In the blink of an eye, it was January. On the day of the Laba Festival, Jiahui and the others rushed back from the provincial capital, and the school began its winter vacation.
"The preparations are almost ready. Six beds of cotton batting, two double-happiness hot water bottles, a mandarin duck porcelain basin spittoon pillow towel, and the gift money are all brought by her. In addition, I added a hundred and eighty-eight dollars to the bottom of the box, and needles and threads. A box of mirrors to comb these odds and ends."
The bride price given by Ji's family is quite a lot, it's an auspicious number, eight hundred and eighty-eight, as for the money, Zhang Qiaoer is not going to keep it, and of course Meixiang will take back bicycle watches and other things, only tobacco, alcohol and sugar are kept for her own use. .
With the dowry money brought back, plus the box bottom and other items accompanying her, Mei Xiang's wedding outfit is definitely one of the best in the village.
You must know that in many families, the natal family has to deduct the dowry money. After all, many families are not rich and have many children. They take turns getting married and holding weddings.
"I bought woolen fabric from the provincial capital and made a coat for Meixiang when I came back. In addition, this pair of dragon and phoenix double happiness earrings is also a wedding gift from us to Meixiang."
Originally, Jiahui wanted to buy a bracelet or a necklace, but these are not popular at this time. The earrings are just right, not too ostentatious, and quite meaningful.
The price of gold in this era is affordable, so Jiahui took the opportunity to buy some jewelry, and if the style doesn't look good in the future, she can melt it down and make it again.
"Hey, these earrings are really well made, and there are pictures engraved on them."
"That's right, the double happiness of the dragon and the phoenix means auspiciousness."
Meixiang took it from Jiahui's hand, held it in her hand and looked at it again and again, she liked it very much.
"Thank you, sister-in-law, thank you, brother, for costing you again."
"You only get married once in your life, and you have to be happy to marry. But, marrying Zhenfeng, you must be happy without these things."
"Oh, sister-in-law, don't make fun of me."
"Why, are you sorry to hear that?"
Zhang Qiaoer also laughed, "Big girl, you are thin-skinned, don't listen."
"You still have to get used to it. There will definitely be a lot of people making fun of you these days."
Mei Xiang pouted and said coquettishly, "I don't care about others, as long as my sister-in-law doesn't make fun of me."
"It's ok, Meixiang, after becoming a teacher, I'm more eloquent than before."
"That's right, you've made great progress. You used to be a child, but now you're finally looking like an adult."
Zhang Qiaoer has always been proud of the fact that her little girl can become a junior high school teacher in the county.
Time soon came to the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the Zhao family woke up just after dawn. This day was the day when Mei Xiang got married.
Meixiang's room is warm, and a stove is set up to keep warm, and Meixiang is dressing up for Meixiang.
Putting on face cream, foundation, and bright red lipstick, her hair is tied up with hairpins, her ears are wearing dragon and phoenix double happiness earrings, her wrists are a pair of silver bracelets, she is wearing a big red woolen coat, and she wears a long red skirt and black chunky heels.
The pair of silver bracelets were bought by Zhao Caixia and his wife. They opened a restaurant in the county and earned some money. Life is much better than before. The other, after opening the store, Meixiang and Zhenfeng often come to the store to help. What about this pair of bracelets? , One is the blessing from my sister and brother-in-law, and the other also means gratitude.
Zhang Qiaoer and Zhao Caixia were all in the room, watching Jiahui make up Meixiang little by little, and when the makeup was done, Zhang Qiaoer looked at her daughter with pride in her heart.
"Our Meixiang is really beautiful."
Jia Hui dressed up according to her own aesthetics, with very light make-up, a kind of "natural and uncarved" beauty, and Mei Xiang was also shocked by herself in the mirror.
She never dreamed that she would be so beautiful one day. Perhaps every girl imagined that she would be the most beautiful bride in the world on the day she got married. Before, she just thought about it unrealistically, but today, she feels that her dream has come true up.
"Sister-in-law, thank you, you are so kind to me."
The dress she was wearing was made by her sister-in-law, and the earrings and hairpins were all bought by her sister-in-law. Of course, these are trivial things, and my sister-in-law can't finish talking about her kindness for three days and three nights.
Thinking of this, Meixiang's eyes began to turn sour. Today she is going to marry Ji Zhenfeng. He is a good man. She has always hoped that the two of them will live a happy life like a prince and princess, but she also understands that after getting married, they will not be able to live like they are now. I often meet with my sister-in-law, and the feeling is very bad. Even if my brother and sister-in-law say that the married person is still a girl from the Zhao family, but if they don't live in the same yard, they become two families.
