Chapter 320: Chapter 320: Marriage Discussion
Ji Huan was a woman who knew her own mind. Widow Xie couldn’t win an argument with her, so what else could she do but take on all the wedding arrangements herself?
Even if the groom was marrying into her family, she was still the bride. A bride should look beautiful on her wedding day; she couldn’t be expected to worry about every little detail.
The siblings from the main branch of the family also offered to help.
In truth, they were just as baffled as Widow Xie. They racked their brains but couldn’t figure out for the life of them why Ji Huan would fall for a homeless man.
But she insisted she had, leaving no room for anyone to persuade her otherwise. They could only sigh at how peculiar Ji Huan’s taste was.
Besides, Ji Xiu’e and Aunt Kang were still watching from the sidelines like vultures.
Finding a suitable man of the right age who wouldn’t mind the rumors about her being a jinx and was also willing to marry into her family on such short notice was indeed next to impossible.
The homeless man... he was a bit terrifying, yes, but he was still better than that Huang Junping.
As the old saying goes, "No clouds in the sky, no rain will fall; no matchmaker on the ground, no marriage will befall." This meant that a man and woman had to be brought together by a matchmaker before they could be joined in matrimony.
A matchmaker could take the initiative to connect two complete strangers, or they could be entrusted to act as an intermediary for a couple who were already interested in each other.
Although Ji Huan had already chosen her man and didn’t need a matchmaker for introductions, they still needed a proper story for the public.
They couldn’t just brazenly say that Ji Huan had picked him out herself...
A widow acting as a matchmaker was considered inauspicious, so Widow Xie wanted Ji Xuelan to go back and ask Yang to be the matchmaker.
Ji Xuelan returned a short while later, her expression grim.
Widow Xie asked her what was wrong. Was there something inconvenient for Yang?
There was nothing inconvenient for Yang. It was just that after hearing who the groom-to-be was, she flatly refused to be the matchmaker. She was afraid that while people were laughing at Ji Huan, they would laugh at her too.
But how could Ji Xuelan bring herself to say that?
Yang was Ji Huan’s aunt, and Ji Huan had done their family a great service. By all rights, Yang shouldn’t have refused.
Ji Xuelan had tried everything, from pleading to arguing, and even had a huge fight with her, but when pushed, Yang just started crying... Ji Xuelan felt she had truly let Ji Huan down.
With no other choice, she could only say that Yang hadn’t been feeling well recently, and since she wasn’t used to big occasions, she was afraid she wouldn’t do a good job.
Others might not know, but Ji Mingfang saw right through it. Yang wasn’t feeling unwell; she was clearly unwilling to stick her neck out.
He was furious and stood up to go home and confront Yang.
How could Ji Huan not see what was really going on? She called out to stop Ji Mingfang, saying she had something for him to do later, and managed to hold him back.
As noon approached, figuring the vendors who sold hot and spicy soup in town should be back by now, Widow Xie paid a visit to Aunt Wang’s house.
Aunt Wang’s shock upon learning that Ji Huan was getting married went without saying, but she agreed to be the matchmaker without much hesitation.
Hearing the big day was the day after tomorrow, and that it was so rushed, she knew Widow Xie wouldn’t be able to handle everything alone. She decided to close her own business for two days. After lunch, she called for Sixth Sister-in-law Feng, and together they went over to help Ji Huan.
On her way, Sixth Sister-in-law Feng mentioned it to Second Sister-in-law Xu, and Aunt Gao, who lived in the same courtyard, also found out.
Aunt Gao happened to be idle, and Second Sister-in-law Xu also decided to take a break from her stall in town. The women met up, had a quick chat, and went to Ji Huan’s house together.
Widow Xie had been worried about not having enough help, but now she had plenty.
Everyone gathered in the main room of the front courtyard, sitting down to discuss the specific procedures.
In the countryside, people didn’t fuss over grand formalities like the Three Letters and Six Rites; customs that could be simplified were.
But some steps couldn’t be skipped, such as exchanging and matching the Eight Characters.
This involved the matchmaker delivering the groom’s birth characters to the bride’s family, then taking the bride’s birth characters to the groom’s. Both families would then separately ask a fortune teller to calculate how compatible the couple was based on these characters.
