Chapter 20

In addition to the ancient buildings, what remains of Wei Zhuang Commune from ancient times are the complicated rituals.

For example, when getting married, there are many etiquettes to attend from the time the matchmaker visits to the time the wedding takes place.

Let’s take Xu Wen and Lu Yuanzheng as an example.

After the matchmaker came to propose marriage for Lu Yuanzheng, the Xu family agreed that they should ask the matchmaker to reply again.

However, Lu Yuanzheng skipped this step.

After the matchmaker conveyed to both parties their willingness to take the next step, the two young people went on their first date accompanied by the matchmaker.

If both parties are satisfied with each other, they will arrange a time to bring their partner home to meet their parents.

Xu Wen first followed Lu Yuanzheng to his home, and then Xu Wen took Lu Yuanzheng to his own home.

Meeting each other's parents is not the same day, so it is often convenient to meet each other for a long time to get to know each other better.

Of course Lu Yuanzheng skipped this step as well.

After each party has met the other's parents, the parents of both parties will meet.

Wait until the parents of both parties meet before exchanging handkerchiefs.

The hand-kerchief exchange is that the man and the woman each prepare a handkerchief and exchange them on the day of the hand-kerchief exchange, which is a bit similar to the exchange of tokens in ancient times.

After this step is the betrothal gift. Choose a good and auspicious day, invite a gong and drum team, and a group of people push the betrothal gift on a cart or pull it on an ox cart to the bride's house.

After the engagement is made, the next step is to choose a date, which means choosing an auspicious day suitable for the wedding.

Also called engagement.

After choosing the date, there are still some miscellaneous etiquette and rituals to attend to until the wedding day.

Most of the above will be skipped by Lu Yuanzheng.

He can't afford to waste time because of his special job.

The Xu family understood his situation and knew that he was not neglecting Xu Wen, so they agreed to Lu Yuanzheng's plan to combine the many rituals of meeting the in-laws, exchanging hands, handing over the betrothal gifts, and choosing a date into one, and directly omitted the part where the man and woman had to meet each other's parents.

Lu Yuanzheng did not follow the rules from the beginning and directly followed the matchmaker to the house. As for himself, he had no parents and could not bring Xu Wen to see him.

So Lu Yuanzheng and Xu Qiushi worked together and combined the remaining steps into one step.

It can be called meeting the in-laws or simply engagement.

"The weather in June is like a baby, how come the weather in July is still changing like a child! The rain comes without warning." Zhu Meizhen complained while running.

Xu Wen didn't answer the call, and he couldn't answer it because the weather had no say.

It started raining as soon as the mother and daughter escaped from under the eyes of the law enforcement team.

She ran with Zhu Meizhen, holding a vegetable basket in one hand and covering her eyes with the other.

Normally, if it rains, no one has to go to work, so Zhu Meizhen can go to the production team and ask a few people to come to her house to help. Anyway, the members can't earn work points if it rains.

But it is a bit troublesome to pay the betrothal gift when it is raining and the journey is long. What if the things get soaked?

Besides, it is not easy to hire people, and the Xu family’s place is too small to accommodate them.

Zhu Meizhen is still worried.

"Mom, don't think so much, just keep it simple. Complicated formalities waste time and money." Xu Wen didn't like the hassle. If she could make the decision, she would like to travel and get married, but unfortunately she can't.

"You only get married once in your life, how can you make it simple? You've already been wronged by marrying Xiao Zheng, so many etiquettes have been simplified into one step, how can it be simpler? Fortunately, Xiao Zheng is a good person who really cares about you."

Hearing this, Xu Wen couldn't help but become curious again, "Mom, what did Lu Yuanzheng say to you and my dad? Why did you suddenly nod in agreement?"

Zhu Meizhen glanced at Xu Wen, hesitated for a moment, and shook her head, refusing to tell her, "Nothing. Let's go! Everything will get wet soon."

Xu asked: "..."

It's really strange that the whole family kept it a secret from her.

The more his family members acted like this, the more curious Xu Wen became.

After all, Zhu Meizhen is not someone who can keep secrets.