Just like the eldest sister, she used to be the eldest daughter of the Zhao family, but now, it is rare to go back to her mother's house, and after all, she has her own small family and lives her own small life.
Mei Xiang's bridesmaid is Qin Qing, a colleague of the school, who is also a young teacher assigned to the school this year. Qin Qing lacks a bit of luck like Mei Xiang in love. .
When she arrived at Zhao's house, Mei Xiang had already dressed up, and she couldn't recognize Mei Xiang when she saw her.
Even though Meixiang has a good foundation, there is still a big difference between makeup and no makeup.
"Meixiang, I really envy you."
"What are you envious of?"
"You're married well, and your family treats you well. I haven't seen anyone around me marry more magnificently than you."
What Qin Qing said was completely true, she really envied Mei Xiang, but there was not a single inappropriate emotion in this envy.
Mei Xiang smiled and nodded, "My family is very kind to me, but you don't have to be envious. My sister-in-law said that what kind of pot should match what kind of lid, no matter when and where, there will always be someone waiting for you."
Qin Qing was overjoyed when he heard this kind of statement for the first time, "Your sister-in-law is really funny, how does she know that there must be someone waiting for me, it must be comforting."
Mei Xiang winked at her and said in a sly tone, "Because there is no unmarried girl in this world, you just haven't met the right one now."
Qin Qing sighed, Meixiang was right, she really had no shortage of people to introduce her to, after all, she was a teacher, had a stable income, and was respected, but none of those people satisfied her, at least none like Ji Zhenfeng Like that, handsome and upright man with good family background and good character.
Of course, she doesn't have to find someone who is good in everything, such as herself, who is not as good-looking as Meixiang, but the other party can use one or two things, such as being not good-looking, working well, or having a poor family background Excellent.
"I'll wait a little longer, and I hope I won't be an old maid."
After speaking, both of them laughed together.
"Okay, today is your day of great joy, so don't mention my business."
"It's okay, I'm idle anyway, let's chat for a while."
...
The Dong family also came today, and as the eldest daughter-in-law, Jiahui also helped greet the guests.
"Your sister-in-law's wedding is quite decent."
The elder brother Dong Aihua and sister-in-law Zhou Yindi came to the Dong family, mainly to show favors.
"It's pretty good. After all, if you marry in a county town, your husband's family is also a respectable family."
Zhou Yindi nodded, "It's really different for those who went to school, and it's better to marry someone."
If Meixiang hadn't been admitted to university, it would be very unlikely that she would find such a husband's family.
"This illustrates the benefits of reading more books."
"By the way, how is the land at home? Is the vegetable harvest good?"
When it comes to the land at home, Zhou Yindi talks a lot.
"The cabbage and radishes are growing very well. Your brother listened to you. You have negotiated supply with several restaurants. In addition, the chickens at home have begun to lay eggs. The supply and marketing cooperatives collect all forty or fifty eggs a day. Our eggs taste better than other's, the yolks are fatter, and there are double-yolk eggs."
I was worried before, but now the vegetables are growing well, the chickens are growing well, and the fish in the river are getting fatter and fatter. The family has caught ten lambs. Although the return money is limited this year, everything is in order. Developing in a good direction, the whole family feels that life is getting more and more exciting.
"When the first batch of fruit trees arrive, the family will be even busier."
"What are you afraid of being busy, the busier you are, the more aggressive you are."
The whole family calculated the accounts together, fifty eggs a day, an egg supply and Marketing Cooperative received five cents an egg, Moonlight eggs earned seventy-five yuan, and nine hundred yuan a year.
This is only the initial stage, and the more chickens are raised in the future, the income will continue to increase.
In addition, when the dozen or so sheep grow up, they will also earn a lot of money. After calculating these two items alone, half of the rent can be earned back.
Zhou Yindi really admired her aunt, she was the one who suggested that the family engage in contracting, and signed a contract for 35 years at once.
Ji Zhenfeng came by car, wearing a brand-new uniform, with a small red flower pinned to his left chest to highlight his identity as the groom's official. The best man was a comrade from the same team. Wearing a navy blue Chinese tunic suit.
Accompanied by several other comrades in the team, they drove the other two cars to support the vice-captain.
"The groom is here, the groom is here!"
The adults and children were all smiling, and the children clapped their hands and sang nursery rhymes around them, "The groom, riding a white horse, with a big red flower on his chest, and the bride, wearing a red dress, with a red hijab on her head..."
