Chapter 114 If he had been born two years earlier, he would definitely have competed with his cousin for it.
Watching the betrothal gifts being carried away and listening to the compliments people around her made to Xu Cuilian, Zhang Sangu felt very uncomfortable.
Seeing her sullen face, Aunt Zhang quietly gave her a light elbow: "What kind of behavior is this on such a joyous day? Smile quickly and don't let outsiders laugh at you."
The third sister is such a fool. Doesn't she worry that her sister-in-law might see this and misunderstand, thinking that she is unhappy with her eldest nephew's marriage?
Aunt Zhang was truly dissatisfied, and she didn't hide anything from her own sister: "I don't know what's wrong with them, they don't marry girls from the city, but insist on going to the countryside to find wives."
The young men she favored were like this, and so were her own nephews.
This person passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, turning a country girl into a scholar's wife.
Another extravagant gesture involved a generous dowry, enough to marry two city wives.
"It's Da Kui who's getting married, and his parents have no objections. What nonsense are you spouting!"
Aunt Zhang glared at Aunt Zhang San with annoyance, and couldn't help but poke her forehead:
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Jin Nian never took a liking to Da Niu back then. No matter how upset you are, he didn't do anything wrong to you and your daughter!"
Da Niu is a good girl, down-to-earth and hardworking, but she's too dull and her looks are just like the Zhang family's. It's not surprising that the Xu family's son doesn't like her.
The wife he married was the one he truly loved; otherwise, he wouldn't have protected her like the apple of his eye and wouldn't have tolerated her suffering the slightest grievance.
You can only blame your bad luck; after searching high and low, you ended up marrying a lousy guy who beats his wife.
"Big sister, I just can't accept it. If I had known that Da Niu's life would turn out like this, I should have let her get together with Da Kui."
Aunt Zhang clutched her chest, her eyes red-rimmed: "At the time, I thought my sister-in-law wasn't a good person, and I was afraid she would be a cruel mother-in-law who would torment her daughter-in-law, so I didn't bring it up. I never expected her to be so generous to her future daughter-in-law."
The eight betrothal gifts carried out the door were worth twenty or thirty taels of silver. If Da Niu could marry Da Kui, she would be the one to enjoy a life of luxury.
Looking at her whimsical younger sister, Aunt Zhang sighed: "Da Kui and Daniu are cousins, they grew up together. If Da Kui had feelings for Daniu, there would be no need for you to bring this up."
After saying that, she comforted Zhang Sangu, who looked gloomy, "Later we'll go find Da Niu together. If she's still being beaten at her in-laws' house, we'll smash up their place. Every time Da Niu gets beaten, we'll go and smash it up, and see if her in-laws feel bad about it."
Aunt Zhang hesitated: "Isn't this a bad idea? Da Niu still has to make a living. What if they take their anger out on Da Niu?"
Aunt Zhang was exasperated: "You're just a bully at home. If we didn't go and smash things up to stand up for Da Niu, would Da Niu be living a good life in her husband's family?"
Zhang Sangu immediately fell silent.
The two sisters' voices weren't quiet, and Sheng An, who was standing behind them, overheard them and was speechless at Zhang Sangu's bullying behavior at home.
No wonder she doesn't get along with her aunt and sister-in-law. With her personality and temper, it's no wonder her aunt dislikes her.
The Zhang family lived not far from Huai Shu Village. After delivering the betrothal gifts, the three Zhang brothers, Zhang Daikui, ate a large bowl of brown sugar and eggs at the Zhang family's house and returned home with smiles on their faces.
Zhang Xiaokui, with his keen eye, leaned closer to Sheng An and shared the story of delivering the betrothal gifts:
"When the villagers saw the betrothal gifts my family sent, they were all stunned. They thought we had come to the wrong place. My in-laws were beaming with joy..."