What did Lu Yuanzheng say to Zhu Meizhen's parents that made her keep it a secret?

Zhu Meizhen looked down at the hen in her hand that was clucking in the rain, then looked at the basket of vegetables that Xu Wen was carrying and sighed, "I can't take advantage of Comrade Xiao Wen for nothing. I have to return the chicken to him later."

Xu Wen shook his head: "No need. You can't find him now. The car surrounded by the law enforcement team is his. I'm afraid all the things in the car have been confiscated."

In fact, Xu Wen guessed that the law enforcement team raided just to catch Wen Yiming and the others.

Ordinary people did some odd little trade to make a living, and the commune officials could turn a blind eye to it. After all, for example, Xu Wen's family only went to sell chickens a few times a year.

Wen Yiming and his friends are different. They are real profiteers.

If she guessed correctly, the various commodities on the truck were all brought back by Wen Yiming and his men from places in the south such as Shenzhen.

"Really?" Zhu Meizhen was so shocked that she almost threw the hen in her hand, "You said that car belonged to Wen Yiming?"

Xu Wen nodded, "Nine out of ten."

These days a car is much more expensive than a house.

How did Wen Yiming get so much money at such a young age?

Not only money, but also brains and courage.

He has a lot of secrets.

"That's against the law!" Zhu Meizhen shook her head repeatedly, looking terrified. "Speculation is a serious crime. Fortunately, you didn't marry him. Comrade Xiao Wen looks gentle and nerdy, but how could he be so courageous?"

She recalled the gentleness she saw today and sighed again, "I'm afraid she was just pretending to be gentle and polite. I think what she looked like today was real."

Xu Wen nodded, she thought so too.

Zhu Meizhen glanced at the basket of vegetables that Xu Wen was carrying, "Then let's take advantage of him today, and then give him the money when he's done."

"good."

"Let's go! I wonder if Xiao Zheng and the others have arrived yet?"

"He's definitely not here. It's not even seven o'clock yet." How could someone come to meet his in-laws so early in the morning?

When Xu Wen and her daughter got home, they found that all the Xu family members were already dressed and gathered around Lu Yuanzheng, who shouldn't be here at this time.

"Why did you come so early?" Xu Wen asked Lu Yuanzheng with a puzzled look on his face.

Lu Yuanzheng stood up and took the basket from Xu Wen naturally, pointing to the inner room, "Go change your clothes first! We'll talk later so you don't catch a cold."

The Xu family members: “…”Are we here as guests?

Xu asked: "..."Are you too familiar?

But she didn't say anything, nodded and went into the inner room.

Zhu Meizhen came in a little later than Xu Wen. She had to go to the chicken coop to put the chickens back before coming back.

When Zhu Meizhen went to change her clothes, Xu Qiushi followed her into the room and said, "Why don't you just change into the clothes you need to meet the guests? Yuanzheng said we'll have lunch at the hotel and talk about business at the same time."

Zhu Meizhen frowned: "How expensive are the dishes in the hotel? Why doesn't this kid know how to save money?"

"Yuanzheng is thinking about you. He said that it's unnecessary for you to work so hard cooking in such a hot day. Besides, it's raining now, and the stove outside can't be used. The stove inside the house might smoke. How can we talk when we can't even stay in the house?" Xu Qiushi paused after speaking, feeling a little happy. "In fact, I think he is worried that it will be financially difficult for us to entertain so many people. This kid is steady and careful. Besides, if we entertain at home, our palm-sized place can barely accommodate more than ten people. It's also okay to go to a hotel. Yuanzheng said that he has already made a reservation with the hotel and asked us to go there directly later."

Zhu Meizhen responded and told him about her encounter with Wen Yiming on Xiaoliu Street today. She asked Xu Qiushi, "I want to ask, is that truck Wen Yiming's? Do you think it's true?"

Xu Qiushi shook his head. "I don't know. But Wenwen has never said anything nonsense since she was little. Now that she has spoken, it must be true. No wonder Wenwen looks down on Wen Yiming. I don't know who this girl is from. She has been smart since she was little and has good ideas."

