You are unlucky and I am tough

Cheng Shuang probably had an idea in her mind. She put aside Luo Cuihua's troubles for the time being and distributed gifts to her younger brothers and sisters, starting with a set of clothes and a pair of new shoes for each of them.

Then there were silver hairpins for Cheng Pan and Wei Xinyi, toys for Cheng Chen and Cheng Xu, and finally a bag of red date and chestnut cakes for each person.

The pastry shops in the provincial capital have a much wider variety of snacks than those in the county town. They bought a lot of candied fruits and pastries that children like to eat, and also brought some to Cheng Lizheng's family.

As for Wei Nanxing's gift, give it to Wei Qinglang and wait for him to come back.

The rest were some fruit, vegetable seeds, and spices, as well as two pounds of pork offal and two pounds of fresh pork that I bought when I passed by the meat market on my way to rent a donkey cart.

Cheng Pan helped to sort them out. She picked up a packet of vegetable seeds and read the words on it. "Tomato, sister, what is a tomato?"

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "It's an edible dish. We bought it from a foreign merchant in the capital."

"What about this bitter melon?" Cheng Pan picked up another bag. "Can bitter melon be used in cooking?"

"I don't know. You'll know once the seeds are grown. There's a note inside with the planting instructions."

Cheng Shuang used a bamboo basket to put bags of vegetable seeds into it. When the basket was full, she said, "It's a waste to leave the land empty anyway. Let's plant some and then figure out how to eat them."

The planting method was written by him and Wei Qinglang after they worked on the boat until late last night. Anyone who knows how to farm can just follow the instructions.

Some seeds were also allocated for Cheng Lizheng's family, including mustard greens, cabbage, tomatoes, bitter melon, eggplant, etc. Wei Qinglang would deliver them together with crutches and snacks later.

At this moment, Cheng Li should be attending a wedding banquet at Xu Sanpo's house.

Thinking of the Xu family's wedding, Cheng Shuang found Wei Qinglang in the courtyard and asked him, "Didn't Xu Daqing tell you before that he was getting married and wanted you to attend the wedding? Should we bring something to congratulate him?"

The villagers didn't care about sending invitations when they held weddings. No matter whether they were relatives, friends, or close villagers, they would just invite them verbally to the wedding. Xu Daqing had indeed invited Wei Qinglang before.

The two began to look for things to prepare for the trip. When villagers came to attend weddings and give gifts, the most common gifts were red cloth, rice, eggs and meat.

There were no eggs or red cloth at home, so Wei Qinglang went to get two kilograms of white rice, and Cheng Shuang brought up the two kilograms of pork she had bought when she came back.

I originally thought that I was getting tired of the braised meat at home, so I bought some fresh meat. Now I can only use it as an emergency measure.

As for the pig offal, Cheng Shuang bought it to teach the Zhengyi couple how to process it.

Just as the two of them had prepared the gifts, Xu Xiaohu arrived and poked his head out of the gate and said that grandma asked him to invite them to the wedding.

The three little ones in the house also ran out and said they wanted to go together. Whenever there was a happy event in the village, it was the happiest time for the children. If these three guys had not been hiding from Luo Cuihua, they would have gone to Xu's house to join in the fun long ago.

The three little ones happily followed Xu Xiaohu away. Cheng Pan didn't like this kind of occasion and said he would not go and would stay at home to look after the house.

Before leaving, Cheng Shuang didn't know what she was thinking about. She went back to her room, combed her hair again, and put half of it up. She also bought a silver hairpin with a peony flower in the mall and put it on. There was a tassel with peony leaves hanging on the hairpin.

The Xu family's yard was filled with joy at this time, with a striking big red "囍" character posted at the gate.

The Xu family is well-liked in the village. At this moment, the yard is crowded with people, and it is filled with villagers who come to congratulate the new year. Xu Daqing has not returned yet from picking up the bride.

Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang were the last to arrive at the invited guests' home, but everyone in the village knew that they had just returned from the provincial capital.

