Chapter 2035 - Collective Wedding (Part 4)

Song Yingsheng suddenly understood why the Australians proved so keen on "painting slogans," "singing songs," and "holding assemblies"—they called it "propaganda," which meant showing the good deeds they performed to common people, making the people feel they were good, the so-called "winning hearts and minds."

Thinking in reverse, what was spending this bit of money on today's grand display to them? Not to mention most of the funds weren't even theirs—even if they were, spending tens of thousands of taels of silver to purchase the people's hearts and favorable reputation was something no amount of silver could ordinarily exchange for.

Song Yingsheng sighed inwardly. He suddenly realized that for many years, the court and public had always pinned their hopes on using moral essays to "enlighten" the people, yet forgot that the Master had long said: "The mean man understands profit." And the people—were truly suffering too much...

He gazed at the White Swan Pool's river surface. So lively and joyous here. Even compared to his hometown which could still be called "peaceful," this was no less than paradise on earth. No wonder the Australians had landed in Qiongzhou less than a decade ago, yet could win people's hearts wherever they went, earning this corner of the southern frontier with a starting force of merely hundreds, eyeing the Central Plains like tigers. They truly possessed the audacity to contend with the Great Ming.

In his silence, one side of the Octopus's paddle wheels began to decelerate while the other accelerated. The paddles struck the river surface, churning turbulent waves, and the Octopus commenced turning slowly, heading southeast.

With the Octopus's turn, the flower-tailed barge behind it also clumsily rotated its hull. Sailors shouted and yelled, gripping boat poles tensely, awaiting orders: this vessel type possessed a high center of gravity and ungainly hull, extremely prone to capsizing. Great care was required when turning.

The surrounding fleet also reversed course. After circling White Swan Pool once, the entire armada sailed toward Great World Wharf.

Great World Wharf had been decorated anew. Flower beds and colorful towers stood in profusion. Upon Great World Plaza, an expansive red carpet stretched. Along this carpeted aisle, twelve arches rose, all adorned with fresh flowers and vines. The arches were connected by iron wires hung full of flower baskets, flower balls, colorful lanterns, and other decorations—brimming with the creativity and aesthetic taste of a twenty-first-century wedding company.

On the plaza, a stage had been constructed using the steps as foundation, with the main Great World Department Store building as backdrop. At this moment, a group of "VIPs" sat upright upon it, awaiting the newcomers' arrival.

To maintain order, only wedding guests and select naturalized citizens and indigenous representatives chosen to "observe the ceremony" could enter the plaza; onlookers were intercepted outside the colonnades flanking the plaza. Hundreds of National Army soldiers bearing bayonet-fixed rifles formed a cordon; though voices surged, order prevailed.

The onlookers all eagerly anticipated witnessing this "Australian-style collective marriage," so people had come to claim positions since dawn. By now, it constituted a sea of humanity. Actually, those squeezed in the rear couldn't see anything at all, only sensing the scene's tumultuous atmosphere.

Wen Desi currently sat upright in the central folding chair, wearing a white US Navy uniform decorated with gold braiding but devoid of insignia. Though some felt his wearing a white military dress uniform at a wedding constituted "shocking the world and appalling customs," they were finally silenced by the four words "Changing Customs and Habits."

"In my view, the bride should wear a pure white wedding dress, and the groom a black military service uniform—that creates an imposing manner!" Wen Desi had declared. "Only thus can we highlight our boldness in establishing a new society, new culture, and new customs..."

Of course, his proposal was ultimately rejected. Though customs warranted changing, changing too much at once would prove too "shocking to the countrymen" indeed. However, regarding his wearing the white naval dress uniform, no one nagged him about it.

Besides Wen Desi, several other Elders sat upright in the reception area preparing to receive the ceremony. Liu Xiang naturally wouldn't miss this grand opportunity to be "close to the people," though with Wen Desi present, he could only settle for the second seat. Wang Jun and Du Yibin, as initiators and handlers of this event, naturally merited two seats beside Wen Desi. These gentlemen all wore stiff "Cadre Suits." Occupying the last seat was Cui Hantang—as the wedding's primary fundraiser, naturally he couldn't be forgotten. Though Australian-style marriage constituted the "first time since creation," his Daoist robe proved indeed eye-catching. For a time, he and Wen Desi became focal points of heated discussion among onlookers.

Because it was a wedding, having only men would appear too severe and also prove unfavorable for raising women's status, so Zhang Yunmi was specially invited to the rostrum as embellishment. Zhang Yunmi was young and wore a red dress custom-made for this occasion, provoking widespread discussion among onlookers below. Many were politically incorrect remarks like "a fresh flower stuck in a pile of cow dung" or "the Australian little lady's waist is so slender."

