2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 73 Returning to Ningbo (Please continue reading)
Along the way, the people who stopped to offer help were all quite polite; a few cigarettes, a handful of candy, and a few auspicious words were enough to make them happily give way.

Unlike the situation depicted in later short videos, where people simply joined in the fun.

We're all neighbors, everyone has a happy occasion now and then. If you go too far, they might retaliate when you have your own celebration.

After a series of stops along the way, the convoy finally arrived at the uncle's courtyard at 11 a.m. After a burst of firecrackers, the bride was carried out of the car by the groom.

The person handing out wedding candy has changed to my third uncle's 14-year-old cousin. It seems we're really short-handed today, otherwise it wouldn't be a little kid handing out the candy.

At the midday wedding banquet, Tan Jincheng was treated differently from the driver's table. According to local custom, Tan Jincheng's family was second only to the bride's family in status.

Of course, today is also the day Tan Lihua suffers a huge financial loss. Speaking of which, Tan Lihua is quite conflicted about the amount of money he should give as a wedding gift today. He wants to be fair to his three younger brothers, but since they got married in different years, he can't give them the same amount of money.

However, this was not something Tan Jincheng could worry about. In his rural hometown, the relationship between elders and juniors was very important. No matter how capable, wealthy, or powerful Tan Jincheng was, he had no say in the matter as long as Tan Lihua was present.

Having three younger brothers in the family—in later generations, no one would dare to marry such a woman; even if she wasn't a "brother-obsessed" woman, the social obligations to her three younger brothers would amount to a considerable sum.

Indeed, this is the case. Tan Lihua and his wife have a good income and are usually quite frugal. Over the years, social obligations among relatives have become a large part of their household expenses.

When prices soared, even relatives could no longer afford such social obligations, and they all agreed that there was no need to buy gifts; a meal together during holidays would suffice.

Tan Jinyue wasn't brought along today; she stayed with her grandmother to be taken care of. There were too many people, and the wedding banquet was too noisy; they were afraid it would frighten the child.

Tan Jincheng's family sat together at noon. They smoked two packs of cigarettes as usual, but couldn't drink alcohol because they were responsible for sending the younger brother's wife's relatives back home after the wedding banquet.

These days, holding a wedding banquet is such a rip-off! The monetary gifts are generally low, but the whole family attends the banquet. For a family of three, the gift is usually six packs of cigarettes, not counting the candy boxes.

Tan Jincheng's family got eight packs of cigarettes just from the banquet today. The driver will also get another carton of cigarettes, but Tan Jincheng didn't accept them. With the house building and wedding, his uncle's money earned over the years must be completely depleted.

Being able to avoid owing money is already quite impressive. From another perspective, education is still useful. Even when it comes to working, my uncle, who only graduated from high school, earns money much faster than his peers who didn't receive much education.

However, Tan Jincheng knew that his uncle Zhang Qingxuan was the one his father looked down on the most among all his brothers. He entered the senior year of high school with the eighth-highest grade in the county, but then became arrogant and ended up failing the exam.

The youngest son and the eldest grandson are usually the most pampered. When they are young and arrogant, their families spoil them and support their education. They get good grades, so it's normal for them to become a little arrogant. Failing the exam is the biggest lesson for them.

However, after getting married, Zhang Qingxuan, who had the best conditions, turned out to be the worst to his parents among all his brothers, even less filial than his two cousins. This was the reason why Tan Lihua, as his brother-in-law, was most angry.

It wasn't that he was completely indifferent; he was just rather selfish in his dealings with others. Apart from his regular food rations, he would hardly give his parents any other money. He also left his children with his parents, but they didn't contribute any money either, and he took it for granted that he would enjoy the treatment of the youngest son.

Tan Lihua had said to him more than once that he had wasted his education, so his brother-in-law Zhang Qingxuan was quite intimidated by him. Many people can't be described as particularly bad, but due to their personality, they can make people feel uncomfortable around them. Zhang Qingxuan was probably that kind of person. He didn't have many friends in the village, and people rarely invited him to play mahjong.

The lively wedding banquet ended amidst tipsy compliments. The guests dispersed, and the drivers, after seeing off the bride's family, also went home.

The Tan Jincheng family and I don't plan to come to the banquet tonight. Today is already the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and we have some relatives and friends in the city. It's impossible to stay in the countryside for the whole holiday.

I need to pack up and get ready to go back to the city.

After the formal wedding ceremony, in addition to the groom's return gift to his wife's family, there is also a part where the bride's relatives come to deliver gifts, such as red envelopes, thermos bottles, bowls and chopsticks, etc., which are meant to help their daughter have a good life after marriage.

Tan Jincheng wasn't really sure what exactly to give as a gift, as he hadn't seen anything like it before. Zhang Qingxuan was even thinking of asking Tan Jincheng to help pick up the guests that day.

However, Tan Jincheng couldn't wait until that day. After the official holiday, February was already halfway over, and he had to go back to prepare for his business trip to the Canton Fair.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Tan Jincheng drove his parents and younger sister back to the city early in the morning. The relatives in the city were not so particular, so Tan Lihua could take care of them herself. Finally, he could sleep in for two days.

“Dad, you can visit your relatives yourself after you go back; I’ve already come up with an excuse for you: my sister is too young, and Mom and I will stay home to take care of her.”

"You little rascal, alright, alright, you've really worked hard these past few days. You'll be going back to work soon, so take a good rest for a couple of days," Tan Lihua said with a helpless smile.

Except for the first day of the Lunar New Year, my son has not had a break. Whenever a relative is a little distant or has drunk too much, they will ask my son to pick them up and drop them off. It's the New Year and the relatives are younger, so it's hard to refuse.

As time went by, their son was either driving or on the road during the first month of the lunar year. Although Tan Lihua and his wife were proud of their son, they also felt sorry for him.

He made money, bought a car, and treated people with propriety. He was able to maintain appearances even when faced with probing questions from relatives, while also concealing his true nature. This made Tan Lihua very gratified; her son had truly grown up.

Tan Lihua was afraid that his son would get too cocky after making some money and would boast about it everywhere; but it seems that if Qingliang hadn't come to talk about the renovation that day, even he wouldn't have known that his son had bought a house in Beicang. Isn't this being a bit too low-key?
However, this is a good thing. Tan Lihua feels that his son's performance this year has made up for the loss of face he lost with his son last year. Last year, when he went back to his hometown, he was constantly criticized by people for his son being so naughty and disobedient.

But this year is completely different; I feel like I can stand up straighter wherever I go.

From the fifth to the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Tan Jincheng stayed at home and didn't go out at all. Tan Lihua was finally able to touch the steering wheel and happily drive to visit relatives and friends.

On the evening of the seventh day of the first lunar month, Zhang Xupeng and his family came to visit, and the two families agreed to have dinner together that night.

After today, the two children will return to Ningbo.

(End of this chapter)