CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 045 THIRD BROTHER, YOU’RE SO AWESOME

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Since Zhang Shanni met Xie Jingchen, this was the first time they embraced each other so closely. However, before she could enjoy this harmony further, footsteps began to approach from afar, gradually drawing nearer—

Indeed, in less than half a minute, the voice of the little aunt calling out rudely ’Third Brother, Third Brother’ from outside the room could be heard. Showing absolutely no understanding of propriety, she seemed ready to burst right in, prompting Zhang Shanni instinctively to push Xie Jingchen away.

Xie Jingchen felt his wife’s force and his entire demeanor darkened. Yet, seeing his little wife immediately stop crying and clearing her throat awkwardly, revealing to him only the back of her raven head, he sighed helplessly, "Stay inside and rest for a while, I’ll be right back."

Xie Jingchen managed to leave the inner room just before the younger sister barged in. The approaching Xie Jingzi was excitedly rushing forward, exclaiming, "Third Brother, Third Brother, you’re so amazing, you even caught a big wild pig—Big Sister-in-law sent me to call you out to help!"

The innocent and adorable little aunt was completely unaware that she, in fact, had been tricked by Big Sister-in-law and unwittingly betrayed her instead.

Hearing this, Xie Jingchen’s dissatisfaction with his sister-in-law grew another notch, but with a smile, he humored his sister’s words and took the lead out of the house.

The corner of Xie Family’s little sister’s eye caught sight of the dowry, filling the Third Brother’s room to the brim. Her earlier dissatisfaction with Shanni, having been replaced by sympathy after their mother had spent the day explaining Shanni’s unfortunate background, dissipated and left her without any intent to target her new sister-in-law.

Still, the young girl remained haughty and too embarrassed to apologize, just stealing a glance before hastily following her Third Brother out.

Zhang Shanni didn’t mind the little aunt’s mood swings. With everyone gone, she finally opened the old wallet that she had thrown onto the bed earlier, pouring out all the jewelry inside, only to discover a complete set of gold jewelry.

A gold necklace, gold bracelet, gold earrings, gold ring—the styles were very old-fashioned, but importantly, they were quite heavy. Likely heirlooms from the original host’s grandmother, the most valuable piece seemed to be the ruby pendant on the necklace.

Seeing these, Zhang Shanni both felt the original host’s grandmother might have been selfish, yet also sensed a considerable amount of affection shown towards her in private, as from the original host’s memories, her unreliable elder brother only had a single gold ring!

Such a comparison indicated that the original host held a significant place in her grandmother’s heart. Perhaps it was because among all her grandchildren, only the original host was the most filially pious and respectful. Even her own son and daughter-in-law did not inherit any valuable jewelry, instead, she distributed most of her private collection of precious gold ornaments.

Holding the jewelry, Zhang Shanni felt uneasy, suddenly in debt to the original host’s parents, a feeling that made anyone uncomfortable!

She could perhaps overlook the demands of the original host’s biological parents, but she couldn’t dismiss so lightly the true affection the grandmother had for the original host. After all, living in the original host’s stead meant she should duly inherit her feelings and resolve her unfinished karma.

With these thoughts, Zhang Shanni couldn’t feel joyful for the time being.

Besides, as a new bride, she didn’t need to go out to attend to guests or lend a helping hand; the original host’s sacrifice had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

That night passed peacefully, and the Xie Family had prepared all the essentials for tomorrow’s feast—meatballs, fried pork, tofu—before ten o’clock at night.

The women and sisters-in-law who came to help would only need to wake up early the next day to do the lighter tasks, like washing vegetables, slicing spring onions, and cleaning bowls and chopsticks. Only the chef’s job would be the most strenuous.

The following day

Finally, the big day arrived, and in rural areas, a celebration like this usually lasts for three days—

As dawn barely broke, the women and children resumed their work, washing and cutting vegetables. Since they no longer needed the process of picking up the bride, Xie Jingchen simply had someone buy two extra-large firecrackers from town. Deciding to celebrate at home, they let off a volley of firecrackers, covering the ground in red papers, as a way to welcome the new bride.

However, having prayed to the Heavenly God in the left wing, clapped for the heavenly wealth, paid respect to the parents and elders, and finally greeted their peers, the significant ceremony was deemed complete.

Due to the recent end of the Cultural Revolution and the campaign against the "Four Olds," marriages in the countryside dared not openly worship gods and buddhas, but the Xie Family still followed the old customs. Therefore, during the wedding, there were still chanters.

