Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Li Xiangqian and his friends came over and made the originally noisy sound in the yard become a little quieter. Fortunately, the ceremony here was over. Li Xiangqian and his friends stopped in front of the gift writing table and started to pay.

At this time, the wedding gift is basically one or two yuan. If the conditions are not good, no one will say anything if the bride price is 50 cents. If the relationship is good and the conditions are good, 5 yuan is very good. Seeing people from the county town paying for the gift, many people stared at this side.

Li Xiangqian was the first, followed by Chen Hongjun and Zhong Guoqiang. Each of them took out two big unity cards: twenty!

This is already a huge gift!

You have to know that nowadays, even ordinary workers in the city only earn 30 or 40 yuan a month! Only senior workers or those in special positions can earn more than 50 yuan. When Li Jianguo was working at a fishery, the manager asked him to stay and offered him 50 yuan a month. He refused to stay, so the manager scolded him because the manager only offered 50 yuan a month at that time, and he could only offer Li Jianguo 50 yuan. If he offered more, it would be against the rules.

The generosity of the three people shocked the villagers present. As the manager, Lu Yingming hurriedly led everyone to the main table - with Li Jianguo here, it would be no problem to entertain these guests from the city.

"It seems that we came at the right time." Li Xiangqian looked at the table and saw that the dishes had not been served yet. He smiled and said, "It is better to come at the right time than to come early. Today we can also share in Xiao Li's good fortune."

"Yes." Chen Hongjun watched Li Long rise from a rural boy to a wealthy man. He sat down, took the cigarette from Li Jianguo, and looked around.

This yard was obviously newly built, and he had only known about Li Long's tractor not long ago. It took only one year, which was amazing to think about. He only earned a few hundred yuan a year, and although he also had some extra bonuses, it was still much less than Li Long's.

This Xiao Li is really awesome!

Zhong Guoqiang thought the simplest thing, that if Li Long could provide him with fresh and rare ingredients from time to time, then they would be good friends. He also wanted to find time to talk to Li Long about whether he could go to the mountains to get something more since it was already spring. Some regular diners had given suggestions, saying that the roast suckling pig made from wild boars in the mountains tasted amazing, but he didn't know if he could get it.

If you want to get this, you have to rely on Li Long.

Li Long's leaders and friends from the city drove over to the banquet, and Li Jianguo also felt honored, so he greeted the three people and said polite words, urging them to eat and drink. As for finger-guessing games, forget about it, but toasting is inevitable. Li Jianguo has experience in this area, and Li Xiangqian is also an old hand in this area. After a few times, the two of them felt a sense of mutual respect.

The stove was blazing, and dishes were served according to the menu. After Li Long and his team finished the ceremony, Tao Daqiang came to the side and carried a plate with a bottle of Quetzalcoatl, a bottle of red wine, and four cups. The cups were not big, the kind that could hold 20 grams.

At that time, there was no such thing as dry red wine and dry white wine. The villagers had three names for wine: white wine was called spicy wine, grape wine was called sweet wine, and the remaining Wusu was called beer.

It is said that children cannot drink spicy wine, that is for adults. Women drink sweet wine, beer is still rare at this time, it will take two years for it to become more.

There are rules for toasting. Unless there are special circumstances, men drink spicy wine and women drink sweet wine, so they all drink two cups. Li Long held the toast to Gu Xiaoxia, and Gu Xiaoxia held it to the drinker. They talked and drank.

In the past, Gu Xiaoxia grew up under the care of Li Jianguo's generation, so drinking the wine she toasted was nothing. But now Gu Xiaoxia is a state cadre, a public servant, who eats commercial grain and manages the school. So although the courtyard has become lively again, when the newlyweds toast, everyone still has some rules, no nonsense, a few words of blessing, a drink, and that's it.

Some aunties and sisters think that sweet wine is boring and want to drink spicy wine in bottles, which is naturally fine.

The first place to pay respects was naturally the main table. Li Qingxia and Du Chunfang were not here, they were eating inside the house. The ceremony had been performed before, and now the main focus was on the guests.

Li Jianguo was in charge of greeting Li Xiangqian and the others at the main table, so Li Long and the others toasted these guests first.

