Chapter 393 Good Brothers

Sanwa wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Damn it, who's going to shut up the fourth brother's mouth?

"Come on, come on, I'll boil some water for you. You must get a good wash tonight."

The fourth brother got off the stool, pulled the third brother, whose face was flushed, and walked outside, saying, "We have water now..."

The third brother was faster than him and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The people inside the room realized what was happening and burst into laughter, laughing so hard they almost fell over.

"The fourth brother is such a coward. He brought this up out of nowhere, and the third brother is so embarrassed that he can't face anyone. Hahaha, his face is red and his nose is thick."

"Hey, you know what, did you wash up when you got married?" Li Dazui said seriously. "We're all farmers who work the land. Anyway, I didn't wash up. We were supposed to wash up three days before the wedding, but we were too busy and tired. Luckily it was winter, so we couldn't smell it."

Song Zhizhu recalled briefly, "I think I secretly washed myself by the spring in the river bend a few days before the wedding. It was midday and there was no one around. It was quite frightening."

Song Chunxue suppressed a laugh; she wanted to hear what the others had to say.

Fortunately, Yunlei and the others all went home that night, and apart from Li Dazui, everyone in the house was family.

Second sister Song Chunxiang raised her head and thought hard, "I can't remember. We farmers don't wash our bodies more than a few times a year. It's only in the summer when we sweat and feel too uncomfortable that we wipe our upper bodies while washing our hair."

Summer is usually the busiest time. After harvesting broad beans and peas, it's time to harvest wheat. You're either working or going home to cook and eat. After eating, you don't even want to wash the dishes. You're like a lump of mud on the kang (heated brick bed) taking a nap. You simply don't have the energy to wash your hair or body.

Song Chunmei laughed, "That's because you guys are lazy. I know that the fourth brother washes his clothes all the time..."

"Alright, alright, there are still children here. A bunch of elders who are hard to clean are talking about this," Song Chunlian interrupted her expressionlessly. "Fourth brother, tomorrow night is your wedding night. There's water in the yard, you can wash tomorrow night."

Song Chunxiang said to Jiang Hongying, "Let the child go inside to sleep and not listen to our nonsense. But tonight is a rare opportunity for us to get together and chat. We're practically half-buried, so what's there to be afraid to say?"

"Hongying is still young, don't listen to her, go and put the child to sleep."

Hongying smiled and looked at Song Chunxue. She wanted to hear it too; she was very curious about the stories of the older generation.

"Go and soothe the children first, then come back." Song Chunxue got up, holding the sleeping Xiujuan in her arms. "Xiaolong and Xiaoxu ate too much candy. Give them some water to rinse their teeth, otherwise they'll be limping tomorrow."

It's rare for everyone to get together tonight, and we definitely won't want to sleep until midnight. For Song Chunxue, such days are extremely precious, and she might only get together a few times in two lifetimes.

She wasn't good at speaking, but she wanted to listen and feel this blessing from heaven.

This always made her think of her past life, where Sanwa got married in March, when the weather was still very cold, and she had to endure all sorts of hardships just to borrow a red thread.

The previous life was too bitter, and the children suffer along with it.

She felt somewhat apprehensive that money came so easily in this life.

Song Chunxue knew that all of this was ultimately a dream, and nothing could be kept except her own soul.

The ultimate goal in this life is simply to leave this world more peacefully, with fewer regrets and less resentment; that is true fulfillment.

"Mother, come quick! Sanwa's clothes are missing a button. Sew it on for him quickly."

The fourth brother's voice came from behind, and Song Chunxue responded, "Coming."

...

The wedding procession set off before dawn the next day.

Mei Yang found two horses to pull a carriage to pick up the bride, accompanied by two suona players; it was quite a grand affair.

In ordinary families, people would ride a donkey to get married.

Song Chunxue put on the new clothes she had sewn herself, her hair was neatly combed and tied up with two hairpins, and a pair of red earrings were particularly eye-catching.

