Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

When Zhixiang comes home, everyone is naturally happy. Seeing them chatting happily, Mrs. Xue hurriedly went out to prepare the meal. Mrs. Zhu followed her out, and her sisters-in-law were busy in the kitchen.

Zhixiang's marriage was being talked about in the room, "Mom, Dad, is it okay to set the wedding date on the twelfth lunar month? I think it's the sixteenth or eighteenth of the twelfth lunar month. It happens to be one month away from now, so we can make it in time. In the past few days, let's go ahead We just need to find a matchmaker to send the bride price, and then we can get married next month. The Lu family said that there is no need to make a big deal, it will be simple and we will not live at home when we get married. There is no need to be too wasteful. There is no need to prepare ordinary things, we can prepare them ourselves when we arrive in Anzhou." Zhixiang has thought of everything.

"Lao Wu, isn't this too unfair to this girl? After all, she is a girl from the county town, and her family has property." Mrs. Chen felt that she was too hasty.

"Mother, it's okay. This is what Mr. Lu means. When we got engaged, I already gave two hundred taels as a betrothal gift, which is not too small. When we send betrothal gifts, it's okay to give more. Prepare a few more Like this. It looks good on both sides, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to use it if you bought a lot of things, right?” Zhixiang smiled.

Since it was Mr. Lu's wish, everyone couldn't say anything, so they discussed finding a matchmaker to go to the county to pay a betrothal gift or something. It happened that Mrs. Xue and the others had also prepared the meals, and Wenhan and the others also came back from school, and everyone had a lively meal together.

In the evening, the Qingnian family and the Han family were invited over for a family reunion dinner. When Zhixiang met Jinghui for the first time, he quickly gave him a meeting gift, which was a Hetian jade pendant.

"Fifth brother, Jinghui is just a little kid. How can you ask for such an expensive thing? Fifth brother, you'd better put it away." Qingnian took a look and quickly asked Zhixiang to take it back.

"Look at you, it's not a big thing, it's just a jade pendant. Someone gave it to me, and I never took it with me. I gave it to Jing Hui." Zhixiang put the jade pendant around Jing Hui's neck, "Look , This is so beautiful, isn’t it? Come on, call me uncle.”

Xiao Jinghui is still so fat and laughs when he sees people. Looking at Zhixiang, he didn't recognize him and shouted directly, "Uncle." Now his pronunciation was very accurate.

Zhixiang was so happy that he hugged Jinghui and kissed him several times on the face, making Jinghui giggle and call him uncle.

Zhixiang played with Jinghui for a while, and then handed Jinghui over to Qingnian, "Brother-in-law, this kid Jinghui doesn't recognize his own child and will kiss everyone, which is quite good. But you have to be careful. When he gets older, You have to teach him how to get to know the outside world. There are a lot of kidnappers these days, so don’t let him be kidnapped. In the past few years, you have encountered many such things outside, but you must be careful." Zhixiang couldn't help it. warned.

"Fifth brother, don't worry, Qingnian knows." Qingnian was also excited. Isn't it? This child can do anything now and won't cry or make trouble with anyone. You really need to pay attention to this.

It was too late in the evening, so Zhide and Qingnian took their families home. The Xu family has also settled down and is resting. Zhixiang brought back a total of five servants, and Zhixin also arranged them in the west courtyard in front. Fortunately, Mrs. Chen and the others have been making bedding and other things recently, so this is enough.

The next day, Mrs. Chen personally went to a matchmaker in the town to discuss hiring Zhixiang. The matchmaker’s surname was Wu, and she was about forty years old. When Wu heard that she was giving a betrothal gift to the niece of the Lu family in the county, she agreed without saying a word. "Auntie, there's no need to say anything. I'll take care of your family's affairs. Auntie, you are so lucky. The Lu family has a big family in the county. People from the Lu family have been serving as officials for generations. I heard that this Mr. Lu is still the magistrate of Changbai Prefecture, and his son is also a county magistrate. It is an amazing family. If my aunt's family can marry a girl from the Lu family, I guess your son is not an ordinary person. Ah." Matchmaker Wu praised Zhixiang very well.

Mrs. Chen asked Matchmaker Wu to say it, with a smile on her face, "My son is a classmate of this Lu Zhixian, and now he is also working with Lu Zhixian, so he was able to marry a girl from the Lu family. I leave all this to you. The Wu family's sister-in-law is here, this is a big deal, it affects the Lu family's face, we have to discuss it carefully. "

The two began to discuss some matters regarding the betrothal gifts. Chen took out the list of betrothal gifts that she had discussed with Zhixiang and the old man before and showed it to Matchmaker Wu. When Matchmaker Wu saw it, she couldn't help but admired, "Auntie, you are a generous and neat person. This gift is the first one even in the county. If so, just do it this way. I can guarantee that Lu There is absolutely nothing else to say at home. My dear, this is enough to marry two or three wives in our town. I have been a matchmaker in this town for more than ten years, and I have never seen such a betrothal gift. "Auntie, hurry up and prepare. Let's go and give the bride price on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, and we will get married on the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month. These two days are both good and suitable for weddings." That's what Matchmaker Wu does, she tells the date with just one mouthful.

