The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 147

 

| TBBOTOF | 147

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the scholar banquet was held.

Normally, at the end of the year, each household is quite busy, but since it had been quite some time, Tang Erhu suggested to Tang Xu that it would be better to get things done early and simply, without making it too grand. He advised inviting relatives and friendly neighbors to a simple meal.

Tang Xu, holding a pen and paper, checked to see if the food supplies at home were sufficient. He needed to ensure that the guests wouldn’t leave hungry.

Fortunately, with the year-end preparations and the New Year goods already bought, he had set aside some for the banquet.

Tang Xu went to the ice cellar with a list and spent a good while there before emerging with two large baskets. Despite the cold in the ice cellar, he was sweating from the effort.

"Luckily, we have enough supplies at home; otherwise, with the time being so tight, we wouldn’t have been able to prepare in time," Wang Cuicui remarked as she looked at the baskets, which contained not only meat and dried vegetables but also a considerable amount of fresh mountain fruit.

"What's with these mountain fruits? They’re quite sour, but you seem to like them," Wang Cuicui said, laughing as she picked up the basket.

Tang Xu glanced at the hawthorns, which were red and round, it looked quite good.

Previously, when the hawthorn trees in the mountains bore fruit, Wei Dong and Liu Yao had picked a lot. Besides some dried slices, they had kept a fair amount of fresh ones. As long as these fruits are free from pests and stored at low temperatures, they can last quite a while. Tang Xu had originally planned to use some to make candied hawthorns for the children.

Since the town's candied hawthorn seller was too far away and there were no sellers in the village, Tang Xu planned to make some himself. Any leftovers from this event could be sold.

This time, he intended to use the hawthorns for a dish at the banquet—snowball hawthorn—as a sweet treat, a special addition to the menu.

On the day of the banquet, Tang Xu and Liu Yao took charge in the kitchen, while Tang Li and Wang Cuicui assisted. They started working before dawn, with Wei Dong setting off firecrackers to liven up the atmosphere.

The bustling meal lasted from noon until dusk. By the time the banquet ended, most of the men were drunk, wobbling, and their mouths greasy.

This feast was better than their own New Year’s meal.

"Prosperity, prosperity, Tang Erhu has truly prospered!"

This was the unanimous sentiment among the relatives and neighbors who attended the feast. They didn’t come empty-handed, of course. After all, Tang Rui had passed the scholar exam at a young age, promising a bright future. They wouldn’t show up just to eat for free and risk being looked down upon.

Tang Rui enjoyed a moment of glory at the banquet, receiving praise from all the relatives. Even the head of the Tang clan came, pulling Tang Rui aside and praising him warmly for a good while.

Tang Xu, on the other hand, didn’t join in the celebrations upfront. He was exhausted from the morning’s work and wasn’t eager to make small talk with so many people, most of whom he didn’t know well.

Food was set aside in the kitchen for Tang Xu and his helpers, who ate there before slipping out the back door and returning to the main house. Tang Xu collapsed onto the kang and let out a long breath.

With his three sons not around, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He was woken up by a commotion outside. Sitting up groggily on the kang, he heard Tang Li shouting, "Brother! Brother! Something’s happened!"

Tang Xu quickly threw off the blanket and jumped off the kang, slipping into his shoes as he headed out. "What happened?" he asked, not even stopping to put on his coat.

"Big Brother made Grandpa faint!" Tang Li hurried to stop him when she saw he was only wearing his inner clothes. "Your coat, your coat."

Tang Xu grabbed his padded coat from the kang and draped it over his shoulders as he rushed outside. "How is Grandpa? He was fine just a moment ago."

"Grandpa's lying in his room. After they brought him in, he looks better now. Grandpa, Uncle, and Third Uncle drank quite a bit. Dad said to let them sleep it off in their room. Third Uncle said their place is far, and it's not safe to travel at night, so he took Third Aunt and went back. Grandpa and Uncle were chatting with Dad in the room, and Big Brother was with them."

Tang Li paused and turned to look at Tang Xu. "Aunt and I were outside busy cleaning up, and Grandma was talking with us in the kitchen. Later, Grandma mentioned that Big Brother is of age and should get married soon. Even if not married, he should at least start looking. Aunt and I didn’t dare say anything."

Tang Xu sighed as he stepped out of the courtyard. "Grandma is a sharp person. If Aunt didn't respond, she would definitely push the issue."

Tang Li pouted. "But Dad said to keep it a secret from them, he was afraid they'd get too angry. I didn't know what to say, so if I spoke out, I'd be the one at fault."

Her tone was full of frustration, clearly upset about Tang Rui's situation as well.

Tang Xu gently patted her head. "Don't speak rashly. He is still your big brother; we can't despise him."

Tang Li, still fuming, continued, "How could we not be upset? We were all trying to keep things under wraps until after the New Year so everyone could have a good holiday. But no, he had to blurt everything out, making it seem like we were plotting against him. Grandpa got so angry he fainted and even rolled his eyes!" Her cheeks were flushed with anger.

Tang Xu sighed, feeling a deep exhaustion. It was both mentally and physically draining.

Entering the room, Tang Xu saw Old Xu was there, administering acupuncture to the unconscious Tang Guangliang, who was lying on the kang. Tang Guangliang's head was bristling with at least twenty silver needles, creating quite a striking visual.

Tang Xu frowned slightly and glanced around, noticing that Tang Dahu and his father were present, but Tang Rui was nowhere to be seen. Only the old lady, Wu Guizhi, and his Aunt Luo Pingping were in the room.

Wang Cuicui was in Tang Li's room with the three children, not present here.

"Where's your brother-in-law?" Tang Xu turned to ask Tang Li.

