In a few days, Old Wang’s family in the village was having a wedding. Chen Cuihua got up early to get ready, and Wei Hu had even gone over yesterday to help out—they needed to borrow tables, chairs, and other items for the banquet.

Chen Cuihua dressed herself up nicely, putting on her best, patch-free jacket. Afraid of getting it dirty, she also wrapped a worn-out short brown coat around her waist.

She also specifically told Song Ning to dress up a bit today. Since Song Ning doesn’t go out much, some villagers haven’t even seen what he looks like. Since they’re going to a banquet today, he really needs to spruce himself up.

Song Ning nodded, “Okay, Mother.”

Chen Cuihua grabbed the kitchen knife and was about to head out when Song Ning ran out after her. “Mother, why are you leaving so early? I’ll come with you.”

“What would you be doing there so early? I’m going early to help sort and wash the vegetables. Huzi is also going early to help carry the tables. With both of us from our family going to work, there’s no room for you. Just go find Qiu-ger later and come over to join the fun.”

“Oh.”

Song Ning was still puzzled. His mother was wearing a nearly new jacket without any patches today, yet she had a piece of old cloth tied around her waist. She was even carrying a kitchen knife to the banquet—so she was going to help out after all.

He had never attended a banquet in the countryside before; it turned out that when hosting a banquet, everyone had to pitch in.

Wei Hu had already gone out to help as well. Early this morning, as soon as the sun peeked out, both of them had headed over to the Wang family’s place. Song Ning stayed home with a small broom to sweep the house; his mother said they’d be back in a little while.

Song Ning was sitting in the courtyard, holding The little calico cat and flipping through a book. Just as he was thinking about going to find Qiu-ger in a bit, Qiu-ger came over to find him first. Qiu-ger looked thrilled. “Ning-ger, come on, let’s go to the Wang family’s place and join the fun.”

“Okay.”

Qiu-ger was dressed better than usual today, wearing a brand-new jacket. He hooked his arm through Song Ning’s and squeezed close. “We’re in for a real feast today. My mom said the Wang family’s banquet has four meat dishes. They hauled the meat back from the butcher in the neighboring village yesterday—they used quite a lot of it!”

Song Ning nodded in agreement. He’d never been to a rural banquet before and didn’t know if this counted as a good one, but judging by Qiu-ger’s eager expression, the feast must be quite well-organized.

The two of them headed to Old Wang’s house together. It was bustling at the Wang family’s gate—children were running back and forth, laughing and giggling. From a distance, Song Ning could already see a wisp of white steam rising from the courtyard.

Qiu-ger tugged on Song Ning’s arm and hurried over. “Come on, let’s go take a look.”

Red silk streamers hung from the Wang family’s courtyard gate, and a table for presenting gifts was set up at the entrance. Since they had arrived early, none of the Wang family’s relatives had shown up yet.

Song Ning saw Wei Hu setting up a table in the courtyard. Song Ning smiled at him, and Wei Hu, upon seeing his husband approaching, smiled back. “Go play inside with Qiu-ger for a while; it’s a bit drafty out here.”

“Okay.”

In a corner of the courtyard, Song Ning spotted his mother, Chen Cuihua, sorting and washing vegetables with a few other women and men. Chen Cuihua sat on a stool, deftly peeling radishes with a kitchen knife in hand, while Qiu-ger’s mother was also helping out.

Song Ning called out, “Mom,” and Chen Cuihua motioned for him to come over. “Mom, should I help?”

From what Qiu-ger had said, when country folk hosted banquets, it was usually their own family and relatives from the village who helped sort and wash the vegetables, while the woman in charge of cooking was specially hired, and the food was delicious.

“There’s no need for you to help. Just go play with Qiu-ger.”

Several women and Fulang were busily at work—some chopping vegetables, some washing them, others stewing meat or stoking the fire. They all appeared to be villagers from the area.

Chen Cuihua reached into the tattered short jacket at her waist and pulled out a handful of roasted peanuts and sunflower seeds for Song Ning. “I grabbed a handful of these for you. Go ahead and eat them.”

“Okay.” Song Ning cupped them in both hands and tucked them into the small pouch at his waist. Chen Cuihua then fished out two sesame candies and placed them in his hand. “Go on, go play with Qiu-ger over there. The splatters from chopping meat might get on your new jacket.”

“Okay.”

Song Ning went to find Qiu-ger. The two of them didn’t have much to do, so they came over to join the crowd and wait for the banquet. Song Ning came over and slipped a sesame candy into Qiu-ger’s hand. Qiu-ger gasped, “Where’d you get that? Auntie Cuihua just gave it to you.”

Song Ning nodded, “I’ve got more roasted snacks in my pouch. Let’s share them.”

Qiu-ger nudged Song Ning gently. “Aunt Cuihua is really good to you. These are meant for the helpers from the main household. My own mother must have some too, but she never gave me any.”

“It’s okay, let’s share mine.”

Song Ning really liked sesame candy. It was a small, crispy piece of candy coated with white sesame seeds—so fragrant when chewed. Qiu-ger took a few small bites as well. “I haven’t had candy in ages. You’re so kind, Ning-ger.”

This candy was quite expensive. Not everyone received these two small pieces of sesame candy; the host family had only given them to the few people who had come to help with the work.

After eating the candy, the two of them, with a handful of roasted nuts in their hands, squeezed in at the entrance to the main hall to watch the festivities. Just then, the village head was leading the chant, urging the groom to kowtow to his ancestors. The two of them cracked sunflower seeds with a crunch, their heads pressed together as they jostled for a better view; if they didn’t crane their necks, they couldn’t see what was happening inside.

