Chapter 147: Ah Zheng Gets Married

The next day, the 28th of the lunar calendar, was Ah Zheng's wedding day. Ye Yaodong got up at the crack of dawn and headed to his house.

His doorway was bustling with people. His mother wore a red flower on her head, beaming as she mixed wedding candy, sunflower seeds, and peanuts all together in one big bag to hand out to the neighbors later, as well as to the children who came over to beg for wedding treats.

After looking around everywhere, he finally found Ah Zheng. He was unpacking cigarettes, and as soon as he saw him coming over, he immediately handed him a pack.

Ye Yaodong took it cheerfully. "How does it feel to be the groom?"

"Don't know about any other feelings, but the red envelopes are coming in pretty satisfying. Having older sisters is great, hahaha~" He grinned and patted the two pockets on his Zhongshan suit over his chest, stuffed full of red envelopes, bulging.

"True enough. How come I don't have any older sisters? My two younger sisters aren't married yet either. What a shame." Ah Guang, watching from the side, was a little envious too.

The red envelopes on Ah Zheng's chest are called "pocket-pressing red envelopes." When a family has sisters who are already married, besides the normal wedding banquet red envelopes, they also have to give this pocket-pressing red envelope, and the amount is never small.

【Honestly, I've been using Wild Fruit Reading to read books and catch up on updates lately. Switch sources easily, lots of narration voices,. yeguoyuedu works on both Android and Apple.】

"When will the sedan chair and horse be delivered?"

The wedding custom around here is: if it's close, walk; if it's farther, ride in a flower sedan and on horseback. In recent years, many young people have also chosen to use a tractor to pick up the bride, but the bride's family still chose the sedan chair.

"Should be soon, right? No rush, there's still plenty of time. You all go in and have a couple of poached eggs."

"Alright, alright~ let's go eat the poached eggs first."

For these relatives and friends who came to help, the host family always cooks a pair of poached eggs in sweet soup, with dried longan inside, nice and sweet.

The dining table inside was full of people, so they each took a bowl and stood outside to eat and chat.

Around seven o'clock, the flower sedan and horse were finally delivered.

Ah Zheng's mother, beaming with joy, came up and gave a red envelope to the master leading the horse, as well as to the four sedan chair bearers, and then gave one to each of them too. These were red envelopes for helping with the bride pickup.

On the wedding day, a large number of red envelopes have to be given out—to the chef, the kitchen helpers, the wedding matron—anyone who helped has to get a red envelope.

Ah Zheng's family had already set everything up the day before. Now they just had to wait for the auspicious hour, then go pick up the bride.

Ye Yaodong and the others carried a red cloth bag full of firecrackers, waiting to set them off as soon as the hour came, and then the bride-pickup procession would set out.

The bride's family lived in nearby Ganxi Village, just a little past Dongqiao Village, not far at all.

The wedding matron walked beside the sedan chair, and the pickup procession's gongs and drums played as they walked. They set off firecrackers along the way. When people blocked the road to tease the groom, each person grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and wedding candy, and everyone let them pass after a token gesture.

But sometimes you run into people who aren't all there.

At this moment, the procession had just reached the village entrance when they ran into two shameless troublemakers blocking the road, refusing to move, insisting on cigarettes, saying they wouldn't leave without cigarettes.

Ye Yaodong was the leader today, the one at the front setting off firecrackers. Seeing it was that guy Xu Laifu again, he was already cursing inside, but he still had to keep a smile on his face.

"Brother, have a handful of candy to sweeten your mouth. We're all folks from the same village, share in the good cheer and that's enough. We still need to make it in time to pick up the bride. Give us some face and step aside?"

"I give you face, who gives me face? If you're in a hurry, just give us cigarettes. Once we have the cigarettes, we'll move."

"Exactly, give each of us a pack of cigarettes and we'll move."

What kind of nonsense is that, still asking for face? Ye Yaodong glared daggers at them.

Xiao Xiao said softly from the side: "Just give it to them. Give each of them a pack of Friendship cigarettes, consider it like shooing away beggars. Don't delay the auspicious hour."

"The cigarettes are all with Fatty."

Fatty was glaring at those two guys too—always them causing trouble. He pulled out two packs of Friendship cigarettes and tossed one to each of them. "Alright, move!"

Xu Laifu weighed the cigarettes in his hand, happy and ready to leave, but was held back by his friend beside him. "Wait a minute, you think a pack of Friendship cigarettes worth four or five cents is enough to get rid of us? No way. Hand over a pack of Chengfeng, give us Chengfeng and we'll go."

