Chapter 416: No Red Envelopes, the Second Day of the Lunar New Year
Zhang Baiyan had no choice but to resign himself to setting the table. Zhang's mother hurried over to take a look and immediately went over to bring the food.
The first thing served was a shuangbei hotpot, with one side of the soup base being spicy and the other not. The hotpot ingredients included beef, mutton, beef offal, mutton offal, meatballs, various vegetables, and seafood. The big lobster was steamed into a large plate by Zhang's mother, and the big crab was made into steamed crab with rice flour. This was the staple food. There was also a roast duck, which is a famous snack here. However, Zhang Wanwan was not interested in chicken and duck, and she didn't even touch it, her eyes fixed on the hotpot ingredients.
Seeing her greedy look, Zhang's father quickly said, "You all should sit down, and we will start eating."
As he spoke, Zhang's father first boiled a few meatballs for Zhang Wanwan, and then boiled some beef, and put them in her bowl when they were cooked. "Eat quickly, don't starve."
"Thank you, Dad." Zhang Wanwan smiled sweetly and picked up her chopsticks directly.
Zhang Baiyan waited for a while, and seeing that Zhang's father ignored him, he sniffed, resigned himself to boiling the food, and then made some food for Qin Wenjun, and whispered: "My father is partial to us and doesn't care about us. Tell me what you want to eat and I'll boil it for you."
"I'm fine. I've almost finished eating. You should eat more." Qin Wenjun muttered softly.
Father Zhang had sharp ears. He glared at Zhang Baiyan when he heard this. "It's true that I don't like you. I still like Wenjun very much. Come on, girl, you eat too."
After saying this, Zhang's father put some beef and mutton into Qin Wenjun's bowl, gave some to Zhang's mother, and then started eating by himself.
Zhang Baiyan felt so frustrated that he dared not say anything.
Mother Zhang felt sorry for him, so she picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and said angrily, "Your father has gone backwards as he gets older. Don't bother with him. By the way, have your Uncle Qin and Aunt Qin finished eating? We could have asked them to come over to eat together. Anyway, we prepared a lot of food and we couldn't finish it all."
Qin Wenjun hurriedly said, "No need, Aunt Zhang. My parents cooked a lot of food. There was still a lot left when we left. I guess the three of them can't finish it."
"By the way, I just got some pickled vegetables and dried bamboo shoots from over there. The stewed pork bones are super delicious. Mom, you can try cooking them when you have time." Zhang Baiyan said as if he was presenting a treasure.
Zhang's mother laughed, "Okay! Then I'll try it another day. By the way, did your Aunt Qin say anything else?"
When the two heard what Zhang's mother said, they understood what she meant. Qin Wenjun felt a little embarrassed and buried her head in her food. Zhang Baiyan was very happy and said immediately, "Aunt Qin said to find a good day for our wedding. She also said that they don't understand the etiquette here, so they will listen to our family's arrangements. Mom, you decide the time. Tell us in advance so that we can prepare early."
"Oh! This is a good thing. Since you have agreed to our arrangements, it will be easy. Find the previous gentleman and look for a date. While everyone is relatively free during the New Year holidays, prepare everything first. You and Wenjun can also find time to take wedding photos and get the certificate at the same time. Your father can drive now anyway, so one or two days will not matter." Zhang's mother said excitedly. If the government was not closed now, she would have wanted the two of them to get the certificate first.
Zhang Baiyan looked at Zhang's father inquiringly, and Zhang's father did not lose face again. Instead, he pondered and said, "Then listen to your mother. You guys finish all the things first, and we'll prepare the rest. I've thought about it. We'll make your wedding a good one this time and make it lively. There's plenty of space over at the new house, so it won't be a problem to invite a few tables. By then, we can even invite your mother's and my former colleagues and friends. Who else do you want to invite? We've owed them a lot of favors before, and we have to pay them back. We won't accept red envelopes or anything like that. It doesn't matter anyway."
In the past, Zhang's father would definitely not have been able to say such bold words, but times have changed. Their family has become successful and they don't lack anything now. Naturally, Zhang's father wants to show off a little and thank those who have helped them.
Mother Zhang thought about it and nodded, "Your father is right. When I was so sick, many people helped me. At that time, no one expected us to pay back the money. After all, our family was in such a situation. Now that I think about it, I really owe a lot of favors. There is not much left after taking back the red envelopes. It is better to forget it. Of course, this is from me and your father. We don't care how you two deal with it."
Zhang Baiyan didn't say anything immediately, but looked at Qin Wenjun, "What do you think?"
Qin Wenjun smiled shyly and said, "It's fine with me. I'm still young anyway. People didn't give out many red envelopes at weddings before, so it doesn't matter if I don't accept it. But my parents will probably accept it."
The Qin family's conditions are far inferior to those of the Zhang family, and it is unrealistic not to accept a red envelope when marrying off their daughter.
Zhang's mother was understanding. "It's only natural for your parents to accept the red envelopes. Our family is a special case and cannot be mixed with others."
Qin Wenjun was grateful for Zhang's mother's understanding and felt more and more that she was lucky to have found a good family.
While the four of them were discussing the topic of marriage, Zhang Wanwan was eating enthusiastically over there and didn't even pay attention to what they were saying.
After Zhang's mother called her twice, she looked up blankly, "What's wrong?"
Mother Zhang was speechless and repeated her words again, "I said that you should accompany your brother and Wenjun to the county town or go back to the city in a few days to choose a good wedding photography studio. When they take their wedding photos, if you go back to the city, you can also look at gold and other things. Things in the county town are always not as fashionable as those in the city. You can also buy some things in the city that are not available here. Take a good look around. At most, you can start work two days later this year."
"Oh." Zhang Wanwan responded indifferently. She was not busy anyway, so she could go anywhere.
The family discussed everything and stayed up until the early morning before going back to rest.
The next day, Zhang's mother got up early in the morning to pray, and went to the end of the village to discuss the marriage of her two children with Qin's mother. She came back at almost nine o'clock. Seeing that the children were all sleeping, she did not call them and went straight to the kitchen to cook.
The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day when the Zhang family visits relatives and friends.
Zhang's mother originally wanted to take Qin Wenjun with her, but Qin's mother said that her two children were going to get married, so they had to go back to their hometown. Qin Wenjun's birth date and time were still in the old house, so Zhang's mother had no choice but to give up the idea.
The whole family packed up and went to Li Yongfu's house. Lu Cui was still the one cooking for them. Li Yongshou and others were also there, talking about how grand the Zhang family's new house was.
Li Meili was filled with envy. Zhang Wanwan and her family arrived just in time, so she immediately pulled Zhang's mother aside to ask, "Lan, how much did it cost to build this house?"
Zhang's mother was not very clear. Upon hearing this, she looked at Zhang Wanwan and said, "You should ask this girl or ask Old Zhang for details."
(End of this chapter)
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