Chapter 475 The Zhao Family Celebrates a Happy Event
During the busy autumn harvest season, Cheng Wanwan gave all the workers in the workshop a holiday.
Back in the 1990s, the school would even give students a holiday every autumn harvest so they could go home and help with the rice harvest.
Under the scorching sun, the villagers were busy in the fields, from the elderly in their sixties and seventies to children as young as four or five, all doing what they could.
That year, Cheng Wanwan had a much easier time.
With ten farmhands at her home, she didn't need to go to the fields herself for such a small task. She had Granny Ma brew some refreshing tea and deliver it to the fields every hour to prevent the busy workers from suffering heatstroke and fainting.
In five or six days, all the rice in the family was harvested, dried, threshed, and stored. After all that work was done, half a month had passed.
A full granary is the happiest thing for rural people.
The Zhao family is also having a happy occasion – the wedding of Zhao Dawang and Wang Damai.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, the two families set a wedding date for late July, which was right after the autumn harvest. They had to hurry up and prepare for the wedding.
There aren't so many customs in the countryside. It's only now that life is a bit better that we've prepared so many wedding items in advance.
Old Mrs. Zhao prepared a lot of betrothal gifts, and Mrs. Wen added some privately. Similarly, the Wang family also provided a lot of dowry, which took three or four trips to haul over in an oxcart, making it unique in the village.
On the day of the wedding, it was a very overcast day. After being hot for so long, it suddenly became cool, which made the old lady exclaim that it was very auspicious.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, you don't need to do anything today. You can be the officiant." Old Zhao took a puff of his pipe and said, "If you officiate the wedding, their two children will surely have a prosperous and thriving future."
Cheng Wanwan felt somewhat ashamed.
Even in modern times, where etiquette is not emphasized, no one would allow a widow who has lost her husband to officiate at a wedding. The Zhao family really doesn't shy away from such things at all.
She turned to look at the villagers, who all seemed to take it for granted and didn't see anything wrong with it.
It made her seem a bit superstitious and old-fashioned.
So he had no choice but to agree.
As dawn broke, the courtyard grew increasingly lively. The Zhao family even hired a festive procession with gongs and drums, adding another layer of joy to the occasion.
"The groom is finally ready!" Matchmaker Zhao pulled Zhao Dawang out of the house. "Are the other young men who went to pick up the bride dressed yet? Come on over here!"
Zhao Dawang was dressed in a bright red groom's suit. His face had probably been treated, making him look clean and handsome.
Those who went to pick up the bride together were his own brothers, Zhao Erwang, Zhao Sanniu, Zhao Sidan, and Zhao Tiezhu from the same clan. The four of them were a pair, an auspicious number.
Once everyone had arrived, we set off. The two houses weren't far apart; we could walk there.
The wedding procession led the way, followed by a group of people playing drums and gongs, then villagers, and countless lively children.
Last time, Zhao Ergou got married, which was considered a wedding of a wealthy family. This time, however, it was a family celebration in the village, which was completely different from the previous one, and the villagers felt more involved.
Cheng Wanwan sat in the courtyard, listening to the lively sounds gradually fade away. She couldn't stay still, so she went to help in the back.
Wen was Zhao Dawang's biological mother, so she wasn't made the head chef today. Instead, someone from the village who knew how to cook large pot meals was invited to take charge of the cooking. Wen and Sun were both helping out.
The Zhao family's meal was also very lavish. Although there were only six dishes, they included fish and meat, and the combination was excellent. If Cheng Wanwan's banquet was the best, then the Zhao family's was the second best.
"Sister-in-law, what brings you here? It's smoky in here, why don't you go sit outside?" Wen Shi came over and took the work from Cheng Wanwan's hands. "You're the officiant today, you can't get your clothes dirty."
Cheng Wanwan said helplessly, "When Er Gou got married, you were busy from morning till night. How could I hide outside and slack off? Picking vegetables is no big deal."
