Chapter 381: The prospective daughter-in-law blushed

Su Yang held something in his arms, carried something on his shoulder, and also had something on his back; altogether he was like a walking parcel.

Zhou Ruohan, meanwhile, was holding two big bags that were packed full.

The two entered Su Yang's courtyard gate one after the other.

At this time, Su Lie and Guo Xiaocui had already greeted Zhou Liguo and his wife, inviting them onto the kang to drink tea.

Although the rural environment is relatively poor, Su Yang's courtyard is still an earthen one, with five tile-roofed rooms and two earthen-brick kitchens.

Along the south wall of the courtyard, two apricot trees were planted.

In the northwest corner of the courtyard there is a cellar; beside it is a small garden of twenty or thirty square meters, where the flowers are in full bloom.

Inside the rooms, although the floor is bricked, there are no particularly nice furnishings—everything is cabinets and the like made by village carpenters.

Nevertheless, overall it is fairly clean and tidy; evidently Su Yang's mother has put in a lot of effort.

""Su Da ge, you don't need to be so polite; treat us as family, don't be so busy—making tea and carrying steamed buns."

Zhou Weiguo watched the busy Su Lie, taking out a cigarette from his pocket as he spoke.

But Su Lie had no intention of stopping; he took out a few pieces of rock sugar from the cabinet and said, "Oh dear, how can that be? You're a guest in our home—I must take good care of you."

"There's not much good tea; make do with what we have—do you want more or less rock sugar?"

Guo Xiaocui brought over the fried dough sticks that had been fried the night before, and also brought a plate of a fruit especially rare in the village. This is actually a high-class treatment in the village.

Jarred tea, fried dough sticks, sitting on the kang—this is the simple, hospitable way unique to the northwestern countryside.

If we were to slaughter a sheep, that would be treating the guest as an honored guest among honored guests.

"Ah, first have some tea and steamed buns, wait a bit, and by lunchtime we can eat rice." Although Su Lie said he wasn't nervous, Zhou Weiguo, after all, is a senior official, his aura evident; deep down he was still a little nervous.

After the tea was finished, Su Lie ran to the kitchen and brought over a basin of freshly cooked mutton, which was originally meant to be stir-fried at lunchtime.

This really left the old Zhou couple at a loss—eating mutton at dawn? That's overly enthusiastic!

Zhou Weiguo didn't know what to say; after all these years he'd seen countless scenes, but this was still a first.

Without an intermediary, he couldn't say what he was thinking, and he also didn't know whether this was a village custom.

Qiao Yindi didn't know what to say either; she could only keep saying, "Don't busy yourself, don't busy yourself—sit down and chat a bit."

Then, the atmosphere went quiet again…

Fortunately, at this moment Su Yang and Zhou Ruohan came in carrying a big pile of things.

At that moment, whether it was Su Lie and his wife or Zhou Weiguo and his wife, they were as if seeing a savior.

Su Yang glanced and said, "Dad, a plate of mutton at dawn? When did it become fashionable to eat such heavy fare first thing in the morning?"

Su Lie then, embarrassed, took the mutton back.

Su Yang then said, "Mom and Dad, don't be so busy—Uncle Zhou and Aunt Qiao aren't outsiders; all this fuss makes them uncomfortable."

Then he formally introduced, "Mom and Dad, this is Uncle Zhou, who works in our province, and Aunt Qiao as well."

"This is Zhou Ruohan, your future daughter-in-law."

Then he also introduced to the old Zhou couple, "Uncle and Aunt, my parents knew we were coming back today; they started preparing yesterday, and this preparation is more thorough than for New Year."

"They rarely leave the village, so they get nervous seeing people; please don't take offense."

After hearing Zhou Ruohan's name, Su Lie looked bewildered again; he remembered that girl as Fang Jingwen—how did she suddenly change?

Nevertheless, he quickly pulled out a red paper-wrapped red envelope from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Ruohan, saying, "This is our rural custom; take it."

Guo Xiaocui also gave Zhou Ruohan the red envelope she had prepared earlier.

But she was so nervous she couldn't speak; they had thought it was Fang Jingwen, and because they were familiar with her, they could have said anything they wanted.

As a result, now that the person has changed, they're not familiar with Zhou Ruohan, and with Zhou Weiguo's aura, the old couple are a bit nervous.

Zhou Ruohan felt embarrassed to accept it, because in her view, the rural elders giving her a red envelope is too valuable; after all, she has also visited the countryside for field research and knows how hard rural life is.

Although Su Yang's parents have gained some face in the village because Su Yang works away, in reality his salary is enough just for himself to eat and drink outside, and they haven't received any subsidy from him.

Over the years they've scrimped and saved to fund Su Yang's college education; the family really has no money.

Normally, if they weren't greedy or occupying, when Su Yang gets married his parents—who basically have no money—would still have to go around borrowing from relatives.

This is quite common and normal in the countryside.

Just this, the parents and relatives take pride in it.

But Su Lie and Guo Xiaocui insisted that Zhou Ruohan accept it, saying, "This is our local custom; when you first come, we definitely have to give you a greeting gift—even if it's small, don't take offense."

Zhou Ruohan thought to herself, "Is this something to mind? I really don't mind at all. I'm just wondering whether I should take it or not."

At this point, Su Yang said, "Just accept it; if you don't accept our local custom, it would indicate you don't really approve of this marriage, or aren't really willing."

"Of course, conversely, if the family didn't give anything, it might mean they don't acknowledge you—roughly speaking, that's the custom."

Before Su Yang's words had even faded, Zhou Ruohan, who had been hesitating, snatched the red envelope into her hand, leaving Su Lie and his wife stunned—just moments ago the girl seemed reluctant, so why did she suddenly act like she was grabbing it?

But then it became clear—well, you could say Su Yang has learned a bad habit; giving red envelopes is completely normal, and many women, upon seeing a man's family conditions, would kick him out after visiting, and they too have given red envelopes, but those red envelopes are basically unrecoverable.

On Su Yang's side, various conditions have been added.

After Zhou Ruohan took the red envelope in her hand, she blushed and said, "Thank you, uncle and aunt; I also brought you gifts—cigarettes and alcohol for the uncle, some clothing for the aunt, and gold and silver jewelry."

As she spoke, she took out from her backpack a gold bracelet, necklace, and earrings.

This surprised Su Yang greatly; logically, these should be what he buys for Zhou Ruohan—in the countryside they're called the "three golds."

Moreover, Zhou Ruohan hadn't said she would bring such valuable things.

But with Zhou Ruohan, she actually did the opposite—this left Guo Xiaocui bewildered; hearing that this girl is unlike anyone else, such a good thing is something she never dared dream of in her lifetime.

Moreover, to be frank, he still doesn't have a decent piece of jewelry himself.

In the village, whoever has one can show it off for three to five years.

She

She said, "Oh dear, we don't need this, we don't need this—where do we have such a custom here?"

Old Zhou, smiling at the side, said, "Sister-in-law, just accept it—this is Ruohan's heartfelt intention."

This is also the custom from our side; when a prospective daughter-in-law comes to the house, she must bring gifts for the father-in-law and mother-in-law.