Lin Fengnian honestly said, "Uncle, why would I lie to you? These books were written by government officials who are in charge of agricultural affairs. I read them last year and even tried to implement some of the methods described in them."
Another farmer looked surprised: "Hey, I hear those scholars reading classical Chinese all the time, I never thought there were books specifically for farming. I'll go back and try making this fertilizer. If it's a good year, tell us what else you read in that book."
Lin Fengnian didn't hold back and began to share some agricultural knowledge and skills he had read in books, speaking very earnestly.
"The book says that different fertilizers have different effects. For example, the fertilizer I'm applying now is meant to be used seven days after transplanting to make the seedlings grow better... Also, the timing of fertilization is important. It's generally best to fertilize in the morning or evening because the soil is moist then, allowing the fertilizer to..."
The villagers listened very attentively, and soon a small circle had formed. The more they listened, the more credible it seemed to them, because they did many of these things in their daily lives, and the crops they grew in this way did indeed grow well and in large quantities. They hadn't understood why before, but they had simply followed their habits and experiences.
Now that I hear it, I realize that's how it works! Hey, I didn't realize there were things I hadn't noticed, and there are even better ways to make things grow better in the ground.
The day quickly arrived at the seventh day of the fourth month. On the day before, Song Anxin sent her servants to Old Madam Song's place to help with the preparations. Of course, Lin Fengshou also went, as he and Lin Fenghe were going to join Song Anbang in welcoming the bride the next day.
Early in the morning, Song Anxin and her family, including Brother Lin and Sister-in-law Lin, prepared to go to the county to attend a wedding banquet. Because Song Mei was pregnant, the carriage traveled very slowly.
It was past 11:30 AM when we arrived at Grandma Song's house. The courtyard was filled with a joyful and lively atmosphere. Grandma Song, dressed in a brand-new outfit, was greeting the guests at the door. Most of the guests had already arrived.
As Song Anxin and her large group entered the house, Sister-in-law Lin exclaimed in congratulations, "Aunt Song, congratulations! Anbang has passed the imperial examination and married a wife. Your family is truly blessed with a string of happy events. I think there will be more good news to come, and we'll be able to come and celebrate the arrival of your grandson again soon!"
Grandma Song smiled broadly, "Oh dear, then I'll take your kind words to heart, Dongzi's mother. Come on in and have a seat."
Song Meilin Fengnian said, "Congratulations, Grandma."
Lin Daxi, Erxi, and Dongzi also chimed in, "Congratulations, Grandma Song!"
Big and Little Grass said excitedly, "Grandma, Grandma, congratulations!"
"Alright, alright, come in and sit down, Feng Yao is over there too," Grandma Song said with a smile.
Today also happened to be Lin Fenghe and Lin Fengyao's day off, and Lin Fengyao rushed over as soon as he saw them.
"Mom, Uncle, Aunt...you're finally here! My uncle looks so impressive today, you didn't see it..."
Lin Fengyao saw that they kept talking non-stop, and Lin Erxi and Dongzi joined in. The group of them together made a lot of noise, which made Song Anxin, Brother Lin and Sister-in-law Lin look helpless and smile.
Soon after, the sound of gongs and drums came from outside, and Anfu hurriedly came to report:
"Madam, Madam, it's Uncle's wedding procession. They'll be arriving at the courtyard gate soon."
"Quickly, prepare big firecrackers to welcome the bride!" the old lady said excitedly.
Song Anxin helped the old lady towards the courtyard gate, while Lin Fengyao and Dongzi Erxi, along with Da Xiaocao and Xiao Cao, ran faster than rabbits, shouting as they went.
"Oh, the bride is here..."
The firecrackers crackled and popped as the wedding procession arrived. Song Anbang dismounted from his tall horse, kicked open the sedan chair door, and led the bride across the brazier. The ceremony of bowing to the ancestors and serving tea followed.
After being led to the bridal chamber, the ceremony was complete. Everyone happily escorted the bride to the bridal chamber, and Song Anbang, amidst the cheers of the crowd, lifted the veil. Sun Lixi's rosy face appeared before everyone. Wearing a bridal crown, she lowered her head and smiled, her eyes like pools of spring water looking at Song Anbang before immediately lowering her head shyly. Song Anbang had never seen Lixi like this before, and his eyes widened in astonishment.
"Wow, Auntie is so pretty! But Uncle, why are you cross-eyed when Auntie is so beautiful?" Lin Fengyao asked.
"Hahaha......"
The bridal chamber erupted in laughter.
"Feng Yao, what are you saying? That's not cross-eyed, that's a loving gaze. You're really ruining the mood," Lin Erxi said.
Song Anbang blushed instantly and stammered, "I...I'll go to the front yard to greet the guests."
After saying this, he seemed to flee in panic, which caused the women to burst into laughter again.
"Oh dear, even the groom seems embarrassed."
Sun Lixi smiled broadly, feeling incredibly happy now that she had truly married Brother Anbang.
Some scholars quickly caught up with Song Anbang and said one after another.
"Brother Song is so lucky to have married Master Sun's only daughter."
"Indeed, with such a beautiful bride, Brother Song, would you still be willing to go to Liuzhou!"
"Brother Song, you've won first place in the imperial examination and married a beautiful bride. No way, we must drink until we drop tonight!"
"......."
These were all classmates and friends of Song Anbang from the academy. Even some students who were only nodding acquaintances came to offer their congratulations. Song Anbang had topped the provincial examination and was very likely to become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination) after the autumn provincial examination next year, so everyone was eager to make his acquaintances.
By noon, no one else came to see the bride. Everyone gradually went to the courtyard to take their seats. Song Anxin stayed by Sun Lixi's side, helping to deal with some of the women.
“Anxin, no one’s coming. Why don’t you go to the courtyard and join us for a meal?” Sun Lixi said.
Song Anxin teased her, "How come you're now Anbang's wife, but you still call me Sister Anxin? Shouldn't you change how you address me?"
Sun Lixi smiled shyly and called out, "Sister."
"That's right, here, take this." Song Anxin placed a wooden box in her hand.
When Sun Lixi opened it, she found it was a set of red gold and jade inlaid jewelry. It was extremely exquisite. Red gold was already precious enough, but the inlaid jade was even more translucent, clearly a top-quality product.
Sun Lixi quickly pushed it back, saying, "Sister, you absolutely mustn't. I can't accept something so precious from you."
Song Anxin held her hand and said with a smile, "This is a gift for my sister-in-law, so you can't return it to me. Anbang will definitely pass the imperial examination and become an official in the future. As the wife of an official, you can't do without a set of decent jewelry. Li Xi, you can keep this. It will be good for you to deal with other ladies and young women in the future."
Although Master Sun was a teacher, he was upright and never accepted bribes from his students. Therefore, his family was not very wealthy, and Sun Lixi's dowry was probably not particularly lavish. This was taken from her private treasury, and it was something the royal family had bestowed upon her last time. It would be good for Sun Lixi to save face when Song Anbang passed the imperial examinations and went to the capital.
Sun Lixi was deeply moved: "Thank you, Sister. I will definitely be a good wife and assist Brother Anbang in the future."
"That's right. I'm going to take my seat now. I'll have someone bring you some food later."
Seeing that she had accepted it, Song Anxin went to the front yard with peace of mind.
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