Chapter 36: Doomed Money
There was no fixed amount for the red envelope given to the bride, but usually, two red envelopes were given. One contained 9.99 yuan, symbolizing everlasting love, and the other was just a token amount, with no fixed amount.
Of course, the same red envelope might be given to different brides. Some brides would agree to be taken away, while others might think the red envelope was too small and refuse to leave until they were given more.
Deng Changfu gave the two red envelopes with the usual amounts: one containing 9.99 yuan and the other 0.99 yuan.
After receiving the red envelope, Guan Yongying did not put on any airs and followed the wedding party to the groom's home.
When crossing the river, Guan Yongying took out two coins she had prepared earlier and threw them into the river. Both were two-cent coins.
This was also part of the wedding customs. The bride had to throw two coins when crossing the river. Guan Yongying didn't understand why, but since her elders had taught her to do so, she followed the tradition.
Soon, after passing Pologen, they arrived at Thatchfield Village.
When the bride arrived, the groom's family set off firecrackers to welcome her, and two fortunate women helped the bride into the house.
Immediately afterward, Deng Changfu's sister brought two basins of hot water and towels for the bride and the wedding party to wash their faces.
The bride had to wash first and throw two coins into the basin. The coins would belong to the person who brought the water. In addition to bringing water at the door, the bride would have someone help her wash her face and bathe for the first three days. Usually, this task fell to the groom's sister.
The bride also had to toss coins for three consecutive days.
After the bride and the wedding party washed their faces, the bride and groom went to pay respects to the ancestors together. At this time, everyone came to see the bride's dowry.
The bride's dowry usually included a box. For families with better conditions, the dowry box would be a high-end antique box. Guan Yongying's family wasn't that well-off, so her dowry box was newly made by a carpenter.
Apart from the locked box, the rest of the dowry consisted of items sent by the bride's relatives and friends, such as washbasins, footbaths, teapots, and more. There were quite a lot of them.
"The dowry is quite substantial. I wonder how much cloth is in the box, whether there are any quilts, and how much dowry money the bride has."
"The bride is worth so much, so the dowry from her family must be quite generous."
"That's not necessarily the case. The bride's value is high because she gave up the land in her parents' home and chose to marry early to help her husband's family get land. If they didn't compensate her a little more, it would be too unfair."
The relatives and friends who came to the wedding banquet discussed the bride's dowry, which was one of the most interesting parts of the event.
Soon, the bride and groom returned from paying respects to the ancestors, and the guests began clamoring for the bride to open the box.
Generally, no matter how much dowry was in the bride's box, it had to be opened and shown to the guests.
As for whether to show the dowry money given by the parents, it depended on the family's situation. If the family was poor and the dowry was too little, the bride might not show it. If the dowry was substantial, the bride would openly display it to the guests, as it was a matter of pride for the parents.
Guan Yongying had already made up her mind. Seeing the guests making a fuss, she took out the key and opened the box.
Inside were neatly folded pieces of cloth. The guests carefully counted the number of pockets of cloth (a pocket of cloth presented by a guest was called a pocket, and generally, one pocket of cloth could make one adult outfit or two children's outfits) and noted the type of cloth.
Under the cloth were two sheets, which Guan Yongying unfolded one by one to show the guests.
After seeing these, the guests clamored to see the dowry money. Guan Yongying didn't hide it and openly displayed it.
The amount of the bride's dowry shocked all the guests. It was 288 yuan, breaking the record for brides' dowries in Thatchfield Village over the past ten years.
In this era, the value of a family was generally around two to three hundred yuan. Some parents only gave their daughters twenty or thirty yuan as a dowry. Few gave more than a hundred yuan, let alone 288 yuan. After all, most families were not well-off, and many had to save their daughter's value for their sons' marriages. A daughter who married out couldn't be given too much dowry.
When the guests saw the dowry, they all praised the bride's parents for their generosity. The bride and the guests who had come to see her off felt very proud.
The authority of the mother-in-law in this era was incomparable to that in later generations. Some powerful mothers-in-law would confiscate the bride's dowry and even her dowry money, then distribute it themselves.
Fortunately, Deng Changfu's parents were known for their good temper in the village, and they respected their newly married daughter-in-law, so they didn't touch her dowry.
After inspecting the bride's dowry and dowry money, the next step was to sit down and enjoy the meal.
At this wedding, the groom's family had set up nearly thirty tables.
After the banquet began, the bride and groom started serving tea. After drinking the tea served by the bride and groom, the guests were expected to give red envelopes. This custom remained popular in many places even in later generations.
By the time the bride and groom had finished serving tea, the guests had mostly eaten and drunk their fill.
In later times, it was common for guests to pack up leftover food at weddings. Some people even went so far as to pack up food before other guests had started eating, embarrassing those at the same table.
In these days, however, no one packed up food at weddings, as it would make them a laughingstock. No one could afford to lose face.
However, although the guests didn't pack up their meals, the host wouldn't let them leave empty-handed. Each guest was given a plate of five-flavor dishes. If the guest hadn't eaten the braised pork at their table, they would also receive a piece of braised pork and two pieces of fried tofu, strung together with bamboo strips, to take home.
Of course, with so many guests, the weight of the five-flavor dishes was usually around one kilogram and two or three taels.
This was what the host family gave to ordinary guests. In addition to these items, the host family also had to give red envelopes to the bride's siblings.
The red envelopes given to the bride's siblings were naturally larger, usually three to five yuan. Other guests would receive one or two yuan, depending on the host family's generosity.
In the Double Prosperity area, not only did aunts not escort the bride at the wedding, but the bride's parents also did not escort her.
As for the thank-you gift for the matchmaker, it was a valuable gift and would not be given in person. Instead, it would be delivered to the matchmaker's home.
After the guests received their gifts from the host, they began to disperse, and the wedding party naturally had to leave as well.
Earlier, Guan Yongying had been busy all day. She hadn't even had time to eat when she was hungry, and naturally, she hadn't had time to think about anything else. Now, seeing the wedding party leaving for home, these familiar relatives were all departing. From now on, she would have to live alone in this unfamiliar environment.
For a moment, Guan Yongying felt more and more upset the more she thought about it. After the wedding party left, she couldn't help but cry again!
(End of this chapter)