The engagement ceremony reached its happy conclusion.
Zhu Yanyi and Zhu Yanli served the bride, the matchmaker, and the accompanying guests with water for washing their faces. They then brought up bowls of sweet soup, one cup for each person.
Auntie Can, the matchmaker, pointed at the busy Zhu Yanyi and Zhu Yanli and said to Luo Ying, "A-Ying, these are A-Nan and Ani. They are from A-Sheng’s eldest sister’s family."
According to local custom, the bride’s parents did not attend the engagement day. Only on the wedding day would the bride’s father escort her to the groom’s home. After the baby was born and one month old, the bride’s mother would bring all the female relatives from her family to celebrate the full moon. During the three-day return visit after the wedding, only the groom accompanied the bride back to her home. The two sets of parents usually met only when discussing the marriage arrangements. On other formal occasions, they followed local customs. Therefore, Luo Ying’s parents were not present at this engagement. Accompanying her were the matchmaker and her close female friends.
"Hello, Second Aunt," Zhu Yanli and Zhu Yanyi said with smiles.
Luo Ying blushed and handed two red envelopes to Zhu Yanli and Zhu Yanyi. "You are very kind."
"Thank you, Second Aunt," Zhu Yanli and Zhu Yanyi accepted them without refusal. These were hospitality red envelopes. The money inside was not much, but it represented a gesture of goodwill.
Luo Ying blushed again, but she did not act shy or hesitant. Instead, she spoke generously, "You are welcome. You sisters have worked hard today."
At this moment, Xie Xinyan entered with a smile. "Hurry up, it’s time for snacks. Everyone, come and eat together."
The so-called snacks were actually pastries popular at the time, such as cakes and walnut cookies. Each person also received a bowl of longan and lotus seed soup.
After eating, Qi Qiaoer called Luo Ying over and presented the prepared engagement gifts. Nowadays, these gifts typically consisted of a leather suitcase containing two sets of clothes, a pair of shoes, and sixty yuan in betrothal money. These were the items shown publicly. In addition, Qi Qiaoer gave Luo Ying a wristwatch and a gold ring. These items represented the groom’s family’s recognition of the new daughter-in-law.
In the past, when they were poor, Xie Jingyu had married Wang Zhaodi. The family had no money, so Qi Qiaoer had only given Wang Zhaodi a silver ring. Now that the family had money, Qi Qiaoer had bought a gold ring for Wang Zhaodi as well when preparing the gold ring for Luo Ying. In Qi Qiaoer’s eyes, both were her daughters-in-law. There was no reason to favor one over the other. This was also one of the reasons why Xie Jingyu was not angry. Otherwise, even if she did not say it aloud, she would have felt uneasy in her heart.
Luo Ying stayed until after two in the afternoon. After eating another round of snacks, she left amidst the sound of firecrackers. This marked the end of the engagement ceremony between the two families.
Actually, the engagement ceremony lasted two days. On the first day, Xie Shengyu went to the bride’s home. He took only two brothers and went with the male matchmaker. The second day was when the bride’s side came to the groom’s home. Therefore, today’s events were actually the second day’s activities. With today’s conclusion, the engagement was complete. This also meant that Xie Shengyu now had a fiancée, and Luo Ying now had a future husband’s family.
Zhu Yanyi was quite satisfied with Luo Ying. At least she looked much better than Wang Xiaoya. But thinking about it, this was normal. In the previous life, Xie Shengyu did not have a fixed job. Now, Xie Shengyu was a formal employee of the soy sauce factory. Although her household registration was still that of a farmer, her benefits were linked to the supply and marketing cooperative. Even though many people were starting their own businesses now, for some elderly people, a job linked to the supply and marketing cooperative was still considered a good job. Marrying into this family meant she did not have to worry about living poorly.