Chapter 20 The Wedding
A few days later, the house was aired out and ready to be moved into.
However, Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia and the others planned to move a couple of days later because Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei were getting married.
They had registered their marriage before, but hadn't held a wedding banquet yet. People at this stage are more accepting of common-law marriages, and only after holding a banquet can they be considered married.
So Ning Xuan and her family planned to move into the new house first after Liu Jun's wedding, and then they would move in later. Perhaps they didn't want to steal the spotlight from the bride and groom.
Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei had been planning their wedding for a long time and had started saving money and tickets well in advance.
Both of them were the eldest sons in their families, and their families couldn't offer much help. They simply wrote a letter to their families to inform them of the wedding, but no one from their families came. However, they did send some gifts.
On this day, Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei didn't have any new clothes. They each made a shirt and wore their best pair of pants.
Huang Xiaomei didn't have any cosmetics; she just applied face cream and then pressed her lips with red paper, making them appear even redder.
She smeared red paper on her face and then wiped it lightly, adding a blush to Huang Xiaomei's already tanned face. In addition, Huang Xiaomei's face was already a little red from shyness because she was getting married, so she looked very pretty.
The wedding invited the brigade leader, Zhou Aiguo, who usually took good care of the educated youth compound, and two elderly women to attend. They would give gifts and eat at the banquet. Also invited were all the educated youth from the compound.
Then other villagers would come to join in the fun, but they wouldn't give gifts or eat at the feast; however, they could grab some melon seeds and peanuts to eat.
The two of them were quite particular about the ceremony. Liu Jun specially borrowed an oxcart from the brigade, then picked up Huang Xiaomei from the educated youth compound. The two of them then circled around the brigade before returning to their new house next door.
A red double happiness character was pasted on both the main gate and the bedroom door of the new house.
There wasn't much furniture in the room. Besides the things the two of them had moved from the educated youth settlement, they had also added a small double-door wardrobe and a dining table. That was all the furniture they had.
Both of them were sent-down youth, and deep down they didn't want to stay in the countryside for long. Huang Xiaomei originally didn't want a wardrobe, thinking it would be a waste, but Liu Jun thought that since he didn't have the dowry he had imagined for his wife, he could still get a wardrobe made.
At Liu Jun's insistence, the two of them finally added a small wardrobe. But it has to be said that with the wardrobe, the atmosphere of family life really came through.
The wedding was officiated by Zhou Jianguo. The two recited quotations in front of the leader's portrait and became revolutionary partners.
Then everyone applauded and started egging Liu Jun on to confess when he got together with Huang Xiaomei.
Liu Jun, of course, didn't tell the truth. He said that during the work process, the two developed a mutual appreciation for each other, and as they got to know each other better, they decided to establish a revolutionary bond, thus silencing the jeering crowd.
After the excitement subsided and the melon seeds and peanuts were distributed, the onlookers left after seeing the bride and groom and the ceremony.
Those who were invited and gave a gift sat down to prepare for the meal.
The meal was very simple, with only two tables set up. Each table had only two meat dishes: one was braised pork, which Liu Jun had asked Lu Xun to buy, and the other was scrambled eggs.
Then came the vegetables grown on the educated youth's private plots. Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei originally wanted to charge the educated youth, but everyone said it wasn't necessary and that it was just their contribution to the couple's wedding.
There were six dishes in total, including meat, vegetables, and soup. The staple food was a combination of rice and cornbread. Although it was quite simple, it was already very good for this time of year.
Whether they were educated youth or brigade leaders, their meals were usually lacking in oil and fat, so everyone was very satisfied with this meal.
The gifts given by the educated youth were bought by pooling money and coupons together. They bought a fountain pen, a notebook, a box of face cream, and two towels.
The captain and his men gave them eggs laid by their own chickens. Although they weren't expensive by modern standards, they were a very presentable gift at the time.
After finishing their meal, Ningxuan and the others stayed behind to help clear the dishes and clean up.
After everyone finished their work, they said goodbye to the bride and groom, giving the newlyweds back their time together.
A simple and unpretentious yet deeply moving wedding has come to an end.
Ning Xuan felt that attending such a wedding was quite comfortable, unlike the tiring experience she had in modern times.
Yes, Ning Xuan felt that in the past, when she attended weddings, not only were the bride and groom tired, but the guests who came to eat were also tired. They had to listen to the emcee say all sorts of things, then wait for the newlyweds to go through the procedures, and then wait for the hotel staff to slowly serve the dishes.
In contrast, if you go to the countryside, there aren't many procedures. You can basically eat as soon as you arrive. Without so many complicated procedures, it's not as tiring.
Three days later, Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei made a special trip back to the educated youth compound. Everyone got together for a simple meal, just like usual, as a way of going through the traditional homecoming ritual.
After Huang Xiaomei returned to her parents' home, they moved all their belongings and food.
Ning Xuan and the others then moved to the newly built courtyard.
In addition to the four rooms, the courtyard also has a smaller house that serves as a kitchen. Ning Xuan and the others had already discussed cooking together.
Because the toilets and wells at the educated youth compound were located inside the courtyard, even though they weren't very far away, it wasn't very convenient for them to go back and use them after they moved out. So, a separate dry toilet, a shower room, and a well were also built in the small courtyard.
Although it's still a dry toilet, fewer people use it. They cover it with wood ash every time they use the toilet and clean it regularly. It's still better than many people sharing it.
Lu Xun and Zhou Zhipeng went out of their way to collect a lot of stones for the bathroom floor, then knocked them into the floor to make it as flat as possible, so that it would look quite nice.
Although the courtyard was small, the production brigade was still very kind and allocated private plots to them based on the number of people.
Before Ning Xuan and the others even moved here, they started planting vegetables in the field. Now the vegetables are sprouting, and soon they will be able to eat the vegetables they grew themselves, without having to go back to the educated youth compound to get them.
Lu Xun's idea was that the two rooms on the sides, which were closer to the wall, would be occupied by Lu Xun and Zhou Zhipeng, the two boys, while Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia, the two girls, would live in the two rooms in the middle.
No one objected, and the rooms for the group were decided, from left to right: Lu Xun, Ning Xuan, Xu Jiajia, and Zhou Zhipeng.
On the day they moved in, the group treated the brigade leader and the educated youth from the educated youth compound to a housewarming banquet.
Although Lu Xun and the others had the ability to prepare a better banquet, they did not do so.
One reason was that they didn't want people to compare their housewarming party to Liu Jun's wedding banquet a few days ago. Another reason was that moving out was already eye-catching enough, so it was better to keep a low profile. Therefore, this housewarming party consisted of one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a mixed stir-fry of half meat and half vegetable, which was quite good.
After the housewarming party ended and the cleaning was finished, Ning Xuan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) where she was all alone, rolling around comfortably.
Ah, it's been so long, I finally have my own private space!
Because the walls were made of mud, they were prone to crumbling. Ning Xuan and the others had prepared old newspapers beforehand, and after checking them to make sure there was no unsuitable content, they used them to stick on the wall, specifically on the wall next to the earthen bed.
To save firewood, the kang (heated brick bed) in their single dormitory was made relatively small, and Ning Xuan also installed a mosquito net.
When she first arrived, the dormitory for educated youth used mugwort to repel mosquitoes, but she was still bitten by mosquitoes from time to time. Sometimes she would scratch herself until she bled in the middle of the night. Later, after connecting to the modern world, she was able to take out the mosquito net and use it, and her sleep quality improved a lot.
In short, having my own room after moving out has greatly improved my comfort level.
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