Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 844 Condensation Process
February 3rd, the 17th day of the twelfth lunar month, Sunday.

They departed from Shanghai in the morning, and the plane landed in the provincial capital around noon. Chen Fan then drove the Jeep parked at the airport, along with a sedan arranged by Yunqi Factory to pick them up. The two cars drove directly from the airport and arrived back at Yunhu Old House smoothly as it was getting dark.

The machine factory always sends people to clean this place, so it's always very clean inside and out.

The two wildcats were also very dutiful, waving their paws to assure Chen Fan that there was absolutely no mistake, and asking when they would settle the accounts for the dried fish that had been owed for a year.
Chen Fan took a dried fish, cut it into small pieces, and threw it to the two cats, thus sending them away.

Then I took stock of the New Year's goods at home.

All these New Year's goods were delivered by Yunqi Factory, Home Appliance Company, Machinery Factory, and Cotton Mill. He still holds the title of "consultant" for these companies, which he can't refuse.

Not only could I not refuse, but the scope of consultants actually expanded.

Originally just a health consultant, it now includes both technical and management expertise.

So, taking everything into account, he became a consultant.

So be it, let them keep the consultant status. Anyway, Chen Fan doesn't receive stipends from these companies, and his companies don't usually bother him with anything, so they just let them keep the status.

But those companies were trying to build relationships, so why would they let him hang it up for nothing?
In addition to the jeep provided to him by the machinery factory, the van provided to him free of charge by the Beijing office of the Yunqi Factory, and the fuel and maintenance for both vehicles, he was always included in the company's welfare gifts during holidays. These gifts were always the best and most luxurious, and would be delivered directly to the Chen family's old house. A list would then be given to the delivery person who came to Lujiawan to deliver the goods to Yang Mei and the others.

Once Yang Mei and the other two received the list, they would naturally report it to Chen Fan and then proceed according to his instructions.

Most of these items were given to the elderly living alone in the village. However, the three girls kept a secret: they kept daily necessities in their houses in Yunhu and Lujiawan all year round, so that Chen Fan would always have something to use when he returned.

Now Chen Fan is like a diligent little squirrel, taking stock of how much stuff he has at home, thinking he might need it in a couple of days.

In the front room, the people also split into two groups.

When the sun isn't out in December, Yunhu gets very cold. Luckily, there's a portable fireplace delivered by the machinery factory, and the fire is burning brightly inside. The temperature inside is almost the same as a house with central heating in the north, so I don't feel cold at all.

Zhou Zhengdong took off his thick down jacket, put on a wool coat, and sat in the living room talking with Jiang Heng and his wife, Director Yang of Yunqi Factory, and Secretary Li of the Home Appliance Company, who had come after hearing the news.

Secretary Li was the former deputy director of the machinery factory. He had already been promoted and was now in charge of the electrical company. He was in the prime of his life and happened to have something to discuss with Director Yang today. When he learned that Chen Fan was coming back, he came along as well.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhao Wanru carried her son and daughter into the study. Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili also pulled their mother in, and the study became the women's little world.

Shen Xueyi held her two daughters' hands, wanting to sigh like other parents of children who went to college in other places, that her children had lost weight again... Then she looked them over from left to right, but couldn't see where her two daughters had lost weight.
On the contrary, her complexion was better.

They had been traveling all day, flying in the morning and driving in the afternoon, yet they still looked so healthy, which shows they were in excellent physical condition.

If you really can't find fault with it, you can only say, "In previous years, we would have started our holiday around the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month. Why are we not going back until the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month this year?"

After saying that, he took Jiang Lili's hand and said, "Today also happens to be your birthday."

Jiang Lili held her mother's hand and smiled, "Xiao Fan cooked longevity noodles this morning, and there wasn't a single one missing."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xueyi nodded with satisfaction and sighed, "Xiao Fan is a thoughtful person. Although he is not always by your side, he takes excellent care of you."

After a two-second pause, she suddenly asked in a low voice, "If we count the days, isn't Xiao Fan already 20?"

Although the sound was very soft, the room was only so big that everyone could hear it clearly.

Zhao Wanru immediately smiled at her and said, "One of the main purposes of our trip back to China this time is to arrange Xiaofan's marriage. If it's convenient, we'll go to your house tomorrow morning to propose and discuss the wedding arrangements. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Xueyi beamed and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Perfect, perfect, why wouldn't it be perfect?"

Jiang Lili, standing beside her, blushed, while Jiang Tiantian, holding onto Shen Xueyi's arm, feigned surprise and said, "Mom, other families are reluctant to let their daughters go when they marry off, but you seem to be eager to marry her off as soon as possible?"

Shen Xueyi lightly slapped the back of her hand and said irritably, "A son-in-law like Xiao Fan is hard to find even with a lantern. If we don't hurry up and get the marriage done and make it a fait accompli, what if something goes wrong?"

