Rebirth 78, the beginning of the marriage was broken off by the female educated youth

Chapter 1974 Night Walk in Brocade Clothes

December 10, 1980, the fourth day of the eleventh lunar month.

The second snowfall in Yanjing arrived as scheduled, transforming the entire city into a winter wonderland.

Li Xiangnan stood in the courtyard of the siheyuan, looking up at the square sky cut by the eaves, the cigarette between his fingers had burned to the end.

"The wedding banquet is in two days!"

The celebration banquet for Xiao Xitang's one-month birthday is coming soon.

Logically, this should have been a joyous moment, but besides being genuinely happy, Li Xiangnan also felt a weight on his heart.

The warning from Shangguan Wanqing must be heeded!

The notes she slipped to him before she left were varied and contained a lot of information about the Shangguan family, but he didn't know their specific purpose.

But it must have been difficult for her to come here from Xishan, so this information is worth a fortune!

As dusk settled, the occasional ringing of bicycle bells echoed through the alley, and the aroma of cooking wafted from the neighbor's house—everything seemed perfectly normal.

But he knew that this calm was only on the surface.

"Nan Nan, quickly check if this red ribbon is hanging straight?"

Li Xiangnan heard his mother Zhu Qiuju's voice coming from the hanging flower gate. He quickly turned around and walked over. His mother was standing on tiptoe, trying to tie a piece of red silk to the lintel. Her movements were a little difficult.

"Mom, I'll do it!" Li Xiangnan took over the task and quickly tied the red ribbon. "You rest, leave these things to us!"

Zhu Qiuju took two steps back, examined the banquet, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face. She then composed herself, saying, "That won't do. It's my granddaughter's wedding banquet; I can't let her fall behind!"

After she finished speaking, she turned her head and looked at the figures busy in the three courtyards in front and behind her.

Cui Xinjian, Sun Jie, Ma Yingyao, Mi Le, Yang Weidong, Tao Zhengtie, Zhang Jingyang, Miao Xiaonian, Zhang Zhisheng, Hu Yinglong, Duan Sijiu, Lu Chen...

My son's friends, colleagues, comrades-in-arms, and classmates were all busy in the yard; just these people alone were enough to seat several tables.

Just as Li Xiangnan was about to emphasize to his mother that health was the priority, he saw Song Ziming and Pang Weinong carrying things out of He Dashuang's room. "Brother Nan, Weinong and I have counted the drinks: ten cases of Red Star Erguotou, ten cases of Xifeng wine, ten jars of Osmanthus-flavored aged wine, and four cases of soda! The grocery store will be delivering rice, flour, and cooking oil later. If I need to move anything else, just call me!"

"You've worked hard!" Li Xiangnan stepped forward, offered cigarettes, and patted Song Ziming and Pang Weinong on the shoulder.

There were only two cigarettes left in the pack, so he quickly went inside, grabbed a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes, and handed one to each of Yao Mile and the others: "Dean Yao, there are too many people, so I won't hand out cigarettes. You can take them and smoke them yourselves!"

Yao Mile didn't refuse, laughing and saying, "Then we won't stand on ceremony! You go ahead with your work, don't worry about us. I'll take care of all the decorations for you, and I guarantee that Xiao Xitang's wedding banquet will be beautiful in two days!"

Li Xiangnan nodded, touched.

Wang Defa came over from the backyard carrying a broom, asked him for a cigarette, and whispered, "Xu Damao, He Dashuang, and I pruned all the branches of that jujube tree against the west wall! We even had Xu Damao borrow five potted cacti to put under it. If anyone tries to climb down from there, they'll be in big trouble!"

Li Xiangnan lit a fire for him, then thought for a moment and asked, "What about the neighboring yard?"

Wang Defa chuckled: "Don't worry, Shui Dongshi and the other three comrades who came have already been arranged to stay in the neighbors' homes. They'll just watch over the wall next door and catch them one by one, or two by two!"

"Okay!" Li Xiangnan was finally relieved.

At this moment, Yuan Zhencheng hurriedly came over from the backyard, his smile genuine. Upon seeing him, he said with a smile, "Dr. Li, the Hao family's courtyard has been settled. The chef from Hongbinlou will be cooking there. My mother and several aunties in the courtyard will help with washing dishes, chopping vegetables, and preparing ingredients. No one will come into the backyard except for our own family. The side gate will be for our own family to use. The Hao family's courtyard gate will be locked all day long!"

