This is the first stage of marriage proposal, after the man asks the matchmaker to propose, the woman agrees to propose marriage, the man prepares a gift to go to the woman's house to propose, the gift is a goose, and the goose will live. Why use geese? The goose is a migratory bird, taking the symbol of yin and yang, and later developing a new idea, saying that the goose loses its mate, and will no longer be a pair for life, and takes its loyalty.

This second name is that after the marriage proposal, the matchmaker asks the woman's date of birth and name to prepare for the marriage ceremony.

The third Najib

It is a ritual to inform the woman of the good news of the marriage after asking the name. It is also called "making alliances". This is the main etiquette at the stage of engagement. In ancient customs, geese should be used as a token of the marriage. Later, it developed into rings, jewelry, colored silk, gift cakes, gift incense candles, and even sheep and pigs, etc., so it is also called sending or hiring.

And this levy is that after the alliance, the man's family will send the dowry to the woman's family, which is a ritual at the stage of marriage. This wedding is also commonly known as a complete or big engagement, a big gift, etc. The ceremony also adopted the practice of returning the gift by returning part or all of the food in the dowry; Or after being hired, the woman will give the man a hat, shoes and socks as a return gift. The number of dowry gifts and the name of the item are mostly auspicious, and the number is taken as a double taboo.

In addition, this invitation period is a ceremony when the wedding date is selected, the gift is prepared at the woman's house, and the consent is obtained. The ancient custom is to use geese as usual, the gifts are generally simple, and the invitation ceremony is often combined with the dowry ceremony, and the wedding date is determined at the same time as the big gift.

Last but not least, the most important welcome

It is the ceremony for the new son-in-law to go to the woman's house to welcome him. This ritual is often seen as the main procedure of the wedding, while the first five are used as transitional rites such as marriage and engagement. Some of these forms are due to the needs of social relationships, such as the "makeup" of the woman's house, the "opening of the house" and the "hole room" when going to the man's house, etc., all of which establish the etiquette of the relationship. Purely the ritual of welcoming the part, generally using a sedan chair, divided into double or single top, helping the wife to get on the sedan chair "send the sister-in-law", accompany the groom to the woman's house to pick up the "welcome guest", all have their own requirements, get up the sedan chair, return to the horse, welcome the sedan chair, get off the sedan chair, worship the heaven and earth, perform a happy ceremony, enter the cave room...... Each process has several to a dozen forms, most of which represent good luck and exorcism. The season of pro-welcome, generally selected in the spring, the state to agriculture, coincide with the agricultural leisure, the harvest is the right match.

After hearing the matchmaker's words, Ye Mu and his master suddenly felt a little confused.

The matchmaker looked at the two of them, and then laughed, thinking to herself, didn't she just wait for this moment after saying so much?

Then he coughed, and the two people sitting at the table turned their heads and stared at them curiously, as they expected.

The matchmaker shook the fan in her hand and spoke unhurriedly.

"Actually, these things are nothing, you haven't experienced them and naturally don't understand these things, and what others don't understand is also given to us matchmakers, you only need people to arrive at that time, naturally this price must be charged more, after all, this thing is complicated? If something goes wrong, doesn't that make the girl's family unhappy? ”

The master and apprentice also felt justified when they heard the matchmaker's words.

The two of them echoed the matchmaker's words and felt that this method was good.

As they were discussing the price, Ye Mu fell silent.

"Auntie, my other requirements are nothing, just these gifts for the woman's family, I have to follow you to buy them. After all, this is something to give to the future daughter-in-law, and you must be cautious. ”

After Ye Mu said this, a trace of unease flashed on his face. The tips of his ears turned red, and he hurriedly lowered his head.

But where does the current matchmaker know the meaning of these little boys, and it is a little strange to see him like this.

"Yo, this little brother will be a daughter-in-law in the future, and he thinks about others before he has passed the door. I see that girl's family will live with you in the future, and it will definitely be a blessing. ”

Ye Mu's mind was stabbed by this matchmaker, and the ears that were slightly red just now were even redder as if they could drip blood.

The old master sitting next to him couldn't help laughing when he looked at Ye Mu like this.

"Don't make fun of him, my apprentice! The skin is so thin that I can't stand your jokes. ”

The matchmaker smiled, after listening to Master Ye Mu's words, naturally it was not good to say anything, just a strong praise Ye Mu for being sensible and filial piety, after all, people who eat this line of food, look at people's faces, and say good things It is a matter of hand, so they naturally come when they open their mouths.

"Since this little brother has said so, when we go to prepare gifts, I will ask the little grandson of the family to go to your mansion to inform him."

Ye Mu smiled when he heard this, nodded in agreement.

A few people talked about the price and the process. It was agreed that on June 14, the matchmaker would go to the door to propose marriage, and if she agreed, she would prepare a gift to propose.

After discussing it, Ye Mu and the apprentice took their leave, and the matchmaker politely left the two of them for dinner, but was rejected by the master.

When the master and apprentice came out of the matchmaker's house, it was already dark. I could only see a few lanterns hanging under the eaves in front of the roadside shops, exuding a warm light.

Ye Mu and his master relied on this light and walked slowly in the direction of home.

"Ye Mu! I don't think our house needs to be renovated, after all, it's a family to live in, don't be too cold. ”

Ye Mu also felt justified when he heard his master's words.

nodded.

"Master, I see that I will make a new set of furniture, as for the house, I can do it myself, I will find time to do it myself, and the rest can find a mason, after all, even if you are engaged now, you have to start the New Year to get married, and it is too late in time."

When the old master heard Ye Mu say this, he was silent for a moment and felt that it was okay, if he was too busy, he could still help, right?

The two of them chatted and walked as they went.

When he got home, Ye Mu went into the stove room to make dinner.

The old man went back to his room and took out a small pocket from the dark compartment beside the bed.

I carried it and went into the stove room.

"Well, my old man gave you all my life savings. In the future, I will really have to rely on you for my old age. ”

Ye Mu didn't take what his master handed over. Raised his hand and pushed the thing back.

"Master, you can keep this for yourself, I have it myself."

Master Ye Mu glanced at him and snorted heavily.

"I don't know how many sons you have? Hurry up and get it for me, if it's not enough. ”

Ye Mu was a little embarrassed and looked at the things in his master's hand.

"Master, I really can't ask for your things, I don't have any savings, but I can still take the job! Just pick up a few more pieces and you'll have them. ”

The old master's face couldn't help but become a little serious.

"Why don't you look down on me, an old man! It's still too little. ”