novelraw Chapter 172 Before the bride is even married, the dowry is already being planned.
Chapter 172 Before the bride is even married, the dowry is already being planned.
Chapter 172 Before the bride is even married, the dowry is already being planned.
After seeing off Gu Lianshan and his daughter, the Zhu family breathed a sigh of relief.
All the boys and girls from the various rooms ran out and crowded into the main room.
I made meat today, and they've all been craving it ever since they smelled it.
Hopefully there will be some left over, so they can have a taste; they haven't had any meat for months!
Seeing this, Old Lady Zhu glared and started yelling, "They're all reincarnated starving ghosts! Who sits at the table to eat after they've already eaten?! Have they no shame?!"
The sharp and sarcastic tone made the girls and boys stop and dare not squeeze into the room anymore.
The eldest son of the Zhu family said impatiently, "The table in the room is completely empty, what are you still worried about? Just let them go!"
"It's all empty?!" Old Mrs. Zhu exclaimed, her face pale, and hurriedly went to the main room.
She kept muttering, "There's so much meat, how can we possibly finish it all? I deliberately brought over a lot of millet cakes so you'd eat more cakes and less meat! If we leave any of that meat, it'll be enough for our whole family to eat for ten days or half a month..."
It would have been better if the topic of meat hadn't been brought up; the moment it was mentioned, the eldest son of the Zhu family became even more furious: "That bastard surnamed Gu ate all the meat! None of us got a single bite! If you're going to complain, you should go find that Gu guy! Why are you blaming us?!"
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Zhu felt a chill in her heart. No wonder she made a fuss about having the Zhu family prepare meat dishes to entertain them; it turned out she was determined to eat the Zhu family out of house and home!
Pushing aside her grandchildren crowding at the door, Old Mrs. Zhu impatiently began to scold, "What are you all doing crowding at the door?! You shameless bastards! All you do is eat! Get out! Anyone who dares to crowd here again, I'll skin you alive!"
The Zhu family's daughters and sons were terrified of Old Madam Zhu, and upon hearing this, they all hurriedly returned to their respective rooms.
After shooing her grandchildren away, Grandma Zhu hurried toward the table.
When I got to the table, everything went black – it really was completely empty!
A fish weighing one pound, a chicken weighing two or three pounds, ten scrambled eggs, and some pickled vegetables and other vegetables—six dishes in total—were left with only empty plates.
Grandma Zhu was furious and immediately cursed, "Did you not have anything to eat after being adopted?! Even if you were a reincarnated starving ghost, you shouldn't be so greedy! You have absolutely no manners!"
"And yet you still have the nerve to nitpick about the Zhu family's faults? Bah! You haven't even cleaned your own mess yet! How dare you criticize others!"
These words made Old Master Zhu outside change his expression. He hurriedly went inside and asked, "What did you just say? Who was adopted and has no food to eat?"
"Who else could it be but that heartless Gu? No one else! Mei said that her second branch of the family was adopted by Mei's third great-uncle and recognized him as their father!"
Old Mrs. Zhu looked at Gu Lianshan with disdain, clearly looking down on his behavior.
"Tell me in detail! What exactly happened? Everything was fine, so why did the whole family suddenly get adopted away?" Old Master Zhu said urgently.
The eldest and second eldest sons of the Zhu family, who originally intended to go back inside to warm up, also walked in with expressions of amazement, equally curious about the matter.
Grandma Zhu didn't hide anything and told Gu Mei everything she had said.
She even mentioned Zhang's collusion with Wei to steal silver, completely forgetting her previous promise to Gu Mei.
After hearing these things, the Zhu father and son gloated: "Old Gu always boasted that his family was a family of farmers and scholars, saying that his family had a clean and upright style and that his brothers were harmonious. When Xiu'er was alive, every time he came to visit, he looked down on our family."
They said our family behaved improperly, and that we all had a bad reputation. Now it seems that everything Old Man Gu said was just to fool us! The one who truly behaved improperly was the Gu family!
Zhu Lao Er was a cunning and sly man. He spoke directly to Zhu Lao Tai: "Mother, I'll have my wife go out and talk to them, and help them spread the word about the Gu family!"
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Zhu glared and said, "If you dare let your daughter-in-law go out and spread nonsense, I'll skin you alive!"
Zhu Lao Er looked bewildered: "Why? The Gu family has always looked down on our family and caused us a lot of trouble. Now that we have a hold on to their mistakes, why not take this opportunity to vent our anger?"
"You don't know anything! If it were something to vent your anger about, would you need to speak up? I would have gone out and said it myself!"
