The smiles on Aunt Leng and Third Aunt Leng’s faces faded. They mumbled an agreement and obediently went back to cooking.

’This sister-in-law of theirs gives you a headache whenever she starts lecturing.’

’Can’t she just talk normally?’

Leng Shuyue felt a sense of accomplishment after lecturing her two sisters-in-law. Next, she planned to have a word with Leng Yuan.

Her eyes swept across the courtyard, and she quickly spotted Leng Yuan.

Just as she was about to approach him...

A group of more than twenty people, men and women, suddenly flooded in through the gate.

Leng Shuyue didn’t recognize these younger folks.

She was just about to speak to Leng Yuan when she was jostled aside by the crowd.

Li Hongmei bumped into someone but paid it no mind as she followed the group into the courtyard.

Leng Yuan had been expecting them, so he wasn’t surprised. He simply welcomed everyone and invited them to sit.

The educated youths scratched their heads, and one of them quickly spoke up.

"We won’t sit, we came here specifically to thank you. Last time, if you hadn’t killed that wild boar, we might have..."

Before he could finish, the person next to him jabbed him with an elbow.

"What are you talking about? It’s a happy occasion today, don’t say things like that!"

’Talking about death is so unlucky.’

The man realized his mistake and immediately smacked his own mouth lightly.

"Anyway, we just wanted to thank you. We won’t stay for the meal."

Chen JianShe immediately chimed in, "Don’t be strangers! My Brother Leng prepared food for you all. And let me tell you, this isn’t just any meal—it’s a wedding feast, full of good fortune."

"Since you’re all here, you should at least share in the good luck before you go."

As he spoke, Chen JianShe slung an arm around the shoulder of an educated youth he knew and pulled him into the yard.

Seeing that the invitation was genuine and not just polite formality, the rest of the group filed in.

The educated youths first went, smiling, to register their gifts and money at the record-keeping table, and then they found their seats.

With that, the courtyard was basically full.

The person in charge of recording the gifts was initially the brigade leader, but when the village accountant arrived, the brigade leader handed the task over to him.

For major family events, it was customary to invite the village leadership over for a meal. It was also a good opportunity to ask for their advice on any matters.

Leng Shuyue was fuming.

’Here I am, an elder, standing right here, and Leng Yuan doesn’t even see me? He doesn’t have the decency to come over and greet me!’

In the end, it was Liu Xinxin who walked over and took Leng Shuyue by the arm.

Leng Shuyue patted Liu Xinxin’s arm gratefully. "Oh, Xinxin, what would I do without you?"

The Ding family doted on their daughters, and since Leng Shuyue had never been able to have children, she was immensely grateful that her sister-in-law often spoke up for her.

As a result, she treated Liu Xinxin as if she were her own daughter.

Liu Xinxin nodded shyly, but her eyes couldn’t help drifting toward Leng Yuan.

’I always thought that country men who toiled in the fields would be plain-looking—dark and brawny from years of hard labor.’

But Leng Yuan wasn’t like that at all.

He had sharp brows and bright, piercing eyes. He carried an intimidating air, one that warned others not to cross him, yet his every move exuded a sense of good breeding. It was hard to describe, but he was just so handsome, and every motion was as smooth and graceful as flowing water.

Especially today, dressed in new clothes for the occasion, he looked like a young master from a wealthy household, with none of the dirt-caked aura of a farmer.

Of all the men Liu Xinxin had ever seen, Leng Yuan was, without a doubt, the most handsome and had the most commanding presence.

But remembering that today was his wedding banquet, Liu Xinxin couldn’t help but press her lips together.

"Aunt, let’s go say hello to my cousin first!"

Even though it was Leng Yuan’s wedding banquet, Liu Xinxin felt remarkably confident.

She’d seen the female educated youths sent down to the countryside. Even if they were pretty at first, after spending enough time in the village, they ended up no different from the local girls.

But she was different. She had a County Town residence permit, her uncle was a local official, and she’d never done a day of heavy labor in her life. She was confident she could outshine that woman, Gu Jiaojiao.