676 Wedding (1/2)
Chapter 676: Wedding
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As a prominent family in Foshan, the Wu's daughter's wedding was extravagant. Wu Mancheng was an educated gentleman who always acted modestly, but not at his daughter's wedding. They had blaring trumpets and thunderous fireworks. People miles away could hear it.
From government officials to beggars, crowds of people gathered in the street. They waited to catch a glimpse of the Wu's beautiful daughter, a few coins if they were lucky.
Famous didn't want to join the crowd, it had to watch out for people who wanted to eat it. It carried Old Time Tea and Galaxy on its back, and jumped onto the roof of a two-story building to watch the street from above.
As Wu Ning's wedding was in another city, it was a bit different from local weddings. Social customs had changed dramatically from the early days of the Republic. In areas along the south coast, like Foshan, weddings weren't as rigid as the old days.
The trumpet players marched. Two dozen porters carried a dowry of goods through the streets. There was a three-feet tall porcelain vase to place the feather dusters and a pair of porcelain pen holders. The dowry included shiny high-quality furniture, beautiful silk, antiques, and more. None of the items were affordable for ordinary people.
”Such a wealthy family. There's so many things, you can't even see where it ends.”
”How much fortune do they have?”
”Look at that red coral! Apparently, it takes a thousand years for a coral to form, and a hundred thousand years to turn red. The red coral is so tall and red, it looks like it's dripping blood. How much do you think it's worth?”
”That's absolutely priceless!”
”Look at that. It's a bracket clock from overseas. It announces the hours! I heard that Empress Dowager Cixi owned one just like that back in the day.”
The people by the road were envious and jealous, and couldn't help but exaggerate. They had to talk about what they heard, and the stories only got more twisted with each person. The red coral was only one foot tall, by the time it reached the end of the line, it was three feet tall. The bracket clock was even thought to be excavated from the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi.
”That's just stupid stuff, and stupid, materialistic people longing after them!”
Among the crowd of people, there was a snarky scholar pretending he didn't care, but he was also dying of envy. He hated Wu Ning, the owner of the dowry, for not picking him as her husband. He shook the feather fan in his hand, and laughed loudly, as if he couldn't care less about the stupid priceless treasure. He hoped to draw Wu Ning's attention, so that he could end up marrying her and become rich.
The couriers in the back carried large crates, filled with books and paintings.
”Why did they use crappy book and paintings? Did they run out things for the dowry?”
”It's to show that the Wu family is educated, that they aren't a family who just gained a quick fortune,” someone sneered. ”I heard that Miss Wu is very well educated. She's a real lady who knows about music, chess, calligraphy and painting. The crappy paintings you mentioned, those are some of the most well-known works of previous dynasties. In terms of value, they're just as expensive as the red coral and western bracket clock you saw just.”