Chapter 454 Time to consummate the marriage

"Come quick, come quick, I'll go to the kitchen to boil water and make noodles."

Song Chunxue was genuinely happy; it was better to have someone support her than to be all alone.

"Then I'll help you start the fire."

"I'm here to serve the food; I can't just eat at your house for free."

The person behind him quickly said, "I'll wash the dishes, don't try to take them from me."

They bought three live chickens yesterday, slaughtered them, plucked their feathers, gutted them, and took them home. Last night, Song Chunxue cooked two of them, and used the chicken soup to make noodles.

The chicken was stewed with potato chunks, cabbage and glass noodles, mixed with dried chili peppers, and three cold dishes were added, which could be considered four dishes.

Four dishes plus noodles with minced meat sauce is considered a very good meal in the village; usually, it's just potato noodle soup with four dishes.

To Song Chunxue's surprise, more and more people came. Even though she had reserved some dishes in advance and asked the people on the estate to blanch and make a cold dish of wild vegetables, and also torn off a roast chicken, added side dishes and stewed it, serving three large plates, which was enough for three tables, it was still not enough.

I don't know how they got such good information; people even came from the village across the river, as well as from Chenjiawan, Lijiazui, and Dazhuangping.

"Mother, another group of people has arrived. They're having tea in the yard right now," the fourth son said, looking a little nervous as he came in from outside. "We're running out of tea leaves. I'll go borrow some from someone else. And what about chicken soup and noodles?"

The five or six women in the kitchen were getting anxious.

"Huh? There are so many people! We should have waited until they finished eating before we ate."

At this moment, Li Mengchun came in from outside.

Although he was short, he had handsome features and was always smiling. He had a set of very neat white teeth and was also quick-witted. Ever since Uncle Mulan got old, he had been the steward for weddings and funerals in the three nearby villages.

He smiled and reassured them, "Aunties and aunties, don't panic. Today is the eldest son's wedding day. We're not all here just for a meal, but we can't let people go home empty-handed."

"If there's not enough dough, roll it slowly, make it smaller, one person kneads, one rolls, and one cuts. The second brother is already outside killing a chicken. Everyone's just here to chat and join in the fun. Two cans of tea can make a pot of rice. The main thing is that everyone wants to take this opportunity to see just how impressive the eldest brother's new house is."

Song Chunxue smiled and said, "You're so good at comforting people. We're not in a hurry. We'll trouble you to go outside and keep an eye on things. My kids aren't good with words, so please remind them of what they need to do, otherwise they'll be too stubborn to think of anything."

“They’re inexperienced too, Auntie, don’t worry, I’ll take good care of them.” With that, Li Mengchun stepped out the door. “You guys go ahead with your work. I think I hear some people wanting to drink and play drinking games. I’ll go find some wine.”

The people in the kitchen have already started getting busy.

Song Chunxue rubbed her apron. "Where are we going to find wine? Does anyone brew wine?"

"Yes, the eldest brother of the Wang family in the ditch brewed sorghum liquor."

"Then remember to write down the bill, how much money you took, and I'll give it to you later."

"It won't cost much, you give it to me that day..."

"One thing at a time, otherwise I wouldn't have the heart to trouble you." Song Chunxue patted his back. "Go on, let's see if the chicken is ready to be cooked."

Upon entering the courtyard, I saw a group of men and women, young and old, surrounding the Taoist priest. They were either having their palms or faces read, and some were even giving their birth dates and times for fortune telling. Others were also studying the lines on their palms.

Song Chunxue couldn't help but laugh and hurriedly came outside the courtyard, just in time to see the eldest brother carrying a piece of chicken cut into pieces.

"Give it to me. You also need to keep an eye on the bride and not neglect her. Oh, and remember to have someone in the village write her name in the family genealogy, just in case."

The eldest son smiled broadly, "Yes, Mother, I'll go right away."

...

Late September is the busy farming season, and everyone hasn't had a good meal in a long time. The aroma of meat wafts from the Jiang family's courtyard from time to time. No one in the village was planning to go, but when they learned that someone from every household was going, and seeing that it wasn't too late, they came back from the fields and went to the Jiang family's house for a bowl of noodles with meat sauce.

And so, the meal lasted from noon until evening. After sunset, everyone gathered in the courtyard to drink tea and wine.

Before eating, Song Chunxue took a bowl of noodles with minced meat sauce to the west room.

The Xu family girl was still sitting obediently on the kang (a heated brick bed), her head covered with a red veil. Young girls and children surrounded the kang, curiously asking the bride all sorts of nonsensical questions.

"Come on, eat this bowl of noodles, then you can lift the veil, it's okay."

The young lady from the Xu family hesitated as she lifted her veil, biting her lower lip slightly, feeling both shy and embarrassed.

Song Chunxue saw her face clearly: big eyes with three layers of eyelids because she was thin, a round face, and very clear eyes.

She slowly stretched out her hands to take the bowl, revealing her dry palms covered with calluses.

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but since no one had taught her how to greet her, she just looked nervously at Song Chunxue.

"It's alright, you eat your noodles. If you need more, just tell the eldest." Song Chunxue looked at the children. "You can also go eat your noodles at the table outside. I left a bowl of chicken and potatoes."

These children had been told by the adults not to eat noodles at the table, for fear of being disliked by the host family.

Upon hearing this, they couldn't help but look at the older child's face.

Song Chunxue rubbed their heads and said, "Eat whatever you want. You must be hungry. There's enough food at home."

For ordinary people, it's rare to eat plain white noodles on a daily basis, let alone noodles with meat sauce. People are often embarrassed to eat them.

But the eldest brother listened to Song Chunxue's advice and planted more wheat even during a drought.

There's plenty of minced meat noodles today.

The woman in the kitchen couldn't help but praise, "You're so generous. So many people have come, with their families, and you still won't let them give gifts."

"We definitely have to give a gift of money. It's no different from throwing a big banquet, except each household gives one portion. Your family also lost money. If it weren't for the fact that your eldest son grew a lot of wheat, we wouldn't even be in the mood for our wedding night tonight. We'd be too heartbroken to sleep."

Song Chunxue laughed and said, "It's not that exaggerated. I'm so happy that everyone could come. I didn't want to trouble you all. We used to be so poor that we didn't have enough to eat, but now we do. Anyway, the boss can't have many happy events, so I just hope everyone enjoys the food."

She poured wine for everyone from the wine jug, saying, "I have to thank you all. Thanks to your help, otherwise I would have been anxiously pacing around all by myself."

Zhao Yufang, holding the noodles, smiled and said, "Isn't this how people in the village are? No need to be so polite."

Just then, Jiang Huan's crying could be heard from outside.

Everyone unanimously thought of Chen Feng, who had been divorced.

"Divorcing Chen Feng would solve everything, but it would be a pity for the child."

"Sigh, who can argue with that? If Chen Feng had any sense or brains, she wouldn't have been divorced."

As night fell, everyone knew that the eldest brother didn't want to make a ruckus in the bridal chamber, so they all dispersed.

The courtyard was much quieter, and the lanterns under the eaves cast a dim light.

Li Mengchun was still giving instructions to the eldest brother. The wine cups and teacups in the yard had already been cleaned up, and only the table was left to be wiped clean.

After a long day, Song Chunxue closed the kitchen door and saw Jiang Huan nestled in her second son's arms, fast asleep.

"Alright, eldest brother, you can go to the bridal chamber now. We're going to sleep too. I'm so tired, my back is about to break." The fourth brother rubbed his back.