Chapter 84 Don’t want to give the bride price? No way

Inside the kitchen, everyone's expression suddenly changed.

"Hey, Baoer, you've already seen the photos, what else can you see?" Wang Zonghao hadn't prepared himself yet when his brother-in-law came to him and asked for the photos. He smiled like a chicken thief: "Could it be that you want to see it, brother-in-law?"

He also hoped that through these photos, he could collect some gift money from his sister to help his younger brother.

Otherwise, how could he get married?

Li Hui frowned and quickly looked at her sister-in-law standing beside her. She pretended to be innocent and asked, "Aunt-in-law, do you still have photos?"

With the help of my sister-in-law, lunch is almost ready.

The two of them had already finished preparing all the side dishes. Wang Ziru just ground a spoonful of sweet potato flour into fine powder on the chopping board, put it into a bowl, and then sprinkled it on the shrimp and mixed it evenly with a handful of shrimp balls.

After doing all this, the person holding the kitchen knife and preparing to chop the shrimp sneered.

"What photos are there? I have long forgotten what happened eight hundred years ago." Wang Ziru said casually.

Baoer walked to her mother's side, tugged at her trouser legs with her little fingers, and begged, "Mom, please let me take another look."

"Baoer, what's wrong with you? Why aren't you behaving well? By the way, have you eaten the canned oranges you brought?"

The boy blinked his bright eyes, turned around, and looked at his aunt and uncle, not wanting to disappoint his father. "But Dad hasn't seen it yet. He must like the photo of Mom when she was a child. Mom, can you ask Uncle to give it to me?"

Zhai Ximo stood tall at the door: "..."

He vowed never to let his children help him with anything again.

It would be terrible if I was discovered.

I really didn't expect the child to tell the truth.

Lin Xiuying walked into the kitchen with a smile and waved to her little grandson, "Bao'er! Why don't you go to the main room quickly? If you're late, your brother Zhuzi will have to finish his can of oranges."

"Brother Zhuzi! Leave me some canned oranges."

When the little boy heard his grandmother say that the can of oranges was about to be eaten by his cousin Zhuzi, he hurried out of the kitchen.

Wang Ziru glanced back at the man and told her brother, "Zonghao, take it out and give it to your brother-in-law. Let him take it back and see how beautiful I was when I was young."

"No, sister, you really dare to show it to my brother-in-law? I have never seen you do things like this."

Zhai Ximo was planning to find an excuse to go out, but unexpectedly things took a turn for the better, and he felt a little excited.

Forget it! He felt relieved after taking a look at what the man looked like.

Finally, he could see the photos his wife had taken before. He was in a particularly good mood. He deliberately walked to the chopping board, glanced at his wife, and smiled slightly: "It's really Baoer who wanted to see it."

Wang Ziru raised her eyes to look at the man, curled her lips and said, "Look how happy you are. There is an old saying that goes, too much happiness leads to sorrow. Don't hide in the toilet and cry later."

He is asking for trouble and no one can save him.

Zhai Ximo followed his brother-in-law to get the photos.

It turns out that the brat was really on guard against his brother-in-law! He actually hid the photo in his brother's room.

Wang Zonghao went to his eldest brother and sister-in-law's room and looked around for a while. He slowly came out with a yellowed junior high school Chinese textbook. When he handed it to his brother-in-law, he said unwillingly: "Brother-in-law, you have to return this photo to me after you have seen it."

"You two siblings have such a deep relationship?"

"No, I mean, this is a photo of my sister and her former fiancé in the county. If you look at it, please give it back to me. He has also joined the army, and he joined a few years earlier than you. Maybe he will make a name for himself in the army in the future."

Wang Zonghao is a smart man. He wanted to take the opportunity to ask his sister for some money, but he never expected his brother-in-law to do this. So he had to go with the flow and help his brother-in-law settle this "grudge".

Anyway, since the sister has already offended her younger brother, there is no need for her to cover up her past engagement for her brother-in-law.

As the saying goes, he is powerless in practice but invincible in morality.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room was a little complicated.

Standing at the corridor vent, Zhai Ximo flipped open an old book and saw a few photos pressed inside. One of the photos was a color photo of his wife and another teenager.

