"Sure," Qin Jian agreed without hesitation.
He believed in An Hao and felt grateful to her in his heart.
He knew about the grudge between An Hao and Song Yueqin, but the fact that she could set it aside for Qin Fen’s sake was truly not easy.
"Thank you, An Hao," Qin Jian said earnestly.
"You don’t need to thank me. I just didn’t want to see you troubled. After all, with so many problems landing on you, it would be hard for you not to get involved, right?" If she hadn’t agreed, Qin Jian would be even more troubled caught in the middle.
Wasn’t this just like Li Junping, about to be squeezed from both sides!
In An Hao’s heart, Qin Jian was a man who stood tall and upright, a soldier full of vigor. He shouldn’t be tied down by trivial family matters.
She would take care of these troublesome matters! After all, she was already used to it.
Qin Jian was grateful that he had chosen the right person, and he gently hugged An Hao, whispering in her ear, "Having a wife , what more could I ask for!"
An Hao smiled, revealing her beautiful dimples.
As long as Qin Jian was happy, she felt that any disadvantage was worth it.
An Hao returned to the yard and saw that everyone was working without much effort. She cleared her throat and spoke loudly, "Uncles and aunts, Qin Fen is getting married tomorrow, so we’ve asked you all to come and help today. It’s getting dark, and we still haven’t finished our work, so I’m afraid we’ll have to ask everyone to put in a little more effort. Since you’re helping out, we definitely can’t let you go unrewarded—the red envelopes are ready, and you can come to me to get them after the work is done. Also, I’ve prepared food and drinks for tonight. After the work is done, nobody should leave; stay for dinner to celebrate a bit in advance."
Upon hearing An Hao’s words, the previously lethargic people suddenly perked up.
Getting married in the dead of winter is a tough business. Standing around in the cold busying themselves, without any gesture from the host family, not even a kind word— who would have the motivation to work?
"An Hao, how big is the red envelope you’re giving?" the women helping out asked her, giggling.
An Hao smiled and replied, "As is the custom, I’ll give as much as anyone else does! And it can only be more, not less!"
"What about tonight, what are you going to feed us?"
"There will be plenty of meat and liquor!"
As soon as An Hao finished speaking, the men who had been sitting and smoking rose to their feet. They snuffed out their cigarettes, stamped them hard on the ground, and stood up, "Let’s do this, everyone! The host has spoken!"
"Right! Let’s go! Let’s get to it quickly, so we don’t hold up the big event of getting the bride tomorrow."
After saying this, the people in the yard busied themselves—those who needed to chop firewood did so, and those who needed to borrow stools and bowls went out to do that. The women started picking and washing vegetables as well. Everything began to proceed in an orderly manner.
Among the bustling crowd, An Hao immediately noticed Shen Zhihua’s father and Wang Erzhu’s dad; they had also come to help.
An Hao had seen other families marry off their daughters, knowing that a wedding couldn’t go smoothly without a manager for the festivities. So, she turned around, went inside to get two boxes of cigarettes, and called the two men over, "Uncle Shen, Uncle Wang, you two are well-liked among our fellow villagers and your words carry weight. For the next two days, as Qin Fen gets married, the various matters in the household will need you two uncles to take charge. My father-in-law’s leg injury prevents him from walking, and my mother-in-law, being a woman, is worn out from all the hard work these days! Qin Jian is mostly with the troops every year, and he’s not quite clear about many local customs and courtesies, so I’ll need to trouble you two to put in a bit more effort."