Jiang Tiantian's eyes twitched slightly as she glanced at Jiang Lili, who had lowered her head, and muttered to herself, "The deed is done long ago, okay?"

Then came another sigh, this time for rice and rice.

On the other side, Zhao Wanru quickly said, "The two little ones are in love and are a match made in heaven. There will definitely be no unexpected changes, and everything will go smoothly."

Even though Shen Xueyi had been reading "The Maozi" for many years and didn't believe in feudal superstitions, she nodded repeatedly and spat lightly to the side, "The bad doesn't work, the good does, the wind blows it away, the wind blows it away."

He then smiled and said, "Yes, everything will go smoothly."

……

In the main room outside, Zhou Zhengdong also talked to Jiang Heng about this matter, and said seriously, "Originally, according to my idea, we should follow the 'three matchmakers and six witnesses' and 'three letters and six rites', without missing a single step, to formally marry the Jiang family's daughter and welcome her into the Chen family."

The "three matchmakers and six witnesses" is an ancient custom. The matchmakers are the man's matchmaker, the woman's matchmaker, and the person who arranged the marriage. These three people together are called the "three matchmakers." The "six witnesses" are six items: scissors, comb, mirror, measuring cup, scale, and abacus.

When a newlywed enters the family, she must wear new clothes, comb her hair, and adorn her face. After entering the family, she must also be frugal and manage the household diligently. These six items are essential items for the newlyweds to become wives.

Scissors for cutting clothes are proof, combs for combing hair are proof, mirrors for judging one's appearance are proof, scales for weighing and measuring are proof, measures for excessive amounts of rice and flour are proof, and abacuses for settling accounts are proof.

The three matchmakers and six witnesses symbolize the importance of the marriage contract.

The "Three Letters and Six Rites" refer to the procedures and ceremonies of marriage.

The three documents are the betrothal letter, the gift letter, and the wedding invitation letter. The six rites are the six major steps of betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious gifts, presenting betrothal gifts, setting the wedding date, and welcoming the bride.

The most solemn and formal marriage in ancient times involved three matchmakers and six witnesses as a contract, and the performance of three letters and six rites.

In most clans, no matter how high a clansman's status is or how many wives and concubines he may have, he can only officially marry one person, and this person is the only one who can be recognized by the clan as his legal wife.

Even if the first wife died and a second wife was married, the marriage could not involve formal matchmaking or the traditional rites of marriage. At most, the wife would be brought into the house in a grand sedan chair and treated as a first wife. This shows how seriously the ancients took the matter of "formal marriage" in the past.

Although Jiang Heng is a highly educated intellectual, it doesn't mean he doesn't understand these ancient customs.

Upon hearing Zhou Zhengdong's words, he immediately shook his head and said, "That's too much, too much. Although there has been a trend of decoupling in the past two years, and many young people are getting married without simply making a vow and throwing a few sweets, it's still not necessary to go back to the old customs. That's inappropriate, absolutely inappropriate."

Zhou Zhengdong smiled and said, "This was originally my idea, but Xiao Fan thinks the same as you, brother, and doesn't recommend making a big fuss."

Hearing this, Jiang Heng breathed a sigh of relief. He was genuinely worried that his wealthy in-law would insist on throwing a huge party. As he'd said before, even though the atmosphere had loosened somewhat, it was still best to avoid anything that would draw attention to oneself.

At this point, Zhou Zhengdong continued, "However, Xiao Fan also believes that the process of having three matchmakers and six witnesses, and three letters and six rites is also essential, and should be even more solemn. So my idea is to prepare all the matchmakers and items, and just shorten the process and condense it into a wedding."

This shows respect for the in-laws without causing trouble. What do you think? Jiang Heng thought for a moment and smiled, "This compromise is feasible."

He has no objection as long as it doesn't cause a huge uproar.

Moreover, the more seriously Xiao Fan took it, the more it showed how much he valued his daughter, which he naturally wanted to see, so why would he object?

Seeing that he agreed to the plan, Zhou Zhengdong nodded and smiled, "In that case, we'll go to the Jiang family with the matchmaker tomorrow to propose marriage."

Jiang Heng grinned from ear to ear. Just as he was about to speak, Director Yang, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked, "Have you found a matchmaker for Xiao Fan yet?"

Zhou Zhengdong paused for a moment, turned to look at him, and said, "Currently, there is only one middleman, who was agreed upon by Xiaofan and Lili. He is Yang Chuanfu, the squad leader of the sixth team in Lujiawan."

He chuckled and explained, "Xiao Fan was pulled out of the water by Captain Yang. Without him, the two of them would not have met. Moreover, Lili said that when she was in Lujiawan, Captain Yang secretly took good care of her. Asking him to be the middleman was the most appropriate thing to do."

Upon hearing that it was Captain Yang, Jiang Heng nodded repeatedly, saying, "He's a good middleman; no one else is more suitable."

As for whether Captain Yang will disagree?

