After the feasting and drinking concluded, Shen Jianrong gave a few instructions to the kitchen staff on duty, who assured her they would keep a close eye on the entire cafeteria.
The two families, each holding their respective boutonnieres, returned home to prepare.
Li Weibao tried on his suit, constantly adjusting the position of his boutonniere, his nervousness evident.
The 15th, the big day, arrived.
After an early breakfast, all members of the Li family were dressed and headed to the compound's cafeteria.
After dropping his family at the cafeteria entrance, Li Weihao drove the seven-seater car to purchase tablecloths.
Li Liguo and Ouyang Meihua drove their small car to the flower shop to decorate the vehicles.
Tian Jing, accompanied by her younger son, inspected the roses. After a hot night, the roses were slightly wilted.
After the 'inspection' and 'tidying' by Tian Jing and Li Weixin, they were once again refreshed.
Li Zhengguo, along with several nephews, checked the balloons. They found some deflated and some popped, so they brought out new balloons to replace them.
Li Weihao returned with red tablecloths, and the head chef, who had been delegated the role of Yuan Feng's assistant, promptly dispatched waitstaff to spread the tablecloths and set the tableware.
Li Weihao then drove the seven-seater car back to the flower shop.
At ten o'clock, the small car, decorated with 333 roses on its hood to form a double-heart pattern, and the seven-seater car, adorned with red silk and a few roses, both returned.
The groom, Li Weibao, accompanied by three groomsmen, drove these two cars to the Yu family residence to pick up the bride.
Even without a formal escort ceremony, this drive was still necessary for the pickup.
At the Yu family residence, Yu Jinghai was growing impatient. Would they be late?
Therefore, as soon as he saw Li Weibao, dressed in a suit, he immediately allowed him into Yu Ziyu's room.
The three bridesmaids only put up a token resistance, accepting red envelopes before opening the door.
Li Weibao, with Yu Ziyu, served tea to Yu Jinghai and Shen Jianrong, receiving red envelopes for changing their address. He handed them all to Yu Ziyu.
Yu Ziyu, in turn, passed them to Li Wanzhen, who stood behind her with a large red shoulder bag, specifically responsible for managing Yu Ziyu's red envelopes.
Yu Ziyu's red leather shoes were covered by her father's cloth shoes, and she walked slowly, step by step.
Li Weibao bent down and scooped her up.
The bridesmaid holding the red umbrella hurried to follow, using it to shield the bride.
Li Weibao placed Yu Ziyu in the back seat and then got in himself.
The bridesmaid with the umbrella sat in the passenger seat. Chen An, who was driving, slowly started the car.
The seven-seater car behind was driven by Li Weiyan. Li Wanzhen, another bridesmaid, and Yu Jinghai and his wife rode in the seven-seater.
The seven-seater car followed the small car towards the cafeteria, or rather, the wedding chapel.
At the wedding chapel, the red carpet was just being laid.
It stretched from the foot of the stage all the way to the east entrance, covering the one-and-a-half-meter-wide path lined with small archways of vines.
On either side of the outer east entrance stood small archways of vines.
On the vines, blooming red roses and tri-colored roses intertwined in a wave-like pattern, creating a beautiful spectacle.
Tian Jing and Li Liguo stood by the side of the gate, waiting.
The two cars slowly approached. The lead car gradually stopped by the side of the red carpet. More precisely, the rear passenger door stopped by the red carpet, waiting quietly.
Yu Jinghai and Shen Jianrong alighted from the seven-seater car behind and stood on the other side of the gate, preparing to greet guests.
It was eleven o'clock, and guests were expected soon.
Perhaps seeing Yu Jinghai and his wife, guests began to arrive one after another.
Upon entering the chapel, they were astonished by the dramatic transformation within. How many flowers and balloons were used?
Inside the gate, Li Jinghua's younger brother, Li Jingyan, and his youngest brother, Li Jinghe, served as accountants, one recording arrivals and the other managing monetary gifts.
However, there was a rule: no guest's monetary gift was to exceed two hundred yuan.
This included gifts. Gifts were to be opened and inspected on the spot, and anything valued over two hundred yuan was to be returned and not accepted.
Therefore, the brothers, along with their wives, stood nearby as reserve personnel, ready to open gifts and estimate their value.
After the first guest's excess monetary gift was returned, all subsequent guests only offered two hundred yuan.
Even those who brought gifts kept them in their bags, choosing to offer two hundred yuan in cash instead.
The guests were left speechless, thinking, "They are so proud, why don't they just refuse gifts altogether?"
Shen Jianrong thought to herself, "No, that won't do. I only have one daughter. If we don't accept gifts, how will we recoup the money spent on the banquet? Where will the funds for purchasing ingredients come from?"
