"That's natural."
Erni doesn't want to get married.
She could earn about two hundred taels of silver every year by growing mushrooms. Even though she spent some of it herself, she had saved a lot over the years.
She also wanted to buy a house in the county town for herself and her mother, but she didn't buy it because she was afraid that her father and stepmother would find out.
"Okay, okay, go out and see if your brother-in-law's sedan chair has arrived." Seeing that the two girls were becoming more and more outrageous, Chunniang drove them out.
It was just daybreak and Uncle Jiang's kitchen was already busy.
The relatives who came to congratulate yesterday also came out in groups of three or four to wash up and prepare to sit down for dinner.
This time, Jiang Dalang hired two cooks to cook, and each of the cooks had two apprentices, so his aunt Zhou didn't have to worry at all.
But the ingredients were all prepared by the Jiang family themselves, such as mutton, pork, chicken, duck, fish, etc., all of which were ordered and delivered yesterday. The cook got up before dawn to cook, some chopping meat, some cutting meat, she was very busy.
The banquet at a wedding is very particular about its grandeur, and consists almost entirely of meat dishes, such as red and white meat, steamed chicken and fish, four-happiness dumplings, fish dumplings, plain dumplings, steamed pork with rice flour, two stir-fried dishes, and two cold dishes, so people can drink with the wine.
During the meal, a bowl of sweet soup with soapberry, snow fungus and a bowl of tofu soup with three fresh ingredients were served, making the table complete.
Yingbao and Erni climbed up the wall, moved a bench and sat down to look towards the village entrance.
In the distance, there were musicians coming towards this side, followed by a four-person sedan chair.
Leading the group were the groom Zhang Shaodong and two matchmakers, a man and a woman.
Behind the sedan chair was the betrothal gifts, with each person carrying a load, and there were more than ten loads in total.
"Here it comes! The sedan chair is here!" Erni shouted towards her uncle's house.
When Uncle Jiang heard this, he immediately asked his two sons to go out to greet them.
Many children in the village also followed the groom, looking at him curiously.
There was a shameless woman who stopped the horse and asked for wedding candy.
Zhang Shaodong smiled gently and asked the matchmaker to give him candy.
The matchmaker held a small bamboo basket, uncovered the red cloth, grabbed a handful of wedding candies and copper coins, and scattered them on the roadside.
Everyone was scrambling for it happily, while Zhang Shaodong hurriedly led the sedan forward.
When they arrived at the Jiang family’s door, the matchmaker took out firecrackers and lit them.
Amid the crackling fireworks, Zhang Shaodong dismounted and bowed to his two brothers-in-law standing at the door.
Jiang Cheng led his brother-in-law into the house, sat him down at the table, and introduced him to his relatives.
Jiang Quan had the betrothal gifts carried into a room, where the matchmakers from both families counted the gift list and betrothal gifts.
Inside the courtyard, the receptionist arranged seats for the sedan bearers and the people who brought the bride price, and also asked several village children to guard the sedan and horses at the gate.
For a moment, the yard of Uncle Jiang's house was bustling with people. Those who were seated sat down, and those who were not seated sat aside and waited for the next round.
Li Dao and Li He and a few other boys were in charge of serving the dishes. Every time they brought the dishes, they would shout, "Here comes the oil stains!" to signal everyone to be careful and not to get burned.
Inside the house, Dani had already put on her makeup and could not eat or drink. She sat upright on the kang covered with new bedding.
Her mother, Zhou, sat with her and told her what to pay attention to after going to her husband's house.
Tell her to be filial to her parents-in-law, respect the elders, and be friendly to her uncles, aunts and cousins.
Next, be loving and caring to your husband, and don’t lose your temper.
Dani nodded.
Zhou turned her head, wiped her tears quietly, and pretended to check the jewelry and clothes sent by the Zhang family.
On the wedding day, Dani was not allowed to wear any clothes, shoes and socks from her parents' home. The clothes she wore had to be the new clothes sent by the Zhang family.
