"Xinian, this is your grandma’s younger brother, you call him Uncle Grandpa, and you met him yesterday too,"
"Yes, Uncle Grandpa,"
Ge Dejun nodded somewhat awkwardly.
Actually, they didn’t know exactly what kind of family the Mengs were, but the temperament and presence that Meng Xinian unintentionally exuded made it very clear to them that he was different from them.
Even though he wasn’t wearing his military uniform today, just a white shirt and a pair of dark blue trousers.
Chiang Songhai added, "Xinian, you said yesterday that you were willing to acknowledge the prearranged child marriage with Little, has your mind changed about that today?"
Why would he change his mind?
Meng Xinian immediately shook his head, saying in a deep voice, "No."
From the very beginning, he had resolved to be her fiance in name to protect Chiang Xiao, solely because of those external reasons.
Now that he knew there was such a mysterious connection between them, he was even less likely to back out.
In this life, he was entangled with this little girl.
Cough cough, he hadn’t completely figured that out yet.
In any case, he only knew that besides her, he didn’t want to get involved with any other woman in relationships such as fiancee, spouse, or romantic partner.
Chiang Songhai’s expression eased a bit as he said, "That’s good. It’s , Little’s grandma, De Jun from Lin Jiang, and I have discussed it. The prearranged child marriage was just a verbal marriage agreement. If people ask, it isn’t good to always describe it as a child marriage, so we thought, why don’t we follow the customs of Peace Town and have the engagement ceremony?"
"Hmm?" Meng Xinian didn’t quite understand, thinking that bringing those gifts as the betrothal presents would suffice.
But his questioning tone made Ge Dejun and the others a bit nervous, worried that he was impatient with these customs and rituals, and suddenly their words got stuck in their throats.
Meng Xinian felt somewhat helpless.
He had not expected such a reaction from these honest and simple older folks and had to soften his demeanor. "Grandpa, Uncle Grandpa, please continue. I’m just not very clear about what the custom is," he said.
But inside, he was even more perplexed.
Logically, elders have a significant influence on the younger generation, and the surrounding environment also greatly impacts a person.
Given that Peace Town Siyang Village shaped individuals like Chiang Songhai and Ge Liutao, why was Chiang Xiao’s personality completely different from theirs?
By right, she should be a timid, indecisive little village girl at this point.
But Chiang Xiao was not like that at all.
Chiang Songhai’s voice pulled him back from his musing.
"The engagement here involves a set of rituals. During the betrothal, we invite close relatives and friends to the house for a feast, where we put all the betrothal gifts in the open for everyone to see. You also have to formally acknowledge your relationship during the banquet, change how you address us, and we give you a red envelope to confirm that you are now part of the family. Our idea is, since you’ve brought so many gifts, why not just have the engagement banquet today as well? What do you think, is it okay?"
Engagements are taken very seriously here.
Once engaged, the couple is almost considered husband and wife, although it’s not legally binding yet, but the rural folks all acknowledge it.
Chiang Songhai and Ge Dejun felt that with all the fuss in the past two days, it was impossible for Chiang Xiao not to be tied to Meng Xinian. But if it relied only on a verbal agreement of a child marriage, and something happened later, it would be bad for Chiang Xiao if people said they wouldn’t acknowledge it.
However, once the engagement banquet was held, there was no escaping it.