The hottest days of summer came to an end two days ago, and now it feels noticeably less hot in the mornings and evenings.
Ever since they made things clear at the hospital last time, the Liang family would take some melon heads and melon brains to Dalazi's house every now and then, and they would give them to them regardless of whether they wanted them or not.
Erhua and Luo Zhen's engagement has been put on the agenda. Today, Tang Sannan brought Luo Zhen to Hetou Village.
The sound of the tractor could be heard from a distance. Xiaohua rushed to the front and shouted "Goddaddy, Goddaddy". Erhua followed closely behind, looking outside eagerly. He hadn't seen Luo Zhen for a few days!
Xiaohua was his formal godfather. Sun Ada went to the street to order four large baskets of meat buns, and distributed them to every household in Hetou Village and his own village. Everyone in the village knew that Sun Ada had a son!
Sun Ada loved his godson very much and always thought of him for all the good things. Xiaohua often had to stay at his godfather's house for ten days or half a month, which made things easier for Liang Genfa.
The tractor stalled, and Erhua and Xiaohua were already waiting nearby.
Sun Ada threw down a bag of milk candy, and Xiaohua jumped for joy, chattering and jumping on him.
Erhua reached out to support Luo Zhen and then helped her take off her crutches.
"Everyone is waiting for you. My second uncle, younger uncle, and the whole family are here."
He whispered in Luo Zhen's ear, making her blush.
Luo Zhen has two long, thick black braids. When she washed her hair yesterday, she dropped a few drops of sesame oil into the water. When she combed her hair this morning, there was not a single stray hair.
"Luo Zhen, if you feel that you can't walk properly, Dad will help you in or carry you in."
This was Tang Luozhen's first time visiting Erhua's house. Even Tang Sannan was very nervous. He knew that there were many people in the house and was worried that his daughter would not be able to adapt for a while.
"Master, there's no need to help me, and I won't help you either.
Luo Zhen, go in on your crutches. I'll be watching you."
Erhua set her up and gave her an affectionate and encouraging look. Luo Zhen nodded and walked slowly beside her father. On the other side was Grandma Zhu, the matchmaker hired by the Tang family.
Erhua followed behind. Although he looked calm on the surface, he actually seemed to have a little rabbit in his arms, beating fast and fluttering.
He protected her from behind and watched her. If anyone dared to show a mocking look at her when she entered the house, Erhua would use a brick to break the window of his house that night.
When I entered the door, there were sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, red dates and walnuts on the table.
Everyone present had a bowl. The men's bowls contained tea leaves, while the women and children's bowls contained sugar water. The whole family gathered together, talking and laughing.
"Oh, Erhua is so lucky." Second Aunt pulled Luo Zhen to look at her again and again, "Little Lady Yu is so beautiful. I have never seen anyone as pretty as her in several villages around here."
Luo Zhen smiled shyly. Fortunately, no one in the room looked at her legs.
"Yes, even with my ugly appearance, I can still find a fairy to be the mistress of the house, hahahaha!"
Qiu Zhen kicked him under the table again and said, "You little monkey, you have no shame. I'm not married, I'm too embarrassed to say a word, and you're acting like the mistress of the house."
Everyone burst into laughter, and Erhua pouted even more excitedly.
"Luo Zhen, would you like some walnuts?" Erhua came over with a smile.
Luo Zhen lowered her head. Since she entered the house, she had never raised her head except to greet the elders.
Well, no matter whether she eats it or not, just knock on it first!
Erhua took five walnuts and hid in the corner. He picked up a hammer and started hitting them with "bang bang bang". The walnuts were smashed into pieces one by one.
He carefully picked out the walnut meat and actually collected a small handful!
By the time Luo Zhen finished eating the walnut meat, the food in the pot was heated and ready to be served.
Liang Genfa went to someone's house and bought a big fat goose yesterday. He spent the whole morning killing the goose, bleeding it, and scalding its feathers. It has been stewed in the pot for two hours now. This is today's main dish.
For the men at one table, Qiu Zhen heated up two pots of rice wine; for the women and children at one table, Qiu Hua poured sugar water for everyone.
First, there were two cold dishes, pickled cucumbers and braised beef in soy sauce, followed by hot dishes. The main dishes were braised goose and braised pork belly, as well as scrambled eggs. The vegetarian dishes were dried bamboo shoots in broth, stir-fried vegetables, stir-fried loofah, and winter melon soup.
Luo Zhen was embarrassed to pick up the food at first, but her second aunt started to prepare it, and now the food was so full that it was about to fall out of her bowl.
Qiuhua sat next to Luo Zhen and kept urging her to eat more. Apart from Erhua, Qiuhua was the happiest person today. She liked Sister Luo Zhen and had finally been looking forward to this day!
After dinner, the elders discussed business matters.
The custom of engagement in the village here is similar to that of marriage. The groom's party must invite the bride's party's relatives and friends to a banquet. The auspicious day is called the main day. The banquet will be held in the evening the day before the main day, and at noon and in the evening on the main day.
By this calculation, there will be three meals during the engagement and three more meals during the wedding.
Of course, the customs at weddings are more complicated, with music and singing, worship in the hall, changing of words, lighting candles at night, etc.
Liang Genfa counted the number of people and figured out that it would take about three tractors. Tang Sannan nodded in agreement and immediately decided which two more tractor drivers to hire besides Sun Ada.
The most important thing is the betrothal money. Erhua is marrying into the family, so of course the Tang family will give the betrothal money to the Liang family.
The Liang Genfa couple had discussed this matter a long time ago, and a betrothal gift would be enough. Firstly, without Tang Sannan, there would be no Erhua today, and this is all thanks to their teacher.
Secondly, the bride price was too high. People thought that Liang Genfa's family was poor, so he sent his second son to be a son-in-law, which was looked down upon.
Thinking this way, the bride price should be smaller!
But Tang Sannan didn't think so. He only had one precious daughter, and Erhua was helping him fulfill his wish. Now that Nannan could stay with him and found a suitable partner, he couldn't let Erhua and his teacher down.
If you think so, you have to give more betrothal gifts!
Tang Sannan said: "It can't be less than 800 yuan!"
Liang Genfa said, "That's too much. A little less, I think 200 yuan will be enough. We can add more later and buy a bicycle, a watch, some quilts, etc."
"No, that's too little. People will say I'm mistreating Erhua!"
Grandma Zhu has been a matchmaker for so many times, but she has never seen such a situation. The bride's side only asks for a higher bride price, while the groom's side asks for a lower bride price. They even fight over it and end up breaking up.
They do the opposite!
Finally, based on the principle of friendly negotiation, under the coordination of Grandma Zhu, the betrothal gift was set at 500 yuan, and three tractors were used to pick up relatives and friends.
At this point, Erhua, who had been a source of worry to him, finally had a place to stay. He had truly fulfilled his wish and had accomplished this major event in his life before Dahua. Now he could finally hold his head high and win the heart of his beauty!
The whole family is happy for him, and I am happy for him too!
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