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墨書 Inktalez
The Seafood Feast lasted for two days, during which no further incidents occurred. Fang Fei was reliable in her words and actions. After a discussion at the Stilt House that evening, she and Little Leaf went to negotiate with the Rebels. The specifics of their talks and the results remained unknown, but when Fang Fei reported back, her mood was relatively good, suggesting that both sides had reached some friendly consensus.
Fang Fei fulfilled her promise, so Song Jiu and Jin Bo naturally did not stir up trouble. In fact, they lacked the energy for any mischief since the date for the wedding had been set.
This matter was primarily handled by Song Yao and Chef Jia. Before heading out to sea, they had specifically prepared some items needed for the wedding. Unfortunately, they encountered a storm at sea; while not much was lost, some damage was unavoidable, and they had to consider other ways to address the issues caused by the damage.
Two days before landing on the island, Song Jiu was either drunkenly incapacitated or busy with various trivial matters. Song Yao and the others couldn’t find the time to inquire about related matters. Fortunately, the weather had been calm these past few days, so they seized the opportunity to gather everyone together to brainstorm ideas for a grand wedding for the couple.
The couple remained blissfully unaware that they were soon to experience a significant event in their lives. Life on the island was peaceful and carefree, and with Fang Fei’s deliberate arrangements, the couple had been completely isolated lately, spending their days together at the Stilt House and Mangrove, which provided ample space for the planning team.
However, while organizing a wedding sounded easy in theory, it was quite challenging in practice. The people present had plenty of experience attending weddings, but the real issue lay in how to independently prepare one.
Under the scorching sun of midsummer July, an awkward atmosphere lingered in the slightly stuffy Stilt House.
After a long while, Song Jiu, nearly dozing off, suddenly jolted awake. Looking around at everyone staring blankly at each other, he helplessly suggested, “How about we solicit ideas from everyone on the island?” The attendees were all familiar faces; the oldest among them was Wu Wentao. Due to his status, he could contribute effort easily but strategizing was another matter entirely. Then there was Chef Jia, who had stepped out to prepare lunch and hadn’t returned yet. The rest were young men and women whose thoughts on weddings revolved around grand carriages and fireworks or churches releasing doves; they were completely clueless about specifics. After discussing for an entire morning, nothing substantial had emerged.
“I asked some people who have been married before; basically, they all relied on wedding planning companies for assistance. They just bought furniture and took wedding photos—no good ideas,” Fang Fei said with a shrug, indicating that the Islanders also lacked inspiration.
Qianqian and her group had already prepared wedding dresses and suits. Noticing that the meeting was becoming dull, she spoke up: “I think we don’t need to be too rigid about formalities; it’s really about the sentiment.”
“That’s true,” Luo Yu replied. While skilled at handling other matters, he felt lost when it came to organizing events like this; it wasn’t his area of expertise. If Dream Fan were still around, they wouldn’t have to worry about such things.
“Then let’s combine Eastern and Western styles—whatever comes to mind is fine; no need to overthink it,” Dai Wei suggested from behind Luo Yu. He smiled as he added, “Whoever is good with words can play host as emcee; we can follow conventional practices for everything else.”
“What are those conventional practices?” Jin Bo raised his hand to ask.
“For example…” Dai Wei paused as he pondered this question. After a moment of thought, he frowned and replied: “Feasts, having the groom welcome the bride, walking down the red carpet—things like that.”
The onlookers shook their heads, muttering that it was the same old story with nothing new to offer.
"Still no results discussed," everyone was deep in thought when the door swung open. Chef Jia rolled up his sleeves, flicking the water off his hands, and looked at the group with a grin. "You all are getting older, yet you’ve never organized these things before."
"Nope," the crowd shook their heads vigorously, their gazes toward Chef Jia filled with hope.
"Alright, just listen to me," Chef Jia said as he closed the door behind him and walked over to sit in a wicker chair. He smiled and continued, "You young folks can handle the physical work; I'll leave the venue setup to you. Also, Jin Bo, you need to prepare a new house."
As soon as an expert spoke, everyone perked up, eager to jot down notes.
"A new house?" Jin Bo paused, hesitating. "Is it too late to build one now?"
"There’s nothing ready-made," Chef Jia chuckled at his response. "Let’s just go through the motions. The stilt house they’re currently living in looks good; just clean it up and decorate it nicely."
"Sure thing, no problem," Jin Bo assured him with a pat on his chest.
"Decorating the new house requires both men and women working together. Song Jiu, you take some people to set up the venue. The coast is spacious enough; we can use local materials for decorations. Keep it simple but attractive," Chef Jia commanded with authority, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair as he thought aloud. "I heard Dai Wei mention something about Red Carpet Island?"
"We have red sheets, but only military blankets in green," Jin Bo replied.
Chef Jia shot him a look. He had never heard of anyone walking down a green carpet for a wedding. "Are there wildflowers in the woods behind the island? Gather plenty for decoration."
"Got it, I’ll handle that," Cao Zheng volunteered enthusiastically. While he wasn’t skilled in other areas, climbing mountains and swimming were definitely his strengths.
"Great! I’ll go with Lao Cao," Qianqian said with a bright smile as she exchanged glances with him.
Song Jiu initially wanted to ask if they should also join in on the preparations but thought better of it. Their relationship had been clear for many years now; they didn’t need to include him in this excitement. Besides, it was better for him to keep quiet and focus on doing more work to avoid getting tangled up in Barbie Doll's antics again.
