Chapter 1114: Chapter 987: The Wedding Begins
"Give them six dollars and a towel blanket, that should be enough."
May 1st blinked at Zhang the Second, "My dear Second Uncle, when your nephew gets married in the future, please don’t give gifts, it’s not easy for you."
Zhang the Second was amused and grinned widely, picking him up, "Little rascal, you better remember that."
May 1st patted his chest: "I won’t forget, just watch."
"Second Uncle, what about you? What did you prepare?"
Upon hearing Ping’an, Zhang the Second hugged May 1st with both arms, freeing one hand to show, "Look at the scar on my hand, see it? Your Second Uncle is poor, so I have to do it myself."
"Furniture?"
"I’m not your father." Zhang the Second finished speaking, chuckling sheepishly, "Actually, your dad is quite good, but he loves to tinker around too much, your Second Uncle can’t keep up."
"Box?"
"Alright, don’t guess anymore, it’s a washbasin rack." Saying this, Zhang the Second proudly raised his eyebrows, "Didn’t the recycling station have lots of scrap wood? I took them back and put together two washbasin racks, one for my big nephew and one for my big niece. How’s that, isn’t your Second Uncle clever?"
The Ping’an Brothers’ eyes sparkled with admiration, truly clever, spending just a tiny bit of money plus six dollars for the gift money, this congratulatory gift is both presentable and practical.
Zhang the Second, seeing this, was even more proud, "I’m telling you, actually your dad is quite dumb. I told him to wear one less military uniform, but he couldn’t understand."
This statement, May 1st didn’t agree with, giving him a little eye-roll, "With so many brothers, if my dad listened to you, they’d be running around naked all the time."
As soon as he said this, Zhang the Second burst into laughter, "Alright, your dad didn’t dote on you for nothing. Right, right, our May 1st makes a lot of sense."
He didn’t dare say your dad has many ways to solve it! The little rascal is very protective.
"However, Second Uncle, your idea is also a good one. Later I’ll look around with my buddies to see if there’s a way to save some money. Sigh... my dad is poor too."
Zhang the Second was amused by May 1st, laughing heartily. He really didn’t expect chatting with such a little kid could be so fun.
"Didn’t your dad get promoted?"
"Sigh, just added a ’deputy’ to the title, only worth a few dimes? I asked, it only increased by two dollars, not even enough for me to eat out."
"Hahaha..." Zhang the Second burst into laughter, finally he didn’t dare to hold this little rascal anymore, placing him on the bed and himself laughing down on the bed.
Oh, mama, this little mouth is truly like his dad.
Mr. Zhang had barely pushed open the door when he heard bursts of laughter, the key thing is you hear laughter from just one person, almost like madness.
"What are you doing, lost your mind?"
"Dad, you’re here, look at your grandson, he’s cracking me up."
May 1st looked innocently, spreading his hands and shaking his head.
Mr. Zhang didn’t know what his little grandson said earlier, but seeing this expression right now, even he couldn’t help laughing out loud.
"Dad, just throw one banquet on the day, I reckon half a pig won’t be enough."
"Pig offal and pig skin should be enough when combined."
"I’ve already spoken with Uncle Zuo and the others, they won’t come. Eight tables should be enough?"
"Should be about right. A few days ago they got the certificate and promised not to hold a banquet, I and your big brother also told outsiders that only our Old Zhang family would gather in the village for a meal."
"What a situation."
"Alright, leave it at that, later when you meet Old Huang’s family don’t show any dissatisfaction. After all, it’s your big brother..." Mr. Zhang swallowed down the words he couldn’t stand.
"I see Xi Zi also listens quite well to his grandfather."
Mr. Zhang smiled, shifting the topic. Everyone can list their difficulties, could a grandfather really step in and meddle?
The Ping’an Brothers exchanged meaningful glances, then smiled, joining in the chat about other topics with Mr. Zhang and his father.
Having decided the gift amount, Ping’an was relieved, packed a 9.9-dollar red envelope for his grandfather, remembering back when Zhao Yuanyuan got married, it was openly stated as 9.9 dollars.
With two gifts plus travel expenses, they spent quite a bit of money for this trip, the brothers grimaced.
If it must be spent, then it must be earned back. Thus, the brothers finally had something to do.
Leaving aside two gifts, sorting through several luggage bags, they gathered everything exchangeable and placed it on the bed. Looking at it, quite a lot indeed.
Could it not be much?
Miao Lishan prepared plenty of things for the children to give to the local kids, worried they’d be isolated in the hometown, insisted on giving more small gifts so everyone would play with them.
If Zhou Jiao hadn’t stopped them, there’d probably be even more.
The three brothers earnestly discussed. What small items should be exchanged? How should the big items’ value be maximized?
But before bartering, they knew they had to wait until after Zhang Mingyuan’s wedding banquet. First to gather information, second waiting for the guests to leave so they wouldn’t have so many eyes on them.
......
On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth month, the official day, the wedding tossed around by Old Zhang’s family finally commenced.
At dawn when the rooster crowed, the nearby old yard was bustling with voices.
Unlike others automatically heading to the old yard, the Ping’an Brothers followed their usual routine each doing what they should, grabbing a wild chicken during their run. Returning home, they made chicken stew, boiled a handful of noodles they brought, and the five of them ate, declaring they could continue such daily feasts.
Xiao Wang and the others didn’t bother reminding Ping’an whether they should go over to help. They’ve been with Zhou Xiaozheng long enough, knowing the three kids don’t like socializing.
A series of firecrackers mixed with laughter of "the bride is coming..." as two horse carts decorated with red cloth pulled into the alley, stopping at the old yard gate.
Ping’an tidied up his brothers’ clothes, as it was time for them to appear.
In the spirit of abandoning old customs, the routines of stepping on gold bricks and crossing fire basins were all canceled, so when they arrived, the bride was already being held tightly by Xi Zi, with a big red flower on his chest, into the courtyard.
At the gate, many kids snatched candy and unopened firecrackers, those who accompanied to fetch the bride earlier, including Zhang Ziwen and others, upon seeing the twins, stuffed candies into their pockets.
The most interesting was Zhang Meili, who glared at her son and nephews, and ran off somewhere to grab a handful of candies and stuffed them back into Ping’an’s pocket, muttering about how Ping’an is still a kid.
She apparently thought Ping’an was left out.
Watching her eldest daughter-in-law completing the role of a mother-in-law duty, Mother Zhang saw the new bride enter, glanced at the Huang family in-laws and their daughters-in-law nearby, nudged her eldest daughter: "Have you seen the three kids?"
Zhang Meihao replied softly, "Mom, don’t worry, my sister and I went twice this morning, already instructed Mai Sui to bring them to the banquet when it’s time."
Mother Zhang nodded in satisfaction, giving her a signal to come out.
"Mom, aren’t you going to chat a bit with Sister Gong and the others?"
Mother Zhang rolled her eyes at her, she’s already a senior, why meddle?
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