Zhang Fan took the two boxes of cigarettes he received and silently put them into his pockets. Judging from the packaging box, this cigarette is probably not too expensive. It must be a brand that only costs 20 yuan.
Zhang Fan doesn't smoke, so he doesn't know much about these things. Walking into the courtyard, there are more people here, many of whom are busy with their own things.
Generally speaking, the courtyards of these families in the village are very large. Weddings and banquets are usually held in their own courtyards, and they rarely go to big hotels in the county.
In general, it can be regarded as following the wedding tradition of the older generation. The courtyard is filled with dining tables. There are about twenty or thirty tables. Each table can seat about seven or eight people, or more.
There is a table for drinking men, a table for women from each family, and even children can occupy a table. Zhang Fan's arrival did not attract the attention of these people. At this moment, they were frantically picking up the food on the table, eating like a starving ghost reincarnated.
Some women even took out a few plastic bags from their pockets, started to pick up the dinner plates from the table, and poured food into them.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Fan looked horrified. Unexpectedly, the banquet has just started and you are ready to pack it up and take it away. Is this appropriate?
After shaking his head, Zhang Fan quickened his pace and ran towards the main hall without looking too much. But before he could get close to the door of the main hall, he saw that the door was opened from the inside first, and a middle-aged man with slightly white temples and wearing black Zhongshan ceremony clothes came out with a smile.
If anyone carefully observes this middle-aged man's appearance, he will find that he is somewhat similar to Zhang Fan.
"Uncle!" Zhang Fan shouted with a smile on his face when he saw the middle-aged man walking out.
"Huh?" The middle-aged man looked slightly startled when he heard the voice. When he looked up, he saw Zhang Fan.
"Are you... Xiaofan?" The middle-aged man looked at Zhang Fan for a while before recognizing him. For a moment, his face showed excitement.
"Xiao Fan is back. You kid, you didn't know how to say hello in advance. If I had known you were back, I would have driven to pick you up!" The middle-aged man stepped forward and patted Zhang Fan hard. He hugged him with his shoulders and felt Zhang Fan's body becoming stronger and stronger. He felt extremely relieved and happy from the bottom of his heart.
His brother passed away early, leaving a poor child like Zhang Fan behind. Perhaps his brother and his sister-in-law would feel extremely relieved when they found out in heaven that he could grow up healthy.
"Xiao Le got married, and you didn't even know to tell me, otherwise, I would have come back long ago!" Zhang Fan smiled helplessly.
"Haha, you kid, look what you said, didn't my uncle get so busy that he forgot about it? I only informed your cousin last night!"
"Okay, just come. Let's go in first. Your aunt is very busy inside, so help her first!" The middle-aged man smiled slightly, patted Zhang Fan, and then walked down to greet the guests. of guests.
Zhang Fan smiled dumbly at this, and walked into the main hall without saying anything. His uncle's name is Zhang Chuyou, and his father's name is Zhang Chuzuo. They are brothers.
Entering the main hall, Zhang Fan saw a middle-aged woman wearing a black cheongsam, talking and laughing with a middle-aged couple.
Judging from their appearance, they seemed to be the woman's parents. The parents looked very young, exuding a gentle and elegant atmosphere, as if they were engaged in education.
"Aunt!" Zhang Fan came to the cheongsam woman and said respectfully. Hearing this, the cheongsam woman frowned slightly and raised her head.
"Who are you? Zhang Fan?"
"Yes, that's me!" Zhang Fan said with a smile.
"You kid, you didn't tell me in advance when you came back. I haven't heard from you in these days. I thought something was wrong with you!"
"Okay, as soon as you come back, go drink some water and have a good rest. Then go to the kitchen to help wash the dishes and wash the dishes, and help the aunt and the others to do something together!" Zhang Fan's aunt's name is Liu Guilan. She is a typical housewife, with a rather sarcastic personality, who does one thing on the surface but another behind the scenes. When she was a child, Zhang Fan did not suffer at her hands.
Liu Guilan put on a kind smile towards Zhang Fan, but there was a flash of disgust in her eyes.
Zhang Fan had long been accustomed to this, so he didn't say much, but turned around and left silently. He first came to the back and took a sip of water, then went straight to the kitchen.
The so-called kitchen is not inside the house. In their rural hometown, whenever they get married, they are accustomed to setting up the cooking environment in the yard.
Of course, this yard is not in our own yard, but in the yard of the neighbor's house next door. Zhang Fan bypassed the dining crowd, walked through the path not far behind, and soon arrived at the cooking courtyard.
In this courtyard, white smoke from cooking was rising, and the rich aroma of food filled the air. After Zhang Fan smelled it, he suddenly felt an inexplicable hunger coming from his stomach.
Zhang Fan suppressed his hunger, looked around, and saw seven or eight large iron basins placed on the ground in the distance, all filled with pots and pans soaked in water.
The people cooking in the courtyard are all middle-aged women, as well as one or two chefs. Their busy figures have become a beautiful scenery here.