Xu Laifu's eyes immediately lit up. "Right, you're right. We want Chengfeng, give us Chengfeng... I... I... only then will we go..."

Seeing the hungry-for-a-fight look in their eyes across from him, his voice got softer and softer, more and more cowardly...

"That's enough, don't stand around causing trouble here, or else..."

"Or else what? Or else you just don't go through. If you can't afford it, don't get married."

Before Ye Yaodong could finish speaking, Xu Laifu's shady friend beside him, shaking his leg and not caring, picked up the thread.

Damn it, but it's a big happy day, can't curse people out.

Ah Zheng, sitting on the horse, sulkily climbed down and walked straight up: "That's enough. Laozi is getting married today, and you dare come cause trouble. Wait until Laozi is done with the wedding, I'll make you pay!"

"We don't want to cause you trouble either. Just give us the cigarettes and we'll naturally leave."

"Didn't we already give you some?"

"That Friendship cigarette is such a low grade, only four or five cents a pack. How could you have the nerve to hand that out?"

Damn... looking at that punchable look on their faces, the brothers all felt their hands itch a little.

Xu Laifu, seeing their unfriendly gazes, cowardly tugged at his friend's sleeve. "A Qiang, maybe let's drop it?"

"What's there to be afraid of? It's a big happy day, would they dare hit us? Settle scores later? It's just a pack of cigarettes, is it worth it?"

"Say what you mean. Give each of us a pack of Chengfeng and you'll move aside."

"Of course, of course."

Ah Zheng, impatient, found two packs of Chengfeng and tossed them over. The two took the cigarettes and happily scampered off to the side.

Xiao Xiao glared at their retreating backs. "My hands are so itchy watching them, I really want to grab them and beat them up!"

Ah Guang also chimed in: "Me too. Last time I hit too lightly."

Ye Yaodong was also annoyed. "Tonight I'll take you guys to catch ghosts!"

"What ghosts?" Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"I'll tell you later. Let's set off first, don't waste time."

Ah Zheng climbed back onto the horse. Ah Guang went to the middle of the procession to set off firecrackers, Xiao Xiao went to the back of the procession to set off firecrackers, and the procession continued forward as usual. Fatty, curious, leaned over and asked: "What did you just say about catching ghosts?"

"My net has been stolen several times recently, and others have had theirs stolen too. I have a guess who the net thief is. I plan to go catch them tonight. Want to come along?"

"Who is it? After the banquet? Are we going to stand outside the dock in the cold wind?"

"Definitely after the banquet and the long-table drinks, we'll go wander around and see if we run into them. There's no absolute certainty either."

"Alright, I'll tag along and have a look."

After that, the bride-pickup journey went smoothly. Only when picking up the bride were they blocked at the door by the bridesmaids. Xiao Xiao made a bit of a fuss, making everyone do a few push-ups, and after giving a door-opening red envelope, they went in. Then finding the embroidered shoes took quite a bit of effort.

Everyone knew the whole routine very well. Even those who hadn't gotten married had seen it many times.

Finally getting the bride into the sedan, everyone hurried back as fast as they could.

They met a few good-for-nothings blocking the procession on the way, but compared to Xu Laifu and his partner, these were easy to deal with; giving each a handful of wedding candies and a pack of Friendship cigarettes, they sensibly left.

The local wedding banquet is held at noon; once the bride is brought over, they must first bow in the hall, and immediately after the bowing, the feast begins.

Noon is the main meal; after the main meal is finished and all guests have left, the long-table banquet is set up in the evening, which is for the groom and bride's friends to drink.

During this, the bride must light cigarettes for the groom's friends; as for how they make things difficult, it depends on whether these groomsmen have any conscience...

Ye Yaodong had no interest in this, so he sat directly at the back, watching them one by one shaking their cigarettes for the bride to light, never letting her light them, finding it all very amusing...

But when it was his turn, he cooperated fully, letting the bride light his cigarette without making things difficult, allowing her to light it in one go.

Other friends saw this and complained loudly: "Dongzi, how can you be like this? Letting her off so easily makes us look especially bad; if the bride scolds us, fine, but the bridesmaids are definitely cursing us in their hearts."

"This way she'll remember you, it'll be deeply impressive! Aren't you still single?"

"That actually makes sense."

"Damn... Dongzi is clearly being gentle and considerate!"

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. "You barely read for two days and now you're trying to use idioms like others; stop talking nonsense. This is Ah Zheng's bride; Laozi is also a married man."

"No wonder you were so fast; even an iron pestle can be ground into a needle."

