CH 66

Gu Xia followed Li Sicheng to the table where his cousin’s were at.

“Gu Xia sit here.” Li Sicheng moved a stool and placed it by the table.

“Sicheng, is this your friend?” One of Li Sicheng’s cousins asked.

“Yes, my buddy Gu Xia.” Li Sicheng smiled.

Then Li Sicheng introduced his cousins ​​to Gu Xia one by one.

“Hello!”

“Let’s drink!”

*****

There was drinking, shouting and chatting everywhere inside and outside the house.

After eating, Gu Xia looked at Li Sicheng’s new house, which was beautifully furnished, with a lot of ribbons and balloons hanging everywhere.

Many people are playing cards and mahjong. Gu Xia was not very interested in these kinds of things, and he didn’t know anyone there, so he didn’t play.

He went to the room arranged by Li Sicheng early to sleep. He heard Li Sicheng say that about seven or eight people would have to sleep in a room and its floor. Gu Xia couldn’t do anything about that. He washed himself and went to bed first. The quilt was new, plus a layer of rice stalks was placed underneath. The smell of rice stalks poured into the tip of his nose, which was very pleasant.

Next morning, he would have to go to pick up the bride at seven o’clock, and he had to get up at six o’clock for breakfast, so Gu Xia didn’t play with his mobile phone, and fell asleep shortly after.

The night was silent and uneventful.

Early the next morning, before dawn, Gu Xia was woken up by many loud voices outside, so he had no choice but to get up.

Gu Xia got dressed, looked at the three people who were still asleep on the bed and the four people who were laying on the floor, and pouted, ‘The bed was so crowded, why didn’t I feel anything when I slept last night? And there are people sleeping on the floor, how can I get out?’

Feeling helpless, Gu Xia could only jump over cautiously, for fear of accidentally stepping on someone.

After going out, Hu Xia took a deep breath, it was really not easy! It’s like some kind of sport.

This was how things usually were with many relatives like this. He remembered when he was a child, when his family hadn’t yet moved to the city, whenever his relatives came to pay their respects during the New Year, they would sleep at home if they had a little too much to drink, especially Gu Xia’s uncles. 

Gu Xia Grandpa had 7 Children, 5 sons and 2 daughters. So, Gu Xia had 5 uncles. During the Chine*e New Year, his uncles and aunts brought their children to Gu Xia’s house for New Year’s dinner. They had only two tables that would become full, so they had to sit on floors. The house would become crowded, but everyone would have fun. Everyone played cards and mahjong at night, while Gu Xia and his cousins ​​went to play with firecrackers and fireworks. Things were really fun at that time. Gu Xia couldn’t help laughing when he thought about it, childhood memories were always beautiful.

“Gu Xia, you woke up?” Li Sicheng’s mother asked with a smile.

“Oh, aunt is cooking noodles!” Gu Xia exclaimed, and looked at the cauldron full of noodles. An aunt who was about the same age as Li Sicheng’s mother was in charge of the fire.

“Haha~ Go wash your face and brush your teeth. The new toothbrushes and towels are in the hall. After washing up, it’s time to eat the noodles. We’ll go pick up the bride later.” Li Sicheng’s mother smiled.

“Alright, that’s good.” Gu Xia nodded, and when he walked to the hall, he saw more than a dozen people standing outside the gate. The lights were still lit outside, and they were all squatting there brushing their teeth. Li Sicheng was also brushing his teeth with the same posture.

‘This scene is, um~ very unique…’

Gu Xia took a new toothbrush from the table, took a bowl and filled it with well water, and also joined the ranks of the people brushing their teeth.

The well water in winter was smoky, slightly sweet and felt warm in the mouth.

Gu Xia looked at Li Sicheng opposite of him with his mouth full of toothpaste, and saw himself squatting down and winking at him, which made Gu Xia smile.

“The noodles are ready, you brush your teeth, wash your face and come to eat noodles.” Li Sicheng’s mother shouted from the door.

Everyone increased the speed of brushing their teeth and nodded in response.

After brushing their teeth, they lined up to wash their faces with the water well in the house. Gu Xia was pulled by Li Sicheng to his house. In front of his house, apart from the yard, there was a field, and he followed him to an open-air well beside the field.

“We will wash here, this is the well in the village for washing clothes.”

Gu Xia looked at the smoking well. The well was very simple, and it was built with large stones. The well had a large mouth and should have a diameter of two meters. There were two stone slabs on the top of the well, and two stone slabs were tied to the well. There were also buckets with ropes tied on to them.

Li Sicheng stood on the two stone slabs above the well, picked up the bucket and threw it into the well, and then swung the rope in his hand, and the bucket immediately sank into the water. When the bucket was full, he pulled it up.

“Come on, wash! This water is hot.” Li Sicheng laughed.

“I know, I also lived in the country when I was a child.” Gu Xia smiled.

The two washed their faces with water, then wiped them off with towels and went back to the house.

The table was filled with bowls of noodles with fried eggs on them.

Gu Xia picked up a bowl and sat on the stool to eat. The noodles cooked in a big pot were fragrant, and the eggs were also from the country, they were golden in color, and had a strong egg-like fragrance.

After eating the noodles, Gu Xia picked up flowers and balloons and went to his car. Others also tied balloons in front of their car and posted happy wedding papers in front of the car.

Gu Xia pasted a bunch of heart-shaped flowers on the hood of the car. There were suction cups under the flowers, and there was dew on the car, so they were firmly stuck.

Then it was time to tie the balloon, he just tied it directly on the rearview mirror. The roof of the front and rear of the car were also decorated using suction cups.

In the end, Gu Xia pasted the “We are married” paper on the front and rear license plates. At present, the traffic police didn’t care that much about the license plate.

A man started to blow the suona, and two teenagers began to hit the gongs. (G: Suona, also called dida, laba or haidi, is a traditional Chine*e music instrument with double-reed horn.)

“Everyone get in the car according to what we decided last night.” Li Sicheng’s father shouted.

“Let’s go!”

“Go pick up the bride!”

“Yeah!!!”

Many young people got into the car with loud laughter.

Because Gu Xia’s car was the wedding car, only the bride and groom were allowed to get on it. Last night, he heard Li Sicheng say that their best man and bridesmaids also rode the wedding car, and the customs of each village were different.

The best man was Gu Xia, the driver was also Gu Xia, so he had two jobs.

After everyone got into the car, Li Sicheng said, “Let’s go! Gu Xia, you have to drive at the front.”

“I know, I’m very familiar with this.” Gu Xia smiled. How could he not be familiar? He was a married man, and was very clear about the process.

“You know sh*t, this is the first time you have been the best man. You sound like you are married. I had to listen to my dad about the process.” Li Sicheng scolded him with a smile.

Gu Xia glanced at him in the rear-view mirror. ‘Brother, you don’t believe the truth. What I said was all real.’