Everyone else had gone to pick up the bride, leaving only Song Chunxue, He Chuan, and two cooks busy at home.

Before long, Ren Haitang came to help, and Yao Man also brought two people to assist her.

They rushed to prepare the ingredients, planning to have the dishes on the table before noon.

He Chuan hung long strings of firecrackers on both sides of the gate and quickly placed melon seeds and snacks on the table in the courtyard.

The two wolfhounds darted around, becoming especially well-behaved when there were many people around. They also liked to join in the fun, so Song Chunxue didn't tie them up in the backyard.

Song Chunxue was also busy washing and chopping vegetables, and went out to check if there were any red characters pasted on the water cellar and stone mill by the roadside.

As he returned to the house, he heard someone speaking behind him.

Is there any significance to pasting red paper here?

"To prevent unclean things from harming the newlyweds."

"Why is it so quiet? Daoist Master, you haven't forgotten the date, have you?"

Song Chunxue turned around, but before she could see anyone clearly, she saw two dogs dart out.

And he didn't make a sound.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Song Chunxue couldn't help but smile.

"Senior brother, Lord Xie, you've arrived just in time."

Lord Xie and the Taoist priest, one in black and one in blue, were greeted warmly by two dogs, carrying large gift boxes as they slowly walked over.

A chestnut horse followed behind them, and in the morning mist, they inexplicably possessed a beauty reminiscent of immortals descending to earth.

"Junior brother, please don't be offended. We originally planned to come tomorrow, but something came up and we were delayed, so we missed the wedding procession."

The Taoist priest was dressed very elegantly today, and his whisk seemed to be new, with long, shiny silver bristles.

"Sister Song looks very dignified today. Your daughter-in-law is about to enter the house, and I can tell you're a little nervous."

Lord Xie was no less impressive; his purple embroidery on his dark robes conveyed a sense of composure and dignity, yet his smile was quite amiable.

"It's alright, I was just a little nervous." Song Chunxue stood aside and couldn't help but tease, "You two are like best buddies, and you look quite good together. It's great that you don't mind me."

Song Chunxue raised her hand and smiled, "Please come in, both of you. Would you like some tea or soup noodles first?"

The Taoist priest walked ahead without any ceremony, saying, "I'm drinking tea. I haven't had any these days and I'm really craving it. I'm sure you've prepared some good things for this joyous occasion."

"I'll have a bowl of noodles. The tea the Taoist priest is drinking is too strong. I'll drink it when he's almost finished cooking."

As they spoke, they stepped into the courtyard and went to sit down in the main room on the north side.

Without Song Chunxue saying anything, He Chuan had already set up the tea stove, lit the charcoal, and placed the plates of red dates and rock sugar to accompany the tea aside.

Before long, Ren Haitang brought over tea and snacks.

"Is the bandit suppression over? How did the battle go?" Song Chunxue asked casually. "Won't your special trip cause any delays?"

The Taoist priest smoothed his wide sleeves, burned two dates, and looked up at Song Chunxue. "It's over. Those who should be arrested have been arrested, and those who should be killed have been killed. We won't delay anything. I'll leave in a few days."

Lord Xie said, "I'm leaving tomorrow to return to Jincheng to report back, so it won't be a delay. I've already asked for leave."

"Okay." Song Chunxue stood up. "I'll go take care of things now. If I haven't treated you well, I'll treat you to drinks later to make amends."

The Taoist priest shook his head slightly, "Junior brother is too fond of drinking now. I don't even have the habit of inviting people to drink all the time."

"You go ahead and prepare plenty of food and wine; there will be quite a few uninvited guests today."

Knowing her senior brother never spoke nonsense, Song Chunxue quickly pressed, "Approximately how many people?"

She thought that she didn't have many relatives or friends in the county, and that including the wedding party, there would be at most thirty or forty people.

"More than a hundred, almost two hundred people, there's still time to buy meat and vegetables."

"What?"

How could that be!

The food they prepared was far from enough!