Ye Su rode a tall horse to fetch the bride, followed by a bridal sedan chair and a wedding procession of more than thirty people, accompanied by gongs and drums. Firecrackers were set off as they entered the village, and a pig draped in red silk cloth was also present.
The villagers of Wangjia Village all rushed out to see what was going on. "Whose family is having a happy occasion? What a grand and lively scene! And that pig is so fat!"
"Li Zhen, she remarried today. I heard she married a man from Tanshui Village on the outskirts of the county town. It's his first marriage."
"To remarry with such a grand display, how shameless."
"Li Zhen's house is quiet and peaceful. I guess it's the man's first marriage, and he wants to make it as grand as possible."
"No betrothal gifts or anything like that, sigh, widows are just shameless."
"Don't talk nonsense. How is Li Zhen indecent?"
Ye Su reined in his horse and stopped in front of Li Zhen's house. The people behind him carried the box into the yard and opened it. Inside were a marriage certificate, grains, cloth, rice wine, liquor, and eighteen taels of silver.
He had some savings from years in the army. In the past two years, he had been able to support himself and his family without worry. He also earned income from hunting every year. He was not particular about food and drink and had quite a bit of savings. He originally thought he would be all alone and destitute, but he never expected to be able to get married. Naturally, he wanted to have a grand and lively wedding.
Ye Su bowed to Li Zhen's mother-in-law, "Mother-in-law, I have come to fetch my new bride. Since there is no formal betrothal ceremony, I have brought everything with me today. Please accept this gift with a smile."
A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; none of Li Zhen's family members came. Since Li Zhen was married off to her husband's family, Ye Su's address of her as "mother-in-law" wasn't surprising.
Li Zhen was remarrying and originally only wanted to leave quietly, skipping the traditional betrothal and marriage ceremony.
Ye Su, however, did not want to save any money. When he got married, he still wanted to do it properly and in a respectable manner.
Li Zhen's mother-in-law's eyes reddened, "Good, good, you're so thoughtful."
Her daughter-in-law hadn't had a good life in the more than ten years since she married into the family. She never expected that her second marriage would be so grand. She felt both heartbroken and gratified. Over the years, she had treated Li Zhen like her own daughter. Now that Li Zhen had married well, she was at ease.
Li Zhen didn't stand on ceremony; she came out of the house and bid farewell to her mother-in-law.
Li Zhen's mother-in-law had never seen such a grand occasion in her life. Seeing Ye Su's extraordinary appearance and imposing manner, she was even more pleased. "Good, good, you two should live a good life from now on. Discuss things more often, be more considerate of each other as husband and wife, and don't be lazy. Go on, go on."
As the newlyweds left, Li Zhen's mother-in-law's eyes reddened. Turning to look at the betrothal gifts piled up in the yard, she said to the onlookers, "Come to my house for dinner tonight. It's my daughter's wedding, so come and have a drink at our celebration."
Who wouldn't want to drink that big fat pig and that wine? It's a happy occasion, after all, and many people are happy to give this opportunity. "Okay, Auntie, I have a lot of vegetables at home. I'll go get them and come over."
"Auntie, if there are a lot of people, your kitchen might not be able to cook enough food for everyone. You can steam the rice at my house."
Wang Lan had come to watch the fun as soon as she heard the firecrackers, and now she smiled and said, "My family will give three chickens as a gift, please don't mind, sister."
Li Zhen's mother-in-law, Wang Li, smiled and said, "It's an honor for me that you came to have a drink, elder sister. Everyone should come and have a drink."
What was originally intended as a quiet, unannounced wedding turned into a lively affair.
As the sun set, Ye Su's courtyard quieted down. The people who were playing the gongs and drums were all hired by Ye Su, and they had left after finishing their wedding feast. Only Ye Su remained in the courtyard. He knocked on the door of the bridal chamber and said, "Come out and eat. No one's here right now."