"He took Ah Yang and Xiao Xi out. I don't know where they went," Tang Li replied.

Tang Xu nodded and then asked Old Xu, "Old Xu, how is my grandfather doing?"

"It’s nothing too bad, just wait a bit after the needle is removed and rest well for a while. He should be able to recover by then," Old Xu said, stroking his beard and looking at him. "Why do you look so bad?"

"I didn't sleep well," Tang Xu waved his hand, seeing that he had already started to remove the needle. He then sat by the bed and softly comforted the elderly woman, "Grandma, my grandpa has great fortune, he'll definitely be fine. Don't worry too much."

"I'm not worried about him," Wu Guizhi replied with a stern face and an unfriendly tone, "I'm worried about your father. How could Ah Rui do such a thing!"

Without any matchmaker, without the parents knowing, a promising scholar went and got himself married!

A live-in son-in-law, isn't that basically getting married off!

Although Tang Rui emphasized earlier that he wasn't a live-in son-in-law, what he did was no different from that.

Wu Guizhi got angrier and angrier, her chest rising and falling.

Old Xu glanced at her and reminded her, "Don't get too worked up, otherwise you'll both end up lying here."

Wu Guizhi clutched her chest and took several deep breaths before asking Tang Xu, "When did you all find out about this?"

"Not long ago. He didn't come back for a while, so he sent a letter to someone, but due to the bad snowy roads, it took nearly half a month for the letter to arrive. That's when he mentioned he had already gotten married. Dad was angry for a while but later said he couldn't control him and decided not to care anymore," Tang Xu explained, trying to speak well of his father. 

"Grandma, my dad had no choice in this matter. The girl over there is already pregnant; we can't force him to leave her."

"Let him leave! He can go wherever he wants after that. He won't be able to enjoy his so-called wealth anyway!" Wu Guizhi's voice became sharp with anger.

Tang Xu was startled by his grandmother's sudden loud voice. However, he frowned after hearing her words. What "so-called wealth"? It didn't sound like something his grandma would say.

He didn't ask further, instead reached out to calm her, to prevent her from passing out from anger.

Luo Pingping, who was standing nearby, sighed and said, "I didn't expect Tang Rui to be so cunning. Hearing what he said felt like listening to a story."

Tang Xu didn't understand, "What do you mean?"

Luo Pingping gave a meaningful look and said to Tang Li, "You stay inside and accompany your grandma. I'll take your brother to check on the kids; Er Bao was crying just now."

Tang Li responded, and although Wu Guizhi didn't say anything, she didn't stop them either, knowing they were going outside to talk privately so she wouldn't have to hear anything more upsetting.

Once outside, Luo Pingping pulled Tang Xu into Tang Li's room. Wang Cuicui had just put the two younger ones to sleep and was playing a bean-counting game with the chubby boy.

They had beans of three different colors, grouped in tens, picking them out by hand or with a spoon to see who could count and sort the fastest.

The chubby boy had recently taken a liking to this game because if he won, he would get a piece of the cookies his dad made, which were fragrant and sweet, and he loved them.

When they walked in, the chubby boy had just counted three groups of beans. Upon hearing the noise, he turned his head, saw Tang Xu, and immediately ran over to hug his leg.

Knowing that his younger siblings were sleeping and he shouldn't make noise, he just grinned and stayed quiet.

Tang Xu patted his face, bent down, and picked him up. "What are you doing with Grandma?"

"Playing with beans!" The chubby boy snuggled into his arms and, with a beaming smile, waved his little fists. "I counted ten, three times!"

Tang Xu glanced at the beans, realizing he had counted thirty in total.

"Great job! If you count out ten, Dad will make you double-skin milk for dinner."

The chubby boy’s eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but swallow.

"Okay!"

Wang Cuicui, seeing Luo Pingping and Tang Xu come in, quickly went to pour them some water and asked, "Is the old man alright?"

"Old Xu said there's nothing serious, just needs some rest," Tang Xu took a sip of water and then asked Luo Pingping, "Auntie, what did Ah Rui say? Where did he go?"

"Your dad was so angry that he slapped Tang Rui twice. Ah Rui ran away, and your uncle went after him, worried he might get into trouble. Your dad is resting in Ah Yang’s room now," Luo Pingping couldn’t help but roll her eyes. "Why does he have to be so worrying?"

Tang Xu leaned in, waiting for her to continue.

"Your grandma went into the room and lectured your dad, saying that Ah Rui should get engaged now that he’s passed the scholar exams and could find a good family. But right after she said that, Ah Rui announced that he was already married and his wife is pregnant!" Luo Pingping said, glaring and slapping her thigh. 

"He said his in-laws are wealthy and appreciated his talents and offered to support his studies. What kind of nonsense is that?" She turned to Wang Cuicui for confirmation.

Wang Cuicui sighed and added, "He said he and the Liu family’s young lady were genuinely in love and that no one could separate them. That was the gist of it."

"Yes, your grandpa was so angry he almost hit him with his shoe, but he didn't manage to. Then he fainted. Your dad, enraged, gave him two more slaps," Luo Pingping said, pausing before continuing, "Your dad is really furious."

Tang Xu nodded slightly. "When my dad wakes up, let him handle it. Aunt, please let him know that I won't get involved in this matter."

Wang Cuicui quickly agreed.

Soon after the old man woke up from having the needle removed, Tang Xu went to check on him and said a few words. The old man’s stance was the same as Grandma’s: he must be sent away!

Actually, Tang Xu felt that what they really wanted was to kick this disgraceful person out of the house, though he didn't voice it explicitly.

Sigh, it’s tough on the elders.

Previous TOC Next