If they matched, the wedding would proceed; if not, the wedding was off, and the matter was dropped.
Ji Huan insisted they didn’t need to do it. With no other option, Widow Xie told the "matchmaker," Aunt Wang, that the characters had already been matched and they were a match made in heaven—perfectly compatible. This step could be skipped.
After exchanging and matching the birth characters, the matchmaker would choose an auspicious day for the groom to perform the "betrothal gift ceremony," which meant presenting a generous gift to the bride’s family.
Due to varying local customs, there were no strict rules for the ceremony; it all depended on the individual’s sincerity.
A few chickens and ducks, several jars of wine, as well as candies, pastries, bolts of cloth, and so on.
Wealthier families might even gift entire livestock or gold and silver jewelry. In some places, it was customary to give the bride’s parents a pair of shoes and socks and a set of clothes.
Needless to say, Widow Xie knew this step was impossible.
The homeless man was a "bare stick"—in every sense of the word. He ate her food and lived in her house. What could he possibly give Ji Huan as a gift?
At this point, Ji Huan spoke up again, arguing that the betrothal gifts were always given by the proactive party to the passive one. By that logic, she should be the one preparing gifts for the homeless man, since he was marrying into her family, not the other way around.
Widow Xie thought about it. ’That... actually makes sense.’
But for a young woman to give gifts to the man’s side... it just wouldn’t sound right. Besides, the homeless man was already getting Ji Huan. He was already getting such a huge advantage, what more could he want in the way of generous gifts?
’Skip it, skip it.’
As for choosing the date, yesterday Ji Huan had told Ji Xiu’e it would be in three days. Not counting today, that left only two days. Everyone urged her to postpone it.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Even if they couldn’t have a grand celebration like the wealthy, they should still prepare properly. Rushing things like this, wouldn’t she be doing herself a great injustice?
At the very least, they should pick an auspicious date. It would affect whether the two of them would have a smooth and prosperous life together.
Ji Huan knew it was all a sham and didn’t want to waste any more time on a fake marriage, so she had no intention of delaying it.
Widow Xie fretted, "But you haven’t even embroidered your wedding dress yet, or your wedding shoes."
According to the traditions of the Northern Pass, a bride had to make her own wedding dress and shoes.
Ji Huan gave a dry laugh. "If you make me do it myself, I’m afraid I’ll never get married in this lifetime."
Widow Xie: "..." ’Fair point.’
Aunt Wang said they would make them. They would work through the night, though there probably wouldn’t be enough time for any embroidery.
Aunt Gao chimed in, "What about him? His wedding clothes..."
’There’s no time to make two sets! We still have to sew the wedding quilt.’
Ji Huan waved her hand magnanimously. "We’ll buy them! Clothes, shoes, whatever we’re missing, we’ll buy it."
’The homeless man is willing to cooperate and marry into the family, so I can’t treat him poorly.’
Everyone sighed again, wondering what on earth Ji Huan saw in that man.
Once the wedding date was set, they had to finalize the guest list of friends and relatives to decide how many tables they would need for the banquet.
What friends or relatives did Ji Huan have? She lived in such a remote place, she didn’t even share a courtyard with anyone.
And there was even less to say about the homeless man’s side.
Fortunately, Ji Huan didn’t care whether it was a bleak affair or not. She planned to set up just a few tables and have a lively meal with the people who came to help, and that would be that.
Widow Xie suggested, "Why not invite some of the nearby villagers to liven things up?"
Ji Huan shook her head. "When the day comes, even if I invite them, I doubt many would dare to stay and eat."
Widow Xie thought of the homeless man’s face and fell silent.
With the decisions made, everyone split up and got busy.
The first order of business was to go to town for supplies: fabric, food ingredients, and all sorts of miscellaneous items.
Ji Huan had considered being the chef for her own wedding banquet, but the idea was unanimously shot down.
They would rather spend a bit of money to hire a professional banquet chef from the next village than let the bride cook herself. There was simply no precedent for that.
Widow Xie told Ji Huan to just rest well for the next two days. And so, Ji Huan was forced to become a hands-off manager.
But she wasn’t completely hands-off. There was still one matter she needed to resolve—the homeless man’s household registration.