The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 171 Wedding Customs
When a colleague with whom she had shared life-and-death experiences got married, Gan Minglan naturally had to attend.

These border soldiers' families are also very particular about who they hire.

Only commanders of a thousand or a hundred would invite her to come before them.

Otherwise, with over two hundred acquaintances getting married in a few days, she wouldn't be able to keep up with them all.

The first day's event was the wedding celebration of Guan Dade's daughter.

Guan Dade was the commander of the remaining troops in Haijin Town.

The centurion, only thirty-two years old, has a sixteen-year-old daughter who is getting married today!

She married one of his centurions.

His son-in-law fought fiercely against bandits in Haijin Town and was seriously injured, almost dying.

With a father-in-law who is his direct superior, the young man's future looks promising.

Gan Minglan thought about how she was still single in her thirties in her previous life, and now that she's in Bei Kingdom at thirty-six or thirty-seven, she might be a grandmother!
Oh, Grandmother!
The scene was too beautiful for her to bear.

They immediately focused their attention on the wedding banquet.

It is said that customs vary from place to place, so she wanted to see how the wedding customs of the border town and Daming Prefecture differed!
Guan Dade's direct superior is Tian Jiu.

Today, Tian Jiu's biological mother and Gan Minglan are being treated as the most honored female guests of the Guan family, and are being accompanied by Old Madam Guan in the main hall.

The two elderly ladies noticed her interest in these old almanacs.

He chatted with her about the marriage customs of the border town's military households, offering a few words here and there.

The story begins in the early days of the founding of the State of Bei.

Back then, Emperor Taizu of Bei sent tens of thousands of people from all directions to guard the northwest border.

The so-called "people from the five directions" refers to the people of Jin, Yan, Zhao, Zhou, and Wu-Yue.

These "people from the five directions" are further divided into two main groups.

There were people from the Jiangnan region, including the Wu and Yue areas, and people from the north, mainly from the other four directions.

Northerners from the Jin, Yan, Zhao, and Zhou regions became the main body of military households in the Northwest.

Before they came here, most of them were ordinary people and farmers.

After arriving in the Northwest, he was in charge of military supplies and equipment for the border garrisons and the settlement of farmland.

Military households were hereditary, and their sons and grandsons were also required to serve in the military.

Unless killed in battle or crippled, they generally had to work for at least twenty years.

In Northwest China, the social status of lower-level military households was even lower than that of peasant households.

The people of Jiangnan in the Wu and Yue regions are different.

Most of them were demoted officials and their families, belonging to the "scholars" class among the "scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants"!
Scholars valued elaborate rituals and formalities, and even when they were demoted to this place, it did not affect their inheritance of wedding customs and details!

Their marriages placed particular emphasis on matching social status and economic conditions.

At this point, Madam Guan chuckled and said to Gan Minglan:

"Don't let my son's current position as a centurion fool you; those old Wu and Yue people would never marry their daughters to my grandson!"

Madam Tian said dismissively:

"The capable old Wu Yue people have long since found a way to return to their ancestral home. What's left behind are just a bunch of hypocrites who use red tape to put on a show of high-mindedness. In the first month of the lunar calendar, that scholar Qian sent his daughter to Huaiqing Prefecture!"

Old Mrs. Guan was curious:
"Didn't you say you were visiting relatives? The Marquis's concubine is from a branch of the Ni family of Wuyue. Perhaps the two families are even related."

The girl they were talking about, the daughter of the scholar Ni, was one of the most beautiful women in the border town.

She had just come of age when suitors began to flock to her door.

Among them were commanders of thousands and centurions.

However, Ni Xiucai's ancestors had served as prefects of the third rank before being demoted, and belonged to a gentry family.

Even if the head of the family only held the title of a scholar (xiucai), they still insisted on a strict prohibition against intermarriage between scholars and military households. Old Madam Tian pointed to the sky: "They want to be related to the imperial family!"

Madam Guan was so angry that she slapped her thigh and cursed repeatedly:

"That scholar Qian is utterly senile! What kind of place is Shangdu? How can he bear to see such a beautiful young woman suffer like that!"

Madam Tian said calmly, "There were no infant cries in the palace for more than twenty years, but now it's happening again!"

The annual talent show in Shangdu did not stop despite the chaos caused by the refugees.

With the Imperial Noble Consort successfully giving birth to the Crown Prince, the young ladies sent by those aristocratic families this year are sure to be more beautiful than in previous years.

What if!
Having even one son or daughter is a valuable asset in chaotic times.

The three exchanged glances, and those who understood, understood.

Gan Minglan quickly changed the subject:
“Madam Guan, please continue to tell me how the marriage customs of the Jiangnan gentry differ from yours.”

After calming herself down, the old lady enthusiastically answered the distinguished guest's questions again:
"Oh dear, people from Jiangnan have to go through all six rites when they get married: betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious gifts, presenting betrothal gifts, setting the wedding date, and the wedding ceremony. Not a single step can be omitted."

During the honeymoon period, the bridal chamber alone would last for three days.

The bride cannot leave the bridal chamber for three days. Only after three days can she formally step out of the hall to meet her close relatives and become a member of the family!

The marriage customs of the Angmen military households are relatively simple. A matchmaker is definitely required, but the six rites are basically just a formality.

However, the most important custom here is to pay respects to one's maternal uncle and paternal aunt. We have a saying here: "Of all things under heaven, the maternal uncle and aunt are the greatest!"

That's an interesting statement.

Gan Minglan only remembered that there were similar local customs in later generations, but it seemed that only her uncle was mentioned.

My aunt actually holds such a high position?
She only found out after asking for more details.

It turns out that in military households, the maternal uncle and the unmarried aunt were the ones who taught the children survival skills!

This important border town has historically been a frequent site of warfare.

The men did nothing but farm and guard the border.

The children in the family were basically raised by their grandmother and their unmarried aunt.

If my uncle is home, there's only one possibility: he was injured and disabled in the war!

After retiring from the military, these veterans have to work in arsenals like the town's armory.

After they returned home, they would teach their nephews how to kill enemies, and also teach them how to make various equipment needed by the army, such as bows and arrows, components of chariots, and so on.

For the young women of military households, it's already a blessing if their grandmother can take care of their basic needs like food, drink, and sanitation!

Those who were a few years older would learn needlework from their unmarried aunts.

You're asking about their biological mothers?

Being a military household's wife is no easy task.

Most of the able-bodied men in the family are not here, so the work in the fields and the work in the arsenal all have to be done by them!
Madam Guan concluded, "When the younger generation gets married, they must kneel down and serve tea to their uncles and aunts—a grand ceremony! They are treated the same as their own parents."

Gan Minglan:
Yes, this wedding custom is great!
Although she, Gan's aunt, is already married!

But that doesn't stop her from teaching her nephews and nieces skills in the future.

She possesses a multitude of survival skills: she can kill pigs, wolves, and even barbarians!
Even if all else fails, we can still grow mulberry trees, raise silkworms, and weave brocade!

I need to find out which family has a good daughter while I'm attending weddings.

Once the family's mutton soup restaurant opens, it will be time to start planning the weddings of my two younger brothers.

“Ach. Ach”

“Ach. Ach”

Gan Mingshou, who is negotiating prices with herdsmen in Huyan County: Who is thinking about me?
Gan Mingfu, who was working on the renovation project all night, said: "The wind is so strong, I'm afraid I'll catch a cold!"

(End of this chapter)