Ma Defu straightened his collar, waved his hand with a refreshing wave of his hand, and led his younger brother on the journey to welcome the bride.
Squeak.
As soon as the courtyard door opened, he looked around and saw a crowd of people blocking the door. Ma Defu was shocked when he saw this scene.
A casual glance revealed that there were at least twenty people standing outside the door, but he didn't hear the slightest movement just now.
This...this is too bald.
Looking at his brother's shocked look, Ma Debao couldn't help but cover his mouth and stand aside to enjoy himself. In fact, he had already known about the situation outside, but he never told Ma Defu.
After all, today is a rare happy day, how can we let Ma Defu pass easily?
Even if Ma Defu is his biological brother, that won't work!
"Debao, you..."
After coming back to his senses, Ma Defu turned his head and glanced at his brother beside him, his eyes seemed a little resentful, as if he was blaming his brother for not telling him.
"hey-hey!"
Ma Debao scratched his head, with a mischievous smile on his face.
People were crowded outside the courtyard. Such a lively occasion could not be complete without Li Dayou. He was standing at the front of the crowd, with his hands slightly raised and laughing loudly.
"Boy, is the groom handsome today?"
"handsome!"
The villagers responded in unison as if they had rehearsed.
Li Dayou squinted his eyes and looked at Ma Defu at the door, with a narrow smile on his dark face, and said while rubbing his hands.
"Being blessed, you know."
Although there were a lot of people gathered outside the door, and everyone's purpose was to make money, Ma Defu was not upset by this.
A wedding banquet is just for fun.
Ma Defu glanced at the satchel on his brother's shoulder and gave him a wink. Ma Debao immediately understood and grabbed a handful of money wrapped in red paper from his backpack with a smile.
Nowadays, red envelopes are not as popular as in later generations. Most red envelopes during festivals are wrapped in a piece of cut red paper, just like the 'red envelope' Ma Debao holds in his hand.
"Here comes the red envelope!"
Before Ma Debao made the gesture of spreading red envelopes, he first shouted a signal to the crowd.
"Come on!"
"Come on!"
The villagers smiled and extended their palms in response.
"Come on!"
Ma Debao bent over and arched his back, throwing the 'red envelope' in his hand high into the open space in the distance with all his strength.
At this moment, the villagers immediately dispersed, either with their children, their wives, or alone, running to the open space to pick up the red envelopes scattered on the ground.
"Brother! Run!"
The younger sister, Ma Dehua, grabbed Ma Defu's big hand, kicked her short legs, and fled the scene quickly to avoid being blocked a second time.
"The groom is running away!"
On the other side, someone shouted something, which immediately woke up everyone who was picking up money.
"Hurry up and chase!"
"quick!"
"We can't let him get away so easily."
Li Dayou, who loves fun, didn't care about the red envelope that he didn't pick up on the ground. He just put the red envelope he just picked up into his pocket. He didn't need to open the red envelope. He knew it contained a one-yuan coin when he pinched it.
Then, he rushed out of the crowd and ran towards the second checkpoint.
After more than half an hour, it was not until Ma Debao scattered the red envelopes he had prepared in advance that he escaped the pursuit of the villagers. Looking at the door just around the corner, Ma Defu couldn't help wiping the sweat on his forehead and asking for help.
He glanced at his younger brother beside him.
"Debao, run home quickly and 'prepare' some red envelopes."
Ma Defu emphasized the word "prepare". In fact, they had prepared the red envelope yesterday, but the red envelope had to be taken in two batches. If they took it all at once, the result would not be the same as now.
What's the difference?
Because people who block the road won't care that much, and they won't give up until the groom's pocket is drained.
"Hello!"
Ma Debao nodded with a smile and ran back home quickly.
The previous pursuit and interception by the villagers was just an appetizer, and the next two doors were the 'main meal'. It was not easy to successfully receive the bride.
This time, since no one was blocking the way, Ma Debao came back very quickly. After a while, he was seen running back panting.
"Brother, here you go."
Ma Defu took the army green single-room satchel, walked a few steps forward, knocked on the door and shouted inside.
"Open the door. The red envelopes are all ready. Give them to you when you open the door."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of voices coming from inside the door.
"Don't open, don't open."
…
"That's right, we won't open the red envelope without the quota."
…
Ma Defu shouted back: "How much do you want?"
"One for five!"
"Two per person!"
“The more the merrier!”
Hearing the mixed responses, Ma Defu breathed an inexplicable sigh of relief. The people blocked inside did not have a unified view at all. This showed that they had not discussed it before this, and the group of people inside also did not agree.
There is no leader.
When people's hearts are not aligned, it is naturally easier to cope with it.
"Too much! Too much!"
After saying this, Ma Defu and the person blocking the door began to bargain.
After a stalemate for about five or six minutes, the gate of the courtyard finally opened slowly, and after walking through the door, there was only one step away from receiving the bride.
Inside the door, there was an Eight Immortals table in the middle of the courtyard. Li Jie was eating melon seeds while chatting with Shui Hua's father and her relatives. After hearing the sound of the door opening, everyone suddenly turned their eyes and looked at each other.
The horse that steps through the door with one foot is blessed.
"My dear, Defu looks so handsome today."
Soon, Old Man Li looked away and gave a thumbs up to Li Jie standing aside.
Uncle Shuihua, who was sitting nearby, also echoed.
"Yes, this kid, Defu, is so good-looking that he is definitely the one from all over the world!"
On the other side, the old branch secretary who was the witness of the marriage took a puff of his tobacco bag and added.
"Defu is not only good-looking, he is also a technical secondary school student. He became a state cadre as soon as he graduated. Life will be good in the future. If Shuihua follows him, he will never suffer."
The old branch secretary was highly respected. Whenever there was a happy event in the village, he would usually be called upon to be the witness. He was the oldest person here. When he opened his mouth, everyone at the table would nod along with him.
"Yes, yes, yes."
"The old party secretary is right."
"That's right, this boy Defu, without mentioning it, is definitely the most outstanding young man in our village!"
"That's right, I feel that if you are blessed enough to be where you are today, it is better to be nurtured by water."
After Ma Defu walked in, he did not go to the last hurdle immediately. Instead, he came to the main table first, served tea to the elders present and saluted. Fortunately, everyone was from the same village and knew each other well, so there was no fuss.