How could he possibly disagree with such a good thing?!
Factory Director Yang didn't care whether Yang Chuanfu was suitable or not; all he knew was that the middleman's position was gone!

He quickly said, "Well, since we've only chosen a middleman, the groom's matchmaker hasn't been decided yet, right?"

After saying that, he pointed to himself and said, "Look at me, how am I? Pretty good, right?"

Not to be outdone, Secretary Li stood by, but instead of competing with Factory Director Yang, he set his sights on the last matchmaker's spot. He said to Jiang Heng, "Old Jiang, we've had quite a bit of business dealing with each other these past couple of years. You know my character. It's not too much to ask me to act as a matchmaker for your daughter, is it?!"

Zhou Zhengdong and Jiang Heng were stunned when they saw this.

Are matchmakers really that sought-after? There are even people vying for them?

Little did they know that at that moment, Director Yang and Secretary Li were secretly rejoicing that it was fortunate Old Xue from the machinery factory couldn't come because of something else; otherwise, with two peaches killing three warriors, they might have had another fight tonight.

Zhou Zhengdong and Jiang Heng came to their senses and realized that the matchmaking was just a formality; it didn't matter who it was done for.
Moreover, both Chen Fan and Jiang Heng hoped to handle this matter discreetly and keep the impact to a small extent.

In this way, it is more reasonable to select people from among those who know about this matter.

In that case, Director Yang and Secretary Li, both of whom hold high positions and know each other well, are actually quite a good match.

The two exchanged a glance, nodded in unison, and said, "Alright, you two will be the matchmakers."

As for the opinions of the two newlyweds?
They can just wait to get married, what objections could they possibly have?
……

After the agreement was reached, Jiang Heng and Shen Xueyi took their daughter home, waiting for their new son-in-law to come and propose marriage the next day.

Early the next morning, Director Yang came to the door and met up with Chen Fan and the others, heading straight to the Jiang family's house not far away.

They thought they were early enough, but to their surprise, as soon as they entered the Jiang family's gate, they saw Secretary Li sitting imposingly on the living room sofa, looking at the tea in his cup, clearly having been there for quite some time.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, it was time for the two matchmakers to perform.

What? There's another middleman?
Ahem, he's not here, so we can just bring him along for the wedding when we have the big celebration.

This is called handling special cases specially. In short, all the formalities and procedures are included, but trouble is minimized as much as possible.

Director Yang and Secretary Li had known each other for decades. At this moment, as they were chatting and laughing, they couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Seeing this, Chen Fan and the others couldn't help but feel speechless.

Zhao Wanru whispered in Zhou Zhengdong's ear, questioning, "Are they even capable of acting as matchmakers?"

Zhou Zhengdong was speechless, but the die was cast and he had no choice but to proceed. So he said, "Let's take a look first. It's just a formality, it should be fine."

Seeing that they were laughing before the game even started, Director Yang and Secretary Li were a little embarrassed.

The two quickly coughed in unison, then looked at each other and solemnly began to rehearse again, following the process they had secretly practiced the night before.

First, Factory Director Yang presented the letter of appointment and the gift certificate.

A betrothal letter is a formal document that records the information of both parties in an engagement. It is equivalent to the personal resumes of the two newlyweds, including their names, dates of birth, and so on.

The betrothal gift list is a list specifying the types and quantities of betrothal gifts.

In this regard, Chen Fan was naturally generous, but he didn't dare to write too much, only mentioning a number of gold and silver jewelry items, a few sets of new clothes, and so on.

He didn't even include the "three turns and one sound" that are essential for urban weddings these days.

As for Zhou Zhengdong's decision to include the garden villa on Yan'an Road as part of the betrothal gifts, he naturally wouldn't write it up in the book.

The last "welcoming letter" is given during the wedding procession; it's not time for that yet.

The condensed process is not completed all at once; it simply aims to save time while adhering to ancient rituals as much as possible.

Secretary Li accepted the letter of appointment and the gift certificate with great solemnity. After showing them to Jiang Heng and Shen Xueyi, he continued with the procedures.

After a series of back-and-forth exchanges, including betrothal, name inquiry, and auspicious date selection, the auspicious day was quickly determined.

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, also known as the Little New Year in northern China, is the only auspicious day for weddings in the coming week. If you miss that day, you'll have to wait until the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Both sides agreed that it was better to do it sooner rather than later, as the New Year was just around the corner and there was a lot to do.

Especially after New Year's Eve, the Zhou family will go to their ancestral home in Northeast China to pay respects to their ancestors. Chen Fan will also have to go with them. What if the schedule is too tight and he can't manage it?
So the date was set.

Next, both families got busy preparing for the upcoming big day.

After discussing the arrangements for the wedding day with Director Yang and Secretary Li, Chen Fan went back to Lujiawan with Zhou Zhengdong's family to make preparations.

His household registration is still in Lujiawan, that will be the main venue.

(End of this chapter)