vrcanaries Chapter 190 Engagement Banquet
Chapter 190 Engagement Banquet
The cotton was too heavy for one person to lift, so it took two people to lift the half bag.
"This cotton looks light, but I didn't expect half a bag to be so heavy." Chen Zihao put down the cotton and clapped his hands.
"I weighed it and estimated that this half bag of cotton weighs at least 150 kilograms," said another villager who helped.
"No rush, we'll weigh it after we've gathered all the cotton. Thank you all for your help today, otherwise I wouldn't be able to finish picking it all this morning by myself."
"Miss Shen, you are too polite. Miss Shen has helped us so much. We are just doing what we can." Chen Zihao waved his hand.
"Yes, Miss Shen, if you have nothing else to do, we will leave first. We will go and plow the wasteland first, and then plow it again next spring."
"Okay, take care, thank you." Shen Wanning said as she walked them to the gate of the yard.
Shen Wanning put an unwanted bed sheet on the ground, poured out the cotton, and spread it on the ground to dry.
It was lunchtime, but Aunt Zhang and Lin Jingyou had not returned yet. Shen Wanning took a nap and went to the top of the mountain in the afternoon to look at the fruit trees and the wheat in the fields.
They came back almost time for dinner, with a lot of things in the car. Shen Wanning hurried to help move the things downstairs.
She took a quick look and saw that most of the items were food, such as sesame cakes, fried dumplings, and eight loads of wine. The rest were dishes for tomorrow's banquet, including various meats.
To be honest, she didn't know much about engagement etiquette, so she was a little curious when she saw these things.
During dinner, Aunt Zhang looked very happy. "Tomorrow, everyone in the village will come to the banquet, and we will announce your engagement. Has the third brother's engagement letter been prepared?"
"Of course." It had been written long ago, and Lin Jingyou had been waiting for this day!
Aunt Zhang looked at Shen Wanning again, "Wanning, according to the rules, you need to return a gift after the engagement. Usually, the return gift is some embroidery you made yourself. But I know you are not good at this, and we don't care about those empty things. I have a set of clothes I just made for the third child. You can take it back later and give it to the third child as a return gift tomorrow."
Shen Wanning nodded, "Thank you for your consideration, mother."
The next morning, the village headman and his family came to congratulate him. Lin Dashan had already spoken to the village headman yesterday, and in the afternoon he went door to door to deliver the news.
Aunt Zhang asked the three brothers to carry out wedding cakes, fried dumplings, and a few loads of wine.
Seeing more and more people coming, Aunt Zhang said with a happy face, "Today is the big day when my third son and Wan Ning are getting engaged. We have already exchanged engagement letters, and today is the day to get engaged. Thank you all for coming to support us."
"Congratulations, your third child and Wan Ning are definitely here, so you don't have to worry about it anymore!" said the head of the village with a smile.
"Yes, according to the rules, we have already bought the small gifts. Today we are not only Wan Ning's in-laws, but also her parents' home. Wan Ning has been in the village for so long, thanks to everyone's care. These ordered foods will be shared with everyone later, so that everyone can share in the joy." Aunt Zhang said.
Then they went forward and opened several boxes, which were filled with oil buns and wedding cakes. To have a good start, they bought them according to the auspicious number of sixty-four pairs, which is one hundred and twenty-eight.
However, considering that there were many people in the village and there might not be enough to go around, they doubled the number, meaning each villager bought 256.
The villagers came forward one by one and said auspicious blessings.
"I wish Wan Ning and Mr. Lin a happy and lasting marriage!"
"I watched Lin Lao San grow up. Seeing him get engaged today, my heart is filled with joy!"
"Sister-in-law, you are so lucky. Your third child is so promising and will definitely be an official in the future. Wan Ning can make money too. You are really blessed!"
"The best young men and women in Daqing Village are all in your family. You are so lucky!"
"I wish Jingyou and Wanning a long and happy life together, and that they give birth to a pair of twin grandchildren soon, haha."
Whenever the villagers came forward to offer their blessings, Lin Jingce would hand them wedding cakes or oil buns.
It's not that I haven't eaten these before, nor am I greedy for these foods, but today is a happy day, and everyone is happy. Plus, it's free, who wouldn't be happy with such a good thing!
At this moment, Shen Wanning saw an unexpected person. It was actually Widow Wang. Her thin body swayed in the loose clothes, like a skeleton.
She walked to the front, looked at Lin Jingyou, and whispered, "I wish you two will be together forever and live in harmony for the rest of your lives. I thought you would be my son-in-law, but I never thought... Never mind, there's no point in saying that anymore."
At the end, Widow Wang laughed at herself.
Aunt Zhang handed her an oil bag and said disapprovingly, "Widow Wang, don't talk nonsense. Our third son has never had any relationship with your Xiuqin, and he has never had any feelings for your Xiuqin."
Widow Wang nodded calmly, "I know, I was just wishful thinking. But it's good the way it is now."
After saying that, Widow Wang took the oil bag and left like a zombie.
This was just a minor incident, and no one took it seriously. Aunt Zhang and the others continued to distribute wedding cakes and fried dough sticks to others.
This time, Shen Wanning and the others didn't specifically call the refugees; they came on their own. Aunt Zhang smiled, accepted their blessings, and distributed oil buns or wedding cakes to each of them.
With tacit understanding, everyone brought stools, tables, pots, pans and other things, and the women helped Xu cook in the kitchen.
While eating, someone joked that the Lin family was getting better and better off, and that all the meals they had in recent days were held at the Lin family's house.
And they hadn't had such a good meal for a long time.
After dinner, before everyone left, Aunt Zhang remembered something and pulled Lin Jingyou aside to talk to him for a few words.
Lin Jingyou then remembered that he had not yet given Shen Wanning the things he bought for her in the county town.
He returned to his room, took out a box, and opened the jewelry box in front of everyone. Inside was a set of pink crabapple-shaped headpieces.
It is still mainly gold, and is decorated with various pink crabapple flowers.
The moment it was opened, everyone present exclaimed, "Wow, this is so beautiful!"
"I wonder how this headdress compares to the red gold headdress the emperor gave me before?"
"Of course, the things given by the emperor are better. Can the royal family give us something worse?"
"But I think this headdress is great! This is the first time I've seen such a beautiful headdress in my life!"
"Oh, what a pity! We can only look at such beautiful jewelry and will never be able to wear it in this lifetime."