n

n

n

n

n

nQiao Mei walked home briskly and saw her grandfather standing at the door to welcome the guests. He was smiling so widely that his eyes could barely be seen.

nThere were a few well-dressed people standing beside her. Qiao Mei knew all of them, they were officers from the county who would bear gifts and visit her grandfather during the new year.

nThese people had also brought a lot of things this time round. A few bags of rice were placed in the courtyard, as well as a few bags of noodles, a few large baskets of eggs and sugar, two crates of liquor and a few bags of fruits.

nThere was even half a pig’s worth of pork on the ground.

nIt was neither the new year nor any holiday season at the moment. Could these be her wedding gifts?

nQiao Mei guessed correctly this time. These were all congratulatory gifts, but they were not from the county officers as there were no such rules. These were all brought by the officers on behalf of Qin Dong who paid for them out of his own pocket.

nThese were his wedding gifts for his nephew and niece-in-law.

nWhen these people saw Qiao Mei, they were not surprised at all.

nAfter all, they had seen Qiao Mei grow up from a weak girl to a black and fat Black Bear Spirit.

nBut what surprised them was that Qiao Mei actually managed to get married!

nHowever, when they thought about Qiao Qiang’s status, his relationship with Xia Zhe’s grandfather, plus the fact that Qiao Qiang said the two young people had been engaged since young, they found it understandable.

n“Qiao Mei, look! This is your marriage certificate!” Qiao Qiang’s eyes lit up when he saw Qiao Mei and he hastily handed her a red booklet.

nQiao Mei was shocked. She didn’t even need to go personally to get married now?

n“There aren’t any photos on this marriage certificate. Comrade Xia Zhe is still on a mission and hasn’t returned yet. You two can just paste the photos yourselves,” one of the officers said.

nQiao Mei froze on the stop and blinked her eyes, not knowing what to say.

nSo Xia Zhe doesn’t even need to attend his own wedding too.

nShe kept the marriage certificate carefully and remained silent.

nNow that she had gotten her marriage certificate, she felt very secure. She was thankful that Xia Zhe was a responsible person, otherwise the children in her womb would be illegitimate.

nDuring this day and age, it would be a hard blow to two young children who did not know who their father was. The mockery from the people around them would shame them enough to give them a nightmarish burden for the rest of their lives.

n“Thank you!” Qiao Mei carefully put away the marriage certificate and placed it in the wooden box under the bed. She then hid the wooden box inside a brick joint at the bedside.

nAt this moment, in order for her children to have a complete family and a responsible father, she decided that she must treat Xia Zhe better in the coming days.

n“Look at Qiao Mei, she’s so happy that she’s gone all silly!” The villagers who were squatting outside the window watching the fun laughed and said to one another.

nAt occasions like this, everyone would be looking in at the windows openly and no one would say anything.

n“Qiao Mei, come out quickly. Quickly come out and prepare for your wedding. Today, we will invite the whole village to our house for a meal and have a grand celebration!” Qiao Qiang shouted happily.

n“Aiyo, Uncle Qiao, how can you let the bride do work on her wedding day? Let me help, there’s no need to trouble Mei Mei!” Auntie Dong from the end of the village said laughingly.

n“Me too!”

nAll the older women talked together at once.

nThey looked at the half a pig’s worth of pork in the courtyard and almost drooled. It had been more than half a month since they had eaten meat and they were all dying to have some. This wedding would be a good excuse to have a good meal.

n“Okay, okay!” Qiao Qiang was so happy that he had no words.

nBut at this moment, someone came out to interrupt everything.

n