The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu. Thousands of households always exchange new peaches for old symbols - these are the seven unique poems of "Yuan Ri" written by the rural sage Wang Anshi.
Nowadays, time flies. During the Chinese New Year, people no longer use peach boards and peach symbols. Instead, they directly paste red paper Spring Festival couplets and set off a bunch of firecrackers, which is enough for the New Year flavor.
During the Chinese New Year, every household has fish and meat on the table. Even the poorest people will buy some to put on display. In addition to meat, there must be tofu and radishes.
Gao Mingcheng spent the New Year at his parents' house. Although their families had separated, he and Duo Mei were not officially married yet, so his father called him to come back for the New Year.
So he came back for the New Year with a big wild boar head and about ten kilograms of wild boar meat. In addition to his parents' house, he also gave gifts to Grandma Xin, Duo Mei, Gao Shouwang and others.
Because of this meat, Gao Mingcheng lived a pretty good life this year. No one made him unhappy, and he was happy every day.
The days flew by and it was the sixth day of the lunar month.
Early this morning, Gao Zhuang got up and started to toss himself.
He first boiled water to take a bath and wash his hair, then put on brand new cotton clothes, and then put on facial cream. He was full of energy.
Not only him, but Grandma Xi also dressed up carefully, looking clean and appropriate.
The table in the main room is filled with fruit snacks, including apples, oranges, grapefruits, rice candies, sesame slices, walnuts, red dates, fried peanuts, fried melon seeds, etc.
In the large iron pot in the kitchen, a large pot of ribs is stewed, and in the clay pot next to it, a chicken is stewed. This chicken was raised by Grandma Xie herself and doesn't lay eggs very much anymore, so she just stews it with soup. .
Gao Mingcheng is also here, helping to clean the inside and outside of the yard.
Today is the day when He Xiuman goes to the groom's house to see each other. If there is no problem this time, the next step is to talk about marriage.
At about 10:30 in the morning, there was movement outside. Gao Zhuang's nervous body became stiff, but Gao Mingcheng pulled him to the courtyard gate to greet him.
There were eight people in total, pushing four old and new bicycles. Apart from He Xiuman, her parents and uncle, the other four were a tall and strong aunt and her family.
His aunt was also going back to her parents' home to pay New Year greetings, so they made an appointment to get together.
"Xiuman." Gao Zhuang's face turned red when he saw He Xiuman, but he still said hello, and then quickly called He Xiuman's parents and uncle.
"Uncle, Aunt, it's cold outside. Come in first, have a cup of hot tea and something to eat." Gao Mingcheng helped with the reception and led the group to the main room.
He Xiuman's parents are about forty-five years old. They are not tall and have dark skin, making them look older. He was wearing a semi-old cotton coat, but fortunately it was still clean.
As soon as they entered the yard, their eyes did not fall on anyone, but looked left and right, looking at the entire yard to see how many rooms there were, how many chickens were kept, and so on.
At a glance, I'm quite satisfied.
Gao Zhuang's family is considered good in the entire Gaojia Village. The only shortcoming is that they have no parents and no labor.
When the mistress in the kitchen heard the commotion, she immediately brought over the prepared tea, and everyone had a cup.
When Aunt Gao Zhuang saw this, she immediately said, "Mom, you stay here with the guests, and I'll go to the kitchen to cook."
After saying that, she also pulled her youngest son into the kitchen to light the fire. When she got to the kitchen, Aunt Gao Zhuang took one look at the prepared dishes and knew what to do, so the sound of ding-ding-dong-dong sounded from the kitchen.
He Xiuman sat on the bench beside the table and looked at the food that was spread all over the table. She felt extremely happy in her heart. She felt that this was a sign that Gao Zhuang valued her.
She glanced at Gao Zhuang, with a smile in her eyes and raised corners of her mouth. As soon as Gao Zhuang caught her gaze, he became shy at first.
The interaction between the two of them was all in Gao Mingcheng's eyes. He knew that Gao Zhuang was already eaten to death by this girl.
He Xiuman's parents were also very satisfied with the things on the table. They reached for the food and stuffed it quietly into their pockets.
He Xiuman's mother said regretfully: "It would be great if I brought your brother here!"
There are so many delicious foods, my little son must be very happy!
When He Xiuman heard this, he lowered his head subconsciously, hiding the sneer in his eyes.
After lunch was ready, I took away the half-eaten fruits and snacks and replaced them with a table full of good meals and dishes.
When they saw the stewed pork ribs, stir-fried rabbit, stewed chicken, tofu and radish stew, braised fish and other dishes served in sea bowls, He Xiuman's parents became even more satisfied. Of course, they also regretted not bringing their little son over. .
After a meal, the guests' bellies were full.
After the meal, He Xiuman's father drank tea and said: "We Xiuman is hard-working, capable and good-looking. There are so many people who like her! But if she likes your tall and strong family, then let her go." Her will was done.”
He Xiuman's father first raised his daughter's worth, and then said, "I don't want a lot of money for this gift. I'll pick an auspicious number and give it eight hundred and eighty. Grandma, what do you think?"
Grandma Xiao was already prepared for heavy bleeding, but she was still a little embarrassed when she heard the other party asked for eight hundred and eighty.
Her family is short of labor, she is old, and she was still young before she reached adulthood, so she didn't earn much money. She spent more than 100 yuan to buy a bicycle a year ago, and now the only cash left in the family is 700 to 800 yuan.
Most of this money was compensation for her son falling to death.
Seeing that the fine grandma was silent, the tall and strong aunt smiled and smoothed things over: "Dad Xiuman, you are just joking. Which family's gift money is 880? It would be nice to have 300 or 400!"
He Xiuman's father said: "Three or four hundred is the old almanac! Whose family doesn't start at six hundred nowadays?"
The tall and strong aunt immediately said: "Okay, I'll give you 660, what do you think?"
He Xiuman's father's face dropped and he was unhappy.
At this time, He Xiuman spoke. She looked at her father and said, "Dad, please come out."
Her father didn't know what his daughter was planning, and didn't want to talk to her, but he was afraid that she would say something unpleasant in public, so he had no choice but to follow He Xiuman to the corner of the yard.
In front of her father, He Xiuman asked directly: "Are you going to buy me a dowry with all the gift money from his family?"
Her father's eyes widened, he looked at her in disbelief, and blurted out: "How is that possible?"
"Oh." He Xiuman looked indifferent and was not surprised, but she had her own tricks and said in a cheating way: "I am attracted to Gao Zhuang. Even if he doesn't give me any gift money, I will marry him! If you don't agree, just do it." Don’t agree, anyway, the country advocates free marriage!”
"If you don't let me get married, I will just stay at home and do nothing!"
He Xiuman's back was straight and her eyes were firm. After meeting her daughter's eyes, her father's heart skipped a beat. He knew that this daughter could really do it!
So, a minute later, her father returned to the main room dejectedly and left a sentence: "Six hundred and six, just six hundred and six, it's quite auspicious!"
"Hey, okay! Okay!" Seeing her relatives relenting, Grandma Xia also breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed with a smile.
So the two sides talked about other gifts, such as new clothes, snacks, wine, etc.
After He Xiuman returned to the main room, she stopped talking and pretended to be a lady quietly. However, she was thinking in her heart about how to get the gift money from her parents.
Do you want her to get married with nothing?
no way!
(End of chapter)