Zhu Meizhen raised her head proudly: "Of course, don't you see who gave birth to this child?!"

Xu Qiushi nodded, somewhat perfunctorily: "You have done the most for giving birth to this child. You can change it slowly. I'll go out and take a look."

Xu Qiushi walked out of the inner room and Lu Yuanzheng was preparing to go home.

"Have breakfast before going back?" Xu Qiushi asked him to stay.

"No, uncle. Dongsheng is home alone, he should wake up now."

Lu Yuanzheng came here early in the morning because he was afraid that the Xu family would tighten their belts to buy groceries. He wanted to talk to Xu about it, but he was still a step late.

After bidding farewell to Lu Yuanxun, the family gathered around the table to eat breakfast.

Mixed grain steamed buns served with porridge and salted vegetables.

"Xiao Zheng is a really capable kid." Zhu Meizhen was more and more satisfied with her son-in-law. "We are the first family in the commune to meet our in-laws in a hotel. Who knows what those people who gossip about us will say."

Xu Wen curled his lips, "This is just a waste of money and no way to live, what's the good of it?"

Although he said this, the expression on his face did not show it.

Sang Xiaoqing said, "It's not a waste. Comrade Xiaolu knows that our family is not well off and is worried that it would be difficult for us to entertain our guests. This is a sign of caring! In this respect, he is better than Wen Yiming, who is probably not so considerate."

Zhu Meizhen shook her head when she heard this: "Don't mention Wen Yiming anymore."

She told him about her chance encounter with Wen Yiming on Xiaoliu Street in the morning.

"Let me ask, are the goods on that truck really all from Wen Yiming?" Xu Wen was still a little unconvinced.

Xu Wen nodded, "I think so. I've seen him with the guys selling goods. They call Wen Yiming 'Boss'."

"Tsk!" Xu Wen gasped, "I didn't expect this kid to be so daring."

Grandma said, "This Wen family kid is quite amazing. I heard that he has the final say in his family, and even his parents listen to him. I didn't expect him to be so bold."

Grandma was still able to walk, and she often chatted with other old ladies in the production team who were unable to work. Ever since Xu Wen was talked about, she had been asking about Lu Yuanzheng and Wen Yiming.

All we can say about Lu Yuanzheng is that he was a widower with a son.

He had not been home for several years, and the people in his production team didn't know much about him, not even when he got married and had children.

Wen Yiming has been living in the commune. No matter how well he hides, the neighbors he often sees will notice something.

It is said that Wen Yiming was indeed a nerd in the past, very dull and his academic performance was not very good.

I failed the high school entrance exam the year before last.

Once on the way to the county bookstore to buy books, I had an accident and was hit by a car and hit my head.

The injury was not serious and I only stayed in the hospital for a few days.

But the person seemed to have been enlightened and became smarter. Not only did he get into high school, but he also became particularly tactful in dealing with people.

He didn't know how to negotiate with the owner of the car that hit him, but the other party compensated his family and arranged for his parents to enter the commune to eat commercial grain.

In those days, those who could drive a sedan were either officials or wealthy people.

Later, Wen Yiming's family moved to a bigger house, and the conditions became better and better.

Wen Yiming also became a child from another family, praised by everyone in the commune.

"Everyone thought it was because the Wen couple ate commodity grains, but they didn't expect that the money was earned by the Wen kid through speculation." Grandma sighed and shook her head, "Fortunately, Wenwen didn't agree to marry him. If she had made that much money, she wouldn't have been able to sleep well."

Sang Xiaoqing was speechless and felt scared: "If I get caught, I will be sentenced. If I marry her, won't it be..."

From then on, the Xu family finally reached a consensus and all felt that Lu Yuanzheng was better than Wen Yiming.

They are just law-abiding citizens and would not dare to become relatives with someone who might get arrested and sent to jail.

The hotel they had lunch at was the same one Xu Wen and Lu Yuanzheng went to yesterday.

Xu Wen looked suspiciously at Lu Yuanzheng who was standing at the door to greet guests.

