Xu Ningyan was stunned upon hearing the news.
I remember in the book, Lu Kai and Xu Zhenzhu didn't get married so early; they got married around November, after the autumn harvest.
It's only August now.
However, Xu Ningyan didn't think much of it, assuming it was just a butterfly effect caused by her time travel that led to the change in time.
There seems to be no news from the machinery factory yet, otherwise Gu Zhiyuan would definitely come back and tell me.
If Xu Ningyan hadn't happened to return to the Unity Brigade, no one would have known.
After the last training and assessment, Li Jianguo told Xu Ningyan not to rush into officially becoming a full-time employee, estimating it would have to wait until before the end of the year.
Xu Ningyan wasn't in a hurry and continued to return to the Tuanjie Brigade every ten days or so, just like before.
This news came just after the autumn harvest, when Xu Ningyan had only returned to the Tuanjie Brigade.
The captain was the one who told her.
It turns out that Xu Zhenzhu and Lu Kai had come to propose marriage with a matchmaker yesterday.
It is said that when the matchmaker entered the Xu family's house carrying large and small bags, the Xu family even slaughtered chickens and fish and prepared a large table of delicious dishes to entertain him at noon.
The news spread throughout the entire Tuanjie Brigade almost immediately after Lu Kai and the matchmaker left that afternoon.
I heard that the Lu family has already set a date, which is early September, only about twenty days away.
They said the Lu family had prepared a house for their wedding. After the wedding, they wouldn't have to live with their parents-in-law, but would instead rent a small courtyard for them to live in temporarily. They would be able to move into the new house next year after Lu Kai was allocated his own apartment.
Moreover, the Lu family knew the Xu family's conditions and made it clear that the Xu family did not need to provide a dowry. Everything in the new house, including the bedding and trunks that the Xu family was supposed to provide, would be provided by the Lu family.
This made many young women and wives in the Tuanjie Brigade extremely envious.
No one knows how much good karma Xu Zhenzhu accumulated in her past life to encounter such a wonderful marriage in this life.
Seeing the Xu family's happy faces, even though everyone felt a little envious, they still offered their congratulations.
After all, the Xu family is on the verge of rising to prominence, and there might be times when we need their help in the future, so we can't afford to offend them.
Some people, judging from the Xu family's appearance, didn't think it was about marrying off a daughter; rather, it seemed like the whole family was going to marry into the city.
Feeling indignant, she inquired, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Since the Lu family is so generous, their betrothal gifts must be even more impressive, right? Why don't you tell us so we can see for ourselves?"
When asked this question, the Xu family members all hesitated and couldn't answer.
Wan Chunni reacted quickly, "The Lu family said they won't mistreat our Pearl. They'll treat everything according to city rules, so she definitely won't be shortchanged!"
Some villagers believed it, and some didn't, but none of them insisted on confronting each other to get to the bottom of it at this time.
Anyway, when the betrothal gifts are delivered, everyone will see them and know.
Therefore, everyone echoed and praised the Xu family a few more times.
The Xu family was then happy again.
However, Wan Chunni, Zhao Guilan, and the other women were still uneasy and had no mood to show off outside. They were thinking of going home to find out how much the Lu family was planning to give them.
In Wan Chunni's mind, with the Lu family being so wealthy and powerful, and Lu's father and mother both being cadres, the bride price certainly couldn't be less.
The Lu family has already said they will arrange for the seventy-two legs of the furniture.
The "three turns and one response" principle should also be included, right?
A watch, a bicycle, a sewing machine, and a radio.
There's also the gift money. Twenty-three yuan is already a lot in the countryside, but I heard that in the city it's sixty-eight or eighty-eight yuan, which is considered auspicious.
If the Lu family's numbers are less than this, it wouldn't make sense, would it?
The daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law of the Xu family all kept a mental account, calculating and recalculating until they had a general idea of the figures.
After dinner, it was Zhao Guilan, who couldn't hold back any longer, who took the lead and brought up the matter of the bride price.
When the topic of betrothal gifts came up, Miao Cuihua finally came to her senses. She was overjoyed today, never expecting that her daughter was truly blessed to marry into the city and enjoy a life of luxury.
In addition, Xu Zhenzhu kept telling her how wonderful life would be after marriage and how filial she would be to her, so she forgot about it.
Hearing his eldest daughter-in-law's reminder, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Oh no! I forgot about that! But the Lu family is a respectable family, they certainly wouldn't do something like offering a lesser dowry."
Still feeling uneasy, he asked Xu Zhenzhu again, "Zhenzhu, why don't you take some time to sound out the Lu family and see how much they're prepared to give?"
Xu Zhenzhu's expression became somewhat unnatural upon hearing the word "bride price".
Seeing everyone looking at her expectantly, she gritted her teeth and finally managed to utter a sentence: "Mother, how about our family doesn't ask for the Lu family's betrothal gifts?"
These words were so shocking that the Xu family all thought they had misheard.
"What did you say? No bride price?" Miao Cuihua asked incredulously.
Xu Zhenzhu nodded.
Miao Cuihua suddenly erupted in anger. If she hadn't always doted on Xu Zhenzhu, she probably would have slapped her: "Are you out of your mind? A woman marries into a family without asking for a dowry, and she'll never be able to hold her head up high again! What your mother-in-law and sisters-in-law say about you in the future, they don't even need to mention anything else, just one sentence: 'You married into the Lu family without asking for money, you even paid them to marry you in,' and you'll never be able to hold your head up high again! Do you understand?"
The Xu family nodded repeatedly, agreeing that this was indeed the case.
This woman is not married yet, and this is the time when she should be putting on airs. If she doesn't behave herself now, how can she expect to be respected by her husband's family in the future?
Unexpectedly, my sister-in-law (my aunt) looks smart, but she's actually quite stupid.
Zhao Guilan grew anxious and interjected, "Little sister, what your mother is saying is all for your own good! Even for us country men, if we want to get married, we have to save up for the wife. The whole family is practically emptying their pockets! The Lu family are city people, do you think they can get something for nothing?"
Wan Chunni frowned, unable to contain her suspicions: "I was wondering why the Lu family said they didn't want a dowry from us. So they just didn't want to give a bride price? Little sister, don't fall for it! It's understandable not to give a dowry, but not giving a bride price is absolutely outrageous!"
The Xu family members began to suspect the Lu family's intentions, wondering if the Lu family looked down on them and that was why they were being treated so poorly.
Xu Zhenzhu was anxious; she couldn't let her family wrongly accuse Lu Kai.
It was her idea to forgo the bride price. She thought back to her past life when Siya married Lu Kai without asking for a bride price. She only asked to transfer her job to the county town, and she didn't even have a separate wedding. Instead, she had a group wedding with the other people from the machinery factory.
A large group of people took their oaths in front of the statue of the great man in the auditorium of the machinery factory, and then the factory canteen hosted a few tables of banquet for them, and that was considered their wedding.
Because of this, Lu Kai gained the favor of his superiors.
Siya also became a well-known good wife in the machinery factory, and was named one of the factory's top ten family members every year.
For this reason, she was transferred to a department store, where her job was both respectable and leisurely.
The Lu family also thought that Siya was virtuous and generous, a good helpmate to Lu Kai, and they praised her highly and liked her very much.
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