Chapter 34: Wealth Soars

Chapter 34: Wealth Soars

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, the girl's family sent someone to deliver a red envelope and a piece of five-flavor snack to Deng Shirong, the matchmaker.

In era, matchmakers would bring men and women together, and after the marriage was successful, the man would give a thank-you gift. If the woman was satisfied with the marriage, she would also send the matchmaker a red envelope and a piece of five-flavor snack on the afternoon before the wedding to express her gratitude.

After the person who brought the gifts left, Deng Shirong handed the five-flavor snack to his eldest daughter, then opened the red envelope and found two big unity notes inside.

Seeing this, Deng Yunzhen remarked, "Dad, the red envelope from the girl's family is quite generous. It seems she's very satisfied with the marriage you arranged."

Deng Shirong, whose wealth had more than doubled, was in excellent spirits. He replied with satisfaction, "Of course. Normally, the red envelope from the girl's family is around ten yuan. Now it's doubled. How could I not be pleased?"

Deng Yunzhen recounted the gains her father had made since he started matchmaking and couldn't help but sigh, "I never expected matchmaking to bring such great rewards!"

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "As the old saying goes, 'One who only wanted to win one pair of pants ended up tearing nine skirts.' It's not easy to arrange a marriage. Not everyone is so easy to talk to."

Deng Yunzhen nodded in agreement. "That's true."

"Alright, take the pork and start cooking. I'm heading to the girl's house for dinner. I have to send her off tomorrow, so I won't be back tonight."

"Got it!"

When Deng Shirong arrived at the girl's house, most of her relatives and friends had already gathered.

Unlike the groom's family, those attending the bride's family's wedding banquet didn't bring baskets of wine and rice. Instead, they brought a few feet of cloth. The quality of the cloth depended on the family's financial situation and generosity. Some brought ordinary cloth, while others brought high-end khaki or Dacron fabric.

In addition, closer relatives often brought items like teapots, washbasins, or foot buckets along with the cloth, but they didn't need to give red envelopes.

Deng Shirong also brought a few feet of cloth. He chose Dacron, which made him stand out as a well-qualified matchmaker.

All the gifts from these relatives and friends would become part of Guan Yongying's dowry.

During the meal, Deng Shirong, as the matchmaker, was naturally given the seat of honor.

Guan Dewu, who worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, joined him. He raised his glass and said, "Uncle Jiu, I toast to you. After my daughter Yongying marries, she'll be part of your Deng family. Uncle Jiu, you'll have to look out for her in the future. Don't let her be bullied."

Deng Shirong clinked glasses with him and replied with a smile, "Uncle Man, don't worry. My cousin's family is known for their good temper. Yongying won't be bullied if she marries into their family. If anything happens, just come to me, and I'll help settle it."

Guan Dewu took a big sip of wine and said, "With Uncle Jiu's assurance, I feel much more at ease!"

In rural areas during these days, very few men and women were free to fall in love on their own. Most marriages were arranged through matchmakers, so the role of the matchmaker was crucial. Families with marriageable children would often approach Deng Shirong, asking him to introduce suitable matches.

Deng Shirong welcomed this, as more clients meant more opportunities for him as a matchmaker.

Of course, having experienced the consequences of trusting matchmakers in his previous life, Deng Shirong was determined not to repeat the same mistakes. As the saying goes, "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself." Now that he had become a matchmaker, he wouldn't act like others who only cared about successfully pairing people up and receiving generous thank-you gifts. He either refrained from making introductions or ensured that the matches were well-suited after careful consideration.

While mistakes were inevitable—after all, he wasn't a god, and people could change—he believed that as long as most of the couples he brought together lived happily, it would be a great achievement.

As Deng Shirong enjoyed the food and conversation at the girl's house, the groom's family had already begun their feast.

After eating and resting briefly, the cooks started preparing the most important dishes for the next day's banquet.

In the Double Prosperity region, several dishes were essential for wedding banquets:

Braised Pork: The most important dish at a wedding banquet. Serving braised pork signaled that all the dishes had been served. Preparing it took a lot of time, so it had to be cooked the night before, placed in bowls, and steamed the next day.

Meatballs: Made by mincing and seasoning half-fat, half-lean pork, shaping it into rounds, wrapping it in lard, and steaming it. This dish was also time-consuming and had to be prepared in advance.

Egg Rolls: Created by frying eggs into thin pancakes, filling them with minced meat similar to the meatball filling, rolling them up layer by layer, cutting them into finger-length pieces, and steaming them. This dish was equally labor-intensive and reserved for special occasions like banquets.

Sweet Lotus Root: A long-simmered dish made with pork bones, lotus root, and plenty of sugar, stewed over low heat overnight.

Apart from these four dishes, which required significant preparation, the other dishes were relatively simpler and could be made the next morning.

While the cooks were busy, the relatives and friends who had come for the banquet gathered in small groups to chat. It was rare for so many relatives to come together, so they had plenty to talk about.

By around nine or ten in the evening, the guests began to retire for the night.

In the countryside during these days, no family had the means to accommodate so many guests. Whenever a village family held a wedding banquet, the entire village would pitch in to help with lodging. Families with spare rooms would offer them to guests, and even those without extra space would make room by having three or four people share a bed.

Deng Shirong, who wasn't returning home that night, was given a room to himself by the girl's family. Compared to other relatives and friends who had to share rooms with two, three, or even four people, the matchmaker's treatment was quite privileged.

Before going to bed, Deng Shirong couldn't help but tally his assets.

After receiving red envelopes from Zhang Kangmei and Deng Changmei for house-sitting, he had over 170 yuan. After spending some money during this period and buying a few feet of Dacron cloth for the girl's family, he was left with just over 150 yuan.

Now, with the 20-yuan red envelope from the girl's family before the wedding, his wealth had surged again, reaching over 370 yuan.

As for the five-flavor snacks, ten more had appeared in his already cleared system space.

Of course, this was nothing compared to the real prize—the thank-you gift from the groom's family the next day.

(End of this chapter)