Chapter 106: Wedding Night

Chapter 106: Wedding Night

Seeing that Sister-in-law Jiang was shocked, Bu Dafang still felt it wasn't enough, so she continued with a smile, "Sister-in-law, my uncle's family has reclaimed the mountain they recently acquired into an orchard. According to my uncle, they may hire someone to help manage the orchard next year, and the pay is quite good. My Ah Hu has nothing to do except work in the fields, so I thought of asking him to help my uncle's family with the orchard. Sister-in-law, if Ah Hu isn't home in the future, you'll have to help me with anything!"

Sister-in-law Jiang suppressed her shock and asked, "Dafang, is what you said true?"

Bu Dafang nodded and said, "Of course it's true. How can I joke about something like this?"

Sister-in-law Jiang thought for a moment and immediately went back into the house. She took out a few strips of pickled radish (one of the most common pickled vegetables in Bobai) and said, "This is what I brought back from my mother's house not long ago. Take a few strips back and have them with porridge."

Bu Dafang was shocked when she saw this. Her sister-in-law was a well-known miser. She had been married into the Jiang family for three years, and apart from unavoidable social interactions, she could never get even a soybean from her sister-in-law in her spare time. But today, her sister-in-law actually gave her a few strips of pickled radish for the first time, completely changing Bu Dafang's perception of her.

Bu Dafang declined, "Sister-in-law, you can keep this for yourself. I have some pickles at home."

Sister-in-law Jiang smiled and said, "Pickled vegetables can change the taste. They're not valuable anyway. They can't compare to the bowl of food you brought over."

Seeing that she really wanted to give it to her, Bu Dafang took it and said, "Sister-in-law, you're too kind. What's the point of comparing? I'll take it back and have it with porridge. I haven't eaten pickled radish in a while, and I'm craving it!"

After some polite exchanges, Bu Dafang took the pickled radish from her sister-in-law and went back into the house.

They lived under the same roof, and Jiang Dehu had overheard the conversation between Bu Dafang and Sister-in-law Jiang. When he saw his wife come in, he lowered his voice and asked, "Dafang, what you just said to Sister-in-law, is it true?"

Bu Dafang took a clean bowl and placed the pickled radish in it. She said, "Of course it's true. Didn't I tell you about my uncle's family situation?"

"Dafang, that's not what I'm asking."

"Are you asking about working in the orchard?"

Jiang Dehu nodded and said, "Yes, I want to know if it's true. Does your uncle really want to hire someone to help manage the orchard?"

Bu Dafang said, "Of course it's true. I heard from my uncle that they'll plant lychee trees in early spring next year. After the lychee seedlings are planted, they'll need to hire someone to take care of them. The lychee variety my uncle grows is called Cinnamon Flavor. It's not like the straight-growing lychees that don't need much care and can grow naturally. Instead, they need watering, fertilizing, pruning, and more. I don't know all the details, but my uncle said there's a lot of work to be done, and they'll need to hire two people to help."

Jiang Dehu was moved when he heard this and said, "Dafang, have you told your uncle about me going to help in the orchard?"

In the countryside these days, there aren't many opportunities to make money. Although he didn't know how much he could earn working in his uncle's orchard, as long as there was a chance to make money, no matter how small, he was willing to take it. It was better than staying at home and farming without earning a penny.

"I haven't mentioned it yet. I'll bring it up when I go to pay New Year's greetings to my uncle on the second day of the New Year. My uncle has loved me since I was a child, so there shouldn't be any problem."

Seeing the joy on her husband's face, Bu Dafang quickly warned him, "Jiang Dehu, I'm saying this now. When you go to help my uncle next year, you must work hard and not be lazy. If you embarrass me, no matter what good things my uncle has in the future, you won't get a share!"

Jiang Dehu assured her repeatedly, "Dafang, I'm not an idiot. I know what to do."

Bu Dafang then smiled and said, "Well, as long as you know what's going on, I'll go cook for you now. You don't know how amazing the banquet my uncle prepared today was... the spicy crab... the steamed sandworms..."

At today's banquet, all the guests were amazed. Bu Dafang had been reluctant to say much to her sister-in-law earlier, but in front of her husband, she could talk about it in detail.

…

After Deng Shirong's two brothers-in-law each took back three tables of leftovers, they both gave about one-third of the dishes to their spouses to take back to their parents' homes.

These were all delicious dishes, so Deng Yuntai's eldest aunt and second aunt were naturally thrilled. Even though it was already late, they still carried several bags of dishes and hurried toward their parents' homes.

At the same time, news of today's banquet gradually spread as relatives and friends returned home!

In this era, the most talked-about aspects of wedding banquets are generally three:

First, how much is the bride's dowry? How much is the betrothal gift?

Second, how many tables were set up for the banquet? Which important guests attended?

Third, how many main dishes were there? Were the portions sufficient? Did the dishes taste good?

At Deng Shirong's wedding banquet today, these three aspects left the guests talking with great enthusiasm.

First, there was the bride's dowry. Knowing that Zhang Xiuping had married well, the bride's relatives were extremely generous and gave her a large dowry. Although the valuable items weren't many, the quantity was impressive.

The 380 yuan betrothal gift also amazed the guests.

Since Deng Shirong had kept it a secret, almost no guest knew that the betrothal gift had actually been provided by him, not the bride's parents.

There were a total of fifteen tables at today's banquet, and when the news spread, it caused quite a stir.

Of course, the most shocking thing was the dishes served at the banquet. Not only were there many dishes with large portions, but the taste was so delicious that it was hard to describe. As the guests spread the word, Deng Shirong's banquet became the benchmark for rural banquets.

From today on, whenever people in the surrounding area mentioned the word "banquet," Deng Shirong's family's banquet would be a standard they could never ignore.

…

The wedding night prank is an inevitable part of marriage.

In later generations, because some people lacked a sense of propriety during the bridal chamber pranks, they turned playful embarrassment into real discomfort, completely torturing the bride and groom. As a result, the festive custom of making a fuss in the bridal chamber gradually became a bad habit that most people despised.

It's not uncommon for people to take advantage of the bride or bridesmaids under the guise of making trouble in the bridal chamber.

The most outrageous incidents include deaths during bridal chamber pranks and even cases of bridesmaids being assaulted...

Marriages in this era still include the bridal chamber prank segment, but nowadays, it's usually the villagers who participate, and everyone is more sensible, not making it too exaggerated.

Especially, although Deng Yuntai is young, people of his age are basically one or two generations younger than him. Who would dare to make trouble without restraint?

Therefore, at night, the young people in the village came to play for a while, and when they saw it was getting late, they left one by one, leaving the precious time to the newlyweds, Deng Yuntai and Zhang Xiuping.

(End of this chapter)