Chapter 267 Two Families Discuss Marriage
After listening to Zhang Dahua's words, Gu Bei also felt that it made sense, so he let his parents stay at home.
Zhang Dahua discussed this matter with Gu Bei and asked:
"Which family is the girl you want to marry? What are their family conditions like?"
Gu Bei felt shy when he heard his mother mention this. He lowered his head and said a little embarrassedly:
"She's the daughter of Dong, the liquor store owner in the county. She's very pretty."
When Zhang Dahua heard that she was beautiful, her heart began to beat. She knew very well what kind of person her son was. Didn't he marry Li Yingdi just because she was beautiful?
It was all good when they were young, and they were inseparable. But now, they have made a mess of the family and are affecting their eldest grandson.
"Shopkeeper Dong, the liquor seller, must be from a well-off family, and you're pretty. How could the girl there be interested in you?"
Unlike Zhang Dahua, the first thing that came to Gu Chongshan’s mind was the mismatched family backgrounds of the two families.
Hearing Gu Chongshan's question, Gu Bei scratched his head awkwardly and said:
"She's just been married once, but that's not a big deal."
Zhang Dahua nodded beside her. The atmosphere in this dynasty was relatively open, and there were not many restrictions on widows remarrying. Zhang Dahua was only concerned about one issue.
"Son, don't think your mother is nagging. You still have too few children now. When you marry this girl, you should have more children. It doesn't matter if the first one is a boy or a girl, as long as they can be born."
The fact that Zhang Dahua said this doesn't mean she doesn't favor boys over girls. She still wants a grandson in her heart, but she still has some worries in her heart.
Now that the relationship between Gu Bei and Li Yingdi has broken down, and he seems to be very interested in the new woman he is planning to marry, if he gives birth to a son all of a sudden, I am afraid that Gu Bei's heart will be inclined towards them. What will happen to his eldest grandson Zhiwen then?
It is true that Zhang Dahua values his grandsons, but he values his eldest grandson Zhiwen, who has been in his eyes since childhood, even more. Besides, the child is obviously promising, and it would be bad if he had a rift with them because of his father's new marriage.
However, Zhang Dahua didn't want to see Gu Bei marrying another woman without having children, so she told Gu Bei that he would only have one husband, no matter whether it was a man or a woman.
Gu Bei had no idea of the complicated thoughts in his mother's mind. He just thought that his mother said that because she felt sorry for him as Zhiwen was the only child for all these years.
Gu Bei immediately said:
"Don't worry, mother. After Xiaowan and I get married, we will definitely be filial to you and dad, and let you two hold your grandson soon."
"There's one more thing. You have to talk to Zhiwen properly. Don't let it affect the relationship between you and your son."
Gu Chongshan instructed.
Gu Bei, however, didn't care. In his opinion, not divorcing Li Yingdi was already giving face to his son Zhiwen. How could a son interfere in his father's bedroom affairs?
However, Gu Bei thought so in his heart, but responded:
"I understand. I'll talk to him about it. But, Mom and Dad, what do you think is the appropriate amount of betrothal gift I should give to the Dong family?"
Gu Chongshan only cared about his eldest grandson, and he was unwilling to interfere in trivial matters such as betrothal gifts.
"Ask your mother."
Zhang Dahua narrowed her cloudy eyes shrewdly and said:
"You said you still have five taels of silver left at home, so give it all to the Dong family and let them see our sincerity. After all, the Dong family is better off than ours, and Manager Dong is willing to marry his daughter to us, so a dowry is likely to be a must."
After a pause, Zhang Dahua continued:
"Don't feel bad about the five taels of silver. When the Dong family girl marries in, let her take care of the accounts. Anyway, it's absolutely impossible to let Li Yingdi take care of the accounts.
"Once the Dong family manages the accounts, they'll definitely find out there's a mismatch between the money in our account. Then you can play your sympathy game with them, saying that Li Yingdi ran off with all the money and gave it to her family. Then, when the Dong family marries into our Gu family, they'll be able to use the money to subsidize our family, won't they?"
Gu Bei didn't think there was anything wrong with what his mother said. Instead, he nodded in conviction and said:
"Mom, you've experienced a lot and have foresight. I'll go now. After all, there's no time to waste."
After saying that, Gu Bei took the only five taels of silver left in his family and went out. He also bought a few bags of snacks and some fashionable hairpins. He found a matchmaker and went to the Dong family to propose marriage.
Shopkeeper Dong and his daughter were very happy to see Gu Bei come so early. Just as Zhang Dahua said, after listening to Gu Bei's explanation of the matter, they did not mind the small betrothal gift, but directly and happily accepted the marriage.
Shopkeeper Dong also said to Gu Bei earnestly:
"I have given birth to several sons, but only this one daughter. Although she is a widow at home, I will prepare a dowry for her according to the normal circumstances of marriage. I also hope that you will treat her well and not bully her."
At this moment, Gu Bei's heart and eyes were immersed in the joy of marrying a new wife, and he nodded hurriedly.
Seeing that Gu Bei's attitude was good, Manager Dong continued.
"But after all, this isn't my daughter's first time getting married, so we don't need to wait that long. How about we hold the wedding banquet in three days?"
As for the time to get married, Gu Bei of course thought the sooner the better, and agreed without any objection.
Because the Dong family wanted to speed up the process and did not have many requirements for Gu Bei's other conditions, the matchmaker did not have to waste much time talking and the marriage was settled very quickly.
After Gu Bei left, Dong Wan put away the shy look on her face. Shopkeeper Dong also put away his warm smile and said with some dissatisfaction:
"The Gu family is really calculating. They said they would give all the money to our family. They are just thinking that you will use the dowry to support their whole family in the future."
Dong Wan also snorted coldly and said:
"Who says it's not true? But everything has its pros and cons. It's normal for us to have some small expenses now since we want a grandson like Gu Zhiwen.
But Dad, don't worry, the waiting time won't be too long. I'll win that kid's heart over and coax him to forget his parents, and then I'll make Gu Bei die suddenly.
But it's easy to coax a child who's just over 10 years old."
Seeing that his daughter had a plan in mind, Shopkeeper Dong said nothing more and only said:
"It's okay if you know what's going on. But even if our plan doesn't work out, you'll always have food to eat at home."
In this way, three days later, the wedding, in which both parties had their own plans, was held with great fanfare.
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