Chapter 63

While sending the wedding invitations to the nearby village of "Twenty li Slope," Cheng Duo took the opportunity to bring Yong Ge to the county town of West Capital.

With the previous experience, the process of exchanging the land deed went smoothly this time. Cheng Duo also took the chance to register his own yard and nearby vacant land, which cost a total of three teals and five wen.

After leaving the county yamen, the two of them went to find a cloth shop in the street.

In West Capital's cloth shops, some were run by husband and wife, and others were branches of larger cloth shops from twenty li Slope. Although Cheng Duo didn't find ready-made wedding attire in there, he managed to buy two pieces of red silk brocade with dark patterns at one of the branches. He also had the shopkeeper draw two patterns of long robes. This way, even if Yong Ge couldn't sew, he could at least mimic the style.

In fact, it wasn't that Cheng Duo was particular about having the wedding attire sewn himself. When people in the village got married, it was considered good enough to have some red cloth on them. But because Yong Ge was so tall, none of the readymade clothes at the cloth shop fit him. Either the shoulders were too narrow or the pants were too short. Thus, they had to buy fabric and make the clothes themselves.

Except for the most troublesome wedding attire, such as the wedding bed canopy and the red silk, Cheng Duo bought everything else ready-made. He only cared about the quality, not the price.

Cheng Duo was quite assertive, and Yong Ge couldn't stop him. Moreover, he couldn't hurt Cheng Duo's face in front of others. So, when the two of them left the cloth shop carrying numerous packages, Yong Ge looked visibly conflicted.

Cheng Duo smiled and said, "We earned some money, so we should spend it. Our wedding is a big event, and of course, we should have the best for ourselves… Oh, wait, there's a snack shop here. I'll go in and buy some roasted beans, melon seeds, and peanuts."

With a large bamboo basket full of things on his back, Cheng Duo walked into the shop.

Yong Ge: "…"

After Cheng Duo came out of the shop, the bamboo basket had several more paper bags in it. He noticed that Yong Ge's forehead was sweaty, and his face and neck were a bit sunburnt, so he quickly found a teahouse to rest.

Cheng Duo took out the pastries he had just bought and placed them before Yong Ge. He then instructed him to watch over them and went out mysteriously for a moment. When he returned, he had nothing in his hands.

Yong Ge, curious, asked, "What did you buy just now? Did you secretly put it in your space?"

Cheng Duo's expression looked awkward as he poured a cup of cold tea, "It's just some small trinkets. I'll tell you later."

It was the first time Yong Ge had seen Cheng Duo act so evasive, so he wondered, "What kind of small trinkets that you need to wait until we're back to tell me?"

Cheng Duo gave him a deep and meaningful glance, and in that instant, it seemed like Yong Ge understood something. His hand shook, and he accidentally spilled most of the tea on the table.

His ears turned red, and he nervously put down the teapot, not daring to ask further.

Cheng Duo lifted his own teacup, covering his mouth, and fell silent for a moment. Then, suddenly, he chuckled softly. In the pre-apocalyptic era, there was an internet phrase that went, "If I'm not embarrassed, then no one else will be embarrassed." As a mature man, he had never even bought contraceptives in the modern world. Going out to buy those things just now made his face feel a bit hot.

Now that Yong Ge seemed embarrassed, he suddenly felt like there was nothing to be embarrassed about…

Yong Ge listened to the low rumble emanating from the man's chest beside him. The sound seemed to resonate in his heart. As he looked at the wedding items they had just purchased on the table and the floor, some of the packages revealed a glimpse of red…

Yong Ge had never felt so keenly real as he did in this moment – they were really going to get married.

"""

Two days before the wedding, young master Xie had sent Ding Tou to deliver a robust white horse, a basket of beef, another basket of good wine, and a few cooks from the tavern to help out. Ding Tou personally came to deliver these items. When he first saw Cheng Duo's courtyard, he thought that Zhao Shugen had led them to the wrong place. But as soon as he saw Cheng Duo himself, that thought vanished instantly.

The man exuded an aura of authority, and upon seeing the gifts and people young master Xie had sent, he didn't show much surprise. He simply walked around the horse and then instructed them to bring the items into the courtyard. He also directed a few cooks to start working.

Ding Tou wanted to please this Mister Cheng, so after delivering the gifts, he didn't leave. Instead, he approached with his subordinates and said, "Mister Cheng, if there's anything we can help with, just tell us. You can command us."

Cheng Duo looked at the horse outside the courtyard and rubbed his chin. "Then come and help me build a stable."

Ding Tou and his men were slow to respond. They originally thought that five of them would need at least two days to construct a stable. They had to chop down trees on the mountain, peel the bark, dig the foundation, and then build the structure of the stable.

However, when they went up the mountain, Ding Tou and his men were shocked by Cheng Duo's tree-cutting speed. Cheng Duo chopped down the thick and sturdy tree as if cutting through tofu with just a few swings of his axe. He then lightly pushed, and the tree, with only a bit of bark still connected, crashed to the ground. "All right, you trim the branches of this tree and carry it down the mountain."

Ding Tou and his men struggled for half an hour just to cut a tree. In contrast, Cheng Duo effortlessly carried a tree on his own down the mountain. Ding Tou and his men were dumbfounded. "Zhao Shugen, how is this Mister Cheng from your village so strong?!"

The four of them struggled to carry a tree down the mountain, and it was still unsteady on the way. What kind of strength did this Mister Cheng possess?

Zhao Shugen replied, "I… I don't know…" 

Wait, he seemed to know! His son had said before that the newcomer, the hunter, had immense strength. He could even bring down a cow with his bare hands!

At that time, Zhao Shugen thought his son was exaggerating, but now he realized that his son had been telling the truth!

