’s skin, however, wasn’t just fair; in the sunlight, it was so white it seemed to glow.

The old woman found herself a bit mesmerized.

’This girl is truly a beauty,’ she thought.

As she thought this, her eyes darted over to Leng Yuan, and she wondered if the man could handle such a bewitching little minx.

But then she saw Leng Yuan’s sturdy build and glanced back at Gu Jiaojiao’s delicate frame. She decided the one who wouldn’t be able to handle it would definitely be Gu Jiaojiao.

As the old woman’s mind wandered, voices drifted in from the doorway.

Then, a black car pulled to a stop not far from the entrance.

As the car came to a stop, more than half the village had followed it over, the crowd made up mostly of children.

They were curious about the four-wheeled contraption and ran circles around it.

There was rarely any excitement in the village, and many people had never seen a car before. Even in the County Town, there were probably only one or two, all of them state-owned. People who could afford a private car were exceedingly rare.

In those days, most people couldn’t even afford a bicycle; a car was something you didn’t even dare to dream of.

The villagers who followed along all wore curious expressions.

Who could be inside the car?

What could they want with Leng Yuan?

Just as everyone was wondering, the rich aroma of food wafted over. Someone craned their neck to peek into the courtyard and saw several tables laden with platters of meat.

So much meat?

It was an unbelievably lavish spread.

In an instant, the aroma made many of their stomachs grumble with hunger.