Chapter 209 The Gift

Jian Liqiu was a quick and nimble person, and with her help, the aroma of food wafted out from Ji's kitchen in no time.

Braised grass carp, twice-cooked pork, stir-fried green vegetables, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and stewed old hen with winter melon.

Four dishes and one soup.

Although it is not some kind of delicacy from land or sea, it looks delicious and fragrant.

The meal was served and Ji Lei's brother Ji Ben also came back carrying a hoe.

"Leilei, when did you come back?" Seeing Ji Lei at home, Ji Benfang paused his hoeing and a smile appeared on his face.

"Just got back." Ji Lei smiled.

He is not at home all year round, and his brother takes care of all the big and small matters at home. Because of this, he cannot make things difficult for his brother.

At this time, Jian Liqiu came out of the kitchen with dishes and chopsticks.

"Brother, this is my boyfriend Jian Liqiu, who works in our military region's art troupe. Liqiu, this is my brother." Ji Lei introduced the two to each other with a smile.

"Brother." Jian Liqiu took the initiative to greet him.

"Hey!" Ji Ben smiled innocently and nodded.

Ji Ben was also very happy to hear that his younger brother was going to bring his wife back.

In the village, children of the same age as his brother can already help with cooking.

If my father hadn't gotten seriously ill and the family hadn't been in such a state of famine, my younger brother would have gotten married and had children long ago.

fine……

Ji Ben looked at Jian Liqiu, who had a pretty appearance and gentle manners, and was happy for his brother from the bottom of his heart.

"Brother, wash your hands and eat!" Ji Lei patted Ji Ben's arm gently.

"Hey!" Ji Ben responded with a smile, put down the hoe, and went to the well to wash his hands.

Everyone just sat down.

"Mom, I want to eat big chicken legs." As soon as Ji Ben and Huang Yingying's son Ji Zhuangzhuang sat at the table, he pointed at the chicken legs in the soup bowl anxiously.

Huang Yingying picked up the chopsticks and without saying a word, she put both chicken legs in the soup bowl into Ji Zhuangzhuang's bowl.

Ji Ben moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but Ji Lei pressed his hand first.

Ji Ben knew what his brother meant. After a moment of silence, he sighed and picked up a piece of meaty chicken breast with chopsticks and put it into his brother's bowl.

"Eat more! I've been feeding this chicken for almost a year, and it tastes delicious!"

"Brother, Mom, you guys eat too." Ji Lei also put a piece into the bowls of Ji Ben and Ji Lei's mother.

"Look at you. Liqiu finally comes home, and you take good care of her..." Ji Lei's mother glared at Ji Lei and put the chicken in her bowl into Jian Liqiu's bowl.

"Mom, I'm going to pick some for her right away!" Ji Lei smiled helplessly and put the chicken nuggets on the tip of his chopsticks into Jian Liqiu's bowl.

"Auntie, you eat too." Jian Liqiu's pretty face turned red, and she subconsciously wanted to share a piece of the chicken in the bowl with Ji Lei's mother.

Ji Lei's mother, however, took the bowl and moved away first.

"Li Qiu, eat, there's still plenty in this bowl!"

While she was speaking, she picked up another piece of twice-cooked pork and put it into Jian Liqiu's bowl.

There are many people and little land in the suburbs, and the produce from the Ji family's land is only enough for them to maintain basic living.

In addition, Huang Yingying is not someone who knows how to live. Not only does she spend money lavishly, but she also buys new clothes every few days.

If Ji Lei had not sent living expenses home every month without fail over the years, the family would probably have had trouble eating if they only relied on the odd jobs Ji Ben did during the slack season.

Huang Yingying secretly rolled her eyes at them, and quickly put all the meaty chicken pieces into Ji Zhuangzhuang and her own bowl.

Ji Ben frowned and looked at the pile of bowls in front of Huang Yingying, but finally looked away.

"Li Qiu, just take whatever you want to eat." Since it was the first time for her daughter-in-law to come, Ji Lei's mother didn't know what to say and could only smile apologetically.

"Aunt, I know." Jian Liqiu pursed her lips and smiled gently.

Before entering the door, she was nervous because she didn't understand the temperament of Ji Lei's mother and brother and sister-in-law. After a brief contact, she had a certain understanding of Ji Lei's mother and brother, and was not so nervous.

As for Ji Lei's sister-in-law...

It's difficult to get along with him, so just have less contact with him in the future.

Putting aside Huang Yingying's occasional sarcasm, the meal was quite harmonious.

After the table was cleared and tea was brewed, Ji Lei's mother brought up the topic of marriage.

"Li Qiu, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. You've seen our family. Ji Lei's father fell seriously ill a few years ago, and the family was in great trouble. It took us two years to make up for the loss. So I may have to ask you for a little bit of money in terms of the bride price..." Ji Lei's mother seemed a little embarrassed.

Jian Liqiu pursed her lips, not knowing how to respond.

bride price……

She had thought about this problem before coming.

Ever since she learned about Ji Lei's family situation from Meng Xiaoyang, she had never thought about how much dowry to ask for.

These days, the betrothal gifts in Beijing are generally 660 or 880 yuan, and sometimes as much as 1,200 or 2,000 yuan. However, most of the families that offer high betrothal gifts are well-off dual-income families.

Ordinary people like them just need to follow the general standards.

"Mom, why are you saying those things? If the money at home is not enough, we can borrow some from relatives and then pay them back after the autumn harvest." Ji Ben frowned.

Obviously he didn't agree with what his mother said.

His younger brother finally found a wife, and as the eldest brother, he had to sell everything he had to get his younger brother a wife.

"Ji Ben, you talk nicely, but if we borrow money, we have to pay it back in the autumn harvest. How many grains can we harvest in the autumn harvest? If you really sell the grain in the autumn harvest, will our whole family starve next year?" Huang Yingying frowned, and her face immediately turned ugly.

"I can go out to work during the slack season..." Ji Benmang said.

"How much can you earn in a day doing that odd job?" Huang Yingying interrupted him in an unhappy tone.

It looked like a quarrel was about to break out.

"I'll figure out the betrothal gift issue." Ji Lei said hurriedly.

"You figure out a way, but you'll still have to pay us back later." Huang Yingying sneered.

"I'll pay it back myself." Ji Lei said in a serious tone.

"How can that be?!" Ji Ben frowned.

As the old saying goes, an elder brother is like a father. How can he, as an older brother, stand by and watch his younger brother get married?!

"Brother, it's not easy for you to take care of mom all these years..." Ji Lei still felt guilty facing his own brother.

Ever since he joined the army, it has been my brother who has been supporting the family.

"Leilei, stop saying that. If it weren't for your allowance..." Ji Ben hurriedly said.

"Stop talking." Ji Lei's mother slammed the table.

The brothers Ji Ben and Ji Lei fell silent.

The loud noise scared Ji Zhuangzhuang who was standing by.

Huang Yingying hurriedly hugged her son in her arms and patted his back to comfort him.

Ji Lei's mother glanced at the people in the room, sighed and grabbed Jian Liqiu's hand.

"Li Qiu, you are a good child, and I don't want to wrong you, but the conditions of this family are like this..."

Ji Lei's mother sighed again.

"When Ji Lei's wife came into the house, we gave her a betrothal gift of 300 yuan. I'll give you another 100 yuan, or 400 yuan. Is that okay with you?"