The reason why only men attended but no women was very simple. It was not because of gender inequality that led to discrimination against women, but because the husband was the most important labor force in the family. Which woman did not want her husband to have something good to eat? It was good enough for her family to have enough food all year round, which was far from comparable to the eight dishes at the wedding banquet.
The five women present were there because there was no man in the house or the man could not come in person and they took his place. However, the dishes they picked were piled in the bowls in front of them and they were reluctant to eat them. They might have wanted to take them home to satisfy the cravings of the elderly and children.
Although many old customs were abolished after the founding of the People's Republic of China, etiquette cannot be abolished in Wanglou Brigade.
It can be said that the people of Wanglou Brigade have lived here for generations, and the etiquette passed down by them is not simple.
The women who had been chattering for a long time in the house are now nowhere to be seen, probably having gone back to their homes to avoid watching their men eat eight bowls of food with relish while they drool. Instead, some children are standing far away, staring at the banquet, all of them salivating, wishing they could climb onto the table and put the big piece of meat into their mouths.
In this case, can Lu Tianjun, who had said he would eat eight bowls of rice, get his wish? After all, even Lu's father didn't come to the table.
Feng Qingxue was thinking about brothers Lu Tianjun and Guan Cheng. She glanced around and did not see their brothers among the group of children. Instead, she was frightened by the hungry eyes of those children.
"Qingxue!" Lu Jiang, who was sitting in a wheelchair and unable to support himself, noticed this and called her with comfort in his voice.
Feng Qingxue looked down at him and smiled softly, "It's okay." She just felt sad.
Living in the 21st century, she had never experienced the famine years when people were short of food and clothing, and did not understand the hardships and difficulties they went through. When she saw this scene, she felt ashamed, ashamed of having wasted food in her previous life.
After recognizing the relatives and toasting, Lu Jiang sent Feng Qingxue back to the bridal chamber to rest.
"Qingxue, you have a good rest in the room. I'll go outside to get them some wine and cigarettes. I'll come back to accompany you after sending them away." Looking at his wife sitting on the bed, Lu Jiang really wanted to stay with her all the time.
"Go now, don't let them laugh at you."
Lu Jiang was worried that his wife was bored, so he wanted to ask his nephew to keep her company. After a round, he finally found the tearful Lu Tianzhi and Guan Yu in the east wing, with the helpless Lu Tianjun and Guan Cheng standing next to them. He couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"
Lu Tianjun sighed, "Someone teased us before, saying that we would be able to eat the Eight Bowls soon. But when the feast started, Grandpa wouldn't let us sit at the table, saying it was against the rules. Guancheng and I didn't care, we're not children, but Tianzhi and Ayu were very sad. They've been looking forward to it for a long time, and now seeing the delicious food outside, they are very greedy and sad."
After hearing this, Lu Jiang felt both amused and distressed.
"Okay, okay, stop crying. I'll let Auntie make it for you in a few days, okay?"
Lu Tianzhi wiped away his tears and choked up, “Even if Auntie’s cooking is delicious, it’s not eight big bowls!” In order to eat eight big bowls for lunch, he drank a bowl of sweet potato porridge in the morning. Now he can’t eat eight big bowls and his stomach is starving.
Lu Jiang whispered: "It doesn't matter if we don't have the eight bowls, but we still have meat at home."
"Meat?"
Lu Tianzhi and Guan Yu's eyes lit up.
They want to eat the eight bowls, don’t they just want to eat the meat in the eight bowls?