On the auspicious wedding day, the wedding procession, with gongs and drums, carried the sedan chair to Chenjia village. The third branch of the Shen family was bustling with people, laughter, and festivities.
Wei Lanxiang brought Lu Gu along to help. At the moment, Zhou Xiangjun’s family had arrived, and according to tradition, they were to be served a bowl of noodles upon entering. Lu Gu didn’t have much else to do, so he stayed in the kitchen to cook a few bowls of noodles. The portions didn’t need to be large, just enough for a couple of bites, as it was more symbolic. Later, there would be a feast.
The firewood was running low, so he took a basket to the wheat straw stack by the door and filled it halfway. After threshing the wheat, the straw had dried, and every household piled fresh wheat straw at their door to use as firewood.
“Gu Zi,” Zhou Xiangjun, dressed in bright red and green, looking festive, said, “Put a poached egg in your a po' bowl.”
“Got it, a ma,” Lu Gu replied with a smile.
The grandmother Zhou Xiangjun referred to was Shen Yuping’s maternal grandmother. In their local dialect, they called paternal grandmothers “A nai (阿奶)” and maternal grandmothers “A po (阿婆).” Since Lu Gu and Shen Yuping were of the same generation, he naturally called her “A po” as well.
The weather was scorching, and even in the morning, cooking in the kitchen made one sweat profusely. The water bubbled and boiled, and Lu Gu used long chopsticks to portion out the noodles into bowls. The bowl with the poached egg was served first to Zhou po.
With so many people coming and going, the atmosphere was lively, men, women, and shuang'ers mingled together. Whether it was a wedding or a funeral, such events were always chaotic, so one had to be extra careful with valuables.
“Yanyan, Yu Ge, do you want some noodles?” Lu Gu asked when he saw Shen Yan and Shen Yu.
For the past two days, they had been eating at the third branch’s house. Today, with the wedding ceremony and the focus on Shen Yuping, there were many guests bringing gifts, and no one had time to look after others. Younger children were brought to the kitchen by adults to get a bowl of food. Shen Yan and Shen Yu, both unmarried, had stayed in their room earlier while the wedding procession ate at the feast.
“ Brother Gu Zi, I was just about to come find you,” Shen Yan said, feeling hungry. Both she and Shen Yu followed him into the kitchen.
This year, their family had raised many chickens and ducks, and they had been eating them daily during the farm work. Shen Yan had grown tired of poached eggs, so Lu Gu only added one to Shen Yu’s bowl.
The wedding procession hadn’t returned yet, and the guests at home couldn’t just sit idle. Whether it was tea, pastries, or fruits, everything had to be replenished. Shen Xuanqing had also gone to fetch the bride, and Lu Gu, feeling overwhelmed by the noise and the crowd of unfamiliar faces, so he stayed in the kitchen to boil water. Occasionally, when it got too hot, he would retreat to Shen Yu’s room to sit and fan himself for a while.
Village weddings were always the happiest occasions for children. Grabbing a handful of fruits or pastries, groups of kids ran around outside, eating and playing, shouting and laughing. On any other day, such noise would have been unbearable, but today, no one minded. It was all part of the festive atmosphere.
“They’re back! They’re back!”
The first to spot the wedding procession in the distance was a sharp-eyed child waiting at the village entrance. Once one child shouted, the others joined in, and soon, many of the guests gathered at the third branch of the Shen family came out to watch. When the procession reached the gate, knowing that coins would be scattered later, everyone waited with smiles, some even standing on tiptoe to get a better view.
Firecrackers exploded with a loud crackle, scattering red paper all over the ground.
The bridal sedan chair was carried back, and Shen Yuping, dressed in red, walked at the front, his face beaming with joy.
As coins were scattered, a crowd rushed to pick them up. Some bent down to gather them from the ground, while others scrambled to grab what they could. Even the children joined in, squeezing through the crowd.
With so many people at the gate, Lu Gu couldn’t get close and had to watch from inside the doorway. A coin landed near his feet, this was called “carp scattering coins”, a symbol of good fortune. He had even embroidered such a scene for Ji Qiuyue once.
[Carp scattering coins: the carp is a symbol of wealth and success in Chinese culture, and the coins represent money and prosperity. Together, the image of a carp scattering coins signifies the spreading of good fortune and blessings, often associated with joyous occasions like weddings or festivals]
Though it was just one copper coin, it carried the auspiciousness of the occasion. He bent down to pick it up, but a small, dirty hand snatched it before he could.
It was Xiao Shunzi, the mischievous grandson of Grandma A Jin. Xiao Shunzi had been playing wildly with the other children these past two days, his hands and face covered in dirt. Clutching the coin, he declared, “I got it first.”
There was no point arguing with a child. Lu Gu smiled faintly and said, “Then you keep it. I don’t need it.”
Not being scolded by an adult, Xiao Shunzi straightened up slightly. With a little snort, he acted like a grown-up. His grandmother had told him that any coins scattered today were fair game, whoever grabbed the copper coins scattered today would get them, and he didn’t have to give them to anyone.
But seeing Lu Gu empty-handed and clearly not one to fight for things, Xiao Shunzi hesitated. He glanced at the two fruits clutched in his left hand, his expression conflicted.
“Shunzi, come here!”
Before he could make a decision, he heard his friends calling him. In a hurry, he squeezed through the crowd and ran off to play, afraid of being left behind.
After the firecrackers, the suona and drums played again, and Shen Yuping, amid the laughter and cheers of the entire village, carried his bride, veiled in red, out of the sedan chair.
The wedding ceremony proceeded with bows to heaven and earth, and after the festivities, the newlyweds entered the bridal chamber. Outside, the banquet began.
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