At dusk, the wedding procession set off from the Old Yu Family, accompanied by loud music and fanfare.
Yu Liulang was dressed in his wedding attire, riding a black horse, followed by an eight-man sedan chair, which was quite a grand wedding specification.
For an average rural family, they would typically arrange for a smaller four-man sedan chair, and even that would be considered quite prestigious.
Yu Liulang’s grand gesture made everyone in Yu Family Village aware that Yu Liulang cared about Feng Xiaohua and was willing to give her the best.
The sound of the suona gradually faded away, and the dishes that Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng were preparing were almost done.
They had rested a bit at noon and then started preparing. With over a dozen tables, it wasn’t a small number, and it wasn’t sothing that could be cooked up quickly.
Moreover, this was technically their first hosting event, so they had to do a good job no matter what.
The dishes needed not only to be delicious but also plentiful.
Lu Yuanfeng, from sowhere, found a piece of red paper and was inserting copper coins into it.
"Fengzi, what are you doing?" Mu Shuangshuang curiously leaned over.
"Gift money!" Lu Yuanfeng didn’t hide it.
Mu Shuangshuang saw the red paper he grabbed was particularly large, and before long, it was filled with coins.
"Fengzi, how much is that?" Mu Shuangshuang was speechless.
She knew that for most people, giving ten or twenty coins was generous enough, and villagers could even just give five coins as a token of their appreciation.
However, relatives would give a bit more, around fifty coins.
But Lu Yuanfeng seed to have clearly surpassed fifty coins.
"Why are you giving so much? Thirty coins would be plenty, and besides, us helpers don’t need to give gift money."
In Da Ning Dynasty, it’s customary for the host family to cover for the helpers.
"Today Shuangshuang’s uncle is getting married, and Shuangshuang promised before to marry , so he’s my uncle too. It’s about respecting one’s uncle. No one ever complains about giving too much." Lu Yuanfeng chuckled.
"You..." Mu Shuangshuang blushed. Technically, he was right, but sothing felt off.
As she pondered, Lu Yuanfeng moved over to where the gift book was being recorded and filled it out.
When he returned, he was holding four red eggs.
These were similar to attending a modern banquet with cigarettes being handed out; mostly, it was a gesture of goodwill.
"Do you want one? Let peel one for you."
"Sure, anyway, it will be a while before we get to eat."
Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng waited there, knowing they wouldn’t get to eat until the second seating was done.
The red eggs in Lu Yuanfeng’s hands were quickly peeled, and finally, the peeled eggs were white. After Mu Shuangshuang finished eating, she rested for a bit as excitent started to buzz around.
Feng Xiaohua’s ho was near Old Yu Family’s, and soon the sound of firecrackers indicated that the wedding procession had brought the bride back.
They saw the matchmaker help Feng Xiaohua into the pergola.
Everyone stood up, and a brazier was set at the center of the courtyard for ceremonially stepping over, which Feng Xiaohua accomplished easily with the help of the matchmaker, and a group of people followed to the bridal chamber in the back courtyard.
Mu Shuangshuang now had to get busy as well.
Once the bride entered the bridal chamber, it was ti to start setting up for the banquet outside.
The preparation for dinner was similar to that at noon, the sa group was setting the table and serving dishes, but this ti Mrs. Li did not have a good face for the Old Mu Family.
This was because Mrs. Li had heard from her father that Mr. Mu did not treat him well.
So, Mrs. Li showed no respect to the Old Mu Family either.
Mu Shuangshuang had originally thought that the Old Mu Family would share a table during dinner, but surprisingly, they occupied two tables, one for the Old Mu Family and another mixed one, where Old Mu Family mbers sat with others.
Sitting at the mixed table were Mr. Mu and Mu Dajiang.
In the evening, everyone in the village had soone attending, and no one brought up the matter from noon.
Coincidentally, Mr. Mu ended up at the sa table with Mr. Li, whom he had talked with earlier at noon.
Mr. Li wanted to chat with Mr. Mu again, as they knew each other, and after a while of chatting, the serving of dishes began.
In the back courtyard, due to the ongoing banquet, the bride’s room was very quiet.
Mu Shuangshuang took this opportunity to sneak in alone.
Feng Xiaohua, originally bored, perked up when soone she liked ca in and naturally wanted to chat.
"Auntie, you look beautiful today."
Mu Shuangshuang observed Feng Xiaohua, who was dressed in a red wedding dress with makeup and eyebrows drawn, adding a touch of charm on top of her previous elegance.
She looked stunning.
"Thank you, Shuangshuang, I’m so nervous!"
It’s her first wedding, and she’s so nervous she couldn’t sleep.
She didn’t know what it felt like to be a wife.
She worried that her relationship with Sixth Son would beco awkward after their roles changed.
"Auntie, what’s there to be nervous about? It’s sothing everyone goes through. In the future, I plan to co to you for advice. Let’s be optimistic; it’s just a ceremony.
Think about it, once the ceremony is over, Sixth Uncle is wholly yours, for you to mold however you wish. Tell him to go east, and he’d not dare go west."
"Pfft..." Because of what Mu Shuangshuang said, Feng Xiaohua laughed heartily, losing her nervousness completely and instead looking forward to married life.
Just as she was about to express her thanks, two red eggs and half a pig’s trotter appeared in front of her.
"Eat up; once the fuss is over, who knows how long it’ll be. After eating, we can clean up and have a sip of tea to soothe our throats."
Mu Shuangshuang teased with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
Feng Xiaohua felt a wave of gratitude.
This girl had been helping her from the start.
This was why she and Sixth Son had today.
"Shuangshuang, I’ve prepared a lot of duck eggs for you. Be sure to co and get them when you go ho."
Feng Xiaohua suddenly ntioned the duck eggs, catching Mu Shuangshuang off guard.
"Auntie, last ti I was just fooling my second aunt with those; don’t take it seriously. The silver was given by my mom, you know how she is with my Sixth Uncle, don’t you?"
Feng Xiaohua chuckled helplessly. "I’m not giving them to you for free. Consider it as capital for investnt; pay back when you make money in the future."
Mu Shuangshuang nodded in agreent.
Watching the ti, Mu Shuangshuang stood up.
"Auntie, I need to watch things outside; I still have two dishes to cook. Hurry up and eat and take care of these things!"
Mu Shuangshuang left the room and, upon reaching the corner, ran into Yu Liulang.
"How’s it going, did your aunt eat?" Yu Liulang asked with concern.
"She did, she did. Uncle, you should grab sothing to eat too; I’m off to keep busy!"
Yu Liulang nodded, as he too had to go out to drink with the guests.
The bride hadn’t entered the hall yet, so she couldn’t appear, but once the ceremony was over, the banquet would end as well, leaving Yu Liulang to drink alone.
This al received rave reviews from everyone.
Many had never seen dishes like spicy stir-fried snails, bean sprouts, and cold noodles. They were all enjoying themselves imnsely, even more so than with at dishes.
Mr. Mu felt proud and told those at the table that the cook was his granddaughter.
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