Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 606: All Red Envelopes Counting Money Until My Hands Cramped

There was a row of stools under the bookcase in the second west room. Yang Yusheng, Chai Liangyu and other uncles and aunts sat down. Xu Ning held the cigarette tray and Meng Ziyan handed them cigarettes one by one to light them. Then these uncles and aunts took two puffs and stuffed the prepared red envelopes into her hands.

When Xu Long and Wang Shujuan got married before, Du Shoucai also gave a red envelope, but it was given in a rather subtle way, without lighting cigarettes or drinking tea. This time when Xu Ning and Meng Ziyan got married, there were indeed too many uncles and grandpas in the house, and most of these uncles and grandpas were Xu Ning's friends regardless of age. In other words, they came for Xu Ning, not Xu Laonian and Liu Lizhen.

After lighting the cigarettes, they walked out of the house without staying for too long. Seeing this, Chen Hedong was a little moved. He originally wanted to give Meng Ziyan a red envelope directly, but after seeing the operation of the middle-aged and elderly group, he also wanted to move forward. However, Su Yawen stopped him, hit his arm and said, "How can you light a cigarette for your peers? They are all lighting cigarettes and toasting for the elders. Don't move forward!"

Chen Hedong gave up the idea and turned around to see Chai Bing laughing. He said, "Third brother, what do you say?"

Chai Bing smiled and said, "The three of us brothers each have 50 yuan. How much will you give to your sister-in-law?"

Before Chen Hedong could say anything, Lao Qian beside him said, "We are the same as you."

"Okay, we'll take a complete family photo later."

What does it feel like to receive red envelopes in the house? Somewhat numb.

Meng Ziyan didn't expect that getting married would be so complicated. In addition to receiving gifts, she could also receive red envelopes. However, she also understood that these uncles and aunts were all doing it for Xu Ning's sake, and their family conditions were not bad. Only Ma Liu's conditions were not so good. Although he didn't have much cash and the red envelope he gave was very thin, how much were those two bear galls worth?
The next step is to take a family portrait. Xiao Du holds the camera. Sitting against the bookcase are Xu Laonian and Liu Lizhen. Xu Feng, who is not tall, stands between the two. Xu Long, Wang Shujuan, Xu Ning and Meng Ziyan stand behind them. This is the real family portrait of the Xu family!
After the picture was imprinted on the film, Meng Quezi and Liu Fenfang also came into the house and took a photo of both sets of parents and the newlyweds. Xiao Du was really busy today. He started taking pictures in the morning and didn't finish until noon. He finally finished all 50 rolls of film.

At this moment, it was already past 10:. The parents of both parties were welcoming guests in the courtyard, and the uncles and uncles were sitting inside chatting. Xu Ning and Meng Ziyan had just finished taking wedding photos when they were blocked in the house by their brothers and sisters-in-law, including Chai Bing, Chen Hedong, Xu He, and Li Fuqiang.

Xu Ning smiled and said, "What's the matter? You guys still want to stuff money into my pocket?"

The third sister-in-law smiled and said, "It's not for you, it's for my sister-in-law! Don't grab it."

"Hahaha, it's all the same, why not just give it to me. Cigarettes, this is our third sister-in-law, she and third brother are from the same family..."

Of course Meng Ziyan knew him, but there was nothing wrong with introducing him again in such a formal occasion, so she smiled and greeted everyone.

The brothers and sisters-in-law handed the red envelope to Meng Ziyan, chatted with her for a while, and then went out of the house to do their work.

Only Xu Ning and Meng Ziyan were left in the room. They looked at the two piles of red envelopes thrown on the bed, looked at each other, and then grinned silently.

"Why don't you open it and take a look?"

Meng Ziyan shook her head: "The ones given by the uncles should all be 100, and the ones given by my brother and sister-in-law seem to be all 50."

"How do you know?"

“I felt it as soon as I touched it.”

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Then you are suitable to be a housekeeper. You can keep the money from now on."

"Ah, isn't it for parents?"

"What are they doing with this private money?"

At this time, Li Fuqiang and Da Laba led Yang Shuhua and Zhang Guifang in. They did not follow Chai Bing, Yang Liguo and others because they had the closest relationship with Xu Ning!
Zhang Guifang took out a red envelope and stuffed it into Meng Ziyan's hip pocket. "Sister-in-law, come here. Your brother and I don't have anything to buy for you two. Just buy whatever you like."

Xu Ning frowned at the thickness of the red envelope, and stopped her and said, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? Your family still has to build a house and save money for Huang Lin to marry a wife. How can you spend money like this?"

"Oh, it's not much! Tell your sister-in-law to take it and don't argue with me. What's the point of arguing?"

The loud speaker said, "Erning, please let your sister-in-law accept it. It's a small token of our appreciation from your sister-in-law and me."

Li Fuqiang said: "Just accept it, we have studied it well."

Xu Ning glanced at him and Yang Shuhua and nodded: "Then accept it. You two are totally superfluous. Do we still need to keep our relationship like this?"

