The two made an agreement and reached a preliminary consensus before Baili Xiao left.
"Three, I'm coming to propose marriage tomorrow, you..."
"What?" San Tiao and Er Bing exclaimed in surprise.
Su Xuedan almost choked on her own saliva, as if she had heard something shocking and astonishing.
"What did you just say? A marriage proposal? Is it the kind of marriage proposal we're thinking of?"
Baili Xiao gave them a disdainful look: "Don't you understand what a marriage proposal is? It's about getting a wife."
Erbing and Santiao were so shocked their eyes almost popped out. The iron tree was about to bloom!
"Time is short. Tomorrow morning, San Tiao, you go and prepare the betrothal gifts, such as sesame oil tea, four kinds of dried fruit, etc. Er Bing, you go and buy three mules, and also buy two bolts of each kind of cloth. The betrothal gifts will be transported over in a mule cart..."
Su Xuedan never expected that her uncle, who always insisted on paying for her tea, would actually be proposing marriage!
She was vaguely worried that they might kick her out.
"Uncle, whose daughter is your future aunt? It's not the girl we had tea with last time, is it?"
"Master, could the future mistress be Miss Xia?" San Tiao asked in surprise.
Baili Xiao raised his eyes: "Is there a problem?"
San Tiao paused for a moment, then shook his head: "No problem, it's just..." It's just that the identities don't match.
A great general and an orphaned girl from the countryside—they were not a good match.
“No problem, we’ll get it done as soon as possible tomorrow. Once everything is ready, come with me to propose marriage.” Baili Xiao knew what San Tiao meant; he simply thought Xia Chunmei’s background wasn’t good enough.
"Chunmei is my woman. No matter what her background is, she will always be the only mistress of this mansion. None of you are allowed to look down on her!"
Upon hearing this, San Tiao Er Bing and Su Xuedan were secretly shocked: Grandpa (Uncle) actually values her so much!
"Dandan, your aunt is about the same age as you, so your tastes should be similar. Tomorrow morning, you'll come with me to the jewelry store to choose some pieces."
Speaking of this, Baili Xiao felt a little guilty. His young wife was about the same age as his niece, cough cough, it did seem a bit like dating a young girl.
"Okay, Uncle, then I'll have to ask Aunt to prepare a gift for us." Her uncle is so stingy, even making the girl pay for his tea. She has to be more generous and treat her aunt better, otherwise what if her aunt refuses to marry her?
But what should I give as a gift?
Su Xuedan left the Su family home empty-handed. Even if she had, there wouldn't have been much to show for it, given how well the Su family treated her…
"Yuqiu, what do you think I should prepare for my aunt?" Su Xuedan asked. "You're a local, what are the local customs?"
“Miss, you are the junior. If we are to prepare a gift, it should be her who prepares it for you. However, judging from what the three guards said, Miss Xia seems to come from a humble background.”
"It shouldn't be high, I don't know the exact number, but it doesn't matter if she doesn't come from a high social class, as long as she treats my uncle well, that's enough." Su Xuedan's mother came from a good family, so she didn't place too much importance on matching social status with her husband.
Xia Yuqiu remained silent upon hearing this.
...
Yijia Village.
When Xia Ming returned home, she inquired about Baili Xiao's situation from Xia Hongfen.
Xia Hongfen then learned that her dear niece already had a fiancé, but she, her own aunt, didn't even know!
I'm so angry!
While angry, Xia Hongfen was also very curious about what was going on. Others might not know about her niece's situation, but she did. How could she suddenly have a fiancé?
Xia Hongfen didn't sleep well all night because of this.
There was no banquet the next day, and Xia Hongfen wasn't in a hurry to return to Xiaojiagou. She was waiting for Xia Chunmei to come back so she could question her properly.
Xia Chunmei returned to the village around 9:45 AM. The first thing she did upon returning was to find Xia Xintian and tell him about the job recruitment.
"Chunmei, are you serious?" Xia Xintian stood up excitedly.
Zhuang, standing to the side, also stared wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief.
"However, the construction period is not long; I estimate there will be work for only two or three months."
Since ginger is a seasonal product, it will probably be finished by the end of the year at the latest.
