On the wedding day of Uncle Zhu's son, it was sunny and sunny. All the people in our family who can spare time have returned to their hometown.
When I entered the village, I heard singing from the village. It's not far inside, just to Uncle Zhu's house.
At this point, the bride has entered the house. Fragments of firecrackers scattered all over the place, as well as big horns on both sides of the gate and the scarlet letter "Xi" on the head of the gate, make this farmhouse compound and even the whole village full of joy.
In the past, every time I gave a gift, I always explained to the bookkeeper what words it was. I often draw for a long time, and the names that fall on the household registration book are just homophonic. This time, I took out a small note with my name on it and a gift. After reading the names on the ledger, we walked into the yard.
There is a big tent in the yard, with eight or nine square wooden tables, surrounded by four long wooden stools. Such tables and stools can only be seen in rural areas. There are several makeshift cauldrons at the southern end of Wushan, and red flames spew from the bottom of the cauldron. The chef wears a big apron and wipes the sweat on his neck with a towel. He waved a huge spatula in the lingering white smoke and stirred something. There are many bamboo screens of different sizes on the earthen table next to the kitchen. Each sieve is full, with meat slices and washed ingredients such as fungus, garlic and pepper. The big washbasin, bamboo basket and dustpan on the ground are filled with fried chicken, fish and meat. There are shiny plates, bowls and saucers in a plastic basin the size of a bathtub next to the pressure well. I think this kind of struggle is obviously a tradition, and this tradition has gradually disappeared in the city, replaced by "restaurant banquet." When someone has a happy event such as getting married and having children, relatives and friends often go directly to the restaurant to send a gift without even entering the main entrance, and then leave after dinner.
Several sharp-eyed relatives and neighbors saw my parents and hurried to meet them. I was anxious to meet the bride and took the opportunity to go to the new house. The layout of the new house is simple but warm. There is a wedding photo of the bride and groom on the bedside, and several colored balloons are hung on both sides of the wedding photo. Because I don't often go back to my hometown, I first met Uncle Zhu's son, the groom. The young man is wearing a gray suit with a red flower prefix on his chest. He looks full of energy. The bride is a little shy, but not shy. Somehow, the bride's hair has come loose. She only wears a sweater, a coat or a wedding dress. Wearing her simple clothes, if you don't know her, you really can't tell her from the guests coming and going. Many customs of disturbing new houses gradually disappeared, and most of the young people in the village went out to work, and the new houses seemed a little deserted.
When I came out of the new house, I saw my parents talking to my hostess, who was sitting under the east wall in the sun. Ernai is Uncle Zhu's mother, and now she is over ninety years old. I heard from Uncle Zhu that she is a little deaf, but everything else is fine and she can take care of herself completely. The hostess sat quietly in the yard, watching the people coming and going in front of her, with a calm expression on her face, as if the world had nothing to do with her, and even everything in front of her had nothing to do with her. When my mother saw me coming, she pointed at me and asked Xiaosan loudly, "Do you still know her?" "Huh?" The hostess looked blank. Mother approached the hostess and asked her, "Do you still know her?" The hostess kept staring at my face, as if trying to remember, but she still looked blank. Many years ago, my family and Uncle Zhu lived in the front and back yard. At that time, Xiao San was still young, and Uncle Zhu was still in primary school. Uncle Zhu's sister Xiaoxingu and I often played together. At that time, mistresses, like many people in the village, did not call me and my sister by their first names, but only called us Big Ni Hong and Little Ni Hong. Later, my family had a little holiday with Uncle Zhu, so we had less contact. Later, when I was about eight or nine years old, my family returned to the city, and we met fewer mistresses. Mother saw that the hostess didn't seem to remember, so she loudly reminded her, "This is little Ni Hong. Don't you know that she was angry all day when she was a child? " The hostess's muddy eyes suddenly had a glimmer of light. She suddenly got excited and said loudly, "Yes, I remember. This is little Ni Hong. She was very angry when she was a child. " Then, she added a sentence that made me, who was over forty, feel and recall for a long time, and made everyone around me laugh: "Xiao Nihong has grown taller-"I also said loudly: "Well, I have grown taller." Xiaosan murmured, "I'm getting taller, I'm getting taller, so I'm not angry."
People come and go in the yard, some are familiar, some are completely strangers, and some familiar faces are dangling in front of my eyes. Children may be infected by different holiday atmospheres and are particularly excited. They ran around, drilling around in the cracks. At this time, everyone found their own seats, and the host was too busy to take care of the guests.
Relatives or neighbors who haven't seen each other for years, decades or even decades can meet at this wedding. Suddenly, I feel that any banquet is a gathering platform built by family members for relatives and friends who have been scattered around for a long time. Everyone greeted and sighed with emotion, sighing that the years were hectic and the personnel were all wrong. The souvenir of death left in my heart or lost in time was found at the moment of meeting. Everyone saw their former selves from each other and found the warmth of the old days.
A tall middle-aged man came over, grabbed my mother and shouted, "Aunt, you can come back! I haven't seen you for years. " My mother stood up quickly: "Where have you been for so many years, child?" I carefully identify and try to remember, but this face still makes me feel strange. The middle-aged man looked at me as if he was not sure who I was. It's been more than thirty years since I left my hometown at the age of eight or nine and met you today! This long time is enough to make a childish face "unrecognizable". My mother pulled me over and said to the middle-aged man, "This is little Ni Hong." "Little Ni Hong?" He paused, and instantly became excited: "I remember, is it the most angry little red Ni?" Mother said, "Yes, yes, that's her. She is angry and famous. " My mother said to me again, "This is your brother Han. Do you still know him?" The door of memory suddenly opened, and brother Han's childhood appearance suddenly appeared in front of me, instantly overlapping with this person in front of him. I looked at him and said, "I remember, too. You are still a little like a child. " When my words came out, Brother Han suddenly lost control and burst into tears. He choked up and couldn't say what he wanted to say.
"Eat, eat." Someone is shouting. That's when I remembered that I didn't eat in the morning. I was really hungry as soon as he called me.
I found a seat and sat down, but the food was delayed. Looking at those big iron pots with white smoke, I think it must be great to eat a bowl of hodgepodge of pork, vermicelli, fungus and cabbage! If there is half a steamed bread, a small bowl of porridge is even better. I asked my second sister-in-law, "Do you have a hodgepodge? I don't want to eat at the table. " Ersao said, "No, just sit here and wait for the food."
While speaking, someone brought a tray to serve. I don't know who said "eat vegetables, eat vegetables." A table of people rudely raised chopsticks. One dish after another soon filled the table, and then there was no place to put the dishes. As a result, empty plates or plates with a little food left were taken away. If it is too late to withdraw, the dishes just served will be piled directly on it. During the dinner, his uncle came over and glanced at the table. Then, raise your voice and shout to the outside: "Xue Mei, come here and sit at this table with your sister and sister-in-law." Soon, Xue Mei was holding the bride in one hand and the child in the other. I hurried in to make room for them. Xue Mei is his uncle's daughter-in-law, and Xue Mei is the matchmaker for this happy event. I said, "Xue Mei, you are lucky and happy. You are a natural matchmaker. Look at the beautiful bride you introduced! " After listening to my words, my mother put down her chopsticks and asked in surprise, "bride?" Where is the bride? "She has been here for so long, as if she only remembered the bride now. Xue Mei smiled and said, "The bride is sitting next to me. "Now my mother is refreshed and doesn't eat rice. Her eyes were fixed on the bride as if she were studying something. After a while, I looked at my mother again, and she still stared at the bride with interest.
I have some regrets that I didn't come earlier and missed the scene of the bride's wedding.