Xiuxiu's mother curled her lip:

"Auntie, that's too insulting! The reason my Xiuxiu's dowry is so high is because she brought out her seventh brother, who's guaranteed to give birth to a son. Once she marries into your family, I guarantee she'll be holding a big, healthy grandson next year!"

“I want the gold hairpin for your family’s sake. Everyone in the village knows that your family is doing well now. If you can’t even afford a gold hairpin for your daughter-in-law’s wedding, people will think you’re stingy.”

In the past, she wouldn't have wanted any gold hairpins, but the Ye family is different now.

Putting aside the spicy soup, just these past few days have seen him sell jade for two hundred taels of silver and receive fifty taels of silver as a reward from the government. All of this is money!

The Ye family has really struck it rich!

She only wanted a gold hairpin, how could that be so unreasonable?

Old Mrs. Ye and Madam Du were almost numb, but they could still manage to squeeze out a gold hairpin if they gritted their teeth.

Every family spends money when they marry off a daughter-in-law!

Thinking about it, the two of them held back.

Grandma Ye forced a calm smile: "We only earn a few wages, we're hardly well-off. Xiuxiu is a good girl, we'll grit our teeth and buy her a gold hairpin or something."

Hearing this, Xiuxiu's mother felt a little better:

"Of course my Xiuxiu is a good one. After she enters the family, you can just wait to hold your great-grandson! Also, since our two families are related by marriage, we're all one family now, right?"

Grandma Ye nodded: "Of course."

Xiuxiu's mother said, "Since we're family... what I mean is... don't worry, I don't want any gold, silver, or valuables or extra money..."

“That’s right, Xiuxiu’s younger brother is Yong’er’s younger brother! We’re all family… We don’t need anything, just teach them how to make spicy soup, and they can set up a stall in another town. That’s a way to make a living, don’t you think?”

Upon hearing this, everyone in the main room was stunned and stared at her simultaneously.

Madam Du was the first to jump up, pointing at her: "You—I thought your greed was only about twenty taels of betrothal gifts and a gold hairpin, but who would have thought you would actually try to swindle my little sister out of her spicy soup recipe!!"

"My God, who are these people?! They're just... they're..."

"A wolf in sheep's clothing!" Ye Caiping said calmly.

"Yes, that's right, you're just greedy! Why don't you just gorge yourself to death!" Madam Du almost flipped the table!

"I..." Xiuxiu's mother hadn't expected such a strong reaction, and she was furious and ashamed as she said:

"What wolfish ambitions? What do you mean by lying? I just wanted you guys to teach Xiuxiu's younger brothers how to make Hu La Tang (a type of spicy soup), what's the problem?"

"What? Can't we teach our own family members? I just want my younger brothers to have a livelihood. I already said we won't set up shop in Dashu Town. We'll set up shop in another town; it won't steal your business. Why are you being so stingy!"

Old Mrs. Ye and Mrs. Du and Mrs. Wei were already numb from hearing it all.

"Auntie!" At this moment, Ye Yong came out of the house.

Before he could even speak, Xiuxiu's mother had already glared at him:

"Ye Yong, say something. You're the one who wants to marry Xiuxiu. What, you don't even want to help your brother-in-law? If that's the case, why are you even marrying Xiuxiu?"

“Carpenter Cai has already said that as long as Xiuxiu marries into the family, he will teach Xiuxiu’s younger brothers a trade and make them all craftsmen in the future.”

"Do you know how rare it is to have the opportunity to become a craftsman? But they still taught him!"

"Now that Xiuxiu is going to marry you, how come she can't even learn how to make a simple spicy soup?"

“My Xiuxiu doesn’t necessarily need you. If she married Cai the carpenter, her brother would have a livelihood! But if she married you, she wouldn’t! Think about it yourself, what do you have to offer that compares to Cai the carpenter, and what do you have to offer to marry her?”

Xiuxiu's mother's barrage of words stunned the entire Ye family.

The entire main room was so quiet that you could hear a mosquito flying by.

Good heavens! What kind of people are these?!

Ye Yong suddenly felt like laughing. He looked at Xiuxiu's mother, his face expressionless.

"Auntie, the spicy soup isn't from my family! It belongs to my aunt! If you had made that clear earlier, and if you were going to use my aunt's secret recipe as a betrothal gift, I would never have let Grandma send someone to propose marriage!"

Xiuxiu's mother was taken aback. She didn't expect Ye Yong to say such a thing. Didn't he like Xiuxiu very much?

She was so angry that her chest heaved, and she kept arguing, "Can't you understand human language? When did I say I wanted the secret recipe? I just... I just wanted to be taught how to make hot and sour soup so that your younger brothers could have a livelihood."

"Auntie, stop pretending to be ignorant. Teaching them is the same as giving them the secret recipe, isn't it?" Ye Yong gritted his teeth. "Auntie, go back. I'm not marrying Xiuxiu! This marriage is off!"

By the end, Ye Yong was almost in tears, overwhelmed with sorrow.

“You…” Xiuxiu’s mother was furious. She stepped forward and grabbed Ye Yong’s arm: “Come with me, I have something to say to you. Why are you so stubborn… I…”

Ye Caiping stared coldly at her: "It's no use saying anything to him. The secret formula is mine. Even if he agreed, he couldn't give it to you. No one knows the secret formula except me."

Xiuxiu's mother choked again.

The village head's wife suddenly stood up and coldly shouted, "Xiuxiu's mother, you should go back now!"

Xiuxiu's mother glanced coldly at Old Lady Ye and the others, and said sarcastically:

"Fine. What are you so smug about? It's just a little more money. Even that two hundred taels was just a lucky break by cheating that girl from the Li family. What real skill do you have? To put it bluntly, you're just stinking street vendors, nowhere near as good as craftsmen."

"Once my Xiuxiu marries Cai the carpenter and gives him a bunch of big, fat sons, and then teaches her younger brothers to be craftsmen, you'll all regret it."

After saying that, he turned and left.

As soon as she left, Madam Du collapsed to the ground and burst into tears.

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