Chapter 397 Zhao Ergou's Wedding Ceremony
No sleep all night.
Zhao Ergou, the groom, couldn't sleep, Cheng Wanwan, the elder, couldn't sleep either, and the women who came to help in the yard couldn't sleep either.
All night long, the women in the courtyard were chopping, washing, and preparing vegetables. Before dawn, all the vegetables were ready, packed separately in large bowls, basins, and buckets, and placed next to the stove, ready to be cooked at any time.
Old Man Zhao and Old Woman Zhao took a short nap for an hour before getting up to help. The old woman went to each household to borrow bowls, plates, and chopsticks, while the old man asked each household to move their tables and chairs over. Since Cheng Wanwan's yard couldn't hold them all, they were set up on the large flat ground in front of the soap workshop. With hundreds of tables set up and benches added, the scene was quite spectacular.
"Dawang, go fetch some firewood!" Zhao Youyin ordered, carrying a large pot on his shoulder. "Erwang, don't just sit around either, we're running out of water, go fetch some!"
He carried the pot to the stove and prepared to start steaming rice. His task today was to be in charge of the staple food for thousands of people, including white rice and millet rice. He would be steaming at least dozens of batches in two large pots at the same time, which was no easy task.
Zhao Youcai's task was to greet guests. When guests came to the door with gifts, he was responsible for collecting the gifts and putting them into the warehouse, while Manager Yan was responsible for recording the gift list. The two worked together.
"Grandma Zhu, why are you here so early?" Zhao Youcai greeted Grandma Zhu with a smile. "It's not even dawn yet, why don't you sleep a little longer?"
Old Mrs. Zhu handed over a cloth bag, which was the wedding gift prepared by the Zhu family: a piece of red cloth and twenty red eggs. That would have been enough, but she secretly asked Hu Zi to go to the city to buy a longevity lock to give to the newlyweds, hoping they would have a son soon.
After presenting her gift, the old lady smiled and said, "Grandma Dashan invited the whole village to a banquet. With over a hundred tables of guests, how can we possibly manage? Although I'm old, I can still do some work. Helping to serve the dishes will save Grandma Dashan some trouble, won't it?"
As she spoke, the old lady went into the kitchen, where many women had already come in, each doing their own job and busy with their own tasks.
Wu Huiniang was the head chef, responsible for assigning tasks to the kitchen helpers, who in turn assigned miscellaneous tasks, and everyone worked together in an orderly manner to prepare for the lunch.
Ms. Wen is also quite skilled; she's the one who makes all the stir-fried dishes.
Sun and several other women were outside watching the whole roasted lamb. Forty or fifty lambs were slaughtered and roasted over a fire. This way of eating was something they had never heard of or seen before, and they were all very curious about it.
Inside the house, Cheng Wanwan was also busy.
Together with Matchmaker Zhao, she helped Zhao Ergou put on his groom's attire. The bright red groom's suit fit him perfectly, and with the red hat on his head, his whole demeanor changed instantly. Calling him Ergou again would be like desecrating this outfit.
Zhao Ergou seemed very nervous, unsure of what to do with his hands and feet.
"Oh dear, where did those young men who accompanied the bride go?" Matchmaker Zhao stepped out of the house and shouted at the top of her lungs, "San Niu, Si Dan, Da Wang, Er Wang, you guys come here quickly and change your clothes!"
According to the custom of this dynasty, when the groom's side goes to fetch the bride, all unmarried brothers from his own family are required to accompany him, in order to demonstrate the groom's sincerity in proposing marriage.
Four sets of outfits were prepared in advance, all in red, but without hats. The four of them stood side by side behind the groom, instantly creating the impression of a wedding procession.
At this time, the sky gradually brightened, and the sedan chair bearers carried the bridal sedan chair in. The horse from the family, after being decorated, was also brought over, and a procession with gongs, drums, and horns gathered at the door.
"With music and fanfare, we've made our way there, and it's almost time for the auspicious hour." Matchmaker Zhao said with a joyful expression, "Groom, get ready to mount your horse."
Cheng Wanwan tied a big red flower on Zhao Ergou's head and said softly, "Jingcheng, from today onwards, you are a real adult. Now that you have your own little family, you have to take on more responsibilities. Go and bring Yingying back."
Zhao Ergou suddenly knelt down and kowtowed three times to Cheng Wanwan before getting up and walking outside.
He mounted his horse and rode at the front, followed by his four younger brothers, then the bridal sedan chair, and then a procession of gongs and drums.
As soon as the groom stepped out of the house, firecrackers began to be set off at the gate of the courtyard. Amidst the crackling of the firecrackers, chants were sung and drums were beaten. With great fanfare, they headed towards Hekou County.
After traveling for more than an hour, we finally arrived at Hekou County.
The sun was high in the sky, casting golden rays as the grand wedding procession walked under the sunlight, attracting much attention.
Passersby stopped and began to discuss the matter.
"Today is a happy occasion for the Cao family. This must be the Cao family's son-in-law."
"I heard the groom is Lady Sui's own son. Tsk tsk, the Cao family can be said to have one foot in the officialdom."
"So what if Lady Sui is a seventh-rank official? She's still a peasant woman, and her son is a peasant too. Old Master Cao is too heartless to marry his daughter off to the village to suffer."
"But the groom is quite good-looking, not some ugly duckling."
"..."
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, the wedding procession finally stopped in front of the Cao residence.
The Cao family mansion was decorated with extra festive decorations. The entire gate had been repainted, and the vermilion paint reflected the sunlight. The vermilion gate and green tiles made it very grand.
The procession had just stopped when Matchmaker Wang brought out the young master of the Cao family.
The Cao family only had one male heir. With his elder sister getting married, this younger brother had to do many things.
The groom sits on a tall horse. At this moment, the bride's younger brother needs to loudly recite a poem called "Please Dismount" to ask the groom to get off. Then, he will give the groom a test. After passing the test, he will urge the bride repeatedly. Only then will the bride leave the house and get into the sedan chair.
"She emerges gracefully from the Orchid Pavilion, her steps leading to the Yangtai Terrace. Even the governor, whose wealth is as heavy as a thousand pieces of gold, must dismount in the end."
Despite some stumbling and difficulty, young Master Cao finally managed to memorize the poem.
Zhao Ergou dismounted immediately, standing tall and elegant, a truly dashing groom.
Matchmaker Wang approached young master Cao and whispered a reminder: "It's time to ask the question."
The questions were just ordinary ones, which the young master had memorized beforehand. It was just a formality and not meant to be difficult.
Young Master Cao's eyes darted around, then he suddenly put his hands on his hips, lifted his long robe, spread his legs, and said aggressively, "I can't remember those silly questions. You crawl between my legs, and if you do, I'll acknowledge you as my brother-in-law. Come on!"
The matchmaker was shocked and exclaimed, "Young master, you mustn't! Today is a joyous occasion..."
"Shut up!" Young Master Cao shoved the matchmaker away. "This is the Cao family home, and I am Young Master Cao. I'm the one who calls the shots here! Hmph, Zhao Jingcheng, you took so much money from the Cao family, and we're just going to let you crawl through here? You wouldn't dare, would you?"
The eight-year-old young master of the Cao family raised his chin, his small eyes filled with anger.
Last night, he heard from his mother that his father had given a lot of the Cao family's wealth to his eldest sister as dowry, and a lot of the Cao family's money had become the Zhao family's money. That money should have belonged to him, but it all went into Zhao Jingcheng's pocket. He couldn't swallow this insult and had to make this Zhao guy look bad in public!
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