Grandma Zhu glared at her son, waved him back into the house, and told him to call his wife and son over.
Old Master Zhu was also kicked out by Old Lady Zhu, who also told him to bring his wife and son.
"Is there something you want to say?" Old Master Zhu asked with a puzzled look, wondering what his wife was up to.
Grandma Zhu nodded, ignoring her husband's words, and went to the door, calling out to Zhu Laosan towards the west wing.
"Third son! Bring your wife and son to the main room! Your mother has something to discuss with you!"
……
Before long, Zhu's three sons, along with their wives and sons, came to the main room to wait for Old Mrs. Zhu to discuss matters with them.
The Zhu family was thriving, with the three branches of the family filling the small main room to the brim.
Zhu Laoda and his wife Qin stood on the left, with their two sons, Zhu Youjin and Zhu Youyin, behind them.
Zhu Lao Er and his wife Ding Shi stood on the right, followed by their two sons Zhu Youcai and Zhu Youfu.
As for Zhu Laosan and his wife Yan, the couple stood on Zhu Laoda's side, with their only son, Zhu Youshou, behind them.
Grandma Zhu looked at her five grandsons one by one, and her gaze lingered longer on Zhu Youshou.
The eldest and second sons looked somewhat pale and thin, but that was because they weren't getting enough food. Judging by their physiques, they were quite robust and capable of supporting the family.
The only son of the third son's family was well-fed and healthy by the third son and his wife. He was quite plump, and a glance was enough to tell that he was eating much better than the eldest and second sons.
He's just not very healthy; he gets sick every ten days or so.
"Mother, you asked us to come, and we've come. What's the matter?"
Zhu Laosan urged impatiently, "It's freezing cold, and there's no stove in the main room. My son can't stand it."
Grandma Zhu felt a tightness in her chest. She shifted her gaze from her third son's family, composed herself, and began to speak about Gu Mei's marriage prospects. "Mei came to our house today and said that her father is trying to find her a husband everywhere. I was thinking, since that girl is your sister's only daughter and has grown up under your noses, why not make it a double blessing and have Mei betrothed to our family? What do you think?"
The three families looked at each other, each seeing the word "disagreement" on the other's face.
Immediately, everyone rushed to offer their refusal.
“Mother, you know that my two children are not suitable for each other. Youjin and Meiya have never gotten along since they were little. Youyin is the same. They argue as soon as they meet, and neither of them will give in! If they get married, their lives will probably be chaotic!”
This is Qin, the eldest son's wife.
"Youcai and Youfu are the same. Not only do they not get along with Mei, but they are also very picky! A couple of years ago, they told me that they wanted to find a pretty girl to be their wife. You know, I spoil these two boys. Everything has to go their way. If you do anything wrong to them, they will make a huge fuss!"
This is Ding, the second son's wife.
“My family has a long life ahead of us, we can’t afford it! He’s my only son, and back then Zhu Xiuer caused me to lose two children. Now, her daughter wants to marry back? What? Are the mother and daughter trying to ruin our third branch of the family together?!”
This is Yan, the third son's wife. When she said this, she glared at Old Lady Zhu with an unfriendly look, and gritted her teeth in hatred!
Grandma Zhu ignored her daughters-in-law's words and focused her attention on her sons. "You three brothers are the heads of the family. Your wives' opinions don't count. As for Mei's matter, as long as you three brothers agree, that's fine."
These words were like a slap in the face to the wives, making the three of them tremble with anger and turn to vent their anger on their respective men.
Yan was the most outspoken. In front of everyone, she pinched Zhu Laosan's arm and threatened, "If you dare to agree, I'll take my son and throw ourselves into the river! Rather than let others harm us, my son and I will take matters into our own hands, so that no one will dislike us and try to harm us all the time!"
These words were spoken about Gu Mei, but also about Old Lady Zhu.
Old Mrs. Zhu's face immediately darkened.
Before she could even react, Zhu Laosan spoke up very decisively: "We, the third branch of the family, disagree! Don't try to pin this on us! You should go talk to my eldest and second brothers; they have many sons, but I only have this one son!"
Upon hearing this, Qin and Ding became anxious and, without thinking, followed Yan's example, pinching their husbands and threatening them, urging the brothers to quickly express their stance.
Zhu Laoda and Zhu Laoer dodged their wives' movements; even if their wives didn't make a move, they wouldn't agree to this.
“My son and Mei don’t get along. You can’t force them to get married, can you? As the saying goes, forced marriages are never sweet!”
"Yes, yes, yes! Big brother is right, forced love is never sweet! My son likes pretty girls, but Mei'er's looks... don't exactly qualify as pretty."
