The village chief and his wife paused for a moment, exchanged a glance, and then said they needed to go inside to discuss it. Zhao Guizhi said that was the right thing to do, and that they would wait in the main room while the village chief and his wife discussed it at their own pace, without any rush.
When the village chief and his wife entered the house, they called Chun Chun in as well. They asked Chun Chun what she thought, and she blushed and tacitly agreed, twisting her clothes with her hands, looking very shy.
“Since Chun Chun agrees, we have no reason to object. I trust the Zhou couple, and Da Fu is a kind-hearted kid. I think it’s a good idea,” Zhao Xiu quickly stated.
The village chief nodded. "I think it's fine too. There's nothing to complain about. The eldest son's family is not what it used to be. In fact, we're a bit of a mismatch. Xingxing's parents are high-ranking officials in the capital."
Otherwise, why has Mr. Zhou made his fortune so quickly in recent years, and why has no one dared to cause him trouble? It's all because he has a powerful backer.
Of course, the village chief only thought it to himself and didn't say it out loud, but he did agree to the marriage between his daughter and Dafu.
The village chief and his family of three quickly reached an agreement. After coming out, they agreed, and Zhao Guizhi left the gifts behind. She and Chen Shunping happily went back home.
When formally proposing marriage, a matchmaker should still be invited. Zhao Guizhi should not be allowed to act as the matchmaker. Only by going through the proper formalities of marriage can the importance attached to the woman be shown, and this should not be done perfunctorily.
Both families were very interested in each other and knew each other well, so they decided to arrange the engagement on the eighth day of the following month, an auspicious day.
Dafu and Chunchun also exchanged tokens of their love. Dafu gave her a jade pendant, which was dug out of the mountain along with bamboo slips. Zhao Guihua originally intended to keep it as a dowry for Xingxing.
However, Xingxing said she didn't need to give her all of it. She cut the jade in half and had the jewelry shop craftsman carve five jade pendants, one for each of the five Fu brothers. After the five jade pendants were carved, Xingxing kept the remaining three pieces of jade untouched. She didn't lack jewelry; she had everything in the palace.
Chun Chun gave Da Fu a handkerchief she embroidered herself, with the character "福" (fortune) embroidered on one corner. Da Fu said he liked it very much.
"It's just an engagement. She's just a girl from a farming family, not some rich lady. Why are there so many betrothal gifts? They're generous to others, but stingy to their own family. I really don't know what your family is thinking." Zhong Mailian was extremely envious when she saw the many betrothal gifts sent to the village chief's house.
When Dafu got engaged, the people in their old house had no say at all. Zhou Laoda didn't even inform them. They only came to watch the excitement today after hearing about it from others.
Although they were furious and jealous to the point of madness, none of the people in the old house dared to cause trouble. The eldest brother's family had two female bodyguards with superb martial arts skills, and Dafu and the others also knew martial arts. None of them took the relatives in the old house seriously. If anyone dared to cause trouble, they would be taught a lesson.
After being disciplined so many times, the third and fourth wives became much more obedient.
Zhang Cui, who had lost an arm, also came to watch the commotion. She was no longer as lifeless as before and had become much more cheerful. However, she had learned to behave herself and dared not cause trouble with the eldest son's family anymore. She even avoided the eldest son's family members whenever she saw them.
Zhou Laosan and Zhou Laosi have learned their lesson. After being taught a few lessons by Erfu and Sifu, they became obedient. Those two nephews have bad tempers and are incredibly strong; one punch from them can make them vomit blood.
"Alright, stop talking now, lest the eldest son's family hears you and comes back to beat you up." Zhang Cui glanced at her fourth brother's wife, signaling her to shut up.
"I know, I didn't let anyone hear, I was whispering." Zhong Mailian looked around guiltily, and only felt relieved when she saw that no one was paying attention.
The lives of those with three or four bedrooms haven't changed much in recent years. They're just as poor as before, and they can no longer take advantage of those with larger bedrooms. They always feel like something is missing.
Zhou Laosan no longer covers his face with a handkerchief when he goes out. At first, I thought it was ugly and embarrassing that his nose had been cut, but I got used to it and didn't feel anything. In the past, the children in the village would be scared to tears by him, but after getting used to it, it's the same.
After watching the commotion, the third and fourth wives went home together. As they walked, Zhou Laosan sighed, "Ah, Second Brother is so clever! He's always gotten along well with the eldest wife. Look at that time, not only was Dafa's nephew saved, but he also recovered completely."
My second brother and his wife started by selling food at the town's docks, and later opened a tavern. The tavern business has been really good these past two years; otherwise, how could they afford a two-courtyard house in town?
Zhou Laosi looked jealous. "Hmph, it's all because the eldest son helped the second son that the second brother has such good fortune. The eldest son's success today is also due to the fact that the adopted daughter is from a wealthy family. I heard Fagen and Shugen say that her parents are high-ranking officials in the capital."
"What can we do? We don't even have a chance to get along with the eldest son's family anymore. The eldest brother and sister-in-law don't pay any attention to us at all." Zhou Laosan seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, no longer showing the eagerness he used to have.
"Fortunately, my eldest and second eldest brothers can't abandon our parents, so they can still get some filial piety from them every year," Zhou Laosi comforted himself.
Zhong Mailian and Zhang Cui both nodded in agreement. It was fortunate that they had their parents-in-law; otherwise, life would have been even more difficult for the family, and it would have been hard for the boys to find wives.
Nowadays, people value filial piety, and those who are not filial can be severely punished. The eldest and second eldest brothers dare not be unfilial, and they give their parents some gifts every year during the Spring Festival.
To appease his parents and prevent them from causing trouble at his home, Zhou Laoda would give them ten taels of silver every year, along with two bolts of cloth and some pastries.
Every year, Zhou Lao Er would give the two old people five taels of silver and make them a new set of clothes, and that was all.
The Zhou family elders were incredibly devoted to their two youngest sons. They saved all the money given to them by the eldest and second sons, and used the cloth to make new clothes for their grandsons. Any extra money was saved for when their grandsons got married.
So the grandchildren of the third and fourth wives got married a couple of years ago, thanks to the money the two elders had taken from the first and second wives.
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