Song Jingzhou brewed a cup of tea for Su Qingci and placed it in front of her. "I put it here for you. You've eaten quite a lot of soybeans, which are hard to digest. Drink some tea to help with your digestion."
"I'm going to the supply and marketing cooperative with Siqing. Is there anything you'd like me to bring back?"
Su Qingci has a little quirk: she feels sleepy after eating and drinking her fill. She just finished gossiping with Xiao Yuehua and now she's feeling sleepy.
She yawned without any regard for her image, waved at him, and said, "There's nothing I need to buy, you can go ahead."
Song Jingzhou and Liu Siqing walked towards the supply and marketing cooperative one after the other.
"Siqing, I remember you're 21 too."
"Your aunt and uncle will probably start looking for you to marry some people."
Liu Siqing's expression was a little unnatural. "Hehe, I, I'm not in a hurry."
"You're still thinking about her?"
Liu Siqing suddenly raised his voice, "How could that be? Don't talk nonsense. They're already engaged and will be leaving home next year."
"Cousin, don't talk nonsense. If someone hears this and it gets back to the boy's family, they'll think she has some kind of bad character!"
Song Jingzhou paused for a moment, then asked, "Why are you so agitated?"
"I didn't even mention her name, how do you know who I'm talking about?"
Liu Siqing was speechless, his face slowly turning red.
"If you really like her that much, then go and snatch her away."
"You haven't married him yet, you still have a chance."
“Your current situation isn’t bad either; you have a stable job, so you’re no worse off than that person.”
Liu Siqing smiled awkwardly, "What nonsense are you talking about? He's a teacher, a cultured person."
"How can I compare to them? Besides, they don't even like me."
"Why would I want to do something like breaking up other people's marriages?"
"How do you know the person doesn't like you if you haven't tried?"
Liu Siqing smiled, looked down at the road, and didn't say anything.
There's no need to even try; the way she looks at that person is different from everyone else's, as if the whole world can only hold him.
There's no need to say it; saying it will only cause trouble for others.
The next day, Su Qingci and Song Jingzhou set off earlier than the other team members and arrived at Gaotang Brigade around 10 a.m.
The custom here is that the groom comes to pick up the bride and has lunch at the bride's house.
Then, the bride's close relatives carry the dowry to the groom's house for dinner.
Of course, not just anyone can go with the wedding procession; generally, only those who are very close to Liu Dazhu and his wife can receive an invitation.
The number of guests will also be controlled, and the groom's family usually has requirements for this, and will subtly remind them in advance how many tables they have prepared for the wedding banquet.
When Su Qingci and Song Jingzhou arrived, Liu Siqing was busy working on an apron.
Two temporary stoves were built with stones in the shed outside the house.
Many unfamiliar men and women were coming and going; they were probably relatives from other brigades who had come to drink.
Song Jingzhou greeted Liu Dazhu and then went into the kitchen to help chop vegetables.
"Little Su, the educated youth, is here! Come in and warm yourself by the fire; there's charcoal burning here."
Hearing the voices outside, Song Manhua came out and waved to Su Qingci with a loving expression.
Su Qingci knew that this was the only relative Song Jingzhou was willing to be close to, so she smiled and called out, "Auntie."
I looked around the scene but didn't see anyone keeping a record of the money gifts.
Su Qingci could only hand the small red envelope in her hand to Song Manhua, saying, "Congratulations."
Song Manhua didn't stand on ceremony and warmly pulled Su Qingci into the house to sit down, pouring her tea with great enthusiasm.
Other guests were also seated at the tea table, including an older woman who bore a resemblance to Song Manhua.
After pouring tea, Song Manhua explained to Su Qingci, "This is my younger sister. She married into the next village. Yaozu, you should call her Second Aunt."
"These are my niece, nephew, and nephew's wife."
Su Qingci smiled and nodded politely at them as a greeting.
Apart from the niece-in-law that Song Manhua mentioned who gave Su Qingci a smile, the others all looked at her with curiosity.
The niece that Song Manhua mentioned seemed to harbor some hostility towards Su Qingci.
Su Qingci disliked the atmosphere. She took a sip of tea and then used the excuse of checking on Sister Lanfang to go into Liu Lanfang's room.
Although she wasn't very familiar with Liu Lanfang, she was even less familiar with these outsiders.
"Su, the educated youth~"
Liu Lanfang, who was entertaining her girlfriends in the room, suddenly brightened up and shyly greeted Su Qingci.
She wore a red satin ribbon tied in her braid, and trousers made from the curtain that Su Qingci had given her. On top of that was a large floral cotton-padded jacket, which was very popular at the time, making her look quite festive.
"Sister Lanfang, congratulations!"
As she spoke, Su Qingci pulled two towels from her bag and handed them over.
The farm had a huge surplus of these. Uncle Dasheng bought tens of thousands of them from the factory at one yuan each, intending to distribute them free of charge to guests of the farm’s guesthouses and tourists.
Su Qingci had already cut off the small labels with the farm's name printed on them.
It's quite presentable as a gift now.
At this time, guests attending the banquet usually only give a small gift of five cents.
For relatives like Liu Lanfang's uncles, aunts, and other close relatives, it's normal to give two or three yuan as a gift after the meat has been cut open. But it's different after the meat has been cut open; normally, you should give four or five yuan.
Don't be fooled by the fact that these four or five pieces seem like a lot. One of them, almost two pieces, is meat that the groom's family had previously prepared, and this is to be returned in monetary form.
Moreover, if a family can send two people to escort the bride, they can also bring back two more red envelopes from the bride's family.
Besides those who gave red envelopes, some customers also gave gifts.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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