The crackling sound of firecrackers echoed throughout Maolin Village, and a wisp of light white smoke slowly rose. In this poor little village, not many families could scrape together enough money to buy firecrackers during the New Year and other festivals, let alone set them off at weddings.
Today, all the villagers of Maolin Village went to attend Lin Mo's wedding, and the fields in the village became much emptier.
On the contrary, Lin Mo's house was crowded with people inside and outside, and the yard was packed with people. They all came to see the newlyweds today.
The host was Lin Wu, who was arranging the seats for the guests. Relatives and strangers were seated according to their seniority. Women who didn't drink sat at one table with the elderly and children, while men who drank sat on a higher platform.
Fu Yanzhi was good at writing, so he was naturally arranged to register the number of guests at the door. Lin Sheng also stood at the door to greet the guests.
Although most villagers were poor and couldn't afford to give gifts, some would still prepare small gifts. This was where Fu Yanzhi came into play, refusing to accept any gifts.
"Lin Mo said that everyone is welcome to come today. No gifts are required. Just eat and drink well and be happy."
Fu Yanzhi also refused the gift from the village chief's family and shouted loudly, which attracted the villagers to follow suit and applaud.
On this happy day, Lin Mo wanted the villagers to share in the joy and bring good luck, and he also wished that Maolin Village would have a better future.
According to custom, Su Mu cannot leave his room at this time. He has to wait until the wedding ceremony is over before he can meet the guests and have a banquet with Lin Mo.
Su Yunxia also stayed in the room with Su Mu. He would go out to help greet the guests later. While he still had some free time, he wanted to spend more time with Su Mu and talk to him to relieve his boredom.
Lin Wen and Tuanzi were particularly well-behaved today. They sat quietly at the main table, not going anywhere, just playing with their bracelets.
The two men outside the door were busy as hell. Everyone from the Lin family's old house had arrived, some were washing vegetables, some were chopping meat, and the work was divided in an orderly manner. However, only Lao Gu and Lu Amo were cooking, and all six stoves were burning at the same time.
The ones that take longer to cook are stewed first, and the ones that are easier to cook are left for last. Two people, holding two large spatulas, run back and forth between the stoves, stirring and frying.
A special person was brought out to light the fire and add firewood. He ran back and forth with a pile of firewood, adding firewood wherever the fire was not enough. After frying a dish, he added water to the pot and washed it, so that they could fry the next dish.
It wasn't long before the kitchen staff were sweating profusely, their backs soaked. Aunt Lu was frying the food with one hand and wiping the sweat off her forehead with the other.
It was almost time to sit down, and everyone took their seats. Tang Jie held a long string of firecrackers, while Tang Le held the tail end and walked a long way, dragging it onto the village's dirt road.
Tang Jie shouted, "Let's set off firecrackers."
After saying that, he quickly lit the fire. With crackling sounds, the firecrackers burned all the way to the other end of the road like a swift dragon. The sparks exploded into a red color, and from a distance it looked like flowers blooming all the way, which was extremely beautiful.
The villagers applauded and the atmosphere of joy was reached to the extreme.
Next, Fu Yanzhi took on the role of best man. He adjusted his tone and his loud voice rang out from all directions.
"The auspicious time has arrived, and the newlyweds are invited to worship in the hall."
The originally noisy surroundings became extremely quiet. Everyone was looking forward to this moment and wanted to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds.
Lin Mo and Su Mu, each holding one end of the red tie, were walking slowly towards them wearing red wedding gowns embroidered with gold.
Sitting in the main seat, Lin Sheng was wearing a light purple satin robe and was looking at them walking towards him with a kind and relieved expression.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, his younger brother has grown up and is finally going to start a family. This scene deeply moved Lin Sheng.
Lin Mo seemed to be in good spirits today. The young man was in high spirits. Su Mu's face beside him also showed some gentleness and tranquility. The nervousness of moving forward had disappeared without a trace. In return, they exchanged a sweet smile after looking at each other.
"Bow to heaven and earth, bow."
Lin Mo and Su Mu turned around together and bowed to the heaven and earth.
"Bow to your parents, bow."
The two of them once again faced their parents and bowed deeply. This was a bow to express gratitude to their parents for giving birth to them, and to Lin Sheng for the years of nurturing him as their eldest brother. He was worthy of this bow and fully deserved it.
"Three, husband and wife bow to each other."
Lin Mo and Su Mu stood face to face. Lin Mo looked straight at Su Mu, his face showing unconcealed joy. Su Mu, who was being stared at, raised the corner of his mouth slightly in a subtle smile.
The two men bowed to each other, and there was thunderous applause from the audience. Lin Wu in the audience was so moved that he wiped tears from his eyes and cried.
Su Yunxia was also clapping and wiping her tears with her sleeves while smiling. It looked a little funny but it was genuine and showed her true feelings.
"The ceremony is over."
With Fu Yanzhi's last words, Lin Mo and Su Mu officially became a family, and the lovers finally got married.
Next, we took our seats and prepared to start the banquet.
Tang Jie, Lin Wu and a few others helped bring the dishes. The kitchen was bustling with activity, and the steam almost drowned out the people.
The first dish served was braised pork with taro, and soon the second dish, white-cut chicken, was served. As the saying goes, no feast is complete without chicken, so it can be seen at almost all major banquets.
Then the dishes were served one after another, and the last one was a dish of salted Chinese cabbage. There were a total of 28 dishes, with a balanced combination of meat and vegetables. I have to say that the kitchen's business capabilities are top-notch.
The people at the main table started to toast. Tang Jie and Lin Wu, who had just finished serving the dishes, rushed forward to help carry the wine behind Lin Mo and the others.
There were ten people at the table, and everyone raised their glasses to toast the newlyweds. The white wine tasted sweet and spicy, and those who liked it called it a good wine.
Everyone at the main table drank up all the wine. After the newlyweds finished toasting at this table, they went to the next table to continue toasting. Wherever Lin Wu and the other man followed them, dozens of kilograms of wine would follow.
When they meet the table of elderly people and children, the newlyweds still serve wine, while they serve tea.
The noisy sounds came one after another, it was lively and bustling, even more lively than visiting relatives during the Chinese New Year.
The population of Maolin Village is neither too small nor too large. For this banquet, the Lin family set up more than 60 tables and invited hundreds of people from the entire village. Some people from neighboring villages who came to help were also invited.
Everyone said that Lin Mo was impressive and successful at a young age, and even the people in the village benefited from it.
The banquet was coming to an end and everyone had almost finished eating. Lin Mo and Su Mu were even asked by the village elders to chat about family matters. They talked for an hour or two. By the time all the guests had left and the table was almost cleared, it was almost midnight.
Don’t admit it, being a newlywed at a wedding is much harder than being a dinner guest. You have to greet guests all the time and don’t even have time to eat a few more bites of food. After finishing the busy work, you feel like your bones have been broken and your muscles ache all over.
Su Mu was no match for Lin Mo in terms of alcohol tolerance. After all the toasts, Lin Mo helped him drink all the wine. His face was flushed red and he could hardly walk steadily.
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