However, she still needed to ask around. The people she knew best in the village were the village chief's family, so Yue Jiuyue went to the Lin village chief's house to find Xiao Wangshi, who was the village chief's wife.
After exchanging a few polite words like "Have you eaten? Have you drunk anything?", Yue Jiuyue went straight to the point:
"Sister-in-law, do you know how much a betrothal gift costs these days?"
Nowadays, matchmakers are all government-run, so Yue Jiuyue isn't worried about the matchmakers themselves. The only problem is the betrothal gifts, which vary from time to time and place to place, so she has to find out the details.
Of course, she would have to ask the matchmaker and the other party when the time came. Yue Jiuyue just wanted to have a clear idea in mind so as not to be taken advantage of.
Little Wang sighed and said:
"In the past two years, no one in the village has had a wedding, and none of my relatives have either. I really don't know what the situation is now."
However, since my sons are all of marriageable age, I inquired with the matchmaker, and let me tell you, the dowry these days is really high. I heard it's this much!
Ms. Wang held up one finger and said in an exaggerated tone:
"One tael of silver! A whole tael of silver!"
“In the past, marrying a wife cost at most a hundred or eighty copper coins, plus a few dozen kilograms of grain. If the family was well-off, they could also buy two pieces of red cloth for the bride to make a new dress. That was already the best they could do!”
Now look what's happened! They're asking for a tael of silver right off the bat! A tael of silver! Are they getting a wife or selling their daughter?!
When this issue was brought up, Ms. Wang had a lot of complaints.
It's not just her two sons who are of marriageable age; if they all get married like this, the little bit of savings they've accumulated this year will definitely not be enough!
Not only that, but nowadays even if you have money, it's not easy to find a wife. After all, there are almost no girls of marriageable age in the surrounding villages. If you want to arrange a marriage for your son, you either have to go to a brokerage or look far away.
I wouldn't dare bring a girl home casually if I didn't know her well. You know, "a virtuous wife brings fewer troubles to her husband," and "an unvirtuous wife ruins three generations!"
"One tael of silver..."
Yue Jiuyue repeated it hesitantly, then asked again:
"These days, do you only want silver as a betrothal gift, and not food or clothing?"
Little Wang was speechless. Wasn't one tael of silver a lot? If she wanted food and clothes too, was that girl a fairy from heaven?
"Well, one tael of silver will be enough."
Although she knew Yue Jiuyue wasn't short of money, she still wanted to advise her to avoid Yue Jiuyue raising the amount of the betrothal gifts, which would make it even harder for their sons to find wives.
"Oh, I understand now, thank you so much, sister-in-law!"
Yue Jiuyue hadn't quite figured out the hidden meaning in Xiao Wangshi's words yet. However, she didn't plan to give Lin Chaobei's future wife too high a dowry. Firstly, she didn't want to raise the dowry amount in the neighborhood, which would easily provoke public anger. Secondly, she was afraid that Liushi would make a fuss and feel that she, as the mother-in-law, was being biased.
Although she had never been married, she had heard plenty of stories about everyday family matters, especially how many lovers had to break up because of dowry issues.
Yue Jiuyue said goodbye to Xiao Wangshi and left, leaving Xiao Wangshi full of worry.
It's unclear whether Chao Dong's mother is looking for a daughter for her third or fourth son, or which family's daughter she has her eye on, or what kind of exorbitant dowry they will come up with.
No, no, she couldn't bear it just thinking about it. She was really afraid that her two sons would remain bachelors for the rest of their lives!
Or, how about we talk to the child's father about buying a child bride from a brokerage firm? A daughter-in-law you raise yourself is always more reassuring than one brought back by an exorbitant dowry, right?
Xiao Wang went back muttering to herself, still feeling uneasy even though she had an idea.
Yue Jiuyue only understood the meaning behind Xiao Wangshi's words when she was taking a nap at noon and was about to fall asleep.
Of course, she understood, but she didn't intend to do much. However, if things went well, she would certainly be willing to grant Lin Chaobei's wish.
Lin Chaobei is now her son, and she was supposed to "arrange" his marriage. Now that he has found a wife on his own, she doesn't need to worry about him much. All she needs to do is go through the motions and help with the wedding. It's already made things much easier for her.
He's much better than Lin Chaonan!
Yue Jiuyue is now beginning to understand the "completing the task" mentality that parents have.
If she gets them married early, it means they've grown up and she won't have to worry about them anymore.
As for whether they will end up like Lin Chaodong...
Whatever. Anyway, Yue Jiuyue has money, land, and people. She doesn't lack sons to serve her, nor does she need them to support her in her old age. She has no intention of having her sons "see her off" or "break the pot" in her final moments. She can just burn her ashes, dig a hole, bury her, or scatter her ashes anywhere. She doesn't care about those things.
The next day, Yue Jiuyue asked a matchmaker to go to Wang the butcher's house to sound him out.
Before noon, Yue Jiuyue saw the matchmaker, dressed in brightly colored clothes, waving a handkerchief, with a plump figure, and wearing a bright smile, swaying as she came to their house.
"Oh my! Madam Yu! I've come to bring you good news!"
She truly lives up to her reputation as a professional matchmaker; that smile of hers makes it seem like she's celebrating something incredibly joyous, and it makes others unconsciously happy for her too.
"Come sit down, have a bowl of mint tea to cool off first."
Yue Jiuyue's biggest concern right now is Lin Chaobei's marriage. She didn't expect that she would receive news so soon after talking about it this morning, before noon. This matchmaker is incredibly efficient!
State media: How could the efficiency not be high? This is my first job in several years!
The matchmaker took a sip of the so-called mint tea, and the cool sensation was indescribable. She felt a coolness that went from her mouth and throat into her stomach, and then slowly spread throughout her body, as if it had driven away the summer heat from the inside out.
In short, awesome!
Unable to resist, she gulped down all the water in the bowl. The matchmaker was so content that she didn't want to say anything more and just wanted to lie down and take a nap.
But she still had work to finish.
"The Wang family's intention is to keep their granddaughter for another two years."
This left Yue Jiuyue a little confused. Wait, judging from Lin Chaobei's tone, wasn't he already deeply in love with the butcher's granddaughter? Why was he telling the matchmaker to wait two more years? Was he keeping Lin Chaobei as a backup plan? Was he trying to find someone better while still having options?
Seeing that Yue Jiuyue's expression had turned ugly, the matchmaker immediately explained:
"Well, a young lady shouldn't just agree to a man's proposal without careful consideration."
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