The day after tomorrow will arrive in the blink of an eye.
The Zhou and Zhang families seemed to be locked in a power struggle. Zhang's family also set the wedding date for today and deliberately held up the betrothal letter at the Zhou family's door.
“Oh my, our Xiaohua married into a wealthy family. Look at this long list of gifts.”
"Two geese living happily together, four old hens, two beef ribs, two baskets of 308 eggs, 160 duck eggs, 50 feet of cloth, two quilts, and a complete set of hair ornaments."
Seeing that no one paid attention to her, Zhang chuckled, "Poor Dawei, he has no one to marry but that Xu family's Cuicui. Her father has to hold on, otherwise he'll be a laughing stock if he crosses his legs on his wedding night!"
In the new house, Xu Cuicui lifted her veil and was about to challenge Zhang Shi to a duel. Now that she had married into the family, she could not allow anyone to bully her and disrespect her.
Madam Qin pressed her down, saying, "Sit still, Mother is here."
After saying that, she strode out with great pride.
"Zhang, you old rascal, what nonsense are you spouting? Do you want to get slapped?"
Zhang wasn't annoyed. She put her hands on her hips and said smugly, "I'm telling the truth. If you're so capable, why don't you read out your betrothal gifts? I want to see what good stuff your family has!"
She remembered when the Zhou family presented her with the betrothal gifts, they said they brought all the best things in the house, and her family ate quite a lot of them. Even if they spent more, the Zhou family couldn't possibly humiliate her.
Hmph, it's all thanks to her little flower for getting married in such a grand way. Not marrying into the Zhou family was the right choice she could have made!
She wanted to compete, and with so many villagers watching, Qin couldn't admit defeat, so she asked Zhou Erqian to read it to her.
Zhou Erqian sneered, "Crazy woman, listen up, don't be so scared you can't stand up straight!"
"Who are you calling a crazy old woman?"
"Who should be cursing whom!"
Zhang was furious. "Fine, fine, I want to hear what good stuff your family has to offer!"
"Eight geese, sixteen hens, two wild boars with four piglets, three century-old ginseng roots, and eight hundred and eighty-eight duck eggs."
Fifty catties of wild bear meat, fifty catties of wild venison, fifty catties of pheasant, one hundred catties of wild donkey meat, a new house with two courtyards and two exits, a carriage, three hundred and sixty feet of cloth, six hairpins and ornaments, six pairs each of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, six wedding quilts, and one hundred and sixty-six taels of money to cover the wedding quilts!
As soon as Zhou Erqian finished speaking, Zhang was struck as if by lightning, and she staggered back several steps in shock.
"How is that possible? Your family just built a dilapidated house, how could you possibly have so much money?"
No one answered her, and the villagers watching were extremely envious.
"I regret it. If I had known the Zhou family was offering such a large dowry, I would have dragged my daughter into the marriage no matter what."
"Who says otherwise? The Zhou family's dowry is enough to marry the housekeeper's daughter in the city."
"I don't know what's wrong with the Zhang family, that they would turn down such a coveted prize."
"Oh dear, I think Zhang is regretting it to the core. I remember the Li family only gave forty taels of silver, while the money for the wedding quilt was one hundred and sixty-six taels."
"She still has the nerve to show off. I wonder if her face hurts from being slapped like that. If it were me, I would never be able to face anyone again."
"Who says otherwise? If I were her daughter, I'd be furious! She wouldn't let her marry into such a good family!"
Zhang gritted her teeth in anger, while Qin laughed, "How about it? Are you satisfied now?"
"Pah!" Zhang spat at her. "Who knows if what you're saying is true or false? Anyone can talk big!"
Zhou Erqian opened the courtyard gate, "Crazy woman, watch out!"
Everything was neatly piled up in the yard.
"That's true, I'm so envious."
"Yes, it's too late to say anything now."
The villagers chattered excitedly, and Zhang was so envious that she wanted to rush over and snatch everything away!
She regretted it, but it was too late to say anything now. Those things were there, like a heavy slap in the face, so painful that she felt like she was going to vomit blood.
Qin was still staring at her, and Zhang couldn't even lift her head. She could only slink away with her tail between her legs.
"You run pretty fast!" Zhou Erqian sneered.
"Alright, go and greet the guests."
After a busy day, and seeing off all the guests, it was already dark when Zhou Dawei lifted the veil from his new house.
Xu Cuicui's pretty face was flushed with shyness. Zhou Dawei, a little drunk, smiled gently and asked, "Are you hungry?"
"I'm fine. When there are a lot of people, the little guy sneaks in and slips me two pieces of pastry."
Thinking of Sisi, Zhou Dawei's smile widened. "My little sister is very mischievous, but she's innocent-minded. If she..."
Xu Cuicui naturally understood what he meant, and blushed as she said, "Don't worry! Now that I'm married into the Zhou family, I'm a member of the Zhou family, and Sisi is my own sister."
"Okay, thank you, Cui Cui. It's late, we should turn off the lights and go to sleep."
The girl blushed even more and nodded shyly.
The lights here are off, but the lights in the Li family's house are still on.
Zhang Xiaohua was waiting for Li Yu to come in and lift her veil, but unexpectedly he came in, grabbed her hair, and slapped her.
"You little wench, you didn't want to marry me, but you obediently married me now, didn't you? You women deserve a beating!"
Zhang Xiaohua was stunned by the slap, and said, her voice choked with anger, "Why did you hit me?"
Li, drunk, ripped off her veil. "You deserve to be hit! Who told you to agree to marry me but then decide to marry Zhou Dawei? You deserve it!"
That's my mother...
He slapped her again, and Zhang Xiaohua covered her face, tears streaming down her face in grievance.
"You're so annoying with your babbling. Hurry up and serve me to sleep. I'm telling you, when I go back to my parents' home, you have to go and get your betrothal gifts back, or I'll beat you to death!"
"A dowry?" Zhang Xiaohua was dumbfounded. What family would send a betrothal gift back after the betrothal?
"Yes, these are all borrowed items that need to be returned!"
"Borrowed?" she raised her voice. "How could it be borrowed? Why didn't your mother explain it to my mother?"
He sneered, "If I made things clear, would you still be willing to marry me? Besides, you're blind. In what way am I inferior to Zhou Dawei?"
"I want to go home! I want to go home!" Zhang Xiaohua screamed, trying to open the door and run out. Li Yu grabbed her arm and threw her onto the bed without any pity.
"You've already paid your respects and you still want to leave? Do you think this place is a toilet, where you can come and go as you please?"
"No, no!" Overwhelmed by his reeking of alcohol, Zhang Xiaohua shed tears of regret.
She shouldn't have listened to her mother and married into this family. The Li family are all liars, liars!
"ah--!"
With a piercing scream, Zhang Xiaohua was utterly devastated.
After being tormented for three days, Zhang Xiaohua developed a fever and lay drowsy. Li Yu kicked her off the bed, saying, "The day for your return visit has arrived. Aren't you going to your family to get your betrothal gifts back?"
Zhang Xiaohua staggered to her feet, her voice hoarse, "Aren't you coming with me?"
"I'm busy!"
Zhang Xiaohua had no choice but to carry the heavy package to Peach Blossom Village alone. At the village entrance, she met Zhou Dawei, who was alone under a tree.
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