After listening, Huang Jianjun nodded seriously: "Mom and Dad, I understand."
"However, if the Mu family feels that the bride price is too low, I cannot ask you to lend me money to pay the bride price for Shengnan."
"Because if I borrow money, I have to pay it back eventually. I can't expect Shengnan to marry me and then help me pay off the bride price, can I?"
"Wouldn't that mean Shengnan is paying the bride price herself? If Shengnan's family isn't satisfied later, then I'll find a way to earn enough money before marrying Shengnan."
Chen Zhaodi and Huang Eryuan hadn't really considered this issue. They discussed the matter of lending money to Huang Jianjun for a long time before coming up with the idea.
Hearing Huang Jianjun say this, Chen Zhaodi suddenly realized that it seemed to make sense.
Borrowing money to marry a wife, and then paying it back together after she marries into the family, isn't that the same as the wife earning money to marry him?
After Chen Zhaodi figured it out, she felt a cold sweat break out all over her body.
Fortunately, they discussed it with Huang Jianjun at their own home first. If they had said those words directly at the Mu family's house, their marriage might have fallen through.
Huang Eryuan didn't quite understand. He felt there was nothing wrong with it, because many people in the village did it this way.
So when he saw Chen Zhaodi's sudden realization, he asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem with doing this? Isn't this a very common practice?"
Chen Zhaodi patiently explained to him: "What is common does not mean what is right. Doing this is not only problematic, but a big problem."
"Think about it. If the dowry money Junhui gives to Qinqin is borrowed, and Qinqin has to pay it back with Junhui after she gets married, is that reasonable to you?"
Chen Zhaodi hadn't originally intended to use this analogy, but then she reconsidered and felt that only in this way could Huang Eryuan directly understand what the problem was.
Sure enough, Huang Eryuan immediately knew there was a problem with the analogy. Even though it was just a hypothetical scenario, Huang Eryuan's face turned dark.
Seeing that he understood, Chen Zhaodi patted his shoulder with relief: "Fortunately, Jianjun sees things more clearly than we do, otherwise, we would probably have gone in smiling and come out crying today."
......
Mu Family
When Mu's parents heard that the Huang family was coming to visit today, they also gathered together after dinner to discuss their plans.
"Shengnan, Jianjun's family is not well-off. What do you think about the bride price? How much should we ask for?"
To be honest, Mu's mother really liked Huang Jianjun and the atmosphere of the Huang family, but now that it's time to talk about marriage, she's starting to have some worries.
After all, the Huang family's circumstances were far inferior to theirs. It wasn't that Mu's mother disliked Huang Jianjun, but she was worried that Mu Shengnan would suffer after marrying into the Huang family.
Mu Shengnan looked at her helplessly: "Mom, Jianjun's family is not bad at all. You can't compare our family to theirs."
“Jianjun’s family is already better off than many people in the city. Besides, Jianjun and I both have jobs, and his parents also have jobs, so no matter what, we won’t go hungry.”
"As for the bride price, just ask for the normal amount. Aunt Wang, how much was the bride price when your son got married?"
Although it's said to be a normal amount, Mu Shengnan's family wasn't actually sure how much dowry an ordinary person would give when getting married.
Coincidentally, Mu Shengnan remembered that Wang Ma's youngest son had just gotten married last year, so asking Wang Ma would be the most appropriate thing to do.
Mother Mu remembered, and the three of them looked expectantly at Mother Wang, waiting for her answer.
“Last year, my youngest son received a dowry of 38 yuan, while my eldest and second sons received less, only 30 yuan.”
Aunt Wang tried hard to recall the information she had heard from gossip, and said seriously, "Generally, in the city, the bride price is between twenty and fifty yuan."
"It's only a small portion; families with better financial conditions will have relatively higher bride prices."
Hearing what Wang Ma said, Mu's father thought for a moment and cautiously said to Mu's mother, "How about we compromise and ask for sixty-eight yuan?"
Mother Mu nodded: "I think it's feasible. The amount is neither too high nor too low. If Jianjun agrees without hesitation, it will prove that he values Shengnan."
“If he hesitates even over this amount, we need to reconsider. Whether it's because he doesn't have enough money or he thinks the bride price is too high, we need to re-evaluate him.”
"Shengnan, what do you think?"
Mu Shengnan had no objections; she also felt that the amount was just right, not too high, and Huang Jianjun could easily afford it.
Whether he will agree or not depends on how much he values himself.
......
"Sixty-eight yuan?!"
When Chen Zhaodi and Huang Jianjun heard the number, they exclaimed in unison, their hearts filled with joy.
They were all prepared, thinking that the Mu family might ask for several hundred yuan in betrothal gifts, after all, Mu Shengnan's family was so well-off, and Mu Shengnan was an only child.
They were so surprised and delighted that they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "They only asked for 68 yuan!"
The mother and son's exclamations were misinterpreted by the Mu family as a sign that they thought the bride price was too high, hence their surprised shouts.
Seeing their surprised expressions, Mu Shengnan's heart skipped a beat. She thought bitterly, "Could it be that she really misjudged him? Huang Jianjun can't even afford a dowry of sixty-eight yuan?"
Just as Mu's mother and father's expressions were becoming increasingly serious, Chen Zhaodi and Huang Jianjun made their move.
The two of them moved in perfect unison, both reaching into their pockets. Chen Zhaodi took out five ten-yuan bills and handed them to Huang Jianjun.
Then Huang Jianjun took out three ten-yuan bills from his pocket and quickly stuffed the money into Mu Shengnan's hand.
The movement was so fast that the Mu family didn't even have time to react.
Looking at the money in her hand, Mu Shengnan breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Huang Jianjun didn't think the bride price was too much.
"Jianjun, what's going on?"
Huang Jianjun looked at Mu Shengnan sincerely: "Shengnan, I know that my family's conditions are much worse than yours, and I also know that you are only asking for a dowry of sixty-eight yuan to take care of us."
“I’m also sure I can’t give too much in betrothal gifts, so I’m thinking of giving eighty yuan. That’s all I can give within my means.”
After hearing Huang Jianjun's words, Mu Shengnan was somewhat moved, but when she saw the money in her hand, she felt like laughing.
"I'm very touched, but isn't it a bit strange that you're giving me the money so directly?"
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