Before a person dies, he or she always has some wishes.
Chen Xuan is an exception.
In her life, she has no one she deeply loves, and no one she hates, so she is free from worries and lives a clean life.
But, if she could do it again, she hoped that she and Wei Nian would never meet.
Chen Xuan was a little confused. She couldn't describe the feeling. It was as if she was a half-dead woman quietly waiting for death on the dim earthen kang a moment ago, but now she was a bride sitting cross-legged on the new bed. This chaotic scene made the usually taciturn Chen Xuan even more confused. Fortunately, this was a moment where she could express her shyness by being silent.
Her new marriage.
Chen Xuan clearly remembered that the only time she got married in her life was on the Laba Festival. In the north at that time, it was not popular to welcome the bride. Instead, the bride sat in a bullock cart and was sent to the groom's house by relatives with dowry. Because Chen Xuan's husband's family was in the capital, she took a car to the capital three days in advance with her uncle and aunt, and lived in the home of a shopkeeper of the Wei family. On Laba Festival, her uncle and aunt sent her off to get married.
Today is Laba Festival.
Chen Xuan's silence attracted a lot of jokes. Some people said, "The bride is shy." Some people said, "The bride is so pretty." Some people said, "Mom, is this my aunt?" These words were kind and funny. With the room heated a little too warm, Chen Xuan's cheeks, which were painted with rouge when she got married, seemed to be more red, but her heart seemed to sink into an ice kiln. Because, as these women who joked and joked left one by one, Chen Xuan once again experienced the wedding night without a groom.
However, practice makes perfect, and another experience will never be worse than the first one.
The red candle burned out, and the voices outside gradually faded away. Suddenly, the door of the room rang. Chen Xuan looked up and saw a woman with slender shoulders and a thin waist, wearing a crimson cheongsam, carrying a red lacquer tea tray. Chen Xuan hurriedly got out of bed and habitually called out, "Sister-in-law." She went to take the tea tray from the woman's hand. On the tea tray was a bowl of hot egg noodle soup. In the clear noodle soup, there was a nest of silver noodles, with goose yellow egg flowers on top accompanied by a few green chopped green onions, and a few drops of sesame oil. The fragrance immediately filled the room. Chen Xuan's reaction was the same as the first time. She swallowed unconsciously and her stomach gurgled. She didn't eat much that day and was already very hungry.
The woman smiled and said, "Are you hungry?" Seeing Chen Xuan took the tea tray, the woman went to tidy up the four plates of snacks on the tea set cabinet beside her, turned around to get a bowl of noodles, put it on the tea set cabinet for Chen Xuan, and said, "It's cold, I thought that my sister-in-law's place has been visited all day long, and I'm afraid she hasn't eaten well. It's just right that my parents-in-law want a midnight snack, so I made an extra bowl and sent it to my sister-in-law."
These words are exactly the same as I remember.
Sister-in-law Li is such a meticulous and gentle person.
Chen Xuan was somewhat moved, and the trance and panic in her heart disappeared a little. Chen Xuan said, "Thank you, sister-in-law, for thinking of me."
Li smiled, took the chopsticks and handed them to Chen Xuan, "Eat quickly, I'll go out first."
Chen Xuan stood up to see them off, but Li stopped her and told her to just eat the noodles and she would come over to clean up later. Chen Xuan knew that her eldest sister-in-law Li still had to go to the old lady's place to serve her. After the old lady and the old man had their midnight snack, Li would clean up before she could go to bed. After the wedding night today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and all the days she spent at the Wei family, every night would be like this.
When Chen Xuan thought of those years, she lost her appetite for noodles.
Chen Xuan looked at the new house with colorful silk and red flowers everywhere, her eyes swept over the wardrobe, tea cabinet, two half-new armchairs, and the dressing table. The dressing table was just an ordinary red painted rectangular table. Chen Xuan didn't know much about wood, but it looked a bit like the elm wood most commonly used in furniture making in her hometown, but she couldn't be sure. In the middle of the table was a round mirror with a copper base. At this moment, the mirror was covered with a red cloth. This was the rule of newlyweds. It was unlucky for the newlyweds to look in the mirror.
However, Chen Xuan had somewhat forgotten what she looked like when she was young.
She couldn't help but lift the red silk cloth. The light of the dragon and phoenix candles reflected in the mirror and shone into Chen Xuan's eyes, which were slightly narrowed unconsciously. At the same time, a woman with narrowed eyes was reflected in the mirror. The woman had a dark complexion and ordinary facial features. There were two small and delicate lumps of rouge on her cheeks. The rich and bright red on her cheeks was so beautiful that even Chen Xuan herself couldn't say it against her will. When she got married this morning, her aunt opened her face. The square forehead, in addition to making her face look bigger, only served to mark her current identity as a married woman.
No wonder Wei Nian never looked at her straight in the eye. Chen Xuan touched her face with her calloused fingers. Chen Xuan in the mirror was also touching her own face. Chen Xuan thought silently that if she were Wei Nian, she would not like it either.
When Li came to the new house, she wanted to collect the dishes and wash them, but she saw that the bowls were not touched at all. The aroma of the sesame oil had dissipated, leaving only a few yellow spots of oil. On the winter night of Laba, they condensed on the cold and turbid soup, making it look a little dirty. Li asked, "Didn't my sister-in-law eat it? But the taste was not to her liking?"
Chen Xuan couldn't say anything. She was so busy looking at herself in the mirror that she forgot about eating noodles. Chen Xuan didn't know where the cleverness came from. Anyway, she didn't remember it because she heard herself say, "Sister-in-law, isn't Brother Anian at home?"
Chen Xuan's words made Li's face freeze, but she reacted quickly. She smiled and comforted Chen Xuan, "The shop is about to ship out the goods. Ajie's father and second brother have gone. Grandpa has always had this rule. Our family members have to watch over the shipment." Ajie's father, Li's eldest son, was named Jie. This sentence refers to Wei Nian's elder brother, Wei Shi.
Chen Xuan said, "Oh," and said, "I see. Sister-in-law, I'm not hungry. I wasted a bowl of good noodles." This was Chen Xuan's true words. She had been in the Wei family for many years and knew the situation of the Wei family. The Wei family had two businesses and there were no maids in the family. From now on, all the chores in the family would be done by her and sister-in-law. It can be seen that the Wei family is frugal. If no one eats this bowl of noodles, it might cause old lady Wei to complain. In fact, it is not entirely true to say that the Wei family is not well off. In this era of poverty, famine and war, there are many people in Beijing who can't eat, but the Wei family still has plenty of food and drink. Looking back, she didn't live well in the Wei family, but compared with many people outside, she was well-fed and well-clothed. However, even if she had enough food and clothing, she would rather return to her hometown than live in the Wei family again.
But in the current situation, not to mention Chen Xuan who has never been to school, even if there is a learned scholar, he would not be able to explain the strange phenomenon that Chen Xuan experienced. Fortunately, Chen Xuan has the greatest advantage: silence.
She didn't understand, so she said nothing.
First settled down in the Wei family.
Compared to the worry of not seeing her husband Wei Nian on the first night of their marriage, Chen Xuan slept very well and peacefully. She had nothing to worry about. Not only would Wei Nian not come back tonight, but he would not come back for many years to come.