"What did you say?!"
Shen Dongsheng was so startled that he almost knocked over the bowl next to him, and Old Mrs. Shen was so shocked that she couldn't close her mouth for a long time.
"Auntie, you must be joking."
Wang Chunlian had anticipated their reaction long ago. After all, not to mention them, even she herself was shocked when she heard Qian Xiaohua make this request, thinking she had misheard.
However, since she had already taken on this job, Wang Chunlian would insist on making it seem like she was alive, even if it meant she was dead.
“I’m not joking, old sister. Think about it, with Dongsheng’s conditions, it’s not easy to find another one. He needs another son to take care of him, otherwise when he dies, there will be no one to break the pot.”
She discreetly observed the expressions on Grandma Shen's and Shen Dongsheng's faces, and seeing that Grandma Shen looked in agreement, she continued to persuade them.
"Although that girl is a few years older than Dongsheng, she has a son who is only eight years old and at the right age to understand things. When Dongsheng marries her, won't he be a father figure?"
Upon hearing that he was going to be someone else's father, Shen Dongsheng immediately objected, "I...I won't go!"
Grandma Shen narrowed her eyes, sized her up in her mind, but didn't refuse aloud, "What are the woman's conditions?"
Wang Chunlian saw an opportunity and said, "The woman is going to marry into our village. The first one went out to sea with Fu Laoda and the others and got caught in a storm and died. When you went to Fu's village last time, she saw that Dongsheng was a nostalgic and energetic boy, so she got the idea and asked me to tell you about it."
Old Mrs. Shen had met Qian Xiaohua before, and she was particularly impressed by the fact that only Qian Xiaohua spoke up for Shen Dongsheng.
However, wouldn't this man be a live-in son-in-law after marrying into the family?
Old Mrs. Shen hesitated. It wasn't a good thing for her to become a live-in son-in-law, and she was afraid her husband would cause her trouble that night.
"Oh, sister, what are you hesitating about? It's good enough that someone would even like your Dongsheng! Look at the state of your home, who would want him!"
"She said she was going to marry him because her family's house had just been renovated not long ago. Look at your dilapidated house, how can anyone live there?"
After saying that, she glanced disdainfully at the puddle in the room.
Shen Dongsheng's face burned. "I'll go fix the roof in a bit."
Grandma Shen thought to herself that she had been living a life that was neither human nor ghost lately. At least when Shen Dongsheng came back, someone would cook for her, but eating sweet potatoes every day was not a solution.
Meat! How long has it been since she's eaten meat!
Thinking of this, Old Mrs. Shen gritted her teeth, "Dongsheng can marry into the family, but she has to pay the bride price!"
"mother!"
Shen Dongsheng was surprised that Old Madam Shen would agree to such an unbelievable thing, and hurriedly shouted.
Old Mrs. Shen glared at him as usual, then said to Wang Chunlian, "We need to have the bride price. Dongsheng is a good worker. I can't walk now, so I need money to support myself."
Wang Chunlian was now in a dilemma. She hadn't expected that Old Lady Shen would ask for a bride price. When Fu Wan married into the family, there was no such thing as a bride price!
Shen Dongsheng, fearing gossip, took the initiative to ask Old Lady Shen for sixty yuan as a bride price for Fu Wan.
If Fu Wan hadn't brought a hundred yuan as dowry, Old Lady Shen would have kept nagging about it for the rest of her life.
"Big sister, you..."
Seeing Wang Chunlian's troubled expression, Old Lady Shen feared that she thought the bride price was too high.
“If I don’t have the bride price now, I can make it up later. I’m an old woman who’s about to die, so I need to save some money for my coffin.”
"I don't ask for much, just give me a hundred yuan, and Dongsheng will take me to marry him."
Wang Chunlian stood up abruptly, her face darkening.
"One hundred yuan, sister, I'm so embarrassed to say that. Dongsheng is nowhere near worth one hundred yuan!"
"Then fifty, no less!"
Old Mrs. Shen gritted her teeth, while Shen Dongsheng stood beside her with a gloomy face, listening to his mother bargaining with Wang Chunlian, discussing his price like a butcher at the market.
For the first time, he began to question himself: Was his mother really doing this for his own good?
After some haggling, Grandma Shen and Wang Chunlian finally reached an agreement: the bride price would be ten yuan, on the condition that Grandma Shen would move in with them.
With everything settled, Wang Chunlian naturally didn't linger any longer. She dusted herself off, got up, and headed to Fujia Village to tell Qian Xiaohua the good news.
To be honest, Qian Xiaohua had promised her five yuan as a matchmaker's fee; otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered making the trip.
Look at the Shen family! She's been here for so long, and they haven't even offered her a bowl of water. They're so stingy!
...
At Fu Lao's house, Fu Wan had just finished breakfast when a villager ran over to tell her that the village committee had called looking for her.
She found it strange that the only person who would contact her after knowing the phone number for Fujia Village was Leader Zhao from the Fisheries Administration Bureau.
Fearing something was wrong, she quickly ran to the village committee.
The village chief was waiting for her by the phone, and when he saw her coming, he quickly handed it over.
Fu Wan took it and tentatively asked, "Hello, who is this?"
A hearty laugh came from the other end of the phone, "Comrade Fu Wan, it's been a long time."
Fu Wan found the voice somewhat familiar, but couldn't quite place it.
But one thing is certain: this is not Zhao Gang's voice.
The person on the other end of the phone guessed that Fu Wan hadn't recognized his voice, and quickly gave his full name.
"I'm Sun Youcai, who sells dried goods in the county. Do you remember when Fu San introduced you to sell bird's nest?"
Fu Wan suddenly realized, "Oh, it's Boss Sun! Hello, hello!"
Sun Youcai was a straightforward man. Without much small talk, he got straight to the point: “Comrade Fu Wan, that bird’s nest you had last time was really good. I even sold it all the way to Beijing.”
"Well, Fu San passed by here today, and I heard you dried a lot of oysters and first-harvest seaweed..."
It was like a pillow being delivered to someone who was sleepy. Fu Wan was thinking about finding a buyer for her seaweed yesterday, but who would have thought that the buyer would come to her door on their own.
Sun Youcai, sitting opposite, was also worried that Fu Wan would sell it to someone else, after all, the bird's nest she sent last time was indeed of good quality, and he had also heard Fu San boast for a long time about his niece's sea freight.
"My price is absolutely fair and you won't be disappointed."
Fu Wan was amused by his serious words. "Mr. Sun, you're joking. I do have quite a lot of seaweed and dried oysters. If your prices are good, it will save me the trouble of finding buyers."
Sun Youcai nodded repeatedly, then realized that Fu Wan couldn't see him on the other end of the phone. "Don't worry about it. We're friends now. You can send all your dried goods to me in the future. And if you have any bird's nest, don't forget me."
You can trust me with my business dealings. If I cheat you, I'll be a coward!
Fu Wan agreed, "Okay, Mr. Sun, I'll have my third uncle send the goods over later, and you can give me a price after you take a look."
Sun Youcai initially wanted to say there was no need to look, but then he thought he couldn't let Fu Wan think he was too casual. After discussing it, Fu Wan promised to contact him again next time she had bird's nest, and only then did Sun Youcai feel relieved and hang up the phone.
As soon as Fu Wan hung up the phone and was about to leave, it rang again.
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