Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

Now that Huixin and Tao Qingnian's marriage has been agreed, no matter how unhappy the Tao family is, they still have to go through the marriage negotiation process. Northerners don't have too many rules. If you omit the previous one, it means accepting the tax directly, that is, giving a betrothal gift and making a betrothal. The Tao family chose the eighth day of October to come to the Xu family to pay the betrothal gift.

On the morning of the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhixin got up early and cleaned the yard. The children at home were all tidied up, and Mrs. Xue was preparing today's banquet in the kitchen.

Logically speaking, Huixin's betrothal should have been attended by her brother and sister-in-law, but Zhixiang was far away in Changbai Mansion and could not come back. Zhiming and his wife worked for others in the county, but they always had something to do, so they didn't call. As for Zhide, Mrs. Chen really felt that the Han family looked down on the Xu family too much, so asking them to come back made Mrs. Chen feel a little stuck in her heart. Therefore, the three sons did not tell any of them, but only invited the village chief and his wife, as well as Mr. Xu's cousin and cousin-in-law.

Zhixin went hunting in the mountains yesterday so that he could have more food today. Fortunately, Zhixin was lucky and caught two rabbits, a roe deer, and three pheasants, which was quite a lot. Mrs. Xue took care of all this and stewed the pheasant in the pot all morning.

Wen Han was also sent to the town yesterday to buy some meat and fish. The Xu family has such a daughter, she can't lose her face, can she?

The Xu family is very popular in the village. I heard that the daughter of the Xu family was getting engaged today, so several daughters-in-law came to help, including Lin Zixuan's mother, Mrs. Fang. There were also Shitou's daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law who had given birth. They all came after the morning meal and helped prepare the banquet in the kitchen.

At the beginning of Si Shi, people from the Tao family arrived. Mr. Tao, the old lady, Tao Qingnian's eldest brother Tao Qingfeng, and his wife Yu Shi, plus Tao Qingnian and Qian Matchmaker. Everyone was holding something in their hands, a pair of geese, pork with four ribs, four boxes of tea, four boxes of snacks, and two sets of clothes for Hui Xin.

When Mrs. Chen saw the Tao family coming, she and Mr. Xu hurried forward to greet them. Matchmaker Qian quickly asked Chen to take the things over, and then let the Tao family into the house. Everyone went into the room and sat down. Although the old lady of the Tao family was a little unhappy, on the whole she was doing fine.

Mrs. Tao took out the prepared betrothal gift, five taels of silver, and put it on the table. Mrs. Chen smiled and put the betrothal gift aside. Then matchmaker Qian took out the marriage certificates of Huixin and Qingnian, and wrote a marriage certificate according to the ages on it. The parents of both parties put their fingerprints on the marriage certificate, and the engagement was considered completed. The marriage certificate is made in two copies, each party holds one copy, and they have to go to the Yamen for registration.

After these were completed, Qian Matchmaker also breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, congratulations, the two families will be in-laws from now on."

The two parties then discussed the date of the wedding, and according to Chen, they planned to get married at the end of February next year. But Mrs. Tao didn't want to do it, and she had to get married in the first month of the year, so Mr. Chen couldn't be too stubborn with her. So they agreed to get married in the first month of the first lunar month, and finally set the date of marriage on the eighth day of the first lunar month.

After the wedding date was set, everyone chatted casually. The Tao family didn't agree with the marriage in the first place, so their words were a bit thorny. The daughter-in-law of the boss of the Tao family just said sourly, "To get married now, the betrothal gift is five taels, and there is also a betrothal gift. In total, you can't get it by twenty or thirty taels? It's better to raise a girl. Ah, if there are too many boys, it will be difficult to find a wife. "

Mr. Xue listened and laughed. "The benefits of having a son, let's just talk about the work in the fields. Girls can't compare to boys. In fact, if you think about it, if this boy didn't go to school, he would start working in the fields at the age of fourteen. Generally speaking, It’s only eighteen or ninety years old to get married. If you spend ten or twenty taels to get a wife, you’ve already earned it.” Naturally, it’s hard to say anything else in this situation. But from Xue's words, anyone can understand that Tao Qingnian had already earned the cost of getting married. Tao Qingnian was able to save thirty taels of silver without telling his family, so what he took home in the past few years would probably be at least twice as much.

When the eldest daughter-in-law of the Tao family heard this, she looked unhappy, but she had no words to refute, because Mrs. Xue didn't say whose family it was.

Here, Mrs. Xue saw that it was almost time, so she hurried to the kitchen to see how the dishes were being cooked. When Zixuan Niang saw Ms. Meat, scrambled eggs, fried peanuts, it seems that one dish is missing, what’s the next one?”

Mrs.

Zixuan Niang and the other daughters-in-law laughed, "Sister-in-law, this dish is better than the banquet for marrying my daughter-in-law. We can't eat such good dishes during the Chinese New Year. They can't pick out anything." Everyone praised one after another. The dishes prepared by my family today are relatively tough.

