The team members were sent to work before the fifth break. Early in the morning of the fifth day of the first lunar month, the bell rang for the team to start work. The members changed into their old clothes that were full of patches and came to the big pagoda tree at the entrance of the alley, waiting for the captain to assign them work. At this time, Zhong Guoqing walked straight to Captain Chen Baoxing and whispered,""Brother Baoxing, I have to take a leave of absence. Hailong is getting married tomorrow, so I have to help.”Baoxing knew that Hai Long was a classmate from National Day. He nodded and said with a smile,"Go, Sea Dragon's only son. If you don't have any more brothers, you should go help. Besides, it wasn't past five today, so there wasn't any urgent work.”
"Then I'll take three days off. I'll help him finish his business and help him to the end!”Guo Qing said with a smile.
Bao Xing didn't make a clear statement. He only chuckled.
When National Day arrived at Hai Long's courtyard, there were already many people in the courtyard. Everyone was busy. Long Fa was standing in the middle of the courtyard with a cigarette in his mouth. He was bossy like a commander who was giving orders.
"Second Uncle, you should still do your old job. Give us two stoves, one for the basket and one for the stir-fry. The basket is still a cyclone furnace, and the stir-fry needs a fan. I'll send two young men to be your handymen.”He turned around and called out again," Gousheng, you and Cai Wa, listen to your Second Uncle's orders. Do everything quickly and gather your strength."”
At this moment, he saw National Day enter and shouted," Aiya, the accountant is here early. Guo Wa, you have full authority over the accountant. If there are some things that you are not clear about, ask more. First, fill in the gift book. The brush, ink, paper, and inkstone are all prepared at home. That is not a stack of red paper. If you need anything else, ask Hai Long for it.”
There was a stack of red paper on a square table in the courtyard. On National Day, he found a pair of scissors and prepared to cut the paper to write couplets and note the gift book. At this moment, he saw Xin Niu leading a group of young people into the gate. Some were carrying wooden rafters, some were holding a large bundle of cotton cloth of various colors, some were holding a bundle of hemp rope in their arms, and some were carrying steel mill on their shoulders.
As soon as this group of people entered, the courtyard immediately became lively. They shouted and shouted. Some dug holes, some planted rafters, and some wrapped cloth. As they spoke, a rectangular greenhouse was set up. The young men were really skillful. On the frame that was tied with wooden rafters, they tied many beautiful patterns with various colored cotton cloth. There were four diamonds on the roof of the shed, and a big red flower tied with red silk hung in the middle of each diamond. The two sides of the shed were like two walls, with two oval circles made of cotton cloth. In the middle of the circles, there was a satin quilt supported by a red rope. In the middle of the satin quilt, there were four big square characters, some of which were " Beautiful Flower and Full Moon ". There were " revolutionary partners,"" loving husband and wife," and " a hundred years of harmony," etc. There was a rectangular red paper in the lower right corner of each quilt, with a long list of names of the people who gave the quilt.
After setting up the shed, the people went to the houses in the alley to borrow tables and chairs. Before it was time for dinner, four rows of tables and chairs were set up in the shed, five tables per row, a total of twenty tables.
The young people really gathered their energy. The master's spicy dishes had not been cooked yet, and the young men had already cleaned up everything. Xin Niu saw that the work was almost done and let everyone rest. The young men sat around the high tables and low stools that had just been set up. Regardless of whether they were addicted to smoking or not, there was a cigarette hanging from the corner of their mouths. They swallowed and exhaled as if they were serious. They talked and laughed as they waited for the chef to cook the first pot of spicy dishes.
"Chili vegetables" was a famous dish in Green Pine Ridge Village. No matter which family had something to do, they would always have chili vegetables, steamed buns, and boiled water for every meal. Everyone was very concerned about how the spicy vegetables were doing. As time passed, the spicy dishes became more and more delicious. The chefs who cooked the dishes also wanted to show off their skills and attract the cheers of the customers!
Today's head chef was still Third Master Wang of the village's third team. He was the most authoritative chef in the village. It was said that when he was young, he went to other places to study under a teacher and learned superb cooking skills. Now, he was famous in the village within a radius of dozens of miles. Every family in the neighboring village who had a wedding and wanted to prepare a good banquet would come to invite him. The " Ten Complete " feast that people often ate was too ordinary. Ordinary chefs could handle it twice. Those who specially hired him to cook were all good dishes for the engagement of their children and son-in-law, such as "Eight Great Items","One Leading Two", etc. It was said that Third Master Wang had a few dishes that were particularly famous, such as "Steamed Dumpling","Preserved Oil Cake","Fried Shredded Pork","Scalded Meatballs", etc. People said that his " boiled meatballs " were simply superb. There were only seven or eight meatballs floating on top of a big bowl. If you ate one, another would float up from below until you finished the meatballs in the bowl. The others wanted to learn this move, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not.
