RMCF: Chapter 28

 

Chapter 28

The village of Jijiu had not produced a scholar in over a decade. Fei Lian, not yet twenty, had already passed the exam. Even the village chief went to praise him. For a time, the Fei family was basking in boundless glory.

Originally, Mother Fei intended to host a large banquet. The villagers were all secretly preparing to attend. However, the Fei family only invited a few wealthy families in the village and their own close relatives, not letting others join the bustle. Even the Xu family didn't receive an invitation.

This matter infuriated Xu Shaochun and Liu Xianglan. “What does the Fei family mean! Now that they've passed the scholar exam, they think they're so great? They spoke so nicely before, but now that they’ve brought up a xiucai, they've changed their tune. It's truly heartless!”

Liu Xianglan cursed loudly in the courtyard. Xu Shaochun, hearing her mother's increasingly harsh words, also felt awful. If the marriage with the Fei family fell through, they'd have to choose another family. But where in the village was there a second scholar for her to choose? There was an old scholar, but his grandson was already about her age.

Anxious, she still tried to make excuses for the Fei family. “Perhaps it's because nothing is officially settled between us yet. If they invited us over directly for the meal now, wouldn't that be telling the whole village the two families are betrothed?”

Liu Xianglan's eyes widened. “Taking advantage of the banquet to let the villagers know would be just right! I think the Fei family is having second thoughts. They truly can't be trusted!”

“Mother, you can't say that. After all, Master Fei has passed the exam, naturally raising his status compared to before.”

When Xu He returned from outside and saw the mother and daughter venting their frustrations, he didn't need to ask to know it was about the Fei family. To be honest, he didn't know if Fei Lian would still come to their house to propose. But whether he did or not wasn't his concern. After the third month began, time flew by. There were less than ten days left until his wedding.

The red cloth he had bought in the city was only just being cut now. If he didn't hurry with the work, he might not even have a wedding robe to wear on his day of marrying out. If it weren't for the busy farming season and him having to manage the family's land alone, it wouldn't have come to this.

He went straight into the house, washed his hands clean, and returned to work on the robes. Xu Shaochun, passing by outside, glanced at the splash of red inside the room and felt her eyes grow hot. She snorted and went back to her own room.

Xu He carefully sewed the wedding gown. The money for the fabric had been given to him by Xu Changren.

Most of the family's money was in Liu Xianglan's hands. She certainly wouldn't have been willing to give him money to buy fabric for clothes.

Xu Changren didn't like to involve himself in these trivial household matters, but thinking that if his son married without even a wedding dress, the villagers would certainly laugh, and the Zhang family would be displeased—men care more about face—he still called Xu He over and gave him some money.

Seeing that Zhang Fangyuan had given a bride price, Liu Xianglan ultimately didn't argue with Xu Changren over this matter.

The money wasn't much, and the cloth he bought wasn't of good quality, but Xu He was already very satisfied. When he was sick, Liu Xianglan hadn't been willing to spend money on his treatment. For the family to give him money to buy cloth was already extremely good.  After all, the wedding robes would only be worn once before being packed away at the bottom of the chest. If the material were too good, it would feel like a waste. As long as it was festive enough when he went to the Zhang family, that was fine.

He sewed the clothes, letting out a soft sigh. He didn't know what Zhang Fangyuan had been busy with lately. Since the last time he ate at their house, he hadn't shown his face again, and he hadn't come to find him in the fields either.

Zhang Fangyuan had indeed been busy recently, rushing about with his feet barely touching the ground. For the wedding banquet, he had to purchase things early, hire a village chef experienced in preparing banquets, and also invite villagers to come celebrate. Though each task didn't seem troublesome, piled one after another, they were exhausting.

The Zhang household only had him alone, so naturally, preparing for a wedding was busier than for ordinary families. Fortunately, his fourth uncle and aunt helped manage things; otherwise, he truly wouldn't know where to start.

“I think the things you've prepared are quite sufficient.” More than half a pig, plus chickens, ducks, and fish,... As for vegetables, their own fields had some. “The house is also tidied up properly.”

New wardrobe, dressing table, new quilts… 

Zhang Shicheng walked around the house, front and back, looking very satisfied. “This time for the wedding, we should invite all the Zhang family relatives to make it lively. When your father was alive, although he was a quiet man, he loved liveliness the most. Whenever there was something happening at home, he was always busy running around, very happy.”

Hearing this, Zhang Fangyuan gave a bitter smile. To outsiders, his father had only been dead for seven or eight years, but in Zhang Fangyuan's eyes, his father had passed away several decades ago. It was also saddening to think; even though he had been reborn, it wasn't during his parents' lifetime.

Zhang Shicheng clearly sensed the somber atmosphere around the person beside him and softly sighed.

“Invite them, invite them all.” Although many of his father's siblings didn't get along, in families with many children, it's truly hard for every sibling to be close and loving; there are always rifts and discontent. His wedding was a joyous occasion. If he didn't invite all his own relatives, outsiders would laugh. “Only Second Aunt probably can't come.”

His father's generation had six siblings: Zhang Fangyuan's eldest uncle, second aunt, third aunt, fourth uncle, and sixth uncle. Old Five was his father. Among them, his eldest uncle inherited their grandparents' old house in the village. Second aunt married far away. Third aunt died young. Fourth uncle was Zhang Shicheng, the uncle closest to him. Below was the sixth uncle.

