The wedding was in full swing the next day. It's worth mentioning that from start to finish, Shen's father didn't ask about a single detail of the wedding. Before the wedding, aside from attending the dinner on the 30th, he was nowhere to be found.

He showed up before the wedding, bringing along his group of friends.

Speaking of these friends, it's said that Shen's father and Shen's mother had argued over the bill for the banquet. Besides Shen's father's family, Shen's mother's family, Shen Jian, and a few close classmates, it was mainly Shen's father's friends who came to celebrate.

This group of friends made up the majority.

Shen's mother demanded that Shen's father pay for his family's and friends' share, because Shen Jian himself was paying for the banquet. Since Shen's father invited so many friends and didn't contribute any money, Shen's mother felt it was unfair.

But how it was eventually resolved, no one knew. It was an internal matter of the groom's family, and Manmei wasn't fully privy to it. Let's leave it at that.

During the rehearsal before the wedding, Shen Jian’s uncle knew that neither Shen’s father nor Shen’s mother was good with words, so he suggested they skip their speeches.

Since the groom's parents weren't giving speeches, Man's parents thought it would be best if they didn't either, to avoid overshadowing the groom's family.

However, during the rehearsal, Man's mother felt it would be awkward for her father to hand over his daughter to the groom in complete silence. She suggested saying something simple like, "I’m giving you my daughter, take good care of her."

The host automatically assumed that the bride's father would give a speech during the wedding.

Which led to the situation I mentioned earlier. Handing his daughter over to the groom was fine, but Man's father was unprepared for a speech and was at a loss. All he managed to say was, "Thank you to our friends and family for coming to our wedding," and then awkwardly stood there not knowing what else to say.

It must be said that both fathers were a bit peculiar. Shen's father, a truck driver, was always drunk, while Man's father, a businessman expected to be eloquent, was so stage-shy.

Fortunately, Shen's mother, a language teacher seasoned in public speaking, took the microphone from her husband and delivered an impromptu speech that became the highlight of the wedding.

The wedding ended perfectly.

The problems arose during the banquet.

Both Shen's mother and I had let our guard down, thinking the family dinner before had been perfect. Man's mother even joked with the bride and groom, "It seems like your fathers really get along, either kindred spirits or just equally unruly!"

To be fair, it was Shen Jian's fault. Knowing that his uncles and aunts were at odds with his father, why did he seat them all at the same table?

The table was full of Shen Jian’s uncles, aunts, cousins, and so on.

They hadn't appeared before the wedding, and most didn't even come to the wedding. They only showed up late at the banquet.

Strictly speaking, it made sense to arrange them this way since they were all from Shen's family.

But the problem was this table seemed set on causing trouble.

According to Shen Jian, almost every person at that table had been beaten by his father.

Yes, Shen's father was the type who resorted to fists first and words later.

It seemed the people at that table had two goals: to give face to Shen Jian and to make Shen's father look bad.

Of course, this was only realized in hindsight.

At the time, I thought everything was going smoothly and focused on eating.

As a food lover and first-time visitor to Siping, I couldn't miss this chance!

My favorite dishes were guobaorou (fried pork) and chives dumplings.

No, it was chives steamed dumplings.

The northeastern chives steamed dumplings tasted very different from our southern chives dumplings!

Otherwise, why would they be part of the grand feast?

There were many people at the time, speaking in different dialects. Although northeastern dialects are relatively easy to understand, with so many people talking at once, I could only catch bits and pieces. Most of the praise was directed at Shen Jian, summarizing that he was good-looking, the handsomest groom that day, tall, and even the hotel staff complimented him.

That was the gist of it.

They also said Shen Jian had a high salary, could make money, and had bought a house in Hangzhou.

I even thought: Why only praise Shen Jian and not Manman? Although she might not be a stunning beauty, she’s still a pretty girl, right?

Hangzhou has always been known for its beauties!

Man’s parents continued with polite laughter, "hahaha."

In the middle, Man's mother pulled Man's father up to toast Manman's in-laws, asking them to take good care of Manman and toasted Shen's parents, saying, "We entrust our child to you. Please bear with her if she misbehaves!"

Shen's mother responded, "Manman is very obedient, very well-behaved!"

Man's mother laughed and said, "Well-behaved or not, this is how she is. Where we fall short in education, please continue mother-in-law!"

Shen's father said, "No need for more education. As a teacher, you've done well enough for us not to need to educate her further!"

An uncle from Shen’s family then chimed in, "Oh, mother-in-law is a teacher?"

"Yes, yes, just a kids' teacher hahaha!"

"Being a teacher is a great job. Is father-in-law also a teacher?"

"No, he runs a small business."

"Oh, a boss then? What business?"

"Just a small business, nothing worth mentioning, just enough to get by."

"Big or small, a boss is a boss! Our Shen Jian delayed marriage to find a wealthy second-generation, and now it seems his wish is fulfilled!"

"Yes, yes, I heard you bought a house in Hangzhou, right?"

"Sigh! It's not about being a wealthy second-generation. Everything still relies on oneself. The house was bought by us; Hangzhou houses are expensive. I used up all my savings!"

These were Shen’s father's words.

Of course, this complete conversation was later pieced together by my cousin and me after multiple reviews.

Yes, at the time, we were both focused on eating and didn't really grasp it.

Especially me, engrossed in my food, I was suddenly startled by a loud noise. My uncle on the other side of the table smashed a dish onto the table and stormed out, "What do you mean? Our Manman isn't a wealthy second-generation and not good enough for your family, is that it?"

I was stunned, "Damn! We guarded against everything, but the final moment caught us off guard!"