Look, Third Master Wang had arrived. He was wearing a white apron and a white round hat. He had a cigarette in his mouth. He was standing in front of the stove and watching a few middle-aged men making a fire. Those middle-aged men were his disciples who ran around him all day long. They were also famous chefs in the village. Hai Long's father knew about this, so after Third Master Wang agreed, he immediately went to invite his disciples, not daring to leave any behind.
The smoke on the stove lessened, and the flame grew higher. The chefs picked up their spoons and scooped a spoonful of oil from the small basin on the small table in front of them. They poured it into the pot and began to stir-fry the spicy vegetables with a squeak. Third Master Wang held a cigarette between his fingers and stood at the side, smiling as he watched his disciples operate. The first pot of spicy dish was quickly served. It was a spicy dish stir-fried with bean sprouts, tofu, vermicelli, spicy noodles, and pork. The spicy vegetables that had been dipped in flour and soy sauce were amber-colored and sticky. Although there were no meat slices, the fragrance of the meat was overflowing. The originally snow-white tofu noodles were covered with a layer of red spicy noodles, which aroused people's appetite even more. The young man in charge of serving the dishes was holding a large wooden plate with a thin porcelain bowl. After the chef had put the chili into the bowl, they carried the bowls to the table one by one. There were two bowls on each table. Then, the steaming white, fat, and round buns were also brought to the table. Only then did everyone greet each other and sit down. They surrounded each other and began to eat happily. The farmers, who were used to eating two-sided buns and steamed cakes at home, felt that the white buns were especially fragrant when they ate spicy vegetables. A young man's meal was worth seven or eight buns! People praised the spicy dishes as they ate, even though Third Master Wang had been standing by the side and watching without doing anything.
All the work on the fifth day of the lunar new year was to prepare for the reception on the day of the wedding. It was considered a prelude. There were three things to do on this day. One was to set up a shed and put up a table. The second was to send someone to the new daughter-in-law's family to move the dowry back. Third, before dinner, in the name of helping, he invited his relatives and friends in the village (no less than one family) to his house for a wedding banquet.
After eating the spicy vegetables, Wang Xinniu brought seven or eight young men and pushed two small carts to the new daughter-in-law's family to move the dowry. Before lunchtime, they had already brought back two carts full of dowry. Two beddings (wooden shelves for clothes and bedding) were placed on the steps outside the new house. The washbasin and basin rack were placed on the side of the beddings. A duster made of colorful floral cloth was hung on the washbasin rack. A group of old women, young daughters-in-law, and those girls who were about to get married crowded around the dowry, admiring and evaluating it. Some of them were envious as they reached out their hands and carefully counted the number of clothes and bedding that their daughter-in-law's family had prepared for their wedding. There were also some who pursed their lips and quietly commented. There were also some who stood far away and did not take a closer look, as if they were disdainful. All of this was seen by the sharp-eyed Mother Dragon. She kept a straight face and muttered softly,"Two and a half minutes of betrothal gifts, and so much cotton and cotton cloth. He's really a Nero Zhou."
When Hai Long's father passed by, he glanced at the old woman's expression. He ignored her and said in his heart, What was the point of pulling a long face today? He held two boxes of good cigarettes in his hands and walked around the shed. He smiled and distributed the cigarettes to the helpers who were invited to drink. He said over and over again,"Hey, I'm here, I'm here. Everyone is busy. Sorry to disturb you!”
When it was time for the villagers to have dinner, the Hai Long family had also started to feast.
There were 15 tables of helpers, more than 120 people. Every family in the village had been invited. In fact, the people who really helped were the people who made the dowry on the first day. There were only two or three tables. The people who invited them to drink knew very well that although they said they were helping, it was actually a phrase used by the host. To put it bluntly, they invited everyone over to have a lively meal and drink wine to celebrate. During the busy farming days, people couldn't find the time to go. In some families, if the main characters couldn't go, they would just send an idle person or even a child to cover for them. During the first month, people were not busy. The main figures of every household had come. Before everyone could even start eating, Guo Zhenshan, the secretary of the brigade, shouted in his loud voice as a prime minister,""Tomorrow is Hai Long's big day, and it's also the day that his parents have been looking forward to for a long time. Since he asked us to help, we have to do our best and do our jobs well. Whether it's serving the plates, pouring tea, steamrolling, cooking, or washing the dishes, we have to stick to our posts. Listen up, everyone. I've remembered everyone's division of labor. If anything goes wrong, I'll personally settle the score with him. Long Fa is our Deputy Prime Minister, everyone must listen to him. Long Fa, read the list of tasks to everyone. Everyone listen carefully!”
After Long Fa finished reading the "deacon list" that he had written in advance, the shed immediately buzzed with laughter. Long Fa shouted loudly,"Serve the dishes!" A few young people carrying plates of hot and cold dishes shuttled between the tables as if they were flying.
Hai Long's parents came to the table with smiles on their faces. They insisted on toasting everyone, but everyone waved at them and said,"No need, no need. The two of you have been so busy these past few days that your legs have become thin. Forget it, forget it. I'll have it when I say it!"
"Brother, Sister-in-law, you're right!" Guo Zhenshan said. If everyone says no, then no,"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。