She put two silver hairpins on the girl's head, a pair of gold bracelets on her, and a silver lock around her neck.
Looking at her daughter in the mirror, Zhou still shed tears.
From then on, the girl belonged to someone else's family, and when she came back, she was already a guest.
When Dani saw her mother crying, she couldn't help crying too.
Seeing this, the eldest aunt Jiang Yunniang and Chunniang hurriedly persuaded Dani to put on makeup again.
Outside, the groom had eaten and drunk his fill, and the matchmaker went to light a string of firecrackers to urge the newlyweds to get into the bridal sedan.
When the people in the boudoir heard this, they all added more makeup to Dani's box.
Chunniang gave her a pair of thick silver bracelets, and so did Yanru.
Zhou's sister-in-law and brother's wife also gave silver hairpins and rings.
Grandma Jiang Liu gave her granddaughter a red envelope, which contained a silver ingot worth twenty taels.
Other female relatives also gave them cotton cloth they had woven themselves, and Mrs. An, Mrs. Wen, and Mrs. Wang also gave them boxes of silver as gifts.
At this time, the urging firecrackers sounded again.
Dani hugged A Niang and burst into tears, while Zhou couldn't stop crying.
Chunniang and Yanru looked at this and thought of their own daughters, and cried even more sadly than Zhou.
When the matchmaker saw this, she angrily ordered someone to drag the two of them out of the boudoir.
When the third string of firecrackers rang, Jiang Cheng entered the house.
The matchmaker re-touched Dani's makeup, then asked her to stand up and lie on the eldest brother's back.
Jiang Cheng carried his sister on his back, and the matchmaker covered the bride with a veil.
When Zhou saw her daughter being carried away, she burst into tears.
Everyone comforted him.
Jiang Cheng carried his sister to the front of the bridal sedan. The bearers took their positions. The matchmaker helped Dani down and walked her into the bridal sedan on the red carpet.
"Lift the sedan!" With the matchmaker's shout, the curtains were lowered and the sedan was lifted.
The groom bowed deeply to his father-in-law, turned around and mounted his horse.
Jiang Cheng and his two cousins from his uncle's family also rode horses to see the bride off.
This time, Dani's dowry box was in front and the sedan chair was behind.
Yingbao and Erni stood on the wall and counted. There were thirty-six dowries in total, carried by eighteen people.
A "set" is actually the same thing, for example: a pair of toilets is considered a "set", a makeup box and a mirror are also considered a "set". As for what is in the makeup box, that is a matter of opinion.
The rich would fill their makeup boxes with gold and silver jewelry, while the poor might just have a few pairs of silk flowers.
Anyway, the dowry from the bride's family is all displayed in the open, such as cloth and silk, valuable utensils, various basins for washing, spittoons, incense burners, curtains, etc.
There were also quilts. Zhou made four quilts for her daughter, each weighing eight kilograms.
The mattress will not be provided by the bride's parents, it must be prepared by the husband's parents.
Of course, Yingbao and Erni also gave gifts to their elder sister, Dani. Yingbao gave four pieces of silk cloth, and Erni gave the elder sister a pair of mandarin duck silver combs, wishing her and her husband a harmonious relationship.
The wedding procession walked further and further away, and Yingbao and Erni also came down from the wall.
Er Ni said with a lost look, "Yingbao, I really don't want to get married. Look, Sister Dani won't be able to come home often in the future, and we won't have the chance to play with her."
Yingbao also thought so and couldn't help feeling worried.
"If I don't get married, people will gossip about me in the future." Erni said unhappily, "People will poke holes in my parents' backs and say they didn't teach their daughter well."
These words were said by my biological mother, Leng.
Because her daughter was reluctant to talk about her in-laws, Leng was a little anxious. She didn't dare to say anything bad about Jiang Erlang and Yan Ru in front of her daughter, so she could only give Erni some hints.
Yingbao frowned.
Indeed, if a woman does not marry, outsiders will not only talk about her, but also scold her parents, which makes things very difficult to deal with.