Using the light from outside, he squinted and looked carefully.

Gradually, Zhai Ximo frowned.

The man looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen or sixteen years old, with a handsome face. What was impressive was that the young man had a sharp gaze and a pair of bright eyes.

The girl sitting next to the boy was his young wife Wang Ziru.

Yes, my wife was as beautiful and intelligent as a hibiscus flower when she was a girl.

He also had to admit that the other party was indeed a rare talent in terms of both appearance and spirit. The leader's occasional mention of "he must be a man of extraordinary achievements" had now become concrete.

"Am I right? My sister's former fiancé in the county was a very good-looking man! Let me tell you, if my sister had married in the county, her life would have been more than a hundred times better than it is now."

After a pause, Wang Zonghao looked at his brother-in-law again, "How about you, brother-in-law, give your opinion?"

It seemed as if he was saying, look, I’ve shown you the photo you’ve been longing for, so shouldn’t you give your brother some money to get rid of him?

Zhai Ximo's mood wasn't very bad, but he wasn't happy either.

I silently put the photos back, closed the Chinese textbook in my hand and returned it to my brother-in-law.

After a set of movements, it is as smooth as flowing water.

Wang Zonghao saw the uncertain expression on his brother-in-law's face and asked anxiously, "Is this the end?"

"So what do you want?" Zhai Ximo pretended to smile, turned around and strode out. After a few steps, he turned back and looked at his stunned brother-in-law, "Do you... know where that person went to serve in the army?"

"Hehehe, brother-in-law, we don't give this kind of information for free. You should know the rules, right?" A sly smile immediately appeared on Wang Zonghao's face.

If my sister doesn't give me any money, it would be fine if my brother-in-law could pay some.

Zhai Ximo weighed his own pocket and decided that giving money was out of the question.

There is no benefit, but...

"It's okay. I guessed that you definitely didn't know. I'll ask my parents later. The adults from the two families must have had some contact with each other. They should know about it. Maybe we'll run into each other again in the future, right?"

Wang Zonghao was anxious and quickly confessed, "Forget it, forget it, brother-in-law, we are not outsiders, there is nothing to hide. I heard from his relatives that he also went to the South of Colorful Clouds, but he went there three years earlier than you. You see, you can become the head of the group, so he must not be too bad either."

"Is it also in the south of the colorful clouds?"

How could it be such a coincidence?

Zhai Ximo's heart was shocked and he felt inexplicably anxious.

The emotions that had just calmed down were stirred up again.

But he quickly calmed down and looked back to calculate the time. He found that they had joined the army three years earlier than him, which was around 1972.

At that time, the border of Southern Province was raging with war. In this sense, that man was also a real man who had played with real guns and real bullets.

I hope they won’t run into each other in the future. As my wife said, they are old friends who are no longer friends.

I walked out with a heavy heart and saw two children in the main room happily eating canned oranges together.

Zhai Ximo walked over and sat down next to his son, caressing the child's face lovingly, "Bao'er, are canned oranges delicious?"

"Mm, it's so delicious. Grandma said that she wants to save one can for my aunt, and Zhuzi brother can't eat it either."

Zhuzi didn't look unhappy at all, and said, "My mother is going to give birth to a sister for me. As the older brother, I can't eat everything. I have to leave some for my sister. In the future, my sister will definitely be as beautiful and smart as my aunt."

"Your mother is pregnant?" Zhai Ximo was surprised.

Didn’t you notice that my sister-in-law is pregnant?

Just at this time, Wang Ziru pretended to be chopping shrimps in the stove, but was chasing the man and peeking around the corner.

I was surprised to hear Zhuzi say he wanted to be a big brother.

Wang Ziru ran back to the kitchen and looked at her sister-in-law carefully. "Sister-in-law, are you... pregnant again?"

"Ahahaha..., it's almost three months." Li Hui's face showed a gentle smile like a loving mother.

I didn't intend to tell my sister-in-law about this so soon.

She wanted to wait until her belly was a little bigger so that her sister-in-law could see if she was carrying a girl.

