Chapter 133: Preparations for the Wedding

Because the Gu family attached great importance to this marriage, the preparations for the betrothal gifts were naturally very grand. The He family was also highly satisfied, so both sides happily finalized the engagement.

After the betrothal, the Gu family became quite busy. Gu Chengren had originally been living in the east wing, but one could hardly continue living there after getting married. When the house was originally built, a space had been reserved for Gu Chengren’s future marriage in the final courtyard of the east compound. It consisted of five main rooms, plus east and west wings—more than enough for a young couple.

However, the house had remained vacant since it was completed; it lacked heated brick beds (kangs) and partition walls. With the wedding approaching, Gu Chengren had to quickly hire masons to build the kangs, install stoves, and whitewash the walls. Fortunately, the weather was favorable during this season, so everything dried quickly.

The Gu family hired workers to renovate the rear courtyard. Gu Chengyi was quite skilled in carpentry and masonry, so he supervised the work. When the farm work was not pressing, the old master would also bring his sons along to help.

The Yang and He families also sent representatives to inspect the house. Upon seeing the bridal chamber prepared by the Gu family, they were very satisfied. The He family then proposed that they would take care of all the furniture themselves.

In the local area, this was not a common custom; usually, the bride would bring a few pieces of furniture as part of her dowry. Since the He family made the offer, the Gu family was naturally delighted. The He family sent people to take measurements and went back to begin crafting the furniture.

Since the Gu family didn't need to prepare furniture, they saved a great deal of time. Old Master Gu and Madame Li were very pleased, remarking that they had made a truly excellent match. While the rear house was being renovated, Madame Li led her daughters-in-law in needlework.

A bride’s dowry would certainly include various sewing items for daily life, but the groom's family could not be unprepared. At the very least, they had to provide bedding, and sometimes they were expected to prepare various curtains, valances, tablecloths, and cushions. Madame Li was a competitive person, and since the He family was such a prestigious match, she didn't want the wedding to look shabby. Thus, she ensured everything was well-prepared.

Over the years, Madame Li had kept the best items sent home by Gu Chengyong. Half had been used for Xiuli’s wedding, and the rest were now being used for Gu Chengren.

Seeing so many fine items being reserved for Gu Chengren, Madame Xu couldn't help but feel resentful. When she and the fourth son married, the Gu family hadn't prepared nearly as much. "Mother is too biased," she muttered while helping with the needlework. "When Chengxin and I married, we didn't get all these nice things."

Madame Li’s face darkened upon hearing this. "Do you think you can compare yourself to them? Look at your own status! Can your family cover all the furniture like the He family does? The fifth daughter-in-law’s father is an official; what about your father? Her brother is a scholar; what about yours? You always want to compare, but you need the standing to do so. If you don't want to work, go and prepare the meal. I don't even care for your needlework anyway."

Madame Xu had merely been envious and wanted to voice her dissatisfaction, but she hadn't expected such a sharp rebuke from her mother-in-law. She felt quite embarrassed. What Madame Li said was true; the Xu family could not compare to the He family. Madame Xu had to lower her head and say, "Mother, can’t I just say a few words?"

Madame Xu had been kept in check by Madame Li recently and dared not act as she had in the past. She quickly apologized, acting very submissive. "Mother, I was wrong. It’s just my loose tongue; please don’t blame me." She was genuinely afraid; if she truly angered Madame Li, what would happen if she were driven back to her maiden home?

Madame Li glared at her. "Keep your loose tongue shut tight! Look at your sisters-in-law—who among them is like you, always talking without thinking?" Recently, Madame Li had been intentionally suppressing Madame Xu, so she was relatively pleasant toward Madame Wu and the others.

Madame Li was actually quite clever, especially in managing her daughters-in-law. She never suppressed all of them at once; she would focus on one while treating the others well. This way, the daughters-in-law would not unite against her.

Madame Wu, Madame Feng, and the others exchanged glances without a word. They had long since seen through Madame Li’s tactics. At this point, the best thing to do was keep their heads down and work. To survive in the Gu household, one only needed to use their hands; unless it was a special circumstance, it was best to keep one’s mouth shut.

Madame Li was satisfied with their behavior and went back to her work. "Second daughter-in-law, you should do the delicate tasks. I see that the fifth son’s room is missing some screens. Why don't you embroider a few screen panels? Just like the ones for Xiuli back then."