"Six hundred coins a month, plus room and board, that's more than a tael of silver in two months. Now everyone can have a prosperous New Year." Xia Xintian couldn't stop smiling.
Xia Chunmei said that if her family got two spots, it meant that their income of two and a half taels of silver was guaranteed.
"Uncle, we'll have to trouble you with hiring people. You know better than I do which uncles and aunts in our village are honest and reliable."
Xia Xintian and his wife have been dealing with the villagers for decades, so they definitely understand these people's personalities better than Xia Chunmei.
Besides, he is the clan chief, so asking him to find someone is both a sign of trust and respect.
"But we must make it clear to them that if anyone breaks the rules and does something wrong over there, I will not plead for them. Also, the Jin family is not to be trifled with, so even if I plead for them, it won't do any good."
"Chunmei, I understand what you mean. You think of everyone when you have good things to do, so we should be grateful to you and cherish this opportunity even more."
Even if you hadn't said that, I would have told them that anyone who disgraces our Yijia Village or the Xia Clan will be the first to be dealt with!
"Alright, then I'll leave this to you, Uncle."
"No trouble at all, no trouble at all. I'm so grateful to you." Xia Xintian couldn't stop smiling excitedly.
Two and a half taels of silver! That means Xiao Hui's tuition for the first half of next year is sorted out.
Then Xia Chunmei went to inform Chen Jinlian and Aunt Lihua, who were overjoyed to hear the good news.
"Chunmei, why do you always think of us when there are good things?" Li Xiaohua felt so jealous. "Sister-in-law, your niece has already made a lot of money by helping with the banquet. You have to give up this opportunity."
Upon hearing this, Qiu immediately rebuked, "Give it to whom? To your family? How dare you! If you don't want to stay in our Xia family, get out!"
Li Xiaohua was so upset that she burst into tears.
Chen Jinlian also looked down on this sister-in-law, but since her mother-in-law had already scolded her, she was too lazy to say anything more about Li Xiaohua.
She also knew that Li Xiaohua envied and was jealous of her earning money with Xia Chunmei, and in fact, her other sister-in-law, Huang, was also envious.
She couldn't afford to offend both of her sisters-in-law; she had to at least win one over. Huang Shi was more adept at handling things than Li Xiaohua, so Chen Jinlian said, "Mother, although Chunmei gave my family a spot, our family can still send one. I think we should let my third sister-in-law go instead."
"Why should I?" Li Xiaohua immediately jumped out to object.
Although Qiu was shrewish, she was not mean-spirited. Although the family had not separated, whoever made money had to hand over 90% of it and could keep 10% as a private stash.
If Huang leaves, how will Li Xiaohua ever have a chance to save money on her own?
By then, she would be the poorest of the three sisters-in-law!
Madam Huang was also clever, and quickly said, "Mother, washing and cutting ginger can easily burn your hands. With so many cracks on your hands, you shouldn't go and suffer like that. Second Sister-in-law just offended Chunmei and Sister Hongfen because of the matchmaking, so it's not appropriate for her to go."
Li Xiaohua said anxiously, "The matchmaking thing was a complete misunderstanding. Besides, Chunmei wasn't angry. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given our family a spot."
"How dare you say that! If Chunmei were really angry and made money without us, do you think you'd still be sitting here spouting nonsense? I would have kicked you out long ago," Qiu said angrily. "Want to work? Dream on! Huang, you do the work."
"Okay, Mother," Huang replied happily.
Li Xiaohua felt like she had a mouthful of blood stuck in her throat.
~
At Aunt Lihua's house, Xia Qiang and his son were helping Xia Chunmei build a house. Jiang Xiaoli was already pregnant, and she and Xia Guixiang had to cook for so many people every day, so they couldn't spare the time to go to the Jin family to do chores.
In order not to waste this opportunity, Aunt Lihua also sent her eldest daughter, Xia Guiyun, who was already married, to work at the Jin family's house.
Xia Chunmei didn't care who they sent, her only advice was to avoid trouble.
She returned to her own home after notifying those families.
Xia Hongfen had been waiting at home for a long time.
As soon as Xia Chunmei entered the house, Xia Hongfen sent the children away and then went to the clinic, quietly asking, "Yesterday your Grandma Ming said you have a fiancé, what's going on?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com