The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Jin Bao curled his lips, looking down on this behavior, and muttered: "As long as the woman is good, whether she has money or a dowry, none of this matters!"

"Yes, a good man does not eat the food of a divided family, and a good woman does not wear the clothes she wore on her wedding day. There is no need to worry about these things. We are still young and can earn our own money." Zhang Pingan agreed. The most important thing is that the woman is a good person and the two have the same values. Only then will life be interesting.

Everyone walked very fast, talking as they went, and in less than half an hour they arrived at Wangjia Village.

Whenever there is a wedding in the village, the host family will hold a banquet, and at the very least, they will distribute some wedding candies. Therefore, everyone in the village knows that the Wang family is going to marry their daughter off today.

After everyone entered the village, children followed them along the way to ask for candy, and walked all the way to Wang's house in a lively and lively manner.

The daughter of the Wang family married cousin Tianshou. As the eldest son in the family, cousin Tiancai had to wait until he had finished marrying the bride before he could go to the neighboring Tianjia Village to marry the girl from the Tian family.

Both of them are still young, one is 18 and the other is 16, and they are also shy. If they see children or old people coming up to them to ask for wedding candies, they will give them two.

The suona band played very hard, and it sounded very festive, which was quite a grand occasion in the village.

As I walked along the road, I could hear the envious sounds of the aunts and sisters: "Tsk tsk, look at the son-in-law the Wang family found. No one in the village was interested, so they went straight to Lin'an City to look for one, and they actually found one. What a grand and impressive family this groom's family is hosting, what a grand ceremony!"

Some people also said sarcastically, "The Wang family's daughter is just average looking. Her chin is so pointed it could be used as an awl. She's not even as good as my Pandi. It's just a blind cat catching a dead mouse. Humph! My Pandi will definitely find someone better than his in the future!"

It's really annoying to hear such depressing words on someone else's wedding day. Zhang Ping'an looked over and found that it was the old woman who asked the matchmaker to find a marriage for his daughter when he came last time. The matchmaker probably didn't take it seriously and the match didn't work out, so she's so jealous now!

Don't bother with people like this, you'll suffer sooner or later!

Everyone walked all the way to the door of Wang's house, where they saw red lanterns hanging and a big red wedding character posted on the door. The woman's family members were all dressed neatly, and the men were standing at the door happily to welcome the guests.

A table was set up at the door, and the bride's relatives helped to register the gift book and gift cakes.

It is popular locally to give a large round cake as a gift. Those who are better off use white flour to make it, with brown sugar filling inside and a layer of white sesame seeds sprinkled on the surface. It is sweet and fragrant and can be kept for a long time. It is also very decent to cut it into small pieces and use it to entertain guests or return gifts.

Now several aunts came out with a tray of cut pancakes and were busy distributing them to the children who gathered around and the guests who came to the store.

Jinbao and Zhang Ping'an were also stuffed with food. They couldn't finish it all at once, so they could only wrap it in a handkerchief and put it in their pockets.

When you walk into the yard, you can see several tables set up inside, which are obviously prepared for the lunch banquet.

The bride's brothers blocked the door and urged the groom to recite a poem before entering the bridal chamber.

This was a customary wedding prank, because the girl's family attached great importance to this marriage and was afraid that the boy's family would be unhappy if they made too much trouble, so they chose a simple one. It would also show off to the villagers that their son-in-law could read and write. They had already informed their cousin Tianshou in advance and asked him to prepare in advance, so this stage was easy to pass.

When they arrived at the door of the new house, there was still a barrier of female relatives blocking the door. Zhang Ping'an handed over the red envelope prepared by his uncle in advance before they were allowed to pass.

At this time, the bride slowly walked out of the house with the support of the lady who combed her hair. She was wearing a red veil and a coarse red wedding dress with simple flowers and plants embroidered on it. It was obvious that the woman had put a lot of effort into it and she looked exceptionally beautiful.

Zhang Ping'an and Jinbao looked at each other and thought that their cousin Tianshou had married a good girl.

After the two newlyweds went to the main hall together to kowtow to their parents and complete the ceremony, the bride's brother finally carried the bride into the sedan chair.

The dowry included boxes, cabinets, and small items such as bowls and plates, which were not too shabby.

Then everyone went to the neighboring Tianjia Village, where cousin Tiancai was going to marry a girl from the Tian family.

The same process was repeated.

However, the dowry that the Tian family gave to their daughter was much more generous. Tian's father fulfilled his promise and let his daughter take the loom at home as a dowry.

This move surprised both the wedding party and the people from the village who were sending the bride off. They said all kinds of things. Some praised the Tian family for loving their daughter, while others felt that they were too good to their daughter, saying that a daughter who was married off was like water spilled, and there was no need to do this.

But no matter what, it is undeniable that this dowry is very luxurious in the countryside.

Cousin Tiancai also felt proud and his lips curled up.

By the time everyone returned to the city after welcoming the bride, it was already quite late.

Uncle Xu was afraid of missing the auspicious time, so he quickly arranged for the wedding ceremony.