"Xiaolong," Li Xiangqian said with emotion, drinking from his glass, "We have known each other for a year, and you have really surprised me this year." He looked at Gu Xiaoxia and said with a smile:

"Xiaoxia, right? Let me tell you this. Li Long is a good young man. Although he is a temporary worker in our company, he refused to do it. Otherwise, I would have made him a formal worker, and he had to be a team leader. But it's good now. I hope you two can live in harmony and happiness. Li Long is a good young man, capable and courageous. You are a good girl, beautiful, and have a good job. I wish you two a happy marriage and a baby soon!"

Li Xiangqian's words were sincere, and both Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia could hear it.

Chen Hongjun took the wine glass and said with a smile:
"Xiao Li, I still remember the first time you came to the purchasing station to sell deer antlers. To be honest, I really didn't realize you had the ability at that time. Well, not bad, I won't say much else, just live your life well! I'll drink the wine, my best wishes are all in it!"

Zhong Guoqiang also said some polite words and praised Li Long, which made the villagers feel proud. See, all the guests from the city were praising Li Long.

Next, Gu Xiaoxia took the initiative to pour the wine and held it in front of Li Jianguo with both hands:
"Brother, this wine is for you!"

Li Long smiled. This was unexpected, but also reasonable. Gu Xiaoxia knew that her elder brother and sister-in-law had taken care of her until she was old enough. Previously, she had paid respect to her parents, so it was normal to pay respect to her elder brother and sister-in-law now. He turned around and saw that her elder sister-in-law was busy with several aunts over there, so he hurried over to pull her over.

"What are you doing? I'm still busy." Liang Yuemei wiped her hands on her apron and complained, "I haven't finished this work yet..."

Li Long pulled his sister-in-law to the main table, next to Li Jianguo.

In fact, women were also at the table, but today Liang Yuemei felt that as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Li family, Li Long's sister-in-law, and the person who took care of Li Long, and mother-in-law Du Chunfang was not familiar with these people, then naturally she had to take care of the things that should be taken care of.

"Brother and sister-in-law, thank you for raising Li Long so well." Gu Xiaoxia's words made Li Long want to laugh, but when he saw Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei heard this, they were touched, especially Liang Yuemei's eyes suddenly turned red. She knew that Gu Xiaoxia was not just saying polite words, but expressing her true feelings.

"Li Long and I are getting married. I think you are the happiest people besides us." Gu Xiaoxia continued, "We will live a good life in the future and live up to your expectations. If we do anything wrong in the future, you can watch over us, just like before..."

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei were both very talkative, but today they really didn't say anything. They drank the wine and didn't speak for a long time.

Then the toast.

When Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia toasted, the dishes were already being served. Some people started eating, while others started playing finger-guessing games with the dishes. This was the last place to have fun before the busy farming season. Li Long and his friends had only toasted two tables when some people started talking nonsense, and then let the young people go.

If Li Xiangqian and the others weren't here today, then maybe it wouldn't be a big deal, at most they'd get drunk and act crazy, which is not something we haven't seen before.

But there were outsiders present, and Xu Chengjun, the master of ceremonies, had been keeping an eye on them. When a few people couldn't control themselves and showed the slightest sign of behavior, he signaled to have the unconscious people taken away. He couldn't let the reputation of the Fourth Team be ruined in front of outsiders, especially since he recognized that one of those people was a leader in the supply and marketing cooperative, the one who assigned work and inspection tasks to Li Long!

It can't be bad!
So in general, everything went smoothly. From time to time, there were kids outside the yard taking apart duds and making noises of firecrackers. There were also the sounds of people playing finger-guessing games and chatting in the yard. The young man carrying plates shouted loudly for help. On the east side, the aunties and aunties who were responsible for cleaning up were pouring the contents of the plates and bowls taken from the table into a large basin, then rubbing the utensils with bran, and then washing them with clean water for recycling.

The food in the big bowl will eventually be taken back by them and their neighbors to heat up and eat. Although the lives of the families have improved last year due to the household contract responsibility system and the jobs given by Li Long, they are still far from being able to eat these good things from time to time. So these mixed leftovers are still good things.

