Chapter 51 Chapter 51 Miao Dong gets married
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Miao Ying had to go back to her parents' home because Miao Dong had said last time that his wedding was scheduled for August 19th, and he had to go back to see if he could be of any help.
Huo Xing originally wanted to go with him, but he couldn't leave because his family was building a house, so Miao Ying asked him to go there on August 18th.
Miao Ying returned alone. He could find the way now. When he got home, the family was busy with preparations. There were people coming and going in the yard, probably all his relatives.
Miao Dong was busy when he saw Miao Ying standing at the door and pulled him into the yard. "Why are you here just now? Did you call anyone?"
Miao Ying shook his head. Although they were his relatives, he didn't recognize any of them. Miao Dong poked him on the forehead, glared at him, and then took him to call people one by one: "Second uncle, third aunt, fourth grandfather..."
However, as Miao Ying had expected, these relatives had a neutral attitude towards him. It was probably because of the original owner's reputation, or perhaps because their family married Miao Ying first, and then Miao Dong got married, so it was inevitable that there would be some opinions among the relatives.
Miao Ying didn't care about their attitude, as there would be few opportunities to deal with them in the future anyway.
After calling everyone, Miao Ying hid in the kitchen. Liu Qiong was the only one in the kitchen. He breathed a sigh of relief: "Mom."
"You're the only one back? Where's Huo Xing?" Liu Qiong put down his work when he saw he was alone. "How's the renovation of the house going? Are there any difficulties?"
"Everything is fine, mother. Huo Xing is still watching at home. I'll ask him to come over when he's eighteen." Miao Ying glanced at the kitchen, where there were a lot of dishes piled up, probably prepared for the banquet.
"How many tables do we need?" Miao Ying took out a potato from the pile of vegetables and played with it in his hands, getting his hands covered in mud.
"Not many, just seven or eight tables." Liu Qiong smiled. Their family didn't have many close neighbors in the village. Maybe it was because their whole family looked fierce and ferocious.
"Is this a banquet for you?"
Liu Qiong nodded: "The wages for one table are 300 coins, and our family will pay for the dishes ourselves."
Miao Ying nodded. He didn't ask about the betrothal gift, fearing his mother would feel uncomfortable. But unexpectedly, Liu Qiong told him: "The betrothal gift is six taels and six, to make a perfect six."
They chatted for a while, and suddenly someone rushed in from outside, looking for Miao Dahai.
Miao Ying followed him out and heard Miao Dahai roaring, "Not coming? I've already bought the food, and you told me you're not coming?"
Miao Dahai is tall and has a rough voice. He is even more terrifying when he gets angry: "Do you think my family is short of this little money?"
Miao Ying came over, and Miao Dong's face was not looking good either. When he heard Miao Ying's question, he told Miao Ying that the person he invited to prepare the banquet could not come. He felt guilty and compensated double the deposit, 50 cents for the deposit, and he returned 100 cents.
The wedding date is approaching, but I still can't invite anyone to the banquet. If this gets out, people will laugh at me. It will also be a loss of face for the new bride. If they bring up the past in the future, it will cause unrest in the family.
Miao Ying asked in a low voice, "Can't you find anyone else?"
"Usually, things like this are discussed a month in advance. There's no such thing as going back on your word at the last minute." Miao Dong hammered the wall.
Miao Ying thought for a moment and said, "If there are only eight tables, I should be able to do it."
Although they had said before that they would prepare a feast for Miao Dong, everyone took it as a joke. In the current situation, Miao Ying could only try his best to save the situation.
"Can you do it?" Miao Dong still didn't quite believe Miao Ying. Although he was different now, this was his wedding after all, and he was still afraid that something might go wrong.
"Otherwise, you should also prepare to find someone. If you really can't find anyone, brother, please trust me this time. I will definitely organize this banquet for you."
After seeing off the relatives who came to help, the family of four closed the door and discussed at home in the evening, and Miao Ying expressed his ideas.
Miao Dahai and Liu Qiong also didn't trust each other, but there was nothing they could do. They could only let Miao Ying prepare first and see if there would be any turning point later.
