Chapter 108 Sun Shuiqin Gets Married
The sun was blazing.
A makeshift earthen stove was built in Cheng Wanwan's yard, with a broken pot placed on top.
The villagers take turns coming to her yard to cook lantana. Her family only provides one pot; villagers need to bring their own firewood and other necessities.
Lantana is poisonous, so it's best not to touch the water from its decoction. Every household should set aside a bucket and then use a gourd ladle to sprinkle the decoction onto the rice paddies.
Without the lure of a campfire, the locusts did not gather; they flew sparsely in the fields, and those that ate the poisoned rice died instantly.
Ducks don't eat just any dead thing. There are live locusts flying in the sky, and they eat live insects first. Once they're full, they're herded home so that they won't eat dead locusts or ruin the rice.
Dahe Village was busy like this for three or four days.
In less than ten days, the rice in the fields will be harvested, which will be the busiest time of the year in the countryside.
Every household would make arrangements and get things done before the autumn harvest.
On the only auspicious day of the month, two families in the village held weddings at the same time.
Because it was during a famine, no family had any surplus grain, let alone the possibility of preparing a feast. The villagers would simply go to join in the fun and eat some wedding cakes, which was considered a celebration.
One of them was Zhao Fugui's eldest son, Zhao Datou, who was getting married. He married Fugui's aunt's niece, a joyous occasion that strengthened family ties.
The other family was Zhao Yougui's son, Zhao Shagen, who married Sun Shuiqin, the daughter of the Sun family in Guihua Village.
Since they all share the surname Zhao, Cheng Wanwan had to go. She also prepared a gift for the bride: a three-foot-long piece of coarse cloth for each person.
As she was leaving, Zhao Ergou was busy in the yard. She paused and casually asked, "Ergou, do you want to come with me to eat wedding cakes?"
Zhao Ergou kept his head down and continued working: "I have to deliver goods to town later, so I won't go."
Zhao Sidan leaned closer: "Mom, can I go? I want to see the bride."
Cheng Wanwan took the little one's hand and said, "Let's go see the bride!"
Early in the morning, the village was bustling with activity as everyone talked about the two brides. People who married into the village on the same day were inevitably compared.
"If you ask me, Shagen's wife is prettier. Her eyes are so big and watery, Shagen was mesmerized by her."
"The Sun family's daughter is indeed beautiful, but Da Tou's wife is not bad either. I heard she's very capable at both housework and household chores. Aunt Fu Gui can enjoy a life of luxury from now on."
"Big Head's wife is Aunt Fugui's niece, so there won't be any mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflicts in the future."
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Cheng Wanwan went to Zhao Yougui's house first.
Zhao Shagen's parents greeted guests in the courtyard. Whenever someone came to offer their congratulations, they would give them a wedding cake made of cornmeal with a red dot in the center, which looked very festive.
Zhao Shagen and his bride were in the inner room. The bride was sitting on the edge of the bed, while Zhao Shagen stood there dumbfounded.
Seeing Cheng Wanwan come in, Zhao Shagen greeted her and then introduced her to his wife, "This is our Zhao family's auntie, you can just call her Auntie. Auntie, this is my wife, her name is Shuiqin..."
Zhao Shagen's face was a dark reddish-brown.
Sun Shuiqin looked up and saw Cheng Wanwan's face. Her smile froze, and she managed to call out, "Auntie."
Cheng Wanwan still had a smile on her face. She handed over a piece of cloth that she had prepared: "Auntie doesn't have anything good to give you. This piece of cloth isn't big, but you can make a shoe upper or something."
These days, when people get married, the gifts from their elders are usually just a few eggs and a piece of cloth. What she gave wasn't stingy, but it wasn't particularly outstanding either.
Sun Shuiqin accepted the cloth, saying, "Thank you, Auntie."
"From now on, you two should live a good life together and try to make it prosperous and have a big, healthy son as soon as possible."
Cheng Wanwan offered her blessings and then left with her youngest son.
Zhao Sidan held a wedding cake in his hand, took a small bite, and said happily, "It's so delicious! I'll keep half to take back for my second brother."
Cheng Wanwan asked him, "Why only give it to Second Brother?"
"Because Second Brother is in a bad mood today." Zhao Sidan sighed very maturely. "Mom, let me tell you a secret, Second Brother actually likes Sister Shuiqin very much. I think Second Brother is better looking than Brother Shagen, and he's also smarter than Brother Shagen. Why doesn't Sister Shuiqin marry Second Brother?"
Cheng Wanwan said directly, "Because she doesn't like your second brother."
When you like someone, you won't care about their family background. Once you start to care about these things, it means you don't like them enough.
Zhao Shagen's family only has one son, he owns land and a spacious house, and everything in the family will belong to Zhao Shagen alone in the future. Naturally, Sun Shuiqin would choose Zhao Shagen, who has better conditions.
Cheng Wanwan cautioned, "Sidan, when you choose a wife in the future, you must keep your eyes open. Your second brother is too blind."
Zhao Sidan asked, puzzled, "But Sister Shuiqin is really pretty."
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
Alright, men are visual creatures. Even ten-year-old Si Dan is dominated by sight. It's no wonder Zhao Er Gou fell for Sun Shuiqin.
After leaving Zhao Shagen's house, the mother and son went to Zhao Fugui's house.
Compared to the lively atmosphere over there, this place seemed rather deserted. People who came to share in the festive spirit came out as soon as they entered, their faces looking quite unpleasant.
Cheng Wanwan went inside and then understood what was going on.
It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but Zhao Fugui sat on a stool in the main room, cursing and swearing: "We don't have a single grain of rice left in the house, what's the point of getting a wife? Another person means another mouth to feed, who's going to support us? We already had no food, and we're still borrowing grain everywhere to make wedding cakes. You, my wife, never do anything good... We agreed to get married at the end of the year, but you had to bring her in now. She's skinny and weak, do you think you can expect her to work in the fields and harvest rice..."
Aunt Fugui threw down what she was holding and said angrily, "You slept with Widow Zhang and made such a big scene, did I say anything? You can't even be at peace with your son getting married, are you even a father? I know you don't like my family or my niece, how about this, let Datou and his wife live separately, there's a dilapidated house over there, let the two of them live alone..."
Big Head's wife stared in shock. She had been separated from her husband on her very first day of marriage, and the villagers would probably drown her in their spittle.
She was about to speak when Zhao Datou stopped her.
Zhao Datou had long known his mother's thoughts. After his father did such a terrible thing, he still threw tantrums and acted arrogantly at home every day.
He also wanted to move out and live separately, saying, "Since Father thinks that my marriage would be a burden, then my wife and I will move out..."
Zhao Fugui was furious. He hadn't been in contact with Widow Zhang for the past few days, but his wife kept bringing it up every day, and now she was even threatening to divide the family property.
He sneered, "Fine, let's split up then. Don't even think about giving away a single acre of land. If you starve to death, don't come looking for me."
Aunt Fugui said coldly, "This family can't tolerate me either. I'll move out with Datou."
With tears welling up in his eyes, Zhao Xiaotou followed, saying, "Mom, Big Brother, I want to go too..."
Two younger girls also came out of the house hesitantly.
Aunt Fugui asked, "Without land, we won't even have a grain of rice to eat. The place over there is a dilapidated thatched hut, and we won't be able to live comfortably. Are you really willing to go with us?"
The children nearby nodded in unison.
Enraged, Zhao Fugui smashed his teacup and threw the wedding cakes on the table onto the ground, scattering them everywhere.
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