Zhang Fan said hello to them, moved a small bench from the side, started to roll up his sleeves and clothes, put his hand into the iron basin, and started scrubbing with a wire mesh brush and detergent.
He had often done this kind of task of washing dishes and washing dishes when he was a child, and now he seems to be particularly comfortable with it, not unfamiliar at all.
Zhang Fan didn't take his aunt's trouble to heart. Anyway, he was just coming back to celebrate the Chinese New Year. He would return to Dadong City after a few days. He could bear with it as long as he could.
I don't know how long it took, Zhang Fan finally finished washing the dishes in a basin, and was about to stand up and change a basin of water, but in the next second, he only felt that his eyes were blurry, as if he was flashed by some white shadow. At one glance, he couldn't help but frown.
He looked sideways and saw that at this moment, next to the big iron basin next to him, a girl with beautiful and pure clothes, wearing a white coat and a little baby fat, suddenly appeared.
This girl has a single black ponytail and a pair of white spectacle frames on her face. She looks to be about twenty-five years old.
She sat on the bench, rolled up her sleeves and rolled up her clothes, pushed up her glasses, and started washing the dishes. As if aware of someone's gaze, the girl paused slightly, raised her head to look at Zhang Fan, showed an awkward but polite smile, and said hello: "Hello!"
"Hello to you too!" Zhang Fan sat back on the bench again and said hello as well.
"Are you a relative of the man's family?" the girl asked with a smile. She had a cute smile, with small dimples appearing on both sides of her cheeks.
"Today is my cousin's wedding!" Zhang Fan replied truthfully. This girl Zhang Fan is very strange. She has never seen her before, which means she must be some relative or friend of the woman's side.
"Your cousin? According to your seniority, shouldn't you be entertaining guests in front? Why are you here washing dishes?" After hearing what Zhang Fan said, the girl was a little unbelievable, as if she had seen something unexpected. Like a star.
"Ahem, it's okay. I'm busy later, so I'll come over to help. None of this is important. Don't worry about the details!" Zhang Fan didn't say that his aunt deliberately targeted him and arranged for him to help in the kitchen.
A family scandal should not be made public; if it is embarrassing, it should be left at home. If you tell me, you will inevitably be laughed at.
"What about you? Why did you come to the back to wash the dishes?" Zhang Fan threw the question back.
"Actually, I don't like too much excitement. I feel like there are a lot of people in front of me, and there are always people asking me for WeChat, saying they want to introduce me to someone, so I ran here!" The girl with dimples seemed to have thought of something, He explained with a headache, and then added: "The bride is a good friend of mine. She originally wanted me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, but I read on the Internet that if you are a bridesmaid, you will always be taken advantage of. , so I refused!”
"So that's it... Okay, this is normal. For good-looking girls, there will always be many men asking for WeChat. A friend of mine has experienced this kind of thing before!" Zhang Fan suddenly thought of it. I remember the scene when Ma Ling'er was approached by a strange man and asked for his WeChat ID.
"It's just that many men nowadays don't have normal brains!"
"By the way, I forgot to mention, my name is Han Kaiyue." The dimpled girl looked at Zhang Fan and said with a smile. This boy was quite handsome. He was different from the men she had met before. He was as good-looking as a big star from a certain country.
Overall, it suits her taste. She always has little resistance to handsome boys.
"My name is Zhang Fan!" Zhang Fan said his name.
"Hmm...a very good name!" Han Kaiyue hesitated and laughed.
"Your name is not bad either!" Zhang Fan said seriously. Not long after he said these words, an old woman washing dishes not far away couldn't help but interrupt: "Hey, I told you two to wash the dishes quickly. If you are still in the mood to flirt, you wash the dishes." It's so slow, I won't be able to provide it for a while!" Zhang Fan: "..." When Han Kaiyue heard the sound, she was so frightened that she stuck out her tongue and did not dare to talk to Zhang Fan too much, and then He closed his mouth and began to wash the dishes.
Zhang Fan felt a little embarrassed when he saw this, coughed twice, stood up, and came to another iron basin. ...I don’t know how long it took, until almost 13 o’clock in the afternoon, all the diners stood up and gradually retreated.
This is the end of the banquet. Zhang Fan washed his hands in front of the water, then followed the aunts and ladies in the kitchen to a separate dining table to prepare for the meal.
Han Kaiyue was also walking behind, following along. Half an hour later, Zhang Fan stretched and returned to the main hall.
Here, his uncle Zhang Chuyou, aunt Liu Guilan, and the woman's parents are all here. But the cousin and his bride who got married today are not here. I don’t know where they went.
Did he go to the bridal chamber? That shouldn't be the case. Don't we have to wait until night for the bridal chamber? Wherever there is a daytime bridal chamber, this is not appropriate.
Zhang Fan murmured in his heart, as if he saw Zhang Fan's confusion. Zhang Chuyou said that they were still out having dinner with their friends and it would take a while before they could come back.
Hearing this, Zhang Fan was a little stunned. After all, everyone has their own circle. On a wedding day like today, you must spend time with your guests before spending time with your friends.
