There are couplets on the door, and the word "Xi" on the windows and walls makes people feel the strong joy at a glance. In order to create a romantic effect, the two of them blew their cheeks sour before building a heart-shaped balloon wall.

On the day of the big day, the sound of firecrackers, suona and drums, lively and lively, staggered, laughter.

Li Xiaocan wore exquisite makeup, wore a glass crown on his head, covered his red hijab, wore a white wedding dress, stepped on red heels, and under the traction of the bridesmaids and Zhang Gang, bid farewell to his parents and walked to the welcoming team step by step.

In front is the noisy welcome of gongs and drums, and behind is the reluctant gaze of the family group. The gong and drum team followed Li Xiaocan, and wherever Li Xiaocan went, it was lively. In the sound of crackling firecrackers, Li Xiaocan didn't dare to think about his old parents, he didn't dare to think about the desertion of the guests, and couldn't help but feel sad.

The two families are only a little more than 20 minutes away by car, and Li Xiaocan feels that it is so far away for the first time.

Farewell, dear parents, from today onwards, this place can only be called my mother's home. From today onwards, I will live in another family and spend time with another family. She wants to leave this place that contains all her willfulness, rudeness, grievances, frustration, failure, and laziness. Put away the temper and character of all princesses, take the titles of hardworking, virtuous, considerate, strong wife and mother, and the person around you, and face the stormy waves of life alone.

The sadness of leaving home soon began in the children's "Look, the bride is coming!" The laughter dispersed.

When I arrived at Zhang's house, there was another burst of excitement and joy. After the Chinese have spent countless hard years without food, the way to celebrate the great joy is still the most primitive - eating. The table is full of sharp chicken and duck meat, and the chicken soup and broth floating full of oil rings show the generosity and festivity of the host.

When the feast dispersed and the romantic and festive atmosphere came back to reality, it was finally time for them to look forward to the most - counting the gift money.

In the quarrels again and again, Zhang Gang and Li Xiaocan deeply realized the classic charm of the phrase "although money is not everything, but it must not be without money". Li Xiaocan has never been so fanatical about needing money, debts to be repaid, credit cards to be repaid, mortgages and car loans to be repaid, prenatal check-ups to be paid, children to be born, and decorations to be repaid...... Each one is not a small amount, and it is thousands or even hundreds of thousands. Zhang Gang was already afraid to look at the calendar, repay the credit card on the 5th, repay the mortgage on the 15th, and pay Alipay on the 20th. Reminders are constantly being swayed, from the beginning of the month to the end of the month, from this year to next year, to the year after next, and even longer...... is like Li Xiaocan's appetite in the second trimester, eating every meal, hungry every time, never satisfied, never full.

As soon as the two of them opened the small suitcase, wow, it was all money! Pink, green, blue, and purple bills filled the boxes. Li Xiaocan's eyes lit green, pinching himself was not dreaming. Zhang Gang "whooped", poured out the money in the box, and the two began to count the pile of money like a hill.

Hey, what's wrong, Li Xiaocan counted with his fingers, for fear that he would count wrong, but there were only 40,000 counts. This pile of money seems to be a lot, but most of it is tear money given by relatives and friends, and it is a small amount of ten or twenty yuan.

Li Xiaocan took the small suitcase again, shook it twice, and didn't find that the banknotes fell in anticipation, so there were only 40,000 in total. Zhang Gang understood, he was extremely disappointed, glanced at Li Xiaocan, and teased him in a weird way: "Your parents really love you, the bottom of the box is estimated to be only 30,000, and after a long time, you only sold 38,000, you are really valuable!" ”

When Li Xiaocan heard this, his lungs were about to explode in an instant: "Zhang Gang, what did you say?" You repeat! ”

Zhang Gang looked at Li Xiaocan, who was angry like a lion in front of him, and suddenly felt that he was talking too much, and slowed down his tone again, but his attitude was very clear: "Your parents are quite good at settling accounts, the 68,000 given by my parents, your parents have removed the cost of running wine, and the remaining 30,000 yuan has been brought back, and you don't have to pay a penny yourself." ”

Li Xiaocan understood, and his face turned red all of a sudden. I don't know if it's the anger at Zhang Gang's calculations, or the anger at his parents' calculations, or the two sides arguing and calculating over money and feeling worthless, or maybe it's the shame that I didn't save money.

Li Xiaocan's mind was in chaos, in her heart, isn't it her own family who has more money and less money, on one side is her husband, on the other hand is her parents, she is a piece of meat on her parents, and the child in her belly is a piece of meat on her husband's body, how to divide this? For a while, there was nothing to say, and I couldn't tell right from wrong. I just silently put the money in the box, pulled the quilt, and slept with my head covered.

On this day, she was so tired, too tired to think about anything, let alone this kind of thing that was beyond her comprehension.

(13) Homecoming banquet

Zhang Gang was not as confused as Li Xiaocan, he thought that Li Xiaocan's parents were too picky and not authentic.

