Chapter 354: Poor and Rich Relatives

The next morning, with the drizzle stopped but the air still chilly, Cao Guangyu and his peers had already risen early for classes, leaving the dormitory empty.

After brushing up, Jiang Qin put on a hoodie, tidied up his hair, and noticed the word ‘handsome’ written on the mirror, prompting a smile as he went downstairs.

He wasn’t close to his cousins in Linchuan, agreeing to attend the wedding mainly to chauffeur the couple, so he didn’t dress up special.

Suit and tie?

That’s what even stunning rich ladies like Feng Nanshu crave, too showy for outsiders.

Jiang Qin fastened his seatbelt, stepped on the gas, and thought today he’d rely on his handsome face to freeload food and drinks.

At the hotel, he picked up Yuan Youqin and Jiang Zhenghong, and without delay, they headed straight to the Oriental Beauty Scenic Area in Nancheng District.

Reaching the community gate, they saw a long line of red inflatable arches marking the entrance, bearing the names of the groom Lin Peng and bride Wang Cuimei, and nearby a lion dance team resting, guzzling mineral water.

The community was visibly packed with cars, and a crowd of relatives chatted idly by the doorway, the ground scattered with remnants of firecrackers mixed with last night’s rain, so Jiang Qin took a detour and parked in front of a nearby shop.

As he turned off the engine, another car did the same right across.

The occupants exchanged glances before stepping out, then Jiang Zhenghong displayed a surprised look.

“Third Brother?”

“Zhenghong, long time no see, is that you?”

Jiang Zhenghong approached for a handshake: “Last time was Xiaowen’s wedding, right? That was seven or eight years ago.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while indeed…and this is…your son?”

“Yes, my son Jiang Qin. Jiang Qin, this is your third granduncle.”

Jiang Qin quickly greeted him and pulled out a cigarette: “Nice to meet you, uncle, haven’t met before, but you look younger than my dad.”

Third granduncle laughed for a while, then spotting the cigarette brand and the car, uttered: “Oh…”

Truth be told, Jizhou and Linchuan had quite the economic gap; Jizhou was just a small county town whereas Linchuan was an industrial city, making relatives from there subconsciously see those from Jizhou as poorer.

Yet seeing Jiang Zhenghong’s family driving an Audi left third granduncle stunned, though he said little, just carefully observed Jiang Qin, finding him somewhat familiar.

Third granduncle, real name Lin Dewai, was also here for a free meal, his daughter Lingling, three years older than Jiang Qin and a graduate, came over and greeted everyone.

“Where does Lingling work?”

“Still job-hunting, she’s quite picky, won’t settle for just any unit.”

“Right, right, no rush in job search, one must be choosy.”

The families chatted while heading inside the residential area, then arrived at the groom’s place, finding the living room already packed.

There was a clear division; Jizhou side had their own small group, not talking much, whereas Linchuan side was lively, with families munching on seeds and drinking tea.

Upon entering, Jizhou relatives started greeting while those from Linchuan were more subdued, only a few familiar faces said hello.

Boss Jiang squatted by a wall like a small Karami, scanning around.

Suddenly, his gaze landed on a plaque under the coffee table.

It read “Bride’s dowry: 250,000 yuan, a fully-furnished apartment, plus a car.”

Jiang Qin picked it up, thought to himself, impressive indeed, though there wasn’t much interaction between the relatives from the two places, some commonalities in bloodline were unmistakable.

For instance, marrying into wealth, but from Jiang Qin’s perspective, the groom’s catch couldn’t compare to his own situation.

“How about that, Jiang Qin, jealous? You should learn from your brother Lin Peng, save yourself a decade of struggle.”

Jiang Qin looked up and saw a middle-aged woman in a red cheongsam adorned with gold bracelets and permed hair.

Jiang Zhenghong patted Jiang Qin’s shoulder: “This is your fifth aunt, the groom’s mother.”

“Oh, auntie, congratulations, and may you be blessed with grandchildren soon.”

“Aren’t you close too? Got a girlfriend yet?”

Jiang Qin smiled shyly: “Auntie, I’m still in school, not rushing the girlfriend part.”

Yuan Youqin suddenly kicked him from behind: “Behave, stop fidgeting, look decent.”

“?”

Jiang Qin stopped fidgeting, handed back the plaque, and it was passed around the nosy relatives, all singing praises.

Nowadays, a dowry of 250,000 with a house and car was like manna from heaven.

The groom’s mother, Niu Xianglan, very particular about appearances and face, reveled in the compliments, repeatedly cuing Jiang Qin on finding a well-off partner, much to Yuan Youqin’s annoyance.

Just then, drums and gongs resounded downstairs, signaling the bride’s arrival; Niu Xianglan no longer had time to share her wisdom, hurrying down instead.

Weddings are all about the banquet and seeing the bride, but upon reaching downstairs, the crowd couldn’t help but murmur, noting the bride seemed quite large and possibly over thirty-five, and also quite plump.

The groom, only twenty-six and about 170 cm tall, seemed only about 120 pounds, standing next to the bride, the contrast was stark.

What followed was tea serving, changing address, eating noodles, the house bustling until the ceremony concluded and it was time for the bride to change outfits, calling Lin Peng’s family together.

