Chapter 28: Green Vegetables Explode and Zhu Family Marries Off Their Daughter
Even after walking a long way, I could still hear the women's joking laughter.
Zheng Shi also couldn't help but smile and said, "I didn't expect my eldest daughter to be so popular."
Xu Nian also smiled cheekily: "Ah~ Being too popular is also a kind of trouble."
Zheng was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"......"
The two went to the cloth shop first as planned. Interestingly, Xu Nian chose the cloth shop opposite the previous stall.
As soon as the two arrived at the door, the waiter at the door recognized Xu Nian.
"Aren't you the boss of a cotton-padded jacket shop? Are you here to buy fabric today?"
Xu Nian looked at the young man who looked like he was facing a formidable enemy and said jokingly, "You are indeed here to buy fabrics. Don't worry, I no longer sell cotton-padded clothes. I am now selling vegetables opposite the Ke Lai Restaurant."
The young man twitched his lips and said, "You really know how to choose a place."
The shopkeeper was not here today, so the waiter took the two of them to look at various fabrics and offered very reasonable prices.
Xu Nian waved his hand and not only bought a three-foot-long red cloth for gifts, but also bought several sets of clothes for everyone in the family.
Finally, Xu Nian used her eloquence to persuade the young man to give her two feet of gray linen.
She decided to use the two feet of cloth to make a small jacket for Xiao Liuzi. Ever since Xiao Tuanzi started practicing calligraphy, his clothes had never been clean.
After leaving the cloth shop, the two did not wander around the county town, but drove back to Wanying Village.
The journey back was much more comfortable than the journey here in the morning. With the sun shining on his body, Xu Nian even felt a little drowsy.
When they got home, Zheng couldn't wait to tell everyone in the family about Xu Nian's feat, and the Xu family members all bent over with laughter.
Xu Nian packed up the things he had bought and sat aside, drinking ginger soup to warm himself up while answering questions from his family.
Looking through the hot steam from the bowl and at the smiling faces of the people in the room, Xu Nian felt very satisfied at that moment.
In the next two days, Zheng and Xu Nian went to the county town to sell vegetables. Because the amaranth was ripe, the supply was in short supply during these two days.
Even the Ke Lai restaurant across the street ordered a lot of longevity dishes.
In just a few days, the Xu family earned tens of thousands of taels of silver from selling vegetables. Wang was so happy that she hummed little songs while walking every day.
As the weather got colder, Old Man Xu and the two brothers Xu Fugui stopped their land reclamation work.
It happened to be the day when the Zhu family was marrying off their daughter, so Wang took her two daughters-in-law to help, and Xu Nian also wanted to join in the fun. In the end, the task of selling vegetables in the county town fell on the two brothers Xu Fugui and Xu Youliang.
Xu Weian was assigned by Xu Nian to make vegetable basins and shelves, and he was so busy that he had no time to rest.
Zhu Family
The head of the Zhu family is the village chief's cousin, named Zhu Hai. He married a woman named Sun in northern Xinjiang and had two sons and one daughter.
The one getting married today is his youngest daughter, Zhu Baoer. You can tell how much she is favored from her name.
Zhu Hai had saved a lot of money when he joined the army, so he prepared a dowry of six loads for his daughter, which was quite generous among the common people.
Xu Nian followed Wang into the new bride's chamber. She was still very curious about what ancient brides looked like.
To be honest, she was a little disappointed when she saw the bride.
The bride did not wear fancy clothes like in movies and TV dramas, but wore a simple red jacket and a simple red cotton skirt.
There was no delicate makeup on her face. One could only see that she had applied powder and drawn eyebrows. She didn't even wear lip balm. Fortunately, the girl had pink lips, otherwise this outfit would be quite scary.
Xu Nian only found out later that the lip balm here was called rouge flower petals, which was made from silk. Due to its expensiveness, only women of noble families could afford it.
Wang had already put on makeup for the bride.
Sun handed over a cup of brown sugar water, feeling happy.
"Thank you, sister-in-law, for coming to make up. My girl is blessed by you."
"I am not here for the right reasons. Although we have only known each other for a short time, I have a sense of our friendship."
Sun laughed out loud. It was said that he was the one who supported the chief clerk's mother. This was something that made people feel comfortable.
Zhu Baoer also looked at Xu Nian curiously for a few times. Because her wedding date was approaching, her parents didn't allow her to go outside for fresh air, so this was the first time she saw Xu Nian.
She was really pretty, not like the women from the Northern Frontier at all. If the women from the Northern Frontier were fierce and bold, then she looked peaceful and quiet.
My parents told me that she was very smart. The longevity vegetables and green vegetables that the Xu family sent to the family were all grown by her. Zhu Baoer was very curious about her, but unfortunately she was going to get married soon, so she might not have many opportunities to meet her.
Xu Nian naturally felt the vague gaze, and when he found out that it was the bride who was peeking at him, he smiled shyly at the other person.
Zhu Baoer was not panicked when she was caught, but she blushed with embarrassment when the little girl laughed at her.
And the instigator, Xu Nian, was still complacent. Look, I don’t even need to put on rouge. Now I look like a newlywed.
At this time Xu Nian heard the noise outside the house and knew that it must be the groom coming. Xu Nian and a group of little girls lay on the crack of the door to peek at today's groom.
I heard from Wang that the groom was a soldier on the border, and the two of them had been engaged since childhood. Because the soldiers' rest schedules were irregular, the wedding preparations were a bit hasty.
As expected, the groom looked like a soldier, tall and strong, with dark skin. It was obvious that he was genuinely happy today, as he hadn't clenched his lips while walking along, which made him look a bit naive.
Xu Nian had seen enough of the excitement and stood obediently behind Wang. After all, today was the Zhu family's big day. As the most beautiful girl, she must learn to hide her shortcomings and not cause trouble for the host family.
Of course, Sun noticed Xu Nian's little action and nodded secretly in her heart. The Xu family taught the young people good manners.
Meanwhile, the groom finally picked up the bride after a round of questioning by the bride's relatives and friends.
It is a custom unique to northern Xinjiang that after the groom receives the bride and pays respects to the father-in-law and mother-in-law, he has to neatly break open the prepared sheep neck bones in front of the bride. This is to show the bride that he has the strength and ability to protect his family.
Xu Nian originally thought that the sheep would be cut into pieces with a knife, but he saw the groom just break the sheep's neck with his bare hands. It seemed effortless and aroused cheers from those around him.
Xu Nian watched a lively and noisy wedding and also had her first banquet here.
The banquet was very substantial, with little attention to the presentation of the food. It was all large pieces of meat and large bowls of wine. The only two vegetarian dishes were tofu and bean sprouts.
Xu Nian heard that the meat for today's banquet was all brought back from hunting on Lingshan Mountain by the two brothers of the new bride.
Speaking of Lingshan, Xu Nian really missed those three brats. It has been almost half a month since they started school. I wonder if they will go home during this holiday.
The three people who were being missed were also thinking about Xu Nian at this time.