In the Jiao family's courtyard, the sound of gongs and drums filled the air. Large red "double happiness" characters were pasted on the doors and walls. For a farming family, getting married was a big event, especially for the village head's family. When his son got married, the whole village would gather together, making it a very lively occasion.
After leaving Aunt Liu's house, Liang Shuyan hurried to the village head's house. Jiao Shi saw Liang Shuyan at the door, greeted her with a smile, and grabbed Liang Shuyan's hand.
"Auntie, you've finally arrived! I knew it was a happy occasion for the Liang family, and you must have been running around to two places, so I told your wife to come over when you were done. I didn't expect you to come so soon!"
Wearing a royal blue robe with a large red flower tied around her neck, Qiu Dong bowed respectfully to Liang Shuyan and said, "Hello, Auntie!"
Liang Shuyan was surprised to find that Qiu Dong had become more and more sensible. He was no longer as puzzled as before, and a smile appeared on his face. It seemed that he was quite satisfied with this marriage.
"Are you happy in autumn and winter?"
Autumn and Winter nodded vigorously and walked to the other side.
Jiao led Liang Shuyan into the main room and pointed to the furnishings, saying, "Look, time is short, and I haven't had time to change the sheets on the kang (heated brick bed). I just washed them, but the paper decorations on the windows are all newly bought. What do you think?"
Liang Shuyan nodded: "Hmm, not bad. You're about to become a mother-in-law, and you seem happy. By the way, why didn't you take a good look at yourself? Everyone from the village is here, and Jinxia has seen them before. The main thing is to see you as the mother-in-law!"
Jiao lowered her head shyly: "What's so interesting about someone like me? I wear coarse linen clothes all day long. But now that my children are married and we're all family, I'm truly happy!"
Liang Shuyan pulled Jiao to sit on a small wooden stool, patted her on the shoulder and said, "While there aren't many guests yet, let me help you tidy up. I guarantee it will impress your relatives!"
Jiao stammered, "You have this skill? But your second daughter-in-law is capable; she makes herself look very beautiful. Being beautiful is one thing, but the main thing is that she knows how to take care of herself."
In her previous life, Liang Shuyan would often sit in front of the mirror all day, styling her hair and changing into a nice outfit—something that would make her stand out. But since coming to this place, she hasn't had much time to do that anymore.
Following the popular style of ancient times, she styled Jiao's hair into a bun, adorned with a dark green jade hairpin. Pointing to a set of vermilion clothes in the wardrobe, she said, "Wear this set. It will brighten your complexion and make you look especially young. Wouldn't it be nice to be a young mother-in-law?"
Jiao's face flushed red, and she said shyly, "My husband bought this for me. I just thought the color was too bright and didn't dare to wear it, so it's been sitting there. Since you say it looks good, then I'll wear it!"
When Jiao put on that outfit, she indeed looked much younger. Immediately, Liang Shuyan laughed heartily: "Alright, now this is the mother of autumn and winter, a proper wife!"
People were arriving in the courtyard one after another, and the tents were full of people. Li Zheng glanced at Jiao Shi and cursed, "You're all so old, and you still know how to cause trouble. Your son is getting married, what are you so smug about?"
"This...isn't this what Aunt Dashan made for me?"
Li Zheng didn't say anything. Old Wu was the manager and was in charge of entertaining the guests. Li Zheng handed some wine to Old Wu.
"Divide it evenly. The main thing is to drink well, but don't let anyone drink too much and cause trouble. You handle it. Today I'll just be a hands-off manager."
Old Wu laughed heartily: "Lizheng, don't worry. You usually manage things for us all. Today, let me, Old Wu, manage things for you too. But don't worry, I, Old Wu, will do my best!"
Although there are bound to be some gossips about Li Zheng in the village, most people are still grateful to him. Whenever someone in the village has a big or small matter, Li Zheng is always the first to rush to help take care of things, and he cares about them even more than his own family matters.
After giving some instructions, the sound of gongs and drums was heard. A crowd gathered at the entrance, and someone shouted, "Oh my, the bride has arrived! Come and see!"
Zhao snorted coldly: "What bride? How new is she? She's still a divorcee."
Liang Shuyan glanced at Zhao Shi, her eyes fixed on Zhao Shi in front of her. She strode over and pulled Zhao Shi over, saying, "What exactly do you want? You caused trouble at Jin Xia's house earlier, and now you're causing trouble at the village head's house. Just because Jin Wang can't control you now doesn't mean no one can."
Zhao pushed Liang Shuyan away and retorted, "What? Do you think you can control me? Although you are my sister-in-law, you are far from being able to control me. Even Jinwang listens to me, let alone a widow like you!"
Zhao directly attacked her as a widow?
Not wanting to embarrass herself in front of so many people, Liang Shuyan then said, "Really? If I remember correctly, you seemed to have gone out with that person the night before last, and you even passed by my sorghum field, and I think there was also..."
Zhao hadn't expected that this woman had seen what she was doing, and seemed to know quite a lot. Clutching her clothes, she said fearfully, "You, you're talking nonsense. There are so many people here. If Jin Wang finds out, will I even be able to live?"
Liang Shuyan deliberately turned her body away: "If Jin Wang finds out, what does this have to do with me? I'm warning you, if you dare to cause any more trouble here, I won't mind announcing this to everyone!"
Zhao took two steps back and suddenly said, "Don't always try to expose my dirty secrets. You have your own dirty secrets too. What won't your brother say with that big mouth?"
"Alright, I don't mind. Let's have a contest and see whose words the villagers and these relatives are more willing to believe?"
Zhao fell completely silent. Indeed, Liang Shuyan's reputation was much better than before. Not to mention that she had helped the villagers when they were fleeing famine. Now that her cold noodle business was booming, even the county magistrate's son came to her house. Everyone in the village was eager to curry favor with her. Who would believe her now?
In the kitchen, several women from the village were banging on the chopping board, making a clanging sound. Jiao walked in with a smile: "Thank you all for your help. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know where to find so many kind people to help me!"
The plump auntie, always quick with a tongue, waved her arm and said, "Oh dear, what are you saying? Everyone has to be a mother-in-law at some point."
"Yes, yes, my old man died. Thanks to Li Zheng's help in calling out, we were able to bury him smoothly. It's only right that we did this."
At noon, it was time for the maternal uncle's family to be dressed in red and colorful decorations. After a burst of gongs and drums, a large group of people entered. The man leading the group said, "Oh, my good nephew, your uncle has finally waited for this day!"
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