Chapter 125: The New Son-in-Law Returns Home
Chapter 125: The New Son-in-Law Returns Home
For the Hakka people of Bobai, the second day of the Lunar New Year is a particularly important day.
This day is not only for visiting relatives but also for new son-in-laws to return to their in-laws' home. Even if the marriage wasn't from the previous year, daughters who have married generally choose this day to bring their husbands back to visit their parents.
After breakfast, Deng Shirong took out two bamboo baskets and tied them to the back of the two bicycles at home.
Before securing the baskets, he first attached two square wooden sticks to the bicycles to ensure the baskets were stable and wouldn’t fall off, no matter how much they shook.
Once the baskets were secure, one of them was filled with braised pork, covered with oil paper and topped with a layer of newspaper. Then, he added packages of candies, cookies, dried fruits, and other New Year treats, filling the basket to the brim.
The other basket contained large rice cakes and gray water rice cakes at the bottom, with steamed rice cakes stacked on top, filling it halfway.
Of course, there was also the essential garlic.
In the Hakka dialect, "garlic" sounds like "calculate," and bringing a bunch of garlic when visiting relatives during the New Year is a good omen, symbolizing a fair deal.
Because of this symbolism, in later years, the price of garlic once soared to 20-30 yuan per pound, making it more expensive than meat.
In addition, a large cloth bag was tied to the crossbar of the old bicycle, containing Deng Yuntao’s and Zhang Xiuping’s change of clothes, towels, toothbrushes, and other essentials. They would be staying at their in-laws' home for at least two or three days, so they needed to bring these items.
After securing everything, Deng Shirong said, "Alright, it’s not early anymore. You should get going!"
Zhang Xiuping steadied the bicycle and nodded. "Okay, we’re off!"
Deng Shirong reminded her, "Xiaomei, be careful when you ride. If you see a steep hill that you can’t climb, get off and let Yuntao push the bicycle for you. Don’t overexert yourself, okay? Yuntao, watch out for your wife. It’s fine to go slow; safety first."
Zhang Xiuping replied, "I understand, Dad."
Deng Yuntao also nodded to show he understood.
Then, the couple said goodbye to their younger siblings and set off on their bicycles toward Poxin Village.
...
At Deng Yunqiang’s home, the couple had also prepared a full basket of gifts for their eldest son, Deng Changfu, and his wife, Guan Yongying. The basket contained several pieces of pork, candies, cookies, gray water rice cakes, large rice cakes, steamed rice cakes, and the essential garlic.
After preparing the gifts, the couple gave their son and daughter-in-law some final instructions. Deng Changfu then shouldered the basket and set off with his wife toward her parents' home.
At the same time, Deng Changwang also carried a similar basket of gifts and walked with his wife, Dai Fanglan, toward her parents' home.
In the past year, only Deng Yuntao, Deng Changfu, and Deng Changwang had gotten married in Naye Village. As new son-in-laws, they naturally brought a lot of gifts with them.
The other young wives who had married into Naye Village in previous years also brought their husbands to visit their parents, carrying similar gifts of pork, various rice cakes, and garlic, though in smaller quantities.
While the young wives from Naye Village were bringing their husbands to visit their parents, the older daughters who had married out of Naye Village were also bringing their husbands back to visit their parents.
In short, on this day, almost every household in Bobai County was either receiving or visiting relatives.
In this era, when relatives came over, the hosts would first brew a pot of tea and fry a few plates of gray water rice cakes, large rice cakes, and steamed rice cakes for the guests to enjoy while they drank tea. Only then would the hosts start preparing the main meal by slaughtering a chicken and cooking.
We Chinese are actually very concerned about face. When relatives or friends come to visit, no matter what the situation is at home, we will do our utmost to entertain them well.
Even families who are too frugal to kill a chicken on New Year's Eve will slaughter one on the second day of the first lunar month to entertain their guests.
Therefore, in Bobai County, there is a saying: "Chickens fear the second day of the first lunar month, and ducks fear the fourteenth day of the seventh lunar month."
Today, the Deng family also had relatives visiting. The third sister, her family, and her married daughter, Bu Dafang, brought her husband along. The two brothers-in-law also came with their families. They brought various snacks and a few chickens and ducks.
As for pork, they didn’t bring any. After all, the pork for their New Year’s celebrations was provided by Deng Shirong, so there was no need to bring it back.
So, they brought chickens and ducks instead.
“Uncle, Happy New Year!” The children of the third sister greeted Deng Shirong as soon as they arrived.
“Uncle-in-law, Happy New Year!” The children of the two brothers-in-law greeted Deng Shirong as well.
Deng Shirong’s own children also greeted their elders.
Jiang Dehu had been married to Bu Dafang for over three years and had met her uncle a few times, but this was the first time he was visiting his uncle’s house. Despite his mental preparation, he was still stunned by the impressive brick and tile house that his wife had described countless times.
In a village where most houses were made of mud bricks, this row of new brick and tile houses stood out remarkably.
He wondered how many years it would take for their family to live in such a beautiful house.
...
On the way to Poxin Village.
Zhang Xiuping and Deng Yuntao were riding their bicycles, one in front of the other.
Seeing that his wife was riding a bit too fast, Deng Yuntao, who was following behind, immediately called out, "Xiu, ride slower!"
Zhang Xiuping smiled and glanced back at him. "Is this too fast? You used to ride much faster when you were taking me around."
Deng Yuntao chuckled. "That was just so you could hold onto me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t ride so fast!"
"Hmph, I knew you had ulterior motives."
"What ulterior motives? You seemed to enjoy holding onto me."
"Ugh, you’re so shameless!"
The couple bickered as they rode, and before they knew it, they had arrived at Poxin Village.
Seeing the place where she grew up, Zhang Xiuping felt a surge of excitement. She and her husband, riding their new Phoenix and Forever bicycles, rode through the village entrance with high spirits. She greeted familiar faces and wished them a Happy New Year.
Today, many women who had married out of the village were returning to their parents' homes with their children and husbands. Zhang Xiuping and her husband, each riding a bicycle, naturally caused a huge stir.
After all, in those days, most people walked when visiting relatives, and bicycles were extremely rare. Riding two bicycles, especially high-end models like the Phoenix and Forever, was incredibly impressive.
(End of Chapter)
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