With Zhang Yu's underlings watching over them, the Zhao family members ate quietly in the private room, not daring to even speak loudly. Lin Chacha and Song Cheng came in to offer a toast, but they just made a brief appearance at the Zhao family's table and then left. The three Zhao brothers didn't have a chance to say anything more.
An hour later, firecrackers went off again, the banquet ended, and the guests, at the host's suggestion, poured the leftovers into plastic bags to take home. The three Zhao brothers, who only had six people per table, had the most leftovers and took the most home.
Lin Chacha and Song Cheng were willing to spend money; the table had eighteen dishes, many of them high-quality ingredients, including braised wild boar with yam, dragon and phoenix soup, abalone stewed with duck, pork stewed with pigeon, steamed chicken...
Other families don't have such a grand affair. After the banquet, the guests came out and kept talking happily, saying they were so glad they came, as they had enjoyed so many delicious dishes.
When you go back, you'll receive a basket as a return gift. Nowadays, it's usually a red envelope and a bag of candy and peanuts. The amount of the red envelope determines the return gift. If the guest gives 200 yuan, you'll receive 20 yuan back; if they give 100 yuan, you'll receive 10 yuan back; and if they give 50 yuan, you'll receive 5 yuan back.
One or two of them were elderly people who came and only brought thirty yuan.
Lin Xiazhu: "..." Not replying isn't an option, but replying would require change.
Lin Shanfu gave a gift of 1,000 yuan, which is quite extravagant in the countryside. Only those who are well-off can give so much. In addition, his two cousins, Lin Hai and Lin Sen, each gave 500 yuan. They have already separated their families, so they all have to contribute money.
The family doesn't give return gifts. Leftovers that aren't finished in the countryside are eaten for two or three days. However, Lin Xiazhu didn't take the leftovers and gave them all to the guests to take back. They then booked a few tables at Zhang Yu's place that evening to eat fresh food.
The biggest red envelope belonged to Bai Ruan, containing a solid stack of cash. Lin Chacha counted it twice; it totaled 60,000 yuan. She grinned from ear to ear.
Little An really understands her; she just loves cash.
"Wow, 60,000! Many people can't earn that much money in several years. I'm so envious!" Lin Xiaoxue's eyes lit up as she looked at the thick stack of cash. Her future brother-in-law was really rich.
"Brother Xiao An is so rich, it makes me want to get married!" Lin Taozi almost drooled with envy.
"You all act like you've never seen money in your lives. Luckily, there are no outsiders here, or you've all lost face," Lin Xiazhu said with a laugh.
After seeing off all the guests, the family was gathered in the living room on the second floor counting the monetary gifts. Song Cheng's relatives were all relatively poor. The one who gave the most was his aunt, who gave six hundred yuan. The other Song Cheng relatives gave fifty or one hundred yuan each.
Most of the Lin family members in Linjia Village gave 100 yuan, while the small business owners who did business with Lin Chacha gave 200 yuan. Zhang Yu gave 600 yuan. When he got married, Lin Chacha gave 500 yuan, and he gave an extra 100 yuan.
All in all, it adds up to about 20,000. You need to remember all of these so that you'll know how to handle the expenses when others have weddings in the future.
After dinner, Lin Chacha and Song Cheng returned to their home in the county town. Since they were going to visit their parents' home in three days, they would not be staying with Lin Xiazhu and the others for the next few days.
When they returned to their parents' home, Lin Chacha complained to Lin Xiazhu, "Song Cheng's aunt is really good to him, but she's not so good to other people."
The "other people" she was referring to were herself. These past few days, Aunt Song Cheng had been staying with them, and she was incredibly capable. If Lin Chacha hadn't been pregnant and suppressing her temper, she would have already exploded.
"Just bear with it, she'll go back to town in a few days, and it'll be fine if she doesn't live with us anymore." Ever since Song Cheng and Lin Chacha became successful, Song Cheng's aunt's family came looking for them, insisting on helping them.
Song Cheng wasn't really keen on them coming, but his aunt had raised him for so many years and genuinely cared for him. Out of respect for his aunt, Song Cheng had no choice but to let them help out at the pig farm.
His aunt and uncle were used to farm work, and they were able to help a lot at the pig farm. They did a great job washing the pigsties and feeding the pigs every day. Song Cheng paid them wages, and after a few months, Song Cheng's uncle called his two sons over to help as well.
Song Cheng didn't get along with his cousins. When he lived with his aunt, his two cousins often bullied him, leaving him to do all the dirty and tiring work. Song Cheng actually disliked them quite a bit.
But they lack skills and are unwilling to go out and work in factories. What money can they earn by farming at home? If they keep dragging this on, they'll be almost thirty. How will they afford to get married then?
Song Cheng's aunt cried in front of him until he softened and agreed. Fortunately, the two cousins did not cause any trouble at the pig farm and have been behaving themselves for the time being. They have been working there for half a year now.
In town, Song Cheng's aunt's family lived at the pig farm, while Lin Chacha and Song Cheng lived in their home in town. Sometimes, Song Cheng's aunt would try to move in, but Lin Chacha would firmly refuse, so they always lived separately.
For this wedding, Song Cheng had no elders in his family, and Lin Chacha was heavily pregnant. Song Cheng's aunt stayed in the county town for a few days. It was fine when they weren't together, but conflicts immediately arose when they were.
"I was heavily pregnant and had difficulty moving around. We bought a washing machine, so I started throwing all my clothes in it to wash. My aunt kept nagging me, saying it was a waste of water and electricity, and that she worked until she was almost ten months pregnant with all three of her children, just before she was due to give birth."
My family stir-fried a plate of vegetables, and since I have a big appetite and don't want to leave any leftovers, I ate it all. She kept telling me to eat less, saying that if the baby is too big, it will be difficult to give birth.
Lin Chacha clutched her stomach, muttering in a low voice, glancing at the stairs every now and then. Song Cheng was helping out in the kitchen downstairs, and she was afraid he would suddenly come upstairs and hear her criticizing his aunt, which would upset him.
"Song Cheng and I worked so hard to earn so much money so that we could live a good life. Not to mention now, even when you were the only one earning money to support the family, we had meat every day. I would buy five catties of beef, three catties of mutton, and five catties of ribs every day. We could definitely finish them in a day."
His aunt complained that it was too wasteful, that eating like this would empty a mountain of gold. "How could it empty a mountain? I've done the math. I earn at least a thousand a day. Taking out a hundred for food is perfectly reasonable."
Lin Chacha has always had a big appetite since she was a child, more than twice as big as her older sister's. Her older sister always tells her to eat more, saying that health is the most important thing, and money can be earned, so don't skimp on food. She has gotten used to eating and drinking well.
She already had a sweet tooth, and now that she's pregnant, it's even worse. She couldn't stand being criticized for eating too much and told she couldn't eat like that anymore.
"What is Song Cheng's attitude?" Lin Xiazhu was more interested in this. If Song Cheng sided with his aunt and wronged Chacha, she could make them divorce even though they had just gotten married.
"Song Cheng was protecting me, trying to get his aunt to say less, but she acted like she couldn't hear him and kept nagging in front of me. Song Cheng almost lost his temper, so his aunt stopped talking and then secretly nagged at me in private, and wouldn't let me complain to Song Cheng." Lin Chacha laughed in exasperation.
“Song Cheng and I are husband and wife, what can’t I tell him? I’m going to tell him. Song Cheng said that he’ll have his aunt go back to the pig farm in town tomorrow.” Lin Chacha smiled and her eyes narrowed as she said this.
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