Chapter One: Joyful Atmosphere

  "This girl is really pretty." The plump middle-aged woman looked ahead with a smile all over her face.

  "We're all old girls now, what's the point of being pretty? I think that young man is quite handsome." The slightly thinner woman obviously disagreed with the fat woman's view, and her mouth curled up unconsciously when she spoke.

  Two women were talking in hushed tones, but their voices weren't any softer than usual. There were too many people around, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say that it was packed like a sea of people. The crowd was shoulder-to-shoulder, with less than half a meter between each person. With so many people squeezed together, even if they spoke in hushed tones, their voices would still be drowned out.

  "In front is a stage set up with colored silk, on which a young couple are holding folding fans and bowing to the crowd. 'Ladies and gentlemen, elders and younger ones: Today is a grand festive day, so we'll sing a little New Year's greeting to liven up the atmosphere. If our singing is good, please applaud and cheer; if it's not good, please forgive us!'"

  After the opening remarks, the male and female actors took their positions and began to sing loudly, "In the first month of the year, it's New Year's Day, the first day of the great year. Every family gathers for a reunion dinner, younger ones come to pay respects to the older ones..."

  The male and female actors on the stage had clear voices and handsome appearances, obviously a pair of powerful two-person turnover performers. The noise from under the stage gradually subsided, and the audience was quietly appreciating the actors' brilliant performance.

  But this is not a performance in a luxurious theater, today's show is completely an outdoor performance. Looking at the audience around, they are basically simple folks from rural Northeast China. The old man holds a tobacco pouch, women wear flower-printed cotton-padded jackets, and some young men carry hoes and shovels, as if they had just finished farm work and happened to pass by.

  "Psst——" A sharp whistle suddenly sounded, and the actor's singing was immediately covered up by the whistling. The affected audience was dissatisfied, "Who is it? Who blew the whistle?" People complained and turned their heads in the direction of the whistling, wanting to see who was making trouble here instead of listening to the play.

  Among the crowd, there was a half-grown boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a straight nose bridge, a clean face, and his two eyes were full of vitality. His whole body exuded a clever spirit. Wearing a blue satin cotton-padded jacket, he looked like a jade tree in the wind. The young girls around him couldn't help but glance at the boy intentionally or unintentionally.

  This handsome young man, however, was doing something that didn't match his appearance at all. His right index finger was stuck in his mouth, his cheeks were puffed out, and the shrill whistle came from his mouth.

  The actors on stage were afraid of being disrupted while performing, and in their nervousness, they even messed up a simple New Year's greeting by knocking over the props twice.

  The villagers were furious in their hearts, but when they saw the face of the whistler, the scolding that was about to come out of their mouths suddenly swallowed back. This young man didn't care about the faces of the people around him, and he kept looking at the two of them while blowing his whistle from time to time, sometimes even shouting "good".

  "Xiao Fei, what are you whistling? I can't even hear the lyrics of the song being sung on stage!" The plump middle-aged woman finally couldn't bear it anymore. She was closest to Xiao Fei who was whistling, and the whistling sound disturbed her the most.

  "Yes, Little Fei, just calm down!" As soon as someone spoke up, a chorus of agreement erupted from the surrounding crowd.

  "I'm willing, I'm happy! My mouth is on my body, and I'll blow it however I want! If you want to whistle, you can whistle too, I guarantee I won't stop you!" The young man named Xiaofei didn't care about the protests from the people around him, rolled his eyes, and continued doing his own thing.

  "Hu Fei, Hu Fei, your dad is calling you! The bride is about to leave!" A shout came from outside the crowd, someone was shouting while squeezing into the crowd.

  "Coming! Coming!" Xiaofei heard this shout and immediately responded loudly as he tried to squeeze out of the crowd.

  The villagers indeed took good care of Xiaofei. The crowd that had just been packed tightly around them immediately parted to make way, and Hu Fei quickly ran out of the crowd with a smile.

  It's said that the troublemaker has left, so fellow villagers should stay and enjoy the show. But who knows what happens next is not what everyone expected! It's unknown who shouted, but the crowd watching the show suddenly followed in the direction of Hu Fei's escape. The front of the stage was packed with spectators just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, only a few die-hard fans were left.

  The two-person turn actors on the stage are quite professional. Although there were many fewer people than before, the two of them on the stage continued to perform meticulously, without lowering their performance quality due to the decrease in audience.

  Hu Fei's home is not far from the theater, and it can be said that if you squeeze out of this crowd, you can see the door. As soon as he entered the house, he was pulled back by someone, "Little Fly, today is Chun Ni's big wedding day, why are you still running around?"

  This string of scolding sounds, Hu Fei closed his eyes and knew that except for his own mother, there would be no second person.

  "Ah, ah, I'm back! Mom, let go of me quickly! Ah yo, ah yo, mom, you're pinching me to death!" Unlike ordinary sixteen-year-old boys, Hu Fei never opposed his mother treating him like a child. However, today, being scolded by his mother in front of so many people made him feel a bit embarrassed, so he pretended to be in pain and immediately broke free from her grasp.

  At this time, there were already many people crowded in the Hu family's courtyard. A tall sorrel horse was particularly eye-catching, with a red sash across its back, a flower-adorned hat on its head, and a large red flower on its chest. The groom held the reins of the horse, behind which was the sedan chair to receive the bride.

  A middle-aged man with a worried face stood beside the flower sedan, and when he saw Hu Fei coming in from outside, his eyes lit up instantly. The worry on his face immediately turned into joy, "Little Fly, it's time, quick fireworks!"

  Someone carried a long string of firecrackers on a bamboo pole, Hu Fei carefully lit the fuse with an incense stick, then jumped back two steps and covered his ears.

  "Boom! Boom! Bang!" With the sound of firecrackers, the drummer hugged the suona and started playing, "Wooo-woo-woo-woo-woo". As soon as the suona sounded, all procedures were considered complete.

  "The bride is leaving!" A loud shout from the master of ceremonies, the groom mounted his horse, and the bridal sedan chair began to move slowly towards the gate. Hu Fei's mother called out "Niang" and tears flowed out of her eyes. Hu Father quickly came over to hold his wife, both their eyes fixed on the sedan chair, where a faint sound of sobbing could be heard from inside.

  The daughter is going to become someone else's family from today on, and it's a local tradition to cry before leaving home.

  "Bang! Bang!" The firecracker sounds continued, only more sparse than before.

  "Sister, don't cry. Don't worry, if this kid dares to bully you, just tell me and I'll help you get revenge!" Hu Fei shouted loudly towards the wedding sedan chair, then turned his head and glared at the groom on horseback, "Yang Lao San, remember: my sister is marrying you today, from now on if you dare to let her suffer any grievances, watch me not break one of your legs!"