Miao Ying was lying on the bed at her mother's house, already thinking about how to prepare for Nineteen's feast.
Three cold dishes, three hot dishes, two steamed dishes, and one soup. This is the current banquet specification that Miao Ying asked about, and it is already the lowest specification.
For cold dishes, you can make cold shredded ears, cold peanuts, and cold tripe. For hot dishes, you can make braised pork, braised chicken, and braised duck. For steamed dishes, you can make steamed pig's trotters and braised pork with pork belly. For soup, you can make a pot of pork bone soup.
After Miao Ying fell asleep, he dreamed of the dishes on the banquet and many pigs nudging him.
The next day, Miao Ying told them the menu, and Miao Dahai and Liu Qiong were stunned. Miao Ying thought it was not good enough, so he asked if they wanted to add anything else.
Miao Dong then said, "The original banquet had three cold dishes, all of which were vegetarian, and the hot dish was a large pot of food, not to mention any steamed dishes or soups."
"You still want 300 wen for a banquet like this?" Miao Ying was also stunned. He thought that if he could accept this amount of money, the specifications should at least be the same as his. "Don't bother looking for a banquet, I'll do it."
Miao Ying made the final decision: "But I have to go back home and prepare some things."
The two families lived too far away and Miao Ying's health was not very good, so Miao Dahai borrowed an ox cart to take him there.
They hurried back home, and Huo Xing happened to be at home. When he saw him, he was stunned for a moment, thinking something had happened. After hearing what Miao Ying said, he knew what Miao Ying wanted to do.
"Is it too late if we start now?" Huo Xing asked.
"That should be about the same." Miao Ying scratched his head, "How many are left?"
They don't have much rapeseed left. Miao Ying plans to plant two plots of rapeseed this autumn. If he wants to make some oil, he's afraid there won't be enough seeds.
"Bring some from home." They were very frugal with the oil they used last time, and there was still a small can left.
Miao Ying nodded, packed up some things, and followed Miao Dahai back in a hurry. Huo Xing sent them to the village entrance and said that he would go over to help as soon as he finished his housework.
Miao Dahai then asked him to bring his family over that day, and Huo Xing respectfully agreed.
After returning to Miao's house, Miao Ying began to make preparations. Fortunately, his family was a butcher and they had no shortage of meat.
But according to Miao Ying's menu, the cost of this meal was not a small amount, but Miao Dahai and Liu Qiong didn't care at all and let Miao Ying do whatever he wanted.
Miao Dahai brought back several pig heads. Miao Ying didn't know how to cut them apart, so he had to rely on his father. Miao Dahai smiled and quickly took apart the pig heads. Miao Ying took the ears and the snout, and the remaining pig face meat became their main dish for the past two days.
Braised pork with sourdough is not difficult to make. The pork belly is blanched and then colored. It cannot be fried if there is not enough oil. The taste is definitely not comparable to that of later generations, but it can be made do.
At Miao Dong's wedding, the Miao family used several pig heads, eight pork elbows, two fat chickens and two fat ducks, which was enough to show the Miao family's care.
On the day of the ceremony, Li Hongying also came to help him, and Miao Dahai and Liu Qiong were also very busy.
When Li Hongying came, she also brought Xiaobao and Xiaomutou. Xiaobao had a rare day off and cherished it very much. The two little ones also followed Huo Xing and went to welcome the bride.
Miao Ying was busy in the kitchen in an orderly manner, and with Li Hongying's help, things became even easier. The cold dishes had already been boiled in water and the peanuts had also been mixed.
However, due to the lack of complete seasonings, the taste is definitely not as good as it is today.
The cold dishes had already been mixed and arranged on the plates. A wedding is also called a dusk ceremony, and it is held at dusk. Miao Ying and the others had already cooked the dishes, and they were all being kept warm by the stove. When the wedding party returned, they would just have to serve them out.
There were not many people in the Miao family's yard at this time. They all followed the wedding procession to watch the fun. Li Hongying chatted with him and talked about his wedding with Huo Xing.
