Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space

Chapter 1131: Chapter 1004: Before Returning

The wedding of Zhang Ziwen and Mao Minghui was indeed simple, just as he had personally promised beforehand, yet it brimmed with a festive atmosphere characteristic of a new couple.

The staff cafeteria shared by the county post office and supply and marketing cooperative had tables set with modest wedding banquets. As for the dishes, they were even more ordinary than those served at Old Zhang’s family on New Year’s Eve or the feast when my aunt visited on the third day of the New Year.

—In the words of Zhang Ziwen’s aunt, who often curled her lips, it was truly shabby.

But is it really shabby?

Not really.

You should know that nowadays, you can bring a so-called grand gift worth three yuan for a whole family of over ten people, taste the flavor of meat, eat white wheat buns, and even want to take some leftovers home—that’s truly impossible.

It’s not that Zhang Meili didn’t arrange things beforehand, but she’s really afraid to go overboard. Times have changed, being poor is honorable, and the wealthy are all locked up in cattle sheds nowadays.

Besides, Zhang Chunming and Zhang Meili are not stingy with outsiders. No matter how frugal they may be, they wouldn’t shortchange the guests who came to celebrate.

Thus, for their eldest son’s wedding, the couple put in quite a bit of effort and preparation before the new year, going back to the village to prepare half a slab of pork and quite a few frozen fish.

Aside from the farewell meat given when they fetched the bride in the morning, the meat handed out when she visited her family for New Year greetings—four slices for her parents and her three brothers—even on New Year’s Eve, they made do with a meal of cabbage with less meat in the dumplings, fearing to shortchange the guests.

But no matter how much meat was left, it couldn’t withstand the consumption of twenty or so tables. Old colleagues they hadn’t planned on inviting showed up, neighbors from the streets came too—they couldn’t possibly send them away, could they?

In the end, it was the kitchen master from the unit who understood Zhang Meili’s dilemma and used his excellent knife skills to slice the pork paper-thin, like A4 size paper, to make deboned pork.

You have to admire the master’s knife skills. Hehe... Anyone eating an extra slice means others might not get a taste of the meat?

The banquet, which had been anticipated for a long time by several sisters-in-law, didn’t feature eight great dishes, despite being hosted by city folks, and it did turn out rather shabby.

But since it’s a banquet, there should obviously be wine too. Fancy Moutai liquor or Northeast Gaoliang grain liquor? That’s impossible. Even if Zhang Ziwen’s family could afford it, they wouldn’t dare attract too much attention.

Each table was set with a jar of homemade rotten sweet potato dry wine and orange-flavored soda. To tell the truth, Zhang Meili and her husband really put in a lot of effort this time.

Thankfully, the results were delightful; their efforts weren’t in vain, and the atmosphere at their eldest son’s wedding was quite lively.

Especially when Zhang Ziwen and Mao Minghui’s colleagues presented their gifts, the lead supervisor among the guests led a warm applause to congratulate the newlyweds.

For most of the colleagues, friends, neighbors, and street residents, they offered small gifts, worth three or five mao, based on how much money was gathered, to purchase household items for the newlyweds: aluminum pots, thermos flasks, washbasins, mirrors, a pair of pillowcases, and the like.

But these vibrant young people had the courage to break conventions and adopted unique tactics, their ideas were brilliant!

Besides presenting a plaster statue of Chairman Mao, they also gifted several Chairman Mao-themed New Year posters costing one or two mao each. There were posters showing him waving, sitting, full-body, half-body, and it felt like there were so many varieties.

These gifts were delivered right at the perfect time, adding a touch of solemnity to the distinctive vows of the newlyweds in this revolutionary era.

After the wedding banquet, it was customary to "disturb the bridal chamber" at night.

This bridal chamber disturbance was especially simple and unpretentious, particularly in the county where there wouldn’t be any excessive antics that could potentially result in harm.

Even in bachelor villages like Xialin Village that were just liberated, or in small villages where communal wives were wed, as long as the clan elders were present, they wouldn’t permit any disgraceful acts to mar the reputation.

As for things done in private such as affairs or secret trysts... those happen privately. Not just before when one would be drowned publicly, even now should there be any hint, they’d be socially shamed.

The banquet was over and with short winter days, darkness fell early on the land.

The celebratory moment of disturbing the bridal chamber under the lamp light was about to arrive.

The fresh new groom and bride distributed candies to the guests who came to congratulate them, then invited the groom and bride to sing a Red Song, before amusingly asking Zhang Ziwen and Mao Minghui to share the story of their courtship.

Hilarity erupted during the joyous parts, leading to laughter throughout. Finally, a few small challenges were set, and everyone participated in small games together. With a sense of satisfaction and reluctant farewells, the guests gradually departed one by one.

Ultimately, even the groom and bride need some time alone, right?

Regrettably, no matter how much Zhang Ziwen looked forward to admiring his beautiful bride tonight, he had to rein in his desires because Brother Ping’an and the trio were heading back to Beijing early in the morning.

Inside the bridal chamber, Mao Minghui first took out the gifts they planned to offer while serving tea in the morning from the dowry chest, and shyly looked at Zhang Ziwen, who had truly become her husband, blushing as she softly asked, "Is it really okay? I heard Xiao Ya’s cousin-in-law gave everyone a yuan each."

Zhang Ziwen looked at her warmly, chuckling, "Giving ten yuan to the Ping An Brothers can’t compare to the insoles you made by hand. They value sentiment more, just like my uncle and aunt."

Mao Minghui hesitated and glanced at him, askance, "So, should I really give my uncle and aunt a pair of homemade cloth shoes?"

Zhang Ziwen looked humorous as he gazed at her, "Do you plan to speak to me like this your whole life? I recall not long ago, someone shouted that women are half the sky and couples should be equal."

Mao Minghui laughed, "Saying that even once was enough for you to keep in mind constantly. If I made all decisions without discussing with you, believe me, my mom would definitely scold me. I’ve realized, you are her real child, I’m just someone picked up from outside."

"No worries, my mom likes playing around with reversals, wasn’t she fond of you too? Now it’s good, you have topics to talk about as you can stay together all day long and won’t need to rush me, like cutting conversations short, since she starts urging again."

Upon hearing that, Mao Minghui smiled softly. Her mother-in-law was lively, open-minded, willing to speak her mind, without being duplicitous, how could she not like her?

Especially those aunt-in-laws and second-aunt-in-laws, either making veiled sarcastic remarks or ’guiding’ with authority, they were repeatedly rebuked by her mother-in-law.

Hehe... she liked such a mother-in-law, unlike her own mom, who lived a life beset by sister-in-laws yet simmered in silent anger afterward.

Being the only daughter in the family, also the youngest, she was pampered by parents like her younger sister Yaya, but the most frustrating thing was, regardless of the correctness of those older relatives’ actions, she was always forced to apologize citing family teachings.

From her perspective, some people, they become more overbearing the more you tolerate them, it’s better to cut ties altogether than to keep persevering quietly.

"What are you thinking? Let’s hurry up and come back, it’s too late..." Zhang Ziwen half-expressed his thoughts, then blushed instinctively, averting his gaze while instructing, "Put on an extra cotton jacket, it’s cold outside."

The young couple donned their coats and left the new room in the East Wing, noticing the family members had all left, indeed leaving space for them as a couple.

Seeing this, Mao Minghui’s face flushed brilliantly, she bowed her head and stepped first to the door to wait for him to come out.