Mrs. Chen felt that the date was set well and thoughtfully. She nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble Sister-in-law Wu. When my son's wedding is completed, I will definitely give Sister-in-law Wu a big red envelope."

Matchmaker Wu waved her hand, "It's not a red envelope, but I can help you two. Even if you don't have anything, I will handle it well. If this is revealed, I will be famous."

When Mrs. Chen returned home from matchmaker Wu, she dragged Mrs. Xue and Mrs. Zhu out and went to a shop in the town to prepare betrothal gifts. Zhixiang has already prepared the large and valuable items, but now they are just small things that are almost in pieces. Mrs. Chen took her two daughters-in-law to buy these. In addition, as a mother-in-law, she also has to prepare some good things to keep as a greeting gift for the new daughter-in-law.

"Mom, I think this hairpin is good. Look, the pattern is new." In a jewelry shop, Ms. Xue showed Ms. Chen a golden hairpin with a crest.

Mrs. Chen took it and weighed it with her hands. This hairpin probably weighed six or seven coins, so it was quite heavy. The style is also really good and the workmanship is fine. "Come on, little boy, how much does this hairpin cost?" Ms. Chen asked the boy over there.

The clerk came over quickly and said, "Madam, the hairpin in your hand costs ten taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Chen thought it was a bit expensive. "Young man, this is a bit expensive for you. We sincerely want to buy it. Please give it a little cheaper." One tael of gold and ten taels of silver, plus the craftsmanship, ten taels of silver is still a bit high.

The clerk couldn't make the decision, so he ran in and called the shopkeeper out. The shopkeeper came to Mrs. Chen and looked at the hairpin. "Old lady, if you really like this hairpin, please give me nine taels of silver. This hairpin is made of pure gold and is well-made. It's worth it." The money."

Chen thought about it and felt that it was almost done. Just nodded, "Okay, that's it. Wrap it up for me."

The boy over there went to wrap up the hairpin, and Mr. Xue and Mr. Zhu were also picking it up. Mrs. Xue picked out a pair of silver bracelets, and Mrs. Zhu picked out a silver hairpin, "Mom, do you think these things we have chosen are okay? When the fifth younger brother and sister come in, we must give some greeting gifts, right?" Mrs. Xue said. asked while holding the bracelet.

"Okay, as long as you have the intention, it's not about the quantity of things, it's about the intention. With our family's conditions, jewelry that can give us money is good." Mrs. Chen looked at the things in the hands of the two sisters-in-law, and felt that they could value them so much. The new daughter-in-law is happy.

These two items cost another three and a half taels of silver. The boy happily packed them up and sent the three girls out of the shop.

Mrs. Chen and her daughters-in-law visited several more silk and satin shops, but did not see any good materials. The last store we came to was the same one where Xue bought some discounted fabrics that year. As soon as we entered, the guy from back then was still there and he came up to us directly. "Auntie, what materials do you want to see? If it's for daily wear, buy some cotton. If it's for errands, then look at the silks and satins here. Our materials are all shipped directly from the south, and they are guaranteed to be unique. Our Yueji Silk and Satin Shop also has stores in the county, and they are among the best."

When the ladies heard about Yue Ji, they were stunned. Ms. Xue quickly asked: "Is it the Yue family's shop? Is your owner called Yue Siyuan?"

After hearing this, the clerk nodded and said, "That's right? How does this sister-in-law know?"

Mrs. Chen smiled and didn't say much, "Man, we need to buy some fabrics for the wedding gift. Please help us choose some good silks and satins."

The waiter led them to the silk and satin section and selected several materials with bright and cheerful colors and gorgeous patterns. As expected, as the waiter said, these are not available elsewhere. Mrs. Chen took a fancy to these and asked for one piece, a total of four pieces of material.

"Auntie, these materials are all five taels of silver a piece. If you want more, I will give you four and a half taels a piece. The four pieces make a total of eighteen taels. What do you think?" The clerk saw that he wanted a lot. , naturally it’s cheaper.

"Okay, just wrap it up and wrap it up properly. This is for a wedding." The old lady thought the price was reasonable, so she paid the money to the man.

The three mothers, holding four pieces of cloth, walked home from the silk and satin shop. It was not too far from the Xu family, and it only took a quarter and a half minutes to walk. As the three of them walked, they discussed how to pick out four pieces of fabric from the fabrics that Zhixiang had brought back, so that they could make eight pieces of fabric. The ones Zhixiang brought back were all of very good quality, no less good than the ones they bought.

It took my mother and I a few more days to prepare everything for Zhixiang's betrothal gift. Zhixiang sent Xu An to the Lu family in the county to tell them that the bride price would be given on the twenty-eighth day of the winter lunar month.