Old Mrs. Zhu's face was ashen; she was furious with her son and daughter-in-law!
But Old Master Zhu, who was standing to the side, also sided with his son. "Why did you suddenly come up with this idea? Look, neither your son nor your daughter-in-law are willing. Let's not bring this up again and just stop here."
"What do you know?!" Old Mrs. Zhu glared at her husband, then looked at her son and daughter-in-law, suppressing her anger, and tried to persuade them.
“Our family has a bad reputation and is dirt poor. We can’t even afford two meals a day, so it will be even more difficult for our sons to get married in the future! I’m letting Mei marry into our family not only because I feel sorry for her, but also because I value her dowry!”
dowry?
Everyone looked at Old Lady Zhu, not quite believing what she was saying.
Everyone knows that Gu Mei is not favored by Gu Lianshan.
How much dowry could Gu Lianshan give to a daughter he didn't like?
Old Mrs. Zhu saw through their thoughts and spoke frankly: "Although Mei's father doesn't like her, he's not a bad person. He said early on that when Mei gets married, the family will provide two taels of silver for her dowry..."
"Two taels of silver?!" Yan exclaimed, interrupting Old Lady Zhu.
"Mother! You're not just making this up to get Mei'er married into the family, are you? What kind of family does Gu Lianshan have? Can he afford two taels of silver as a dowry?!"
“Third sister-in-law is right.” Madam Qin didn’t believe it either. “I heard Mei’er say that after the adoption, the family only brought their own clothes and bedding, nothing else. Where is he going to get two taels of silver for his daughter’s dowry?”
Ding nodded and continued, "Mei'er has a son named Lai'an. When Mei'er gets married, Lai'an should also be betrothed. A daughter's dowry is two taels of silver, but what about the betrothal gift for a son's marriage? It can't be less than that for a daughter, can it?"
And those two little brats born to that stepmother are already over ten years old; their marriage prospects are only a matter of two or three years. If all this happens at once, and each child costs two taels of silver, how much will that cost? Even if Gu Lianshan sold himself, he couldn't afford it!
After being criticized by her three daughters-in-law in succession, Old Mrs. Zhu could no longer contain her anger and started cursing.
"You think everyone's like you! Stupid and lazy! None of you have a proper job, you just eat and sleep like pigs all day long! What else can you do besides gossip?!"
Seeing that their mother-in-law was truly angry, the three sisters-in-law looked embarrassed and kept quiet, not daring to say another word.
After suppressing the arrogance of her three daughters-in-law, Old Madam Zhu calmed herself down and continued, "If it were just Gu Lianshan alone, he really couldn't afford two taels of silver for a dowry, but he has a good daughter!"
At this point, a hint of envy flashed in Old Lady Zhu's eyes, "Zhang's daughter, Gu Siya, has been apprenticing under a herb gatherer since she was a child, and she started earning money several years ago. I wonder how much money she has now."
As a young woman, any money she earns will inevitably go to her father. Once her father has money, he'll naturally want to make a grand wedding for his daughter, and giving him two taels of silver for her dowry will be a piece of cake!
Mentioning Gu Tang, everyone suddenly realized that they had forgotten about the little brat born to Zhang Shi, who was a money-making machine.
Yan's gaze instantly turned ardent, and she interrupted Old Madam Zhu again: "Mother! Now that you mention it, Gu Siya is quite a good match for Youshou! Why don't we switch and marry Gu Siya into our family?"
Not only did Yan think this way, but Qin and Ding also thought the same way. However, the two of them were not as impulsive as Yan and did not see their mother-in-law's gloomy and ugly face.
The third son's wife is so clueless!
Old Mrs. Zhu was already furious, and when she heard Yan complain about Gu Mei and say that she wanted to replace her with Gu Siya, she immediately spat at her.
"Pah! If such a good thing really existed, would it be your turn?! You try mentioning it to Mei's father, and he'd break your legs and call it a day!"
Yan shrank back slightly; she dared not mention this matter to Gu Lianshan.
Old Mrs. Zhu glanced at her sons and daughters-in-law and interrupted their daydream in a stern voice: "Don't even think about Gu Siya. You all know what kind of person Mei's father is. He's very cunning. You can't afford to offend any of you!"
Everyone paused, their heated minds clearing somewhat.
Old Mrs. Zhu brought up Gu Mei again: "Marrying Mei is the safest option. Once she marries into the family, the two taels of silver we'll use for her dowry will solve our family's financial crisis."
Whether we sell the dowry for money or use it as betrothal gifts for our sons, that stuff is enough to get every one of them a wife!