Rebirth of Siheyuan: Starting from escaping famine in 42

Li Qingfeng pulled the cart and first went to the grocery store to buy twenty bottles of Lotus White, two packs of Hardman cigarettes, and ten kilograms of peanuts and melon seeds. He had some milk candies at home, so he didn't buy any. He bought four strings of firecrackers.

Then they came to a deserted alley and took out the ingredients needed for tomorrow's wedding banquet from the space.

There were four chickens, a whole rack of ribs, four large pork elbows, four carps, 40 kilograms of pork, two pig heads, four large pieces of braised spiced beef, ten kilograms of large river shrimps, some vegetables and some fruits.

He loaded everything onto the cart, covered it with straw mats, and slowly pulled the cart towards home.

 …

Early the next morning.

Li Qingfeng got up early, changed into new clothes, cleaned his room, and looked at the big red "囍" characters pasted on the doors and windows in the room, which looked very festive.

When he came to the yard, he found that his younger brother and father had gotten up earlier than him. He smiled at them and went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Just after breakfast, He Daqing took the kitchen utensils and led He Yuzhu and two helpers into the yard.

Li Qingfeng passed out cigarettes and then introduced his father and He Daqing to each other.

After cleaning the kitchen, He Daqing led He Yuzhu and others into the kitchen to prepare the ingredients.

Because when they went to the master's restaurant to get tables, chairs and benches last night, they forgot that they didn't have enough bowls and chopsticks at home, so Li Qingfeng and his brother went to the restaurant again early in the evening to get the bowls and chopsticks back.

Li Qingfeng went out and invited Liu Chuanzhi and his wife to help with the wedding arrangements. It was mainly Liu Chuanzhi who took care of the arrangements. Sister Wang's belly was too big, so she asked him to go to her brother's room to drink water and eat peanuts.

After returning, Li Qingfeng, his son and Liu Chuanzhi placed tables, chairs and benches in the yard. The yard was not big enough to accommodate the table, so they set up a table in the main room.

Four plates were placed on the four tables, and a piece of red paper the size of the plate was placed on the plates. Then peanuts, melon seeds, toffee, and cigarettes were placed on the plates.

Li Qingfeng came to the kitchen with four prepared plates and asked He Daqing to eat when he was free. He gave one of them two packs of cigarettes. After a few polite words were exchanged, Li Qingfeng returned to the yard.

Li Qingfeng asked his brother to put away the remaining peanuts, melon seeds and toffee, and if he saw that all the snacks on the table were eaten, he could put some more.

After a while, Master, Uncle Jin, and Uncle Guan came slowly.

Li Qingfeng welcomed his master, Grandpa Jin and Grandpa Guan to the main hall and living room. He poured a cup of tea for them, distributed cigarettes, and then asked his father to chat with his master and the other two.

Time passed little by little, and people who came to the wedding banquet arrived one after another. They were asked to sit down, tea was poured, cigarettes were handed out, and those who did not smoke were given candy and peanuts and melon seeds. Li Qingfeng was so busy that he was dizzy.

I finally wanted to take a break for a cigarette, but it was time to pick up the bride.

Li Qingfeng and his brother loaded their bicycles with peanuts, melon seeds and candies, and rode on bicycles with big red flowers on them. They slowly went away amid the sound of firecrackers. After the firecrackers stopped going off, the children from the nearby neighbors quickly picked up the unexploded firecrackers.

The two brothers came to the alley where their father-in-law lived, and suddenly there was the sound of "crackling" firecrackers at the door of his house.

After the firecrackers stopped, Li Qingfeng and his younger brother Li Qingshan pushed their bicycles to their father-in-law's house.

Li Qingfeng looked at the adults and children who were watching the fun around the door, and he winked at his younger brother. The two of them threw peanuts, melon seeds and milk candies into the crowd at the same time.

The two parked their bicycles and walked into their father-in-law's house happily.

There are no such things as bride-picking games these days. If you don't drink, you won't give way; if you don't give a red envelope, you won't open the door; and if you can't find the bride's red shoes, you won't be allowed to take the bride away.

It is very simple to pick up the bride now. Just ask the bride's parents for help, give the relatives' children a few pieces of candy, or if the family is well-off, give the children a red envelope, and then the bride can be taken away.

Li Qingfeng and Wu Fu's mother changed their words and called out "Dad and Mom."

The child gave Wu Lirong a red envelope and a few pieces of candy and easily took her away.

Afterwards, Li Qingfeng and Wu Lirong bid farewell to Wu's parents, and then, amid the sound of "crackling" firecrackers, they returned to Li Qingfeng's home together in a lively atmosphere.

Wu Lirong's dowry was delivered to Li Qingfeng's home by Wu Chenggui in a small truck. The dowry included two sets of clothes, six quilts, ten dollars, a set of jewelry, and two small yellow croakers that Wu's mother secretly handed to Wu Lirong.

When they were sent to Li Qingfeng's home, everyone was envious. In this era when people got married by borrowing clothes, having a betrothal gift and a dowry represented a wealthy family and the care and love of parents and husbands.

After Li Qingfeng and Wu Lirong held their wedding ceremony and Wu Lirong changed her mind to Li's father, it was time for the banquet that everyone was looking forward to.

The four banquet tables were not yet full, but the aroma from the kitchen overflowed into the yard.

"The food and wine prepared by Li Qingfeng are really good. I can smell the scent of chicken mushrooms right here."

"I just took a look at the kitchen door and saw a lot of meat dishes, including chicken, fish and meat."

"Really? We are in for a treat today. I haven't had meat in almost three months."

"You haven't eaten meat for three months. Last year, I only had two ounces of pork dumplings during the Chinese New Year to satisfy my family's cravings."

 …

Seeing that the time was almost up, Li Qingfeng came to the kitchen and said to He Daqing, "Master He, serve the dishes first! The dishes will be ready soon, you should have a good drink."

"Okay." He Daqing smiled and shouted outside the kitchen, "Serve the food!"

He Yuzhu and several helpers carried large trays and began to serve the dishes.

Today's wedding banquet has all the dishes, including chicken stewed with mushrooms, braised pork, sweet and sour spare ribs, steamed carp, spiced beef, half a pig's head, shredded pork with fish flavor, mapo tofu, candied sweet potato, large salted river shrimp, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and vegetable meatball soup.

The dishes were served one after another, and when all were served, everyone just focused on eating.

Chat? What to chat about? We'll have plenty of time to chat after we finish eating. Today the table is full of meat dishes, which are not easy to get normally. Now we have to grab food. If we turn our heads and say something, a dish might be gone in a split second.

Li Qingfeng also did not forget Sister Wang who was pregnant, and Wu Lirong who was in the bridal chamber. He took the food that he had reserved in advance and went to the bridal chamber for the two to eat.

After arranging all matters concerning the banquet, Li Qingfeng, holding a bottle of Lianhua Bai in his left hand and a wine cup in his right hand, began to toast several elders one by one. After that, after toasting all the guests at four tables, Li Qingfeng could finally sit down to eat.

After eating and drinking, Li Qingfeng divided the leftovers and asked those who wanted them to pack them up to take home.

After Li Qingfeng sent everyone away, he asked his younger brother to help his father go to his room to rest.

Now only He Daqing and his son and a few helpers were left cleaning the kitchen, and the yard was a mess.