She reasonably suspected that Lu Yuanzheng invited her to dinner yesterday just for fun, and that he came here mainly to try the food.

Lu Yuanzheng didn’t know what Xu Wen was thinking. If he knew, he would definitely cry out that he was innocent.

He had been thinking last night about how to make the Xu family accept that he was responsible for buying groceries.

If you insist on giving money or food, the Xu family will definitely not accept it.

Inviting him to his house for dinner shows that he is not sincere towards the girl.

It is indeed not easy to do.

It was Dongsheng who reminded him: "Dad, if we treat you to a meal, why don't you just rush to pay for it?"

This is what Lu Yuanzheng and his comrades were like when they occasionally went to a hotel!

Why are you worried about inviting someone to dinner? A three-and-a-half-year-old boy doesn't understand.

Only then did Lu Yuanzheng realize that he could go out to eat.

Although Wei Zhuang had never done this before, he always made exceptions when proposing and getting married.

The Xu family borrowed a bullock cart from the production team to get here. It was impractical for grandma to walk such a long distance because of her bound feet.

In addition to their family of seven, they also invited three prestigious people who were familiar with the marriage process to provide support in the production team.

Xu Wen also stood beside Lu Yuanzheng, waiting with him until the guests arrived. Then the two of them walked inside side by side.

In the middle of the hotel lobby, four tables were put together and were still full.

There were ten people, big and small, coming to Xu Wen's house.

Although Lu Yuanzheng's parents were not around, in order to show his respect for Xu Wen, he invited two cadres from the commune in addition to the prestigious people from his uncle's family and the production team.

Xu Wen heard them greet each other and found out that these two cadres held quite high positions in the commune.

Perhaps because Lu Yuanzheng had made arrangements in advance, the dishes were served very quickly and the table was full in no time.

The dishes are also very rich. Although it is not a full Chinese banquet, the combination of meat and vegetarian dishes is enough to dazzle people.

Xu Wenben thought that it would be difficult for so many people to reach a consensus when sitting together to discuss the marriage.

This was the case when Xu Wen married Sang Xiaoqing.

Although Sang Xiaoqing's production team was not far from Taoyuan's production team, there were some differences in the marriage customs between the two families.

There are always some small details that we can't agree on.

These little details don’t cost much, but they are vulgar and no one wants to compromise.

The Xu family is actually easy to talk to, and most of the time they are willing to give in. But if they give in a little and give in to Sang Xiaoqing's family, then won't the young men from Taoyuan Production Brigade who get married in the future also have to give in?!

So even if the Xu family was willing, the prestigious person in charge would not be willing.

The two sides went back and forth, bargaining, and even the smallest matter would take a long time to discuss.

The two sides had several quarrels and could not continue the talks.

When Xu Wen married Sang Xiaoqing, he followed all the rules and etiquette at every step. They often only had one meal a day, and both parties were still somewhat unhappy.

What the two parties were arguing about was just a trivial matter like whether there was a stepping stone for the bride to get married or not.

The so-called stepping stone refers to the kang on which the bride usually sits before being taken away.

In some places, a stone is placed next to the kang, with two cents pressed under the stone.

This rule exists in Sang Xiaoqing's home, but not in Taoyuan Brigade.

It sounds like just a matter of two cents, but both sides can't agree on it.

It wasn't Xu Jiajian, it was the people from Taoyuan Brigade who disagreed to take a step back.

There can be dozens of small differences like this when you get married.

Before Xu Wen came, he was still thinking that even if the engagement was postponed due to the rain, he would have to arrange the dates for meeting the in-laws, exchanging hands and getting engaged at once, and he was afraid that he would not be able to negotiate well even if he stayed up all night.

Who would have thought that no matter what the Xu family said, everyone on Lu Yuanzheng's side nodded in agreement.

He agreed very readily, without even the slightest intention of negotiating.

Xu Wen happened to be sitting next to Lu Yuanzheng, and nudged him under the table: "What's going on?"

This is so abnormal. Even if the journey was long and they were willing, why didn't these officials object?