When Li Long and his friends toasted to the fifth table, a man in his thirties stood up, Hou Simao.

Although their names are similar, he and Gu Ermao are actually related, and they are cousins. He is older than Gu Ermao and is married. Today, his wife and children are eating at Gu's side, and he is here. The family is divided into two sides, which is the common situation of the whole team at this banquet.

"Xiaolong, you and Xiaoxia are getting married. Everyone is happy. I am happy too, except my brother..."

Hou Simao drank a little bit of wine, so although he didn't have a tongue twister, when he looked at the high-spirited Li Long and the beautiful Gu Xiaoxia, he somehow thought of Gu Ermao who was still in prison, and he said these words out of nowhere.

However, Tao Daqiang, who was prepared, patted him on the shoulder with one hand while holding the plate, interrupting him:

"Si Mao, if you've had too much to drink, just drink the wedding wine and go home to sleep. If you haven't had too much to drink, then let's talk nicely!"

Everyone present, including Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia, knew what he was going to say, and the smiles on their faces faded. Hou Simao became stubborn and tried to shake off Tao Daqiang's hand, but he didn't expect Liang Laoer, who was following Li Long, to come forward and press him down on the stool. Hou Simao couldn't even move!

"If you don't want to drink, then don't drink." Liang Lao Er has been on guard against someone making trouble today. He turned his head and said to Li Long:

"Brother Long, go and toast to the others. I'll take him away."

After saying this, Liang Lao Er said to Hou Simao:
"Little Houzi's father, if you don't want to cause trouble, just leave. The captain over there is watching. If you are unhappy today, the captain behind you will make you unhappy for a whole year!"

Li Long was a little surprised by Liang Lao Er's words. He thought Lao Er would use force, but he didn't expect that he would also use his brain.

There was no need to be angry with Hou Simao. Li Long turned around and nodded to Gu Xiaoxia, then toasted the next person.

It was just a minor incident and passed quickly. As guests arrived one after another, after one table finished eating, guests from far away lined up for another table, so the toasts lasted for more than two hours.

Li Xiangqian and his friends finished their meal early and left without having many drinks. After all, they still had things to do when they returned, and no one urged them to drink.

Most of the people who came to the banquet came with expectations and left satisfied. Many people stayed to help. Li Long, Gu Xiaoxia and Tao Daqiang opened a table at the end and didn't have their meal until around 4pm.

At this time, I didn't care about etiquette. I didn't have any idea about the food on the table, but now I basically wolfed it down.

Li Long would occasionally pick up some easy-to-digest food from Gu Xiaoxia's bowl and whisper:

"Eat more. They will definitely have a bridal party this afternoon, so we need to save some energy."

Gu Xiaoxia blushed and nodded slightly.

She had only eaten a small bowl of noodles in the morning, and only now did she realize how right her neighbor aunt was - if it weren't for that bowl of noodles, she might not have survived until now.

After the meal was finished, the table was cleaned up, and those who had helped gradually finished their respective tasks and left.

There were still a lot of ingredients left, enough for tomorrow's dinner. The boys had put away the tables and benches, and there was a lot of garbage on the ground. These things didn't need to be cleaned up today. The aunts and aunties had already divided up the leftovers and taken them away. The bowls and chopsticks had also been cleaned.

When it comes to work, people at this time are really efficient.

And for young people, the real excitement has just begun.

After dinner, Li Long and the other boys went into the new house, which was nicely decorated with ribbons and even a few balloons. A festive quilt, everything was brand new.

"We don't have to wait until night. Night is a good time for Xiaolong and Xiaoxia. Let's not disturb them then." The first one to speak in the bridal chamber was actually Boss Liang. He smiled and said, "I read about this in a book. Xiaolong and Xiaoxia are both city people. Come on, how about we drink a cup of wine together first?"

It had to happen anyway, so Li Long had no objection. Seeing Gu Xiaoxia lowering her head and blushing, she did not object. He took the glass of red wine, took one for himself, and gave one to Gu Xiaoxia:

"Come on, let's show them what happiness is! We can also show the unmarried people a way out. Xiaoxia, remember these unmarried people today. When they get married, we have to make a bigger fuss!"

