The crowd chuckled at Li Mumu's words.
"Linlin, this is your brother's token of affection, you should accept it. Later, when your brother gets married and has a sister-in-law, you'll have someone to help you," Su Taohua advised Li Linlin.
With only a brother and sister, they were bound to support each other. Perhaps Li Mumu's future marriage would depend on his sister's assistance.
Li Linlin thought about it and no longer refused, tucking the red envelope into her pocket. She would save the money for when her brother married his wife.
Watching the harmonious family, Su Taohua couldn't help but sigh. "Other families argue over betrothal gifts and dowries, but you are so generous."
Her eldest son was also grown, serving in the army, and finding a wife was proving difficult. He wasn't married yet. She wondered if, when he did marry in a couple of years, he would find understanding in-laws. She only hoped her eldest son would be blessed with good fortune, find a wife who treated him well, and in-laws who were kind and considerate.
Then, Su Taohua noticed Su Xiaomei chatting and laughing with Su Xiaotian and others at another table. Professor Huo watched Su Xiaomei with doting eyes, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face. Initially, Su Taohua had been worried about Professor Huo. After all, the young man was handsome, had studied abroad, and was a university professor – outstanding in every way. She feared his affection for Xiaomei might just be a passing fancy. However, after so much time had passed, Professor Huo treated Xiaomei better and better, which had finally put Su Taohua, the future mother-in-law, at ease. Xiaomei was indeed a fortunate girl. Professor Huo seemed like a good match, and Su Taohua felt relieved about her daughter's future marriage.
While Su Taohua was at ease, Professor Huo was quite worried! He had been pursuing Su Xiaomei for the past two years and had grown to like the resolute girl more and more. He had originally thought that once Su Xiaomei graduated from university, they could finally be together. But Xiaomei had already graduated, and Professor Shen still wouldn't approve their marriage. Professor Shen's reason was simple and blunt: his son wasn't married yet, so his daughter had to wait. Moreover, his daughter was still young, and he wanted to keep her by his side for a couple more years. Professor Huo found such excuses truly frustrating. Xiaomei's elder brother was in the army, and it was uncertain when he would find a wife. He couldn't possibly keep delaying their marriage just because of his elder brother's marital status, could he? Xiaomei was still young, but he was not getting any younger! It was fortunate that her family wasn't in Beijing, otherwise, they would have started pressuring him to get married long ago.
"Taohua, I see Professor Huo treats Xiaomei very well. Why hasn't he proposed marriage yet?" Qi Liangying, sitting next to Su Taohua, asked after noticing the look in Professor Huo's eyes as he gazed at Su Xiaomei.
Su Taohua glanced at Professor Huo. "Second sister-in-law, you don't have a daughter, so you can't understand our concerns."
"What is it?" Qi Liangying asked curiously. She didn't have a daughter, but if she did, she would hope she could marry a good man like Professor Huo.
"Professor Huo comes from a very good family. How could someone like that fancy a daughter from our background?" Su Taohua actually understood Shen Zizhen's concerns. He was simply afraid his daughter would be wronged after marriage. They had been in contact for so long, yet her family had never met his. What if Professor Huo's parents were like Chi Yiyuan's mother?
Poor Professor Huo had no idea that the reason for this situation lay here. His parents had offered to visit China to meet their future daughter-in-law several times, but he had rejected them with excuses. He felt he hadn't even sorted things out yet, and it wouldn't be good for his parents to come. If he knew that the biggest reason his future father-in-law disapproved of the marriage was that he hadn't met his parents, he would have made an international call long ago to have them return.
For two young people to get married, even if the wedding was simple, there were still many things to worry about. That night, Su Shouwen stayed in his own small courtyard, while Li Linlin stayed in the quadrangle. According to Li Mumu's wishes, the siblings were supposed to stay at the guesthouse, but Su Xiaotian strongly disagreed. She also said that she treated Linlin like her own sister and that it was perfectly fine for her to get married from her courtyard. Only then did Li Mumu realize that the large house the Su family lived in was actually Su Xiaotian's private property. He said with emotion, "Xiaotian herself owns such a large house. How can we brothers feel right if we don't earn money diligently?"
The next morning, the Su family began preparations. To organize Su Shouwen's wedding, Yimingge closed for two days. On the wedding day, as both families had few relatives in Beijing, they prepared six tables for the banquet. This included the Chi family grandparents, the Du family elders, Tan Zishi and his wife, Dong Yuanzhong and his wife, Su Taohua's family of five, and the Su family themselves. These people occupied four tables. The remaining two tables were for Su Shouwen's close teachers and classmates. However, unexpectedly, many more people arrived at the last minute, including the two directors of the silk factory, Director Li, Teacher Yu, Minister Chang, and Minister Wu, who heard about the happy occasion at the Su family's from Dong Yuanzhong and came to join the celebration. This made the originally planned six tables somewhat insufficient. Fortunately, the ingredients were abundant, and the Su family quickly prepared another table. Although the wedding was simple and not many people attended, the presence of important guests made even Su Shouwen's teachers and classmates very surprised. Having interacted with Su Shouwen for several years, they only knew he was from Northwest China and his family were farmers. They had no idea the Su family had so many connections in Beijing.
"Shouwen is too low-key," Su Shouwen's teacher, Jin Huisang, said with a faint smile. "If I hadn't come to his wedding today, I would never have known." He had always thought Su Shouwen was a good child with a good upbringing, but he had never imagined that at Su Shouwen's wedding, such high-ranking officials would be present, and they seemed so familiar and close.
"Teacher, when the time comes, we'll have to make this boy drink a few extra toasts!" one of the young men chimed in. This remark was met with unanimous agreement. Su Shouwen, who was toasting the guests, felt a chill down his spine and was somewhat bewildered. Why would he feel cold on such a day?
"You rascals, you can mess around as you please, but today is Shouwen's special day, so don't cause any trouble!" Teacher Jin quickly instructed his students.
"Teacher, don't worry, we won't ruin the wedding. We'll just tease him during the wedding chamber ceremony later." Hearing his students say this, Teacher Jin knew that these rascals had made up their minds. Well, he was old, and these matters were for the young people to handle.