The warm winter sun cast a gentle glow, warming everyone it touched.

In Leng Yuan’s courtyard, however, it was unusually quiet.

Unlike the stunned crowd, Xia Qiuming was already grinning from ear to ear.

He stuffed one red envelope after another into Gu Jiaojiao’s hands.

For a moment, Gu Jiaojiao wasn’t sure if she should keep calling him "Uncle."

In contrast to Gu Jiaojiao’s hesitation, the people in the courtyard were simply dumbfounded.

They had never seen anyone give out red envelopes like that before.

The red envelopes were both large and thick.

Even if they were just one-yuan bills, a few of those together had to be over a hundred yuan!

When most villagers gave fifty cents or a yuan, this uncle was handing out over a hundred. And that was just in red envelopes for Gu Jiaojiao—not counting the formal cash gift. It was just too lavish.

The villagers watching from the sidelines were green with envy.

It was nothing complicated; they just resented the wealthy.

Families with daughters were especially filled with regret. If they had known Leng Yuan would have such an uncle, they would have done anything to marry their daughters to him back then. It would have been a bargain even if they had to provide the dowry themselves!

How could they let some educated youth from the city beat them to it!

They were filled with bitter regret.

Chen Shulan and Chen Yan weren’t just seeing red; they were grinding their teeth hard enough to shatter them.

It was nothing more than resentment for the wealthy.

They looked at Gu Jiaojiao, then thought of themselves. They looked at the man by her side, then at their own husbands, and their hearts seethed with resentment.

’Why are our husbands so useless?’

Chen Yan didn’t dare take her anger out on Wang Shengli, instead twisting the hem of her shirt until it was nearly shredded.

Chen Shulan was different. She had always held a high status in her family.

She kicked Lin Jiandong and snapped, "Why don’t you have an impressive uncle like that?"

Lin Jiandong was speechless.

’This woman has to be crazy!’

’If I had an uncle that impressive, I would have married someone as beautiful as Gu Jiaojiao. There’s no way I would have settled for Chen Shulan.’

’Even though she was his wife, he couldn’t bring himself to lie about it.’

’With the way Chen Shulan looks, I’m probably the only one who was willing to marry her.’

’Any other man would’ve had to think twice.’

’Back then, girls weren’t considered valuable and families had plenty of them, so men had no shortage of potential wives. They could take their pick from all the good ones.’

’Even though the Lin Family was relatively poor, they’d been picky back then before finally setting their sights on Chen Shulan.’

But these were thoughts he only dared to ponder, never to speak aloud.

After all, Chen Shulan was too aggressive and would resort to violence at the slightest disagreement.

He was a good man who didn’t fight with women; he wouldn’t stoop to her level.

Xia Qiuming’s main purpose for this trip was to attend the feast, and he had the county magistrate sitting right beside him.

The brigade leader and the village chief were there as well.

You could say everyone at that table was part of the leadership.

After stuffing a few more red envelopes into Gu Jiaojiao’s hands, Xia Qiuming turned his attention to the feast.

This was his nephew’s wedding feast, after all, and Xia Qiuming ate with great enjoyment.

After making her toasts, Gu Jiaojiao returned to her room.

The festivities outside continued until one or two in the morning before the crowd gradually dispersed.

Aunt Leng and Third Aunt Leng were unusually diligent today. They were not only quick and efficient with their work but also remarkably perceptive, leaving the surrounding villagers stunned.

If they hadn’t personally heard Aunt Leng say she’d beat Leng Yuan out with a stick if he ever dared come to her door to borrow money, they would have thought she and Leng Yuan were actually on good terms!

They pursed their lips, casting contemptuous glances at the members of the Leng Family.

They didn’t want to see the Leng Family reconcile with Leng Yuan. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

There was no other reason.

They had no way of getting close to Leng Yuan themselves.

’It was all their parents’ fault for not having the surname Leng and not being in the Leng Clan Genealogy.’

Such regret!

Among everyone, the most dejected of all was the Wang Family.

In the past, the Wang Family had been on good terms with Leng Yuan’s parents and had received a great deal of help from them.

If they hadn’t chosen to distance themselves after Leng Yuan’s parents left, and had instead stepped up to lend a hand, they too could have been part of today’s celebration.

Such regret!