The dowry prepared for Li Min was a large wooden chest, filled with fabric, shampoo, toothpaste, towels, enamel mugs, toothbrushes, and combs – all in pairs.
Most importantly, there was the "press-the-chest" money, which not only included the bride price given by the Chen family but also some added funds. Of course, the bride price from the Chen family was also money Li Zhengguo had lent to Chen Suozhu.
Seeing the chest brimming with dowry, Li Min's tears flowed even more fiercely.
Tian Jing touched her forehead. "Alright, alright, stop crying. When Chen Suozhu comes to pick you up, he'll think we bullied you."
"Sister-in-law~" Li Min pouted. Her sister-in-law was so good at ruining the mood.
Tian Jing waved her hand. "You've picked the wrong person to act spoiled with. Hurry up and rinse your eyes with cold water."
The sentiment of reluctance was completely shattered.
At eight o'clock, Chen Suozhu arrived to escort the bride.
Sister-in-law Niu covered her smile. "I said it was too early, let's wait a bit. Brother Suozhu couldn't wait and said he wanted to come here and wait."
Tian Jing poured Sister-in-law Niu a cup of sweet water. "Then let him wait."
The door to the east room was closed, and Chen Suozhu, dressed in new clothes, stood foolishly at the doorway of the east room, waiting.
Sister-in-law Niu picked up her enamel mug and slowly drank. "Next month, it will be time for the busy farming season. This year's harvest has given us hope. It's not much worse than my maternal family's."
"All of this is because of you. Otherwise, this year would have been another year of hunger. After harvesting the wheat next month, what do you plan to plant? My family will follow your lead."
Tian Jing disagreed. "We should wait until all the sweet potatoes and corn are harvested, then plant winter wheat everywhere, and then focus on managing the vegetable sheds."
"Your family can plant one season of Chinese cabbage and then winter wheat. Your vegetable shed is only one mu. Use your time wisely. However, if you don't have enough fertilizer, then just plant winter wheat."
Sister-in-law Niu was surprised. "Planting Chinese cabbage on the entire mu?"
Her family had four mu. After receiving sweet potato seedlings and corn seeds from Tian Jing, she also got wheat seeds from the team. Seeing Tian Jing planting wheat, she followed suit and planted one mu.
"Yes, if the supply and marketing cooperative doesn't buy it, you can make pickled cabbage. I'm craving pickled cabbage."
Speaking of pickled cabbage, Tian Jing's mouth watered.
"Okay, I'll plant one season of Chinese cabbage."
Tian Jing smiled. "You've made up your mind already? How much pickled cabbage are you going to make?" Su Dan Novel Network
"If I can't sell it all, I'll pickle it all. In the past, if I wanted to make pickled cabbage, I had to go back to my parents' home to ask for Chinese cabbage. This year, I'll send them Chinese cabbage. Hehe, Tian Jing, will you help me with the seedlings?"
"Okay, I'll help you with the seedlings, and only with the seedlings."
"I understand, I won't say anything."
A little past nine o'clock, the door to the east room finally opened.
Chen Suozhu stared at Li Min, who looked like a different person, his eyes unmoving.
Sister-in-law Niu nudged him, and he finally reacted. "Minmin, I've come to pick you up."
Li's mother placed her daughter's hand in Chen Suozhu's. "Suozhu, I'm entrusting Minmin to you. You must treat her well."
"I will, Mother."
"Yes, yes, good."
Li's mother took out two yuan wrapped in red paper and gave it to Chen Suozhu as a change-of-address gift.
Ouyang Lei used the excuse of helping to set off firecrackers, repeatedly glancing towards the west.
By the time Chen Suozhu joyfully took the bride away, he still hadn't seen anyone come out of Li Rongguo's house to the west.
"Sister, won't something have happened?" Ouyang Lei couldn't help but ask Tian Jing.
"If you can climb over the courtyard gate, you can certainly open it. Go and take a look."
"I won't go." Ouyang Lei dared not. His elder sister beat people very hard.
Tian Jing looked at Li Zhengguo. "What bad thing did he do?"
"Nothing much, he just tied their two feet together."
Could it be that simple?
With their feet tied together, anyone who remembered would have fallen back into bed, right?
Since Brother Zheng didn't mind, Tian Jing didn't either. "Brother Lei, aren't you in a hurry to eat lamb?"
"No rush, the banquet starts at twelve."
He wanted to wait and see how late Elder Sister and Li Rongguo would sleep.
It wasn't until close to the banquet that the two finally arrived, fashionably late.
