Chapter 222: Proposal
Wan Lao Si glanced at the family members in the room and said in a deep voice: "Two of the three conditions given by Lord Shen are to test our family, one is to test Big Brother, and the second one is to not allow Big Brother to take a concubine to protect Sister Shen. The first and third conditions are to test whether we value Sister Shen. Judging from the amount of silver that the county magistrate gave us during his two visits to our house, Lord Shen probably has a lot of money in the capital over the years."
"So mother, do you think Lord Shen will wrong Sister Shen at that time? Sister Shen's dowry will certainly be several times more than what our family gives. This is just my conservative estimate, so I think you can agree to it."
Old Mrs. Shen listened but didn't say anything. Instead, she looked at Boss Wan who was sitting in the corner.
"Big brother, tell me what you think. I think your fourth brother is right, but you know what the family is like now. Even if Shen brings a generous dowry in the future, it will belong to the two of you. I can't use my daughter-in-law's dowry to fill the gap in the family. I'm not that kind of person."
At this time, Boss Wan also raised his head and saw that everyone was looking at him.
He stood up, brushed off the dirt on his body, and said in a muffled voice: "Mom, I won't get married. I'm not young anymore, and I have a son. I don't have any regrets. Let's just leave it at that. Don't make things difficult for everyone."
"Brother, how can you give up like this? Sister Shen is still waiting for you?" Second Sister Wan was also anxious. She quickly looked at Old Lady Wan and asked her to speak.
Thinking of Shen's appearance, Old Lady Wan felt a little sorry. After thinking it over, she said, "Since the problem is about the public money, let's divide the family today. Let's divide the eldest son's family first. In the future, the family's money will have nothing to do with the eldest son. This time, all the money in the family will be used for you to marry a wife. After you marry a wife, you can live in the county town."
Old Lady Wan looked at her sons and asked, "Do you agree with what I said?"
Wan Laosi made some calculations in his mind. All the income from the shop was now in his mind. The share from the family was also ten taels of silver every month. Excluding the off-season, he could get one hundred taels of silver a year. In two years, he could save another two hundred taels of silver. Besides, another shop would be completed soon, and the business would surely be more prosperous by then.
At present, their third room has not received anything, but five years later, the money they will receive will definitely be much more than two hundred taels. Wan Lao Si quickly calculated the account in his mind and said quickly: "Mom, I have no objection. I support my eldest brother to marry Sister Shen. Let him get married with all the money in the family. Anyway, he will go to the county town after getting married, so it's better to divide it up."
Wan Laosan and his wife had no objection. Wan San's wife had always liked Shen, and she had a share of the shop and had saved dozens of taels of silver. Besides, their lives were getting better and better, and their family would be better off in the future. There was no need to give up such a good marriage for a little temporary benefit. With the support of the county magistrate, no one would dare to touch them even if they opened a shop in the county town in the future.
"Mom, we have no objection either." Wan Sansao quickly expressed her opinion.
Wan Ersao supported Wan Lao Da the most. She didn't think too much about it. She just felt that Shen was a good woman. Wan Lao Da had suffered too much in the first half of his life. The family relied on the eldest brother in the past, and now it was time to take care of things for the eldest brother.
"Mom, I have no objection either."
When Old Lady Wan saw that all the families had expressed their opinions, she asked Old Fourth Brother Wan to get pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and write the document on the division of the family property on the spot, making everything clear.
Boss Wan felt a little sad. In order to marry a wife, his family was separated. But if he still acted pretentiously, it would disappoint everyone.
He secretly swore in his heart that he would repay his younger brothers in the future.
Wan Lao Si wrote down each item according to what Wan Lao Tai said, and then his brothers all put their fingerprints on it.
"There are two copies of this division document. We don't have any clan elders. When I return to the village tomorrow, I will ask the village chief to sign his name on it to make it fair."
As Old Mrs. Wan said this, she put away the documents regarding the division of the property.
