Their wedding day was set for the eighteenth day of the eighth month—just as the “autumn tiger” heat was fading, with a cool chill creeping into the mornings and evenings.
But the Su and Zhai houses were buzzing with activity and firecrackers.
Since the two houses were so close, there was no grand procession of gongs and drums or suona horns. They simply decorated with red silk and candles, and set off several loud strings of firecrackers as Su Chi left his home.
Xie Yushu led Su Chi—veiled in red, dressed in a wedding gown—step by step from the Su house to the Zhai house.
The onlookers lining both sides cheered and whistled. Xie Yushu scattered lucky coins among them—just small change, harmless if they hit anyone, all for good fortune.
After Su Chi entered the Zhai house and sat on Xie Yushu’s bed, she leaned in and kissed him through the veil.
“I’m going out to greet the guests. Wait for me here. If you get bored, just take the veil off.”
“Alright.” Su Chi’s voice was soft and sweet, as if coated in honey.
Then they let go of their intertwined hands.
It was a joyous day. They’d invited quite a few people—besides their closest friends, they’d also invited warm-hearted neighbors.
Xie Yushu, dressed in a dark red robe, stood outside greeting the guests. Everyone who saw her couldn’t help but praise her fine looks, teasing her good-naturedly.
The red fabric had been chosen by Su Chi—he said the color suited her well.
There was no strict tradition in the village that the bride had to wear bright red. Su Chi had chosen this shade because it made Xie Yushu look steady, grounded, and upright. He wasn’t good with words—he couldn’t describe how beautiful she was—all he knew was that she was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen.
Whatever Su Chi said, Xie Yushu wore. She didn’t hesitate for a moment.
Their wedding clothes had been sewn by Su Chi’s father in a rush. Xie Yushu had originally wanted to buy ready-made garments, but Su’s father insisted he could make them in a few days—no need to waste money. He’d taken on the task himself.
Since the two houses were so close, the Zhai yard was too small for all the tables, so they’d set up a few at the Su house too, including a separate table for the children.
Neither household had enough tables, chairs, or bowls, so they’d borrowed from neighbors—who were happy to lend. As thanks, Wang Wen gave each lending household ten red-dyed lucky eggs.
In the end, they set up exactly ten tables—perfect for “ten out of ten” good fortune.
Some guests had arrived early to escort Su Chi out; others were still on their way.
Village Chief Su Quan came early with her whole family, dressed smartly and festively. She took Xie Yushu’s hand and spoke at length, overjoyed that the two families were joining.
The other guests trickled in one by one. Once seated, each contributed ten to twenty wen as a wedding gift, then helped themselves to the melon seeds, dried fruit, and candied snacks on the table while chatting.
The children had their own small table, cleaned up by their parents—no mud on their clothes or trousers today. Their mothers told them that the bride and groom were clean and beautiful people, and they’d better behave during the feast—no climbing around like little monkeys.
Xie Yushu had made a special trip to town to buy treats for the children: pastries, pine-nut candy, malt sugar, and more. The kids’ hands were soon full.
Wang Wen was busy in the kitchen, but he kept his cool. Liu Fūlang and Gao Fūlang had come to help.
When they saw all the meat and fish piled up, they couldn’t help but envy the spread.
The Zhai daughter certainly knew how to spend money—the feast was full of good things.
There were wild rabbits hunted from the mountains, fat ducks, rows of well-marbled pork, buckets of offal, eight lively, plump fish, bamboo trays piled high with fried meatballs, and towering stacks of vegetables still beaded with dew.
The pork had been ordered from the Gao family. Wang Wen had given Aunt Gao plenty of notice, and she’d saved the best cuts for them.
Because Su Chi had always been a loyal customer, the Gao family loved him. Seeing his happy day approaching, they’d given a discount and even thrown in some offal as a gift.
The wild rabbits had been brought by Ye Youchun, who’d hunted them fresh. Since she worked for Xie Yushu and had been invited, she didn’t want to come empty-handed. She’d gone deep into the mountains and brought back a few plump rabbits to add to the feast.
She worked multiple jobs to support her family—farming, hauling at the ferry, and hunting in her spare time to nourish her grandmother and younger brother. Xie Yushu had invited her, along with her brother and grandmother, but her grandmother was too old to come, so Ye Youchun only brought her little brother Ye Youzhi.
The fish had been delivered by He Chao from Qianwan Village in a bucket, accompanied by his sister He Xi. She’d collected a bunch of pretty seashells to give to Miss Xie and her husband.