Yang Shuhua said: "It's not for you, it's for your younger brother and sister as pocket money."

Meng Ziyan took the two red envelopes and said with a smile, "Thank you, big brother and big sister-in-law, old brother and big sister-in-law."

"Yeah!" The four of them responded happily.

After the four people left the house, Xu Ning divided the red envelopes into two piles and stuffed them into the drawer under the bed, then took out the key and handed it to Meng Ziyan.

"When we have nothing to do in the evening, let's count the money for fun."

Meng Ziyan took the key and looked up, asking, "Aren't you going to have a baby for fun?"

"Are you in a hurry?"

Meng Ziyan raised her face, her lips slightly red, and whispered: "My sister said that we have to have a baby on the night of our wedding."

"Hahaha, don't listen to your sister's nonsense. She's just teasing you. You should just let it happen naturally, okay?"

"Well, what do we do now?"

Xu Ning looked at the crowd outside the window and said, "Let's go out to entertain the guests. We'll have to toast at lunch time."

"Okay, then I'll fill my bottle with water."

"You're so sensible. Give me a kiss!"

Xu Ning pecked her lips twice with a shameless face, then took her arm and walked out of the house.

When he arrived at the north kitchen, he felt the temperature suddenly rise by several degrees. He quickly opened the back window, and then chattered to Yang Liguo, Zhao Lan and others about their hard work.

At this moment, tables had already been set up in the reception room and each room, but as there were too many people coming, 10 more tables were set up in the courtyard. The bowls, chopsticks and plates on the tables were brought from the homes of Du Shoucai, Li Fuqiang, Lao Wei and others.

Xu Ning and Meng Ziyan chatted with everyone they met in the courtyard. After chatting for about 20 minutes, Du Shoucai shouted that the meal was about to begin and asked everyone to find a place to sit down quickly so as not to delay the serving of the food.

After everyone was seated, Wang Biao, Liu Tianen, Huang Lin, Jiang Qiuer, Huang Xiaomei and others who were serving the dishes started shouting "add oil" and placed the dishes on the table with wooden trays.

Xu Feng and Li Jinyu carried wine jugs and bottles of wine, one jug and one bottle for each table. If Xu Feng saw children, she would give them a bottle of orange soda and a handful of candy. Everyone praised her for being generous and capable.

At 11:18, a total of 22 tables inside and outside the old Xu's house started eating on time. There were 12 dishes on the table, symbolizing happiness and perfection. Yang Liguo was the chef himself, with Yang Shuhua helping him. Only the mixed cold dishes and stews were prepared by Zhao Lan, Zhao Yue'e and others.

The large dining table was specially prepared for the reunion dinner for the Xu family and the Meng family. The two families happened to sit at the same table. After taking photos and eating a few bites, Xu Ning and Meng Ziyan picked up the wine bottles and glasses and toasted each room. The parents of both sides were not idle either, and walked around the tables to make sure everyone had a good meal and drink.

Everyone at the banquet praised the taste of the food. Upon asking, they found out that the chef from a big restaurant on the street was in charge of preparing the meal. Now everyone enjoyed their meal even more.

After the toast, it was almost 12 o'clock. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they took out the lunch boxes or cans they had prepared in advance and packed up the remaining dishes to take away.

Xu Laonian, Liu Lizhen, Xu Long, Xu Ning and others were standing at the door to see them off. At around 12:, there were only a few people left in the yard, and Lao Wei, Lao Jiang and others also moved into the house and sat at a table with the people from the forest farm to drink.

"Master Zhang, why are you in such a hurry? Just wait a little longer."

Zhang Deyu said with a smile: "I still have to pack up the materials and stuff when I get back to the forest farm."

"There's no need to rush. We can chat later."

Guo Xingmin said, "Your Grandpa Zhang will officially retire next year, and there are still many things that have not been sorted out. Let your Grandpa Zhang go back and sort them out first, and we will get together again after the New Year."

"You're going to retire next? That's fine, Master Zhang, I'll find someone to drive you there."

Xu Ning turned around and called out, "Brother! Come on, take Master Zhang back to the forest farm."

Wang Erli's apprentice came running over and said, "Secretary, are you going back to the forest farm? Then pick him up for me, I have to go to the forest farm in the afternoon..." "Brother Cheng, why are you in such a hurry?"

Zhang Deyu said, "Let him come back with me. He didn't check his position for two days. I will quit later. If the new leader finds fault with him, he will definitely be punished."

"Ah, that's fine...Brother, drive my Master Zhang and Brother Cheng to the forest farm."

"Okay, Master Zhang, shall we leave now?"

"go!"

At this moment, Chang Juan, Chang Lihong, Aunt Zhao and others were cleaning up the dishes. The plates were basically empty, with only a little oil left at the bottom, which only needed to be washed with hot water. There were no leftovers at all.

"Sister Juan, don't clean up yet, hurry up and go inside to eat."

