Yun Yuniang was secretly amazed; cultivating really made a difference, she couldn't even keep up with this speed. So, she focused on cutting and left the sewing to her daughter, and with the two of them working together, their speed increased dramatically. They finished sewing two sets of cotton-padded clothes in just one afternoon.
It took another busy day to finish sewing them all. Yun Yu Niang was busy making shoes again, but this time Xiao Li refused to let her do it, saying that making shoes was too hard on her hands and too tiring. She went directly to town and bought ready-made ones.
One day, with nothing to do, Xiaoli, her brother, and Chenniang Xiaojiu gathered around the stove to roast things together, such as potatoes, chestnuts, peanuts, and corn kernels.
What's even more ingenious is that Xiaoli went to the blacksmith to have two kinds of frying pans made, one rectangular and one round. Both can be used to fry things. She put corn kernels in, added some sugar, and roasted them together to make popcorn, which Xiaojiu'er and Xiaoyuan loved the most.
At this moment, Xiao Li was grilling fish and lamb skewers, directing the process while Mo Yunxiao and Chen Niang did the work. On a rack made of wire, a row of fish and lamb skewers with thin bamboo sticks sat, their aroma wafting into the air. Everyone, including Xiao Yuan, was drooling and craning their necks, waiting to start eating.
"Moon, come in quickly. Xiaoli is grilling fish inside. Come and eat with us." Yun Yuniang's voice rang out.
"Okay, Second Aunt, then I'm in for a treat today." Mo Xiaoyue appeared in the house as soon as she finished speaking.
"Xiaoli, you've been really busy lately. I've come to look for you several times, but you've never been home." Mo Xiaoyue greeted everyone and then found a stool to sit on and move around.
"Sister Xiaoyue, I've been busy setting traps lately. The mountains are about to be closed, so I need to hunt more game to make cured meat."
She's certainly busy! She's been out in the mountains all day looking for Little Black, Little Gray, and Little Spot. Of course, she's also hunted quite a bit of prey. But Little Spot and Little Black helped her hunt most of it, and Xiao Li's agility has improved significantly.
"Xiaoyue, eat more today. Xiaoli found some seasonings from somewhere, and the fish and meat she grilled smelled amazing." Mo Yunxiao said to Mo Xiaoyue with a smile while grilling.
"Alright, I guarantee you can't cook it as fast as we eat it." Because Uncle Mo was a hunter, Mo Xiaoyue's family often ate meat, but the aroma still made her a little hungry.
Once they were baked, each person received one, and then they immediately continued baking. Yunyu's mother also took out some roasted sunflower seeds and peanuts that she had grown herself and shared them. Everyone spent a lively afternoon together.
The twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month was the wedding day of my eldest cousin, Mo Xiaoya. After Mo Xiaoyue got engaged, my aunt quickly arranged a marriage for my eldest cousin, Mo Xiaoya, and even set the wedding date a few days before Mo Xiaoyue's.
Mo Qingshan and Yun Yuniang got up early to help at their uncle's house. Xiao Li got up, ate the breakfast her brother made, and then prepared to go to her uncle's house to see her older cousin. Although they weren't very close, they had grown up together, so she should still go and do her part.
They ran into Mo Xiaoyue and her younger brother Mo Yunyang on the way, so they went over together. After entering their uncle's courtyard, Mo Yunxiao, Chen Niang, and Mo Yunyang went to play with their friends, while Xiaoli took Xiaojiu and Mo Xiaoyue into Mo Xiaoya's boudoir.
Although it was called a boudoir, it was actually a room shared by the three sisters. Several young girls from the village were gathered in the room, including the sisters Mo Xiaoyu and Mo Xiaomeng, who were unusually present. The girls were chattering away, and although it was noisy, their voices were still innocent and pleasant to hear.
"Sister Xiaoya, you look so beautiful today." Xiaoli really thought her eldest cousin looked beautiful. Usually, Mo Xiaoya and her two younger sisters were always busy and looked disheveled. Their clothes were patched on top of patched, and they always kept their heads down, so people couldn't see their faces.
Today I wore face powder and tied my hair up, revealing my already pretty oval face. I also used lip rouge to redden my lips, and the light blush made my complexion look much better. Even my eyes were full of spirit.
Mo Xiaoya looked at her cousin from the next room and felt envious. She and her two younger sisters were always busy, never having a moment to rest.
Their parents weren't close to them; they only doted on their younger brother. To them, daughters were just a financial burden, used only to exchange for dowries.
Now she only hopes that her husband's family will have an easier time. She's just worried about her two younger sisters; they're still so young. After she gets married, all the housework will fall on their shoulders.
My cousin from the next room was completely different. She grew up pampered and spoiled, her clothes never had any patches. Her face was always clean, with a healthy, rosy glow. She could even wear a pretty hair accessory or two.
If only my parents could be like my second uncle and aunt.
"Xiao Li is prettier, prettier than my sister." Mo Xiaoya's envious eyes were full of sympathy.
"Today is my special day, no one can surpass you," Mo Xiaoyue teased with a smile.
Mo Xiaoya smiled faintly, took her two younger sisters' hands, and gave them candy. This candy was a gift from their grandmother; her stingy mother would rather she go out naked than give her anything.
Xiao Li didn't see any dowry, only a small, neatly packed bundle. She raised an eyebrow; her aunt was incredibly stingy. How could she let her own daughter be so shameless?
It's said that the eldest sister's husband sent a betrothal gift of 10 taels of silver. But the eldest aunt didn't prepare any dowry at all. How is the eldest cousin supposed to live after marrying into her husband's family?
Several young girls from the village brought out their dowry items, such as a few hair ornaments and a handkerchief, and then they all left one by one.
Xiao Li took out the prepared items and handed them to Mo Xiaoya. It was a piece of fabric with excellent color and texture, just enough to make a set of clothes. She then took out a simple silver hairpin and inserted it into her eldest cousin's hair.
"This was prepared by my mother. Sister, you must live a good life from now on so that you can help your two younger cousins." Xiaoli hoped that her eldest cousin would have a better life in the future.
Xiao Li had heard some things about her uncle's family from her mother. Originally, Mo Xiao Ya didn't even have a wedding dress. It was her grandmother who flew into a rage and forced her aunt to take out money to buy red fabric, which her eldest cousin then tailored herself.
So, apart from her wedding dress, my eldest cousin doesn't have any decent dowry at all. Yun Yu Niang took pity on her and, through Xiao Li, gave her a generous dowry.
After thinking for a moment, she took Mo Xiaoyue's hand and slipped the silver bracelet she was wearing onto her older cousin's wrist. "Sister Xiaoya, this is a small token of my appreciation. It's hollow and not worth much, but it can help you out if you're in trouble."
"Xiao Li, this is too precious, I can't accept it." Mo Xiaoya reached out to pull off the silver hairpin, but Xiao Li stopped her.
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