Grandma Xu San came out with a smile on her face and took the gift. After the two of them exchanged a few words of congratulations, Cheng Shuang moved to sit at the women's table, while Wei Qinglang sat at Zhao Xiuwen's table.

As soon as Cheng Shuang sat down at the table, the women who were originally chattering about family matters were instantly attracted by the sparkling hairpin on her head.

The pure silver hairpin bought from the mall was delicate and warm, and it shone with a soft and charming luster under the bright light. Combined with Cheng Shuang's beautiful face, the women at the table stared at it intently.

"Cheng Shuang, the hairpin on your head is so beautiful!" A new bride who was about the same age as Cheng Shuang couldn't help but speak first, with undisguised envy in her eyes.

They were all new brides who got married at about the same time. Cheng Shuang was taken home by Wei Qinglang without even having a wedding banquet. Many people mocked her behind her back, saying that she was sold to the Wei family.

However, her life became better and better after she got married. Now she even wears such a beautiful silver hairpin, and she looks more and more beautiful.

On the other hand, although her wedding banquet was grand, her mother-in-law disliked her just a few days after she got married. She had endless work to do every day, and the men in the family never stood by her, leaving her full of grievances and nowhere to vent.

A young woman holding a child across from them also spoke up, "This hairpin must have been bought in the capital. Look at the color and workmanship. I'm afraid even the best jewelry store in our county doesn't have something this exquisite."

Cheng Shuang raised her hand and gently touched the hairpin, then nodded with a gentle smile on her lips.

"Your man is really good to you. It must cost a lot of money."

"If I had known that Wei Qinglang was so good to his wife, I would have married my daughter to him last year."

A woman spoke too quickly and slapped her lips as soon as the words came out of her mouth. "Oh, look at my mouth, Qinglang wife, don't take it seriously, I was just joking."

Cheng Shuang didn't take it to heart, she just smiled and said, "I did buy the hairpin in the capital. When I bought it, the shopkeeper said that he would make only one of this style, and it would be the only one in the world."

Hearing that it was the only one of its kind in the world, the women stretched their necks and looked more closely.

Not long after, the sound of cheerful gongs and drums could be heard outside.

The wedding procession is back.

Xu Daqing's father quickly asked his family members to set off firecrackers. The crackling sound of firecrackers suddenly rang out. The bride, wearing a bright wedding dress and a festive red veil, was sitting on an ox cart and coming towards this side.

Along the way, naughty children were laughing and chasing the ox carts, and villagers were watching happily along the way. The scene was very lively and full of laughter.

Soon, the ox cart stopped at the gate of the Xu family's courtyard. The groom Xu Daqing, with a cheerful face, held a red silk ribbon and carefully handed it to the bride. The two walked into the courtyard hand in hand to prepare for the wedding ceremony.

"Worship heaven and earth."

"Two thanks to the high hall."

The matchmaker in charge of the ceremony shouted at the top of her voice to guide the newlyweds to complete the wedding ceremony.

Xu Daqing's face turned red with shame. The villagers who were watching the ceremony huddled together, each with a happy look on their face, and laughter and blessings mixed together.

Amidst this festive and lively atmosphere, Wei Qinglang's eyes dimmed slightly, and he couldn't help but look at Cheng Shuang in the crowd opposite him.

The girl had a smile in her eyes and eyebrows. She was squeezed in the crowd and tried to stand on tiptoe to see the newcomers. Soon she seemed to feel the gazes from the opposite side and suddenly turned her head to look over.

Their eyes met and she tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

Wei Qinglang pretended nothing had happened and turned back to continue watching the ceremony.

What was he thinking about? He was recalling the day he and Cheng Shuang got married.

There was no parental arrangement or matchmaker's words between them, and there was no wedding banquet. The only thing related to the happy event was a piece of red silk cloth borrowed by the head of the village from another family. They completed the so-called worship ceremony in the dilapidated adobe house facing the cold tablet.

He knew that although Cheng Shuang always introduced him as "husband" in front of others, deep down in her mind, they were not even in name only.