"Hahahaha." Li Long's boastful words made the others laugh. Gu Xiaoxia couldn't help laughing as well. She took the cup handed over by Li Long, looked up at Li Long, and when Li Long put his arm around her, she followed suit.

The two clinked glasses but did not drink immediately. Instead, they looked at each other for a few seconds. It felt like an electric shock, very strange.

"Drink it quickly!" Someone couldn't help but remind him. Only then did Li Long slowly bring the cup to his mouth. He wanted to make sure Gu Xiaoxia could drink it while he adjusted his posture.

He slowly finished drinking the wedding wine, which attracted a round of cheers. He put down the cup, and Tao Daqiang handed him an apple tied with a string, smiling and saying:

"I think Brother Long made this for me. Come on, Brother Long, you and Xiaoxia should try it too. I don't need to tell you the rules, right?"

"Hahaha, this is good, this is good!" someone cheered.

At this time, some places have many rules for bridal chamber pranks, some places have many strange things, and some places are still quite conservative. Liang Lao Da, Tao Daqiang and others couldn't have been too excessive in pranking Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia, and the local bridal chamber pranks themselves were not very vulgar, they were just for fun. This apple-eating program is an old one that can arouse everyone's interest.

Tao Daqiang stood, while Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia sat facing each other, their faces close together. In Tao Daqiang's words, the requirements were not high, as long as the apple was eaten. Others watched and waited to see Li Long's joke - in the past, when this show was played, the newlyweds either kissed or bumped noses, making a lot of jokes, and they thought it should be the same today.

The apple was right between the two of them. Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia looked at each other first. They had a tacit understanding and slowly approached each other. Suddenly, Li Long leaned forward, opened his mouth wide and bit the apple!
When Tao Daqiang tried to lift it up, it was too late. Gu Xiaoxia, who had a tacit understanding with Li Long, immediately came over and started to nibble on the exposed apple. The two of them ate up the apple in no time. When Li Long let go, only the handful of the apple was left!
"Da Qiang, did you let me win?" Liang Lao Er said dissatisfiedly, "It's over before it even started?"

"That's because I'm awesome!" Li Long said with a proud smile, "Let me tell you, it's not easy to make fun of us!"

"Then you just wait and see, there are many tricks. Now, Zhu Bajie carries his wife on his back!" Liang Laoer had previously been united against the outside world, but now he felt that it was getting more and more lively!
……

In the west room of Li Jianguo's house, Li Juan and Li Qiang were sitting at the table in front of the window, one of them was excitedly counting his candies, and the other was counting the firecrackers in his pocket.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei, for the first time ever, were half leaning on the bed, doing nothing.

"What's the matter with you?" Liang Yuemei said, "When dad brought Xiaolong here, he was only about Juan's age, right? He looked so stubborn back then, how come he has grown up and is getting married so quickly!"

"That's what they say, if you have seedlings, you don't have to worry about them growing." Li Jianguo took over the conversation, "At that time, we only had Juan, not Qiangqiang yet. Now Juan is going to junior high school, and Qiangqiang is this big. In two years, Xiaolong should also have a child."

"Xiaolong has really made progress, and Xiaoxia is doing well too. I hope they will be fine..." Liang Yuemei sighed.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Li Jianguo said firmly, "Xiaolong is capable, Xiaoxia is also capable. Besides, we are watching them. You'll see what happens next. If things go wrong, you may have to help them take care of the children, hehe..."

"Let them see, but I'm afraid they won't like me taking care of the child. Wouldn't their child have to live in the city?" Liang Yuemei didn't have the confidence. Although she felt that she was almost the same as Gu Xiaoxia's future mother-in-law, she still felt that it might not work at this time.

"We'll talk about it later. I've been exhausted these past two days - I'm finally done with my work."

"Yes, I'm finally done." Liang Yuemei was also tired, but she was willing to do it.

What a big deal!

PS: One of our book friends is getting married at the end of this month. I wish him and his lover a happy wedding and a long and happy marriage! (End of this chapter)