Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s
Chapter 150 - 143 Wedding Customs

Chapter 150: 143 Wedding Customs

At the entrance of Tian Chusheng’s courtyard, a record-keeper sat, his younger brother Tian Qiusheng, holding a brush and keeping accounts at the gate. Granny Zhao and Li Yuedi quickly took out red envelopes and handed them to Tian Qiusheng, incessantly offering their congratulations: "Congratulations, congratulations!"

With a smile on his face, Tian Qiusheng accepted the red envelopes and diligently recorded each person’s name and the amount of their gift. This was crucial as these favors would need to be reciprocated in the future. Thus, the amount from each person needed to be meticulously noted.

It was still early, and the bride had not yet been brought in. Many children from the village were waiting at the entrance, eagerly anticipating the bride’s arrival to ask for sweets. Tian Sisi did not go with them; she was rather intrigued, watching the hired helpers busily working around Tian Chusheng’s courtyard, enjoying the sight of people busily engaged and feeling life’s fulfillment.

Usually, the helpers, spanning no more than three generations of the same clan, took on specific roles: men were responsible for presenting dishes and slaughtering chickens and ducks, while the women washed dishes, washed vegetables, and chopped vegetables. Tian Chusheng’s wedding was extremely lively, with a pig specially slaughtered and the household’s chickens and ducks all being used, thus the helpers were bustling about busily.

Tian Manmu and Jin Wanming were also helping out. Though not related within three generations like Tian Qiusheng, the camaraderie as fellow disciples led Tian Manmu and his wife to voluntarily help out. This act earned them praise from the villagers.

Granny Zhao brought over a bowl of sweet dumplings for Tian Sisi to eat, as it was customary for people from Sui City to serve dumplings before a wedding meal to guests as a celebratory gesture. Fearing her granddaughter might be hungry, Granny Zhao brought her a bowl.

"Granny, I’m full already," Tian Sisi said, losing her appetite at the sight of the sweet dumplings, but out of respect for her grandmother’s kindness, she forced herself to eat two.

Granny Zhao didn’t insist, and the leftover dumplings were given to Tian Xinhua. Tian Xinhua grinned at Tian Sisi, jesting that he had become a recycling station since he always ended up eating what Ah Nan couldn’t finish. Despite his pretense of dislike, Tian Xinhua ate with great enjoyment.

"The bride is coming, the bride is coming!"

The children at the village entrance ran back in a swarm, shouting joyfully while they ran, their innocent smiles adding a touch of vibrant festivity to the wedding.

Tian Sisi, pulling Tian Xinhua along, squeezed to the front to see the bride. Having heard from Granny Zhao that the bride was very beautiful, she had been curious to see her, and to also see what a bride from the 1970s looked like.

A Jiefang brand truck slowly drove in, driven unexpectedly by Tian Mantong. Tian Sisi joyfully waved vigorously at Tian Mantong, surprised that her uncle went to fetch the bride too. Seeing his beloved niece, Tian Mantong waved back with a beaming smile.

The truck was carrying the bride’s dowry, which evidently showed that the bride’s family was quite well-off judging from the dowry alone, which included major items like a sewing machine, bicycle, wardrobe cabinets, and beds.

Moreover, all nine quilts for the bride were new. It is customary for Sui City people to prepare nine quilts when marrying off a daughter, symbolizing lasting longevity. Some less affluent families might manage only one or two new quilts, the rest being old, but this was common practice and no one frowned upon it.

The bride’s nine new quilts were indeed a generous gesture, earning murmurs of admiration from the villagers watching. The helpers carried these nine quilts inside, placing them together with another quilt prepared by the groom’s side, called the "descendants’ quilt," together symbolizing perfect completeness.

Tian Sisi was dazzled as she watched the workers one by one unloading the dowry from the truck — a toilet, an electric kettle, basins, bowls, buckets, and the like, all prepared very comprehensively, basically furnishing an entire household.

This is also a custom in Sui City, where the dowry belongs to the bride’s private property, so generally, families with conditions would prepare a grand dowry for their daughters, fearing that the daughter might be bullied by her in-laws and husband. At least she would still have her own dowry as a backup plan.

Of course, since every family is poor now, Yuequan Village has not seen such a complete set of dowry for many years. The onlooking villagers all exclaimed in admiration, envious of the good fortune of Tian Chusheng’s family, not expecting that the wooden block, Tian Chusheng, could have such a talented son, wondering where such wealthy in-laws were fished from!

Following was Zhong Fugao’s tractor, carrying guests from the bride’s side, forming the procession to send the bride, as the bride’s parents could not come, some relatives were sent to escort the bride and also to assess the quality of the groom’s family’s banquet.

Tian Pinggui, son of Tian Chusheng, was dressed in a brand-new Zhongshan suit with a big red flower pinned on his chest, radiating happiness, He joyfully lifted the bride from the cab and carried her into the house.

The bride was dressed in a red cotton-padded jacket, another custom in Sui City, as brides are to wear red cotton-padded jackets on their wedding day. It coincides with weddings in Sui City generally being held during cooler times, as wearing a cotton-padded jacket in the heat would be unbearable!

However, this custom was later abolished, replaced by the Western white wedding gown, and not just the red cotton-padded jacket, many ancient customs have also gradually disappeared, which is quite regrettable.

After the bride got down, six beautiful bridesmaids and six handsome groomsmen followed from the rear of the truck. Tian Shouhua was notably among them, also dressed in a Zhongshan suit, standing out remarkably among the groomsmen.

As soon as the six bridesmaids got off, some eager young men from the village surrounded them like wolves, picking up the beautiful girls, and took off their shoes, which would come in handy later. The guests could take these shoes to the groom’s side to bargain for more gifts, the more shoes, the more they could gain.

These young men who stepped forward were more lively individuals from Moon Spring Village; whenever there was a wedding banquet in the village, these people would create a ruckus, bringing a festive and lively atmosphere to the celebration, much to the pleasure of the hosts.

A few well-trained men quickly removed the girls’ shoes and playfully teased the bridesmaids. The crowd nearby joined in the raucous teasing while the barefooted girls shyly let the men compete to carry them into the house.

Both the bride’s relatives and guests watching the banquet chuckled as they saw the young men teasing the bridesmaids, apparently delighting in it, not seeing anything improper with the young women being carried by men.

This is also a local wedding custom, on the wedding day, young men attending the feast can unrestrainedly tease the bridesmaids, involving actions like hugging, holding hands, kissing, and even somewhat more over-the-top behavior.

Of course, there are limits; it never seriously harms the girls’ modesty, but the extent of freedom is quite considerable. Some shy girls definitely could not endure it, there have been many instances in the past where young bridesmaids ended up in tears due to the teasing.

However, this custom was also eventually abolished, the teasing became much more civilized, no longer forcing girls into doing certain things, though the atmosphere of the wedding banquets became much more subdued, both a gain and a loss. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on QiDian (qidian.com) and buy monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)