Chapter 27 Marriage

Bai Xiaoyue frowned:

"Yan Ci, it sounds like this only benefits me, and you get nothing out of it. Aren't I just taking advantage of you?"

Yan Ci retorted, "I can't cook, and I can't sew. Are you going to withhold my meals or my clothes?"

Bai Xiaoyue thought to herself, "We're eating together anyway, it's just making clothes for one more person, it seems like a good deal!"

After weighing the pros and cons in her mind for a long time, she took Yan Ci's hand and said with a smile:

"Cooking is no problem, but sewing is something I don't have a talent for. I'll have to forgive me if I don't sew well."

Yan Ci breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she had agreed.

He patted Bai Xiaoyue's head with a smile, "Please take good care of me in the future, Xiaoyue."

Seizing the opportunity, Yan Ci told Bai's parents the very next day that he and Bai Xiaoyue planned to get married.

Mr. Bai was overjoyed; his daughter had finally found a good home.

Moreover, Yan Ci was superior to his sister-in-law's nephew, Wang Baoshan, in every way.

The way Bai's mother looked at Yan Ci was like she was looking at a large group of people.

She immediately got to work, making quilts and clothes for her daughter.

Yan Ci still invited the same matchmaker, Wang, to his door. The matchmaker was truly eloquent.

They praised Bai Xiaoyue and Yan Ci to the point that they were unparalleled in the world.

Bai Xiaoyue blushed upon hearing this, but Yan Ci remained unfazed. Bai's parents were overjoyed, as if they had won the lottery.

After Wang the matchmaker and Yan Ci left, the family began to check the betrothal gifts:

Sixty yuan, two quilts, two pieces of cloth, two enamel basins, two towels, two bars of soap, and two jin of meat.

Bai's mother was overjoyed. Such a grand gift was rare even for a first marriage, showing that Yan Ci valued his daughter highly.

Thinking that her daughter lost her husband at such a young age, she is now relieved that the storm has finally passed and the sun is shining again. She can finally put down the heavy weight in her heart.

But this maternal love was too intense, and Bai Xiaoyue couldn't quite handle it! This was especially true when she saw the bright red fabric.

She quickly stopped her mother from having a whole set of bright red clothes made. She didn't want to think about the image of her mother dressed like a folk opera performer at her wedding.

Just then, Aunt Yan came to help and saw the mother and daughter arguing fiercely.

She then asked, "Xiaosong said Xiaoyue is getting married, and I came to help out. What are you two doing?"

Bai's mother found someone to confide in and immediately complained to Aunt Yan about her daughter, while Bai Xiaoyue took the opportunity to slip away.

In just a few days, Bai's mother and Aunt Yan finished making the clothes.

When Bai Xiaoyue saw the new clothes, she fell in love with them at first sight.

The blue, diagonally-buttoned dress features delicate red embroidery of small flowers on the front, and the cuffs are trimmed with red, giving it a festive yet elegant look.

The style and craftsmanship of this dress would definitely be considered haute couture by today's standards.

Bai Xiaoyue's clothes fit perfectly. She turned around and greeted her mother:

"Mom, isn't it beautiful? You're so skillful!"

The mother smiled as she tidied her daughter's clothes.

“It’s beautiful. My Xiaoyue is the most beautiful. The flowers on this dress were embroidered by your Aunt Yan. I don’t have that skill.”

"Mother's handiwork is excellent. This dress fits you perfectly. I love wearing clothes made by you," Bai Xiaoyue quickly praised her mother.

...

Bai Xiaoyue was worried that Chang Le would feel a sense of loss if there was another person in the family.

She had a heart-to-heart talk with her daughter before going to bed that night:

"Changle, Mom is going to marry Uncle Yan."

Chang Le's voice was listless:

“I know, my grandma told me. And my friends outside also said that Uncle Yan will be my stepfather in the future.”

Bai Xiaoyue had a bit of a headache: "Is Chang Le unhappy?"

Chang Le whispered, "I'm not unhappy. Grandma said that Mom will be happy after she and Uncle Yan get married. If Mom is happy, Chang Le will be happy too."

Holding her daughter's tiny body, Bai Xiaoyue solemnly said:

"Your father is Ye Jianhua. He loves you very much, as can be seen from your name."

In your generation of the Ye family, only boys' names have the character "长" (chang, meaning long) in the middle. However, your father used "长" for you and added "乐" (le, meaning joy) after it, hoping that you would be happy throughout your life.

As for Mom getting married now, that just means there's one more person to love you.

Your Uncle Yan is also a very good person, just as good as Chang Le's father.

Chang Le blinked her eyes:

“I also really like Uncle Yan. He plays with me and carries me on his back.”

Bai Xiaoyue made a promise to Chang Le:

"Mommy loves Chang Le the most. If Uncle Yan treats you badly, Mommy won't want him either, okay? Mommy promises."

Chang Le hurriedly said, "I really like Uncle Yan, Mom, please don't abandon him."

Bai Xiaoyue held her daughter's hand and said:

"Chang Le, you are still young. If you are unhappy or have any questions, you should tell your mother."

No matter what it is, Mom wants to share it with Chang Le, because Chang Le is Mom's most precious baby.

Chang Le was delighted: "Okay, Mom!"

Bai Xiaoyue felt that she had made things clear with Chang Le, so she held her daughter and fell asleep peacefully.

Because Bai Xiaoyue couldn't bear to leave the house she was living in now.

In addition, the house was originally the old house of the Yan family, so the two decided to live in Bai Xiaoyue's courtyard after their marriage.

Bai's father and Yan Ci were busy again, renovating the house with a new thatched roof and pasting new newspapers on the interior walls.

For safety reasons, the courtyard wall was replaced with a combination of stone and adobe bricks, and a large wooden gate was installed on the 1.8-meter-high wall.

People passing by can't see what's inside the yard, and you can do whatever you want in the yard without anyone seeing you.

Ordinary people couldn't possibly climb over the wall, which made Bai Xiaoyue feel very safe.

Soon the wedding day arrived, and everyone marveled at the completely renovated courtyard.

Yan Ci, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, stood tall and elegant, with a smile in his eyes, and walked slowly, just like a noble young man from the Republican era.

This drew gasps and exclamations of admiration from the crowd.

Bai Xiaoyue had her hair up today, with her bangs clipped back to reveal her forehead, delicate eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and red lips with white teeth. Wearing an embroidered jacket, she stood gracefully beside Yan Ci.

Everyone was stunned for a moment. A murmur of voices rose and fell from the crowd.

"The Yan family's young master is too handsome."

"This Bai family girl is so beautiful! I never noticed before!"

"These two look so good together."

"These two are so good-looking."

"How beautiful their child must be!"

"..."

There was no motorcade, no flowers, only Uncle Bai reading a quote from a great man, and Bai Xiaoyue and Yan Ci bowing to the great man's photo. That was how they got married.

They distributed some candy and melon seeds to the onlookers, and that was the end of the wedding.

Uncle Bai's family (Aunt Bai's wife didn't come because she was afraid of being embarrassed), Ye's parents, uncle and aunt stayed for a simple meal.

So simple and unassuming that Bai Xiaoyue didn't even realize she was married, she became a married person.

The only things that gave her a sense of wedding atmosphere were the exquisite embroidered wedding dress and Yan Ci's Zhongshan suit.