Comrade best man smiled and distributed candy around the door, the children stopped singing and ran over to grab candy.
"Wow, baby candy, this candy is delicious."
"I ate it once. My dad brought it to me from the city."
There are also those who can't wait to put the candy in their mouths, and are instantly conquered by the sweet taste.
Zhao Donglin and Zhao Donghe were in the yard, when Ji Zhenfeng came over, Zhao Donglin patted him on the shoulder.
"Congratulations."
"Thanks."
After speaking, the two looked at each other and smiled.
In the main room, Jiahui accompanied Zhang Qiaoer and Zhao Manzhu. The old couple looked out of the house expectantly. When they heard that Ji Zhenfeng had arrived, Zhang Qiaoer couldn't sit still. He looked left and right and waited for his future son-in-law. It is the girl who will rely on her for the rest of her life, how well matched she is, Zhang Qiaoer is happy and reluctant, and tears come out uncontrollably.
"Mom, are you so happy that you are crying?"
"No, I'm just too happy."
Ji Zhenfeng walked in with a smile, bowed to Zhang Qiaoer and Zhao Manzhu, "Dad, Mom, I'll pick Mei Xiang up."
Before the words fell, Zhang Qiaoer burst into tears again.
"Hey, okay, Meixiang is at home."
Zhao Manzhu held the cigarette rod, not knowing whether he was happy or sad, his voice trembled slightly and was hoarse.
In the room, Mei Xiang was sitting nervously by the bed, and Qin Qing, the bridesmaid, was staring out of the window, seeing Ji Zhenfeng entering the main room, and seeing Ji Zhenfeng coming out of the main room and coming into this room.
"Mei Xiang, he's here, he's here."
Zhao Caixia hugged Linlin and stood by the window with a smile, turned her head and said with a smile, "Zhenfeng is really handsome today, you two, a man and a woman, are a natural match."
These words relieved Meixiang's nervousness to some extent. When Ji Zhenfeng pushed the door in, Meixiang was smiling with her head down. At this moment, Ji Zhenfeng only had eyes for the beautiful bride in front of her and nothing else.
"Hmph."
Qin Qing coughed, bringing Ji Zhenfeng's thoughts back to reality, Mei Xiang also blushed and looked up, their eyes met in the air, and they were stunned again.
Everyone covered their mouths and laughed, and some made jokes directly.
"The groom's officer must have been dumbfounded when he saw the bride."
"Such a beautiful bride, I would be a fool to ask for it."
"The groom is also very handsome."
Qin Qing held back a smile and stood in front of the two of them, and said to Ji Zhenfeng, "It's not so easy to take away this bride, you have to show it."
Ji Zhenfeng nodded, "Of course, I'm ready."
He looked sideways at his best man Xu Zhiyi, Xu Zhiyi immediately took out a red envelope from his tunic pocket knowingly, and stuffed it into Qin Qing's hand, Qin Qing was stunned, and Ji Zhenfeng shook his head helplessly.
"Who asked you to give it like this, you have to give it one by one."
"This baby is really sincere."
"That's right, how can there be such a brain to give red envelopes."
"Look at him, he doesn't look like a fool."
Xu Zhiyi finally realized that he was stupid, but he couldn't take it back from the bridesmaid's hand, so he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"The auspicious time is coming, the newcomers hurry to offer tea to their parents."
Ji Zhenfeng helped Meixiang walk to the main room.
Zhang Qiaoer's eyes were already red from crying, and Zhao Manzhu kept smoking the pipe. Seeing his daughter and son-in-law approaching, Zhao Manzhu hurriedly put out the stick of the cigarette.
After serving tea, Ji Zhenfeng was about to take Meixiang away, and the mother and daughter held hands reluctantly.
"I just can't bear it. I love you the most since I was a child, and you spend the longest time with me..."
Zhang Qiaoer held Mei Xiang's hand, nagging with great reluctance.
"From now on, live a good life with Zhenfeng."
"Well, mom, don't worry, we will live a good life, and you and dad will take care of yourself at home."
Seeing that there was no time to delay, the matchmaker urged her again and again, and finally Mei Xiang got into the car, and Jiahui and Zhao Donglin, as send-offs, also went with the car.
The car moved slowly, Meixiang looked out the window reluctantly, Zhang Qiaoer and Zhao Manzhu kept waving their hands, until no one was seen at the intersection, Meixiang turned her head and wiped her tears.
"I'll fix your makeup when I get out of the car later, your face is crying."
Fortunately, there is no mascara or anything, and it will really look like a giant panda when it cries.