十月一号，我回农村老家参加哥哥的婚礼。
Shí yuè yí hào, wǒ huí nóngcūn lǎojiā cānjiā gēge de hūnlǐ.
On the first of October I went back to our village for my cousin's wedding.
哥哥是我叔叔家的，新娘却是南方人，说话又轻又快。
Gēge shì wǒ shūshu jiā de, xīnniáng què shì nánfāng rén, shuōhuà yòu qīng yòu kuài.
The groom is my uncle's son; the bride is a southerner who speaks softly and fast.
为了这场婚礼，两家人商量了大半年。
Wèile zhè chǎng hūnlǐ, liǎng jiārén shāngliang le dà bàn nián.
For this wedding, the two families had discussed for over half a year.
不是钱的事，是规矩的事。
Bú shì qián de shì, shì guīju de shì.
It was not about money; it was about customs.
我们家那边，婚礼上的菜要辣，越辣越热闹。
Wǒmen jiā nàbiān, hūnlǐ shàng de cài yào là, yuè là yuè rènao.
Where our family is from, wedding dishes must be spicy: the spicier, the livelier.
新娘家那边，婚礼要甜甜的，最后必须是汤圆。
Xīnniáng jiā nàbiān, hūnlǐ yào tián tián de, zuìhòu bìxū shì tāngyuán.
Where the bride's family is from, weddings must be sweet, ending with glutinous rice balls.
两边都觉得自己是对的，谁也不想让。
Liǎng biān dōu juéde zìjǐ shì duì de, shéi yě bù xiǎng ràng.
Each side believed it was right, and neither would give in.
婚礼越来越近，菜单还没有定下来。
Hūnlǐ yuè lái yuè jìn, càidān hái méiyǒu dìng xiàlái.
The wedding drew nearer, and the menu was still unsettled.
最后是奶奶说了一句：客人有两家，菜也得有两种。
Zuìhòu shì nǎinai shuō le yí jù: kèrén yǒu liǎng jiā, cài yě de yǒu liǎng zhǒng.
In the end Grandma said one line: there are two families of guests, so there must be two kinds of dishes.
大家都笑了，事情就这样定了。
Dàjiā dōu xiào le, shìqing jiù zhèyàng dìng le.
Everyone laughed, and just like that it was settled.
婚礼前一天，全村的人都来帮忙。
Hūnlǐ qián yì tiān, quán cūn de rén dōu lái bāngmáng.
The day before the wedding, the whole village came to help.
院子里摆了三十多张桌子，椅子都是从各家搬来的。
Yuànzi lǐ bǎi le sān shí duō zhāng zhuōzi, yǐzi dōu shì cóng gè jiā bān lái de.
Over thirty tables were set in the courtyard, with chairs borrowed from every house.
窗户上贴着红纸剪的花，门口挂着两个大红灯笼。
Chuānghu shàng tiē zhe hóng zhǐ jiǎn de huā, ménkǒu guà zhe liǎng gè dà hóng dēnglong.
Red paper cut flowers were pasted on the windows, and two big red lanterns hung at the gate.
阿姨们从早上就开始洗菜、切肉，说笑声比刀声还响。
Āyí men cóng zǎoshang jiù kāishǐ xǐ cài, qiē ròu, shuō xiào shēng bǐ dāo shēng hái xiǎng.
The aunts started washing vegetables and cutting meat in the morning, their laughter louder than the knives.
两个厨师，一个我们本地的，一个新娘家请来的。
Liǎng gè chúshī, yí gè wǒmen běndì de, yí gè xīnniáng jiā qǐng lái de.
There were two cooks: one from our village, one invited by the bride's family.
他们各自守着自己的锅，谁也不让谁，又都在看对方。
Tāmen gèzì shǒu zhe zìjǐ de guō, shéi yě bú ràng shéi, yòu dōu zài kàn duìfāng.
Each guarded his own wok, neither yielding to the other, yet each watching the other.
中午接新娘的车到了村口，孩子们追着跑了一路。
Zhōngwǔ jiē xīnniáng de chē dào le cūn kǒu, háizi men zhuī zhe pǎo le yílù.
At noon the car bringing the bride reached the village entrance, and children chased it all the way.
新娘穿红衣服下了车，眼睛亮亮的。
Xīnniáng chuān hóng yīfu xià le chē, yǎnjing liàng liàng de.
The bride stepped out of the car in red, her eyes shining.
她给奶奶倒了茶，奶奶把一个红包放在她手里。
Tā gěi nǎinai dào le chá, nǎinai bǎ yí gè hóngbāo fàng zài tā shǒu lǐ.
She poured Grandma tea, and Grandma placed a red envelope in her hand.
奶奶拉着她的手看了很久，说：好孩子。
Nǎinai lā zhe tā de shǒu kàn le hěn jiǔ, shuō: hǎo háizi.
Grandma held her hand and looked at her for a long time, then said: good child.
吃饭的时候，每张桌子十六个菜，八个辣的，八个甜的。
Chī fàn de shíhou, měi zhāng zhuōzi shí liù gè cài, bā gè là de, bā gè tián de.
When the feast began, each table had sixteen dishes: eight spicy, eight sweet.
辣的那一半，红辣椒亮得像小灯笼。
Là de nà yíbàn, hóng làjiāo liàng de xiàng xiǎo dēnglong.
On the spicy half, the red chilies gleamed like little lanterns.
甜的那一半，最后端上来一碗热热的汤圆。
Tián de nà yíbàn, zuìhòu duān shànglái yì wǎn rè rè de tāngyuán.
On the sweet half, a bowl of hot glutinous rice balls came last.
新娘的父亲尝了一口辣菜，辣得直喝水，还是点头说好。
Xīnniáng de fùqīn cháng le yì kǒu là cài, là de zhí hē shuǐ, háishi diǎntóu shuō hǎo.
The bride's father tried a spicy dish, drank water from the heat, yet still nodded and said good.
我奶奶把汤圆吃了三个，说南方的甜，甜得舒服。
Wǒ nǎinai bǎ tāngyuán chī le sān gè, shuō nánfāng de tián, tián de shūfu.
My Grandma ate three rice balls and said the southern sweetness was a comfortable kind of sweet.
那天中午，两个厨师坐在一起喝酒，聊得比谁都开心。
Nà tiān zhōngwǔ, liǎng gè chúshī zuò zài yìqǐ hē jiǔ, liáo de bǐ shéi dōu kāixīn.
That midday, the two cooks sat drinking together, talking more happily than anyone.
他们约好了，明年教对方做自己那边的菜。
Tāmen yuē hǎo le, míngnián jiāo duìfāng zuò zìjǐ nàbiān de cài.
They agreed that next year each would teach the other his region's cooking.
婚礼是两个人的事，也是两个家的事。
Hūnlǐ shì liǎng gèrén de shì, yě shì liǎng gè jiā de shì.
A wedding is the business of two people, and also of two families.
菜单可以争，桌子只有一张。
Càidān kěyǐ zhēng, zhuōzi zhǐyǒu yì zhāng.
The menu can be argued over, but there is only one table.
回城的车上，我想着那碗甜甜的汤圆和那些红辣椒。
Huí chéng de chē shàng, wǒ xiǎng zhe nà wǎn tián tián de tāngyuán hé nàxiē hóng làjiāo.
On the bus back to the city, I kept thinking of the sweet rice balls and those red chilies.
它们在一张桌子上，谁也没有让谁走。
Tāmen zài yì zhāng zhuōzi shàng, shéi yě méiyǒu ràng shéi zǒu.
They were on the same table, and neither made the other leave.
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