Chapter 395 The Cao Family's Dowry
The matchmaker, Wang, came this time to confirm the time for carrying the dowry. When a man and woman get married, the dowry must be sent first and delivered to the groom's home before the wedding.
Of course, the villagers didn't have such a custom, because no one's daughter had that much dowry. The Cao family was different; they were one of the wealthiest families in Hekou County. When their eldest daughter got married, her dowry would inevitably attract a lot of attention.
"Then it's settled. The dowry will be delivered the day before the wedding," said Matchmaker Wang, waving her handkerchief. "At three-quarters past Chen hour, when the sun is high in the sky and dragons are moving westward, it is an auspicious time. Come at that time."
After setting the time for carrying the dowry, the matchmaker, Wang, left.
Now it was Cheng Wanwan's turn to worry. Although she had many rooms in her house, there were too many people and only one storeroom. The storeroom was filled with the rewards given to her by the imperial court, as well as some miscellaneous items she bought from the mall, which filled two-thirds of the space. It was impossible for her, her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, to have all their personal belongings piled up in one storeroom.
She immediately called Manager Yan over and ordered him to quickly build a storeroom behind the house, specifically for storing Yingying's dowry.
Fortunately, adobe bricks and other materials were readily available. With seven or eight men, construction could begin immediately, and the place was bustling with activity.
Cheng Wanwan sat in the main room and began writing down the menu for the wedding banquet. After finalizing the menu, she would arrange to purchase chicken, duck, fish, meat, wedding candy, wedding cakes, and other wedding necessities the next day...
The busy period lasted until the day before the wedding. Zhao Ergou naturally stayed home to rest and help decorate the new house.
The red gauze curtains added a lot of joy to the new house. Large red "double happiness" characters were pasted everywhere. Large red lanterns hung under the eaves at the door, and small lanterns were also hanging from the trees in the yard. Red couplets were pasted at the entrance to the yard. Red was everywhere, and the atmosphere was full of joy.
Although today is not the official wedding, a banquet will still be held. Firstly, to entertain the people from the Cao family who brought the dowry, and secondly, because many women from the village have come to prepare dishes in advance, so several tables will also be set up.
Before dawn, the yard was already bustling with activity.
Aunt Wang and a dozen other women were slaughtering chickens, ducks, and fish, while Wang Yongcheng and seven or eight men were slaughtering pigs, and Zhao Anjiang was butchering sheep.
Seeing this, the villagers started drooling. This wedding feast was too lavish. Not only were there chicken, duck, fish, and meat, but there was even mutton. Mutton was a delicacy that only nobles could afford. How much money must have gone into buying so many sheep?
Cheng Wanwan did spend a lot of money this time, buying thirty or forty sheep, mainly to make roast whole lamb. After all, she is now the Lady of Sui, her son is getting married, and she has invited many important people, so the banquet has to be high-class.
The head chef was Wu Huiniang, and the main assistants were Chunhua and Cheng Fang. More than twenty women from the village did odd jobs. They didn't cook today, but only chopped up and prepared all the side dishes needed for tomorrow's banquet. They could just put them into the pot before the banquet started tomorrow, which was convenient and quick.
The women were busy with their hands and chatting amongst themselves.
"According to Matchmaker Zhao, the Cao family is coming to deliver the dowry today."
"The eldest daughter of the Cao family must have a lot of dowry. I heard that wealthy families have dowries carried in sixty-four loads."
"My goodness, sixty-four loads! That's more than all the dowries of all the girls in our village combined!"
"Ergou is really lucky. He actually married the eldest daughter of the Cao family. He'll never be able to spend all of the Cao family's dowry in his lifetime."
"Luckily, Er Gouzi didn't get married early, otherwise he wouldn't have such good fortune..."
The villagers chatted idly, laughing and joking from time to time, but Sun Shuiqin, who was picking vegetables nearby, lowered her eyes, her beautiful eyes filled with sadness.
A large group of people worked from before dawn until sunrise.
At that moment, several horse-drawn carriages appeared on the main road of Dahe Village and slowly drove over.