“Mom, I need to tell you, dad’s business partners suddenly decided to come, you need to reserve a table for them.”

“Ah? But we calculated the banquet based on headcount.”

Wang Cuimei furrowed her brows: “These are Linchuan bosses, literally godsends. If you don’t accommodate, I’m not going through with this wedding!”

Niu Xianglan had scheduled the wedding after the eleventh, hoping to avoid too many kids, yet last minute changes were inevitable.

“Easy to say, adding a table costs money.”

Niu Xianglan murmured, frowning but spoke softly: “Let me discuss with your father, we’ll figure something out.”

Lin Laowu and Niu Xianglan had the same idea, not wanting to add tables; simple enough, free up one from those already fixed and shuffle the extra guests onto other tables.

But their frugality meant setting fifteen people per table; adding more would displeased other guests.

In the end, it was Lin Peng’s father who decided, having Jizhou relatives move to accommodate the extra table.

Why? Because Linchuan relatives were closely-knit, whereas those from Jizhou were less consequential, only seen during festivals.

Clothes don’t make the man, nor does the feast; only bad planning brings poverty.

Niu Xianglan thought it sufficient and returned to the bedroom to consult with her daughter-in-law.

“My dad’s friends need to be at the front table, don’t tuck them away in some corner.”

“That’s easy, just move our relatives back a table to open up the front, right?”

After hearing this, Wang Cuimei nodded, easing Niu Xianglan’s mind; marrying a well-off older girl might spare her son years of toil but was akin to marrying into royalty.

Lin Peng, seeing his mother leave, hesitated and spoke: “Cuimei, why do you speak to my mom like that?”

“What did I do?”

“It’s your side bringing extra guests without notice, could you be a bit nicer?”

Wang Cuimei glanced at Lin Peng: “They’re honoring the Lin family by attending. If it weren’t for them, what would become of our wedding? You think your poor relatives can hold up the show?”

Lin Peng felt uneasy: “How are my relatives poor?”

“Not poor? Then who was that sitting on the couch with the fake LV belt, so ostentatious? My friends are from wealthy families, very sharp-eyed. They won’t mock you but me!”

“…”

After a while, around 11:30, Lin family began gathering relatives and friends to head to the hotel for the meal.

Jiang Zhenghong just stood up to leave when Lin Peng approached with a belt: “Uncle, change your belt.”

“Eh?”

“That belt’s a knockoff, my wife has many wealthy friends who know their stuff, wouldn’t want you laughed at.”

Jiang Zhenghong’s face changed immediately, thinking, ‘My daughter-in-law wouldn’t buy me a fake, would she?’ but seeing Lin Peng’s embarrassed face, he felt a pang of sympathy.

A 27-year-old young man, married to an older woman, disdainful of poor relatives, Jiang Zhenghong, being experienced, understood his predicament well.

So, he said little, went into the room to change belts, then headed downstairs.

But arriving at the hotel only brought more irritation. Linchuan relatives were all seated, just waiting to eat, while Jizhou relatives looked confused and annoyed.

Their hotel reservation was for twelve per table, but Lin family, opting for economy, arranged fifteen per table.

Linchuan relatives didn’t mind, twelve or fifteen people, the more the merrier. But Jizhou was different.

Initially having four tables, now because of “esteemed guests,” one was removed, making those fifteen blend into two other tables, nearly twenty people at each now.

What was unbearable was these two tables were indeed tucked into a corner, far and obstructed by a column, the stage not even visible.

“My goodness, are they this stingy? Is this Linchuan’s wealthy relatives?”

“Lin Laowu has always been like this, even stole a lot of peanuts from Qi Ge’s home during a rain long back.”

“Still, this level of stinginess at his son’s wedding? Isn’t he afraid of losing face?”

“Why wouldn’t he be? Hence Linchuan relatives have fifteen per table, look at us from Jizhou, twenty per table!”

“What, they planning not to return? Is this how they look down on us from smaller places? I’m not eating this crap.”

“Me neither, let’s go somewhere else to eat.”

Hearing this, many hotheads from Jizhou prepared to leave, sensing Lin Laowu was sizing them up through a crack in the door, immediately causing an uproar about leaving.

Seeing this, Niu Xianglan and Lin Laowu hurried over, thinking if hometown relatives left, they’d lose all face to return.

It’s a minor issue not to return, but wouldn’t they be ridiculed to death?

“Everyone, seriously sorry, we really had no choice. The bride’s business partners all are big bosses, requested a separate table, and our tables were all booked, we had no choice but to inconvenience you.”

“Stay seated for now, whether the food’s good or not, I’ll treat you separately later.”

As noise from the back table erupted, Wang Cuimei, waiting by the banquet hall’s entrance for guests from her side, frowned: “What’s wrong with your relatives again?”

Lin Peng swallowed hard: “Isn’t it because we freed up a table? Probably they feel it’s too crowded, a bit hard to accept.”

“Really, the poorer they are, the more problems they have. Haven’t they eaten feasts in centuries to fuss over one meal like this.”

“Enough, less talking. It’s a joyous day, I don’t want to fight.”