Shen Jianfang, acting as the greeter, along with two nephews from her maternal family and four nephews from her husband's family, guided the guests to their seats.
After finding their tables, the guests got up and looked around. The lavish decorations made it comparable to a high-class hotel.
The Li family was indeed exceptionally wealthy. The Yu family daughter was fortunate.
At ten past eleven, Li Weibao got out of the car and waited by the door.
Inside the chapel, cheerful background music began, drowning out the guests' conversations.
Li Jinghua picked up the microphone and began his speech:
"Distinguished guests, friends, ladies, and gentlemen..."
"...Dear friends, let us now welcome the bride and groom into this sacred wedding hall with warm applause!"
Loud applause erupted as Li Jinghua's voice faded.
Li Weihao opened the car door. The bridesmaid holding the red umbrella quickly held it high above the car door.
Li Weihao extended his right hand. Yu Ziyu, wearing a wedding glove, placed her right hand in his and, with his assistance, stepped out of the car.
Her pale pink wedding dress accentuated Yu Ziyu's lively and bright demeanor. Coupled with her beaming smile, it made the hot weather feel as cool as autumn.
Hand in hand, they walked down the red carpet into the wedding chapel.
Yu Ziyu loudly called out to Li Zhengguo and Tian Jing, "Dad, Mom."
"Yes."
"Yes."
Li Zhengguo and Tian Jing beamed with joy. They had been waiting for this.
Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo each produced a thick red envelope and gave it to Yu Ziyu.
Yu Ziyu accepted with a smile, saying, "Thank you, Dad, thank you, Mom."
"Good girl," Tian Jing said, stepping back with her husband to allow the couple to enter the chapel.
Upon entering the red carpet path of the chapel, the Li family members stood on the south side of the path. There were no round tables here, allowing guests on the north side to see the Li family's faces.
The first person was naturally Li's mother. Li Weihao introduced Yu Ziyu, an essential formality even though they had met before. Yu Ziyu cheerfully called out, "Grandma."
Li's mother's eyes welled up. She took out a thick red envelope, saying, "Good child, this is Grandma's token of changing address."
Yu Ziyu accepted it and thanked her loudly, "Thank you, Grandma."
Li Wanzhen followed her cousin and took the three large red envelopes from her cousin's hand.
The second to be introduced were naturally Li Liguo and Ouyang Meihua.
"Uncle, Aunt."
Yu Ziyu's two greetings earned her two more large red envelopes.
"Aunt, Uncle."
Yu Ziyu received red envelopes from everyone she addressed as "sister-in-law," including Sister Damai and Sister Xiaomai.
Li Weihao and Li Weiyan, being unmarried and without female companions, also gave a red envelope.
Behind them were those younger than Li Weibao. Each one called out "second sister-in-law" and held out their hands for a red envelope.
Even Yuan Fang and Zhou Yulin extended their hands, calling out "Second Uncle's Wife," and received two red envelopes.
They proceeded this way until they reached the foot of the stage, where Li Weibao helped Yu Ziyu onto it.
Once the couple turned and stood in place, the host skipped the introduction of the newlyweds and directly invited the officiant to the stage.
As soon as the officiant appeared, all the hushed murmuring from below ceased.
Those who knew Zeng Jingrong's identity fell silent.
Those who didn't know Zeng Jingrong's identity, such as the Tang, Gong, Cai, Wu, and Tu families, seeing everyone else fall silent, also quieted down.
They secretly speculated about the officiant's identity.
Zeng Jingrong had also prepared a speech and read from it: "Distinguished guests, relatives, and friends, hello everyone. I am deeply honored to serve as the officiant for the bride and groom..."
After the officiant's speech, it was time for the main officiant's address.
When it was revealed that Elder Shen would be the main officiant, the applause from below became enthusiastic.
Although Elder Shen's speech had been shortened, it still took five minutes. No one in the audience showed impatience; they listened attentively and gave even warmer applause at the end.
Elder Shen, satisfied, descended from the stage.
The host, Li Jinghua, announced the commencement of the banquet.
A buzzing sound immediately arose from the audience.
"So simple?"
"No introduction of the newlyweds, no exchange of rings, no speeches from the parents of both sides, no photo session."
"Doesn't this ceremony seem too brief?"
"Doesn't it seem like a waste of such a beautiful stage and venue?"
However, the music on the stage stopped. Elder Shen personally invited some people to take their seats. The banquet was starting, and it was a good opportunity to foster relationships.
As dishes were being served one after another, the guests grew increasingly astonished.
"Have the chefs in this cafeteria become so skilled? Not only can they prepare these delicacies, but they can also present the dishes in artistic arrangements?"
"Not to mention the aroma that filled their nostrils."