Xia Liang, thinking there would be many guests tomorrow, bought over a hundred cups. The weight of the cups nearly crushed her as she paid for them. After much effort, she finally carried them home. Zhao Danxiang told her to wash the cups and use them to make tea. Xia Liang resigned herself to the task and worked, boiling several large kettles of water before finally getting a break. However, after only a few minutes of rest, Zhao Danxiang called her out to buy groceries again. The groceries she had bought for tomorrow's wedding banquet couldn't be touched, as tomorrow was the main feast. Xia Liang bought some vegetables and eggs. She had considered buying some meat at the black market, but then she thought of her family—if they knew she was doing well, they would leech off her. So she abandoned the idea.
Back home, Xia Liang helped her mother with the cooking. She washed the vegetables and peeled a small basin of potatoes. Zhao Danxiang first put the rice in the pot to steam, then cracked ten eggs and put them in the pot to steam. She then shredded the potatoes her daughter had peeled and prepared them. She used the cabbage to stir-fry with tofu skin, and stir-fried the shredded potatoes with green peppers. With the steamed eggs, she felt there wasn't enough food, so Zhao Danxiang went to the yard to pick a few cucumbers, washed them, smashed them on the cutting board, added minced garlic, chili oil, and soy sauce, and mixed them together to make another cold dish. When they were served, everyone was hungry, so they ate their rice and began to eat heartily. Especially Grandma Xia, who kept scooping steamed eggs into her grandson's bowl, afraid that her eldest grandson would not eat a bite less. The family rarely ate rice in the village, but today, seeing Xia Liang bring in a big pot of rice, the family ate all the dishes on the table, and even the leftover white rice was not left uneaten. They ate the whole pot of rice directly. Xia Youshun and his wife were a little embarrassed, feeling that it was only because they were at their son's house that they felt it would be too shameful to eat at the same table with such relatives.
After finishing his meal, Xia Fu noticed the television on Xia Liang's table and asked, "Second Uncle, when did you buy this television? How much did it cost? Did you need a receipt?" Xia Dahe followed his gaze and saw the television in the house. He quickly asked Xia Liang, "Liang, did you buy this television? You're wasting money like this!" Although he said this, he was secretly very proud. After all, no one in the village had a television; his family was the first to buy one. Xia Liang explained, "I didn't buy it. It was a wedding gift from my brother's friend." Xia Rong looked at his sister suspiciously. Xia Liang said, "Gu Yanxiao gave it to us." Xia Rong smiled knowingly but didn't say anything, giving his sister a meaningful look. Xia Liang glared at him, and he returned to normal. Xia Dahe asked his son suspiciously, "Rong, what kind of friend of yours is so generous? I didn't see it at your engagement." Since they gave a television, their relationship must be quite special. Xia Rong said, "He is a soldier and cannot go out without leave." Xia Dahe said, "Oh, I see." He didn't ask any more questions, but instead looked at the TV with curiosity and asked Xia Liang how to turn it on. After Xia Liang turned on the TV, the whole family gathered around the TV, including Xia Youshun and his wife.
And so, the group, who had traveled all day, didn't rest after dinner but instead gathered around the television to watch TV. Xia Liang and Zhao Danxiang cleared away the dishes to wash, and also checked if everything needed to be prepared for tomorrow; after all, it was a big day, and they couldn't be careless. The family watched TV until after 11 PM, when Xia Youshun remarked, "Xia Rong has to get up early tomorrow to pick up the bride." Otherwise, they didn't know how late they would have watched. Even so, the whole family was still engrossed and didn't want to go to sleep. Since the main room wasn't big enough, Zhao Danxiang cleared out the side room, found some straw mats to lay on the floor, and added a quilt. The warehouse where the fabric had been stored had also been cleaned up long ago. Because of the large number of people on the wedding day, it wasn't practical to keep it locked; suspicious people would think too much. To avoid any unforeseen problems, Xia Liang suggested moving the fabric away first and bringing it back later.
There weren't enough rooms to sleep in, so a warehouse and a workroom were added. Finally, everyone was settled in, and they were just waiting for Xia Rong to pick up his new bride the next morning.
Early in the morning, Zhao Danxiang and her two sisters-in-law, along with Xia Fu's wife, were busy washing and chopping vegetables. At first, Xia Liang was a little unhappy to see the whole family, but seeing them helping her mother with chores, she didn't find it so unpleasant anymore. Xia Liang assisted them, and if anyone couldn't find something, they would call Xia Liang to look for it. For example, right now, Grandpa Xia, Grandma Xia, and Xia Youshun and his wife were watching TV in the house when Grandpa Xia called out, "Xia Liang, come and see where your tea is. It's gone in the main room. Find it quickly, or you won't be able to entertain the guests later." Xia Liang ran to the kitchen and brought in the tea she had bought earlier, which she had bought with the vegetables and put with them after bringing it home, forgetting to bring it inside.
In the afternoon, Xia Liang heard laughter and chatter coming from the alley outside. She hurried out to greet them. Since it was a wedding day, the door wasn't locked. She saw her brother riding a bicycle with her sister-in-law, followed by his friends carrying Zhou Xiaohui's dowry, and Zhou's relatives following behind. Xia Liang quickly went up to greet them, "Uncle and Aunt, hello! Brother and Sister-in-law, hello! Please come in!" The Zhou couple also greeted Xia Liang with smiles, "When did you get back, Xia Liang?" Xia Liang replied with a smile, "Aunt, I came back the day before yesterday. I had to come back for my brother and Xiaohui's wedding, so I took a week off. Uncle and Aunt, please come in for tea." As they spoke, they led her into the house. The Zhou couple noticed that the women washing vegetables in the yard were unfamiliar, so Xia Liang went up to introduce them, "This is my eldest aunt and third aunt." Then, looking at Xia Fu's wife who was washing vegetables nearby, she said, "This is my eldest cousin's wife, and my eldest cousin is also..." "You just got married, right, eldest cousin's wife?" Xia Liang asked, looking at Wang Xiaocui. Wang Xiaocui was a little shy and smiled reservedly, saying, "We just got married in April." Hearing Xia Liang's words, Zhou's mother understood. Her son-in-law's family didn't have a good relationship with her uncles and aunts. Otherwise, how could Xia Liang, as her cousin, not know when her cousin got married? She guessed that since her in-laws were doing well, they were eager to take advantage of her. So she wasn't as enthusiastic. Following Xia Liang into the main room, Zhou Xiaohui's aunts and uncles looked around Xia Liang's yard from outside, sighing that Zhou Xiaohui had really found a good match.
Grandma Xia, who was in the main room, saw her granddaughter lead several people in. The middle-aged woman at the front had a spiky hairstyle and wore a Lenin suit, looking every bit the part of a female cadre. The middle-aged man was also dressed in a Dacron suit. Grandma Xia poured tea and said, "Uncle and Aunt, please have some tea and watch some TV." Zhou's mother was quite surprised to see that her son-in-law's family had a TV. After all, they didn't have one when they came to discuss the marriage. Her son-in-law had only been working for half a year, and her in-laws hadn't been working for half a year either, yet they had already bought a TV. Seeing Zhou's mother's doubt, Xia Liang said, "This is a wedding gift from my older brother's friend." Zhou's mother nodded, but in her heart, she thought that her son-in-law had such a powerful friend, so he probably wouldn't do too badly in the future. After all, if you don't have some skills, capable people won't associate with you.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com