Soon it was the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month. The Qiu family got up early, and Grandma Yuling and several uncles and aunts also came early to help.
Qiu Dashan was woken up early in the morning to deal with the groom.
In fact, he just changed into a new set of clothes without patches. What was rare was that there was a red sweater under the blue coat. It was sent by his fourth aunt Li Qingju. The bride also had one.
When the groom went, he brought two kilograms of white sugar, two kilograms of brown sugar, and dozens of fruit candies.
In order to pick up the bride before noon, Qiu Dashan even went out at three in the morning. In addition to his two brothers, many cousins in the team also went with him, and even Li Qingtong went to pick up the bride as an elder.
The things in the main hall have been moved to the back room which was previously used to store miscellaneous items. Although it may not be as grand as in later generations, all the relatives and friends who are supposed to come will come, and the excitement will be there.
There were two tables set up under the tea shed, one of which was borrowed from Captain Guan's family as their two homes lived close to each other.
The dishes were not rich at all, just a small dish of pickles and a bowl of臊子面 (sauerkraut noodles), which were served as a buffet. It was not enough to fill you up, but there was a plan to provide a bowl of rice to each person who came to help.
Li Qingmei left the kitchen today, and Zhang Wanhua and her two younger sisters-in-law also started working early in the middle of the night.
Each table had a small plate of peanuts and sunflower seeds, and a few scattered fruit candies. Some of the onlookers in the team were already murmuring envy, saying that the Qiu family was quite well-off.
Uncle Qiu Yuling and his family didn't arrive until the sun came out and two groups of people had already been served at the buffet.
"Second brother, please come to the table." As soon as Old Mrs. Qiu arrived, she sat down at the table like an old noble.
Not only her, she also brought the two boys of Qiu Yuling's third uncle, Qiu Dazuo and Qiu Dayou.
The two boys are less than three years apart in age. The older one is about the same age as Qiu Yuling, and is now clamoring for candy.
"Go get some candy for your brother. It's a happy occasion, so how can we not have candy?" The old lady hugged her noisy grandson and instructed Qiu Yuling.
"It's gone. It's already so late. The kids who came before us took all the candy. This is all we got in total."
As soon as Qiu Yuling finished speaking, the old lady became unhappy. Since she couldn't afford anything, why bother to show off? Other families either didn't do it, or if they did, how could they let the people sitting at the table have nothing on the table?
Qiu Yuling had plenty of those things, but she just didn't want to listen to the old lady's orders. She would have taken the initiative to put one in her hand if it came from other families, but it was really better not to mention her grandmother and third uncle.
The bride is about to be brought back, but only the old lady has come with her two grandsons. There is no sign of her uncle, aunt, third uncle and third aunt. They really plan to just wait for the bride to show up and be done with it.
Qiu Yuling dared to guarantee that they would not even prepare a gift of money. Since she did not take herself as a dish, why would she pick up these irrelevant things and put them on the plate, just because of the false reputation of blood relationship?
"You two should sit still and be quiet. Grandma is old, so please keep your brother in check. You high-ranking officials, don't try to cause trouble for my eldest brother when he's having a good time." Qiu Yuling didn't say anything to the old lady, but turned around and started scolding her third uncle's eldest son.
Qiu Dazuo had seen how powerful his cousin was at school. Hearing this, he pulled down Qiu Dayou, who was stepping on her breasts and legs and picking at the plate, and said, "Listen to Sister Ling, go down and play."
Seeing that her words were useless and no one took her seriously, Old Mrs. Qiu reflexively wanted to find trouble with Qiu Jianshe and Li Qingmei.
"Grandma, today is a good day. Please don't make trouble. Just sit back and enjoy the fun. There's nothing you can do with Mom and Dad."
I am not Li Qingmei, who has been suppressed for so many years due to the filial piety between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. If she dares to make trouble, I will drag her out and see who is ashamed.
"Oh, your second sister-in-law has also dressed up today. You are not a bride, yet you still put oil on your hair." Yan Chunmiao and your third sister-in-law Zhao Sanhong came late arm in arm, and teased Li Qingmei as soon as they entered the door.
"I just said that we're not preparing a big banquet right now and there's nothing to be busy about, but my third sister-in-law is so anxious to get over there." Yan Chunmiao put his hands in his sleeves and never took them out.
Today is her eldest son's big day, and all the guests are visiting. Li Qingmei said with a fake smile, "Sister-in-law doesn't need to dress up that day. Your relative-in-law Ma doesn't even need to prepare a banquet."
After saying this, without even looking at the reactions of the eldest and third families, Li Qingmei muttered, "It should be soon," as she walked towards the gate.
Yes, the marriage of Uncle Qiu Yuling's daughter-in-law was done quietly, and the difficult pains had not been completely eliminated. The cadres set an example by keeping weddings and funerals simple and eliminating extravagance and waste.
The girl's family was not so bad, as they had only sent their daughter-in-law out for some fun, but her uncle's family was in a mess, as the daughter-in-law they married was like a stolen bride.
After hearing this, Yan Chunmiao felt as if everyone around him was laughing at him, and his teeth were almost broken.
Li Qingmei had just annoyed her sister-in-law and walked around the gate, but unexpectedly she saw the wedding procession returning.
There was a big red flower tied to the rocking donkey. The young wife was sitting on the donkey's back. Someone shouted, "Here she comes, here she comes."
Everyone in the yard rushed to the door to see the bride.
"Make way, make way, let the bride come in." With everyone's support, the newlyweds finally squeezed out of the crowd and took their place.
Taking oaths was not popular at the time, and the team leader Qiu Jianjun officiated the wedding.
The newlyweds first pay their respects to the great leader, then to the revolutionary masses, and finally the couple pay their respects to each other, completing the ceremony.
The bride was not shy either. She entered the new house, sat on the kang for a while, and then came out to join the rest of the guests.
There were not enough seats at the two tables at the moment, so several young men and women were squatting against the wall slurping noodles. They were the heroes of today and they also got two extra knife-handle steamed buns.
Huang Duoer only ate one bowl of food before wiping her mouth and standing up to help with the dishes.
"Go and take a rest. You don't have the right to work today." Several sisters-in-law, including Qiu's mother, would not allow the new daughter-in-law to get involved.
Old Mrs. Qiu did not act like an old noble lady. She was still waiting for the bride to kowtow to her and acknowledge her as her relative. However, Li Qingmei just led her around and pointed out everyone one by one and then gave up.
"Second sister-in-law, the new daughter-in-law doesn't even kowtow and offer tea?" Zhao Sanhong wanted to find fault with her mother-in-law.
"It's a new society now, and revolutionary couples believe in doing things in a new way. I, Yuling, made a special trip to find out and heard that people out there don't even call it kowtow anymore. They say, 'Yes, it's feudal dregs!'
Don't worry, Third Sister-in-law. When you become a mother-in-law yourself, maybe things will turn around. Bah, bah, bah, look at my bad mouth. The Party will definitely lead us to a better future, so how can we go back to the old ways? You deserve a beating, you deserve a beating!"
Li Qingmei pretended to slap her mouth and lightly protected her daughter-in-law.
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