Marriage Arrangements

Liu Yueyue giggled. "No matter how good your luck is, it can't compare to your destined bond. That was bestowed by Heaven itself. Just wait and slowly savor your happiness. I only want to cling to my dream—to have him read me the poems I love, to have him compose lyrics that belong to me. In idle moments, we can watch little bridges over flowing water; when night falls, I'll add fragrance to his books with red sleeves."

Liu Qian said, "Yueyue, love is sweet, but life is real. I share the same dream as you, but unfortunately, Heaven arranged Zhang Xiaolong for me. I can only choose the life of a village woman. Different people have different ways of living. I hope we will both have lives of our own happiness."

Liu Yueyue said, "Sister, I believe we will certainly be happy too. But Sister, have you really decided? I still want to ask you one last time. Have you truly decided to marry, in such haste, a farmer who barely recognizes a few words? Decades from now, when you look back on the past, won't you regret today's decision?"

Hearing this, Liu Qian took Liu Yueyue's hand and said, "Yueyue, some things cannot be decided by reason. Though tens of millions stand against me, I shall go on. Perhaps today's decision will create a different life for me; perhaps decades from now, I will regret today's decision. But at this very moment, I do not regret it. When you hesitate, afraid to advance or retreat, you lose the right to choose. Life is the sum of countless choices, and different choices mean choosing different lives. If you and I made the same choices, would life not lose the pleasure of its differences? Xiaolong may be a farmer, but he is not illiterate, nor is he rotten wood that cannot be carved. I think a life shared by two people is also a process of influencing and changing each other. He may not compose lyrics and poems for me, but I can read to him and teach him to write. We may not have little bridges and flowing water, but perhaps we can have the man plowing and the woman weaving. Though I cannot add fragrance to his books with red sleeves, the delights of the bridal chamber are not limited to painting eyebrows. He can grind ink for me. In short, we will gradually change, making our lives happier."

Liu Yueyue smiled as well. "Sister, ever since we were little, you were better at your studies than I was, and when we grew up, you read more books than I did. I can't outargue you. But I still feel that marrying into the Zhang family will make you suffer greatly. Why make trouble for yourself?"

Liu Qian said, "Yueyue, you are still too stubborn. The two words 'happiness' are the same for everyone. The happiness of the poor is no different from the happiness of the wealthy. Your happiness will never be better than another person's simply because you have money. So whether I choose poverty or wealth, I am choosing happiness. Hardship has the happiness of hardship; enjoyment has the happiness of enjoyment. So long as you feel happy, why fear hardship? Even if others see only suffering, how could they know the sweetness within? As the saying goes, 'You are not a fish, so how do you know the joy of fish?' There is only so much happiness in this world. The more happiness you have, the less others have. If you feel unhappy every day, then others will have a little more happiness every day. Rather than let others share more of your happiness, why not spend every day happily yourself?"

Liu Yueyue listened with a slight furrow between her brows, gaining a little understanding in her heart. But she immediately relaxed and said, "Sister, I came to persuade you, yet you ended up giving me something to ponder. Still, even if what you said is right, I don't feel the slightest flutter in my heart for that Zhang Xiaohu."

Liu Qian said, "You silly girl, I was merely telling you my own thoughts. I have no intention whatsoever of forcing myself into the role of matchmaker."

Leaving aside the two sisters chatting and laughing in their room, the two families of prospective in-laws in the main hall had already settled all the details. It was getting late; if they hurried back to Guo Village, they would have to travel by night. Naturally, Mr. Liu would not let them leave that way. They ate dinner at Mr. Liu's home. Now that the engagement had been arranged, they could be considered one family, and the meal was hearty and satisfying, with host and guests alike delighted.

Early the next morning, while the sky was still dim, Zhang Cai and Guo Sufi bade Mr. Liu farewell and hurried back to Guo Village. There were only a few days left until the end of the month, and they had to hurry home to manage the wedding preparations. The task before them was truly arduous.

When the two elders returned to Guo Village and told the good news to the anxiously waiting Zhang Xiaolong, Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Xiaohua, who had been waiting nearby, were so happy they nearly jumped up. They had an excellent impression of their future sister-in-law. They had never expected that in just a few days, they would truly be able to see her as their eldest sister-in-law. It was indeed beyond expectations. When Grandmother heard that Liu Qian had brushed aside all opposing opinions and set the date only a few days away, she kept muttering, "What a good child, what a good daughter-in-law." If there had been a Spirit Tablet, she would have burned several sticks of high incense at once, thanking the ancestors for their blessings in finding such a wonderful granddaughter-in-law.

Zhang Cai's and Guo Sufi's family had an excellent reputation in Guo Village, and there had never been much in the way of weddings or funerals in their household. Now that they were taking a wife for their eldest son, the villagers naturally gave their full support. Many had seen Liu Qian before. Although the Zhang family had never acknowledged Liu Qian's relationship with them in the past, the villagers had done plenty of gossiping behind their backs. This time, being able to properly bring Liu Qian into the family was something everyone had expected. They simply had not anticipated that it would happen so urgently. Some even let their thoughts wander in crooked directions, but once someone mentioned Grandmother, they immediately understood and could not help giving Liu Qian a thumbs-up.

