The Belated Wedding Night

Sui Yu's face was tilted back, nostrils pointing to the sky, eyes fixed on the rafters on the roof.

"Changguang's wife, it's New Year's Day today, so there's nothing to do."

Dad bought meat and noodles, and Wu Ni finished preparing everything.

It's inconvenient for you to cook while holding the baby, so let's just have a family reunion together for the New Year.

Zhang Kaiju reached out to hug the child in Sui Yumi's arms.

Sui Yu turned her body away, preventing Gui Bao, who had stretched out his little arms, from asking his grandfather for a hug.

"Dad, I'm not saying this as your daughter-in-law."

You're already so old, you're practically buried up to your neck.

Why did you have to get married? You're just asking for trouble and causing us children a lot of pain.

You just gave away over a hundred yuan like that? You could have bought something better with it.

Last time I said that this money should be kept for Guibao, and you agreed.

Now, why is she suddenly so high-profile, giving it to that widow Xing?

Don't you know about the relationship between Widow Xing and Zheng Jingren?

Are you sure you can support two old men fighting over a widow?

Don't end up losing everything, including your money and your partner, and then being cuckolded.

The corn cricket kept chattering on and on, leaving Zhang Kaiju unable to get a word in edgewise.

"Sister-in-law, why are you talking about Dad? If he wants to get married, he can just get married."

What man doesn't want a wife, children, and a warm bed to live a simple life?

Zhang Changyao and I were forced to live in the warehouse, but we didn't dare say anything.

You go on and on, your mouth is like a machine gun.

Hurry up and wash your hands to make dumplings. Don't let your mouth feel good while your stomach suffers.

The dumpling filling I made is delicious! Why don't you try a bite?

"Shut your mouth, and our family can have a peaceful New Year."

Yang Wuni smiled and scooped a mouthful of still-warm dumpling filling into Sui Yumi's mouth.

Sui Yumi knew she could only vent her anger, so she stopped while she was ahead and handed the child over to Zhang Kaiju.

Wash your hands in the basin and help Yang Wuni roll out the dough and make dumplings.

After the dumplings for the New Year are cooked, they should be offered to Heaven, Earth, and the Kitchen God.

To "respect Heaven" means to throw it on the roof of a house, the place closest to Heaven.

The offering is simply thrown on the ground, and the local earth god can receive it directly.

Offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God involves placing the offering at the entrance of the stove and pouring him a cup of wine.

What's left is what people can eat, but even then, it can't all be eaten.

You should save some to eat on the morning of the first day of the lunar new year, so that you can continue year after year.

To curry favor with Sui Yumi, Zhang Kaiju packed all the remaining dumplings into a bowl and made them take them back.

In return, Sui Yu said, "Dad, my family doesn't have fifty yuan a year for retirement."

After saying a few words, the family of three, including Yumi, took their dumplings and went home.

"A disobedient and unfilial son wouldn't even dare to fart."

Youngest son, you can't be like your older brother, can you?

Zhang Kai, puffing away on his pipe, asked Zhang Changyao, who was drinking dumpling soup beside him, angrily.

"Dad, I can't. Wu Ni and I will pay your retirement expenses as soon as we have the money."

"They're all the same. These two sons are like weasels, laughing at each other like scoundrels."

Zhang Changyao had a drink that evening, and his speech became much more casual.

Unexpectedly, it was this casual attitude that led Zhang Kaiju to believe that Zhang Changyao was a liar and not as honest as Zhang Changguang and his wife.

According to the old Chinese almanac, it is forbidden to dig soil or use shovels on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

However, Zhang Kaiju was stubborn and eager to get married, so he didn't care about these old customs.

He carried a basket and a pickaxe, went outside the village to dig soil, and came back to build a kang (a heated brick bed) in the warehouse.

The storeroom was not as tall as the main house, and was only the size of a small room.

Zhang Changyao was tall, and when he entered the house, his head was directly touching the beam.

The paint on the walls inside the house was also peeling badly, with hardly any smooth spots left.

The woodlice and money worms in the potholes scattered and fled in fright at the person who came in.

We didn't expect anyone to live there, so we didn't smooth out the walls.

The ground was uneven, and Zhang Changyao had to use two layers of loess to level it somewhat.

The ground was now level, but Zhang Changyao still had to crouch down to walk inside.

With nowhere to put his head, the way he tilted his head made Yang Wuni cover her mouth and laugh.

Zhang Kaiju carried back several baskets of loess, placed them in the house to allow them to thaw, and kept them for later use.

He turned around and went to Wang Fenjiang's house to borrow the adobe bricks that Wang had helped him make last year.

With the adobe bricks made, all that was left was to mix wool and firewood into the loess soil, and to make sheep, you just needed to mix mud.

Since adobe bricks were scarce, they had to use more yellow clay, and even with all of it, they could only build one and a half kang beds.

It was called a half-bed kang (a heated brick bed), but it was actually only about the size of three people sleeping side by side.

In the remaining space, a small stove was built, and next to it, a furnace was erected.

It's neat enough this way, but they're all small mini versions.

The mini version has its advantages, namely that you don't need to buy a pot.

I used the aluminum basin as a pot to boil water and cook food.

A lidded aluminum pan with a covered rack as a pot lid looks like a pretty good combination.

This aluminum basin is quite sturdy; it was given to me by the pot maker who came to empty the pots a few years ago.

At that time, neither of Zhang Kaiju's two sons were married, and they were still considered a well-off family in the village.

Having a sturdy aluminum basin made the women in the neighborhood envious for quite some time.

The pots and pans were all broken, barely enough for two people.

Widow Xing loved cleanliness and wouldn't accept anything that was torn or tattered. These were Zhang Kaiju's exact words.

After the fifth day of the lunar new year, Zhang Changyao heated the small storage room until it was warm and cozy.

The two sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at each other and laughing. It felt pretty good to finally have their own little nest.

The small dining table was made of old poplar planks pieced together.

It's patchy with yellow and white areas, and the edges aren't trimmed. The gaps in the middle are about the width of a finger, making it look a bit rough.

Occasionally, splinters from the wood would get stuck in my hand while I was wiping.

It's fine to put a bowl or basin on it, but chopsticks will fall if you put them upright.

On the night of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhang Changyao lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) looking at Yang Wuni.

They had a wonderful night, and the two of them truly felt how comfortable it is to have their own independent little home.

The belated wedding night brings a unique and bittersweet feeling.

"Zhang Changyao, get up after a short nap. Dad said he'll marry Widow Xing this morning."

"If we oversleep, won't your dad kick us out of this yard?"

Yang Wuni tugged at Zhang Changyao, trying to keep him from sleeping too soundly.

She dressed herself and leaned against the wall to keep herself from falling asleep.

"Wu Ni, it's all my fault. I forgot that Dad is getting married."

Tonight I'll stay completely still so you can get a good night's sleep.

Zhang Changyao felt both heartache and pity when he saw Yang Wuni's eyelids drooping.

She got up and tucked the blanket around Yang Wuni, looking as if she wanted to hold her in her mouth but was afraid she would melt away.

"Zhang Changyao, this is the kind of life I want to live with you."

Two people, one small house, you don't mind me, and I don't mind you, isn't that wonderful?

Only Yang Wuni herself knows how satisfied she is.

"My dear son, are you up yet? I'm going to your aunt's house to fetch the donkey cart now."

I'm going to pick up your aunt. You two stay home and cook the meal.

I've changed the bedding with the new liners I bought, and I've bought all the groceries I need and put them on the stove.