The women immediately stopped what they were doing and stood on tiptoe to look.
"Hey, wasn't it supposed to be sixty-four loads of dowry? Why are there only three carriages? Can they even fit it all?"
"It seems the Cao family isn't as wealthy as we thought."
"Don't forget that Miss Cao has a stepmother. How could a stepmother be willing to prepare a generous dowry for her stepdaughter?"
"That's true..."
As everyone was discussing, the carriage arrived at Cheng Wanwan's house.
Although there were many people in the courtyard, they were all in designated areas, with a wide avenue left in the middle.
Matchmaker Wang was the first to get off the carriage, followed by Steward Sun, then the servants of the Cao family, and the two carriages behind them were filled with dowry.
After the eight servants came down, carrying four loads of dowry, it was much less than the villagers had imagined.
Sun Shuiqin, standing in the crowd, curled her lips in a mocking smile. "Only four dowries? Even the daughter of a general store owner in the city gets eight dowries when she gets married, along with a canopy bed, cabinets, washbasins, quilts, and a whole bunch of other items. Ha, this eldest daughter of the Cao family isn't much better. She's not worthy of Lady Sui's son at all, and she's not worthy of being Lady Sui's second daughter-in-law!"
Four red boxes were placed at the front gate.
Matchmaker Wang took out a gift list from her sleeve, cleared her throat, and began to read the list aloud. This was the custom of wealthy families; a gift list had to be read aloud before giving a gift.
"The lovebirds are singing in harmony, and happiness is revealed when makeup is ready!"
"A dressing case, three feet of red cloth, a pair of vases, a bronze mirror, dragon and phoenix bowls and chopsticks, a 'descendant bucket' (a container for fertility), a 'double happiness' quilt, and mandarin duck pillows..."
The first and second boxes were opened. The first box contained everyday items, and the second box contained bedding. There were no large items in the box.
The villagers' initial expectations were gone. Some families in the village with a little wealth would also prepare these things when their daughters got married. Although they weren't as exquisite, they would still have a complete set. The Cao family's dowry didn't seem to have anything special about it.
Next, Steward Sun opened the third box, which contained only a small sandalwood box.
"A three-courtyard house in Guihua Lane, Hekou County; four shops on the east side of the main street; a Cao family dyeing workshop; a Cao family merchant ship... and three hundred acres of Peach Blossom Village Garden..."
When Matchmaker Wang read this, everyone present gasped.
Let them count carefully how many courtyards there are, how many shops were given, what dyeing workshops and manors there are, and even a merchant ship was given as part of the dowry... Good heavens, just how much does the Cao family love this daughter? How come they gave her so much as part of the dowry!
Cheng Wanwan was also stunned, not expecting Cao Defu to be so generous.
She had previously told Cao Yingying that their Zhao family lived in a village, were peasants, and had a small house. She suggested that they shouldn't bring dowries such as canopy beds or cabinets, as the groom's family could prepare those. The Cao family had agreed to this. Unexpectedly, instead of furniture, they received so many fixed assets as a dowry: houses, shops, merchant ships... She, the second daughter-in-law, was the richest person in their family!
That wasn't all; Steward Sun opened the last crate.
"hiss!"
"My God!"
"Gold, all gold!"
"My goodness! My eyes are going blurry!"
Matchmaker Wang cleared her throat: "One hundred taels of gold, one hundred taels of gold leaves, one hundred taels of gold beans, and thirty thousand taels of silver notes!"
Cheng Wanwan was also taken aback. Such a dowry was probably unique among all the surrounding counties and towns. The Cao family's generosity was truly astounding.
After the gift list was read aloud and the dowry chest was closed, Zhao Ergou, feeling dizzy, led his men to carry all the dowry into the bridal chamber.
The Cao family also brought a matchmaker, a woman blessed with good fortune, prosperity, and longevity. She arrived a day early to prepare the bed for the newlyweds, and then had a healthy baby boy, symbolizing a happy family and abundant blessings, roll around on the bed...
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