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墨書 Inktalez
On the evening of December 22, the day before the "Kitchen God Festival," all primary and secondary schools in Annan County were closed for the holiday.
Since the end of autumn, Hu Qihua and his brother, Second Uncle Hu Zhenhua, had been working tirelessly to deliver goods to the Brick Factory in their township. With the tractor pulling heavy loads quickly, the two brothers efficiently loaded and unloaded, earning five yuan per truckload from the factory. Over three months, they managed to make nearly three thousand yuan. When combined with their earnings from plowing fields in the fall, and without deducting costs for diesel and labor, it seemed that they had almost recouped their investment in the tractor.
Money gave people confidence; it was their backbone. After living cautiously for half their lives, the brothers now felt bold enough to stand tall on the street and speak loudly.
That night, Woodzi and his wife unexpectedly visited Hu Ruoyun's home. Over the past year, this couple had come to realize their situation; the Hu family was no longer the same family they could manipulate as they pleased. The arrogance and condescension they once displayed in front of Hu's brothers had diminished significantly, especially from Woodzi's wife, who no longer made veiled remarks that stung like thorns.
Their sudden visit was a plea for help, marked by a tone of humility. Woodzi's eldest son, Wu Mingyang, had been engaged to a girl from Caogu Village for over a year. They were now discussing plans to marry before the Spring Festival.
As the saying goes, customs can vary greatly even within a short distance. Despite Hu Family Village being only eight kilometers from Caogu Village, wedding traditions differed significantly. In Hu Family Village, it was customary for the groom to gather a group of young men of similar age, each riding a new bicycle while carrying a "bride-fetching lady" (usually the groom's sister-in-law or aunt) to the bride's home. After exchanging gifts and greetings, they would return with the bride and female relatives to hold the ceremony.
The bride's dowry and male relatives accompanying her were typically transported back by ox carts sent by the groom's family. However, in recent years, Caogu Village had seen economic growth, and weddings were now being conducted using large trucks.
The bride and her accompanying sister-in-law or aunt would squeeze into the passenger seat of a truck loaded with dowry items, while another minibus would transport additional relatives. This required at least two vehicles.
In such cases where customs differed between families, it was usually expected that they would adhere to the bride's standards. Consequently, Woodzi spent a significant amount of money hiring a large truck from a county freight company and rented a minibus from a local passenger transport company.
To his surprise, the bride's family claimed there was too much dowry for just one large truck to handle. Woodzi was both pleased by the abundance of dowry yet troubled by the cost of renting another large truck. According to Caogu Village customs, using an animal-drawn cart for dowry was considered unceremonious and could not keep pace with motor vehicles.
After much deliberation, they reluctantly decided to use a tractor instead. The village had indeed added several tractors over time, but only Hu Qihua’s family owned one with a large trailer.
Thus, this couple came seeking assistance. Remembering past grievances caused by this couple’s actions made Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua feel uneasy; however, both brothers were kind-hearted and knew that their children were good people. In such times, it was essential to offer help rather than refuse outright.
Woodzi expressed endless gratitude during their conversation.
On December 24th, a large truck and a minibus set off with Hu Zhenhua driving his tractor adorned with bright red flowers. They carried Wu Mingyang’s sister-in-law and aunt along with four close relatives and a group of young friends of Wu Mingyang in grand procession.
Upon arriving at the bride's family home, many details had been meticulously discussed between both families. After the customary rituals were completed, the young men began loading the dowry into the vehicle. The bride, with the support of her brother-in-law and Aunt, climbed into the driver's seat of the "Liberation" vehicle.
Once everything was settled and a loud burst of firecrackers echoed through the air, the wedding procession began to turn back as the loudspeaker played a line from the movie "Carrying the Flower Palanquin."
However, trouble arose when they reached the groom's family home and attempted to help the bride's family disembark. In rural areas at that time, weddings and funerals were major events, and every detail was crucial. The groom's side had to be particularly cautious; any guest from the bride's family was treated like royalty.
It was not uncommon for disputes to arise if the groom's side overlooked something or if the accompanying guests failed to communicate properly, leading to confrontations where tables were flipped in anger. But this time, it was genuinely the fault of Woodzi's wife.
Originally, it had been agreed that the bride’s eight-year-old brother would carry a washbasin—a significant part of their wedding ceremony where a large "flower cake" is placed in a brand-new enamel basin. The basin must not be taken out of the vehicle until certain rituals are completed. Typically, the groom's side would give a red envelope to the child carrying the basin, known as "washbasin money."
If at any point during this process something displeased the bride’s family, they might demand more money unexpectedly—perhaps increasing the washbasin money from 100 to 200 or more—or they could raise demands for additional gifts from the groom.
For Wu Mingyang's wedding, both families had previously agreed on a sum: 100 yuan for the washbasin money. However, Woodzi’s wife inexplicably decided to exchange a 100-yuan bill featuring "Four Great Leaders" for a 50-yuan bill and handed it to the bride’s brother.
The boy immediately shouted, "Aunt, she only gave me fifty!"
The bride's aunt, who had been sweet-talking with the groom’s family alongside their sister-in-law, rushed over upon hearing her nephew’s outcry. Seeing that he indeed held only a 50-yuan note, her expression darkened. "What does she mean? Does she look down on our girl or our maternal family?"
Wu Mingyang’s second aunt was taken aback; it seemed that no one from the bride’s side had caused trouble—yet their own sister-in-law had ignited this fire!
Before she could comprehend what was happening, the bride’s aunt snatched the money from her nephew’s hand and threw it on the ground. "You sit tight in that car! Hold onto your basin! If you don’t get five hundred yuan, don’t you dare let go of that basin! And don’t get out!"
She then returned to push her niece back into the driver’s seat and slammed the door shut, locking everyone outside.
The men accompanying the bride were also displeased and blocked anyone from unloading more dowry from the vehicle.
What a mess!
Without needing further provocation from the bride's side, all of Wu Mingyang's relatives began criticizing Woodzi’s wife fiercely. The sister-in-law responsible for handling wedding arrangements was nearly in tears. "Sister-in-law, what were you thinking? I’ve said so many good things about them; we finally made it here! Are you trying to ruin Mingyang's wedding because you’re unhappy with how smoothly it’s going?"
Onlookers from nearby homes pointed and whispered among themselves.
Aunt Kui, being older and straightforward in her speech, remarked bluntly, "You can’t say that their maternal family isn’t making an issue of this… Just prepare five hundred yuan for them!"
If it weren’t for all these witnesses around them, Woodzi would have kicked his wife and slapped her in frustration.
Woodzi felt bitter inside as well. They had already spent most of their savings building a house for their eldest son and had given 5000 yuan as a dowry before marriage—essentially draining their finances. Now they still faced expenses for hosting a banquet... Not to mention future costs for building a house for their second son and organizing his wedding... Just thinking about it was overwhelming. In a moment of desperation to save fifty yuan, he foolishly exchanged what should have been 100 yuan for 50—only to make matters worse!
This is the case of missing out on a big watermelon while missing a sesame seed. Amidst the accusations from everyone, she regretted it so much that she wanted to slap herself twice.
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