Seeing her third aunt's happy expression, Fang Qiao reminded her, "However, she has one more request. One of her children must take her surname, Wang."
"Then let her take the surname Wang! It doesn't matter what surname her own children have, they'll all be our children. At worst, you two can have a couple more children in the future, one with the surname Wang and the other with the surname Cheng." Auntie San was very open-minded.
"Yes," Xiaoqiang replied, blushing.
No matter how hastily Xiaoqiang's wedding is arranged, the proper etiquette must still be observed.
The next day, Auntie San took the gifts, along with Xiaoqiang, Fang Qiaocheng, Bodong, and two elders from the village, to Qiaozhuang Qiuju's house to deliver the betrothal gifts and set the date.
Qiuju's elders were also waiting at home.
Besides Qiuju's mother, her three aunts, two uncles, and one aunt also came.
Auntie San wasn't someone who didn't understand etiquette. Although Qiuju herself said she didn't want a bride price, she still scraped together 29 yuan from her relatives, symbolizing that the young couple would be together forever, and handed it to Qiuju in front of all her relatives.
Upon their first meeting, both parties were quite satisfied with the marriage. After discussing it, they set the wedding date for the 29th day of the first lunar month, which was just three days later.
That afternoon, she took Zhou Xueyi's thank-you gift and his old cotton-padded coat to Xiaozhongzhuang and invited him to attend Xiaoqiang's wedding three days later.
Zhou Xueyi agreed.
The next day, Xiaoqiang took Qiuju to town to buy wedding supplies and also brought back their marriage certificate.
Third Aunt looked carefully at the marriage certificate that Xiaoqiang brought back, and finally felt relieved of the heavy burden that had been weighing on her heart.
She meticulously prepared for Xiaoqiang's wedding and invited close friends and family to come and celebrate.
After walking around the village, Auntie San met Jiang Moli at the alley entrance.
Since losing her child, Jiang Moli's face has been deathly pale, and her overall condition seems off.
She called out to her third aunt, "Is Xiaoqiang getting married?"
Her aunt gave her a disgusted look. "This wedding has nothing to do with you. Don't come. You're not welcome in my house!"
"I know, don't worry, I won't go and cause trouble." Jiang Moli lowered her eyes and said softly, "Also, I'm sorry about Xiao Jing's matter, I didn't think about it before."
Third Aunt snorted, ignored her, turned around and went into the house, slamming the outer door shut with a deafening roar.
Jiang Moli stood still, her lips pressed tightly together, her eyes deep and unfathomable.
She couldn't understand how it could be Wang Qiuju.
In the dream, Xiaoqiang was never married, but he injured the person who bullied Xiaojing and went to jail.
Wang Qiuju did not marry Xiaoqiang, but a widower from Qiantangzhuang.
That man had a handsome face, but he was a gigolo.
However, Wang Qiuju was an iron lady who never complained about hardship or fatigue. She raised three children single-handedly. Even in middle age, she set up a noodle stall at the crossroads in front of the town's supply and marketing cooperative, specializing in fried sugar cakes, fried dough sticks, and fried vegetable pancakes. She managed to send all three children to university and even opened a chain store in a big city, which made it into the provincial newspaper.
Xiaoqiang has married such a formidable woman; things are really going to get complicated in the future.
Jiang Moli's thoughts were unknown to anyone, and Xiao Qiang's wedding proceeded smoothly.
Although the feast that day wasn't as lavish as other families', it still included two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, making it a respectable affair.
Qiuju is an extremely generous and cheerful girl. When toasting elders, she is sweet-talking, and when toasting her peers, she is very generous. When teased about having a son soon or having two children in three years, she can calmly reply, "Thank you for your kind words."
After going around the circle, she remained calm, while Xiao Qiang, who was 1.8 meters tall, was blushing with embarrassment, looking like a shy young wife. They actually looked quite well-matched.
Xiao Jing forced a smile and came out to celebrate her younger brother's wedding. Fortunately, since it was a happy occasion for her family, no foul-mouthed scoundrels came out to cause trouble.
After the banquet ended in the afternoon, Xiaoqiang borrowed a donkey cart from the village and took Qiuju's family back home.
Qiuju stood at the door and said goodbye to her mother: "Mother, you go home with your eldest aunt first. In a few days, after my eldest brother and sister-in-law go to the capital and vacate the house, I will have Xiaoqiang go to Qiaozhuang to pick you up."
Third Aunt also took Fang Qiao's hand, pulled her aside, and stuffed a red envelope into her hand.
"Xiao Qiao, Xiao Qiang's wedding was all thanks to your hard work. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so well arranged. In a way, you were their matchmaker, so consider this red envelope my matchmaker gift to you. Auntie is a bit short on cash right now, so there's not much money in it. Please don't think it's too little."
"There's no such thing as too little to share in the joyous occasion. Not too little at all." Fang Qiao was flattered to receive a red envelope from the matchmaker, saying, "This is the first time I've ever received a matchmaker's gift."
"Then you'd better keep it safe."
Auntie patted Fang Qiao's hand and asked, "What train number do you and Bai Dong have?"
"The third day of the second lunar month is the twenty-seventh in the Gregorian calendar, which is the day after tomorrow," Fang Qiao replied. "February in the Gregorian calendar only has 28 days. If we leave a day early on the 27th, we'll have an extra day to tidy up the house when we get there."
"Okay, go a day early so you won't be rushed. Remember to write home when you get there."
Auntie San added, "By the way, Xiaojing also made two pairs of soft-soled shoes for An'an these past two days. The shoes are finished, but the embroidery on them is missing. Xiaojing will work hard to finish the embroidery these next few days, so don't forget to take them with you when you leave."
Fang Qiao said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have troubled Xiao Jing again."
"What's the trouble? She just loves doing this," Auntie said. "It's better to keep her busy so she won't overthink things."
“You’re right.” Fang Qiao asked, “I see that Xiao Jing is smiling a bit today. Don’t worry, she’ll get better slowly.”
Auntie sighed, "Well, there's nothing we can do about it, we can only take it slowly."
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a woman's terrified scream coming from the courtyard.
It's Xiaojing!
Third Aunt and Fang Qiao exchanged a glance, and without saying anything more, they hurriedly turned around and ran towards the source of the sound.
The sounds came from the inner room of the main hall, accompanied by Xiao Jing's screams, the sound of things being smashed, and a man's drunken cursing.
"You're just a used slut who's been slept with, what are you pretending to be, a virtuous and chaste woman?"
"I only agreed to marry you out of pity, and you, a used slut, dare to look down on me?"
"I'll have my way with you today, let's see if you'll still marry me!"
Fang Qiao had good hearing and heard the man's voice inside the room through the wall; her gaze instantly turned cold.
She quickened her pace and ran into the house, and others who heard the commotion also ran into the house.
In the end, Fang Qiao and Zhou Xueyi were the fastest runners.
As soon as Fang Qiao entered the room, she saw Xiao Jing being held down on the bed by a lewd middle-aged man who was choking her.
Tears streamed down her face, but she didn't give up the fight. Gritting her teeth, she gripped a wooden comb tightly in her hand, pressing it against the middle-aged man's throat to stop him from getting any closer.
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