Li Zhen was a little shy, but she wasn't coy. Once she came out, she could see Ye Su's house clearly. It had two main rooms, a kitchen made of bamboo, and was drafty on all sides. The yard was large but bare. The house was located by the river on the east side of the village. To get to the county town, one had to go through the village or take the waterway directly.
Li Zhen has five days of wedding leave. "Can we plant vegetables in the yard? We can plant some radishes and greens so we can have vegetables to eat in winter."
The couple sat at the small dining table in the kitchen, the scene somewhat awkward. Ye Su said, "Whatever you say."
He didn't know how to farm or grow vegetables. He tried farming when the family first separated, but the one-acre plot was overgrown with weeds, and the wheat and grass grew haphazardly. The vegetables he planted all died, either drying out or drowning. Eventually, he stopped farming and rented out that one-acre plot to someone else to farm. He would go to the mountains and eat whatever wild vegetables he could find. If there were none, he would eat meat and rice.
Li Zhen was stunned for a moment, feeling a little awkward. She silently finished her dinner and was about to clean up when Ye Su had already gathered the dishes and taken them to the river to wash. She was even more at a loss and waited in the kitchen. As soon as he returned, she said, "I'll wash the dishes from now on."
She can't let people think she's lazy.
Ye Su put the bowls and chopsticks into the cupboard, and after a while, he said, "Go to sleep."
The next morning, Li Zhen went out of the house and searched the yard but couldn't find anyone. She went into the kitchen and saw that the leftover rice from yesterday had been cooked into porridge. She scooped out a bowl and ate it. After waiting for a while but still not seeing anyone, she couldn't sit still any longer and had to go out.
The courtyard was far from the village, and there was no one around. She had no choice but to go back. Unable to sit still, she picked up a hoe and dug around the corners of the courtyard. The sun was high in the sky, but there was still no sign of anyone. She was unfamiliar with the area and couldn't wander around aimlessly. The house was also clean, obviously Ye Su had cleaned it carefully before the wedding, so she didn't need to do anything.
Li Zhen entered the room, rummaged through some clothes and carefully sorted them. Ye Su had very few clothes; he had three sets of thin clothes and two sets of thick clothes, all of which were very clean.
There was a summer garment with a fraying seam under the arm. She looked for a needle and thread to sew it up, and after searching around, she finally found it in the corner of the closet. The sight of a man washing his own clothes, cooking his own meals, and mending his own clothes made Li Zhen's heart clench.
She didn't have many clothes. According to custom, she couldn't bring her old clothes with her. She only had two new clothes that her mother-in-law had made for her a few days ago, which she hadn't worn yet. With winter approaching, she still needed to make two winter clothes. However, she usually worked in the embroidery room and didn't have time to make them herself. So she thought of buying fabric and cotton and going to her ex-husband's house to ask Wang Li to help make winter clothes.
Ye Su didn't return until sunset. The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, which touched him. Li Zhen came out after hearing the noise and saw two rabbits, three beautiful birds, half a basket of wild fruit, and a handful of wild vegetables in the basket.
The rabbit was still alive. Ye Su covered it with his basket and threw in a handful of wild grass.
Li Zhen then learned that the man had gone into the mountains on the second day of their marriage. During dinner, she suggested, "From now on, could you please tell me where you're going before you leave?"
Ye Su hummed in agreement and then fell silent.
Li Zhen was helpless. Her husband was like a mute, barely saying two words a day. She could only talk to herself, "The day after tomorrow we will go back to our parents' home. We will ask my mother-in-law and mother for some vegetable seeds to plant in the yard. I packed your clothes today, but there are not enough. I will make you two more sets in a few days."
"Hmm." Ye Su remained expressionless.
Li Zhen couldn't help but feel nervous. "Winter is coming soon, you shouldn't go into the mountains. It's not safe there."
She still had enough money to get through the winter. Not to mention that she received a monthly salary, the dowry Qin Xiaozhou gave her was enough for the couple to live comfortably for a year.
This time, Ye Su finally spoke, "I'll go again in a couple of days, then I won't go again."
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