However, these were all done privately, and hurriedly before all the guests arrived, covertly carried out. Even if someone stumbled upon it, they would not make a sound. Instead, they would quietly retreat out of reverence for ghosts and spirits.

After ten o’clock, most of the guests had arrived. By eleven o’clock, all the main dishes were prepared, leaving only the green vegetables to be cooked, which was even simpler.

At this time, Xie Jingchen had already taken a bath in his left wing, changed into new clothes, and pulled Zhang Shan Ni in her red outfit and black pants to the front courtyard. Seeing the newlyweds come out, Xiao Yi, entrusted with an important task, immediately lit the firecrackers with incense.

In front of the large courtyard, a flurry of firecracker noises burst out, lasting nearly two minutes, and at this time, laughter and congratulatory voices rang incessantly from the courtyard.

In the second half of the year for Qingfeng Village, the Xie Family was the first to hold a wedding. Men and women of all ages gathered in the main hall, teasingly asking to see the groom and bride and give their blessings.

With no choice, Zhang Shan Ni, who had been led into the bridal chamber, had to cover herself again with the Red Joy veil, being supported by the little aunt. Under the red veil, her dark face could not be distinguished between red or black, but with her spiritual power, she saw everyone’s joyful faces. Zhang Shan Ni did not show any displeasure but instead cooperated well with Xie Jingchen’s conduct.

Xie Tiesheng and Zhou Xiuhua sat upright in the main hall, smiling and nodding as Xie Jingchen and Zhang Shan Ni kneeled three times as a salute, and offered jujube tea, serving as an acknowledgement of their new in-laws. Then Zhang Shan Ni was once again led back to the room by the eldest sister-in-law and little aunt.

Afterwards, she would only come out again after the banquet started, to toast and greet the elders and relatives who came to the reception.

In this era, arranging a banquet was actually very simple. Four dishes and two meats were considered a feast for a reputable family. Xie Tiesheng also followed the big team. The meat was a large wild boar that Xie Jingchen had caught in the mountains early yesterday morning. Hence, the main course on the table was braised pork. Since it was wild boar caught by themselves, the portion was quite large, with over ninety pounds of pure meat, and it was deliciously wild in taste!

The stag unexpectedly hunted the night before also weighed a few dozens of pounds. It was marinated, saved for the main feast today, while the bones were used to brew a rich deer bone soup, with some warming medicinal herbs added, making it a highlight of the banquet.

The population of Qingfeng Village, not many yet not too few, amounted to over a hundred households, nearly five hundred people. Just with the Xie surname alone, there were over thirty households. With Xie Tiesheng being a village cadre, those from the same room would usually bring their entire family. Those of the same surname or from the same village typically would send one representative per family. Only those families with especially close kinship would actually bring the whole family to visit.

Female relatives from the same room generally did not sit at the tables but ate in the kitchen instead. Typically, only the head of the household or the eldest son would sit at the table. Therefore, although there were several tables, nearly twenty tables were fully served in the end, thankfully with ample meat, otherwise, it would have been somewhat embarrassing.

After the banquet, everyone was served a bowl of brown sugar water, which was a sign of a generous host, especially since brown sugar was rationed during that period.

At that time, wedding banquets were still commonly held at noon. By three o’clock, the gathering was usually over, and the older sisters-in-law and younger wives who came to help would start to tidy up and leave.

Xie Jinghong, the Xie Family’s eldest daughter, also came back. She was married in Qingyun Town, which wasn’t far, but with in-laws above her and children to look after below, she really did not have much time to return home. Mainly because she had three children in three years, having twins first and then a son, securing her position in her husband’s family.

In three years, she gave birth to three children of her own plus her sister-in-law gave birth to a daughter and her brother’s wife also had a son. In the coming years, she would be trapped by her own household’s little ones, focusing solely on raising children.

The eldest daughter married no more than four years and had already had three children, which was quite the talk of the town in little Qingyun Town.

Because of her, many people said she brought good fortune to her husband, and now many were keen on marrying Xie Jingzi, but the girl herself had studied for a few years and was determined to stand out, unwilling to marry a farmer.

Someone like her brother-in-law would be a matter of fate. After all, Xie Jingchen’s colleagues hailed from all over the country; how could it be by chance that the good men were all in tiny Qingyun Town? Even in slightly more distant counties, suitable men were hard to come by.

Even further, and Mrs. Xie would be somewhat reluctant to marry off the youngest daughter so far away, barely getting to see her once a year.