Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

In the front yard, many people came from the Yue family, including Yue Siyuan and his wife. In addition, there are Yue Siyuan's brother and sister-in-law, Yue Pengcheng's two cousins, and of course the matchmaker is also indispensable.

The steward of the Yue family led his servants to unload the betrothal gifts from the carriage. Of course, a big fat pig tied up with five stripes was indispensable. There were also two jars of wine, as well as clothes and fabrics of various colors, hair and jewelry, etc., which were packed in six large boxes in total. Everything is tied with red silk, so people can tell at a glance that they are here to give betrothal gifts.

The three Zhixin brothers had been waiting outside for a long time. When they saw someone coming from the Yue family, they quickly let them into the living room. The old man and the old lady of the Xu family were all sitting in the room with smiles on their faces.

"Siyuan, come on, sit down quickly." The old man greeted.

Siyuan quickly introduced everyone. The two parties got to know each other and sat down separately. The matchmaker here read out the list of betrothal gifts sent by the Yue family, and then handed it to Zhixin, who handed it to Chen to put away.

After hearing what was on the list, Mrs. Chen said, "Siyuan, Xiujuan, why do you think you have prepared so many betrothal gifts? You already passed the test when you got engaged, and this betrothal gift is even more. Forget it. , I won’t say anything, we will keep all these things intact for Jingya, as long as the young couple live a good life. "

Yue Siyuan's wife Liu Shi smiled, "Auntie, Siyuan is the only one in our family. Haven't we left everything to him? Jingya is a gentle and virtuous child. He is a good child. We all like him." Wouldn't it be nice to give something to Jingya? By the way, aunt, we bought a house for Pengcheng and Jingya in the county. When these two get married, Pengcheng will move to the county. Let Jingya accompany him when he is studying in school. Siyuan and I are still young at home, so we don’t have to keep our daughter-in-law in front of us. It would be great if they could let me have a grandson as soon as possible. "Yes." Liu's words shocked the Xu family.

Mrs. Xue quickly said, "Sister-in-law, this is not possible. How can a daughter-in-law not serve the elderly at home? Pengcheng is an only son, so Jingya should fulfill her filial piety for Pengcheng in front of her parents. How could the young couple run to the county town by themselves? Are you living your life? "Although the mother doesn't like her daughter getting married, she still has to set rules in front of her mother-in-law. But what the Yue family did was really unexpected.

Zhixin also said, "Isn't that right? Brother Yue, you'd better think about this matter more carefully. They are both still young. They have just been out like this, and they can't understand things when they encounter them? I think it's better to live with you until At the same time, the county school also has a holiday every month."

Yue Siyuan waved his hand, "That's it. Once Pengcheng and the others have been married for one month, we will let them move to the county. It's just a family life. They are young and can go out alone. However, it is much better for two people to discuss things with each other than to do it in front of us. "

On the side, Yue Siyuan's brother said, "Brother Xu, you don't need to persuade me. This is our family's rule. When our sons get married, they will go out to live alone, and then they will move in together when they are older. Back then, I He Siyuan came here the same way. When the old man and the old lady were still there, they had their own houses. They could live in whichever house they wanted. If they got tired of living there, they could change to another house. This was better, among us brothers. On the contrary, we are closer and more harmonious than when a big family lives together. "

When Zhixin heard this, he had no choice but to nod, "Since it's the rule of the Yue family, I won't say anything. Don't worry, brother, when the two little ones get married, I will tell Jingya to come back to see you often."

Everyone talked about some details about getting married, and then just sat there chatting. Mrs. Xue is Jingya's mother, so she naturally has to stay with guests in the house today, so Mrs. Zhu and Mrs. Han are helping to look after the kitchen. In the kitchen, there were several nearby wives, as well as Honglian and the other girls, all busy with the lunch meal.

At the beginning of noon, all the food was ready, and everyone set up a banquet in the living room, and everyone had a lively banquet together.

Jinghan and the others were accompanying Jingya in the backyard, so the girl had a table by herself, and the four sisters ate in the backyard.

It was not until the end of the day that the Yue family said goodbye and went out. The three Zhixin brothers arrived at the gate. After saying goodbye to Yue Siyuan and the others again, the Yue family got in the car and left.

When the brothers returned to the living room, Mrs. Chen said, "Jingya will take away all the things sent by the Yue family, as well as the gifts and jewelry from the engagement. In addition, didn't we also prepare a dowry of eighteen tons?" Altogether, we can get twenty-eight taels of silver. This is considered good enough in our town. The dowry on the surface can only be like this. I will leave another one hundred and twenty taels of silver for Jingya. Bottom of the box. Do you think it’s okay?”

None of the three Zhixin brothers had any objections, but Xue felt that it was a bit too much, "Mom, you don't have to do this, right? When Huixin got married, we prepared a dowry of sixteen tons, which was enough to show off. How can Jingya compare to Isn’t this good if you still have a lot of wisdom?”

