Lin Yu and Gu Yunze were in a free-choice relationship. Since they had been dating for several years, neither of their parents continued to make things difficult.
Soon the two families started talking about the bride price and dowry.
Li Huizhu had heard Lin Shengli say that he would buy a house for Lin Yu, so she said, "We are planning to buy him a three-wheeled vehicle and a radio, plus a dowry of 1,888 yuan. What do you think?"
"So much money!"
Wang Zhaodi exclaimed in surprise.
Lin Jianguo tugged at her, and she quickly covered her mouth and said, "You guys talk, I won't say anything."
Grandma Lin was speechless. She glared at her before turning her head and saying, "This dowry is acceptable. We'll give it all to Xiaoyu to take with her. In addition, my Shengli family will provide Xiaoyu with a house as part of her dowry."
Lin Shengli had told her about this.
That's a house!
Therefore, Grandma Lin felt that any amount of dowry was worthwhile. They weren't greedy for money; they just wanted to see how much respect the other party showed to Lin Yu.
Since nowadays one party is giving a high bride price and the other a house as a dowry, it is reasonable.
Li Huizhu was satisfied; it was all for the sake of the child.
Neither family said much at this stage, and they quickly explained their terms.
Next up is the wedding date.
Li Huizhu took out a piece of red paper and whispered, "These are auspicious dates that I had someone calculate; they're all very suitable for marriage."
Gu Henglin and Gu Yunze were unaware of this and looked at her with some surprise.
Li Huizhu rolled her eyes at them: "I know you don't believe in these things, you're all atheists, but I won't feel right unless I have someone do my divination, just for peace of mind."
Grandma Lin is the same as her in this respect.
Although she had been saying that she was breaking with feudal superstitions, in her heart, she always felt it was inappropriate to get married without calculating the auspicious date first.
Grandma Lin greatly admired Li Huizhu's actions and felt even more favorably toward her.
He praised her, saying, "My dear in-law, you are so thoughtful."
Seeing how happy the old man was, the Gu father and son said nothing more.
What else can we do? We've already considered it, so what else can we do?
So they all crowded around to look at the calendar in Li Huizhu's hand.
She explained, "One is at the end of this month, one is on the 15th of next month, and the other is on the 20th of next month."
Grandma Lin thought for a moment and said, "It's already the middle of the month, so it definitely won't work by the end of the month."
Gu Yunze looked slightly disappointed; he couldn't wait to get married at the end of the month.
Unfortunately, both sets of parents disapproved. Seeing her son's disappointment, Li Huizhu said speechlessly, "How can you prepare in such a short time? This is a major event in your lives."
Seeing Gu Yunze's discomfiture, Lin Shengli was delighted and quickly said, "That's right, why so soon? It would be best to choose the 20th of next month. But mother-in-law, why isn't there a date next year?"
He thought to himself, "The Gu family is cunning; they're only taking advantage of the days before the new year."
They just don't want their child to get married after the New Year.
Grandma Lin pinched him from below; this kid really doesn't know how to stir up trouble.
The wedding is already arranged, why drag it out?
Li Huizhu wasn't angry; after all, it was normal for Lin Shengli to be reluctant to let his child get married.
She explained with a smile, "I'm thinking that I'll have more time before the New Year and it will be easier to get things done. After the New Year, I'll be visiting relatives and friends and there will be too many things to do. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle things well then."
She had a good temper and her explanation was reasonable, so Lin Shengli couldn't say anything more.
Shen Zhinian then said, "Then let's choose the fifteenth of next month, so that we'll still have time to prepare for the New Year before the end of the year."
Li Huizhu also preferred this date, so the two mothers decided on it.
Gu Yunze and Lin Yu exchanged a glance, their eyes sparkling.
Their wedding date has finally been set!
Gu Yunze felt that he had been waiting for this moment for too long, and even now, upon hearing the news, he still didn't feel it was real.
Lin Yu secretly tugged at his hand to comfort him.
She felt a strange mix of emotions. She hadn't expected to set a wedding date so soon; in other words, she would be getting married in less than a month!
A month is neither a long nor a short time.
But for Lin Yu, this month passed very quickly.
After the Gu family came to propose marriage, Lin Shengli asked someone to find a small bungalow and bought it. The property certificate was in Lin Yu's name.
A few days later, Lin Wen also took a train from Zhejiang Province to Beicheng.
Lin Yu then led her brothers and sisters to decorate their wedding room.
During this period, the three turns and one sound that the Gu family bought were also delivered to the new house.
After the wedding room was fully decorated, Shen Zhinian led her to start embroidering her wedding dress.
The wedding dress was made by an old tailor. Shen Zhinian asked Lin Yu to make a few stitches on it according to tradition, so that it would be as if she had made it herself.
Once everything was ready, Lin Yu was surprised to find that there were only three days left until the wedding.
A month has passed just like that.
For the last three days, Shen Zhinian asked Lin Yu and Gu Yunze not to meet, and the two of them stayed at their respective homes.
Lin Yu teased, "Mom, you've received a modern education, how come you're still so superstitious about tradition?"
As Shen Zhinian packed her dowry chest, she touched the bright red quilt and said, "I'd rather believe it's true. Mom wants to do everything she can to make you happy."
She kept her head down, so Lin Yu couldn't see her expression.
She continued, "Xiaoyu, Mom and Dad don't know how to treat you well. Will you blame us?"
Lin Yu was surprised by her reaction and shook her head blankly: "No way, why do you say that?"
Shen Zhinian sighed: "We were too careless before and lost you. We missed each other for more than ten years. When you came back, you were already an adult. We want to make it up to you, but we don't know how."
Lin Shengli and Shen Zhinian felt very guilty towards their daughter.
This sense of indebtedness is so difficult to make up for that no matter how much they do, they never feel it's enough.
Aside from what parents normally do, they don't know what else they can do to make up for the past ten years or so.
Lin Yu knew, however, that the separation of more than ten years could never be made up for.
She wanted her parents to look forward: "The past is the past; we should look to the future."
Lin Yu felt that her parents were being a bit stubborn and advised, "There's no need to talk about making amends or owing anything. We're family, and we always will be."
Shinobu Chinen burst into tears, covering her mouth and sobbing uncontrollably.
Lin Yu could only hold her frail body, and then, a thought struck him, and he gently comforted her:
"Mom, even though you missed out on my childhood, you can still help take care of my kids in the future, it's the same thing."
Shen Zhinian seemed to have found a way out and immediately said, "Yes, Mom will definitely take care of your child, preferably a girl."
Although Lin Yu didn't care about having a boy or a girl, she had no choice but to say, "Yes, yes, I'll definitely have a girl who looks just like me," in order to comfort her mother.
When Shen Zhinian thought of that small, soft child who looked just like Xiaoyu, a part of her heart softened and collapsed.
That evening, she brought up the matter with Lin Shengli, and the couple got up to discuss what they should give their granddaughter in the future...
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