This time when the family was divided, Boss Wan only got money, a total of two hundred taels of silver. As for the land, houses, and so on, he lost them all.
This was already an astronomical figure for Boss Wan. Their first wife had not saved any money, unlike the second, third, and fourth wives who all had considerable incomes.
For Boss Wan, this amount of money is an astronomical figure that he could never earn in his entire lifetime.
But God finally favored him and allowed him to marry Shen, which changed his fate.
Seeing that Old Lady Wan was still planning to go back to the village tomorrow, Old Fourth Wan immediately became anxious and quickly advised: "Mom, why are you going back to the village? Tomorrow you should bring the matchmaker to propose marriage. It will be easier to settle this matter sooner. Even if Sister Shen is getting married for the second time, there are still many people who want to marry her. Our family just took the lead."
Old Mrs. Wan was also afraid that the night would be too long and dreams would arise, so she went to the county government office in person today and heard some news. There were indeed many people who came to propose marriage, especially the old scholar.
"Okay, tomorrow morning, mother will bring your eldest brother to propose marriage again. Let's settle this matter as soon as possible and try to marry Shen back before the New Year."
After this matter was settled, everyone felt relieved. It was already very late, so they simply washed up and went to bed.
The next morning, Old Mrs. Wan went to the matchmaker's house in person and invited the matchmaker again. This time, she only brought Old Master Wan with her, while Second Sister-in-law Wan and Liu stayed in the town.
As soon as they arrived at the county town, they went straight to the county government office.
Perhaps because Shen Jinyuan had explained to the yamen runners, Old Lady Wan and her companions were able to enter the county yamen smoothly.
When Shen heard that Old Lady Wan came again, she was so excited that she couldn't sit still. She knew that there would definitely be a result today.
Last night, she asked Madam Feng to go to the inn where Old Lady Wan and her friends were staying, but they didn't find anyone. Shen cried all night and her eyes were still swollen. She thought the Wan family did not agree with the conditions set by her brother. She blamed her brother many times in her heart. She didn't expect that the Wan family would come back. This was such a surprise.
As soon as Old Lady Wan and her companions entered, they were led to the front yard by the servants and placed in the flower hall.
It was not convenient for Shen to come to the front yard. After all, they were talking about her marriage, so it was better for her to avoid it.
"Greetings, Your Excellency." Not long after Old Lady Wan and the others sat down, Shen Jinyuan came in from outside. Old Lady Wan quickly stood up and saluted.
Shen Jinyuan did not put on airs. After all, this was his sister's savior, so he had to be courteous to him.
"Please take a seat, old lady."
After Shen Jinyuan sat down at the top, Old Lady Wan and the others dared to sit down at the bottom.
The servants quickly brought tea. Old Mrs. Wan sat on the chair a little stiffly, feeling like she didn't know where to put her hands and feet. It was not the first time she had seen Shen Jinyuan, but after knowing his identity, the awe in her heart made her afraid.
"Sir, I thought about it yesterday. Although the conditions you mentioned are a little difficult for our family, I really like Shen. I went back home overnight to discuss it with the children at home. They all agreed. We have collected all the money we can, but we can only get 200 taels of silver. This is already the limit. We can only buy a small house first. What do you think, sir..."
Old Lady Wan glanced at Shen Jinyuan in embarrassment, but Shen Jinyuan looked calm and nothing could be seen.
Shen Jinyuan was shocked by what Old Lady Wan said. It seemed that this family had some wealth. He grew up in the border area, and he knew very well how poor the people there were. There was no one with a wealth as rich as the Wan family within a hundred miles.
Shen Jinyuan originally just wanted to test the other party. Now that the other party has withstood the test, he has nothing to say. Besides, he heard early in the morning that his eldest sister cried all night last night. He was still worried that if the Wan family was really scared away by the conditions he proposed, would his eldest sister hate him?
Now it seems that everything is going in the right direction.
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