Chapter 58 Green Camp Stockade

  Qiaomu Town's trip was a success, Ding Dian not only met his own expectations but also over-fulfilled the task, thanks to the help of Zhao Ji and Tian Hong.

  Returning to Zengjia Village, Zhao Ji and his party were fully loaded with goods, including cloth, fine wine, and all kinds of food ingredients, filling up five carts.

  Before the wedding, we got so many big items, everything is ready, only waiting for the east wind, just waiting for the wedding day to arrive on schedule.

  December 8th, a lucky day on the Yellow Calendar, was the wedding day of Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua. On this day, the village was filled with joy and festivity, as if every household had good news to celebrate.

  In a small village like Zengjiacun, the connection is based on clan relationships. Whenever there's a happy event or a funeral in any family or household, it's a big deal for the whole village.

  Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua's wedding was both grand and simple. The grandeur lay in the lively atmosphere, with over a hundred villagers participating, while the simplicity was reflected in the ceremony itself.

  The wedding ceremony has different forms of expression in different places. In the world of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong, the weddings of children from large families are quite complicated and can be exhausting.

  Now that he has arrived in the heavenly realm, Ding Yan simply followed the local customs and reduced the wedding ceremony to only one bow to heaven and earth, two bows to the ancestors, and three steps of mutual bowing between husband and wife. After the ceremony was completed, it was a joyous occasion for the entire village.

  After the three-step ceremony, they should have been sent to the bridal chamber, but Ding Dian and Ling Xianghua put this step in the evening, when they were having a banquet with all the villagers.

  Ding Dian's wedding banquet was held on a grand scale, with dozens of tables set up, and all the villagers, old and young, came to attend, drinking and celebrating, wishing the two newlyweds happiness.

  On the main table, as today's protagonist, Ding Dian and Ling Xuehua sat in the main seat, Zhao Ji, Tian Hong, Yuan Chengzhi, Song Yuanchao and several old men from the village accompanied them to eat meat and drink wine.

  "Brother Ding, congratulations! You've finally gotten your wish and married Ling. Oh, I mean, you should be called Sister-in-law Ding now."

  Zhao Ji raised his wine bowl and nodded at Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua. After a few words, they downed the cup in one gulp.

  Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua didn't dare to be slow, they stood up together, picked up the wine bowls in front of them, and drank them all at once. Ding Dian even bowed his hands to Zhao Ji with a solemn gesture, expressing his gratitude: "Zhao Ji, I and Shuanghua can be together and become husband and wife as we wished, thanks to your help. I, Ding Dian, am truly grateful."

  "Yes, Brother Zhao, it's all thanks to you that I and Big Brother Ding can reunite and become husband and wife again. Thank you so much, Xiaohua!"

  Ling Shuanghua also bowed to Zhao Ji, saying with great gratitude.

  "Haha, Aunt Ding is too polite. I and Brother Ding are like old times, as close as brothers. A little help, what's the talk of merit?"

  Zhao burst out laughing three times, slightly waved his hand and said nonchalantly.

  "Haha, you're right, brother. Saying these words does seem a bit out of place. Come on, let's have another two cups to celebrate today!"

  Ding Dian picked up the wine jug and filled Zhao Ji's bowl with wine, then poured a bowl of wine for everyone present, inviting them to drink with gusto.

  "Let's all come together."

  On this joyful day, everyone was unwilling to sweep away Ding Dian's face, so they all raised their cups and drank freely.

  Half of the people present are skilled in martial arts, with strong internal skills, and their drinking capacity is not small either. When they really start drinking, one jar after another of wine is drained in one gulp.

  When he had drunk eight-tenths of the wine, Ding Yuan's enthusiasm rose, his heroic spirit burst forth, and with a loud shout, he raised his wine cup and began to toast everyone at the table. Looking at him in his excited and slightly frenzied state, it was clear that today he intended to get thoroughly drunk.

  "Hmm, big brother, it seems we've come at the wrong time. There's actually a happy occasion here, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to cause trouble?"

  When everyone was drinking and having a good time, a strange and somewhat hostile voice suddenly came from the village entrance, with a few words that were not very friendly.

  "Bang!"

  "Oh no, big brother, why did you hit me."

  That voice sounded again, with a hint of grievance.

  "What's all the fuss about? You should say that we're here to drink at the wedding, and by the way, collect this year's New Year's money."

  A loud and rough voice rang out.

  As the two men spoke, a large crowd surged into Zengjiavillage. The first two people were riding tall horses and wearing tight-fitting short-sleeved martial attire with swords hanging from their horse's waist.

  Both were in their prime, one looked treacherous and the other ugly, making people feel that they didn't seem like good men at first sight.

  Behind them, a group of followers, as many as thirty or forty people, each carrying knives and swords, with an air of killing intent, only without riding horses.

  This group of people rushed into Zeng's village with a fierce momentum, stirring up countless dust and instantly breaking the festive atmosphere in the village.

  It was supposed to be the happiest moment of his life, but on this most joyful day, one of the four greatest joys in life - the wedding night - was disrupted by someone, making Dian Dian truly furious.

  "What kind of people are you, daring to come and cause trouble on my wedding day?"

  With one hand holding a wine jug and the other grasping a wine bowl, Zhao stumbled forward to face the crowd of outsiders, his eyebrows furrowed in anger, and shouted loudly.

  "Haha, this brother is wrong. We brothers came here, not to cause trouble, but to collect money. Since we coincidentally arrived on your big wedding day, we don't mind drinking a cup of celebratory wine."

  That robust man, riding on a tall and majestic horse, with a cunning and ruthless face, burst into loud laughter, his eyes gleaming with sly light, and said in a high voice.

  "If you're coming to drink at our wedding banquet, I'd naturally welcome that, but what exactly did you mean by 'coming to take money'?"

  Although he was already half drunk, Zhao Ji still hadn't completely lost his composure and immediately grasped the key point in the other person's words, asking back.

  "Listen up, kid. Within this area of several miles around us, it's all the territory of our Green Camp. Every year when winter comes, each village has to offer tribute to our Green Camp. This year, we've arrived a bit late, so hurry up and hand over your silver."

  Another sturdy man with an ugly face pointed at Ding Tian and shouted loudly, his tone full of arrogance.

  This group of people rushed into the village, also startling Zhao Ji, Tian Hong and Zeng Yu. After hearing some of their intentions, Zhao Ji couldn't help but ask Zeng Yu: "Zeng brother, what's going on? Who are these people?"

  "Brother Zhao, in the nearby mountains and forests, there is a group of bandits who have formed an alliance and call themselves the Green Camp. They frequently rob travelers and force nearby villages to offer them silver money every year in order to ensure their safety. Unexpectedly, they arrived today."

  With a worried look on his face, he had been hesitant to speak, and now explained to Zhao Ji.

  "So it was."

  Only after understanding the origin of this matter did Zhao Ji suddenly realize.

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