Chapter 54
The wedding was held on the afternoon of the next day. All the relatives and neighbors of the host family gathered together, and the atmosphere was extremely lively.
A large stove had already been set up on the open space in the yard. The chef who was invited to prepare the banquet dishes was busy putting thick slices of meat on the bottom of the bowl, and then turning it upside down. The mouth-watering large slices of meat were on the top, and the side dishes were placed underneath. According to local customs, the banquet usually consists of nine dishes, including four cold dishes and five hot dishes. It was Jiang Jiang's first time to attend such a lively occasion. She was watching with interest when Feng Zhen suddenly came over and called her.
"Sister Xiaoyun heard that you were here, and she asked you to come over."
The bride, Lin Xiaoyun, had changed into a bright red dress, a red suit with a red mid-length skirt, her hair was tied up and slightly permed, and then pinned with brightly colored flowers, her lips were painted brightly with lip balm, and a sweet smile was on her face. She was a nurse in the town's health center and was on the government payroll, and her husband's family was also a prestigious family in Luling Town.
Jiang Jiang felt that she might have seen this Sister Xiaoyun before, after all, they were from the same village, but she really had no impression of her. She imitated Feng Zhen and the others and called her, "Sister Xiaoyun."
"Are you the girl that Uncle and Aunt adopted later? Come here." Lin Xiaoyun asked her to sit in front of her, raised her head and looked at her affectionately, "You are so beautiful, and you look like a smart girl. Your parents have taught you very well."
"Thank you, Sister Xiaoyun." Lin Xiaoyun's gaze made her feel a kind of caring concern. Jiang Jiang stuffed a box into her hand and said, "This is a little gift from us. My parents couldn't make it back. Sister Xiaoyun, I wish you a happy wedding and a happy life."
Jiang Jiang didn't know anyone was getting married before she came back, so she didn't prepare any gifts. But Jiang Jiang felt that since Lin Youqing and He Guijuan didn't come to the wedding, she was their representative, and it would be inappropriate not to give a gift. But what could she give? And she was afraid she wouldn't be able to buy a suitable gift in Luling Town.
After Jiang Jiang told him about her troubles, Tie Zhu suggested, "Why don't we just go to the next town? There are a lot of popular goods there, and we can definitely pick out suitable gifts. It's only 20 miles away, and I can take you there on my bike in less than an hour, which is much faster than going to the county town."
Jiang Jiang and Xie Jinyan discussed it and decided that Tiezhu's proposal was indeed feasible. So early in the morning, Jiang Jiang, Xie Jinyan and Tiezhu went out and rode a bicycle to the nearby Shitang Town. Xie Jinyan was in charge of riding the bicycle, Jiang Jiang sat on the front bar, and Tiezhu sat on the back seat. Shitang Town was indeed much more developed and lively than Luling Town, with convenient transportation, a constant stream of merchants coming and going, and all kinds of stores selling a wide variety of goods.
Jiang Jiang spent forty-seven dollars to buy a pair of silver earrings in a jewelry store.
Lin Xiaoyun opened the box and saw the earrings inside. She couldn't help but say, "This is too expensive..."
"I didn't know Sister Xiaoyun was getting married in advance, so I went to Shitang Town to buy them this morning. These are the most beautiful pair of earrings in the store, in the shape of lilies, which symbolizes a happy marriage. Sister Xiaoyun must accept them."
Lin Xiaoyun didn't expect Jiang Jiang to be so thoughtful. She accepted the earrings, held her hand and said sincerely, "Thank you Jiang Jiang. Sister also hopes that you will be carefree and happy."
Amid the sound of firecrackers, the groom rode his 28-inch bicycle with a red ribbon hanging on it into the yard. He was wearing a brand new dark blue Zhongshan suit and had a beaming face. Some children came up to the groom and asked him for candies. He took the candies out of his pocket and distributed them to the children. Everyone gathered around the groom and said festive words. The bride also came out of the kiln, already wearing the pair of earrings that Jiang Jiang had given her.
After setting off firecrackers, we can start to sit down for the meal. The young man in charge of serving the dishes brings steaming bowls of food to the table. The yard is filled with laughter and everyone has a cheerful smile on their face.
The meal lasted from the afternoon until the evening. Jiang Jiang looked at the people who seemed to have not eaten anything less. She felt too full to eat anything else. She burped and looked at her greasy hands. "Brother Jinyan, I'm going to wash my hands."
"Okay, I won't eat either. I'll go with you."
Jiang Jiang saw that his hands were clean. "No, I can go by myself. When I came over, I saw a basin full of water in the kitchen."
Feng Yin, who was standing next to him, heard Jiang Jiang's words and put down his chopsticks without thinking and followed her out.
There were many people at the wedding banquet and no one noticed her.
It was already dark outside. When Jiang Jiang came over, she found that the basin in the open space in front of the kitchen was gone. She looked at her greasy hands and decided to go directly to the well to wash them.
There was a well outside the yard, which was about two meters deep. At that time, every household had to use a windlass to pump water up from the well. Basically, the wells of each household had no covers. Often, when the water was pumped up, they had to scoop out a few fine corn stalk leaves or green grass residues floating on the water. Sometimes, there would be the corpses of crickets or grasshoppers that accidentally entered the well.
Jiang Jiang squeezed out half a bucket of water. The well water covered her hands. It was so cool and comfortable. After a long while, she lowered her head and carefully washed the oil stains on her hands.
Feng Yin hid behind the wall. After she left the banquet, she had been secretly following Jiang Jiang. When she saw Jiang Jiang wandering around and finally stopping by the well, Feng Yin's breathing inevitably stopped for a moment.
On such a dark night, it is normal to accidentally fall into a well and lose your life.
No one would suspect her.
Feng Yin's hands were trembling a little. She closed her eyes and slowed down her breathing.
Don't blame me, blame you for taking all my things.
If it weren't for Jiang Jiang, the bastard, she would have been the daughter of Lin Youqing and He Guijuan, went to a school in the city, and mixed in the social circle of children of cadres. She wouldn't have grown up in the countryside, suffered so much, and even failed to get into college!
She held her breath and was about to walk over when she heard a deep male voice behind her, "What do you want to do?"
Her body stiffened for a moment, and when she turned around, the person behind her was none other than Xie Jinyan, the son of a cadre who had returned with Jiang Jiang.
"Nothing... I, I ate too much, so I just walked around." Feng Yin bit her lip and squeezed out two tears, looking pitiful, as if she was frightened by him.
Xie Jinyan looked at Feng Yin who was acting sneakily in front of him, frowned and said nothing.
Feng Yin twirled his fingers and looked down at his shoes, looking uneasy.
After a while, Xie Jinyan said, "Go back."
Maybe I was overthinking it. A young girl shouldn't have such vicious thoughts.
Feng Yin breathed a sigh of relief quietly, "Then... I'll go back first."
Fortunately, no one knew when this person came over. Fortunately, she didn't have time to attack Jiang Jiang.
Jiang Jiang saw Xie Jinyan right after washing her hands. She smiled in surprise and asked, "Why are you out too?"
"I saw you haven't been home for so long, I was worried about you so I came out."
The air outside was fresh, and the scene inside was still lively. Jiang Jiang didn't want to go back to the table anymore, "Brother Jinyan, let's go home."
"good."
Xie Jinyan walked side by side with her, and the two of them walked back to the Lin family at the east end of the village.
The moon had climbed up onto the branches at some point, casting a gentle and clear light on the entire earth, stretching the shadows of the young couple longer and longer.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com