Chapter 322: Wedding Dress

Chapter 322: Wedding Outfits

"Dad, when would I even have time to do these things myself? And if I cooked for myself... I’d probably starve to death."

Ye Changning could cook, but his skills were barely passable—just enough to be edible.

He hadn’t cooked for himself since leaving home.

Zhang Xue jumped in, "Third Bro’s swamped these days. Just eating on time is an achievement. Don’t give him grief, Dad. When we go back this time, let’s hire a cook at home so Mom won’t have to work so hard."

Miao Cuifang said, "I don’t need that. I usually just teach a few classes at the school next door and have time to cook for the kids."

Ye Changqing added, "We should hire one. Xiao Xue’s in night school, and Second Brother’s wife is about to give birth soon. Mom, you’ll have to go over early to help after the birth. If we find someone now, we can see what they’re like—it’s hard to find the right person in a rush."

Ye Changqing made sense, and Miao Cuifang didn’t argue.

Li Guilan used to have it easy, but with Miao Cuifang gone, she’d have to look after both households and take care of the children’s grandparents, so she’d be stretched thin.

So hiring a cook really needed to happen sooner rather than later.

Fortunately, there were tons of folks in the city who can cook but don’t have jobs—as long as the pay’s right, many would be willing to take the job.

Ye Changning agreed with his elder brother’s idea and even suggested to Li Guilan, "Auntie, if it’s too much for you, we can hire someone to help take care of Grandpa and Grandma too."

Li Guilan replied, "With all of you away, all I do is clean up and feed the animals. I don’t need anyone’s help."

Ye Jianye’s kids weren’t running big businesses, but they all had stable jobs.

Besides, the two families were pretty much one family—they shared the same compound without formally splitting off. Ye Changqing and Ye Changning often gave money to their uncle as well.

As a result, the main Ye household was doing well too.

Li Guilan knew her duty was to keep things running at home, and she was already quite satisfied with her current life.

Having food on the table and clothes on their backs was something she wouldn’t have dared dream of before.

Ye Changqing actually wanted to bring his grandparents and uncle’s family to the city, but the grandparents wouldn’t hear of it—they wanted to stay in the village. That left the responsibility of caring for them to his uncle and aunt.

That settled it, and Ye Changning arranged for everyone to sit down for dinner.

Afterward, Miao Cuifang talked to her two sons about the dowry they were preparing for Xiao Xiao.

Both she and Ye Changqing had made preparations—though the amount wasn’t much, it’s the gesture that matters.

"Xiao Xiao will just be happy you came. You have no idea how big her company’s gotten. Do you know how many wealthy people go to her hospital for consultations? Half my business partners hit me up for favors."

"So money isn’t important—she’s not short on it."

Ye Changning traveled a lot, but he still spent a few months in the capital every year, so he was well aware of Ye Xiaoxiao’s recent situation.

Miao Cuifang asked, "Then what do you think is most important?"

Ye Changning replied, "Of course, it’s the thought behind it."

Ye Jianguo asked, "Then how do you express that thought?"

Ye Changning said, "Give money."

Ye Jianguo was about to smack him again, but Ye Changning cut in quickly, "My way of showing thought is giving money! I’m not wrong!"

Miao Cuifang: "I've prepared a set of gold accessories for Xiao Xiao, but I'm not sure if she'll like them."

Xiao Xiao rarely wears jewelry, but gold is beautiful to look at even if it's just stored away.

"Really, there's no need to worry. Xiao Xiao will love whatever you give her. You might as well have skipped making jewelry and just given her gold bars instead."

Ye Changning was telling the truth, but that got him a glare from his mother.

"Gold bars are so crude as gifts. At least jewelry is something to behold."

Ye Changning chuckled. "You really don’t need to worry. Xiao Xiao will love whatever you give her."

Miao Cuifang: "That's not good enough. Even though Xiao Xiao doesn’t expect anything from the family, we should still give her the best."

Ye Changning: "Well, you’ve already prepared it, so it won’t go to waste."

...

The wedding dress designer brought the outfits to the Lu family home for Ye Xiaoxiao to try on.

Two outfits came with matching jewelry—one elaborate, the other simple.

The designer had previously taken Ye Xiaoxiao’s measurements, so the clothes fit well, which pleased her.

Grandma Lu nodded approvingly. "Very nice, very nice. Our Xiao Xiao looks beautiful in anything."

This was quite different from her earlier worries, when she had been afraid that poorly fitting wedding clothes might spoil the big day and had been gloomy for days.

"Grandma, now that you've had your look, can I take this off?"

The weather was still a bit warm, and the outfit wasn't exactly comfortable.

The beaded headdress was a bit heavy too.

Thankfully, the capital's grand hotel was air-conditioned, so that wasn’t a concern.

"What a pity such gorgeous outfits are only for one occasion."

Grandma Lu looked at Ye Xiaoxiao and was reminded of her own youth, when weddings were much simpler affairs.

She and Grandpa Lu had met a few times in the war zone, building a strong bond through shared struggle, never imagining they’d spend their lives together.

They had children too, though they only had one son survive. But now, in peacetime, the nation was becoming more prosperous.

And now, her grandson was getting married.

How marvelous.

"Grandma, what's making you cry?"

Ye Xiaoxiao noticed the tears in Grandma Lu’s eyes and hurried over to ask.

Grandma Lu patted Xiao Xiao’s hand. "Don't worry, child. I’m just happy!"

...

Lu Hanchuan, after changing upstairs, came down just in time to see Xiao Xiao in her red dress, with her head bowed slightly.

He stopped on the stairs briefly before descending.

Ye Xiaoxiao looked up and finally saw him.

Lu Hanchuan was wearing a dark blue suit. It resembled a Western-style suit or a Zhongshan suit, but had its own unique touches. The tailored cut was sharp and showcased his physique perfectly.

"Come on down..."

Ye Xiaoxiao mouthed the words silently.

Finally, Lu Hanchuan came down slowly.

"Grandma, don’t get worked up. If you cry now, what will you do when we serve you the wedding tea at the ceremony?"

"Don’t talk nonsense, you silly boy. Grandma won’t cry."

Grandma Lu wiped away her tears and laughed, patting her grandson on the back.

"You and Xiaoxiao stand together. Let Grandma take a good look."

Lu Hanchuan gave Xiaoxiao a look that said, "Didn’t I do well?" before walking over and putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Good, good. You two look perfect together."

Grandma Lu urged Grandpa Lu to go get the family camera. "Go get it. Let’s get some pictures of them in their outfits."

Seeing that his wife was fine now, Grandpa Lu went to fetch the camera and took photos not only of Lu Hanchuan and Ye Xiaoxiao but also of Ye Xiaoxiao with her grandparents.

"Grandpa and Grandma are so photogenic. These will look wonderful once they’re developed."

"Xiaoxiao’s the pretty one here."

Grandma Lu and Xiaoxiao kept complimenting each other.

After trying on the wedding outfits, booking the banquet, and notifying relatives and friends, everything was falling into place.

Ye Xiaoxiao hadn’t felt nervous when signing the marriage papers, but as the wedding drew closer, she began feeling genuinely nervous.

After all, she’d have so many people watching her—and it would be her very first time.