After the thirty taels of silver betrothal money was displayed, all of Zhang's relatives were stunned and kept praising Zhaodi for being so lucky, not only for finding a husband from the city, but also for being so kind.
He saw that Sister-in-law Zhaodi was so moved that her eyes turned red.
Now, Sister-in-law Zhaodi will definitely be satisfied with his family, and she can live a peaceful life with her elder brother after marrying into the family.
Sheng An asked in bewilderment, "Didn't your aunt and uncle discuss the betrothal gifts with Zhao Di's parents beforehand?"
Zhang Xiao Kui nodded: "We discussed it. My in-laws told me to give whatever they felt was appropriate. They didn't care about the gifts from my family, so my parents prepared them themselves."
At this point, he said with envy, "My family is really rich. They can give a dowry of thirty taels of silver without hesitation. When I get married, my parents will definitely give me the same amount. My wife's family is so lucky."
Sheng An was both amused and exasperated: "Your wife isn't even here yet, and you're already envious of her family?"
Moreover, since Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang dote on Zhao Di so much, they certainly don't want her to be looked down upon by her in-laws. They'll probably have Zhao Di bring the thirty taels of silver with her, and maybe even give her some other dowry.
"Hehe, I'm almost sixteen, almost at the age to get married. My mother can't wait for my second brother and me to get married so that our wives can do our laundry and cook for us."
Zhang Xiaokui scratched his head shyly, clearly very enthusiastic about getting married.
Seeing his cousin Xu Jinnian approaching, he immediately perked up and went over to ask, "Cousin, how much dowry did you give when you married my sister?"
Xu Jinnian paused for a moment, then truthfully replied, "There is no betrothal gift."
Zhang Xiao Kui stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "No betrothal money? You didn't give my sister a betrothal money?"
Xu Jinnian slapped his forehead: "They gave him three taels of silver back then, but his grandparents returned it."
Zhang Xiao Kui was speechless, his eyes full of accusation: "My sister is so good to you, and you won't even give her a tael of silver as a betrothal gift. You're really getting off easy!"
Sheng An suppressed a laugh and stepped forward to explain to the silly child, "Back then, your uncle was seriously ill, and the family had run out of money. How could my grandparents accept your uncle's life-saving money?"
Zhang Xiao Kui finally remembered this and couldn't help but give Sheng An a thumbs up: "Cousin is so lucky to have married my sister!"
His maternal grandparents were so awful, yet they somehow produced a wonderful pair of children: his mother and his second uncle.
His third uncle and aunt were so wicked, yet somehow their wicked cousin Jin Nian was born out of sheer luck.
Waaah, he also wants to marry a beautiful wife who can cook well and pamper him!
If he had been born two years earlier, he would definitely have competed with his cousin for the position.
Seeing her younger cousin's envious and jealous expression, Xu Jinnian saw through his little scheme at a glance, took Sheng An's hand and walked into the house: "Don't mind this little fool, let's go eat."
Sheng An couldn't help but chuckle, and affectionately patted Zhang Xiao Kui's head: "It's time to take your seat. Hurry up and go to the kitchen to get the dishes."
Zhang Xiaokui watched the couple's retreating figures with resentment, then dejectedly went to the kitchen to fetch the dishes.
Xu Cuilian and Butcher Zhang were willing to spend money, and the dishes on the five tables were very plentiful, which made Aunt Zhang and the others very satisfied.
Sheng An had a good appetite and ate quite a bit of the dishes he liked.
After the banquet, some distant relatives left one after another. Sheng An helped clean up the table, boil water, wash pots and pans, and then took the pork that Xu Cuilian had given him and went back with Xu Jinnian and his son.
The three returned to the small building and unexpectedly saw the Tan siblings.
Tan Qingrou shyly explained her purpose: "Sister, my brother and I are going back to Jinling tomorrow, and we want to bring back a few roast chickens and a few jars of glutinous rice wine for our family to try."