The sister-in-law was pregnant again, which made Wang Ziru jealous and she couldn't help but "tsk tsk" twice. She also asked her sister-in-law if there was anything special she wanted to eat.

Lin Xiuying and her younger daughter-in-law Zhu Yan also walked into the kitchen and saw the two sisters-in-law talking about the eldest daughter-in-law's pregnancy.

Lin Xiuying was extremely happy to be a grandmother again. She said hurriedly, "Zi Ru, your Bao Er is almost four years old. His father is coming back to visit. You should seize the time and have a baby while you are still young and pregnant."

It was also the first time that Zhu Yan heard that her sister-in-law was pregnant.

She was also very happy and hurried to take the servant from her sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, go sit down by the stove and take a rest. If you need anything else, I'll do it."

"It's okay, it's okay. A little housework is nothing." Li Hui said with a smile.

She was afraid that if everyone knew about it, they would get mad and not allow her to do anything.

The kitchen suddenly became very lively, with several women laughing and chatting about the happy things about raising cubs.

Wang Ziru already had an idea in mind.

Since my sister-in-law is going to give birth after the Chinese New Year, adding a new member to the family will definitely cost a lot of money.

So should we help our younger brother Wang Zonghao with the betrothal money for his wedding?

As the smoke from the stove rose, a table of food and wine was ready.

The Wang family’s meaning was also very clear. They specially invited Zhu Yan’s parents over today. In addition to discussing the wedding date at the end of the year, there was another important matter: the betrothal gift.

The Zhu family asked for 200 yuan as a dowry, plus two wedding quilts and the bride's dress.

In the early 1980s, this was something that many families had to work together to accomplish.

During the banquet, Zhu Yan's father was invited to sit at the seat of honor.

After the guests were seated, Zhu Yan's parents truly felt the warm hospitality of their in-laws.

There were seven or eight dishes on the table, including wild mushrooms and wild bamboo shoots that were common on the tables of people living in the mountains, as well as steamed pork with rice flour, shrimp balls, and pig's trotter soup.

After a meal, Wang Ziru heard the two fathers discussing the wedding date, and asked in a fake voice: "By the way, Dad, I heard from Zong Hao that nowadays you have to give a gift to the bride?"

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the stone house became a little complicated.

Zhu Yan's father looked at the Wang family without saying a word. He wanted to see how his in-laws would react, but his attempt failed.

"However, when I got married, I didn't ask for a dowry from my in-laws, right, Ximo?" Wang Ziru deliberately nudged the man with her elbow while eating.

Use your eyes to hint to the man to help you perform the duet.

After receiving his wife's hint, Zhai Ximo immediately understood and smiled gently: "Everyone in our army gets married, and we have never heard of bride price."

Wang Zonghao's face turned pale. What did his sister and brother-in-law mean?

I don't think you want revenge.

If this continues, I'm afraid my father-in-law will be so angry that he will overturn the table and leave.

Humph, if the cooked object runs away, don’t blame his younger brother!

Wang Dongsheng understood the good intentions of his daughter and son-in-law, but how could it be possible that they wanted to marry someone else's daughter and not pay a penny for the bride price?

Although he hoped not to give a dowry in his heart, he still smiled.

After a pause, he smiled at everyone and said, "Marriage is a happy event. People in the south should give a betrothal gift."

Wang Ziru was not happy with her father's timidity.

Who says you have to pay a gift to marry someone?

Can't you give her other advantages so that she will marry you?

Wang Ziru cast her eyes towards her future sister-in-law and deliberately asked, "Zhu Yan, is the betrothal money for you or for your parents?"

She felt that her authority in her mother's family was still not enough and she had to stand up. Seeing Zhu Yan's blushing face, she said, "I heard from Ximo that in their army, the leaders advocated that marriage is about the couple being in love and having a happy family after marriage."

When Zhu Yan's mother saw that her married sister-in-law from the Wang family wanted to be the head of her parents' home, she felt a little unhappy.

With a somewhat unhappy look on his face, he sneered, "Aunt Zhuzi, I heard that you were engaged to a family in the county town before. Since they live in the county town, their family must be well-off, and they didn't give you a betrothal gift?"