Cousin Tianshou and cousin Tiancai both had smiles on their faces, each holding their bride’s hand with a red silk ribbon as they walked towards the main hall.

The lobby had already been decorated and red candles were lit. The flickering lights illuminated the festive atmosphere in the room.

The two grooms looked a little nervous, but also with some uncontrollable joy, while the brides covered their heads with red veils and lowered their heads shyly.

The matchmaker shouted "First bow to heaven and earth", "Second bow to parents", "Husband and wife bow to each other", and the two couples did as they were told. With the last shout of "Send to the bridal chamber", Xu and Ma helped send the two brides to their respective bedrooms, and the ceremony was completed!

After the ceremony, there was a lively wedding banquet. The table was already set with a sumptuous meal, including chicken, duck, fish and meat. It was much better than what Shen had said at the beginning. Zhang Pingan guessed that his uncle had changed his mind at the last minute.

Although he didn't have many relatives in Lin'an City, Uncle Xu still set up five tables and invited some good neighbors nearby. Everyone didn't have to scramble for food like they did when they sat at the table in the village. They could eat and chat at the same time, and the atmosphere was very good.

Uncle Xu had helped his two sons accomplish their major life events in one fell swoop. He was beaming with joy, and pulled Zhang Laoer to drink, grinning and saying, "I'm so happy today, let's have a drink!"

Jin Bao and Zhang Pingan sat among them, feeling the excitement and happy. The banquet lasted until the afternoon when it ended.

As the aunt, Xu had to stay and help clean up, and took her daughter to clear the cups, bowls and plates, while the others said goodbye and left one after another.

Many of the tables and chairs were borrowed from neighbors, and Zhang Pingan helped his two cousins ​​return them one by one.

The whole family helped out until dark before returning home. Shen gave Xu a bowl of the extra leftovers, and Xu did not refuse. She was so busy that her waist was almost broken. If they were not real relatives, she really would not be willing to do it!

Zhang Ping'an took a day off today on purpose. Tomorrow happens to be a day off, and it is also the full moon banquet for Dazhu's cousin's son. The two happy events happen to coincide with each other.

The next morning, the whole family got up early. Xu heated up the leftovers from last night and cooked some noodles for breakfast. Now that the weather was hot, the leftovers could not be kept and would go bad if not eaten within a day.

After the family finished breakfast and dressed, they headed towards Dazhu's cousin's house.

It wasn't far away and we arrived there in a short while. We met many acquaintances along the way. After living there for so long, Zhang Laoer's family had become a familiar face in the alley.

Holding a full moon banquet is a great joyous event, especially for my cousin Dazhu, who has a son in middle age, which is even more rare!

When we arrived at my eldest cousin's house, two large round tables had already been set up in the small courtyard. My eldest aunt Li was holding her child and happily greeting the guests.

The child was wrapped tightly with fine cloth, leaving only a small face exposed. Zhang Ping'an leaned over to take a look. The child was white and chubby, very cute!

Li smiled and said, "Maomao looks good, right?"

He looked very satisfied while speaking.

Zhang Pingan smiled and praised him a few times before presenting the gift he had prepared long ago, which was a pair of small silver bracelets, symbolizing good luck and fortune.

He thought that the child was lucky and had survived the entire escape, and that he was also the first child of his cousin Dazhu, so the gift he gave was more expensive.

Li happily accepted it and said it was a thoughtful gift. This gift was indeed very valuable.

Not long after, almost all the guests arrived and the banquet began. The dishes were quite good, including cold dishes, hot dishes and sweets.

Mei Zi, as the child's biological mother, has changed the most. She has changed from being skinny before, and has become whiter and fatter. It can be seen that she ate well during the confinement period, but she still doesn't talk much.

In contrast, the eldest sister-in-law Yingniang became even more taciturn, with thin cheeks and deep wrinkles between her eyes and eyebrows. She looked older and older. On days like today, she basically never left the kitchen except to serve food.

When Xu saw this, she sighed and didn't know what to say.

What does it matter whether you live a good life or a bad one? At this point, you can only accept your fate!

While eating, everyone praised the child for being plump and healthy-looking.

Li's face lit up with joy when she heard this, and Dazhu kept toasting everyone to express his gratitude.

Zhang Ping'an looked at this scene, his heart filled with emotion.

Another busy day has passed.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they all said goodbye and went home in the evening.

Zhang Ping'an continued his classes the next day.

It was not until the evening of the third day when I came back from school that I didn't see Zhang Laoer and Li. I asked Wu Ya and Liu Ya and found out that something big had happened in Uncle Xu's family.

When Zhang Ping'an arrived at Uncle Xu's house, it was already in a mess. Even the furniture was smashed. His two cousins ​​and Uncle Xu had bruises on their faces, and it was obvious that they had been beaten badly.

Shen was crying and cursing.

Da Ya, Er Ya, and Jin Bao Niang were also there, helping to clean up the house with Xu.

Zhang Ping'an frowned and asked, "Uncle, what's going on? I heard from my fifth and sixth sisters that others are accusing you of marriage fraud and are going to sue you?!"