Chu Xun taking a wife was considered a major event in Pinecone Village.
Whether it was the families who had once helped him, or the won he had later helped, they all took the initiative to co and help organize things.
If Chu Xun hadn't insisted, they wouldn't have even accepted any silver.
During those years of severe drought, many families suffered disasters and couldn't even afford to eat.
It was Chu Xun who brought out grain and bought them a lot of firewood, allowing them to survive those bitter days.
Favors exchanged are the hardest to repay.
Chu Xun was also very generous. He bought a lot of food and made a lot of roasted nuts and seeds together with Zhang Sanchun.
After the adults finished their work, they sat down to eat and drink.
The children ran around the courtyard, holding handfuls of lon seeds or roasted peanuts.
Their favorite, naturally, was still the puffed rice balls.
Sweet and crispy, so fragrant they couldn't stop eating.
Dozens of red lanterns were hung fully around the front and back of the house.
Even Zhang Sanchun's house was covered with red paper.
Li Shoutian even traded on his old face to get a half-old cyan cloth sedan chair from the town, its poles polished shiny from use.
A group of strong and sturdy young n scrambled to carry the sedan chair.
In the end, there were simply too many people, so they had to draw lots and selected eight people.
In past years, when anyone in Pinecone Village married off a daughter, it was mostly a two-person or four-person sedan chair.
This eight-carrier grand sedan chair was a first.
At the very front were the second boy of the Wang family and the third son of the Qi family, both young n who had received Chu Xun's help during the severe drought.
Now they had grown strong and sturdy, with their sleeves rolled up and their backs straight.
The villagers gathered around watching the fun joked, "Erzi, Shuanzhu, you must carry the sedan chair well. If you drop his bride, he'll make you pay for it later."
The two young n grinned and agreed, their footsteps very steady.
The children, carrying roasted snacks in their pockets, ate while shouting from the side, "Anxiu is going to have a baby!"
Inside the sedan chair, Zhang Anxiu, wearing a bright red dress and a red bridal veil, felt her rather dark face burn hot.
Clutching the wedding dress on her legs, she felt it was even a bit difficult to breathe.
When the sedan chair was carried to the courtyard gate, Chu Xun had already been waiting for a long ti.
Li Shoutian's wife, Xue Huilan, acting as the matchmaker, stepped forward to lift the cloth curtain and shouted with a smile, "The bride is getting out of the sedan chair! Bridegroom, hurry up and carry your wife on your back!"
According to the village's customs, the bride's feet could not touch the ground when entering the door; she had to be carried in on the bridegroom's back.
Chu Xun walked over and glanced at the sedan door. He could only see the red veil and the hands nervously gripping the red skirt.
He smiled, turned around, and bent down.
Xue Huilan supported the extrely nervous Zhang Anxiu as she leaned onto Chu Xun's back.
Chu Xun bent his body as low as possible so she wouldn't easily slip off, while reminding her in a low voice, "Put your arms around my neck."
Zhang Anxiu's hands trembled, and only then did she know to reach out.
The eight young n who carried the sedan chair ran over to block the way, laughing and stretching out their hands, "Bridegroom, where is the lucky money? If you don't give lucky money, we won't make way."
This was also a village custom. Li Shoutian walked over and stuffed the already prepared copper coins into their hands.
It wasn't much, three copper coins per person, purely for good luck.
The eight young n accepted the copper coins, lined up on both sides to make way, and then shouted in unison, "Marry a wife and get rich, an abundant harvest of all crops!"
Li Guangmao brought a few young people over, took out the prepared candies, and laughed loudly, "Wipe the soles of your feet clean! If you run slow, you won't be able to grab any!"
After saying that, he grabbed a handful of candies, roasted peanuts, and red dates, and threw them into the sky.
The items scattered widely, falling everywhere.
Regardless of n, won, old, or young, they all sward forward to grab them.
Even Li Tianjian's two grandsons and one granddaughter participated in it.
Li Tianjian's wife, seeing this bustling scene and thinking about how her own son's wedding wasn't this lively, couldn't help but curl her lips.
"He's only been rich for a few days, and he's already so extravagant and wasteful!"
Li Tianjian frowned and said, "Today is Chu Xun's great joy, don't say these strange words."
His wife was purely driven by jealousy. Naturally understanding that today was not suitable for making weird remarks, she muttered a few indistinct words in a low voice and said no more.
She only thought in her heart that when her grandson grew up and married a wife, it had to be even more lively than Chu Xun's no matter what!
Because Chu Xun's parents died early, this wedding omitted so steps.
After Zhang Anxiu was sent into the bridal chamber, Li Shoutian beat the gong and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Serve the wine!"
"Serve the dishes!"
Those with higher seniority in the village were arranged inside the courtyard.
Those with lower seniority were outside the courtyard.
Even the children were specially arranged a few tables.