Cheng Duo led Ding Tou and his men to build the stable and even added a woodshed in the process. Ding Tou held Cheng Duo in the highest regard, and when they were about to leave, he shamelessly asked, "Mister Cheng, can I also come to your wedding banquet the day after tomorrow?"

Cheng Duo was puzzled and asked, "Aren't you going back?"

It took almost half a day for Ding Tou and his group to go to twenty li Slope and come back. Even if they rushed back tonight and returned the day after tomorrow for the wedding banquet, it would be quite troublesome.

Ding Tou hurriedly said, "We can stay at Zhao Shugen's house."

"That's fine. You can all come the day after tomorrow."

Ding Tou was overjoyed and kept expressing his thanks.

Actually, from the beginning, Ding Tou had planned to see if he could attend the wedding banquet. He knew that Yong Master Xie was coming personally, and no matter what, it's always good to establish some connections over drinks.

Ding Tou was eager to make a good impression, so he arrived early the next day. In addition to Zhao Shugen, even Shanzi and his elder brother, He WaZi, were there.

Cheng Duo was busy, and suddenly there were many more people. The news spread in the village:

"Have you heard? Zhao Shugen brought people from twenty li Slope to help Cheng the Hunter, and they're doing it for free!"

"Why? Does he have a good relationship with the hunter?"

"It seems the hunter met some impressive figure at twenty li Slope, even the foremen are trying to please him.

"I saw Zhao Shugen and a group of people entering the village a few days ago, and they brought many things, even a white horse!"

"I saw it too. That horse is tall and robust. Its hooves make a pleasant 'clatter-clatter' sound on the stone slabs."

"Doesn't that mean Yong Ge can ride the horse to his wedding?"

"Wow, that's a big deal in our village! I thought being able to ride a donkey cart was impressive enough, but I never expected Yong Ge to ride a horse!"

A group of unmarried boys and girls were excited, their eyes turning red. They didn't dare to go to Cheng Duo's house to see the horse, so they all rushed to Yong Ge's house, eager to be the first to tell him the good news…

"""

In the past two days, with Yu Ge's help, Yong Ge had already finished making the wedding clothes. Originally, today, Granma San and Aunt Qian were coming to steam the steamed buns and cook the wedding eggs, and he wanted to help in the kitchen.

However, Aunt Qian told him not to work before the wedding. She only allowed Yu Ge to accompany him in the room. Yong Ge didn't really want to rest, as he felt a bit restless.

But when he wanted to do some needlework, Yu Ge stopped him. So it turned into Yu Ge sewing shoe pads while he watched, and the two chatted casually.

After a while, Aunt Qian suddenly came over from the kitchen and said, "I almost forgot. Your mother left early, and no one taught you this. Here's a book for you to read." She hesitated and took out a yellowed comic book from her pocket. "Yu Ge, you should read it too; you'll need it sooner or later."

After saying that, she stuffed the book into Yong Ge's arms and closed the door, leaving the room.

Yong Ge froze in place, his big eyes shifting to his friend, successfully seeing his friend's face turning red.

Yong Ge hesitated for a long time before carefully picking up the book like it was a hot potato. He shook it a little and asked, "Should we read it?"

"Let's read it…" Yu Ge blushed, but couldn't help being curious.

Although the villagers sometimes speak very explicitly, hearing and seeing are two different things.

When the two innocent boys opened the first page of the comic book, they were startled and quickly closed it. The book Aunt Qian gave them was very rough, with characters drawn as simple lines. However, the actions on the first page were quite bold, which stunned the two boys who had never seen such things before.

Both of them blushed, and Yu Ge suddenly asked, "D-Do you, when you're alone together, do you…?"

"No!" Yong Ge replied, feeling a little guilty. They only used their hands… Did the bridal chamber have to be like what the book depicted? That would be too embarrassing!

Yong Ge thought he couldn't do that, but if Cheng Duo liked it, he couldn't let him down. Thinking of Cheng Duo, Yong Ge hesitated but forced himself to continue reading. He didn't know where Aunt Qian had found this book, but each page showed different actions, all equally daring.

Yong Ge thought he had to do each one, so he read it very seriously, and his face even started to smoke from embarrassment.

Seeing his distress, Yu Ge tried to change the subject. "M-My mother said that Sha Yang and Feng Ge haven't consummated their marriage yet. It seems Sha Yang is unwilling…"

"They've been married for almost half a month. How does your mother know?" Yong Ge asked.

"Feng Ge mentioned it when he was arguing with his mother. Many people who love to gossip heard it…" In their village, the gossipy aunts and busybodies didn't think that Sha Yang was unwilling; they thought he couldn't perform.

Every time Yu Ge thought about how his mother animatedly described the situation, and how Sha Yang's mother's face turned black after hearing it, he wanted to laugh.

"Feng Ge has too much courage. He even brings up such matters. Isn't he afraid that Sha Yang will dislike him even more?" Yong Ge commented.

"I don't know what he's thinking…" Yong Ge shook his head. Feng Ge and Sha Yang had been arguing ever since they got married. At first, Wu Guihua tried to intervene, but after it happened too many times, she didn't have the energy to bother anymore. After all, her family had no power, and she was already overwhelmed with her own affairs.

As they were talking, they suddenly heard noise and commotion in the courtyard. 

"Yong Ge, your family got a horse!"

"Yong Ge, you can ride a horse when you get married! Can I borrow your family's horse when I get married?"

"Wow, you're already thinking about getting married so soon…"

The playful voices grew louder, and Yong Ge became flustered. He was still holding the book! He quickly hid the book under the pillow, but then he thought it wasn't safe, so he swiftly put it in a box and closed the lid with a "bang." Both he and Yu Ge sighed in relief, and then burst into laughter, seeing each other's faces redder than monkey butts.