It was over a month later when the Song family came with the betrothal gifts, and winter had already set in.
Song Wei brought a matchmaker along, and also two young men who were said to be his cousins.
There were quite a few marriages in the village, but to really count them on one’s fingers, something this grand, Wen Wan was seeing for the first time.
Just the betrothal gift itself amounted to the auspicious thirty-six taels.
In addition, wine and tea came in pairs, the finest from the county town, countless bolts of cloth, each in pairs, even the red silk for Wen Wan’s wedding dress was delivered, and then there were the game meats hunted by Old Song himself, wild pheasant, roe deer meat, wild boar meat... In total, adding the cash gift, it was estimated to be seventy to eighty taels.
In such a poor countryside, ordinary families marrying off daughters or taking in daughters-in-law don’t have such elaborate betrothal gifts. Some only give an acre of land, others directly bring a cow to buy some wine and cut a couple of yards of cloth or a few pounds of meat to honor the in-laws and call it a day. At the very best, it would be twenty taels, and that’s including both the cash gift and goods.
The Song family, being so elaborate as to separate the cash gift from the goods and even delivering combs and mirrors, was unprecedented for miles around.
Many neighbors came to watch the commotion, each one envious, but when they thought about Song Wei being a naturally unlucky fellow, worried that with him, having money might mean not living long enough to spend it, they felt balanced again.
As the bride-to-be, Wen Wan couldn’t hide and peek out from her room this time, but followed Mrs. Zhou to the main room to greet the Song family members.
Mrs. Zhou personally received the gifts, and seeing that they were several times more than expected, her mouth nearly stretched to her ears with a brilliant smile.
Wen Wan’s elder uncle, aunt, and her cousins all came over, plus some relatives from the clan, filling up the room.
Wen Wan wore a newly made peach-colored, finely woven cotton jacket, sat beside Mrs. Zhou, placed her hands on her lap, and listened intently to them talking, occasionally glimpsing at Song Wei on the opposite side. He sat upright, back straight, and when speaking with the elders, his face was as usual, without the slightest timidity in his tone, as if he were merely chatting at home with family.
Such calm composure, Wen Wan believed she couldn’t achieve even after ten more years of practice.
Mrs. Zhou was very satisfied with this wealthy son-in-law, her face smiling, "Third Son, our Wan Niang has been hardworking since childhood, whether it’s house chores or fieldwork, there’s nothing she can’t do. It’s just you also know, our family hasn’t had it easy, not as well as the Song family, if after getting married, Wan Niang doesn’t do something to your satisfaction, please talk to her kindly, she will change. Don’t get angry easily. In married life, it’s inevitable to have little spats; if you end up bickering every three days and having a major fight every five days, it just wouldn’t be proper, would you agree?"
She was not speaking for Wen Wan’s sake, but she didn’t want Song Wei to regret sending her back in the future.
With the Song family’s conditions, many households enviously coveted, and of course, Mrs. Zhou also eyed it with envy. As long as Song Wei remained her son-in-law, wouldn’t he have to come over and pay respects on festive occasions?
Song Wei was holding a bowl, sipping tea, hearing Mrs. Zhou’s words, he faintly smiled but didn’t respond.
Mrs. Zhou took his silence as agreement, feeling quite relieved, got up and said, "Then you all sit, I’ll go make food."
Suddenly remembering something, Mrs. Zhou said again, "Wan Niang, I’ve been busy since early morning, and forgot to pull up some water radishes. Go over to the small bamboo grove’s field and bring me back a couple."
Wen’s big aunt scolded, "On such a happy day, let the child rest a bit, I’ll go help you pull them."
Mrs. Zhou quickly gave the big aunt a meaningful look.
The big aunt was perceptive, immediately understanding, and shifted her tone with a smile, "The meal isn’t made yet, is it? Let’s go, I’ll help you with it. – Well, Wan Niang, you’d better go fetch the water radishes, it’s not far."
Wen Wan nodded, got up, and left the main room.
Not long after, Song Wei stood up too, found an excuse, and went out.
The room full of people, being experienced, knew those two sisters-in-law deliberately created space for the young couple to have time to themselves, so naturally, they didn’t intervene, and continued drinking tea and chatting.
Wen Wan, carrying a vegetable basket, hadn’t gone far when she noticed someone following. She turned around and saw it was Song Wei.
She had known from earlier in the main room that her stepmother intentionally wanted her to talk with Song Wei alone, so she was mentally prepared.
"Are you cold?" Song Wei came forward, glanced at Wen Wan’s clothes, probably hurriedly sewn by her stepmother for today, new as they were, still seemed thin, and just wrapped on the little girl made her look even more slender.
Wen Wan shook her head.
Though her stepmother wasn’t kind, she wasn’t heartless. Over the years, she hadn’t really been stingy with her food and clothing, only made her work more. If not for the instigation by Granny Wu some days ago, her stepmother wouldn’t have thought of selling her away.
Wen Wan’s winter clothes were always this thick, and today’s outfit felt quite warm to her.
Song Wei opened his hand to reveal a round small box in his palm, something he specifically bought when he sent manuscript papers to the county.
Seeing the delicate box, Wen Wan hesitated, knowing it probably wasn’t cheap, so she stood still.
Seeing Wen Wan not responding, Song Wei directly took her hand, placed the small box in her palm, and tenderly advised, "This is anti-freeze cream. Now that it’s cold, remember to apply some on your hands in the morning and evening."
At the time in the county, his cousin said girls loved face powder and jewelry, suggesting he buy those, but Song Wei didn’t; he chose the most expensive antifreeze cream, believing those fancy items weren’t as practical as anticold balsam.
Wen Wan squeezed the peony-patterned small box, it seemed to still hold Song Wei’s hand warmth.
Her face heated up while she couldn’t help but smile; how did Song Wei, a big man, think to buy this? Come winter, her hands easily developed chilblains from cold water exposure. She was just about to buy some, and now with him giving it, she could save a few copper coins.
The little girl was sweet and fair, lovely and radiant, and a smile bent her brows like the new moon in the sky.
Seeing this, Song Wei’s deep eyes softened somewhat.
The wedding date was set for early spring next year.
After having lunch at the Wen family, the group that came with the gifts then turned back.
On the road, the second cousin Xie Tao said, "This little sister-in-law looks so small and thin, is she even fifteen? She can’t even speak, the third cousin might have a tough time in the future!"
He didn’t dare to ask if this was intended to marry and raise as a daughter.
The first cousin Xie Zheng glanced at him, "Third cousin is willing, what are you even worrying about?"
Saying that, he also glanced at Song Wei.
Song Wei didn’t comment on their words, no expression showed on his face, and since they couldn’t draw him into the conversation, they had to keep quiet.
The trio of cousins once studied together, attending the town’s academy, but after Song Wei left the academy due to the death of Song Dalang’s couple, Xie Tao found studying pointless and returned home to farm, leaving only Xie Zheng who passed the courtyard exam, becoming a scholar. He failed the provincial exam this year, planning to try again in three years.
In sum, the Xie family brothers knew Song Wei best; a man of few words, steady and reliable in work, who, if not for bad luck, would likely have already passed to become an official in the Capital.
Normally, someone like that would have discerning taste in choosing a wife, but surprisingly, he chose today’s little sister-in-law.
The little sister-in-law was quite the beauty, but unfortunately couldn’t speak – how would the days ahead be like?