Seeing that no one from the Jiang family spoke, Wang Jie laughed dryly and said, "It's not impossible for us to pay for the renovation."
She agreed first, and then she wouldn't have to pay for the decoration after her name was added. The money was in her hands, and there was nothing she could do if she didn't give it to others.
Next, Hua Gumei emphasized the issue of the bride price. If the bride price was controlled by the couple, then it didn't matter whether there was a dowry or not. However, the content of the following conversation made her feel disappointed.
Wang Jie said, "Mother-in-law, my son is old enough to get married. As an older sister, I should help my younger brother more. Besides, young people don't plan their money, so I will keep the 200,000 yuan for now." What she meant was that the betrothal money would be kept for her younger brother.
Zhang Dacang also said: "That's right. In our village, there is no custom of giving betrothal money to the younger generation. I want to mention the matter of dowry. In the towns further south, the dowry is just an empty box. Our family loves our child very much by giving her a refrigerator."
Then Wang Jie started talking about matching the horoscopes of the two children to choose a wedding date and asked about the time when the betrothal gifts would be received, but Hua Gumei perfunctorily brushed them off.
Hua Gumei felt that the marriage between the two families would not succeed.
As soon as she got home, Hua Gumei immediately asked Jiang Xingpeng, "What do you think?"
Jiang Xingpeng put down his phone, still smiling, "Mom, what do you think?"
Hua Gumei sighed softly and said, "The betrothal gift is 200,000 yuan, and the dowry is just a refrigerator. Let me ask you what you think about this?"
Jiang Xingpeng said nonchalantly, "If we have some at home, just give it to her."
Hearing this, Hua Gumei's eyes widened in anger and she angrily said, "Is that what you think? 200,000, not 20 yuan!"
"The Zhang family is going to keep this betrothal money for Xiaomei's brother to marry. Are they going to ask our family to pay for their daughter-in-law's marriage? The betrothal money is too expensive and the dowry is too small. I don't agree. Besides, we still have to spend money on renovations. Where will we get so much money?"
Jiang Xingpeng frowned and said, "Didn't Xiaomei's mother say they were renovating?"
"Hmph!" Hua Gumei snorted. "You can only listen to this, and you still believe it?"
The house in the small town was bought by Hua Gumei with the full amount she had saved over many years, and it was also in her name, so she really didn't have that much money.
Moreover, she also looked down on the idea of using her daughter's betrothal money to marry her son. She also has a daughter, and the future betrothal money will be left to her daughter to manage herself. She would never say that it was a subsidy for her son.
Jiang Xingpeng said, "Mom, Xiaomei's family is in financial difficulty. We should help her if we can. I don't believe we can't come up with 200,000 yuan."
"Your father and I really don't have any money. If you have any, give it to me yourself. Anyway, this is your wife, so you earn it yourself!"
After saying that, Gu Huamei went back to the house angrily. She had endured her outburst at the hotel because she wanted to come back and ask her son's opinion, but she didn't expect her son to be so ungrateful.
Gu Huamei and Jiang Chaomi had prepared a betrothal gift of only 70,000 yuan, which was considered quite high by local custom. However, the Zhang family's demands were so high that the dowry was practically nonexistent. Marrying into such a family would be a daunting task, so she didn't want to marry into their family.
Jiang Xingpeng watched his parents return to their room, his eyes turning from panic to anger, "Mom! What are you doing?! I won't be able to find a wife if you keep doing this!"
"Ring, ring, ring~" Just then, his cell phone rang. It was Zhang Xiaomei calling.
[Xingpeng, why do I feel like there's something wrong with Auntie's expression today? Is she dissatisfied with me...]
"Xiao Mei, don't let your imagination run wild. My parents love you!"
[As for the betrothal gift... Don't think it's too much. Someone in the next village is offering 250,000 yuan, but I just want to be with you.]
"Don't worry, I will pay for the betrothal gift!"
The next day, Jiang Xingpeng talked about the betrothal gift as soon as he saw his parents.
Jiang's father had already handed over most of his money. He said, "Son, in J City, the average is 30,000 to 100,000 yuan. 200,000 yuan is a bit much. Ask the Zhang family if they can give you a lower amount."
Jiang Xingpeng said, "Dad, 190,000. If it's any less, I won't be able to get married. You don't want me to be unable to get married, do you?" He also asked Zhang Xiaomei to inquire at his family, but the reply was "the bride price remains unchanged."
Gu Huamei said, "The maximum betrothal gift is 70,000 yuan. If it exceeds 70,000 yuan, it's up to you."
"Either you break up with Zhang Xiaomei, or your family will arrange a blind date for you."
"Mom!" Jiang Xingpeng angrily slammed the bowl on the table, "I want Zhang Xiaomei!"
Gu Huamei didn't even raise her eyelids and said, "You can handle the betrothal money yourself."
Over the next few days, Gu Huamei asked someone to help Jiang Xingpeng find a date. Seeing that his parents really wouldn't pay for the bride price, Jiang Xingpeng had to find a way on his own.
It happened that someone outside the village was buying nutritious vegetable seeds and fertilizers at a high price, so he took his own share and sold it. After some bargaining, he sold it for 10,000 yuan.
Having tasted the sweetness of success, he started to engage in petty theft. Taking advantage of the night, he not only stole fertilizers from two households in the village, but also sneaked into a fertilizer store two days later.
Looking at the shelves full of seeds and bags, his eyes lit up.
"I'm rich! I'm rich!"
After selling these seeds, I can have enough money for not only the bride price but also the car.
He took out a sack from his pocket and frantically stuffed the bags of seeds from the shelf into the sack.
A small bag of seeds cost one thousand yuan, and he packed the sack tightly.
Just as he was about to climb over the wall and leave with the sack on his shoulder, a dazzling light shone on him.
"Oh no! Someone is coming!" Jiang Xingpeng covered his face immediately and then jumped out of the window.
But his feet seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and he could neither jump nor walk.
"Click!" All the lights in the fertilizer store were turned on, and two men and two women appeared in the store. They were the village chief, Secretary Zhiqiang, Jiang Yingxue and Ji Fu.
"Why is it you?" Secretary Zhiqiang was surprised.
A few days ago, someone in the village said that the fertilizer in their home was stolen, and someone was secretly buying seeds and fertilizer. They suspected that the thief was an outsider, but they didn't expect it to be a villager.
Jiang Yingxue cast a cold gaze on the sack on Jiang Xingpeng's shoulder. "Secretary, do you know him?"
Secretary Zhiqiang nodded solemnly, and the village chief began to scold, "You shameless thing! You're really good at stealing things and coming here. Tell me! What did you steal them for? Did you sell them for money? How much did you sell them for? Tell the truth!"
Jiang Xingpeng lowered his head and said nothing. It was his negligence that got him arrested.
"Okay, you won't tell me, right?" The village chief called his parents.
"Chao Mi, you and your wife, hurry to the old grain depot! Hurry, your son's been caught stealing!"
Jiang Yingxue said, "Village head, secretary, why didn't you call the police? This bag of stuff is enough to send him to jail for ten or eight years."
Ji Fu kicked him, and he fell to the ground with a thud. Ji Fu sneered, "Why do you do something else but steal? In our hometown, thieves are killed directly without reporting to the police."
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