Feng Qingxue, who came out upon hearing the sound, was stunned.
She had never heard Lu Jiang talk about this matter. It might have happened in the last few days. The two had not met since the wedding date was set.
Wang Fengqiao opened a red lacquered but neglected camphorwood box on the mule cart, opened it and showed it to everyone, smiling, "The Lu family doesn't have much good stuff, but Lu Jiang has been a soldier for many years, saved some wages and tickets, so he prepared 88 yuan and a set of fleece clothes and pants, a set of polyester cardigan, a pair of Lantang leather shoes, and a three-foot red hairband."
It’s quite generous, enough for the people of Caohu Brigade to talk about it for twenty years!
Knowing that life was difficult in Caohu Brigade, Wang Zhengguo and others did not stay for dinner. They drank a bowl of sugar water and then said goodbye.
Before leaving, Wang Fengqiao pulled Feng Qingxue into the inner room, took out two handkerchiefs and gave them to her, whispering, "Wait until the day before you get married, and your uncle and I will come to buy you some dowry. It's not convenient to take out the things I give you now in front of everyone, so keep them. The two rings are from me, and the one in the handkerchief is from your eldest uncle. Don't tell anyone."
What this means is that Wang Fengqiao’s husband doesn’t know, and Wang Zhengguo’s wife doesn’t know either.
Feng Qingxue waved her hands repeatedly, refusing to take any more. "Aunt, you and the uncles have helped me a lot, and you have been busy with my wedding recently. How can I accept your things again?"
"Take it!" Wang Fengqiao stuffed it into her hand. "Although we don't have any valuable dowry to compare with the two big items like bicycles and sewing machines, we can't be without some treasures to keep in mind, lest the Lu family look down on us after we marry! Besides, these things were given to me and your uncle by the old lady of the Lu family when we got married. Now they are just returned to their original owners."
Feng Qingxue had no choice but to accept it, thinking to herself that she would be filial to her uncles and aunts after marriage.
As for her uncle and aunt whom she had never met since her rebirth, she said that she would not recognize them even if they met.
There were many people busy during the day, so Feng Qingxue waited until her sister fell asleep at night before opening the two handkerchief bags. One of them contained two gold rings, one inlaid with a ruby and the other with a sapphire. The gems were not big. The other one contained two thin solid gold bracelets and four small gold ingots. The gold ingots were in the shapes of peanuts, gourds, grapes and pomegranates, the size of fingertips, and very delicate and cute.
Seeing such an ingot, Feng Qingxue blushed.
In traditional culture, gourds, grapes and pomegranates all symbolize many children, while peanuts represent the early birth of a son.
It seems that, just as my aunt said, it was given by the old lady of the Lu family when they got married.
In the blink of an eye, it was the eve of the wedding, and Feng Qingxue finally didn't have to face the neighbors who came to see her sewing machine and bicycle every day.
It was rare, so rare. Everyone wanted to come and see it. They would wipe their hands clean before touching it. Their attitude was so cautious that Feng Qingxue felt sad and amused at the same time. So she didn't stop them and let them appreciate it.
In the evening, the Quanfu people packed and sealed the boxes, and the elders came over to add makeup to her before the boxes were packed.
"Adding to the make-up" was an old saying, but it is seldom popular nowadays, because every household is having a hard time and has nothing to add to the make-up.
In Caohu Brigade, only Hongling's mother donated two pairs of embroidered insoles made by Hongling, Feng Ershen's daughter-in-law Ma Haiyan donated a handkerchief, Feng Shuanzhu's family donated a pair of combs, and Feng Teng's family donated some needles, thread and a copper thimble.