The next morning, Xu Changqing had only been awake for a few groggy minutes when her aunt and others bustled her through her hair and makeup, then seated her on the kang bed to wait for Shen Weimin's arrival.
And Shen Weimin didn't keep them waiting. To arrive at the auspicious time, he and the matchmaker, Aunt Ding, had boarded one of the tractors with the groom's procession bright and early.
As soon as they reached Baizigou, the village entrance was already blocked by a crowd of children, big and small. Half of them were from the Bai family, and the other half were from the Xu family.
A few handfuls of scattered candy got them past the first obstacle. As they continued on, nearing the three-way intersection in front of the Xu family home at the foot of Northeast Mountain, they ran into another large group blocking the road.
