The sun is shining brightly.
A temporary earthen stove was built in the yard of Cheng Wanwan's house, with a broken pot on it.
The whole village took turns to cook lantana in her yard. Her house only provided one pot, so she had to bring her own firewood.
Lantana is poisonous, and it is best not to touch the boiled water. Every household sets aside a bucket, and then uses a gourd and gourd to pour the boiled liquid on the rice in the field.
Without the lure of campfires, the locusts did not gather. Instead, they flew sporadically in the fields and died suddenly after eating the poisonous rice.
And ducks don’t eat all dead things. There are living and flying locusts in the sky. They eat live insects first. When they are full, they will be driven home. They will not be allowed to eat dead locusts, nor will they be allowed to eat them. They spoil the rice.
Dahe Village has been busy like this for three or four days.
In less than ten days, the rice in the fields will be harvested. By then, it will be the busiest time of the year in the countryside.
Whatever matters arise in each household will be decided and settled before the autumn harvest.
On the only auspicious day of the month, two families in the village held weddings at the same time.
Because it was during the famine years, no one had any food left, and it was impossible to prepare a banquet and drink wine. The villagers considered it a happy event just to join in the fun and eat some wedding cakes.
The family is the eldest son of Zhao Fugui's family. Zhao Datou married the niece of Fugui's aunt's family. This was a happy event.
The other family was the son of Zhao Yougui. Zhao Shagen married Sun Shuiqin, the daughter of the Sun family in Guihua Village.
Both were surnamed Zhao, so Cheng Wanwan had to go there and prepared a meeting gift for the bride, a three-foot-long piece of coarse cloth for each person.
When she went out, Zhao Ergou was busy in the yard. She paused and asked casually: "Ergou, do you want to eat wedding cakes with me?"
Zhao Ergou lowered his head and continued working: "I have to go to town to deliver goods later, so I won't go."
Zhao Sidan came over and said, "Mom, can I go? I want to see the bride."
Cheng Wanwan held the little guy's hand: "Let's go see the bride!"
In the early morning, the village was very lively, everyone was talking about the two brides. People who marry on the same day will inevitably be compared.
"If you ask me, Shagen's wife is still more beautiful. Those watery eyes make Shagen dumbfounded."
"The girl from the Sun family is indeed good-looking, but the big-headed daughter-in-law is not bad either. I heard that she is very good at work at home and outside the house. The rich aunt will be able to enjoy the blessings in the future."
"The big-headed wife is the niece of the rich aunt, so there will be no conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the future."
Cheng Wanwan first went to Zhao Yougui's home amidst everyone's discussion.
Zhao Shagen's parents were welcoming guests in the yard. Anyone who came to congratulate them would always put a wedding cake in there. It was a wedding cake made of cornmeal with a red mark in the middle, which looked very festive.
Zhao Shagen and the bride were in the back room. The bride was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Zhao Shagen stood stupidly.
Seeing Cheng Wanwan come in, Zhao Shagen said hello, and then introduced to his wife: "This is the aunt of our Zhao family, you can just call me aunt, aunt, this is my wife, Called Water Qin..."
Zhao Shagen's face was dark and red.
Sun Shuiqin looked up. When she saw Cheng Wanwan's face, the smile on her face suddenly froze. She struggled to say, "Auntie."
There was still a smile on Cheng Wanwan's face, and she handed over the prepared piece of cloth: "Auntie, I don't have anything good to give you. This piece of cloth is not big and can be used as a shoe upper or something."
When you get married these days, the gifts given to the elders in the family are basically a few eggs and a piece of cloth. What she gave is neither shabby nor outstanding.
Sun Shuiqin accepted the cloth and said, "Thank you, auntie."
"From now on, you two will live a good life, strive to live a prosperous life, and strive to give birth to a big fat boy as soon as possible."
Cheng Wanwan said her blessings, took her younger son and left.
Zhao Sidan held a piece of wedding cake in his hand, took a small bite, and said happily: "It's so delicious. I'll keep half of it and take it back to my second brother."
Cheng Wanwan asked him: "Why only give it to the second brother?"
"Because the second brother is in a bad mood today." Zhao Sidan sighed very maturely, "Mom, let me tell you secretly, in fact, the second brother likes Sister Shuiqin very much. I think the second brother is prettier than Shagen. She’s also smarter than Brother Shagen, why doesn’t Sister Shuiqin marry the second brother?”
Cheng Wanwan said directly: "Because she doesn't like your second brother."
If you like someone, you won't care about their family conditions. Once you start caring about them, it means you don't like them enough.
He was the only son in Zhao Shagen's house. He had land and land, and the house was spacious. From now on, everything in the house would belong to Zhao Shagen alone. Sun Shuiqin naturally chose Zhao Shagen who had better conditions.
Cheng Wanwan warned: "Sidan, when you choose a wife in the future, you must keep your eyes open. Your second brother's eyes are too blind."
Zhao Sidan asked puzzledly: "But Sister Shuiqin is really beautiful."
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
Okay, men are all visual animals. Even Si Dan, who is only ten years old, is dominated by vision. It is not unfair for Zhao Ergou to fall on Sun Shuiqin.
After leaving Zhao Shagen's house, the mother and son went to Zhao Fugui's house.
Compared to the liveliness over there, this place seemed a bit deserted. People who came to celebrate came out as soon as they entered, looking very unhappy.
Cheng Wanwan walked in and realized what was going on.
It was obviously a happy day, but Zhao Fugui was sitting on a stool in the main room and cursing: "If there is not a grain of rice in the house, why should I marry a wife? There is one more person and one more mouth. Who will feed him? There is no food in the first place, and he still borrows it everywhere." Use grain to make wedding cakes, but you mother-in-law just doesn’t do a good thing... We agreed to get married at the end of the year, but if we have to marry someone with thin arms and legs at this time, how can we expect her to go to the fields to harvest rice..."
Aunt Fugui threw away the things in her hands and said angrily: "You and Widow Zhang made such a big fuss in bed. Did I say anything? You can't even feel comfortable with your son marrying a wife. Are you the father? I know you If you don’t like my natal family, and I don’t like my natal niece, why don’t you let Datou and his wife live separately? There just happens to be a shabby house over there, so they can live alone..."
The big-headed daughter-in-law's eyes widened in shock. The villagers were afraid that they would drown her with spittle if they separated on the first day they got married.
Just as she was about to speak, she was held down by Zhao Datou.
Zhao Datou already knew what his own mother was thinking. After his father did such a bastard, he still lost his temper and showed off his power at home every day.
He also wanted to separate and live alone, so he said: "Since dad thinks that my marrying a wife is a drag, then my wife and I will separate..."
Zhao Fugui was furious. He had no contact with Widow Zhang these days. His mother-in-law still brought this matter up every day, and now she even threatened to split up the family.
He sneered: "If you divide your family, divide your family. Don't even think about giving away an acre of land. Don't come back to me if you starve to death."
Aunt Fugui said coldly: "This family can't accommodate me, so Datou and I will leave together."
Zhao Xiaotou came over with tears in his eyes: "Mom, brother, I want to go too..."
The two younger girls also expected Ai Ai to come out of the house.
Aunt Fugui asked: "There is no land, and I won't be able to eat even a grain of rice in the future. There is a thatched hut over there, and it's not good to live in. Are you really willing to go with me?"
Several children nearby nodded in unison.
Zhao Fugui angrily smashed the tea cup in his hand and threw the wedding cake on the table to the ground. The wedding cake rolled all over the floor.
