"However, when it comes to marriage, we definitely need to prepare things like betrothal gifts and the three gold pieces. In our area, the betrothal gifts are usually around 68,000 to 88,000 yuan. The exact amount depends on the groom's attitude and how much he values our Lijuan."
As soon as Xia's father finished speaking, the entire He family was dumbfounded.
They used to say the bride price was 50,000 yuan, so why has it gone up again?
He Wenlin felt that Xia's father was much more shrewd than Xia Lijuan. Listen to what he said: the amount of the bride price depends on the attitude and whether the man values his daughter. He was throwing the problem back at Xia Lijuan.
If the bride price is lower than this amount, it means the attitude is bad and the woman is not valued.
The He family didn't like Xia Lijuan, but things had come to this point, so He's father would just smile and say, "Lijuan is a good girl, and Wenhua likes her very much. My older brother will be coming in a few days, and then the two families can pick a day to sit down and have a good talk."
Xia's father knew that this matter couldn't be settled now; he just wanted to express this idea.
"Dad, Mr. Liu, Mr. Guo, Mr. Ma, and Mr. Cen (the owner of the grain and oil store) have brought flower baskets," He Wenlin called out, and her father quickly came out to greet the guests.
He Wenlin's fast food restaurant has reopened, and the owners who have a close working relationship with her must know about it.
He Wenlin's fast food restaurant gets its supplies from them every day.
He Wenlin has three stores, and the total daily demand is quite substantial, so they have to maintain a good relationship with her.
Their timely arrival relieved the adults in the He family from the awkward situation, allowing everyone to temporarily avoid the topic of betrothal gifts.
However, they only smoked a cigarette and talked for a while before leaving. It was the busiest time for the shop, and they couldn't stay any longer.
As soon as they left, Li Jinfeng and He Hui, along with their son, He Yongping and He Lanying, came to inquire.
"Daming, Aizhen, congratulations!" After saying that, He Lanying turned to Grandma He and said, "Grandma, congratulations! Your granddaughter is so filial. She opened a supermarket for you. Now you can just sit and collect money."
Grandma He smiled broadly, "My children are truly filial, but I never expected to make any money from this little shop. They just wanted to keep me occupied so I wouldn't be bored."
"There are factories here, and your family runs a fast food restaurant. With so many people coming and going every day, the supermarket business must be doing well. Just wait and see, you'll be rolling in big money!"
"Haha, then I'll take your good wishes. Come in and have a seat, some watermelon, and some drinks."
He Yongping also looked at He Wenlin's six-story building with envy in his eyes: "This house is well-built and spacious. Have you finished the upstairs too?"
Mr. He said, "The renovation is almost complete, but we haven't bought all the furniture and appliances yet. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth floors also need some simple renovations. These four floors aren't finished yet, and it will probably take another month or so to complete."
Mr. He took them upstairs for a tour. The second floor was where he lived, so there was a large iron gate there. Without an access card, they couldn't get in.
The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth floors will be rented out in the future. With so many people and so much gossip, it's easy for trouble to happen. So, an extra door was added to the second floor for better security.
"This house is nicely decorated. All three rooms have air conditioners installed. The air conditioners must have cost a lot of money," He Lanying said.
"The four air conditioners cost over ten thousand yuan, and the kitchen range hood also cost nearly ten thousand yuan. We're out of money right now, so we'll get the bed, sofa, washing machine, and refrigerator when we have more cooking," explained Mrs. He.
(进火 means moving to a new house.)
"When are you going to go into the fire?" He Yongping asked.
Mr. He said, "The plan is to finish around the Mid-Autumn Festival. After the renovation is completed and the space is empty for more than two months, it should be about ready."
Seeing this house made everyone feel even more resentful.
The Xia family, in particular, had never seen such a spacious, clean, and bright house before.
Xia Lifeng also told her father, "This house looks even better than Xiu Ru's house."
The Xiu Ru family she mentioned was the best-off family in their village.
He Yongping said, "If only we had bought a piece of land and built our own house, it would have been so much better."
"Rental prices are higher this year than last year. If you have spare money, you can buy or build a house, live in it yourself, or rent it out."
"I have to pay off my mortgage now, so I don't have much money left to save, let alone buy a plot of land for my homestead."
He Shan was clamoring to buy a house back then, so He Yongping simply pooled the family's resources to buy a big house in the High-tech Zone. However, it's just a bare shell, and they don't have the money for renovations right now.
Mr. He asked, "How's Lingling's business?"
Business is a little worse in the summer, not as good as in spring, autumn and winter.
At this point, He Hui also said, "Business is not good for me now. There are other people selling glutinous rice now, and my monthly income is about a thousand yuan less than before."
I can still make money, and I earn more than other people who work for others. But I used to earn about three thousand a month, but now I only earn about two thousand a month. I'm definitely not happy about that.
Speaking of this, He Hui asked He Wenlin, "Linlin, what do you think I should do now?"
He Wenlin: "There's no way to avoid this. You can't stop others from selling. It's impossible to have a monopoly. You can only have repeat customers by sticking to making good products and providing good service."
"Linlin, I want to learn how to make wontons. How much is the tuition?" He Hui asked. "My mom is here too. Can she learn to make wontons with me?"
He Wenlin generously said, "Sure, I won't charge tuition for learning how to make wontons. You can come to my breakfast shop to learn whenever it's convenient for you."
Making wontons is quite simple; you can learn it in a day. Since we're all neighbors, He Wenlin won't charge tuition. However, if you want to learn how to make steamed buns, dumplings, or other similar dishes, then He Wenlin will have to charge tuition.
After touring the new house, everyone returned to the fast food restaurant downstairs.
He Qian and her brother also came over at this time, carrying watermelons and zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).
Their arrival surprised everyone.
Apart from the Xia family, everyone else knows the relationship between He Wenlin's family and He Xing's family. To this day, the adults of the two families have never spoken to each other, and they did not come to pay New Year's respects to Old Lady He. But now they have actually sent two young children to deliver the holiday greetings.
As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face, so He Wenlin invited the person into the house and greeted them.
"Linlin, your house has changed so much! You're amazing! You built a six-story house in just one year. I really admire you!" He Qian looked around, both envious and impressed.
"What brings you here?" He Wenlin handed the siblings two bottles of Coke.
He Qian was young and not very shrewd. She told He Wenlin the truth: "You gave me a cake that day. When I got home, I told my mom, and she told me to come and deliver it today."
Upon hearing this, He Wenlin felt that Liang Xiaoying might be considering reconciliation.
But is that even possible?
She was polite to He Qian and her brother, but that didn't mean she could still be their close friend, let alone reconcile with their family!
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