"Hurry up! Go inside and eat something first. I see you haven't eaten much."

"I'm not that hungry yet."

Aunt Zhao said with a smile: "You must be excited to get married!"

“Hahahaha…” The old women burst into laughter.

Xu Ning grinned and waved his hand as he walked into the house. Xu Long said, "Hurry up and eat something. Aren't you going to accompany Dad for drinks later? Look at what he's drinking. His face is red..."

"Go now. Stand by the door and watch. If anyone leaves, see them off."

"I know. Don't I understand it better than you?"

"Well, you are very smart."

Xu Ning took out a bottle of Fengcheng Laojiao from the wine box, then went into the west room and sat at the table with Chai Liangyu, Yang Yusheng and others.

After filling the glass, he stood up and said, "Dear uncles and aunts, thank you for coming from afar and honoring me with your presence at my wedding. I have to drink this glass of wine."

Xu Lao drooped his eyelids and said drunkenly: "If you don't drink, who will? Drink quickly!"

Xu Ning didn't waste any words. He tilted his head back and drank the wine in the glass. Yang Yusheng, who was standing by, saw this and put his hand on his arm, saying, "Drink slowly, drink slowly. Who can blame you? Don't listen to your father's grumbling."

"Erning, just be polite. Hurry up and sit down. Isn't it more interesting to chat than to drink?"

"Okay, I'll just drink half a cup then."

Chai Liangyu laughed: "Hahaha, Erning will back down if given a chance."

"Not at all. He always listens to advice."

"..."

The drinking session lasted until about four o'clock. No one urged anyone to drink too much. Instead, they sipped the wine and chatted. The topics ranged from all over the world, from Qing'an to the whole country, from the present to the past...

During this time, Liu Lizhen and the people who helped drank some wine. However, it was almost 1: when they had dinner, so they just focused on eating and did not drink too much.

When they left, Liu Lizhen put the leftovers into small aluminum basins and gave two basins to each family. She also gave them wedding cigarettes, wedding candies, and a small red envelope. The amount of money was not much, but it was just a token of her appreciation.

At 5 o'clock, the kangs in Old Xu's and Old Wang's houses were full of people. The most annoying thing was that Old Xu vomited twice, making the terrazzo floor dirty.

Xu Ning lay on the wedding bed in the second west room and dozed off for a while. He was not unconscious from drinking, but just a little dizzy. When he opened his eyes, he found Meng Ziyan sitting beside the bed. He raised his hand, put his arm around Meng Ziyan's waist and pulled her into his arms.

"Wife, pour me a glass of water."

Hearing this, Meng Ziyan said with a smile: "You hug me, how can I pour it for you?"

"If you kiss me, I'll let you go."

Meng Ziyan was quite obedient and kissed him on the lips. Xu Ning stared at her little face and said, "Why are you so obedient?"

"Didn't you ask me to pour the water?"

When she stood up, Xu Ning raised his hand and slapped her butt in a mean way, frightening Meng Ziyan so much that she jumped forward and turned around to ask, "What are you doing?"

"go quickly."

Meng Ziyan was feeling a little excited, and had a vague sense of inexplicable happiness. After pouring the water, she turned around, sat on the bed, helped Xu Ning sit up, and then held up the teacup to feed him.

"Well...didn't you ask mom how much money she received in total?"

"I asked what that was for, how much money it would cost, but we can't accept it..."

"You don't want it?" Xu Ning was stunned.

"No, we have all these red envelopes. My hands will cramp if I count them all." Meng Ziyan said, pointing to the drawer under the bed.

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Take out the red envelope and count how much money there is. Now everyone in the room is our family, right?"

"Well, I'll count now."

Meng Ziyan took out the key to open the drawer, took out the red envelopes, scattered them on the bed, and then opened them one by one.

"Oh my god, there's 100 here..."

Xu Ning said, "Uncle San, Uncle Chai, and Uncle Wu all gave 100 yuan. Didn't you figure out how much money you had?"

"I think there are ten tickets worth two dollars each. How...how can I give some to this old man?"

"They love you, hahaha. If they give it to us, we will accept it."

Meng Ziyan blushed and said, "He must really like you, and he gave it to you for your sake."

Xu Ning pointed to the two red envelopes next to him and said, "These two were given by my eldest brother and my oldest brother. There are also 100 yuan in them. Do you believe it?"

"Believe it!" Meng Ziyan nodded heavily, believing it without a doubt.

She opened it and found 10 big unity notes inside. She asked, "Why did my eldest brother and elder brother give so much? Didn't my eldest brother buy me a washing machine?"

"There are many reasons..."

"Then tell me about it."

Xu Ning leaned against the head of the bed, put his arm around Meng Ziyan's shoulder, and briefly explained what happened.

"Oh, so that's how it is. I didn't know that before."

"You will know later. As an aunt, you should buy some clothes for Jin Yu Man Tang and Huang Lin during the Chinese New Year. Think about it."

"Yeah, I can't forget it!"

(End of this chapter)