Chapter 2037 - Collective Wedding (VI)

With his half-literary, half-vernacular congratulatory speech delivered with varied intonation, the music through the speakers resumed, transitioning from the earlier March of Unity and Friendship to "Summer Blown by the Wind." The light, gentle melody transformed the originally solemn ceremony into something warm and joyful.

The newly married couples queued up and, under the master of ceremonies' guidance, came forward one by one to receive their marriage certificates.

The grooms were all veteran naturalized citizens, accustomed to "new-style etiquette," each making a forty-five-degree bow. The brides proved much more varied: the nimble ones imitated the men, making stiff-backed bows; those with their own ideas lowered their heads in deep traditional curtsies; the clumsy ones appeared flustered and uncertain. Some were so nervous they didn't know what to do with their hands, while others simply fell into the "country folk meeting the lord" mode, plopping down to kneel and kowtow, drawing laughter from everyone. The master of ceremonies beside them quickly helped them up, whispering: "Bow, bow."

Wen Desi smiled, first shaking hands with the newlyweds before presenting the marriage certificate, then offering a few auspicious words of congratulation. Though most of the new brides came from prostitute backgrounds, clasping hands with another man before their husbands and the public still made them uncomfortable. Some didn't dare extend their hands, requiring the MC's urging; some extended hands but watched their husbands' expressions like startled rabbits. Fortunately, veteran naturalized citizens were already accustomed to such things. Only thus could the ceremony proceed smoothly.

The bright red marriage certificates had been custom-made in Guangzhou, with silk-covered exteriors and gold-embossed Iron Fist and Gear emblems. The paper inside was also extremely fine—completely conveying a "limited edition" feeling.

Though Wen Desi was momentarily in the spotlight, this "solo handshake session" was no picnic. Before long, his back was numb and his arms ached. The Elders beside him, however, didn't need to shake hands—just clap occasionally and say a few auspicious words to be done.

Finally, after distributing over a hundred marriage certificates, Wen Desi's bottom had barely touched the chair when he heard Fang Fei's voice: "Please welcome the groom and bride representatives to speak!"

Another round of enthusiastic applause filled the venue, and the Elders on the main stage all rose. Wen Desi thought expletives internally, but could only struggle to stand on his numb legs, smiling while repeatedly nodding, waving, and clapping, greeting wave after wave of cheers.

Being in the spotlight at these mass meetings truly wasn't easy...

Wen Desi struggled with his aching legs and back, waving his powerless arms.

Fang Fei announced that the groom and bride representatives would now speak.

The representatives were naturally "activists" selected from among the grooms and brides—good-looking and relatively quick-witted. Though the bride representative couldn't speak "new-style language," only Cantonese—this wasn't truly a disadvantage since the local crowd could all understand.

These two speeches had naturally been ghostwritten by the Publicity Department's wordsmiths, thoroughly "polished," not only conceptually elevated but also made colloquial so everyone could understand.

The groom representative's speech was conventional, nothing more than thanking the Council of Elders and envisioning the new life. The bride representative's speech, due to her past background, emphasized "old-new comparisons" and "reflecting on past bitterness and present sweetness." Less than halfway through, it touched the bride representative's sore spots. As she spoke, she began weeping. Originally just reading from the script, as she continued, her suffering mounted until she simply spoke from the heart, going on for over half an hour. The entire venue fell silent... Grooms, brides, and even watching commoners were in tears. Fang Fei looked awkward, not knowing whether to stop her or let her continue.

Just as the bride representative's speech dissolved into sobs and she couldn't proceed, Zhang Yunmi quickly emerged from behind the table, put her arm around the bride representative's shoulders, handed her a handkerchief while softly consoling her, and slowly drew her away from the microphone. Fang Fei quickly stepped up and shouted: "Long live the Council of Elders!"

The naturalized citizens below snapped to attention, raising their arms together and shouting in unison: "Long live the Council of Elders." Then several MCs quickly led the applause. A round of slogans and applause helped salvage the slightly out-of-control situation.

Wen Desi nodded secretly. Liu Xiang approached: "How about it, Chief Wen? Little Zhang's been training well under me, hasn't she?"

"Excellent, excellent. A promising talent. Young people are impressive." Wen Desi praised generously. "I think not just you—our entire Guangdong Greater Region should give her more opportunities and space to develop—can't always remain in administration and education..."

Liu Xiang had originally been taking credit, but Wen Desi's words clearly meant to promote Zhang Yunmi. Though Little Zhang was the ACE of the Plaid Skirt Club and quite famous among the Elders, Old Zhang was a thoroughly marginalized Elder—not only lacking resources but even having negative reputation.