Sun leaned closer and said, "After Dawang gets married, Chunhua will be next. Sister-in-law, could you help introduce Chunhua to a good match? I will remember your kindness for the rest of my life."
"Whether it's good or not, it has to be Chunhua's own preference." Cheng Wanwan deftly picked vegetables. "The old lady knows what's going on, and her third aunt is just waiting."
Sun opened her lips but didn't speak.
It wasn't that she didn't trust the old lady's judgment; the main problem was that the old lady only knew people from the village, and her daughter went to the city to earn money every day. She wanted her daughter to marry a city man, but she didn't dare to say it out loud for fear of being ridiculed.
"Oh, everyone's here." The kitchen curtain was lifted, and two people walked in. They were Aunt Zhao and Aunt Zhao Er. They said with smiles, "We came here early on purpose to help out."
Now, Chen Erniu and Lin Yu'er both work in Dahe Village. The two sisters-in-law are getting closer and closer to the Zhao family, and they come in to wash and chop vegetables as if they're old friends.
The conversation drifted back to the topic of children's marriages. While kneading dough, Aunt Zhao said, "The Chen family has a distant nephew who is quite good. He's tall and strong, and most importantly, he's capable. He runs a small shop in the city and earns quite a bit each month. Why don't we propose him to Chunhua?"
Sun was somewhat tempted, but then she thought, if that young man is really that good, why not introduce him to her own daughter? Erniu isn't even engaged yet.
She forced a smile and said, "I'm not involved in Chunhua's marriage anymore. The old lady said it's all up to Chunhua herself."
Aunt Zhao slapped her thigh: "Oh dear, how can you listen to a little girl about such an important life decision? Let me tell you, that young man is really great. If you miss this opportunity, you won't find someone as good as him even if you search with a lantern..."
The more attentive she was, the more uneasy Mrs. Sun felt.
Having learned her lesson the hard way, she resolutely refused to get involved this time, pushing all the blame onto the old lady.
Cheng Wanwan's eyes showed approval; Sun had finally made progress.
At the kitchen door, Chunhua lingered for a long time, holding a bowl of vegetables. Inside, they kept talking about her marriage, and she really didn't want to go in, for fear of being besieged by her aunts.
She put down the vegetable basin, picked up two wooden buckets, and prepared to go to the well to fetch water.
There's a happy occasion at home today, so there's a lot of water being used. We've already used five vats of water this morning, so she needs to hurry and fetch a few more buckets to keep on hand.
"Chunhua, you leave it, I'll do it." Afu ran over from somewhere. "How can a girl like you do such rough work?"
"With your small frame, can you really do it?" Chunhua was very skeptical. "Forget it, I'll do it. You go and do something else."
Afu immediately became anxious: "Who said I'm small? I'm very strong! Move aside, give me the carrying pole, and I'll carry two buckets of water for you to see!"
As the two were arguing, Aunt Zhao came out of the kitchen, saw Chunhua at a glance, and immediately said, "Hey, Chunhua, come to Auntie's, Auntie has something to tell you."
Chunhua knew exactly what her aunt was going to say; she had overheard everything outside and didn't dare to go forward.
She mumbled, "Auntie, let's talk about it later. The water tank is almost empty, I need to go fetch water quickly."
"You silly girl, why are you running away!" Aunt Zhao strode over to you. "Auntie has some great news to tell you. The Chen family has a distant nephew, a year older than you, who's incredibly capable and is currently looking for a wife. I think you two are a perfect match, otherwise..."
He was only halfway through his sentence.
Suddenly, Afu cried out in surprise, "Oh my god, this wooden bucket is so heavy! My feet are all swollen from being crushed!"
He had just been carrying a wooden bucket when, somehow, it hit his foot, and he started jumping around in place, clutching his foot.
"I told you you couldn't do it," Chunhua immediately changed the subject. "You rest over there, I need to hurry and get some water."
Before Aunt Zhao could say anything, she picked up the bucket and ran away quickly.
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