"Zhencheng, you've worked hard!" Li Xiangnan offered him another cigarette.

Seeing the deep anticipation beneath his joyful expression, Li Xiangnan knew that Yuan Zhencheng genuinely envied him, Xu Damao, and He Dashuang. He also knew that Yuan Zhencheng's lack of children had been a source of heartache for him all these years. Although it was not the right time to discuss his condition, Li Xiangnan still patted him on the shoulder.

"Brother Zhencheng, don't worry, things will fall into place eventually. Once we're done with this, I'll take a look for you and your wife!"

"Hey!" Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhencheng jumped up, his eyes lit up, and he skipped off to the backyard.

The door to the west wing creaked open, and Qin Ruobai, who had already finished her postpartum confinement, came out carrying the baby, Xiao Xitang, who was sleeping soundly in her swaddling clothes.

As the evening breeze blew by, she instinctively turned to protect her child. Looking up, she saw her husband had everything arranged perfectly, and a gentle smile spread across her eyes.

"It's getting windy outside, you should wear another layer!" Qin Ruobai walked to Li Xiangnan's side and straightened his clothes with her free hand.

"I'm not cold! You should be careful, it's best to stay home as much as possible for the next 42 days!" Li Xiangnan smoothed his wife's stray hairs, looked down at his daughter's sleeping face, and felt that it was all worth it.

"You haven't been sleeping well at night, and you look so haggard lately! Don't worry, everything will be alright!" Looking up at her husband's dark circles, Qin Ruobai squeezed his hand, her eyes filled with heartache.

"Yes, I know!" Li Xiangnan hugged her and the child, and a burst of laughter immediately erupted around them.

Chen Hongxing, the child from Chen Jun's family in the front yard, blushed and covered his eyes, repeatedly shouting, "Shame on you!"

"Hahaha!" The surrounding area burst into laughter again.

Qin Ruobai blushed, punched her husband's chest with her fist, and ran into the house with the child in her arms.

That night, Li Xiangnan really couldn't sleep. After tonight, there was only one day left to prepare for tomorrow.

He still has an important step waiting to unfold, and it remains to be seen whether it will allow the plan to succeed.

If this plan goes smoothly, it will be a huge shock to those in the shadows!

"Who's there?"

Suddenly, Wang Defa's loud shout came from outside.

Immediately following was a series of hurried footsteps and low shouts. Li Xiangnan rushed out the door, still wearing his clothes, and saw Wang Defa and Hao Jian already holding down a thin man dressed in black.

Song Ziming was squatting on the wall, putting away the soft sword at his waist.

The man was pinned to the ground with his hands tied behind his back, shouting, "Let me go! Let me go! I was just passing by!"

"Just passing by?" Wang Defa sneered. "What the hell are you doing walking on the wall this late at night?"

Hearing the commotion, Li Dequan came out of the opposite room and frowned when he saw the scene.

Li Xiangnan stepped forward, squatted down, pulled off the black cloth covering the other person's face, and asked intently, "Who sent you?"

"Nobody sent me! I just saw your family was having a wedding and I wanted to steal some thatch to sell!" The man in black's eyes gleamed.

Li Xiangnan winked at Hao Jian.

Hao Jian understood and casually searched the man in black, pulling out a small master key, a flashlight, and a hand-drawn map.

Upon unfolding it, one finds a floor plan of courtyard house number 80, with the location of the Li family's house in the backyard clearly marked in red.

Li Xiangnan picked up the map, his voice turning cold: "Do you need this to steal things?"

Seeing that his plan had been exposed, the man in black remained silent and simply shut his mouth.

Li Xiangnan raised the master key, seemingly lost in thought, then looked down at the panicked eyes of the man in black, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Well, so you've done a rehearsal beforehand, haven't you?

As everyone was still wondering, they suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps in the courtyard. Turning around, they saw Song Yi rushing in.

Sensing that something might be wrong with her, Li Xiangnan waved his hand and said, "Put him in the woodshed and call Captain Guo to take him over for interrogation!"

"Yes!"

As soon as the man in black was taken away, Li Xiangnan quickly asked, "Song Yi, what happened?"

"Something's happened!" Song Yi gasped, clutching her knees. "I just got news from my elder brother that ten families from Yanjing will be attending Xi Tang's wedding banquet to offer their congratulations!"

"What!?"

Before Li Xiangnan could react, Song Ziming on the wall was already terrified.

The Ten Families of Yanjing?

WTF?