According to the custom of Fire Knife Village, the day before the wedding day, the groom’s family must find a boy under the age of three to sleep on the bridal bed with the groom, and before going to bed, they have to feed him stead buns, longans, and eggs, symbolizing the good on of "wrapping up a son."
ng Yuhuai had returned to the village from Fuzhe County several days earlier to take care of the wedding preparations. Since his father had passed away early, leaving just his mother and himself at ho, things could sotis get a bit chaotic, but fortunately, he had always been popular in the village, and the neighbors nearby happily ca to help. Everything settled down without any issues. On the evening of the fifth day, he "borrowed" the nearly two-year-old son of Great Saint for the ritual, who tumbled around on the newly made elm wood bed.
Despite being over twenty years old and an Escort Master accustod to traversing the most dangerous and difficult terrains, he found himself at a loss when faced with a toddler. Moreover, young children do not know right from wrong; you ask him to eat an egg, and he insists on grabbing fruit, you tell him to wash his face, yet he cries for a pee, torturing ng to no end throughout the night. Only in the latter half of the night did the naughty boy finally exhaust himself and crashed haphazardly into bed to rest.
Over at the Jing family’s small courtyard, the lights were also kept bright all night.
By tradition, a bride’s wedding dress should be sewn by herself as a matter of propriety, or at the very least by her own mother as a substitute. Alas, Hua Xiaomai’s parents were long gone, and her sewing skills were dire, to say the least. After grumbling for half a day, Hua Erniang found a tailor shop, and just before the wedding, retrieved a complete set of red garnts, inner and outer layer, from them.
In the main room, there were several trunks filled with dowries that Hua Erniang and Jing Taihe prepared for Hua Xiaomai, consisting of clothes, jewelry, and other items. Compared to the wealthy and generous families, it wasn’t much to look at, but for ordinary people, it still seed quite decent. The deed to the two acres of land bought with the help of Zheng Yakuai was carefully hidden at the bottom of one of the trunks by Hua Erniang.
"Those two pieces of land are located south of the village, not far from the ng Family, which will be convenient for you to manage later," she said while sitting on the bed in the west room, her fingers slowly moving over the neatly folded red wedding dress, smoothing out tiny creases, occasionally glancing at Hua Xiaomai, "ng Yuhuai earns quite a bit at the Escort Agency, and their family’s life is much better than ours. If you grow tired of toiling in the fields, you might as well have him hire a couple of people. After all, it’s just two pieces of land and won’t cost much for labor."
Knowing her sister had many things to say that night, Hua Xiaomai moved a chair to sit in front of her, leaned forward, resting her head in her neck, and "hmm"ed through her nose, giggling, "Can you stop calling him ’Elder Brother ng’? It sounds so awkward to ."
"...I can’t change it all of a sudden," Hua Erniang also pursed her lips and chuckled, patting her forehead with her palm, then glancing sternly at her, "Don’t interrupt , just listen quietly."
Hua Xiaomai nodded hastily, "Go on, I won’t butt in anymore."
"People cannot foresee everything!" Hua Erniang sighed, "I’ve told you countless tis before that old lady ng is not easy to deal with, and even hoped if you ever t her in the village, you’d better walk around her. Yet now, you’re marrying into their family. Our mother died early and no one taught us how to get along with a mother-in-law, but in the end, it boils down to one thing, for trivial matters, there’s no need to get angry with her, giving in a bit won’t kill you, but on important issues, you absolutely cannot be disadvantaged—I reckon, Brother... Yuhuai will stand by you. If you feel wronged, just tell him. Don’t keep it to yourself, and don’t clash head-on with the old lady, you understand?"
Hua Xiaomai thought to herself that when it ca to others, you can be logical and reasoned, but when it cos to your own relationship with your mother-in-law, it doesn’t seem so pleasant, so your advice doesn’t stand up. Yet outwardly, she just obediently replied, "Yes."
Her earnest response pleased Hua Erniang, who patted her on the shoulder twice and took a deep breath, "Fortunately, we’ll still be living in the sa village, and we can et anyti we want. If you’re bullied, I, as your elder sister, am not just for show, I’d risk my life to get justice for you, just be at ease."
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