This made the children extrely happy. In the past, when encountering joyous occasions, they never had the chance to sit at a table to eat.
They could only pick so food into their bowls and find a place to squat by themselves.
Although there was no wine, the dishes were the sa as the adults'.
The children were so excited their faces were red, and they couldn't help but want to reach out and grab the food.
Nine-year-old Shitou imdiately scolded, "Grandpa Village Chief hasn't beaten the gong yet, what are you grabbing for! Today Brother Xun is taking a wife, you are not allowed to embarrass him, otherwise I will definitely beat soone up!"
He looked strong and sturdy, with a robust physique, plus Chu Xun had taught him a few wrestling techniques.
In the village, there wasn't a single child who hadn't been thrown by him.
With this command, the children all hurriedly retracted their hands.
Qi Ermao at another table also stepped on a bench and shouted the sa words.
"Whoever embarrasses my Brother Xun, I'll beat him to death later!"
Intimidated by the "despotic power" of the two, no matter how much the children wanted to eat, they could only endure it.
It wasn't until all the wine and dishes were served that Li Shoutian ran to set off the firecrackers, beat the gong, and shouted, "Let the banquet begin!"
Shitou and Qi Ermao had also long been enduring until they drooled. Hearing the sound of firecrackers, they followed suit and shouted, "Alright, alright, eat!"
Only then did the group of children scramble to stuff the at dishes, which were rarely seen on ordinary days, into their mouths.
Shitou and Qi Ermao were still able to hold back, pretending to be gentle and using chopsticks to pick up food, but how could they compare to others using their hands to grab.
Seeing that the last piece of pig trotter was about to be taken away, they finally got anxious and shouted, "Leave a piece for !"
Li Shoutian drank in the courtyard while watching the children outside scrambling for food at their tables, and couldn't help but laugh.
Back then, when his father was the Village Chief, he had said that when the children could eat at in big mouthfuls, the Village Chief would be considered qualified.
It was just that the one who let the children eat at in big mouthfuls was not him, the Village Chief, but Chu Xun.
"If only Ah Xun was willing to take over the position of Village Chief," Li Shoutian thought in his heart.
He raised his eyes and looked at the eaves. Today was quite strange.
Usually, whenever he ca to Chu Xun's house, he would always hear the crows cawing and flapping their wings.
Today, however, not a single crow ca. It was so quiet that it made him a bit unaccustod.
Even Chu Xun couldn't help but look outside the courtyard a few tis. Those birds and beasts had accompanied him for many years. Whether he was working in the fields or idling at ho, they would always run over frequently to let him tease them.
On such a joyous day, he didn't see a single one.
Li Guangmao ca over holding a wine jar, his face glowing red and his whole body reeking of alcohol.
He had a steady personality but loved drinking extrely much.
Even when working in the fields in the height of sumr, he had to carry a wine gourd with him.
At such a young age, he had already drunk himself into a rosacea nose, bright red, as if he had grown a carrot.
"Ah Xun, this wine you bought is great! Co, let us brothers toast one!"
Li Shoutian scolded with a smile from the side, "This is aged wine that Ah Xun specially bought from the Bai Family Wine Shop. A twenty-catty jar costs three taels of silver! If you spill it, go be a tenant farr for Ah Xun next year to pay off the debt."
This was, of course, a joke. Although the Li family wasn't as wealthy as Chu Xun, they weren't short of a few taels of silver either.
Afterward, a few more peers ran over to find Chu Xun to drink.
Fine wine that cost three taels of silver a jar was sothing they were drinking for the first ti. Even if their alcohol tolerance wasn't high, they wanted to have a few more bowls.
It was so lively until late at night, combining two als into one.
Many people in the village drank until they were unconscious. The won dragged them ho while scolding them for drinking to death despite having poor alcohol tolerance.
Isn't it just wine that costs three taels of silver a jar? Worthless things!
So embarrassing!
At this ti, on the banks of the Songliu River, the Water God Temple was still under construction.
Clinking and clanking sounds ca from the temple. Carpenters were hamring, smashing, splitting, and chiseling the wood, carving the idol.
Soone wanted to co and offer incense, but was told they couldn't go in, so they had to carry the incense to the riverbank.
They stuck a few sticks of incense into the bank, then respectfully knelt down and kowtowed, muttering prayers for a good harvest next year, family safety, and the like.
At this ti, the river water surged, kicking up waves.
Soone looked up and imdiately exclaid, "What is that!"
Others followed the sound and saw a large python, about ten feet long, exposing its head in the river, seemingly holding sothing in its mouth.
Perhaps sensing the gazes of the commoners, it quickly disappeared into the water.
The commoners offering incense hurriedly ran towards the bank.
Such a large snake was rarely seen.
They thought in their hearts, could it be that, just as the rumors said, the Water God of Songliu was a large python?
[End of Chapter]
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