Chapter 33: Wedding

Chapter 33: Wedding

As the saying goes, a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. In his previous life, Deng Shirong had lived alone in his hometown. Though his children provided him with enough money for retirement, when he had a headache or fever, they weren't around to care for him.

The person who had cared for him the most in his later years was a cousin named Deng Changping, who lived across the creek.

The blood relationship between their families was close. Deng Changping's grandfather was Deng Shirong's cousin, and their fathers were brothers.

Though Deng Changping was only 26 at this time, he was already the father of three children. The four brothers had separated three years ago.

The young couple, raising three children, lived in an old house with their parents, and their living conditions were difficult.

Now that the land had been distributed, since Deng Shirong didn't plan to farm, lending the fields to Deng Changping was the best option.

Thinking this, Deng Shirong said to his youngest daughter, "Azhu, go call Changping over. I have something to tell him."

"Okay," Deng Yunzhu replied, then went to call Deng Changping.

Three minutes later, Deng Changping arrived.

As he entered, Deng Changping asked with a smile, "Uncle Jiu, what do you need?"

Deng Shirong put aside his pipe and said, "Now that our production team has distributed the first batch of land, your family of five only has two mu per person. Even with a good harvest, after paying the public grain and feeding yourselves, there won't be much left."

Deng Changping sighed. "Uncle Jiu, there's nothing we can do. Our production team has so few fields! In Macun, for example, each person has two to three mu. They have so much land they can't even finish planting it all. That's the life!"

Deng Shirong nodded. "Actually, many fields in Macun originally belonged to our village. During the era of collective farming, the brigade secretary was from our village. To reduce the burden on our villagers, most of the fields were allocated to Macun.

But then things changed. Production teams were established in each village, and the people in Macun refused to return the land.

That's why our village has so little land, while Macun has more than they can handle."

Deng Changping had heard this from his elders. He smiled bitterly. "It's not the brigade secretary's fault. His intention was to reduce the villagers' burden. He just didn't expect the situation to change so quickly. In the end, we lost more than we gained."

The two chatted for a while about the brigade secretary's past, and then Deng Shirong got to the point. "Changping, I called you here because I want to lend my family's land to you to farm. You'll be responsible for paying the public grain tax. Are you willing?"

Deng Changping was surprised. "Uncle Jiu, aren't you going to farm the land?"

Deng Shirong replied, "My son Yuntai works at the tile factory, Yunheng and the three younger ones are in school, and I've switched to matchmaking. Farming is too much work for me."

With the wedding invitations for Deng Changfu and Guan Yongying sent out, and the news of Deng Changmei's house visit spreading, almost everyone in the village knew that Uncle Jiu had become a matchmaker.

Additionally, Uncle Jiu was one of the owners of the tile factory, so Deng Changping understood that he didn't plan to farm.

Uncle Jiu's offer was clearly to help him. In this era, when rural people relied on farming, who would complain about having more land to farm?

"Uncle Jiu, thank you for taking care of me. I'll pay the public grain tax, and when the harvest comes, we'll split the grain fifty-fifty," Deng Changping said gratefully.

Deng Shirong smiled. "You don't need to give half. When the harvest is good, just give me 100 to 180 kilograms of grain."

After returning home, Deng Changping walked into the room with a smile.

His wife, Chen Xiaohua, was feeding their baby. Seeing his expression, she asked, "You're smiling so much. What good news did Uncle Jiu have for you?"

Deng Changping replied, "Wife, you're right. Uncle Jiu really had good news for me."

Chen Xiaohua gently patted the baby's back. "What is it?"

Deng Changping whispered, "Uncle Jiu isn't going to farm his land. He asked if I'd be willing to farm it. I just need to pay the public grain tax."

Chen Xiaohua's eyes lit up. "Is that true? You're not joking?"

Deng Changping nodded. "It's true. I'm not joking."

Chen Xiaohua was thrilled. "That's wonderful!"

In this era, when everyone in the countryside farmed, having three more mu of land meant producing several thousand more kilograms of grain a year. It was a significant amount.

As for the hard work, people of this era were used to it.

Deng Changping said, "Uncle Jiu said we just need to pay the public grain tax, but we can't do that. When the harvest is good, we'll definitely give him some grain."

Chen Xiaohua nodded. "It's only right. Uncle Jiu is helping us. We need to show our gratitude."

After putting the baby to bed, the couple grew more excited.

Deng Changping said, "With Uncle Jiu's three mu of land, as long as we work hard, our lives will definitely improve."

Chen Xiaohua added, "My eldest brother and second brother's families have built new houses and moved out of the old one. We should also build a house and move out as soon as possible. Living in the old house isn't very convenient."

Deng Changping agreed. "Now that we've divided the land and are working independently, and with Uncle Jiu's help, I believe it won't be long before we can build a new house."

Thinking of the benefits of moving into a new house, the couple grew even more excited. If it weren't for the late hour, they might have started planning right then!

June came to an end as the first batch of land was distributed to households in the production teams of the Help and Correct Brigade.

Tomorrow was the wedding day of Deng Changfu and Guan Yongying. The entire Thatchfield Village was busy early in the morning.

The first task was to slaughter a pig. Today, the groom's family would send a gift of ancestor worship to the bride's family. This included two chickens, two pig haunches, and some pork, along with candies, cakes, cigarettes, alcohol, and two red envelopes.

Of course, if a family didn't have a pig to slaughter or couldn't afford the pork, they could give cash instead. This was negotiable.

In the afternoon, the groom's relatives arrived with wine and rice to celebrate the wedding!

In those days, transportation was inconvenient, and wedding banquets in the Double Prosperity area were held before noon instead of in the afternoon or evening. Thus, relatives and friends came to celebrate the day before the wedding.

As for the wine and rice baskets, they were the standard for wedding banquets in this era.

Relatives and friends who came to the wedding had to bring ten to eight kilograms of rice and two bottles of rice wine, with the red envelopes placed on top of the rice.

As the matchmaker, Deng Shirong would go to the bride's home to attend the wedding banquet that afternoon and accompany the wedding guests to see the bride off the next day.

(End of this chapter)