Ms. Chen smiled and said, "Meilin, when did Huixin get married? Can our family compare with now? The Tao family can't compare with the Yue family? Okay, that's it. Not only Jingya, but also Jingya from now on." When Han and Jingwan got married, the dowry was at least sixteen thousand dollars, and the money in the box was at least one hundred and twenty taels. Why did we work hard all our lives? Isn't it because our children can live a good life? I don’t feel bad about spending money on them.”

The old man also said from the side, "Okay, it's settled. Our family still has so much income in a year, so we can't lose the child no matter what. Boss, you two have collected Jingya's dowry, and now We are only a few days away from getting married, so don’t delay.”

Since the old couple have said this, Mrs. Xue can't say anything else. Anyway, it would be better if her daughter's dowry is more, because it will make her daughter look good. "Dad, we know, let's get ready."

Mrs. Chen handed the list just now to Mrs. Xue and asked her to take it to Jingya. Mrs. Xue took the list and went to the backyard. When they came to Jingya's house in the backyard, the four sisters happened to be chatting there. Mrs. Xue handed the betrothal gift list to Jingya, "Well, this is the betrothal gift sent by the Yue family today. Your grandma said, except for the food, the rest will be kept." I'll take everything away with you." Of course Ms. Xue was happy. With such a dowry, her daughter would be able to live a better life in her husband's family.

Mrs. Xue also told Jingya what the Yue family said today about living separately after getting married.

Jinghan listened on the sidelines and admired the Yue family's family rules. People in this era still live together as a large family, which becomes more lively when there are more people. Elderly people want their children and grandchildren to be with them, so that the family will appear prosperous, united and harmonious. The Xu family is considered a special case. The third uncle and the fourth uncle lived outside each other after they got married. This was also because the third uncle worked at a drug store in the county and the fourth uncle opened a school in the town. And didn’t the second uncle just stay with the big guys since they didn’t separate? Unexpectedly, this Yue family is even more special. The old man is not even with his son, which is really interesting. However, it’s good to think about it this way. When a son gets married, he becomes an adult. If you are still in front of your parents and rely on them for everything, you really will not be able to achieve great things.

"Sister, you are doing well. You can live separately as soon as you enter the house. You don't have to wait for your parents-in-law. The young couple can live their own lives. Well, this is quite good." Jinghan is really happy for Jingya.

Mrs. Xue took Jingya's hand and told her, "Although I say so, Pengcheng is an only son after all. You must come back often. Anyway, the county school is not so strict. Come back and stay for a few days when you have time. This As a parent, how can you not think about your children?”

Jingya nodded, "Mom, I understand. Don't worry, mom, Jingya will treat her parents-in-law well."

Mrs. Xue chatted with Jingya for a few more words, and then came out of Jingya's house. There were still a lot of things to do at home, so how could Mrs. Xue be free?

After sending the bride price, the marriage is not far away. The family is busy all day long, preparing a banquet to send off the bride, and discussing candidates for the wedding.

On the fourth day of October, several stoves were set up in the Xu family's yard, and the invited cook began to prepare things for tomorrow's banquet. There are a lot of things that need to be prepared in advance, and things that need to be done should be done and things that should be oiled should be oiled. The cook led five or six apprentices to work there, and there were also nearby wives who helped pick and wash vegetables.

Jingya's dowry has all been prepared and placed in the front living room. The twenty-eight-carat dowry was all tied with red silk and looked very happy.

Mrs. Xue could no longer do any work this time. She was just in charge of the warehouse. If anyone wanted anything, Mrs. Xue would go and find it. Jinghan and Jingwan also helped Xue take care of the corresponding items. Whatever they took out, they would write it down in their notebooks.

All the household items needed were rented from a special place, and brothers Wenhan and Wencheng drove the ox cart several times. Zixuan came back from the village and also helped out. Xingjia's wine shop was busy, so he asked his wife to come over and help.

The Xu family has gotten along well with their neighbors in the town in recent years, so when they heard that the Xu family was getting married to their daughter, many people clamored to come and have a wedding banquet. Zhixin discussed it with the old man and decided to prepare forty tables of banquets. Of course, we can't accommodate such a large number of banquets. Fortunately, the local custom is to have a flowing banquet. After the banquet begins, as long as there are enough people to fill the table, the food will be served. After the table is finished, the dishes and leftovers are removed, and then the next meal is arranged. Therefore, it should be possible to set up banquets in various courtyards of the Xu family.

This banquet can't just be rice, but also prepare some steamed buns. Northerners actually like to eat pasta. So Zhu took his people to a nearby neighbor's house to bake and steam about ten pots of steamed buns. "Sister-in-law, these steamed buns aren't enough, are they?" Mrs. Han said, looking at the snow-white steamed buns on the curtain.

"Then let's stew some rice tomorrow. It can't just be steamed buns. Some people like to eat rice." Zhu said.