"After paying the betrothal gift, our family didn't have much money left, so we couldn't afford such a nice feast," Li Hongying said with a bit of shame. "At that time, we cooked a big pot full of vegetables and didn't even want to put in meat."
He didn't know that the wedding was not Miao Ying's.
"You must have had a lot of resentment in your heart at that time." Li Hongying looked at him, "That's why you behaved like that later."
"I……"
"But it's all in the past," Li Hongying said. "If there's a chance in the future, I'll set up a bar for you again."
"Why would it be so troublesome?" Miao Ying said, "I've been waiting so long to hold the wedding. People will laugh at me."
"I wonder how lively the wedding reception will be." Miao Ying felt a little regretful that he couldn't go and see it.
Liu Qiong and Miao Dahai came out of the room at this time. They both changed into new clothes and still looked a little fierce.
Liu Qiong looked at Miao Ying in the yard and gently touched his head: "Thank you for your hard work, and mother-in-law, I'm so sorry that I asked you to come as a guest, but you are busy."
"It's okay." Miao Ying smiled: "Maybe I can get a job preparing banquets in the future."
After they chatted for a few sentences, they heard a sound coming from afar. It should be the wedding procession returning. Miao Ying and Li Hongying hurried back to the kitchen to set up the dishes. Miao Ying wanted to go and watch the fun for a while.
After the dishes were served, the wedding procession returned and the waiters hired by the Miao family began to serve the dishes.
Huo Xing found the right opportunity, ran to the kitchen, and told Miao Ying about the wedding: "I feel that the people on my sister-in-law's side look a little strange."
Miao Ying was serving soup, and upon hearing this, he nearly dropped the spoon in his hand. "What do you mean?"
Huo Xing shook his head: "I always feel that their eyes are evasive, as if there is something wrong."
Miao Ying patted his chest and said, "Maybe you're overthinking it."
Huo Xing nodded, stopped talking about this matter, and went to help serve the dishes.
Xiaobao and Xiaomutou also came to see him. Xiaomutou gave him another piece of candy. He didn't know how long he had held it in his hand, and it was almost melting.
"Is it fun? Watching other people get married?" Miao Ying touched them one by one. He couldn't go to pick up the bride himself, so he could only listen to their stories.
The little wood was older and spoke more coherently: "It's not as lively as here."
Miao Ying had doubts in his heart.
It was the time for the wedding ceremony, but there were too many people in the main hall and Miao Ying couldn't squeeze in at all. Huo Xing was in the outer room and saw Miao Ying's curiosity, so he picked him up.
Seeing that the ceremony was over, Miao Ying breathed a sigh of relief. After everyone was seated, Miao Ying also found a table to prepare for dinner.
Although he was sitting, he was always paying attention to the comments of the people who came to the banquet about today's meal. However, in such a lively wedding, he didn't hear any talking. When he turned around, everyone was concentrating on eating and no one was talking.
By the time Miao Ying realized he needed to eat, the people at the table had already started scrambling for food. He quickly picked up his chopsticks and picked up some food for Xiaobao and Xiaomutou.
By the time Miao Dong came to toast, there was almost no food left on every table.
Miao Ying saw that something was not right, so he hurried back to the kitchen and fried some vegetarian dishes, so that there was no food left on the table.
When the guests began to leave, Miao Yingcai heard the comments about today's banquet. They all went to Liu Qiong to ask where they found the banquet, and said that it was completely different from what they had eaten before.
Miao Ying then curled his lips.
After they sent all the guests away, it was time for Miao Ying and his family to go home, and the two children were sleepy.
Liu Qiong saw them to the door and, despite Miao Ying's objection, stuffed a tael of silver into his hand. Miao Ying refused, and Liu Qiong became unhappy, saying that a banquet would cost more than a tael of silver.
They argued for a long time at the door, and Miao Ying had no choice but to accept it. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Miao Dong's angry voice in the bridal chamber.
Liu Qiong hurried to the yard. Miao Ying didn't know whether to leave or stay. Huo Xing patted his shoulder and went back to the yard with him.
Liu Qiong knocked on the door. Miao Dong opened it with a red face and pointed at the bride inside: "She is not Qiu Mei at all!"
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