Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  As a prominent family in Foshan, the Wu’s daughter’s wedding was extravagant. Wu Mancheng was an educated gentleman who always acted modestly, but not at his daughter’s wedding. They had blaring trumpets and thunderous fireworks. People miles away could hear it.

  From government officials to beggars, crowds of people gathered in the street. They waited to catch a glimpse of the Wu’s beautiful daughter, a few coins if they were lucky.

  Famous didn’t want to join the crowd, it had to watch out for people who wanted to eat it. It carried Old Time Tea and Galaxy on its back, and jumped onto the roof of a two-story building to watch the street from above.

  As Wu Ning’s wedding was in another city, it was a bit different from local weddings. Social customs had changed dramatically from the early days of the Republic. In areas along the south coast, like Foshan, weddings weren’t as rigid as the old days.

  The trumpet players marched. Two dozen porters carried a dowry of goods through the streets. There was a three-feet tall porcelain vase to place the feather dusters and a pair of porcelain pen holders. The dowry included shiny high-quality furniture, beautiful silk, antiques, and more. None of the items were affordable for ordinary people.

  “Such a wealthy family. There’s so many things, you can’t even see where it ends.”


  “How much fortune do they have?”


  “Look at that red coral! Apparently, it takes a thousand years for a coral to form, and a hundred thousand years to turn red. The red coral is so tall and red, it looks like it’s dripping blood. How much do you think it’s worth?”


  “That’s absolutely priceless!”


  “Look at that. It’s a bracket clock from overseas. It announces the hours! I heard that Empress Dowager Cixi owned one just like that back in the day.”


  The people by the road were envious and jealous, and couldn’t help but exaggerate. They had to talk about what they heard, and the stories only got more twisted with each person. The red coral was only one foot tall, by the time it reached the end of the line, it was three feet tall. The bracket clock was even thought to be excavated from the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi.

  “That’s just stupid stuff, and stupid, materialistic people longing after them!”


  Among the crowd of people, there was a snarky scholar pretending he didn’t care, but he was also dying of envy. He hated Wu Ning, the owner of the dowry, for not picking him as her husband. He shook the feather fan in his hand, and laughed loudly, as if he couldn’t care less about the stupid priceless treasure. He hoped to draw Wu Ning’s attention, so that he could end up marrying her and become rich.

  The couriers in the back carried large crates, filled with books and paintings.

  “Why did they use crappy book and paintings? Did they run out things for the dowry?”


  “It’s to show that the Wu family is educated, that they aren’t a family who just gained a quick fortune,” someone sneered. “I heard that Miss Wu is very well educated. She’s a real lady who knows about music, chess, calligraphy and painting. The crappy paintings you mentioned, those are some of the most well-known works of previous dynasties. In terms of value, they’re just as expensive as the red coral and western bracket clock you saw just.”


  “How much money could some stupid paintings and calligraphy possibly be worth?” The first person replied.

  The second person was too lazy to argue, he just stood on his toes to see if Miss Wu’s sedan chair had arrived.

  Famous stood on the rooftop nearby, worried as it watched the long wedding parade. Even if it wasn’t a Chinese dog, it still would’ve known that it was unwise to show your wealth. When the Wu family made such a extravagant parade, they invited the attention of thieves. The long journey to Binhai Town would be dangerous.

  In a brothel nearby, a few prostitutes had dressed up and watched from afar with a handkerchief in one hand and sunflower seeds in the other.

  An older prostitute spat out sunflower seed shells, and said with jealousy, “Sisters, how many weddings have you seen? I’ve seen fancier weddings. Do you know how the woman looks?” She thought herself to be good looking, and was just trying to make herself feel better.

  The sunflower seed shell fell on a young man’s head. He lifted his head, and saw what was under the prostitutes’ dress. He didn’t look away.

  “You’re right,” another prostitute agreed. “I think this Miss Wu is mediocre-looking, at best. How could she compare to your dazzling beauty? She’s probably a fat pig. Her mother-in-law can use the dowry to pay for pig food.”


  “Haha!”


  There was a burst of laughter in the brothel, which made people’s imagination wander.

  As a token of good fortune, the housekeepers at the front of the wedding parade gave away coins. People were fighting over them.

  Maybe the Wu family knew that the gigantic dowry was going to draw unwanted attention. They recruited a lot of village soldiers to escort the parade. They held sticks and bats, and had blades hidden under their clothes.

  The huge dowry parade passed, then came the bride’s parade.

  The crowd watched more attentively, as everybody wanted to see Miss Wu.

  In the bride’s parade, there were people in carriages, on horses, and on foot. Wu Mancheng was in a tall house. Wu Ning, the heroine of the day, wore a bright red suit and a skirt, and sat in a sedan chair. The tassels in front of the chair’s window blew in the wind, which made Wu Ning’s face barely visible.

  Although her face couldn’t be clearly seen, it was enough for the brothel girls to know that Miss Wu wasn’t a fat pig. Her slim figure was by no means inferior to theirs. Not to mention the fact that she was well-educated and had a large dowry.

  Apart from the night they first met, Wu Ning always dressed in men’s clothing to make her trip into the mountain easier. When had they ever seen her dressed up in such fancy clothes?

  For a moment, Famous didn’t realize that it was Wu Ning, the girl that used to read them books and newspapers in the valley.