Now Chief Wen's words clearly meant "focused cultivation." Liu Xiang's brain turned several times, thinking of the recent General Office document about the "comprehensive social reform pilot" to be conducted in Foshan, with young Elders including Qian Duoduo and Zhuo Xiaomin all participating, taking posts at the grassroots level... He suddenly understood—so that's what he meant!

He immediately said: "Chief Wen, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. The Guangzhou Cadre Training School has been performing very well, training many grassroots cadres. But the school's level remains somewhat low. As a future cadre training base for expanding to the entire mainland and even all of East Asia, I think we should raise its level appropriately—as you know, resources follow level..."

"What you're suggesting can be considered," Wen Desi said. "Submit a report, and I'll co-sign it. But whether it gets approved is another matter. I'm not at headquarters anymore; on this, I can only make recommendations."

Liu Xiang thought: "Keep pretending!" But he knew that though Wen Desi spoke noncommittally, he had actually agreed. He continued: "I also think the training school's teachers and students shouldn't just study governance in classrooms—they should conduct more rural research trips, grassroots postings, and participate more in practical affairs."

"On this point, we think alike." Wen Desi nodded. "Practice yields true knowledge."

Before their small meeting ended, Du Yibin and Cui Hantang started chatting. The "bonus" he'd mentioned to Wang Jun was actually that he'd met Zhang Jiayu on the boat, and they'd even talked.

Du Yibin wasn't interested in Zhang Jiayu—if the pre-departure training on Guangdong hadn't mentioned "The Three Martyrs of Lingnan," he wouldn't have known who Zhang Jiayu was. But during his time mooching food at Cui Hantang's, he'd heard Old Cui talk about these people many times. Speaking of which, Cui Hantang always appeared deeply moved when mentioning them.

"...You mean he approached you first?" Cui Hantang was somewhat surprised.

"Yes. I was originally chatting with Song Yingsheng and didn't even notice there was such a person on the boat."

"Damn! What's with the security work! This Zhang Jiayu historically 'loved swordplay, was chivalrous, and often mingled with knights-errant from the wilds.' He could be called a swordsman—if he'd given you a stab, you'd be done for!" Though Cui Hantang said this, his face was full of joy, with no sign of worrying about Du Yibin.

"That serious!" Du Yibin was somewhat frightened—he'd thought the boat was very safe. "I don't know how he got onto the cruise..."

"Why would he need to sneak onto the cruise? That boat wasn't for Elders anyway; you insisted on squeezing on to grab a seat." Cui Hantang laughed. "But don't worry—Zhang Jiayu values chivalry and wouldn't stoop to such lowly assassination tactics. What did he say to you?"

"Nothing much, just greeted me and asked if I was an Elder. I said yes, of course..." Du Yibin immediately forgot about possibly being assassinated. "He said he had questions to ask—how would I have time for that? So I told him I was busy right now..."

"Oh no! How could you do that?" Cui Hantang slapped his thigh in complaint. "You let him slip away!"

"Don't worry. I knew you wanted him, so I told him I'd be busy these few days and invited him to your Five Immortals Temple in two days for tea and conversation."

"What did he say?"

"He said: I'll definitely come to visit."

"Good! Good!" Cui Hantang beamed, vigorously patting Du Yibin's shoulder. "Well done!"

Du Yibin couldn't withstand this two-hundred-jin fat man's slaps and grimaced: "Hey hey hey, keep slapping like that and you'll kill someone..."

Just as they were talking, another round of enthusiastic applause erupted in the venue, interrupting their chatter. Seeing everyone else sitting properly, they felt embarrassed to continue talking.

Here, Fang Fei was saying:

"...I think many in the crowd envy them for having such a grand wedding and wish they could be part of it too. On this point, everyone can rest assured. Starting today, every September 1st, Guangzhou will hold a collective wedding. It will become a citywide festival. As long as unmarried couples are willing to register, everyone will have the opportunity to participate, receive the Council of Elders' blessing, and start a new life!"

As his words fell, naturally came enthusiastic applause. Since occupying Guangzhou, the municipal government's heavily promoted New Life Movement had emphasized changing customs. But Liu Xiang felt it wasn't enough. He thought they should artificially create festivals to compete with traditions and win over the masses. So he proposed making the collective wedding permanent, with the municipal government hosting one annually.

Through this Collective Wedding Day: promoting new wedding customs, subtly advocating gender equality and free love, and shaping an entirely new concept of marriage.

"...The wedding ceremony hereby concludes. Now please enter the banquet hall for the newlyweds and guests. Please enjoy the food while watching the cultural performance!"

As his words fell, the long-waiting staff guided the newlyweds and guests into Great World's temporary banquet hall while directing the commoners outside the colonnade to leave. But for most of the watching crowd, they hadn't seen enough of the spectacle—the Australians' main show hadn't even started yet!

(End of Chapter)