Li Rongguo was beaming with pride.
Ouyang Meihua looked regretful, having messed up due to drunkenness.
Li Rongguo walked up to Ouyang Lei and said, "Little brother, Mei Mei and I will go get our marriage certificate this afternoon."
Meimei? Get a certificate?
Ouyang Lei looked at his elder sister.
Ouyang Meihua glared fiercely at her younger brother, then turned to Li Rongguo and said, "I don't agree."
"Meimei, you have to take responsibility for me."
"Bah! Clearly, I'm the one who suffered. You big man took advantage and then..."
Li Rongguo covered her mouth before she could say "acted cute." "Meimei, then I'll take responsibility for you. Otherwise, Little Brother will beat me, and wouldn't that hurt your heart?"
Ouyang Meihua's face flushed with anger. This man was too shameless. He was unwilling at first, and then...
Bah, what was she thinking? She wouldn't like this coward.
Tian Jing scanned the two back and forth. So soon? And Elder Sister Ouyang, you're a martial artist, how could you be so easily covered by the mouth?
If your mouth was covered, you should have struggled to break free! Just sending glares won't kill anyone.
Li Rongguo lowered his head and whispered something in her ear. Ouyang Meihua was stunned for a moment, then nodded, and only then was her mouth released.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go eat."
Ouyang Lei cheerfully called everyone. He was happy that his elder sister could finally get married.
"Ouyang Lei! You wait for me."
Ouyang Meihua's gritted teeth made Ouyang Lei freeze. Was his elder sister's gentleness only for one person?
"Elder Sister, I, I was the matchmaker for you two."
"Matchmaker? I'll beat you until you're a mess."
Ouyang Lei quickly darted out of the Li family's house.
Ouyang Meihua wanted to chase, but found her hand being held.
"Meimei, he's right. However, after he takes us to the commune and we finish our business this afternoon, you can beat him soundly then."
"Alright."
Tian Jing's eyes widened. One conquers the other?
Li Zhengguo took her hand. "Let's go to the Chen family for the banquet."
The Chen family had fifteen tables set for the banquet. More than fifty households from Kueshan Mountain each sent two people, the highest-ranking members of their families.
If Ouyang Lei hadn't brought the ingredients, the villagers wouldn't have felt comfortable coming.
Although the Chen family had been in hardship for more than ten years, in the past, the Chen family was considered a wealthy household in the village and had helped many villagers. Now, all the help was merely a return of favors.
Li Zhengguo and Tian Jing arrived. Grandfather Chen, invigorated by the happy occasion, invited the two to sit at a table with Ouyang Lei.
As soon as they sat down, Li Rongguo and Ouyang Meihua arrived.
Ouyang Lei waved at them. "Elder Sister, Cousin Li, sit here."
With this shout, Li Rongguo became the center of attention.
Seeing Li Rongguo sit beside Elder Sister Ouyang, the villagers' eyes were filled with gossip.
Gossip knows no gender. The captain and the party secretary pricked up their ears, listening to the conversation at the table next to theirs.
Soon, the two heard and saw the interaction between Li Rongguo and Elder Sister Ouyang.
Of course, they also confirmed that the woman who looked like a man was indeed Ouyang Lei's elder sister.
The two exchanged glances, understanding unspoken.
Originally, the three children from the two families should have moved out long ago.
However, out of the new six households in the village, two out of the three families who moved in had divorced.
The only one who didn't divorce, Huang Suluan, had just given birth to a six-fingered daughter. Although superstitions were discouraged daily, those who had already moved in had not had smooth lives, causing the two to hold back their sons who wanted to move into new houses.
Now, Li Rongguo, who had divorced not long ago, was actually getting involved with Ouyang Lei's elder sister.
Not to mention Ouyang Lei's capabilities, just the fact that the Ouyang family was from the county town, with urban household registration, and were willing to marry into the most remote mountain village was the pride of the mountain village.
It was a higher status than Lin Er's wife from the town.
It was just unknown if it would lead to anything.
As a result, they overheard.
"Elder Sister Ouyang, when you go to the county town to get the certificate this afternoon, help me buy some bean bun cloth."
"What for?"
"To make diapers for the baby in my belly."
Three sentences were enough for the two biggest leaders in the village to agree to their sons moving houses.
One was getting a marriage certificate this afternoon, securing Elder Sister Ouyang, who was from Ouyang Lei's family.
The other was using bean bun cloth to make diapers for the baby.
Neighbors like these were a godsend.