After dinner, I helped clean, tidy up the room, and prepare for my eldest brother's wedding.
Ye Lian also announced that Lu Jiangting was going to marry Fang Qing.
The next day they were still busy.
There were not enough tables and chairs at home for the guests, so they had to borrow some from their neighbors.
The eldest brother and Lin Ping borrowed tables and chairs from various houses and carried them back.
There were not enough bowls and chopsticks, so Lin Yuyao followed Ye Lian to the Hakka restaurant to borrow bowls and chopsticks, as well as pots, pans, and bowls.
Dad was killing chickens and ducks, one for each table, and he would kill more than a dozen of each.
Plus they have to pluck the hair and cut open the intestines, which is a huge project.
They were all fed at home. My dad shoveled chicken and duck shit for a year and was suffocated by them for a year. Finally, he killed them with his own hands.
"Oh." After killing all the chickens and ducks, Lin Dawei rubbed his waist and sighed, "I am finally free. I don't have to shovel shit anymore."
Ye Lian said, "I won't be weeding these days. I'll buy some chicks and ducklings to feed them in March after the Chinese New Year."
Lin Dawei's face changed, "Why do you still need to raise one?"
"Of course. Now that the eldest is married, maybe next year the eldest's wife will have to stay in confinement after childbirth. Doesn't she need to eat chicken during confinement?"
"You can't eat many of them, so there's no need to raise so many."
"Yes, Yuyao already has a date, maybe she will get married next year. Although we are marrying off a daughter, we don't need to make it as grand as marrying off a daughter-in-law, but we still have to set up a few tables."
Lin Dawei: “…”
"Well, I have to shovel shit for another year."
"I'm afraid it will take more than a year. If Yuyao gets married next year and has a baby the year after, she will be in confinement..."
"Stop, stop, stop. We'll talk about it later. We'll talk about it later."
If she continues talking, it will be time for her youngest son to get married and his wife to be in confinement after childbirth. It will never end.
The second sister-in-law of the Sun family from the next yard brought over some dried cowpeas, "I thought you would need them tomorrow, so I brought them here first so you don't have to go to my house again tomorrow."
Ye Lian wiped her hands on her apron and said with a smile, "Hey, sister-in-law, thank you for taking the trouble to come here."
"Why are you being so polite? It's only a short walk. I'll need your help when my family has something to do next year."
The two exchanged pleasantries and then talked about Lu Jiangting's family.
"Hey, is that kid from the Lu family really going to marry Widow Fang?"
"It can't be wrong. I heard they are just about to get a marriage certificate."
"Military marriages are very troublesome. I heard that your Yuyao wanted to marry him before, and the messy reports took more than half a year?"
"That's right, it's like this."
"If that's the case, then I started this half a year ago."
"That's for sure."
"Oh my, your Yuyao almost became a cuckold."
Ye Lian: “…”
"I told you, those two are not right. He is not as attentive as his brothers' wives. There must be something wrong with them that makes him favor that mother and son. Look, your Yuyao broke off the engagement with him, so he married Widow Fang. These two must have been hooking up for a long time. They should be arrested and charged with hooliganism."
Ye Lian said, "Hey, you can't say this carelessly. Second sister-in-law, don't tell anyone about this. If Lu Jiangting's parents hear about it, they'll come to trouble me again."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it. Even if someone comes to find me, it's me who told them. It has nothing to do with you."
What she said was not nonsense, which means she did not speak it in public with a loudspeaker, but secretly, quietly, and passed it on from one person to another.
Soon this matter reached the ears of Lu Jiangting's parents.
This matter is really shameful and it is difficult to talk about it.
Finally, it was Lu Cong’s sister-in-law who lived next door to them who came to their house to find out what was going on.
Relying on her age and seniority, if she doesn't speak up about such a thing that brings disgrace to the family, who else can?
When the old sister-in-law arrived at Lu's house on crutches, Lu Cong and his wife were also talking about this matter.
When they saw someone coming, they shut up.
"Sister-in-law, why are you here? Your legs and feet are fine now."
The old lady raised the cane in her hand and said, "My legs and feet are not working properly, but I still have a stick. Lu Cong, let me ask you, is your Jiang Ting going to marry that widow?"
The two were worrying about this matter, and when they heard this statement yesterday, they were very angry.
I called this morning to verify it, and to my surprise, my son hesitantly replied, saying it was true.
The two of them slapped their thighs in anger.
He thought that even if he couldn't marry Lin Yuyao, he couldn't marry a widow.
Didn’t he say that he found a city lady?
What? The eldest lady doesn't want him anymore?
"I don't know."
After much thought, I decided not to acknowledge either of them.
They would not acknowledge Fang Qing as their daughter-in-law, and they decided that the old man would go to South City after the New Year to persuade Jiang Ting.
This marriage cannot be concluded. We must persuade him to cancel it.
"You don't know?"
"Yes, we don't know. Maybe it was misinformed. Sister-in-law, other people just can't stand seeing our Jiang Ting doing well. They always say bad things about him. Please don't believe them."
"Humph, since it's just a rumor, let's go to the team and make a phone call to ask Jiang Ting why the girl from the Lin family brought back such news."
The two men's faces changed.
"What? Didn't you say it was nonsense? You don't dare to call to verify it?"
"This..." They were stumped.
"Humph, seeing you're like this I know it's true. Jiang Ting is also confused. Jiang Ting is the most outstanding child in our family. How could you agree to let him marry a widow with a son? Our ancestors will be so angry that they will die."
The two of them just cried out that it was unfair.
"How could we agree to that? That brat called us last month and said he was going to marry Yuyao next year, saying they had reconciled and told us not to worry. Unexpectedly, I suddenly heard that he was going to marry Fang Qing. I was so scared that I called him right away to ask him. Sister-in-law, we just found out that he really wanted to marry Widow Fang."
"Ah? You just found out about this?" the other party looked surprised.
"Yes, this brat, I don't know what's wrong with him, he actually wants to marry a widow, a widow with a son, and the widow is a few years older than him. If this gets out, people will laugh at him. Not to mention our ancestors, we will be so angry that we will die."
"What a mess, what a mess." The old sister-in-law stamped her feet in anger and said, "Although the girl from the Lin family is not a good match for Jiang Ting, the two families have been talking about this for so many years. We can't cancel the engagement just because Jiang Ting has become rich. It's reasonable to marry her, right?"
"Yes, it is."
"No matter what, you should never marry a widow with a baby. Hey, I think that Widow Fang is a vixen who has turned into a fool. Otherwise, you can choose between the girl from the Lin family and Widow Fang. Any normal person will choose the girl from the Lin family."