The ducks had been bought from a neighbor, each one plump and well-fed. Many of the vegetables came from the Su family’s own plot, so they didn’t cost much extra. Wang Wen had saved the young couple quite a bit of money, and he put all that energy into the cooking—his spatula moved faster and faster.
In the village, a wedding feast usually had eight dishes. Families with more means would make ten.
Wang Wen made ten dishes plus a soup—sounding impressive, looking abundant, round and harmonious, adding to the good fortune.
Five meat dishes, three vegetarian, two cold salads, and a large bowl of soup.
Every table had a plate of dry-fried wild rabbit, braised duck, radish stewed with pork liver and offal, water celery stir-fried with pork slices, and wine-braised fish chunks—all hearty, impressive dishes. There were also three oil-slicked vegetable dishes.
The soup was a sour-spicy meatball soup, with fried meatballs dropped into a thick, tangy broth, topped with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.
There were two cold dishes: smashed cucumber with garlic, and a sweet-and-sour salad of dried daylily, tofu, and bean sprouts, drizzled with sesame oil—refreshing and incredibly fragrant.
In the center of each table sat a large plate of steamed, generously filled meat buns—made by Wang Wen and Su Chi early that morning. It was a specialty of their household, not counted among the ten dishes and soup.
No one in the village could fault the feast. Even though their village was better off than some, they’d never eaten such a lavish spread. Only wealthy town households would spend like this—the Xie family was truly generous.
The meat dishes were generous and rich, the vegetables flavorful, the cold dishes crisp and appetizing. The tables were full. Everyone ate without putting down their chopsticks, stuffing themselves until their mouths were greasy, clutching meat buns in their hands, too busy eating to wipe their mouths.
Little Ye Youzhi was carefully nibbling a meat bun as big as his face. He’d already eaten plenty of pastries and pine-nut candy, and his belly was round, but he couldn’t put down this delicious bun—he’d never tasted anything so good. He was already thinking about whether he could take some home to his grandmother.
He Chao and He Xi sat at the children’s table. The adults, seeing there was a young man to look after the children, ate with ease.
He Chao served food to his sister—every dish was delicious, better than anything they’d ever had. They ate one bite after another.
He Xi was well-behaved and ate neatly, so He Chao didn’t have to worry about her. He had time to help the other kids, serving them food and soup, and making sure their greasy little hands didn’t touch Miss Xie’s wedding clothes.
Xie Yushu made the rounds at every table. Her only regret was that the two lively mistress-and-servant couldn’t make it.
She’d invited Sun Wuyou and Guizhi, but something had come up—Sun Wuyou had been called back to the Sun family, and she’d had to leave in a hurry, apologizing that she’d be back in a few days. She’d sent a gift of money for Xie Yushu and Su Chi.
Before leaving, she’d nudged Xie Yushu and teased her—so she did like the Su family young man, even though she’d denied it before. And now they were getting married so soon—she’d been dishonest, even hiding it from her.
Xie Yushu had just smiled and said that when Sun Wuyou returned, she should come to their new house in town. She and Su Chi would cook something to welcome her.
Xie Yushu stayed outside until everyone had eaten their fill and gone home. Su’s father—no, now her father too—told her to go back to Su Chi. He and the other husbands would clean up the mess.
The Gao husband, the Liu husband, and several other kind helpers had all received fifty-wen red envelopes from Xie Yushu.
The sky darkened, and the guests had all left. The Zhai yard fell silent. Xie Yushu let out a breath and went back inside.
Su Chi was still sitting on the bed, hands clasped on his knees, waiting obediently.
Seeing him, Xie Yushu grew nervous again. She took a deep breath, picked up the wedding scale from the table, and slowly lifted his veil.
Su Chi had grown drowsy waiting, his eyes almost closing, looking sleepy. The moment the veil was lifted, he snapped awake. When he saw Xie Yushu, his eyes shimmered, gazing at the woman who was now his wife.
Xie Yushu was momentarily stunned.
When she didn’t speak, Su Chi’s lifted face crinkled slightly, his delicate brows furrowing as if pouting: “Not pretty?”
He’d applied a light layer of makeup, painted simple, elegant brows, and a touch of lip color—adding a soft charm to his already lovely face.
Xie Yushu’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes flashing with admiration. She slowly crouched down in front of him, took both his hands, and said, “Beautiful.”
A light blush spread across Su Chi’s face. He smiled, his eyes curving, and shyly met her gaze.
Still in that position, Xie Yushu pressed her lips to his, softly at first, then deeper. As their lips moved together, his lip color soon transferred entirely to her.
Su Chi was left dizzy and weak, unaware of when he’d ended up in Xie Yushu’s arms.
