The summer in this small town is different from other places, because not only is it next to the river, the river breeze blows, but it is also close to the hillside, and after nightfall, there is a cool mountain breeze flowing through the small streets.
The mountain breeze blowing over the rooftops, mixed with the river breeze, blew through the small shops on the small streets, blowing away the steaming heat on the ground, seeming to blow away all the dryness and gloom of these dog days.
The small street is the quietest and neatest street in the town. There are various shops on both sides. In the past, special people came to clean it, just because each family pooled money to give to the workers.
Today is June 16th, which is a good time to get married, pray for blessings, and raise animals.
It is a rare day for the workers and shopkeepers of Huang's shop to relax, but they cannot relax completely, because today is the day when Sister Hong and Wang San get married, and shopkeepers on the street always come to celebrate.
Even in troubled times, it cannot stop young people from enjoying happy events.
The Huang family's wedding was held in a low-key manner in the small town this time, because Wangjiamipu had just held a funeral not long ago. On the principle of coming to watch the ceremony voluntarily, Mayor Huang Yushubian did not invite the wedding.
At most, in the past few days, he and Uncle Liu went to the shopkeepers on the small streets to give verbal hellos. Whether they came or not was voluntary and not forced.
The groom, Wang San, is a very low-key person. As a clerk of the Huang family, he has been hiding in the shop.
Therefore, people on the small street couldn't help but be a little curious about what the man who the Huang family's mistress' sister was going to marry looked like.
But the woman couldn't keep a low profile. The bride, Sister Hong, naturally had the same surname as Liu. After all, she was in charge of the daily life of the whole family, so she naturally handled all the daily purchases.
There was no one in the whole town who didn't know her, so the shopkeepers, clerks, and sisters from each shop were still very willing to participate.
The bride and groom were both workers of the Huang family, and this matter seemed to have been forgotten by people in the town.
As for the shopkeepers who knew the bride's true identity, they had already secretly raised the specifications of the gifts to a higher level.
Because it was clear that Sister Hong would still be in charge of the Huang family from now on, Huang Yushu arranged the marriage for her just to keep her at home.
Wang San was dressed up like a puppet by several aunts and wives. He secretly swore in his heart that if the shopkeeper encountered trouble in the future, he would fight for him even if he risked his life.
In this matter of marriage and arrangement, Huang Yushu and Liu were his reborn parents, and he had been an orphan who had never seen his parents since he was a child.
It was Huang Yushu and Mrs. Liu, or Uncle Liu and Sister Hong, who made him experience the warmth of home and enjoy the warmth of the world. This was a day he would never forget.
Wedding ceremonies in small towns usually take place in the evening, but Sister Hong and Wang San actually got up early before dawn today. While they helped prepare, they took a shower, brushed their teeth, and put on their new clothes.
However, at noon, several women actually brought rouge and gouache. This frightened Wang San and he quickly asked what they were doing.
It wasn't until this moment that he realized that besides Sister Hong, he also had to wear makeup when he was the groom.
Like a monkey, Wang San finished dressing up after being manipulated by a group of women for more than half an hour. But in Watson's opinion, today's Wang San is like a monkey, being manipulated around by a bunch of women.
It was also the first time for Huang Yuanfang and Yi Sheng to see their family members holding a wedding ceremony. Not only were they given wedding candies, but just looking at Sister Hong and Wang San was fun.
It feels similar to playing house with my friends when I was a kid.
After putting on these clothes, Sister Hong and Wang San were already too stiff to move. They could only wait until the time came and complete the worship ceremony before taking them off and putting on simple clothes.
Putting on the phoenix crown, silver hairpin, red shoes, and red ribbon, Sister Hong sat stupidly in her room, quietly looking at herself in the mirror, and laughed twice.
Huang Yuanfang and Yi Sheng were also dressed very cheerfully today, especially Huang Yuanfang, who had a somewhat stubborn face in the past, but her pink clothes made her look particularly energetic.
The two siblings looked at Watson's appearance, covering their lips and smiling.
Yi Sheng said with a smile: "Today is Sister Hong's big day, brother, why don't you dress more festively?"
Watson took two steps forward, looked at the blue clothes on his body, and laughed at himself: "I will have to pick up some wedding candies to send to Ergou and Xiaolian later. It is only natural to dress like this."
A burst of firecrackers went off. It turned out that some guests were coming, and Uncle Liu and Huang Yushu were waiting outside to greet them.
Watson looked at the two of them and smiled and said: "Sister, eldest brother, please stay with Sister Hong in the room. I'll go out to play for a while. I'll be back in less than half an hour."
"Come back early, the banquet will start soon." Huang Yuanfang was afraid that her brother would not be able to make it in time for dinner.
Watson waved to her and said with a smile, "I run fast, I'm not afraid."
After saying this, he didn't go to the front door, but went around to the small door in the backyard and ran out.
Today, the people who arranged the wedding for Sister Hong and Wang San were all veterans from the small streets. After a while, the sound of playing musical instruments and the sound of firecrackers lit by the visitors could be heard outside the door.
The small street was very lively for a while, and even the teachers in the school came to join in the fun.
Watson, who ran around the back door, took only half a moment to run all the way outside Ergou's house.
"Boom!"
Watson knocked on Ergou's door: "Ergou, Xiaolian, come out quickly and see what I brought you."
Ergou and Xiaolian were eating in the house with bowls in their hands. When they heard a knock on the door outside the courtyard, they ran out quickly. When they saw it was Watson, they couldn't help but be overjoyed. They opened their eyes and shouted, "Have you brought me wedding candy?"
Watson patted his shoulder and said softly: "I brought it to you first, I haven't eaten yet."
Xiaolian also came out of the yard, looked at Watson and said with a smile: "Brother Watson, are you hungry? Do you want me to give you a bowl of rice?"
