Such a large sum of money is beyond Manager Song's authority.

He could only return to the county town to report to his employer and let the master of the house make a decision.

"Five hundred taels? She's just a country bumpkin, how dare she ask for such an exorbitant amount! Does she have a death wish?" Tan Qi said angrily.

Upon hearing this, Song Yuandong knew what his boss was planning.

So he immediately reminded her, "Master, although Miss Xia comes from the countryside, she has a very close relationship with Master Jin. On the day she came of age, Master Jin even brought the young master of the Jin family to the coming-of-age ceremony. We can't be too forceful with her."

Song Yuandong had already figured out Xia Chunmei's background.

If it were anyone else, they could just use some underhanded tactics, but Xia Chunmei has the Jin family behind her, so they have to be wary.

Juxianglou has a certain background, otherwise it wouldn't be able to open so many branches, but there's no need to make enemies for a mere few hundred taels.

Tan Qi thought for a moment and said, "If all the other buns can really become just as sweet and fluffy, then we should agree to her offer. It would be a favor to Jin Yuntian. Go and negotiate."

...

The next day, Song Yuandong approached Xia Chunmei again and even called Xu Qingfeng from Sihai Trading Company to be a witness.

Upon hearing that Song Yuandong was cooperating with Xia Chunmei, Xu Qingfeng agreed without hesitation.

With Xu Qingfeng as a witness, Song Yuandong paid five hundred taels of silver in banknotes, reached a cooperation agreement with Xia Chunmei, and signed a contract.

"Miss Xia, when do you have time to teach?" Song Yuandong asked.

"That will have to wait until after I get married. You can arrange the people who want to learn first, and then I will teach them all at once. After I get married, I will live in the county town for a period of time until I have taught them all."

"After marriage? Miss Xia, you're getting married?" Xu Qingfeng's eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, it's the twelfth of this month."

"Miss Xia, that's not very kind of you. You didn't even send me an invitation. If I hadn't come with Manager Song today, I wouldn't have known about this."

Xia Chunmei smiled and said, "I didn't have time to send it off. If Manager Xu could come, I would definitely welcome him."

"Then it's settled. The whole family must come to the wedding to have a drink and share in Miss Xia's good fortune."

Hearing the familiar tone, Manager Song was secretly alarmed: it seems that Xia Chunmei has a really bad relationship with Xu Qingfeng and Jin Yuntian. He was glad that he had done his homework beforehand, otherwise he would definitely have offended someone this time.

After seeing the two people off, Xia Chunmei hid the money.

This was no small sum of money, and Xia Chunmei was afraid of losing it, so she hid the money in several different places.

*

Time flies, and it's already October.

Tomorrow is Xia Chunmei's wedding day.

Aunt Lihua, Chen Jinlian, Zhuang Shi, and Xia Ming Shi all came to Xia Chunmei's place together.

"Chunmei, you're getting married tomorrow. We've pooled our money to make two chests for you, and bought a silver comb and a mirror to enhance your dowry," Xia Mingshi said. "We hope you'll have a happy and fulfilling life together."

Xia Chunmei had actually guessed that the girls would prepare a dowry for her, but she didn't expect them to be so generous.

In this era, for ordinary people, it was considered good if they didn't sell their daughters, let alone have a dowry.

Only a few families with better financial means would give their daughters two trunks as dowry.

Now they not only bought two wooden chests, but also prepared a silver comb and a bronze mirror. These two items are quite valuable; a mirror costs three or four hundred coins, and the silver comb, needless to say, costs several hundred coins for its labor, even after deducting its weight.

Judging by appearance, the gifts they prepared this time amounted to more than one or two taels of silver, which means each family spent two or three hundred coins.

That's a really great gift.

Xia Chunmei had done the math in her mind. She estimated that her own marriage, plus her coming-of-age ceremony, would have taken away all the money they had earned from the banquets.

They weren't having an easy time either, so I had to find a way to pay them back.