Today is the day when the Zhao family comes to propose marriage. Early in the morning, Zhou Chunlan dragged Lin Yan to clean the house, brewed tea, put the dried fruits and snacks she had bought earlier on a plate, and filled a small basket with pumpkin seeds, waiting for the matchmaker to come.
Lin Yan was a little nervous. He really wanted to hide in the room and not come out, but unfortunately this was impossible. He could only eat pumpkin seeds to relieve his nervousness.
Zhou Chunlan came over with a broom and swept it at his feet. "You itchy boy, you just swept the floor and you threw melon seed shells again, do you want to get beaten?"
"Oh, I'm nervous. I'll sweep it later."
"Why are you so nervous? You're just causing me trouble. They're almost here. Get out of the way. I'll do it myself!"
Lin Yan curled his lips, reluctantly stood up, and went to the kitchen to wash his hands. Water was boiling on the stove so that he could have more tea later.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Zhou Chunlan quickly put down her broom, straightened her clothes, and went to open the door. She saw the matchmaker standing at the door with a smile on her face, followed by the well-dressed Li Yuemei and the stiff-faced Zhao Shiyun.
"Aunt Lin, we are here." The matchmaker greeted with a smile.
Zhou Chunlan warmly welcomed everyone into the house and asked them to sit in the courtyard. Lin Yan came out with brewed tea, poured it for everyone, and sat down next to Ah Mo. Zhao Shiyun glanced at him and immediately recognized him as the young man from the mountain that day. Somehow, he, who had not given much thought to marriage before, now felt a surge of anticipation. At this moment, Yan Ge'er's eyes also glanced over, and the moment their eyes met, they both lowered their heads.
Li Yuemei spoke first, "Aunt Lin, our two families know each other well. My child Shiyun is diligent and capable, and your boy Yan is sensible and filial. The two are a perfect match, and I have come here today to propose marriage." As she spoke, she placed the betrothal gifts on the table.
Zhou Chunlan was pleased to see there was a wild goose, which showed that the Zhao family valued this marriage. She nodded and said, "Aunt Zhao is right. We all know each other well in this village. Although our family is not wealthy, we are all hardworking and kind. My brother Yan is a quick worker and not the type to be lazy. He will definitely be filial to his parents-in-law after marriage."
Zhou Chunlan paused and continued, "Yan'er and I have depended on each other for the past few years. He is the apple of my eye. I can't bear to part with him, but he's old enough that if he doesn't get married soon, he'll be old. I just hope that after he gets married, he lives well in his husband's family and doesn't suffer any grievances."
"Of course. I liked Brother Yan the moment I saw him, and I certainly won't treat him harshly."
Zhao Shiyun also hurriedly said: "Aunt Lin, don't worry, I will treat Brother Yan well." When Lin Yan heard this, ripples appeared in his heart.
The matchmaker continued, "I looked at the dates before I came here. The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month this year, the fifth day of the third lunar month next year, and the twentieth day of the fifth lunar month are all auspicious dates. Which one do you think you will choose?"
Zhou Chunlan and Li Yuemei discussed it and decided to choose the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Two months would give Yan'er enough time to embroider the wedding dress; any other time would be too far away and unsuitable. Local custom was for the man to prepare the red cloth, and the wedding dress to be sewn by the young woman or boy. Therefore, Li Yuemei prepared Zhao Shiyun's measurements in advance and informed Lin Yan.
Lin Yan took note of it and planned to cut the fabric after the people left.
After setting the wedding date, the few of them didn't stay long and said goodbye and left.
*
Lin Yan took out the red cloth and gently stroked it. It was probably medium-quality red cloth, similar to the ones he had seen at the cloth shop that day. He wouldn't need a whole piece to embroider the wedding dress; the leftovers could be saved to make small clothes for the children, bellybands, or even sachets and purses. Once he had felt enough, he began cutting it to size. He still had two months, enough time to make two wedding dresses.
The sauerkraut at home has been prepared and packed in jars. There are many vegetables in the vegetable garden, so Zhou Chunlan made a full jar, which can be eaten in about seven days.
Today she plans to make a few jars of sour beans. There are a lot of beans in the vegetable garden. In addition to drying the beans for eating in winter, she can also make sour beans, which can be used to make dumplings, stews, stir-fried meat, and even porridge.
I picked a basket of beans this morning, washed them, plucked off the ends, and placed them on a rack in the yard to dry. This step is crucial because if there is any water on the surface of the beans, they will easily deteriorate during the pickling process.
Wash and scald the jar in advance. First, spread a layer of salt on the bottom of the jar. Then, coil the washed beans into the jar, sprinkling a layer of salt evenly with each layer. Once the beans are fully covered, pour in boiled, cooled well water, just enough to cover the beans. Seal the jar with a clean cloth and then secure it with string. Wait about 7-10 days for the beans to become sour and be ready to eat.
*
Time flies, and December is already here. For the past two months, Lin Yan and his mom have been going to town to sell vegetables every three days. Their pickled cabbage and beans have been surprisingly popular. Some people in town are too lazy to pickle their own vegetables, so they buy jars of pickled cabbage and beans from the Lin family's stall to take home for winter consumption.
In the rest of the time, after finishing the chores at home, Lin Yan would sew wedding clothes stitch by stitch whenever she had time.
Aunt Fang from next door often came to visit our home. Knowing that Lin Yan was sewing wedding clothes, she gave him some silk thread, which Lin Yan just needed and was very grateful.
The Zhao family renovated their house, and now the whole house looks solid and bright.
After proposing the marriage that day, Zhao Shiyun was thinking about going up the mountain to chop some wood and then asking someone to make some simple furniture.
So during this time, Zhao Shiyun got up early every day to go into the mountains to cut wood, his shoulders rubbed red by the wooden bars, but he never complained. After the house was repaired, he just had to wait for the village craftsman to make the furniture before he could move in.
As the days passed, Lin Yan's wedding dress gradually took shape. The meticulous stitching and exquisite embroidery captivated everyone who saw it. Finally, a few days before the wedding, Lin Yan finished embroidering the dress. Zhao Shiyun's dress was embroidered with auspicious clouds, while hers was embroidered with orchids. She had originally wanted to embroider mandarin ducks, but they were too complex and she feared she wouldn't have enough time to finish them, so she had to give up.
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