"Hahahaha~"

Everyone burst into laughter; Ye Yaodong angrily kicked the friend who spoke. "Get lost."

"Oh~ That's some strength!"

"For talking nonsense."

"Oh, stop talking about this, that's enough; the rest of you speed up a bit, there's still the wedding chamber teasing later."

"Then learn from Dongzi; when it's time to be fast, be fast!"

Where they live, the wedding chamber teasing is for the groom and bride, not the bridesmaids, and at this time everyone is very conservative, so their teasing in the wedding chamber wasn't too excessive.

For the first round, they directly served a cup of interlocked wine.

"Come, come, let's have the interlocked wine first."

"This interlocked wine is red in color, sweet in taste, and drinking it makes the heart feel beautiful!"

Everyone made a scene there, laughing and cheering.

The bride held the wine cup, somewhat shy and at a loss; Ah Zheng, however, had thick skin, so he directly took her hand and drank it down decisively, which made the friends unhappy.

"Ah... the interlocked wine must be drunk simultaneously; how can you drink it first? Again, again, fill it up again! It must be drunk together!"

"Yes, it must be drunk together."

Now, the bride had no choice but to steel herself, face flushed red, and drink the interlocked wine.

"Good~" Everyone in the room cheered again.

"It's the second round."

Ah Guang took a needle and thread, threaded it through a tiny bit of flesh at the top of a red date, then held the thread dangling in mid-air.

"Haha, eating red dates, wishing you an early birth of a noble son!"

Now the bride was even more embarrassed; looking at the red date between the two of them, she didn't dare move a muscle.

Friends were all making a scene there, urging them to hurry up...

Ah Zheng, with his thick skin, directly opened his mouth to bite; Ah Guang, however, was very mean, and just as he was about to touch the red date, he pulled the thread up again, provoking him to laugh and curse, "Just you wait; when you get married, I'll make sure you suffer."

"Hehe~ Early birth of a noble son; you two finish chewing this red date first."

"Yeah, yeah; who didn't go through this? Ah Zheng, are you capable or not? You can't eat it after all this time."

"Of course I am."

Ah Zheng was teased repeatedly until he was nearly spitting blood; finally, a relative saw the situation and poked Ah Guang; not understanding why, Ah Guang turned around, and then Ah Zheng, quick as lightning, bit the red date in one go, brought it to the bride, and only then did the bride, face red, take a bite.

"Ah, who poked me?"

As soon as Ah Zheng bit off the red date, he immediately sat up, wanting to kick everyone out. "Alright, alright, it's over, it's over..."

"Wait... only two rounds, there's still a third round..."

Relatives and friends watching the fun on the side also helped him drive people away. "That's enough, that's enough; the bride is already shy..."

"Everyone does three rounds... Ah Zheng, you can't make an exception..."

While everyone spoke, they were pushed out; Ah Zheng hurriedly closed the door from behind and latched it, only then letting out a sigh of relief.

A crowd at the door was still talking, lingering and refusing to leave.

Seeing it was about over, Ye Yaodong patted Xiao Xiao, Ah Guang, and Fatty on the shoulder, signaling them to go out and talk.

Except for Fatty, the other two didn't know yet.

As soon as he went out, he mentioned to them the matter of discovering Uncle Uncle Awei's brother-in-law last night; Ah Guang immediately reacted quickly, saying, "It must be him who stole the net!"

Xiao Xiao also agreed. "Yes, in the middle of the night, sneaking around; if he were specifically going to the beach to forage, why would he turn back halfway?"

Ah Guang asked again, puzzled. "What are those people at Lin Ji doing in the middle of the night?"

"Don't know; let's not worry about it for now. It's not even 8 o'clock yet; shall we go together to Xu Laifu's house to check? Let Fatty go knock on the door and see if he's home? If he's home, we'll forget it; if he's not home, he must have gone again. Since we didn't make it yesterday, I think he'll go tonight."

As for what those people at Lin Ji are doing, if there's no wind in the village, he'll pretend to know nothing; anyway, in his past life, he only heard it through hearsay.

Xiao Xiao, itching to act, said, "Let's go; seeing that guy this morning made me want to beat him up; I was just worried about not finding an opportunity. It's best if he's not home; we'll wait at the dock, or take the boat to the sea to catch him red-handed, and then beat him up openly."

Ah Guang shrugged. "Fine, I have no objection; anyway, there's nothing else to do."

Although it wasn't his business, a friend's business is naturally his business too.

"Then let's go check first."

After the four agreed, they walked straight out, ignoring the crowd at the bridal chamber door still making a scene; having been driven out, they definitely had no chance to enter the room again.