Chapter 48: Marriage Arrangement
Fish soup, steamed oysters and scallops, plus a stir-fried vegetable, today's dinner is considered very "cheap" in the eyes of others.
The Zhang family's door was rarely open, so Zhang Ze was not afraid of being seen by others. He brought the last dipping sauce to the table.
"Come, eat, eat!"
The whole family looked at the scallops and oysters curiously, and finally they all drank the fish soup and ate the fish.
After all, this fish soup is milky white and has a strong oily aroma, and it looks delicious at first glance.
Zhang Huihong took a sip of the soup first. Just this one sip made her look surprised: "Aze, this sea fish soup tastes so good?"
She watched Zhang Ze making the fish soup. Apart from pouring a little too much oil, he only added some salt and sugar, plus ginger and finally chopped green onions.
This pot of fish soup made so simply was not only free of fishy smell but also very fresh, which really surprised her.
"It's mainly because the fish is good. The red sea bream itself is smooth and tender, and after the blood is drained, there is basically no fishy smell. Chefs in state-owned restaurants all do this, so the fish they cook is also very delicious."
"It's not like in our countryside where we just cook seafood. Who can stand the fishy smell?"
Zhang Ze said that he also drank some fish soup. It tasted okay, but unfortunately there were too many things missing, including seafood mushrooms, tofu, and pepper.
Zhang Wu and his companions praised the food again and again while eating. They felt that they had discovered a new world today: it turned out that sea fish could be cooked so deliciously.
So they became curious about the oysters and scallops that they had originally declined to eat, wondering if these things might also be delicious.
Zhang Wu immediately picked up an oyster, picked up the full oyster meat with chopsticks, and put it directly into his mouth.
As soon as he took a bite, his little face wrinkled and he spit the oyster meat directly into the bowl.
"Bah, bah, bah, brother, your oyster is not delicious at all."
"Who told you it doesn't taste good? It's normal for it to be tasteless when steamed. I specially prepared a dipping sauce here." Zhang Ze also picked up one with a smile, picked up the oyster meat, dipped it in the sauce, and then put it into his mouth.
The taste is a bit like braised pork, soft with a little chewiness, tender and juicy with a slight milky flavor.
Seeing this, Zhang Wu picked up the oyster meat again and dipped it in the sauce. After he put it into his mouth again, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Hey, it tastes good all of a sudden."
When sisters Zhang Qian and Zhang Qing heard their brother say it was delicious again, they were inspired and tried it too.
However, they thought the oysters were just average, but the scallops were quite delicious, especially chewy, just like meat.
People in some places also eat scallop internal organs, but Zhang Ze doesn't like it, so he took them all out.
The others thought that they were not edible, so they followed suit.
The whole family enjoyed the meal very much. No one in the family could have imagined that these inconspicuous things tasted so good.
Zhang Wu even clamored to go to the beach to pick up more scallops and oysters tomorrow, but Zhang Huihong and Zhang Ze were going to Lumen Island tomorrow, so he asked them to stay at home and not run around.
The next morning, Tong Shuyao faintly heard voices outside her door. When she went out and saw the person coming, she was stunned.
Zhang Ze was standing beside Zhang Huihong at this time, and he smiled gently when he saw her come out.
Facing his smile and gaze, Tong Shuyao felt inexplicably nervous and shy, because she knew the purpose of this man's visit today.
Then she looked away and looked at the middle-aged woman next to the man, her future mother-in-law.
She was dressed simply, with her hair tied up behind her head, and her facial features were soft, so she didn't look fierce.
At first glance, Tong Shuyao was a little suspicious whether Zhang Ze had lied to her. This future mother-in-law didn't look like a wicked woman at all. However, when the other party looked at her, she subconsciously showed a somewhat shy smile.
"Oh, this child must be Shuyao. She is really pretty." When she saw her future daughter-in-law for the first time, Zhang Huihong also fell in love with this fair and clean girl at first sight.
"Hello, auntie!" Tong Shuyao called out politely, and Tong Guisheng and Lu Man quickly invited the two of them in.
Both parties took their seats.
In fact, Zhang Huihong had been sizing up the Tong family when she entered the house. The Tong family's house was quite big, with their son, daughter-in-law, and unmarried little daughter all living together.
But the house is very clean and looks very warm.
The Tong family couple had clear eyes and were courteous and polite in receiving them. The daughters-in-law were efficient and could take care of all kinds of things. They spoke to the elders openly and clearly, and it was clear that the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was good.
There are quite a few children in the house, but they don’t make any noise when guests come. They all stay quietly with their parents. The family tradition is quite good.
Zhang Huihong was quite satisfied. Although they were a family on an island, the fact that the family was prosperous must be the result of their unity of purpose.
Children who are educated in this kind of family will not have bad tempers or personalities and will be easier to get along with.
Zhang Huihong had experienced that kind of treatment from the man's family, and what she hoped most was that her family could live in harmony and stability.
Now it seems that my son has good vision. I am also grateful to Wang Po and Er Gou. If Er Gou hadn't come to the island for a blind date, my son would not have met this good girl.
It's almost noon now, and the Tong family's daughters-in-law are busy in the kitchen, preparing a sumptuous lunch.
In addition, Zhang Huihong was getting to know the situation further with the Tong couple, and then took the opportunity to propose the idea of getting the two children married as soon as possible.
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In this era, getting married is so straightforward. If the man and woman are satisfied with each other and the parents of both sides meet and get to know each other, they are also satisfied, then the marriage can be decided directly.
Even if the marriage certificate is obtained late, it will still be within half a year, and the woman will basically marry you within a few months.
For someone like Zhang Ze who wants to get married next month, it's a bit anxious but it's normal.
As for the bride price, Zhang Huihong gave a figure of two hundred.
Of course, it was Zhang Ze who persuaded her to give this gift.
According to her original plan, the maximum dowry she would give would be one hundred yuan, and the market price on the island was only fifty yuan.
Zhang Huihong was willing to take more because the furniture was not prepared.
But when the two of them discussed it last night, she was finally persuaded by her son and gave her the same treatment as the girls in the city.
The Tong couple were shocked when they heard the bride price. The bride prices for their daughters-in-law were only fifty yuan.
However, after they found out that the furniture had not been prepared yet and would have to be added later, they understood why the bride price was so high.
Then they prepared their daughter to bring all the gifts and also prepare part of the dowry.
Whether the bride will take the betrothal gift back to her husband's home depends entirely on her parents.
Some of the food that is eaten in an ugly way will be taken away entirely. Under normal circumstances, a portion of it will be used to buy some things as a dowry and taken back to the daughter's husband's home.
The Tong couple was willing to give an additional dowry because the other party was very sincere. In addition, their three sons would rely on this future brother-in-law to make money in the future, so they naturally could not let the relationship become strained because of the issue of the bride price.
Before lunch, the two families had already discussed the marriage.
The wedding banquet will be held next month, on August 8th.
Zhang Ze and Tong Shuyao have not yet been able to apply for a marriage certificate. At this time, the man must be 22 years old and the woman must be 20 years old.
Zhang Ze is two years younger, and Tong Shuyao is one year younger, so they all have to wait.
But nowadays, people in rural areas basically get together right after they discuss marriage, and marriage certificates are only obtained when the children have to be registered and go to school, so many people are fined.
Zhang Ze doesn't care about the fine. He will marry his beautiful wife first.
(End of this chapter)
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