The wedding dress was embroidered. Zhou Chunlan went to buy tofu that morning and saw Li Yuemei. She said with a smile, "Mother-in-law, Brother Yan has already embroidered the wedding dress. Please tell Shi Yun to come home and pick it up when he's done."
Li Yuemei replied while filling her tofu bag: "Okay, he's almost done now, I'll ask him to go quickly."
"Okay, I'll let Brother Yan wait at home. I'll leave the money for the tofu here for you."
Li Yuemei put it away helplessly. After the two families got engaged, every time Zhou Chunlan came to buy tofu, she refused to pay. However, Zhou Chunlan felt that one thing was one thing and did not want people to think that she was taking advantage of her in-laws, so she insisted on paying every time. If she refused, she would just drop it and run away, and no one could catch her.
Lin Yan was at home gathering leftover fabric, cutting it to size and sewing a purse. A red purse wouldn't look right on a man, so he used some indigo fabric he already had at home, using the red only as a decorative motif. He also collected a good amount of scraps, intending to make shoes for Zhao Shiyun after they got married.
"Knock knock knock"
Lin Yan put down his needlework and went to open the door, "Brother Shi Yun, you're here."
"Brother Yan," Zhao Shiyun followed Lin Yan in without closing the gate. They had not yet gotten married, so they didn't want people to gossip.
"Brother Shiyun, try this wedding dress to see if it fits you." Zhao Shiyun took it and looked at it, then smiled, "The embroidery is really beautiful, and it's auspicious clouds, just like my name." After saying that, he shook out the wedding dress and put it on directly over his clothes. He had changed into clean clothes before coming, so he was not afraid of getting the wedding dress dirty.
Zhao Shiyun turned it around twice to show Lin Yan, "It fits me very well, I like it very much, thank you, Brother Yan."
Lin Yan lowered his head shyly and smiled.
Zhao Shiyun took off his wedding gown, and Lin Yan helped him fold it while chatting with him: "Brother Shiyun, have you started decorating your house yet?"
"It's started. Now there are wedding characters everywhere in the house, even in the tofu shop. They were all cut by my mom." Zhao Shiyun suddenly remembered something and laughed, "She also cut a small wedding character and stuck it on the forehead of the donkey at home."
Lin Yan couldn't help laughing, "This is too tragic."
Zhao Shiyun was stunned when he saw him smile. Lin Yan looked very nice when he smiled. His big eyes were slightly curved and he had two dimples, and his whole person looked brighter.
Lin Yan looked at the man staring at him and his face turned even redder.
Zhao Shiyun looked away and saw that he was still sewing something on the table. He asked, "Is there anything else you haven't finished sewing?"
Lin Yan replied: "I'm thinking of making two purses, one for you and one for me."
"Made it for me?" Zhao Shiyun was very surprised.
"Yes, I'll bring it with me when we get married and give it to you then."
"Okay." Zhao Shiyun said with a smile, "We've been preparing the dishes for the wedding banquet these days. We have enough chickens at home. In a couple of days, Zhao the Butcher will slaughter the pig and I'll go order some pork belly, as well as red dates, longans, peanuts, lotus seeds, and so on. My father also dug up a small osmanthus tree in the mountains and planted it in the yard. In a few years, when it grows up and the osmanthus flowers bloom, it will be very fragrant."
"Where are the fish? Do you go and catch them yourself?" Lin Yan was a little curious. There would always be fish at the banquet.
"Yes, I went there yesterday with my two cousins. We caught quite a few fish in the river near the village. I should have brought you two, but I was in such a hurry to get the wedding dress that I forgot." Zhao Shiyun chuckled and scratched his head. "I'll bring them to you later."
Lin Yan also smiled. "No need. I have fish at home. I bought some yesterday when I went to sell vegetables. This morning, my mom went to buy some tofu. I'm going to make fish soup tonight."
"If you want tofu, I'll just bring it to you. Why bother getting up early to buy it?" Zhao Shiyun was a little annoyed. Even after they were engaged, he hadn't even thought of sending Yan Ge'er gifts every now and then. No wonder his mother called him a blockhead. Luckily, he'd gone to town a few days ago and bought a silver bracelet at Miaoyin Pavilion, perfect for Yan Ge'er.
Zhao Shiyun quickly took out the silver bracelet from his arms. The silver bracelet was wrapped in a square handkerchief. When he opened it, Lin Yan looked at him with bright eyes. Zhao Shiyun said, "Brother Yan, this bracelet is for you. I am a bit dull. If I do something wrong in the future, don't mind. I will change and I will treat you well."
Lin Yan took it and looked at it. The silver bracelet was a bamboo-jointed design, each section engraved with bamboo leaves, very delicate. He hesitated and said, "Thank you, Brother Shi Yun, but this is very expensive, right?"
"It's not expensive, as long as you like it." This bracelet was bought for one or two taels of silver. Zhao Shiyun didn't intend to tell him for fear that Lin Yan would feel burdened.
Lin Yan was not the type to ask inquiries, so he tried it on his hand and showed it to Zhao Shiyun. "It looks good," he smiled.
Zhao Shiyun was very happy to see him so happy. He wanted to stay longer and talk to Yan Ge'er, but he was afraid that the villagers would gossip if he stayed too long. Just as he was hesitating, Zhou Chunlan came back. Zhao Shiyun was sharp-eyed and saw her carrying a basket of vegetables. He hurried over to help. Zhou Chunlan relaxed her grip and breathed a sigh of relief. "Shiyun is here."
"Hello, Auntie. I'm here to get the wedding dress. Where do I put this dish?"
"Just put it in the yard for me." Zhou Chunlan went into the house and washed her hands. "We'll have dinner here later. Auntie bought some fish and made some tofu and fish soup."
Zhao Shiyun waved his hand: "No, auntie, I need to make more tofu for the banquet these days. I have several buckets of beans soaked at home and haven't ground them yet."
"Well, you go ahead and do your thing. I'll make it for you when I have the chance."
"Okay, Auntie, Brother Yan, I'll go back first."
Zhao Shiyun returned home, put the wedding dress in the closet, said goodbye to his mother, put two fish in a small bucket, and carried them to Lin Yan's house.
Seeing him come back, Lin Yan opened the door puzzled and saw the fish in his hand. Before he could say anything, Zhao Shiyun said, "If you can't eat it, keep it for a few days, or make it into fried fish or cured fish. I have plenty of fish at home anyway."
Lin Yan glared at him and said, "Where can I find the spare money to waste oil on frying fish?"
Zhao Shiyun chuckled and said, "If you don't want to do it, then don't do it. You can eat it in two days anyway."
Fried fish is a common dish at banquets here. Fresh silver carp is killed, cut into pieces, coated in batter, and deep-fried. The result is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, a favorite of both adults and children. The batter is made with cornmeal, salt, eggs, and water. Flour is actually better, but it's expensive, so most farmers use cornmeal. Half a pot of lard is used to fry the fish, and after frying the fish, it can be used to stir-fry other dishes, ensuring minimal waste. The remaining lard can also be stir-fried with dried radish and garlic sprouts, creating a meat dish.
Normally, we don’t want to use so much oil when cooking at home, so this dish is only prepared at banquets. Lin Yan hasn’t eaten it for a long time.
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