His sixth uncle was the youngest son of his grandparents, the most beloved by the old couple. During the division of family property, he received the most money. Sixth uncle was also quite capable. After the division, he didn't make a living in the village but instead sold the land he received and used the money to buy a house in the city. Now his whole family made their living in the city.

Zhang Shicheng said, “Your Second Aunt married far away; there's nothing to be done. Not just you, I haven't seen her for over ten years either. She's had a hard life.” He sighed.

“I asked someone to help write a letter and sent it to your Second Aunt. We'll see if she comes.”

Zhang Fangyuan acknowledged, “If Second Aunt comes, I'll definitely entertain her properly.”

Zhang Shicheng nodded. “Your eldest uncle will come. He asked me earlier when you went to propose. I told him the date of your event. As for Old Six, I really haven't been in contact with him much. Since you're running a business in the city anyway, you can go invite him in passing.”

“Alright.”

“As for the other villagers, I'll go and invite them.”

As the day of the wedding banquet drew closer, the Zhang household became increasingly lively. The villagers who hadn't been invited to the Fei family's banquet were now being invited by Zhang Fangyuan’s, and they were quite happy to attend.

With the villagers agreeing to come and show their support, it was easier for Zhang Fangyuan to ask neighboring families to borrow tables, benches, bowls, and dishes for the banquet. Some village women not only lent things but, out of respect for Zhang Shicheng, were willing to put aside their work for a day and come early to Zhang Fangyuan's house to help. The day before the wedding banquet, they started building temporary earthen stoves, boiling water, slaughtering chickens and ducks, and preparing vegetables. People were going in and out everywhere; the Zhang household hadn't been this lively for too long.

For a time, it was all people helping. Even receiving and greeting guests were handled by his fourth uncle and aunt. Zhang Fangyuan, as the host, actually had little to be busy with and ended up the most idle person. Seeing the house bustling inside and out, Zhang Fangyuan told the hired banquet chef to prepare two substantial meat dishes even just for the helpers tonight; they shouldn't be stingy.

Taking advantage of the free time, he slipped out the back door.

Tomorrow was their wedding. He didn't expect to find Xu He outside, nor was it appropriate to go to the Xu house to look for him today. He walked around behind the Xu house, picked a handful of locust leaves, crumpled them into a ball, and threw it at the back window of the Xu house. There was movement inside. He made eye contact with the person who came to open the window. “Haitang Bay.”

After leaving those three words, he turned and left.

… 

“Why did you come find me today? Shouldn't your family be very busy right now?”

Zhang Fangyuan had just left when Xu He hurried out after him, running all the way but still unable to catch up. Slightly out of breath, he saw the man sitting on the grass, seemingly deep in thought.

Zhang Fangyuan turned his head to look at the person he hadn't seen in days and patted the grass beside him, signaling Xu He to sit.

“It's been a while since I came to find you.”

Xu He responded, “Mm.”

Zhang Fangyuan glanced at Xu He, who sat down beside him as told, but with a gap for one person between them.

He brow furrowed slightly. He shifted his buttocks, immediately closing the distance. Seeing Xu He only looking ahead and not at him, he couldn't help but say sourly, “Haven't you missed me?”

Xu He's eyes flickered. For a moment, he didn't know how to answer and said instead, “Why did you look for me?”

“Don't change the subject!” Zhang Fangyuan tightened his thick brows, acting like a child in the market insisting his parents buy him candy, unwilling to listen to anything else.

The tips of Xu He's ears turned red. “I guess so.”

The ambiguous answer made Zhang Fangyuan a bit unhappy. But thinking they were getting married tomorrow, it wasn't appropriate for them to argue now.

“Is everything ready at home?”

Xu He nodded slightly. There wasn't much to prepare anyway. The Xu family wouldn't prepare much of a dowry for him. What he had to do was just that one wedding gown. Moreover, with the family currently upset about Xu Shaochun's marriage prospects, they had no mind to care about him.

“Then… will you be reluctant to leave home?”

“No.”

Not to mention they were in the same village and could see each other often; even if they didn’t see each other for a long time, he wouldn't find it particularly hard to part.

Hearing this, Zhang Fangyuan felt somewhat relieved. He had seen village weddings before. Usually, the marrying household was noisy with gongs and drums, full of laughter and joy, while the marrying-out household was tearful.

“Nervous?”

Xu He pressed his lips together and said honestly, “A bit.” He had never married out before. Facing such a major life event, probably no one wouldn't be nervous.

He lowered his eyes slightly. But if the person was Zhang Fangyuan, it didn't seem like anxiety about an uncertain future. Instead, it felt like anticipation for what was to come.

A hand suddenly reached out in front of him, slowly opening flat, like a small boat. Xu He hesitated for a moment, then gently placed his own hand on it. Zhang Fangyuan immediately grasped it, enveloping the slightly cool hand in his own palm. The small boat transformed into a brick-and-tile house that could shelter from wind and rain. “Don't be nervous. It's my first time getting married too.”

Although somewhat unaccustomed and with many things still not quite understood, still, “I'll protect you.”

 

***

 

T/N

yes 

( ˃ᴗ˂ )◞ • *⁠♡

 

 

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