“Once the groom finishes his bows, he’ll go to fetch the bride. When he comes back and bows again, we’ll be able to sit down for the banquet,” Qiu-ger explained, making sure Ning-ger understood.

Song Ning nodded in agreement. People emerged from the house; the groom, with a large red flower pinned to his chest, was accompanied by several men—Fulang or young brides—as they set off to fetch the bride.

Now that the main hall was empty, Qiu-ger pulled Song Ning into the inner room to shelter from the wind. The Wang family’s courtyard was bustling with activity, and it would get even livelier once his relatives arrived.

The two sat inside eating roasted nuts. Many villagers who hadn’t seen Song Ning before would come over from time to time to take a peek, whispering to one another, “Wei Hu’s fulang is really handsome.”

“That’s right, he’s from the town.”

Song Ning blushed a little at what he heard. These gossipers were speaking loudly, thinking Song Ning couldn’t hear them, but of course, he could. Song Ning hadn’t expected that just coming over for a banquet would turn into a spectacle for others to gawk at.

Qiu-ger was cracking sunflower seeds with a crunch, crunch, and nudged Song Ning teasingly, “They’re talking about you—saying you’re handsome.”

“Qiu-ger!” Song Ning felt a bit embarrassed. Seeing his blush, Qiu-ger giggled, “If anyone were to compliment me on my looks, I’d be thrilled. ”

“The guy over there must be Granny Sun’s son-in-law, right? He’s not bad-looking, just a bit dark-skinned.”

The smile faded from Qiu-ger’s face. If they were going to compliment him, why mention his dark skin? He’d been working since he was a kid—of course, he’d be dark!

Qiu-ger pouted. “He said my face is dark—I think it was Old Liu’s Fulang. I’ll remember that; I’ll call him dark-skinned too from now on.”

Song Ning laughed. Qiu-ger pretended to be angry and glared at him. “And you’re still laughing.”

“I’m not, hahaha.”

Qiu-ger tickled Song Ning, and Song Ning tickled him back. The two of them tickled each other, playfully wrestling in a heap.

Qiu-ger laughed until sweat beaded on his forehead. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, hahaha. No more fighting, no more fighting. Let’s go outside and take a look—I can already smell the meat cooking.”

The courtyard was bustling with activity. The cook was stir-frying with a large spatula, while a makeshift stove had been set up nearby, stacked with several layers of steamed puffing out white steam. The aroma wafted out from within, and even Song Ning couldn’t help but swallow hard. “It smells so good.”

Qiu-ger was also swallowing hard. “How could steaming so much meat all at once not smell good? I think they’ve mixed taro slices into the steamed meat—it’ll smell incredible when it comes out of the pot. I only had a bowl of porridge this morning just so I could eat a few extra bites of meat.”

Over by the large stove, several local women and Fulang were getting up, carrying their own food. On the table nearby lay neatly arranged slices of radish, chunks of winter melon, Chinese cabbage, and dried vegetables—all everyday dishes from their own homes. In the dead of winter, where would they find any fresh produce?

This feast was all about the meat; every household had those vegetables.

Chen Cuihua untied the tattered short jacket from her waist. “Ning-ger, Mother’s going to take the kitchen knife back home first.”

“Okay.”

Chen Cuihua walked to the doorway and fished a handful of copper coins from her waist—exactly twenty, counted out in advance. Glancing toward the entrance, she saw that the scribe hadn’t arrived yet.

She put the coins back and decided to go home first; she’d present the gift once the scribe arrived.

It was getting late now. Some of the Wang family’s relatives had already arrived. Glancing toward the entrance, they saw that the scribe was still missing. A member of the Wang family’s main branch called out, “Wang Da, guests have arrived!”

The Wang couple hurried out to greet the guests. Wang Da, seeing that the scribe still hadn’t arrived, quickly sent a young man to check: “Why hasn’t your Fourth Uncle arrived yet? Hurry and go invite him again.”

The young man hurried off to fetch him. For weddings and funerals in the village, they usually invited an elderly village scholar—someone literate and of high standing—to help keep track of the gift registry.

The Wang couple was sweating with anxiety. Logically, he should have arrived early in the morning. They hadn’t even presented the village’s own gifts yet, and relatives from other villages had already arrived—yet the scribe still hadn’t shown up. There were a few literate people in the village, but they couldn’t write; even the village head knew only a few characters.

Normally, when it came to collecting taxes and such, they would invite this elderly scholar to assist, yet here he was, still nowhere to be found.

The young man was a swift walker and had brought the elderly scholar right over.

“Fourth Uncle, you’ve finally made it! Hurry, hurry—the guests are already here.”

Mr. and Mrs. Wang quickly ushered the old scholar to the seat of honor, and Wang Da hurriedly unfolded the gift list—it was printed on newly purchased red paper.

The old scholar was quite advanced in years. The gift table was right at the courtyard gate, and the cold wind blew so fiercely that the old scholar began to shiver uncontrollably; even his hand grinding the ink started to tremble. His face went stiff, and he clung to the young man beside him, pleading, “Quick, quick, quick! Take me home!”

The young man gave a quick reply and hurried off, carrying the old man on his back. Left behind, the Wang couple exchanged bewildered glances. “What on earth is going on? Liuzi, what’s wrong with your Fourth Uncle?”

The young man called out, “Fourth Uncle got drunk yesterday and hurt himself!”

Xiao Liuzi hurriedly carried the old scholar home on his back, afraid that a moment’s delay would soil his cotton coat.

Wang Da let out a cry of distress, “The guests have already arrived—what are we to do without Mr. Wen?”