Today, most of the people in Wujia Village came to the old house for the wedding banquet. The bridal sedan chair is still on its way and has not yet entered the village.
Taking advantage of the break, Jiang Yue led Yao Yao into one of the side rooms of the second house amidst a chorus of greetings.
"Erlang's wife, look! Your sister-in-law is here!"
"Make way, everyone! This auntie is going to help her niece with her dowry!"
"Hey, look at me, standing there like a blockhead!"
......
Old Mrs. Zhou was choosing hairpins for her granddaughter, and she pinned several red velvet flowers in her granddaughter's hair bun, making her look very happy.
Hearing the chattering sounds inside the house, she looked up and smiled at the third son's wife.
"Third sister-in-law, you've arrived~"
Xiao Zhou's eyes were red, clearly from crying, and her voice was slightly hoarse.
"Second sister-in-law, it would be improper for me not to attend your daughter's wedding day."
Jiang Yue released Yao Yao's hand, gesturing for her daughter to go and check on her second sister, who was getting ready.
As she responded to her second sister-in-law, she took out a silver note from her bosom and handed it to her, saying:
"This is a small token of my appreciation as your third aunt, to help with your daughter's dowry."
"That won't do, Third Sister-in-law, you've already helped us enough."
Although Little Zhou didn't know many words, she was fortunate enough to have seen silver notes!
Don't be fooled by this flimsy piece of paper; she guessed the amount must be substantial!
"Here, it's for the little girl. Don't forget, she's not only my niece, but also my niece-in-law!"
Jiang Yue slipped the item into her second sister-in-law's hand, blinked, and thought to herself, "I'm keeping this good stuff in the family!"
Madam Zhou paused, then, realizing what had happened, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After sincerely thanking her, she carefully folded the silver notes and placed them directly into her daughter's arms, instructing her:
"Girl, this is something your third aunt gave you to rely on. Keep it safe. Remember how good your third aunt was to you, and be filial to her in the future, okay?"
"Yes, Mother."
The little girl's face was flushed. She first responded to her mother, then stood up, steadied herself, turned around, and gave a graceful bow to her third aunt to show her respect.
"Alright, alright, we're all family, no need for so much formality. Today is your big day, your third aunt is here to support you."
When Lei Zi comes to pick up the bride later, I'll have your brothers make things difficult for him so he knows that if he wants to marry a daughter from the Wu family, he'll have to put in some effort!
After I marry you, I will treat you like a precious jewel!
Jiang Yue helped the little girl up and comforted her affectionately.
Hearing this, Old Zhou felt even more grateful to her third son's wife.
Even Xiao Zhou felt much more at ease about the Jiang family after hearing her third sister-in-law's words.
Although the other women in the room saw Jiang come to add to the dowry and slip a piece of paper to Xiao Zhou, their limited knowledge meant they did not know it was a silver note.
After they got home, they chatted with others, and one of them said that it might be a silver note. Otherwise, wouldn't it be ridiculous for the aunt to only give a piece of paper as a dowry?
But, a silver note, how much is that?
The smallest denominations of silver notes circulating in the market today are fifty taels, one hundred taels, two hundred taels...
For the next two weeks, the villagers were all speculating about the face value of the dowry notes issued by the Jiang family.
In the kitchen, there weren't enough stoves, so a temporary outdoor stove was set up.
Da Zhou and seven or eight other women were washing rice and vegetables, cutting meat and killing fish.
Someone with ulterior motives embellished the story of how Jiang sent money to her as part of her dowry.
But she just smiled and understood without saying anything.
The third sister-in-law has money, that's her ability, she can give it to whomever she wants, it has nothing to do with the eldest branch of the family.
Besides, the little girl was her niece whom she had watched grow up. Although she didn't have as much money as her third sister-in-law to give her silver notes, she still gave her ten taels as a dowry in private. She had a clear conscience!
Besides, her eldest daughter is now the deputy director of the pharmaceutical factory, and her salary is quite good every month. Last month, she even received a bonus of two ounces!
The eldest daughter is a filial child, and all her wages are entrusted to her for safekeeping. Thinking of the savings, she feels only gratitude towards her third sister-in-law, and no resentment!
If it weren't for the third sister-in-law giving Da Niu a way out and teaching the head of the household how to deal with that damned Xue Pan, Da Niu would still be living or dead!
People should be content with what they have. She gets along very well with her sisters-in-law, so why should she make enemies because of other people's jealousy?
"Eldest daughter-in-law, can you help me check if I've placed these tables and chairs crookedly?"
Suddenly, her father-in-law's shouts rang out. Being a dutiful woman, Da Zhou immediately handed over her work to another woman she knew well, got up, and hurried over...
"Tsk tsk, do you think Madam Zhou is stupid? Her own son's wedding wasn't even this lively, and she still has the mind to organize a wedding banquet for a niece from her second branch who's getting married~"
The woman who had started the trouble earlier continued to gossip with ill intent, but no one responded. They were there to help, not to talk about their master's affairs!
The woman who was on good terms with Da Zhou was angry at this man's foul mouth, so she pretended to accidentally throw the watery water from washing fish at him.
"Splash!"
"Ouch! You bastard, why did you splash water all over my face! It stinks, it's dirty water! My clothes!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, my hand slipped and I didn't hold it properly. Why don't you go home and change your clothes?"
"I think you're doing this on purpose~"
"What a joke! I was working diligently and didn't say anything bad about the owners. How could I have done it on purpose?"
"you--"
"I advise you to watch your mouth, or you might fall into the toilet at night!"
"you--"
"Alright, alright, today is a joyous occasion for the Wu family. Anyone who dares to make a sound, get the hell out of here!"
Old Master Wu also heard the commotion and walked over without saying a word. After listening to a few words, he glared at the dirty woman, his tone full of anger.
Immediately, someone came over to comfort Mr. Wu and persuade him not to get angry.
The woman who splashed water knew that Mr. Wu had come to help her, so she pretended to apologize and went back to work.
The woman who had intended to stir up trouble, having no grounds for complaint and feeling guilty, slunk away under the watchful eyes of the crowd to go home and change her clothes!
The brief interlude was quickly interrupted by the lively sound of gongs, followed by the sound of flower drums!
"Knock knock knock~"
"Bang bang bang~"
"Da da da~"
As the bridal procession gradually came into view, the man leading the way on horseback, wearing a large red flower on his chest, was none other than Jiang Lei!
"Quickly, set off firecrackers to welcome the new son-in-law!"
At Grandpa Wu's command, Da Shi led Xiao Shi to the courtyard gate to set off firecrackers.
As the tinderbox was lit and firecrackers boomed, the lively wedding procession began!
In the bride's boudoir, her childhood friends, who had grown up with her, were all peeking at her future husband through the window and cracks in the door...
Wow~
The groom, tall and strong, leaped down from his horse.
His handsome face made his girlfriends blush and exclaim in admiration, envying the girl for marrying so well!
Hearing the other girls' exclamations, Xiao Zhou and her mother-in-law exchanged a smile. Then, the two of them lifted the veil and lowered it to cover the young girl's shy face...
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