Chapter 2499 Etiquette
Mr. Bai was successfully persuaded and immediately went to Old Zhou to discuss borrowing the house to hold the wedding banquet.
Old Zhou had no objection at all. It would be a good idea to hold a wedding as a rehearsal before Manbao and his family got married.
So he happily agreed, and took Mr. Bai's hand and said, "We are from the same village, why should we be so polite? It just so happens that my family is large now, and the children are on vacation these two days. If you have anything to do, just tell them to do it. Don't be polite."
When we were in Qili Village, it was normal to borrow tables, chairs, dishes and chopsticks from each other for wedding banquets. Occasionally, if the place at home was not big enough, we would set it up on the road. If the road was not flat enough, we would set it up at a brother's house. If there were no brothers, we would set it up at an uncle's house. If that didn't work, we would set it up at a neighbor's house. This was all normal practice and was well within Old Zhou's understanding.
Especially for such a big event as high school admission, the Zhou family can share in the good fortune, and he wishes he could share in it every day. What if it works, then his children who are currently studying can also get into high school next year?
After getting the approval of the Zhou family, Mr. Bai immediately took out the money to prepare things.
High school banquets are different from other wedding banquets. They can be prepared in two or three days, so it is natural to hold the banquet while the atmosphere is festive. It was only when Bai Shan and others were promoted that they kept putting it off.
The Feng family obviously meant the same thing.
And the good days are all the same, so they collide with each other as soon as they are chosen.
But it doesn't matter. If you don't go in person, you can just give gifts. You can also eat at his house in the first half of the day and go to his house in the second half of the day. As long as you don't go to work, you can go to five games in a day.
Zhao Liulang had a wide circle of friends, but of course, he didn't manage to attend all five games. He only attended four, just like County Magistrate Tang.
After the lively wedding banquet, the princess's marriage can be discussed.
When the Ministry of Rites came to propose marriage, Mr. Bai was excited and immediately took his two sons to discuss it.
The Ministry of Rites has chosen a good day, and next year's Flower Festival will be a good day.
Mr. Bai noticed that there was another date on it, the eighth day of the second month, which seemed to be a good date as well, especially because it was earlier.
The Ministry of Rites said, "This date has been set for Princess Changyu. Princess Changyu is older, so she will marry first."
In fact, the emperor wanted to marry his two daughters at the same time during the Flower Festival, but was rejected by Wei Zhi. Other ministers also expressed opposition. They believed that this was not in accordance with the rules. There was no way, the emperor could only take a step back and marry his two daughters five days apart.
It only takes a few moments.
After the date was set, the Ministry of Rites took the Bai family to see the princess's mansion, which would be where they would get married. Of course, the items inside would be prepared by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works, but they could also listen to the Bai family's opinions appropriately.
The Minister of Rites was particularly considerate and pointed to the next door and said, "That's Princess Changyu's residence."
Bai Erlang could imagine that their home would be very lively in the future. He nodded, but was still more interested in Mingda's Princess Mansion. If nothing unexpected happened, he would live here for a long time in the future.
After leaving the Princess's residence, Master Bai took his son's hand and said, "Don't worry, Erlang. When we get home, I'll go to Changqing Lane to see if there's any courtyard left. I'll buy you a small courtyard no matter how expensive it is. If you have a quarrel with the Princess in the future, you can return to your own courtyard."
Bai Erlang: "Dad, houses in the capital are getting more and more expensive. Even in Changqing Lane, a small courtyard with two entrances costs over three thousand taels. If you feel bad about it, then give me the money."
He said, "If I have a quarrel with the princess in the future, I can go to Zhou Man or Bai Shan. If that doesn't work, there's still my brother. I have plenty of places to go."
Mr. Bai threw away his hand and said, "You are almost going to be a prince consort, how can you be so shabby?"
"That's not shabby, that's thrifty," Bai Erlang said. "Thriftiness is a virtue. I bought a house but I don't live in it. Since it's for my own use, it's hard to rent it out. I'd have to keep a house full of servants to look after it, which would be a huge expense."
Mrs. Bai couldn't help but stare in amazement, then her face was filled with heartache, tears almost coming out, "My son, you have suffered so much over the years, when have you ever cared about money? You spend whatever you have, and now you are so frugal..."