These people were quick at work, and after a while, the fried meat with fungus was ready. Mrs. Xue hurriedly went into the house and asked, "Mom, Aunt Tao, Aunt Qian, the food is ready. Can we chat while we eat?"

Mrs. Chen nodded, "Okay, let's chat while we eat. Don't just sit here."

So Mr. Xue and his wife who helped quickly put the tables on the kang and on the floor. The remaining children made do with the food in the kitchen. Huixin only showed up at the beginning, and then helped in the kitchen. Naturally, she couldn't eat with everyone at this moment. Jinghan and Jingya took the food to the west room to eat with their little aunt. As the dishes were placed on the table, Mr. Tao smiled and said, "Speaking of my in-laws, your dishes are quite tough. No one has such good dishes during the Chinese New Year." Mr. Tao also felt a little unhappy. , but it’s already reached this point, it’s useless to say that, it’s better to get along well with each other. There is still a candidate in the Xu family, who dares to say what will happen in the future?

The village chief here also said, "Isn't that right? We, Zhixin, are talented people. We work well in the fields, and we can go hunting in the mountains in winter. Many of the vegetables today were brought back by Zhixin." Brother Tao, don’t worry, you can’t go wrong if you get married to the Xu family. Look at the Xu family’s sister-in-law. She has several daughters-in-law, but she has never had any quarrels with any of them. I haven’t had an argument with my mother-in-law in three or four years. "Everyone in these villages knows that the character of the Xu family is obvious to everyone in the village. Even after the Wei incident, everyone knows it now. Not to mention.

The old man of the Tao family nodded. Since his son insisted on marrying a daughter of the Xu family, he also found someone to inquire about some things about the Xu family. I know that the village chief is telling the truth. In fact, even in a family like the Xu family, people are honest and honest, and they don't have any evil intentions. Even though the old woman put forward such harsh conditions, she agreed, just to satisfy the two children. "Come, Brother Xu, and Brother Zhou, let's have a drink, and we will be relatives from now on. Qingnian, this kid, has been working in Renji Hall since he was a primary school doctor. Now he is also a serious doctor. In the future, I don’t have to worry about it. Not to mention being rich or wealthy, it’s still okay to be ordinary. When Hui Xin comes to my house, she won’t be able to endure hardships.”

Xu Chengkuan nodded after hearing this, "With the words of my in-laws, I feel relieved. We are just a farmer, so we are not afraid of hardship. As long as they are a happy couple, we will be better than anything else."

The meal started at the beginning of noon and ended at the beginning of the afternoon, during which the old lady Tao only said a few words. Naturally, she was unhappy. Of the three sons in the family, the second was the best-looking, and he had been a doctor since he was a child and had good medical skills. I originally hoped that the second child would find a wife with a better family background, and the family would be able to benefit from it. But I didn't expect that the second child didn't know what was wrong with his mind. He just liked this peasant girl and refused to agree to the Liu family's marriage. The old lady was so angry. Fortunately, the Xu family now has a candidate, which is pretty good. Otherwise, even if the Xu family offered two hundred taels of silver, she would not agree. She was not in a good mood to come today, but the Xu family entertained her warmly and the food was well prepared, so she couldn't find anything wrong with her. The old lady was holding back her anger and was unwilling to speak.

Since the wedding took place on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the bride price had to be sent before the end of the year. The two parties discussed it and decided to send the bride price on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month before the end of the year.

After the banquet, the Tao family left. Chen and Matchmaker Qian separated all the things the Tao family brought, keeping half for their own family and giving the rest to the Tao family. This is the rule. In addition, there were two new sets of clothes made for Tao Qingnian, which were also given to them to take away. Chen and the old man were naturally sent to the gate. Seeing the Tao family walking away, Mrs. Chen sighed, "Oh, this marriage is really worrying. If it weren't for Huixin, I really wouldn't agree." After saying that, she returned to the east room.

The few wives who helped had dinner here and then went home. It's not too busy now, but this woman is at home, sewing and repairing inside and outside the house, so she doesn't stay at Xu's house too much. Mrs. Xue also arrived at the door and said hello to all of them, saying that she would come to play often when she had time. After watching several of her daughters-in-law leave, she turned back to the house.

Huixin came out of the west room and went to the east room. When she saw Mrs. Chen sitting on the kang, she went to her mother's side and said, "Mom, I'm sorry, it's all because of me." Huixin said she was about to shed tears.

Mrs. Chen hugged her daughter and said, "Daughter, don't be sad. I think the old man of the Tao family is quite sensible. After you are married, you should be diligent and get along well with your mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Didn't you say something about celebrating the new year? ? I want to separate and live alone with you. I estimate that the separation may take a year or two, and you have to endure it in the past two years. As long as it is not a big deal, it will pass. "