Agriculturalists kept wedding celebrations simple. They set up a large canopy in the small courtyard, placed tables beneath it, found a cook, and prepared meat and vegetables. When the villagers came to offer congratulations, they would be entertained beneath the canopy. A bridal room also had to be prepared, so they temporarily used the room shared by the three brothers. Zhang Xiaohu was driven off to squeeze onto a kang with Zhang Xiaohua. The houses in the courtyard also needed a little repair. Fortunately, when everyone gathered firewood, the flames burned high. With the villagers' help, everything was completed within the scheduled time. By the day of the wedding procession, the entire Zhang family courtyard looked brand-new and brimmed with festive cheer.

Before dawn, the Zhang family courtyard was already bustling with voices. Many people had arrived, each busy with their own work. Village women came to help arrange the tables and chairs and prepare the vegetables. The cook had also stoked a great fire and begun preparing the food. Zhang Xiaolong was called up early as well. Once he had tidied himself up, he prepared to ride a fine horse and lead the bridal sedan and musicians to Baligou to marry Liu Qian.

Naturally, the route for the wedding procession was not the narrow path they usually took. It would take longer than usual, and they also had to return before noon. Of course, they had to set out under stars and moonlight. Once everyone was ready and just about to depart, Guo Sufi realized that Zhang Xiaohua, who was to serve as the best man, was nowhere to be seen. She hurriedly asked Zhang Xiaohu. He found it strange as well. He had heard someone in the courtyard in the middle of the night and had gotten up early to help. When he rose, he had called Zhang Xiaohua too. Had he not gotten up? Zhang Xiaohu hurried back to the room to look. Sure enough, Zhang Xiaohua was still sleeping soundly on the kang. No matter how Zhang Xiaohu called him, he would not wake. In the end, Zhang Xiaohu ruthlessly splashed him with water, but he merely turned over and continued sleeping, leaving everyone at their wits' end. Yet the duties of best man had all been explained to him the day before, and they could not find anyone else at such short notice. Fortunately, there was still the bridal sedan, and Grandmother knew that Zhang Xiaohua always slept until the sun came out. So everyone carried Zhang Xiaohua into the bridal sedan and let him continue sleeping. What a thing it was—the bridal sedan intended for the eldest sister-in-law had not even carried her yet, but her younger brother-in-law got to sleep in it first.

Thus, the wedding procession carried the sleeping Zhang Xiaohua in the bridal sedan and headed through the darkness toward Baligou. Only after they had traveled more than half the way did the sky turn the pale white of a fish's belly. When the sun poked a sliver of its head over the horizon, a ray of sunlight swept across the bridal sedan, and Zhang Xiaohua finally opened his eyes. He rubbed them and discovered that he was sleeping in an unfamiliar place. Startled, he lifted the sedan curtain, then suddenly understood. He quickly greeted the sedan bearers and had them stop. Zhang Xiaohua climbed out, ran to Zhang Xiaolong's horse, and apologized to his eldest brother in a rush. Zhang Xiaolong pulled him up onto the horse as well, held him, and said, "Xiaohua, it's all right. You're still growing and need your sleep. You didn't delay anything, so why apologize? But this really opened my eyes. How did I never know you could sleep so deeply? Even splashing water on you couldn't wake you?"

Zhang Xiaohua blushed with embarrassment. "I don't know either. Maybe I always slept like this before, but I had simply never gotten up so early."

Zhang Xiaolong thought it over and felt that made sense. He and his younger brother had always slept together, and he had never noticed anything unusual before. Besides, they had never risen so early. Perhaps Xiaohua had always been such a heavy sleeper. In any case, it was not an illness, and he would not need to get up this early in the future, so Zhang Xiaolong asked no further questions.

There was not much road left. Amid the brothers' idle chatter and Zhang Xiaolong's excitement, they quickly finished the remaining journey.

They could see the entrance to Baligou from far away. Only then did Zhang Xiaolong rein in his horse and have the wedding procession rest briefly. Then the master of ceremonies arranged for people to set off firecrackers and had the musicians strike up their music. Amid banging gongs and beating drums, they made their way toward the village. Zhang Xiaohua quickly and obediently jumped down from the horse, took the reins from his eldest brother's hand, walked ahead, and led the horse forward at a slow pace.

The Liu family had naturally been waiting at the village entrance since early morning. When they saw the wedding procession, someone hurried back to report to Mr. Liu. The wedding music also shattered the quiet of dawn, waking the villagers of Baligou early with its festive sound. Before the procession even entered the village, many children and villagers blocked the way to demand candies and other treats. The Zhang family had prepared for this long ago. Someone brought out the goods they had readied and scattered them into the crowd. Once everyone had picked up their candies, they dispersed in a rush and let the procession continue. On the short route from the village entrance to the Liu residence, the procession was stopped several times. But everyone was happy and took no offense. By rural custom, whenever one family had a happy event, everyone wanted to share in its good fortune. The more good fortune they shared, the grander that family's celebration was considered. The wedding procession wished to be stopped as many times as possible.