Two days passed in a blink of an eye, and the news that Xue Han and Zhang Rongchuan were engaged spread throughout the village.
In two days, Zhulan and Li worked together to prepare the menu for the engagement. Many people would come, including Zhulan's family members, Li's in-laws, and several elders from the clan who had come to visit. Excluding the children, there would be at least five tables.
The tables and chairs were borrowed from within the clan. The benefits of reintegrating into the clan came. When one family had a problem, other families would help. Before Zhulan could even say anything, the tables, chairs, plates and bowls were delivered.
The living room of Zhulan's house can accommodate three tables, and the other two tables are placed in Zhulan's bedroom, one in Li's room, and one in Li's room.
In order to appear important and respectable, Zhulan bought half a pig, five hens, and five rabbits, and prepared eight dishes, including braised spareribs, braised pork, stewed bones with sauerkraut, stewed chicken with mushrooms, braised rabbit meat, stir-fried pork intestines, and sausages. For the last dish, Zhulan cut a piece of ham to make soup, and the staple food was mixed flour steamed buns.
Early in the morning, Li and the eldest daughter-in-law of the clan leader began to cook, and the second and third daughters-in-law of the clan leader helped.
Zhulan wanted to entertain female guests, but Zhao was just a few days away from finishing her confinement and couldn't help.
The engagement had nothing to do with Xue Han, because she was young and Rongchuan was equivalent to being given to Zhulan's family, who had no elders. After the clan leader's family came to the door early in the morning, Xue Han went to accompany Zhao.
Rongchuan was going to meet a guest, so he put on new clothes and stayed next to Zhou Shuren.
Zhulan and the clan leader's wife were chatting in the bedroom. Zhulan said enthusiastically: "I really want to thank my aunt today. Without your help, I would definitely not be very busy!"
Zhao was in confinement after giving birth, and she and Li were too busy to take care of her.
Zhou Wangshi was quite content. She was a fertile woman and raised all eight children, six of whom were sons. Her daughters-in-law also worked harder and were all very filial. "Just wait a few years for Changlian and Changzhi to get married, and then there will be enough people at home."
Zhulan thought that it would be better to hope that Zhou Shuren would have a good reputation and buy a cook for him than to hope that her two sons would get married and find wives to help. She said, "Aunt is one of the most blessed people in the village."
Zhou Wang looked around the bedroom. No wonder Yang was envied. The cupboards were covered with cloth without patches. The sewing basket was filled with cloth for no apparent purpose. Thinking back carefully, Yang had never worn patched clothes. Zhou Shuren really loved his wife. She was jealous of him. "You are the most blessed person in the village. Even your aunt envies you."
She has been bullied by her mother-in-law for several years!
Zhulan, "... ..."
She shouldn't have mentioned blessings!
Fortunately, the Yang family arrived, and Zhulan hurried out to greet them. Zhulan supported Sun and said, "Mom, why did you and Dad come in person?"
She thought that in such a cold weather, only her two brothers came with their wives and sons.
Sun was unhappy, "My granddaughter is getting engaged and I'm not allowed to see her in person?"
"Aren't I just worried about your and Dad's health?"
Sun didn't give her face. She was really angry. She was the last to know that her granddaughter was going to be engaged. Although she liked Rongchuan very much, she snorted and said, "My health is much better than yours. You should take care of your own health!"
Zhulan knew she was in the wrong. When the second son came back from delivering the New Year gifts, he said that the old lady and the old man were unhappy. She quickly smiled and apologized, "Yes, yes, mother is right."
Zhulan helped her mother into the house and quickly squatted down to put on her mother's slippers. "The kang is warm, please warm yourself for a while. I'll go get some more tea."
Sun nodded in approval, but she was still angry.
Zhulan came back soon with tea, and her mother started chatting with the clan leader's wife, and it was quite lively.
Zhulan chatted with her sister-in-law while serving tea. She felt guilty, after all, she was not her original self. She and Zhou Shuren were used to being independent and used to handling things on their own. It was difficult for them to change completely. Sometimes they did things lacking and could only make up for the shortcomings slowly. She had thought of returning to her parents' home in person to apologize to her parents after the engagement, but she didn't expect her mother and father to come in person in such a cold weather.
Sun was very comfortable being served, and the anger in her heart disappeared. She was not angry at all, and she did not want to interfere in her granddaughter's marriage. She just felt that her daughter did not tell her about any important matters, and she felt uncomfortable for a while. She felt sorry for her daughter, and she did not want to tire out her body that had been recovered with great difficulty. "Okay, stop working, sit down and rest."
Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief, saying that this hurdle had been overcome, "I am the one that my mother loves the most."
Sun felt warm in her heart, as her daughter was closest to her, but she said, "A grandmother still acts like a spoiled child. Aren't you ashamed?"
"Even if I am a great-grandmother, I am still my mother's daughter. I will be my mother's daughter all my life."
Sun smiled and tapped her daughter's forehead, "It makes people laugh."
Mrs. Zhou Wang was stunned. The rumors about Mrs. Yang being favored in the Yang family were true. She couldn't bear to watch it anymore. She would be jealous!
The Li family also came, including old lady Li in person, and then a few more families came. Zhulan’s seniority was suddenly so low that there was no place to sit.
The token of engagement between Xue Han and Rong Chuan was a jade pendant. Zhou Shuren went to the county personally and spent ten taels of silver to buy it. The marriage certificate was written by the Zhou clan leader. The two children exchanged the jade pendants in front of witnesses. The marriage certificate was given to Zhu Lan for safekeeping, and the engagement was completed.
There's nothing we can do about it, since Rongchuan doesn't have any elders.
Everyone in the Zhang family knew about the engagement, but they also knew how Rongchuan compensated Zhulan's family. When the accident first happened, they guessed that he was a farmhand. Later, the rumor of him being a child husband came true. Zhang was ashamed that Rongchuan was being bullied and no one in the family stood up to help him. She also felt that having a child husband was not a decent thing. Zhang didn't even have time to hide, let alone visit.
Zhulan heard from Zhou Wang that Zhang Datie and Zhu had been warned by the Zhang clan leader before they came, so they did not come to make trouble.
Zhulan knew clearly that Patriarch Zhang didn't necessarily feel sorry for Rongchuan, and he had never stopped Zhu from secretly causing trouble for Rongchuan. After all, it was because Zhou Shuren was reintegrated into the clan that the Zhang family had more concerns and didn't want to make enemies, so they controlled Zhang Datie and his wife.
Who made the Zhang child study in the Zhou family
These days are enough for the whole village to know how much Zhou Shuren is valued by the clan!
By the time they finished eating, it was already afternoon. Zhulan was so busy that she didn't have time to talk to her eldest daughter Xuemei. Zhulan first saw off the Yang family who were on their way, and then saw off several elders and the Li family in the clan. The clan leader's family helped wash the dishes and clean up before leaving.
Zhulan was really embarrassed. She had planned to clean up with her two daughters and Li. The clan leader's family helped a lot. Zhulan was not a stingy person. As there were a lot of dishes left in the pot, Zhulan filled two large bowls of dishes and took a cup of tea to give to the clan leader's family.
After seeing the guests off, Zhulan called her third son and eldest son who had not drunk any wine to return the table and chairs, and Rongchuan went with them. Zhulan felt at ease to order her half son to marry this time. After the ox cart left, Zhulan stretched her waist and straightened her body. She was finally able to rest.
Xuemei hurried forward to support her, "Mom, I'll help you go back and rest. You're exhausted today."