Watson did not reply to her, but distributed the wedding candies in his pocket to the two of them. Then he looked at Xiaolian and said with a smile: "My eldest sister and eldest brother are waiting for me to go back to have a banquet. You guys will finish your meal later." Eat candy.”
After saying that, he waved to the two of them, turned around and ran back. "If I get it again later, I will give you two more tomorrow!" Watson, who had already run away, turned around and shouted again.
Xiaolian stood outside her courtyard and waved to Watson who ran away.
I don't know how long it took, Ergou looked at Xiaolian and asked in a low voice: "It's true that this guy came over in a hurry to give us candies without even eating."
Xiaolian glared at him, squinted her eyes and smiled: "This is what Brother Watson told me that day in the creek. He said he would bring wedding candy to me as soon as he got it. He is not as lazy as you."
Ergou watched Watson's back disappear at the end of the street, took his sister's hand and walked into the house, closing the door of his courtyard.
"I already told you, eat sweets after eating!"
"Oh, I'll take one first, I can't help it anymore!"
...
Watson, who ran all the way back to the shop, suddenly saw that Sister Hong was dressed in bright red today, wearing a traditional Chinese placket in a small town. She was sweet with a hint of joy. Standing next to Sister Hong was Wang San with a silly smile on his face.
The street children who were watching the excitement outside the store got ahead of Watson and started asking Sister Hong and Wang San to hand out wedding candies. The group of children were so entangled that they couldn't do anything. Sister Hong went into the house and took a plate of wedding candies to the children guarding the door of the store. Each of us was given two pills.
"Congratulations on getting rich, Sister Hong is the most beautiful today!"
"Congratulations on getting rich, Third Brother Wang is so stingy today!"
The children who got the wedding candies dispersed in a hurry, causing Wang San to laugh and curse outside the store.
But in the blink of an eye, another guest arrived, and for a while, the ceremony and music were singing together, making it lively.
The bride was first taken to the main room to sit down for a while, while the groom Wang San stood outside the shop to greet the guests. Watson slipped into the backyard and hugged Mrs. Liu without letting go. He whispered to the eldest sister sitting beside him: "When will Sister Hong and Wang San worship heaven and earth?"
Mrs. Liu glanced at him and said with a smile: "It's almost there, just wait another quarter of an hour."
"Whoa whoa whoa!"
Before Mrs. Liu could stand outside the house for a long time, Huang Laosan's cry came from the house. Upon hearing this, Watson held Mrs. Liu's hand and laughed.
"Mom, my brother is not happy to stay in the house alone, he wants to come out to watch the fun!"
At this moment, Huang Yushu came in from the outside, looked at Mr. Liu and said with a smile: "The third child is crying, then take him out, we are going to worship outside!"
When Watson heard this, he couldn't help but look at the eldest sister and brother and said with a smile: "I told you, the third child wants to watch Sister Hong get married!"
...
It has been more than a month since Sister Hong and Wang San got married. The town will usher in the Mid-Autumn Festival in the blink of an eye. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Watson's eldest sister and eldest brother will go to school in the county again.
At the moment, Watson is still reading books for half a day with his eldest sister and brother, and going to the blacksmith opposite to practice arrows for an hour. The rest of the time is spent following Ergou and Xiaolian going crazy in every corner of the town.
In the words of him and Ergou, they wanted to have enough fun and eat all the wild fruits in the mountains before the school started.
This morning, before Watson could go to the opposite side to practice archery, Ergou and Xiao Xiaolian were guarding the door.
"Watson, the August melons on the mountain are ripe. Let's go to the back mountain to see if we can pick a few."
Watson liked it so much when he heard it, he looked at him and said, "Wait a minute, I'll tell my father and master."
He turned around and returned to the store, looked at the yellow jade pen on the counter and said with a smile: "Dad, Ergou and Xiaolian, I will go to the back mountain to see if we can pick some August melons."
Huang Yushu glanced at him, then looked at Ergou and Xiaolian outside the door, and said with a smile: "I came back early for lunch at noon, but I really can't find it. I'll call Sister Hong to buy some food for you another day. ."
Watson laughed when he heard this, waved his hand and said, "I will definitely be back at noon. I have to study with my eldest sister in the afternoon."
After saying this, he turned around and ran to the blacksmith shop across the street. He said a few words to Blacksmith Liu who had not started the stove yet. Then he took Xiaolian's hand and ran towards the back hill behind Ergou.
.......
While lighting the stove and boiling water, Uncle Liu looked at the backs of Watson and the other three children, and said to Huang Yushu: "Shopkeeper, are you so confident in letting Watson follow Ergou to the back mountain wilderness?"
Huang Yushu looked at him and said with a smile: "Otherwise? It's better to keep him at home all day long. Compared with the outside, the back mountain is already very safe. Besides, Ergou and Xiaolian are watching him."
Uncle Liu took out the tea leaves, put the tea cup on the table, and said with a smile: "The two children of the Wang family are quite obedient. At such a young age, they are able to share household chores for their parents. It seems that the saying that children from poor families have long been the masters has come true. "
Huang Yushu watched every move of Blacksmith Liu who was starting a fire and lighting the stove across the street. He turned around and said to Uncle Liu: "Aren't we children from poor families? The world is difficult. Maybe one day we will be like them."
Uncle Liu trembled when he heard this and whispered to him softly: "Don't dare to say this nonsense. As a big family, no one can leave you. We all have to live a good life. Once the banditry is eliminated, good times will come soon." ”
Huang Yushu nodded and replied, "I hope so."
After a moment of silence, Uncle Liu looked towards the back mountain and said, "I'm afraid all these businessmen have the same idea as you, but sometimes it depends on God's will."