Then he noticed her lips were red. Realizing what had happened, he grew flustered. “You can’t eat that!” He tried to get up, wanting to take her to wash it off.
Xie Yushu wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him back. “A little bit won’t hurt.”
She’d never been one to fuss over toxicity without considering dosage. But seeing his anxious, caring face made her heart soften even more.
The candle wick crackled softly, the flame flickering gently.
Xie Yushu picked up the two cups of wedding wine from the table and drank with Su Chi. Finally, all the wedding formalities were complete.
Neither of them was a drinker. After one cup, Su Chi’s face quickly flushed a delicate pink, spreading from his brow to the tips of his ears—a soft, alluring shade.
His mouth burned from the wine, his tongue tingling, his eyes misty from the sting. He looked utterly endearing.
Xie Yushu’s heart raced at the sight. She leaned in and pecked his tender red lips several times, only reluctantly pulling back when he was out of breath.
Xie Yushu didn’t drink either, but after one cup, her face showed no change at all. Her calm composure was convincing—anyone who didn’t know would think she had a high tolerance.
“Hungry? Let’s get something to eat?” Su Chi hadn’t eaten all evening, and Xie Yushu was worried he’d be starving.
“Alright.” Su Chi was indeed hungry.
They changed out of their wedding clothes, and Su Chi carefully folded them and placed them in the chest, treating them with great care.
Then they put on lighter clothes and went to the kitchen.
The guests had cleaned out the dishes on the tables, leaving little behind.
But in the kitchen, plenty of food had been set aside—specially saved for them by Father Wang. There was still a small basin of braised duck, half a basin of rabbit, most of the offal stew, a bamboo tray of fried fish chunks, and a small pile of meatballs.
There were also plenty of uncooked ingredients: a slab of pork and a large basket of various vegetables.
Wang Wen had calculated the quantities carefully—besides what was needed for the feast, he’d bought extra for the young couple to eat over the next few days.
Now that the weather had cooled, cooked food wouldn’t spoil quickly and would keep for days.
Su Chi lifted the pot lid and found fried rice with scallions and lard—his father must have made it before leaving. He knew Su Chi loved his egg fried rice.
He washed his hands, heated up two portions of sour-spicy meatball soup, picked out a small plate of braised duck and a dish of cold salad, and carried them to the main hall.
Then he brought over two bowls of egg fried rice and called Xie Yushu. She’d spent the whole day greeting guests—she probably hadn’t eaten well either. They were both starving.
Xie Yushu had been tidying up the things she’d bought for Su Chi during her big shopping trip—jar after jar of toiletries. If she had something for herself, she made sure Su Chi had one too.
Hearing his call, she set the items aside and joined him for their long-delayed dinner.
After they’d eaten their fill, they washed the dishes together, then Xie Yushu took Su Chi to freshen up.
She brought out a separate set of face cream, tooth powder, and brushes—all matching hers—and showed him how to use them, step by step.
Seeing her produce all these things like a magician, Su Chi stared in wonder.
When had she bought all this? And it must have been expensive.
She’d probably spent almost all her savings on the wedding. His brows knitted with worry for her.
Catching his dazed, troubled expression, Xie Yushu said, “It’s fine—I still have some money left. I won’t let you go hungry.”
Before he could reply, she pulled him in to wash their faces together and clean their mouths after the meal.
After using everything once, Su Chi caught on quickly. He carefully arranged all the jars in their proper places.
Back in the room, both felt lighter, but the thought of what came next made them nervous again.
Xie Yushu blew out all the candles and held him close on the creaky old bed.
The noises from the aged bed made her a little embarrassed. She tried to explain, “The new house has a big bed—a carved canopy bed.”
Su Chi buried his face in her chest and gave a soft, “Mm.”
They were so close they could feel each other’s warm breath on their faces.
Xie Yushu spoke softly, “Su Chi, I just thought of something.”
“What is it?” His mind had stopped working. All he could feel was the heat radiating from her—her breath, her skin—he felt like he was melting.
“You’ve never called me by my name.” She raised the issue seriously.
In the dark, Su Chi lifted his face and whispered softly by her ear, “…Yushu.”
Xie Yushu wasn’t satisfied. She gave his waist a gentle squeeze. “And?”
Too shy, he hesitated, then finally mustered the courage to let the sweet word slip out:
“Wife.”
Satisfied, Xie Yushu leaned over him, kissing his brow tenderly before trailing down—past the tip of his nose, finally landing on his rosy lips.
The night was long—long enough for them to fully draw close.
It wasn’t until the small hours that all sounds faded and everything fell still.
Leave a Reply