Madame Feng paused slightly before nodding. "Very well. That is time-consuming; one screen takes over a month to embroider. If Mother is not in a hurry, I will do it slowly." This was not a problem, and Madame Feng did not refuse. Gu Chengren had a good temperament, never caused trouble at home, and was very respectful toward Gu Chengyong and his wife. She didn't mind preparing things for him.

"That's fine, take your time. There are still several months before the wedding. Embroider them exquisitely so no one looks down on us." Madame Li was very satisfied with Madame Feng’s attitude. Regarding the marriages of Gu Chengren and Gu Xiuli, the second son and his wife had been very diligent, truly acting like an older brother and sister-in-law.

"I will prepare the fabric, and we have embroidery thread at home. The ones Xiuli used are still here, so you don't need to buy any. They were all sent back by you originally; you can't find such high-quality goods around here." Seeing her daughter-in-law’s good attitude, Madame Li spoke with uncharacteristic gentleness and was even generous enough to provide the materials.

Although Madame Feng was puzzled by the old lady’s sudden kindness, she didn't show it on her face. "That works. The thread for Xiuli’s set ran a bit low on certain colors toward the end. If we have them at home, it saves me the trouble. Otherwise, if I had to find matching thread, I’m afraid it wouldn't match the original."

"Just use what’s at home. Xiuli has married, and I am getting old; my eyesight is failing. I can’t do such fine embroidery anymore, so there’s no point in keeping them. Take them all to embroider the screens for the fifth son, and you can keep the rest for your own use." Madame Li was pleased with Madame Feng’s response. While speaking, she opened a chest and brought out a large bundle of embroidery thread.

These had been sent back by Gu Chengyong years ago. At the time, Gu Chengyong was in the south, and these were the finest threads available in the region. In the Northeast, one could not find threads of such excellent color and variety. "Here, take all of these. If you need more, come back and get them; there are still some left."

Madame Feng recognized these items, as she had been the one to prepare them personally. At that time, she had thought of her unmarried sister-in-law and how girls enjoy doing needlework with good thread, so she had sent the best quality every year. She hadn't expected that the family hadn't used much, and so much remained.

"Very well, this is enough. If I need more, I will come to Mother for it," Madame Feng replied.

Madame Li nodded. The second daughter-in-law was good in every way. When it came to Gu Chengren’s engagement, it was largely thanks to her that things went smoothly. For instance, on the day of the betrothal, if she hadn't been there, the others wouldn't have been able to converse properly with the ladies of the Yang and He families. Madame Li sighed again, wondering why Madame Feng wasn't her own biological daughter-in-law.

While the entire Gu family was busy with Gu Chengren’s marriage, he returned to the academy in town after the engagement to study. He was to take the prefectural examination in the autumn, so he had to seize the time to study. Since the marriage was already settled, he wanted to study hard, earn the title of scholar, and bring honor to the family when he married.

Time passed in the midst of this busyness, and in the blink of an eye, it was late July. Jiaoyan had long since cracked all the apricot pits she had gathered, dried the kernels, and stored them away. After weighing them, she found she had nearly 400 catties of apricot kernels. She set aside 20 catties for Miao Suwen to use as medicine and decided to take the rest to the oil press in town.

Apricot kernels have a very high oil content, over 40 percent. Of course, with the current pressing technology, they could only extract about 30 catties of oil from every 100 catties, but that was still quite good. She spent a day coaxing Gu Chengyong to take the cart, load up several sacks of kernels, and head to town to press the oil.

They brought back over 100 catties of oil in several jars, which Jiaoyan kept at the Miao family’s place instead of the Gu residence. She was afraid that if Madame Li found out, she would complain about her wasting money on useless things. The leftover apricot kernel cakes were brought home as well. Although inedible, they could be used as fertilizer, which was great for farming.

Eventually, Madame Li found out about the oil pressing. She called Gu Chengyong and his wife over and scolded them severely, claiming they were too indulgent with the child and were wasting money for no reason.

However, Gu Chengyong and his wife turned a deaf ear to her words. In their eyes, Jiaoyan never did anything without a reason. If she wanted to do something, they should support her fully. They didn't even mention the lecture to Jiaoyan, only telling her to let them see the results when she produced something useful.