Time flew by and it was time for An Xiaohai's wedding day.
Because of Yang Cui and Cen Xiao's relationship, even families from the county town who had no connection with each other came to An Xiaohai's wedding with red envelopes.
With three or four more tables of guests arriving at once, Village Chief An volunteered to lead a group to borrow tables and chairs from each household.
With so many more people, there certainly wasn't enough food prepared, so Wen's family members immediately helped by killing chickens and ducks, working up a flurry of activity.
Time flew by and it was time for An Xiaohai's wedding day.
Because of Yang Cui and Cen Xiao's relationship, even families from the county town who had no connection with each other came to An Xiaohai's wedding with red envelopes.
With three or four more tables of guests arriving at once, Village Chief An volunteered to lead a group to borrow tables and chairs from each household.
With so many more people, there certainly wasn't enough food prepared, so Wen's family members immediately helped by killing chickens and ducks, working up a flurry of activity.
Around noon, An Xiaohai's wedding procession returned.
Because Yang Cui's family owned a carriage, they used it to pick up the bride, which greatly enhanced the prestige of both the An and Zhou families.
The sounds of firecrackers and drums filled the air, creating a joyous atmosphere.
Everyone had a bright smile on their face, except for one person whose face was so black it looked like ink was dripping from it.
This person is Zhou Xiaomei, who got married last year.
Originally, Zhou Daqing wanted to marry Zhou Xiaomei to An Xiaohai, but Zhou Xiaomei felt that the An family was poor and chose the Ge family, who ran a steamed bun shop in town.
Yang Cui remembered that when she got married last year, she said that the An family was poor and looked down on them. She also showed off that she had a gold hairpin. Looking at her now, she probably regrets it.
Yang Cui was right; Zhou Xiaomei did indeed regret it.
She used to think the Ge family was rich and the An family was poor, but in reality, after marrying into the family, life wasn't as good as she had imagined.
Conversely, looking at the An family, the fact that An Xiaohai's cousin-in-law is a general is enough to overshadow everything else.
Moreover, Zhou Xiaotao rode in a luxurious carriage on her wedding day, a much grander affair than her own wedding.
Among the guests were dignitaries from the city, and even the county magistrate's wife was there. What an honor!
The matchmaker's words, "First bow to heaven and earth..." interrupted Zhou Xiaomei's thoughts.
After the matchmaker said "send them to the bridal chamber," Zhou Xiaomei and several other brides who had accompanied her also entered the bridal chamber.
An Xiaohai's wedding room was also a newly built house by the An family. All the furniture, bed sheets, and quilts were new, and they were bright red, a gift from Yang Cui, and made of very nice material.
These days, it's considered good if a family in the countryside has a bright red new outfit for their wedding. It's really rare to see a family like An's with all new clothes.
All the girls watching were incredibly envious.
Zhou Xiaomei was even more heartbroken, feeling incredibly jealous because the Ge family hadn't prepared any new bright red bedding.
"Girls, the feast is ready! Come out and eat!" Madam Wen called out as she entered.
Yang Cui said, "Aunt, let's bring the food in and let them eat there. It'll also be good for you to talk to Xiao Tao. She just arrived, and she's probably feeling a bit anxious."
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
"Auntie, Sister Cui, no, Madam, I'll go serve the dishes," Xiao Li said.
Yang Cui smiled faintly: "Why don't you call me Sister Cui? Why did you change your address?"
"My grandfather said that you can't be unruly."
“Don’t listen to your grandpa. From now on, just call her Sister Cui. Your sister is my sister-in-law, so you’re just like my younger sister.”
Xiao Li grinned and said, "Okay, Sister Cui."
Yang Cui quite likes the two sisters, Xiao Li and Xiao Tao. They are diligent, sensible, and hardworking—very good children.
"Xiao Li, I heard you're getting engaged?"
Xiaoli's face immediately turned red.
Yang Cui chuckled and patted her head.
Seeing that Xiaoli and Yang Cui seemed to know each other very well, Zhou Xiaomei felt a pang of jealousy.
After arranging their meal, An Dafu approached Yang Cui.
An Dafu took out a handful of red envelopes: "Xiao Cui, the gifts from these later guests are too generous. They're all gold leaves, ten in each red envelope."
A single gold leaf can be exchanged for about eight taels of silver, so ten leaves would be eighty taels. An Dafu received ten such red envelopes, which amounted to eight hundred taels of silver.
An Dafu's hands were trembling. In all his years, this was the first time he had ever handled such a large sum of money.
"These people are all after you two. You should keep these gold leaves; you'll be the ones to repay the favor in the future."
After An Dafu finished speaking, he stuffed the red envelope into Yang Cui's hand.
In An Dafu's view, having received such a large sum of money, Yang Cui would have to repay the favor in the future, and he felt that whoever was repaying the favor should receive the money.
Yang Cui couldn't help but look at An Dafu with newfound respect. With so much money, most people would be reluctant to part with it.
"Then I'll keep it for now." Yang Cui put away the gold leaf. This time they were going to the capital, so they would bring more money than they had to carry. However, silver would be too heavy. Gold leaves don't take up much space and are easy to carry, making them perfect for long trips.
"Xiao Cui, can I exchange a gold leaf with you?" Wen said.
Yang Cui directly gave two gold leaves to Wen Shi: "What do you mean by exchange? I'm not coming back for the New Year this year. These two gold leaves are for my uncle and aunt to buy you New Year's gifts."
An Dafu quickly pushed the money back, saying, "We have money now, so you should put it away."
After saying that, he glared at Wen Shi, thinking that his wife was jealous.
Madam Wen immediately explained, "It's not that I'm jealous of Xiao Cui; I genuinely want to switch."
"Aunt, please don't explain. I believe you. I really want to show my respect to you." Yang Cui insisted that they accept the gift. Wen Shi and An Dafu exchanged a glance, and finally, after some back and forth, they accepted it.
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