May 9, 1982, the 16th day of the fourth lunar month, is an auspicious day for marriage.
Erhua opened his eyes drowsily, and light was already coming in from the window.
He suddenly jumped up from the bed, opened the door and went out. A pair of big red candles had been lit in the living room. Two big woven baskets (a kind of large woven container) were placed on the ground, and big glutinous rice balls were piled up like a small mountain inside.
"Mom, what time is it? Why didn't you call me?"
Erhua hurried out to wash his face. It was already so bright outside, and he didn't know if he had missed the time to go out.
On the wedding day, there are time limits for going out, coming in, and worshiping in the hall. Missing any of these times is unlucky.
Qiu Zhen moved plates of red dates, longans, and peanuts to the long table and said, "It's early. Go have breakfast! People from Tangli Village will be arriving soon."
After breakfast, Erhua put on the groom's clothes, smeared his hair with scented oil, and when he was ready, he set off two firecrackers outside. People from Tangli Village had arrived!
A group of young men rushed to the front. They were all Luo Zhen’s cousins. The leader was the eldest cousin in the family, named Tang Jianming.
Qiu Zhen took out a shoulder pole, and Tang Jianming took it. Two large woven baskets were hung with hemp ropes on both ends of the shoulder pole, and the other cousins stood beside the woven baskets.
"rise--"
Liang Genfa shouted, Tang Jianming put the shoulder pole on his shoulders, and the cousins worked together to carry two baskets of glutinous rice balls out of the house and onto the tractor.
Friends and relatives in the house followed the tractor and headed towards Tangli Village.
In a moment, the house went from being bustling to deserted. Only Erhua's family and a few helpers stayed. The groom would not be picked up until the evening.
But at this moment, Erhua's heart was burning with excitement!
After waiting for a long time, Erhua was finally brought back by the wedding party. When they arrived at the village entrance, it was still not time, and the group of people circled the village twice.
There are many customs and complicated procedures for weddings in rural areas.
The ceremony is generally divided into three parts: worshipping in the hall, changing one's mouth, and lighting candles. The customs of worshipping in the hall are not much different in different places, but the most interesting part is the changing of the mouth.
There was a long table in the middle of the living room with a wooden tray on it. Two chairs were placed in front of the table. According to seniority, the elders called by the emcee sat in the front and accepted three bows from the newlyweds. Erhua followed Luo Zhen to change his name and called people, and the elders put the change fee into the wooden tray.
Six boys holding candlesticks led the newlyweds into the room. During this process, the groom held a wooden basin on his head. After the door was closed, the couple could secretly count the change of name fee.
The fee for changing one's name ranges from ten to several dozen yuan, and the money for the gift is not included. Of course, things are different nowadays. The fee for changing one's name has increased countless times, especially when a nephew gets married. The maternal uncle is the most important. Some uncles can pay enough to buy a house for the fee, and ordinary uncles can also pay tens of thousands of yuan.
Erhua and Luo Zhen each sorted the money for one person, and the money was stacked neatly.
"Here, keep it." Erhua handed the money with both hands.
Luo Zhen smiled faintly, took the money and said, "It's the same if you take it. I trust you."
"That won't do. I'm the mistress of the house now, and you have to manage the money. Only then will I feel at ease."
Erhua moved his hand that was supporting himself on the bed towards Luo Zhen, and when she wasn't paying attention he grabbed her hand like catching a small fish.
Smooth and soft, isn’t this a little fish?
Luo Zhen struggled slightly, her face flushed, and she didn't dare to raise her crescent eyes because of shame.
Oh my God, who knows how much hardship Erhua has endured in the past three years!
Getting married after being engaged for three years could probably be listed among the ten most cruel tortures.
He held the little fish tightly and pulled it close to his face.
"Hehe." Erhua laughed like a fool, "I don't care, I'm going to pinch it, I'm suffocating to death!"
Luo Zhen touched Erhua's face, which felt a little rough and a little hot.
She held the money in one hand, lowered her head and looked away.
"Look at me, Luo Zhen, look at me." Erhua held her face with both hands and forced her to look at him.
His breathing was rapid and the hot breath hit Luo Zhen's face, making her dizzy.
"Knock knock knock" someone knocked on the door. "Have you collected the money? Come out and toast!"
Only now did the two of them reluctantly part, as their relatives and friends were still waiting to entertain them outside!
In the middle of the night, everyone had left, leaving only the Tang family. Under the auspices of the master of ceremonies, they lined up in groups of men and women according to their seniority, from the front to the back, to worship their ancestors, and the line stretched out to the outside of the yard!
After paying homage to the ancestors, it was already past midnight. Luo Zhen yawned loudly after closing the door.
"oops!"
Erhua grabbed the beauty from behind with his hands and she fell into his arms.
"Are you sleepy?"
Somehow, Erhua's expression was very evil at this moment, like a male fox, and a not very good-looking one at that.
Luo Zhen nodded. After a day of hard work, her entire back was sore.
Erhua pursed his lips as if feeling aggrieved. He buried his face in Luo Zhen's neck and took a deep breath.
"Okay, let's go to sleep then."
After tidying the bed, Erhua lay down. Luo Zhen lay on her side facing him. There was a little moonlight in the room, and he took a deep breath.
"Let me hug you, just hug you, nothing else!"
"Um."
"Take off your underwear, it will make sleeping more comfortable!"
"Um."
"Just touch it, nothing else!"
"Um."
"Just one touch, then you go back to sleep."
“…”
"Relax, I won't move, don't worry!"
…
When the roosters crowed in the morning, Erhua had just dozed off for a while when Luo Zhen vaguely felt as if a little warm rabbit had crawled into the quilt.
"Where did this rabbit come from..." She raised her hand and patted it, "Hurry home, I'm sleepy... I can't play with you..."
"Okay, okay, go to sleep..."
Erhua lowered his voice. The people who came to help had already arrived, and the sounds of talking and cleaning up were endless.
When Luo Zhen got up and washed, he found that there was a dark circle under his eyes and he looked listless.
The old ladies outside were waiting for the bride to come out and sweep the floor.
Of course, she didn't really sweep the floor. Luo Zhen took the broom and swept it twice symbolically, then threw a handful of one-cent coins on the ground. The old ladies scrambled for a good start.
"Oh, little bride, you didn't sleep well!" Aunt Sun pulled Luo Zhen to sit down and brought a bowl of rice porridge to the bride.
You can't cook on the morning of the wedding day. Of course, you can't really not cook. This is cooked with yesterday's leftovers. Not cooking properly can also be considered not cooking.
Aunt Sun scooped a large spoonful of sugar and mixed it in. Luo Zhen took a bite and it was so sweet!
"Is it sweet?"
"Sweet!" Luo Zhen nodded.
Aunt Sun laughed and said, "Sweet is right. The young couple should live a sweet life from now on!"
Erhua took the bowl without hesitation, scooped a large spoonful of sugar into it, mixed it twice, and drank it down in one gulp. The sweet feeling immediately entered his heart.
"Sweet! Haha!"
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