Early the next morning, Li Xiaocan, who was still in a daze after a tired day, heard a sound of "ooh, oops, oops" going upstairs, and only the two of them lived upstairs. Li Xiaocan straightened up with a carp and sat up. Li Xiaocan knows that the Zhang family is the mother-in-law, and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been difficult, so in order to make her life happy in the future, she must handle the relationship with her mother-in-law. Li Xiaocan hurriedly pulled his hair twice, wiped his face, opened the door, and saw Zhang's mother bringing two bowls of egg drop soup up. In fact, Li Xiaocan is not used to drinking the sweet and greasy soup on an empty stomach, but thinking of her mother-in-law's hard work, she immediately smiled and said affectionately: "Mom, I got up so early, and I made soup and sent it upstairs."

Zhang's mother listened to this affection, and her face was also pleasant: "Don't be hungry, the baby needs to eat something nutritious, the guests downstairs are still there, did your mother ask you to bring something?" ”

Li Xiaocan was stunned: "What is it?" I do not know. ”

"Forget it, according to the custom, the guests should be given snacks and desserts brought from their parents' house, as well as a pair of shoes for each relative." The mother-in-law's face, who had been in contact with Mama Li before, fell.

Li Xiaocan searched in his mind quickly, thinking about what his mother had explained to him, and suddenly thought that there were two big red boxes for the dowry. She ran in, regardless of Zhang Gang, who was still asleep, pulled out the box from under the bed, and when she opened it, there was a box full of shoes and snacks. Li Xiaocan breathed a sigh of relief: "It's done, my mother told me, I forgot", but he didn't see his mother-in-law's face improve: "How much do these shoes cost?" A pair will not exceed 40 yuan, such a cheap shoe, it is estimated that no one wants it. ”

Xiaocan complained to her mother in her heart, so she supported her daughter, but your daughter is going to live in this family for a lifetime, this mother's face is not enough, and my new daughter-in-law's waist is not straight. I had to laugh and say: "I don't know how much, but it looks warm, because it's quite thick, anyway, it's better than slippers." He also called Zhang Gang to carry him downstairs and distribute it to relatives and friends.

Back upstairs, Li Xiaocan sat in the new room in a daze. A pair of dragon and phoenix candles are still burning on the new dresser, the furniture is new, the new chairs in pearl white, the ivory wardrobe with small red flowers, everything is new, showing the beginning of a new life. But she never thought that getting married was really not as simple as getting a license. It's not a matter of two people, it's a union of two families. On the first day of marriage, as soon as she opened her eyes, she faced the two adults fighting each other, her head was big, fortunately, her mother-in-law didn't know about the bride price, otherwise it would be a storm. She didn't know how long she could hide it.

Zhang Gang was upset because of the bride price, and he originally planned to repay the credit card, repay the debt, and repay the car loan and housing loan that will come every month than the eldest aunt. This is less than 20,000 or 30,000 out of thin air, and he didn't know where to make up for it for a while, so he deliberately mentioned it in front of Li Xiaocan without a word.

Li Xiaocan thinks that since she graduated from college, she has never taken the initiative to ask her parents for money, and she has been working and studying for living expenses in college, and she has been graduating for a few years, and she has to ask for money when she gets married, so she simply keeps silent, and the atmosphere between the two is not as sweet as the newlyweds, but like a couple who have been married for a long time in the Cold War.

On the third day, according to local customs, Li Xiaocan's mother's family wanted six or ten relatives to visit Zhang's family to see her daughter's future home.

Li Xiaocan got up early in the morning, put on new clothes, put on makeup, and cleaned up. Zhang Gang lay lazily on the bed and couldn't get up. Zhang Gang was not accepted by the Li family from the beginning, coupled with the various unpleasantness of holding a banquet, so his attitude towards the Li family was obviously sluggish.

Li Xiaocan glanced at Zhang Gang helplessly, and went downstairs to greet his mother's relatives.

The sound of firecrackers sounded, and there was a burst of excitement, and the relatives of the mother's family came. Walking around in front of the house and behind the house, nodding and whispering. After eating, Dad quietly pulled Xiaocan aside and stuffed her with a big red envelope: "This is to visit you, daughter, you have to change your temper in the future, be more patient, you have to teach your husband and children, girls must be family-oriented, you have to be the pillar behind Zhang Gang and assist him in his career." His family is okay, his mother-in-law is very capable, and it is your mother-in-law who proposes marriage and handles marriages. You have to be more filial to your in-laws. Father Li's earnest words moved Li Xiaocan's heart. After agreeing one by one, he accepted the red envelope and entered the door again.

The mother-in-law saw the father and daughter going out, and estimated that the red envelope had been given, and at this time Li Xiaocan came back and pulled Li Xiaocan aside: "Open the red envelope, count it, and double it according to etiquette." ”

Li Xiaocan felt that the money was sent over, so why bother? So much red tape is tied to money. Gifts should be given secretly on the side, and return gifts should also be secretly returned on the side, I really don't understand this custom, but I have to obediently pay for it.