Chapter 854: A Child’s Tears Over Greed
“Save a piece for me!” Chu Junbao had just finished eating the slices of pork in sauce when all three dishes were wiped clean.
“You guys are so savage.” Chu Junbao directly grabbed the plate, snagging the last piece of smoked sausage. If he had been any slower, there would have been nothing left for him.
Chu Xiaoyao complained, “You’re the savage one, grabbing the plate like that.”
Chu Junbao defended himself with pride, “If I didn’t grab it, there would have been none left.”
Everyone burst into laughter at this.
“Whaa whaa whaa—” A child at the next table started crying because he didn’t get any sausage.
This was a wedding banquet; how could there be tears? The parent quickly tried to soothe him, “Don’t cry, mommy will go see if I can find some more for you.”
The child stopped crying only to plead with big, teary eyes, “Mommy, hurry…”
With a heavy heart, Chu Junbao handed over the sausage he had just fought for, “Here, don’t cry.”
Everyone praised him, “What a good kid…”
Seeing the sausage in his bowl, the child finally smiled, “Thank you, brother.”
Chu Junbao watched the sausage with a hint of regret, “Eat up.”
After learning about this, Li Qingyu brought over two more plates of sausage for the children, “Eat up, everyone. But these are the last two plates; there’s no more after this.”
The children thanked her together, “Thank you, Aunt Qingyu.”
“Eat up.” Li Qingyu waved her hand and went off to attend to other guests.
On the side, Chu Qingyan whispered to Chu Qingzhi, “Fifth sister, the sausage is too popular; it even made a kid cry.”
Chu Qingzhi smiled lightly, “It’s normal. It’s their first time seeing it, so it’s bound to be a novelty.”
Tan Mengyang and some business partners were sitting nearby, occupying several tables, and they too were discussing the sausage and bacon.
“I wonder if Miss Qingzhi would sell these sausages and bacon?”
“They are for sale, but they’ve already been booked by someone.”
“Who moved so fast?”
“I don’t know, but I guess it must be someone close to Miss Qingzhi. Otherwise, how could they know about these meats to buy them?”
“True, if it’s about connections, then there’s nothing we can do.”
The entire wedding banquet, with over a hundred tables, was left longing for more of the sausages and bacon, thoroughly enjoying them.
After finishing serving drinks to the guests, Chu Xujin sneaked off to the bridal chamber, “Lihua.”
Inside, two large red candles burned quietly, casting a warm glow over the bridal chamber. Initially accompanied by the matchmaker and Mrs. Quan Fu, Ge Lihua had sent them to have their meal, leaving the room in silence.
Hearing Chu Xujin’s voice, Ge Lihua’s hands nervously intertwined. She softly responded, “Xujin.”
Chu Xujin approached Ge Lihua and lifted her veil.
Beneath the veil, Ge Lihua was stunning in her bridal makeup, her clear almond-shaped eyes and flawless complexion enhanced by delicate adornments, radiantly beautiful.
Chu Xujin was momentarily mesmerized.
Ge Lihua pursed her lips and gently nudged Chu Xujin, a bit embarrassed, “Come back to reality.”
Chu Xujin, always bold, quickly kissed the bride and chuckled, “Lihua, the thing I wanted to do the most was to kiss you. Now, I finally can.”
Ge Lihua’s face flushed with a light blush, “It’s time for the ceremonial wine.”
“Right, we should complete all the rituals.” Chu Xujin brought over the wine, they drank the cross-cupped wine, and then he suggested, “I’ve prepared a separate table for us to eat, just the two of us.”
Ge Lihua smiled, thinking she might have to go hungry but was touched by Chu Xujin’s thoughtfulness, “Great, I’m actually quite hungry.”
As they got up, Chu Xujin pulled Ge Lihua into his embrace, “Let me hold you for a while before we eat. Before we got married, every moment, I longed to be close to you. Lihua, marrying you is the luckiest thing in my life.”
Ge Lihua leaned into Chu Xujin’s chest, “I’m lucky too, to have met you.”
Chu Xujin tightened his embrace, his tone tender as water, “From now on, I possess the most precious thing in the world.”
Ge Lihua smiled, “Then, no matter what happens in the future, we’ll face it together.”
Chu Xujin nodded, “Yes.”
…
“Take care, take care…”
Li Qingyu saw off the last guest and returned to the main hall, collapsing into a chair, utterly exhausted from the day’s events.
After the banquet, the villagers helped clean up, and everyone rested.
Chu Rong brought Li Qingyu a bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup, “I saved this especially for you.”
Seeing the soup, Li Qingyu’s fatigue seemed to melt away. She smiled, took the bowl, and stirred it a bit, feeling sentimental, “It’s been nearly twenty-two years since our wedding, and you still remember I like white fungus and lotus seed soup.”
Chu Rong sat beside her, focusing on Li Qingyu, “No matter how long, I will always remember.”
Li Qingyu beamed, “Chu Rong, all three of our children are now married, and they’ve married well. As a mother, I couldn’t be happier.”
Chu Rong smiled, holding Li Qingyu’s hand, “I’m happy too. Everything is perfect now…”
Li Qingyu nodded, “The weight on my heart has finally lifted.”
Chu Rong’s smile deepened, “What makes me even happier is that our daughters-in-law and daughter are expecting. I’m going to be a grandfather and a father-in-law soon.”
Li Qingyu laughed heartily, “And I’ll be a grandmother and a mother-in-law…”
The couple chatted on and on about many things. Seeing Li Qingyu get cold, Chu Rong took her back to their room, “It’s cold outside, let’s continue talking inside.”
Li Qingyu looked at Chu Rong’s broad back, thinking how crucial it is for a woman to marry the right man. For her, there would be no regrets in this lifetime.
…
Chu Qingzhi stood by the window, watching the parrots eat, feeling a bit guilty.
She had been too busy in the afternoon and forgot to feed them. As soon as she entered the room, all the parrots flew over, surrounding her.
Shuang’er, in particular, complained about nearly starving to death.
Chu Qingzhi quickly got some chopped chicken breast to feed them, and now the parrots were eagerly eating.
After watching the parrots for a while, Chu Qingzhi turned to look out the window. The winter sky was exceptionally dark tonight, without a moon or stars, covered as if by a dark cloth, feeling somewhat stifling.
She summoned her message-carrying Golden Phoenix, gently playing with it with her fingers, “Jinghong, what are you doing right now?”
It took a while for Tang Jinghong to reply, “I just got back from the palace. How did Xujin’s wedding banquet go? Was it smooth?”
Chu Qingzhi spoke in a light tone, “It went smoothly, but there were also some amusing incidents…”
Tang Jinghong said, “With your cooking being so delicious, it’s normal that it made a child cry. You’ve made me curious to taste the bacon too.”
Chu Qingzhi responded, “I’ve saved some for you. I’ll cook it for you when you get back. By the way, when are you coming back?”
Tang Jinghong answered, “In two days, and then I won’t be returning to the capital for a while.”