Tan Zhenlin, being much more shameless, directly stated the quantity: "I need ten roast chickens and ten jars of glutinous rice wine. I wonder if it's convenient for you to make them, sister-in-law."
Sheng An laughed and said, "It's just ten roast chickens. I'll roast them for you tomorrow. I've also saved some glutinous rice wine for you, but there are only five jars."
She had made a lot of glutinous rice wine in advance, but it was so popular that even the wine she kept for her own family was sold out.
If twenty jars hadn't been reserved in advance for Master Jiang and Tan Zhenlin and stored in another warehouse, these twenty jars probably wouldn't have been forcibly bought.
"Five jars are enough to drink, thank you, sister-in-law!"
Tan Zhenlin was very pleased and pointed to the things piled in the corner, saying, "I also prepared a New Year's gift for my sister-in-law. Please don't find it offensive."
Sheng An's attention was focused on the brother and sister, and he hadn't noticed the New Year's gifts in the corner. Hearing this, he glanced at them casually and then discovered that the corner was full of gifts, the most eye-catching of which were several bolts of cloth.
"You two are being too polite."
Sheng An looked at Tan Qingrou helplessly, knowing very well that the girl had chosen these brightly colored fabrics.
Tan Qingrou blinked her big, round eyes: "We didn't stand on ceremony with you, sister. Now we're troubling you to make us roast chicken."
Sheng An rubbed her head and said, "What's the trouble? When you come back after the New Year, Jin Nian and I will treat you to dinner at our house."
Before Tan Qingrou could speak, Tan Zhenlin interrupted, "Okay, okay, I'll definitely come on an empty stomach!"
Xu Jinnian couldn't bear to look at his impatient appearance: "You live not far from the Master's house, so bring along the Master's five jars of glutinous rice wine."
Tan Zhenlin readily agreed.
As dusk fell, the brother and sister did not linger and left with ten jars of glutinous rice wine.
Sheng An and Xu Jinnian sorted through the New Year's gifts they had sent. In addition to five bolts of fabric with excellent color and texture, there was also a box of tea, a box of nuts, and a box of pastries, all from well-established brands in Qingzhou City.
After finishing all that, Sheng An went to the front yard to find the four treasures and asked them to get up early the next day to process twenty chickens, as she wanted to roast a batch to give away.
The chickens were purchased in advance and kept in the stable; there were more than fifty of them, so there was no need to go to the market early in the morning.
That evening, the two elders of the Sheng family returned to the small building and inquired about the engagement banquet of the Zhang family.
Upon learning that the Zhang family had given a dowry of thirty taels of silver, Grandma Sheng was very happy for Zhang Zhaodi: "This child is destined for good fortune."
No one will laugh at Zhaodi anymore, saying she's a daughter-in-law the Liu family doesn't want; instead, they'll think the Liu family is bad.
Xu Jinnian silently kept it in mind. After washing up, she didn't go straight to bed but went to the study and closed the door.
Seeing how mysterious he was, Sheng An became extremely curious and crept furtively to the door.
Xu Jinnian had excellent hearing, and a smile appeared on his lips as he looked at the door.
He deliberately made a little noise and muttered something to himself, and sure enough, he heard the sound of fingernails scraping against the door.
The next moment, the door was pushed open, and Sheng An remained pressed against the door, eavesdropping, a polite yet awkward smile on his face.
Then, as if she hadn't turned over at all, she walked in with her small body standing straight.
Seeing that the man was only wearing his undergarments, with the collar slightly open, revealing his delicate collarbone and pectoral muscles, Sheng An's eyes burned with desire as her gaze swept over him: "Have you been doing something bad behind my back?"
Xu Jinnian's smile deepened, and he lazily spread his hands, his collar opening even wider because of his gesture: "No."
Sheng An's eyes widened, completely unable to control her lustful desires. She reached out and touched the man's chest, making up a plausible excuse: "You're definitely hiding a secret. Once I find it, you're finished!"
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