Mrs. Bai was heartbroken.
Mr. Bai: "...That's because it wasn't his money that was spent. He was arrogant when he was in the village, but where is there money to spend in Qili Village? Going to the temple fair or the market in Dali Village, a string of copper coins is enough to make him a tyrant. Why are you sad? That's just his nature."
Bai Erlang: "This is a pure and kind nature, what's wrong with that?"
"I think you learned this from Shanbao."
"You just said that's my nature."
Mr. Bai raised his hand and hit him, "You are getting more and more talkative. I will tell your husband to beat you later."
Bai Erlang stopped talking.
Mr. Bai acted arbitrarily and said with a wave of his hand, "If I say buy, buy. We can't afford a big house, but can we afford a small one?"
Bai Erlang was particularly curious. "Dad, my classmates at the Imperial College always say that it's hard to live in the capital. Nowadays, many of them still live in the Imperial College or rent houses outside. Is my family so rich that we have bought one house after another?"
Mr. Bai was a little proud, and he raised his chin slightly and said, "I don't have much, but I can still buy a courtyard in the capital for you and your eldest brother."
"But we also have a villa in Mianzhou..."
"Hey, those courtyards are not worth much. You can buy a courtyard with three entrances for two or three hundred. And it wasn't your father who bought it, it was your grandfather who bought it..."
Mr. Bai moved to Qili Village because he had a personal dispute with someone in Mianzhou, and his land and business were targeted. He was also at odds with the then Mianzhou governor, so he moved there.
However, the governor did not stay there for long. Less than two years later, he was demoted to another place for corruption and bribery. Later, I heard that he was demoted again and again. It is not known whether he is still an official now.
However, Mr. Bai had already settled down in Qili Village at that time. Both he, his mother, and his wife felt that life in the countryside was not bad. Apart from the inconvenience of getting around and being a bit boring, it was more comfortable than living in Mianzhou. The people of Qili Village were simple and honest, so he did not move and just stayed there.
However, although he lived in Qili Village, he had quite a bit of property.
He is not only one of the three largest landowners in Luojiang County, well, now he is two.
He also has quite a few fields and shops in Mianzhou. Although he doesn't make much money every year, he hasn't spent much in the past twenty years.
I've been saving money for the kids.
It’s more than enough to buy two houses.
Not only could he buy a house, he could also buy other things as a dowry for his youngest son, oh no, a betrothal gift.
He and Old Zhou had a lot in common on this point, because when it came to betrothal gifts, the first thing he thought of was land.
Mr. Bai, who has been a landlord since he was a child and has been a landlord until now, believes that as long as he has land, he will have status, money, and power, so land is the most necessary.
When preparing the betrothal gift for Bai Erlang, the first thing he thought of was land.
Of course, he didn't buy it just now. Since he came to Beijing, he has been asking around near the capital and also in Yongzhou. Like Old Zhou, he bought some suitable land in batches.
Well, he bought much more than Lao Zhou.
He divided the deeds and showed them to Bai Erlang, "See? The house is nothing. It's not worth much. The land is what's really valuable."
Bai Erlang stared with his mouth wide open, unable to resist reaching out to pick up the deeds, and asked, "Dad, are these all mine?"
Mr. Bai slapped his hand away and said, "Of course not, half of it belongs to your eldest brother."
He said, "The Ministry of Rites specifically told us not to prepare too much betrothal gifts, saying it must be in accordance with etiquette."
Although Mr. Bai didn't understand why he had to ask for a smaller betrothal gift to marry a princess, since the Ministry of Rites had hinted at it, he had no choice but to do as he was told.
Hehe, let me tell you all that there was a bug in the previous part. After my book friends reminded me, I realized that I had miscalculated the time. I thought that smallpox broke out in the year the empress dowager passed away, but it turned out that smallpox broke out during the Chinese New Year of the following year. So Mingda and the others had been in mourning until the twelfth month of the previous year, which was when Manbao and the others returned to Xiazhou from the Western Regions.
So I won’t write about their filial piety here. I will go back and fix the previous bugs in a couple of days. Please forgive me.
Also, this is the last chapter tonight, good night
(End of this chapter)
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