Zhang Fan didn't say anything, he just found a place to sit down. However, he looked around and found that his cousin didn't seem to be back yet.
Today is my cousin's big day. As his biological brother, why hasn't he come back? This is obviously inappropriate, right?
Just when Zhang Fan was thinking this, the door to the main hall suddenly opened with a creak, and immediately after, two people walked in from the outside.
Seeing the appearance of these two people, Liu Guilan's eyes instantly lit up, she stood up from her seat and walked towards them.
"Tiantian, you are back?!" Liu Guilan looked extremely happy after seeing them. Not only was she so happy, but Zhang Chuyou was also very excited.
Because the person who came was none other than his eldest son, Zhang Tian.
"Dad! Mom!" Two people arrived, one was Zhang Tian, who was handsome, wearing a black suit, and dressed like a successful person.
His hair was standing upright and shiny, his face looked very handsome, with sharp edges and sharp eyes, he was a handsome guy.
Beside him was a tall and beautiful woman wearing a snow-white dress. This beautiful woman has fair skin, smooth and delicate skin, and black hair. She is a great beauty.
Standing next to Zhang Tian, they are a perfect match between heaven and earth. Zhang Tian was also very happy after seeing his parents.
Counting the time, he hasn't been back for more than a year. This year he planned to go to his girlfriend's place to celebrate the New Year, but last night he suddenly heard that his brother was getting married today, so he immediately changed his destination and took a flight back. Arrive at my hometown.
"Tiantian, who is this?" Liu Guilan looked at the beautiful woman next to Zhang Tian and asked with a smile.
"She is my girlfriend, her name is Qi Yunhui!" Zhang Tian introduced his girlfriend to everyone.
"Uncle, aunt, hello, I am Xiaotian's girlfriend, you can just call me Xiaohui!" The beautiful woman smiled sweetly, making people stare straight at her.
"Haha, Xiaohui, you are so polite. You came all the way here. You haven't eaten yet. Come on, come in with auntie. Auntie will help you prepare something to eat!" After hearing this, Liu Guilan became more and more confused as she looked at Qi Yunhui. Satisfied, he liked her very much and hurriedly welcomed her into the house.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Fan hesitated a little, stood up from his seat, came to Zhang Tian, and said hello to him: "Cousin, are you back?!"
"Huh? Are you..." Hearing Zhang Fan calling his cousin, Zhang Tian narrowed his eyes and was slightly stunned. However, when he came back to his senses, he realized who the person in front of him was, and he screamed in shock He said: "Are you Xiaofan? Are you back too?" He said these words without joy or worry, without any emotion involved.
Zhang Fan didn't see any displeasure or disgust on his face, as if he was just saying hello.
"How have you been lately?" Zhang Tian smiled, and for the first time he showed concern for Zhang Fan.
"It's okay!" Zhang Fan said.
"That's good. It's hard to come back this time, so you have to spend some time!" After Zhang Tian said hello to Zhang Fan, he seemed not to want to talk too much, so he walked into the back room with the gift in his hand.
"Two in-laws, this is my eldest son, he just came home this time! You guys chat first, I will take him to the back to clean up!" Liu Guilan said to the woman's parents, and took Zhang Tian and Qi Yunhui with her. Went to the back.
Seeing this, the woman's parents looked startled, but just smiled without saying anything.
"In-laws, let's continue chatting!" Zhang Chuyou returned to his seat and started chatting with the woman's parents again.
Zhang Fan stood aside for a while, feeling that the atmosphere around him was stuffy. He couldn't talk to him at all, but felt very embarrassed, so he left a message and said he should go outside for a walk, and ran out quickly.
When he came outside, he found that all the guests had almost left the original dining seats, and only the most remote table was left, where seven or eight young people were sitting, chatting and laughing while eating.
His cousin and his bride were also eating at that table. His cousin's name is Zhang Le, who is wearing a red groom's suit and drinking wine carelessly at the dining table.
Zhang Le is 22 years old, only two years younger than himself. He is a bit awkward. When he was in school, he often got into fights with others, which made his uncles worry a lot.
His academic qualifications were not high. After finishing junior high school, he stopped studying and went to work elsewhere.
I didn't expect that he would get married before me. It was really surprising. When he was eating just now, the aunts at the table described that Zhang Le's bride met on a blind date in the second half of the year.
The bride’s family lives in the county town. Her parents are teachers at a high school. The bride also has an older sister. She seems to be a manager of a large enterprise in Dujiang City. She is very powerful and courageous. She graduated from a prestigious university and works as a female It's hard to describe it as strong.
Zhang Le's bride is wearing a red bridal dress, her hair is tied up with a red bow at the back, she is neither fat nor thin, her appearance is quite beautiful and refined, not too ugly, she is almost the kind of good-looking type.
Zhang Fan originally wanted to go up and say hello to them, but when he thought that this was their circle, he had to give up the idea.
As the saying goes, don't force yourself into unfamiliar circles, otherwise you will always be embarrassed. After thinking about this, Zhang Fan found a corner, moved a small bench, took out his mobile phone and started playing games, silently waiting for the wedding banquet to end.
