Chapter 65: A Sudden Marriage Proposal
No one had expected that the little girl the Jiao family had brought in to be head chef—only ten years old—would actually handle the entire wedding banquet so perfectly. Not only were the dishes novel, with two or three made in ways the guests had never seen before, but the taste was also absolutely phenomenal.
Who could have imagined that the smelly pig intestines, which no one dared touch at first, would end up being so delicious? From no one daring to try it, to people scrambling for it, the dish was a hit. Some even begged the Jiao family to reveal how it was made.
But would the Jiao family spill the secret? Of course not. Seeing all the guests singing praise for the banquet, Xiao Luo-shi couldn’t stop smiling. In front of the bride’s relatives, she had definitely earned face.
After all, when the groom’s family valued their daughter like this, the bride’s side couldn’t pick out any faults, and so the wedding concluded happily.
In truth, the hardest part of cooking wasn’t the cooking itself, but the tedious prep work beforehand and the chaotic mess afterward. Since Wen Yao was the head chef, she didn’t have to handle these trivial tasks. So once all the dishes were served and her part was done, she, along with Wen Di and the two girls from Jiao Jian’s family, brought trays of food to the bride.
Jiao Yang had come to Wen Yao during a break in his rounds of toasting and asked if she could prepare a few lighter dishes for the bride. After all, the poor girl had been up since dawn, getting dressed and made up, and hadn’t eaten anything yet.
The girl was all alone, marrying into a family of strangers. Jiao Yang didn’t know who else to ask, so he could only turn to a few of his nieces.
Wen Yao had wanted to tease him like in weddings from her past life, but remembering this was a feudal era—and the groom was her uncle—she dismissed the thought.
But checking out the bride? That was a must in any era.
The four girls tiptoed to the bridal chamber door and listened in. It was quiet inside.
They exchanged glances, then gently knocked on the door.
“Who is it? Please come in,” came a soft, gentle voice from inside.
“Auntie, it’s us. May we come in?” Jiao Ning, Jiao Jian’s eldest daughter, called softly.
There was a brief pause, then a shy response: “Come in.”
The four pushed open the door, carrying trays.
Jiao Yang had already lifted the bride’s veil and left to toast guests. The bride sat alone in the room, clearly nervous but also curious and expectant. When she saw the four girls enter, her tense face relaxed visibly.
Wen Yao was stunned the first time she saw the bride—her face was covered in a thick layer of some kind of powder, with bright red lips, thick black brows, and heavily rouged cheeks. It wasn’t exactly ugly… but “pleasant-looking” might’ve been the most generous term.
Ancient makeup tastes were really something else.
The four girls chatted with the bride for a while and watched her eat some food. Jiao Ning and Jiao Yuan “casually” shared a bit about the Jiao family and its members, easing the bride’s nerves significantly.
Wen Yao knew these two were Jiao Yang’s little “comfort pillows,” sent to help the new bride settle in. As for herself—she was just the cook and food runner.
As the banquet wound down, most of the guests began to leave. In these parts, it was customary—eat and go.
By the time it was all over, only the hired helpers, the Jiao family relatives, and the Wen family remained.
Wen Yao, humming a random tune, went to find her family and spotted Wen Jun standing beside Wen Xiuyi, looking painfully awkward, like he was suffering from constipation.
Skipping right past the elders, she walked up to the two and nudged Wen Jun’s arm with her elbow. “Bro, what’s wrong? You look like you just… ate something bad.”
Wen Jun’s face turned beet red with embarrassment. “……”
Wen Xiuyi added fuel to the fire: “No less than five girls tried to strike up conversation with ‘Doctor Wen’ today. And at least ten aunties asked your aunt whether the ‘good doctor’ was betrothed.”
Wen Yao burst into unrestrained laughter. As expected—whether in her past life or this one, there was no escaping this phase.
Her blatant laugh made Wen Jun want to crawl into a hole. He grabbed her sleeve with a death grip and glared at her, warning her to zip it.
Wen Yao raised her hands in surrender, still grinning. “My brother’s always been popular, huh.”
Wen Xiuyi chuckled and chimed in, “Of course! Just look at him—standing there like a crane among chickens!”
Wen Yao gave her brother a once-over and nodded. “Yep.”
Father and daughter burst into laughter again. Wen Jun gave up and simply ignored them.
When Wen Yao finally stopped laughing, she leaned over to Wen Xiuyi and whispered, “When can we go home?”
Wen Xiuyi shook his head and glanced at the two old sisters still chatting. “No idea. Probably soon though.”
Sure enough, not long after, Luo-shi and Xiao Luo-shi finished their conversation, and the latter beckoned Wen Yao over.
Wen Yao skipped happily toward them.
“Grandma, Auntie, how was everything today? Satisfied?” she asked with a grin.
Xiao Luo-shi was all smiles, holding onto Wen Yao’s hand like it was treasure.
“Satisfied? More than satisfied! You don’t even know—so many people asked me about our head chef. I was just telling your grandma that everyone wants to hire you!”
Wen Yao’s eyes sparkled. “Really? Did you agree?”
Xiao Luo-shi nudged toward Luo-shi and laughed. “With your grandma here, I wouldn’t dare make promises. I told them if they want to hire you, they’d have to ask your family.”
Luo-shi’s face was unreadable. She pulled Wen Yao to her side and said, “If there’s nothing else, we should be heading back.”
The whole family had been working hard for two days. If it weren’t her own sister’s wedding, Luo-shi wouldn’t have put in this much effort.
Knowing they were exhausted, Xiao Luo-shi didn’t insist. Instead, she took a red pouch from her sleeve and handed it to Wen Yao.
“For our Yao Yao’s red envelope.”
Wen Yao took it—it wasn’t light.
She thanked her quickly, “Thank you, Auntie!”
But Xiao Luo-shi adored her grandniece even more. “No, thank you! We’ve already packed up some dishes for you to take home. Once these days calm down, Auntie will come visit you.”
Wen Yao giggled. “Bring Second Auntie with you!”
“Of course! They both owe you a proper thank you.” Xiao Luo-shi then turned to Luo-shi and added, “And about Wen Jun… several families have asked. He’s different now—you and brother-in-law should think about it.”
Luo-shi sighed and nodded. “Alright, I’ll talk to his father about it. We’ll head off now.”
Upon hearing that the Wen family was leaving, Jiao Yang—drunk as he was—stumbled out to see them off. Only when they firmly insisted he go back to accompany his bride did he return, grinning foolishly.
Meanwhile, the Wen family loaded up their ox cart and dragged their tired bodies back to Gutong Village.