Since taking this seat, Wen Desi couldn't help yawning—this was too boring. Yet he truly couldn't work up interest to chat with the adjacent Elders. Because everyone wanted to "report work" to him, hoping to transfer a pile of problems upward or see if they could ask him to help advocate in the "Central Committee." As for Cui Hantang, every meeting provoked talks about "the harm of monotheism," "Daoism is the orthodox native religion of China," and "New Daoism can and completely should become the pillar of the Council of Elders' state founding." Wen Desi was annoyed to death, so this time he specially arranged him in the position furthest from himself.

"This damn place, can't even scroll through a phone!" Wen Desi cursed secretly.

Just as boredom peaked, deafening firecracker sounds suddenly erupted from the wharf's direction. The people on the rostrum who had grown drowsy instantly regained spirit—finally started!

Several hundred meters separated the wharf from Great World's main gate. This distance had not only been specially leveled and cleaned but also paved with red carpet.

Underfoot was red carpet, on both sides stood heavily armed soldiers and police on guard, "Ground Full of Spring" firecrackers crackled endlessly, and drums and music roared in ears. Accompanying staff threw candies into the crowd periodically, setting off waves among spectators.

The grooms and brides flushed at this moment, entranced. Seemingly completely unaware of their location, they followed people forward dizzily. This red carpet was soft beneath their feet. They wore brand new clothes—living so long, they had never been so glorious and happy. Recalling the past, it seemed as if they were now reincarnated and became human again. If their parents were still alive and could see their daughter marrying so gloriously, how wonderful that would be.

Far ahead, they saw the Bell Tower. They had heard others say this was the Bell Tower built by the Council of Elders. Grand and imposing, every time it chimed the hour, half of Guangzhou city could hear it. The main gate beneath the Bell Tower was never opened; it was said it would only open to welcome important dignitaries. At this moment, the main gate stood wide open, and the red carpet paved the way through. Wearing a red skirt, walking through the main gate—things they hadn't dared imagine when leaning on doors selling smiles in the past. Being able to leave the profession was already extremely fortunate—how could they dare hope for these? Firecrackers rang continuously, people seemed to float upward, the sun shone so bright...

"Captain He! Someone fainted!" A commotion suddenly erupted in the queue. He Xiaoyue followed the crowd and hurried several steps over, seeing a bride in the team lying limp on the ground, the groom beside her appearing helpless. The nearby queue also grew disordered, with many people watching.

"Don't look! Hurry and follow the team! Don't miss the auspicious time." While dispersing the crowd, He Xiaoyue touched her nose and chest, sensing nothing serious. Just as she was about to extract a bottle of Marching Powder from her satchel, the bride opened her eyes.

"I... where am... I?" The bride widened her eyes and asked somewhat confusedly.

"Where else could you be, today is your great joyful day! Get up quickly!" Seeing the newcomers' queue was almost passing, He Xiaoyue hurriedly helped her up, and incidentally rolled her eyes at the clumsy groom: "No sense at all! This is your wife, give a hand quickly!"

The groom hurried over to help support. He Xiaoyue asked: "How is your body? Can you still walk?"

"It doesn't matter." The bride stared at her with wide eyes, "You are... Captain... He?"

"It's me." Now it was He Xiaoyue's turn to be confused. Was this mental derangement? She hurriedly said, "Today is your great joyful day, get up quickly and keep up with the team!"

This remark didn't matter, but the bride actually covered her face and started crying. He Xiaoyue was frantic—crying at a wedding was extremely inauspicious. However, no matter how she comforted and persuaded, the bride cried more fiercely, and the groom was also helpless. It made her quite wretched. It was the policeman beside them who had experience, saying: "This bride is overcome with joy, a mouthful of phlegm blocked it and couldn't come up. Give her some Marching Powder."

Hearing the reminder, He Xiaoyue hurriedly extracted the Marching Powder, sprayed some into her nose, and comforted her with kind words. It took considerable time to soothe this bride. Only with this commotion, her hair and facial makeup were ruined. He Xiaoyue had a comb and powder in her satchel, so she had to temporarily escort this couple to the roadside rest tent to groom and retouch makeup.

The rostrum naturally didn't witness this small interlude. Everyone looked forward with anticipation when Du Yibin rushed over hurriedly—he had run all the way after disembarking the boat, just to reach the rostrum before the brides and grooms entered. Wang Jun hurriedly made room for him, saying: "Told you not to go on the flower boat cruise, rushing so urgently!"

"No... no... no choice..." Du Yibin gasped for breath, "I'm always unreconciled if I don't educate Song Yingsheng well."

"Educated well?" Wang Jun knew he had spent countless efforts on this old man, actually holding no hope for a long time.

"Hehe, there's great progress today!" Du Yibin beamed with joy, like an otaku who finally obtained the WeChat ID of a goddess, "This old man's tone has loosened; looks like he was greatly touched by today's wedding. In addition, I have an unexpected harvest."

(End of Chapter)