"Leave the wedding banquet to me. The ingredients on the island should be fine; I'll do my best." Chef Jia casually took on some extra work, glancing at the others and asking, "Do we need groomsmen and bridesmaids?"
"Sure! Any requirements?" Yang Xiaomeng perked up, excitedly saying, "I want to be a bridesmaid!"
"You'll be responsible for the bride's makeup," Chef Jia said, assigning him to that task. Seeing his expression drop, he chuckled, "Xiao Meng, when it comes to makeup and dressing up, you're way more professional than us. It fits your expertise."
"Fine," Yang Xiaomeng pouted, feeling like he had fallen from the spotlight to the background too quickly.
"What else do we need?" Song Yao had been zoning out nearby, and this scene stirred some memories; she once had a chance to be the center of attention.
"Nothing much," Chef Jia calculated for a moment, counting on his fingers. "Given our limited resources, we don't have wedding photos, no videography, no wedding car—so it’s just about making some noise at the wedding night."
"Sister Jia, can we draw the wedding photos?" Yuan An suddenly spoke up, looking a bit shy. "If it's possible, I could hand-draw one for them; otherwise, the wedding venue will look too empty."
"Yeah! Yuan An is great at drawing," Huihui chimed in with a bright expression.
Chef Jia paused for a moment before recalling how Yuan An often sat on the second floor of Roundabout, sketching away at the bar. He smiled and said, "That sounds like quite a task for you. Portraits take time, right?"
"It's okay; drawing the makeup photo is a bit tricky, but I can manage," Yuan An replied cheerfully. Then he thought of something and looked at Fang Fei. "Sister Fei, do we have paper and paint on the island?"
"There should be some," Fang Fei nodded. "We brought back a lot of odds and ends. There are some kids on the island too, so we kept many books and things. I'll go check for you."
"Perfect! Those kids can also be flower girls," Luci interjected, resolving another matter.
"What about music?" Dr. Zhong, who had been lost in thought until now, finally came back to reality and asked, "Is there anyone who can play an instrument?"
The Pockmarked Girl's eyes lit up. "Does whistling count?"
“That's easy to handle,” Cao Zheng said confidently, having already thought of a solution. “The yacht, Leisure Lounge, has sound equipment. I remember there are some CDs on board. I'll go check and see if there's anything suitable we can use.”
“Then it's settled,” Chef Jia said, taking notes on everything that had been discussed. After considering each point, he instructed, “Since that's the case, we shouldn't keep the Bride and Groom in the dark. Otherwise, we won't have enough time to prepare.”
“What should I do then?” Song Jiu and Luo Yu asked in unison.
Chef Jia smiled and assigned tasks. “I just mentioned it. Song Jiu will handle the venue setup, and Luo Yu, you go tidy up the new house. Also, we might need more servers for the wedding banquet. Are there any volunteers?”
Everyone looked around, their gazes landing on Wu Wentao, who was crossing his arms.
Wu Wentao rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. “I'll take care of Security.”
“Security for a wedding? Come on, Old Wu, you should be the host instead,” Jin Bo said with a mischievous grin.
“Come on now, with that long face of yours, people might think they're attending a funeral,” Luci said, rolling her eyes. She volunteered, “I can fill in as the emcee. Sister Jia is the manager after all; I can work with Yao Yao to go over the script.”
Song Yao chuckled at her antics but quickly waved her hands when she heard she might have to go on stage. “I can't do that.”
“You're not busy anyway,” Luci pouted playfully. “I'm afraid I won't be able to hold the stage alone.”
“Go with Dai Wei; Handsome Men and Beautiful Women will definitely be a feast for the eyes,” Song Jiu said with a grin as he declined the assignment. He then thought for a moment and asked, “Lao Cao, does the yacht's kitchen have an oven?”
“Hmm?” Cao Zheng paused; he had been busy in the cockpit and hadn't really checked out the restaurant area yet.
“Yes, it does,” Qianqian replied with a nod.
"Alright, I'll take care of preparing a big cake for Ziqian and Doudou," Song Yao said with a smile.
"I'll handle the drinks," Jin Bo replied, unwilling to back down.
"Hey, wait a minute," Yang Xiaomeng interjected hurriedly, asking, "After all this talk, do we even have any groomsmen or bridesmaids?"
"We'll figure that out later. Groomsmen and bridesmaids are just there for show anyway. If there's time, they can just change into their outfits," Chef Jia said, making a rather rough arrangement and immediately pointed to the Tattooed Woman and Jasmine as backup groomsmen and bridesmaids.
Seeing that everyone had basically assigned their roles, Song Jiu couldn't help but recall Wu Wentao's comments about security matters. He frowned and said, "Our people are all busy. Old Wu handling security alone is going to be tough."
"I'll arrange someone," Jin Bo replied. He actually felt that security wasn't really necessary; after all, the wedding was on an island and there was no need to go to the mainland for the ceremony. The threat from zombies was zero, and the rebels were just a bunch of misfits who wouldn't cause trouble at a wedding. However, he still agreed to it—security would just mean maintaining order and serving tea, which could also provide some jobs for Islanders.
"Alright then, I guess there are no other issues," Chef Jia said as he put away his pen and paper into his pocket. He stood up and waved his hand. "Meeting adjourned. Everyone go prepare."
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