Chapter 78 Just Be Happy!

Chapter 78 Just Be Happy!

At the same time, in New Dock Village, Zhang Xiuping's family was also discussing the final list of candidates for the visit to the Deng family the day after tomorrow.

As early as last month, after Deng Shirong came over to inform them and set a date for the house-viewing, the Zhang family had already discussed and preliminarily decided on the candidates. They included the fourth aunt, the seventh aunt, the third aunt, the younger aunt, the eldest cousin (from the eldest aunt's family), Zhang's eldest sister-in-law, Zhang's second sister-in-law, and Zhang Xiuping's two younger sisters, Ou Guofang and Ou Guohua.

The Zhang family had carefully considered these candidates.

In these days, when a woman visits the man's family, each person accompanying her receives a red envelope and five-flavored snacks. Therefore, the woman must inform the man in advance of the number of people accompanying her so that he can make the necessary preparations.

The Zhang family initially decided to include one relative from each of Zhang's father's and mother's sides, totaling six people. Adding Zhang Xiuping's eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, and two younger sisters, the group would consist of exactly ten people.

According to the customs of Double Prosperity territory, the bride's parents do not attend the house-viewing or the wedding banquet.

Ten people accompanying the bride to visit the groom's family is neither too many nor too few—it's considered an average number.

Mother Zhang said, "Tomorrow, Uncle Jiu will come to finalize the arrangements. Do you think we should add any more candidates?"

Zhang Xiuping thought for a moment and said, "Mom, we've already invited all the close relatives. If we invite more distant relatives or friends, the group will become too large. But since we already have eleven women, why don't we bring Xiaojun and Xiaoshan along?"

When Zhang Shoujun heard his sister's suggestion, his eyes lit up. He looked at his parents and said, "Dad, Mom, my sister is right. Although most of the people who accompany the bride are women, it's not good to have no men at all. I think Xiaoshan and I are suitable to go."

Zhang Shoushan quickly nodded in agreement and said, "Dad, Mom, I want to go too."

Father Zhang, sitting nearby and puffing on his water pipe, remained silent. As a grown man, he rarely involved himself in such matters and left the decision-making to his wife.

Mother Zhang pondered for a moment and said, "Originally, it's normal for brothers and sisters to accompany the bride to the groom's house, but we were worried that too many people might lead to gossip, so we didn't include you two. However, what your sister said makes sense. It's not good to go without any men, so let's count you two in!"

When Zhang Shoujun and Zhang Shoushan heard this, their faces lit up with excitement.

Both brothers knew that their future brother-in-law's family was well-off and that their house was grand. On one hand, they wanted to go and broaden their horizons, and on the other, they didn't want to miss out on the red envelopes they would receive from the house-viewing.

Considering the family background of their future brother-in-law, the red envelope amount should be at least two or three yuan, and it wouldn't be surprising if it were as much as five yuan. For them, with empty pockets, this was a "huge" fortune, and it was certainly worth their excitement.

Seeing that her mother-in-law had finalized the list, Mrs. Zhang said, "Mom, should we notify my third aunt, second aunt, and eldest cousin tomorrow?"

Mother Zhang nodded and said, "We will notify them, but we should wait for Uncle Jiu to come and confirm everything before doing so."

Mrs. Zhang said, "It's a long way from here to Thatchfield Village. It takes three or four hours to walk. When we go to inform my third aunt, second aunt, and eldest cousin tomorrow, let's have them stay with us for the night. We can all set out together after breakfast in the morning. This will save a lot of time."

Mother Zhang agreed, "That's how it should be."

…

October 15th.

After breakfast, Deng Shirong rode his bicycle toward New Dock Village.

After riding for more than an hour, Deng Shirong arrived at Dragon Lake Street. He bought a large bag of candies at the supply and marketing cooperative and then headed to Zhang's house in New Dock Village as if he knew the place well.

Last time, Deng Shirong had brought a few pounds of pork butt and braised pork, which caused quite a stir in New Dock Village. However, scarce items like meat couldn't be sent every time, as that would spoil the other party's appetite. Only sending them occasionally would achieve the best effect.

Of course, he couldn't show up empty-handed either, as that would be too rude. Bringing a big bag of candies and cookies was appropriate.

More than ten minutes later, Deng Shirong arrived at Zhang's house.

"Uncle Jiu!"

"Uncle Jiu, have a cigarette!"

"Uncle Jiu, have some water first!"

"Uncle Jiu..."

The Zhang family welcomed Deng Shirong warmly. Some held the chimney, and others brought water. Their attitude was no less enthusiastic than if they were welcoming a new son-in-law.

After some polite exchanges, Deng Shirong said, "Dear relatives, I came here today mainly to confirm with you the final arrangements for visiting my house tomorrow."

Mother Zhang said politely, "Uncle Jiu, you are so kind. You could have just sent someone with a message. You didn't have to travel such a long way to inform us in person."

"It's no trouble. I rode here, and it only took me an hour. How many of you will be coming to visit tomorrow? Is the number confirmed?"

"Yes, it's confirmed. Including my sister Ping, there will be thirteen of us in total."

"Okay, I've got it!"

…

After finishing the business, although the Zhang family tried to keep him, Deng Shirong politely declined and left immediately.

It wasn't that his schedule was particularly tight, but he didn't want to cause trouble for the Zhang family. If he stayed for dinner, they would have to prepare a decent meal to entertain him, which would be too much trouble.

Of course, the most important reason was that he had no expectations for the cooking skills of his future in-laws...

More than an hour later, Deng Shirong returned to Double Prosperity.

It was the peak time of the market. Deng Shirong ate a bowl of noodles at a noodle stall, then bought some ingredients he would need for the house-viewing the next day. After looking around for his eldest son, Deng Yuntai, and not finding him, he rode his bike back home.

…

Tile Factory.

Deng Yuntai had gone to Double Prosperity early to get a haircut and then hurried back to continue working.

Making a large vat was different from other tasks. The vat was built section by section, and before it was completed, he couldn't take a break unless he didn't mind wasting the previous work.

Although Deng Yuntai already knew that the girl would be visiting tomorrow, the weather had delayed the batch of vats he was making by two days. Today, he still had to finish some final work before he could truly relax.

While Deng Yuntai was busy finishing up, his childhood friend Deng Changyuan was chatting with him. The topic of conversation was naturally about the house-viewing tomorrow.

Deng Changyuan asked, "Atai, the girl is coming to visit tomorrow. To be honest, are you nervous now?"

Deng Yuntai rolled his eyes at his childhood friend and said, "Nonsense, I haven't even met her yet, and now we're directly doing the house-viewing. Do you think I'm nervous?"

Deng Changyuan smiled and said, "Others usually get to know each other before the house-viewing, but since your dad arranged this, he skipped the acquaintance step. But I heard from your two sisters that your partner is very beautiful, so you should be happy!"

After finishing the large vat in his hands, Deng Yuntai looked at his childhood friend and said, "A Yuan, I heard from my sister a while ago that my partner also has two sisters. I don't know if they'll come along tomorrow. If they do, you should keep an eye out. If you like one of them, let my dad help you matchmake. Maybe your marriage will be settled!"

Deng Changyuan's eyes lit up at this: "Hey, what you said makes sense. I'll have to take a closer look tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)