Chapter 225
Su Miao walked to her seventh uncle's side. He took her in his arms and said with pride, "Marrying into our family is a sure thing. Everyone in our family is very capable. My sister skipped a grade and took the high school entrance exam, and she even topped it."
After hearing this, the people on the opposite side looked at Su Miao with surprise, but suppressed their emotions.
The middle-aged woman next to the girl said, "Grandpa, we agreed to bring my sister here because we knew your family was well-off.
My sister also finished junior high school and has a good level of education. I'm not bragging, but she is the most beautiful girl in the village.
Many young men have come to ask for my hand, but my husband only has this one sister, and I just want her to find an honest man to live with."
As if she felt that her sister-in-law had exaggerated too much, the girl was so embarrassed that she tugged at her clothes and called out softly, "Sister-in-law."
Su Miao sat next to Brother Xiang as the mascot. Brother Xiang turned his head, smiled and blinked, and whispered to her, "Would you like some glutinous rice cakes?"
She shook her head and signaled Brother Xiang to listen carefully, as he was the male lead now.
Thanks to her seventh uncle who wanted to show off again, she watched a blind date of that era up close.
Both sides praised their own children in various ways, and when they were satisfied, they praised each other's children. However, the male and female protagonists did not exchange much words.
After understanding the basic situation, the next step is the most important part. The man shows his family background to the woman. Brother Xiang seems a little nervous and holds Miaomiao tightly, so the elders let her come along.
After walking around the neat and clean yard, the seventh uncle introduced it to the girl: "Axiang lives alone in this yard. It's very spacious, with three rooms, a kitchen, and a toilet at the back. The manure can be dumped into the vegetable garden.
Axiang is good at everything. Look at this vegetable patch, it’s grown so well. This is the warehouse, and look, this is this year’s new rice, so much!
This is the rice from last year – we couldn't finish it all! There are also sweet potatoes, taro, radishes, peanuts… all grown by Ah Xiang!
I'll take you outside to see the fields. There are three acres of land! Now is not the right time. If you come during the grain harvest, you will know how capable Ah Xiang is! "
Su Miao followed him around the field and gave Brother Xiang a thumbs up, saying he was a great guy.
At noon, the banquet finally started. Fifty tables were set up in the village's large threshing ground. It was a very lively scene with people lining up to congratulate Seventh Uncle on his birthday.
The girl's family was seated at the "VIP table" next to the main table, with Brother Xiang and his two uncles and aunts all sitting at the same table.
Curious children always "accidentally" pass by the girl, and then come back excitedly to say that the girl is very beautiful and smells good.
After the banquet, Uncle Seven asked them to take two live chickens and ducks back home. These were gifts from others to Uncle Seventh. There were so many that they couldn't finish them all today.
Su Miao and his companions were going back to Yongcheng the next day, so they went to say goodbye to their seventh uncle. When they entered the yard, they saw their seventh uncle smoking a cigarette with a sad face.
Su Yu asked, "Seventh Uncle, what's wrong with you?"
Uncle Wu said, "As for Ah Xiang's matter, the girl we met yesterday was indeed quite good, and today the matchmaker said they were also happy with Ah Xiang, but... the bride price they asked for is too high."
Su Yuanzheng said, "Are you talking about the betrothal gift so soon?"
"Of course, they've already seen each other, and the elders on both sides are satisfied. The next step is to discuss the betrothal gift!
Is it like dating someone in the city for several years? Wouldn't that delay things? What if one of them changes their mind midway?"
Su Yuanzheng recalled that he and Liu Xu had only met a few times before they got married. At that time, her family was being criticized and struggled against, so he wanted to get her married quickly to get rid of her.
He asked, "How much dowry does the girl want?"
Uncle Wu stretched out his hand and gestured, saying, "One thousand five hundred yuan! And it also comes with three gongs and a bell, four big things. Such a high betrothal gift, not only in our village, but also in the surrounding area, has never been seen before. It's higher than in the city, right?"
It is indeed a bit high. Although the economy is much better now, the cash income of villagers is basically what they earn from selling agricultural products on the street after deducting their own food rations, which is only about two hundred yuan a year.
Based on this amount of betrothal gifts, it would take many years to save up enough.
"Is there nothing to discuss? Didn't they seem quite satisfied yesterday? A lower betrothal gift is enough as long as she can live a good life after marrying in."
"We told the matchmaker the same thing, but she said it was normal for the girl to ask for such a gift since she was so good. If we really couldn't afford it, we could just pool our money and borrow some money and pay it back later. If we miss this opportunity, we'll never get it again."
Su Miao didn't quite understand this theory, having never encountered it before, so she asked, "Is this betrothal gift given directly to the bride's family? Or will the bride keep it as a treasure later?"
"Generally speaking, it's given directly to the bride's family, and then they send some back. When the bride comes home, they just bring some new bedding and cloth. As for how much money the bride has as a dowry, that's her family's business."
"I think the amount of betrothal gifts should be determined based on one's own financial situation. If you go into debt for the betrothal gifts, the couple will be burdened with the debt. It would be too hard to start paying off the debt right after getting married."
The fifth uncle advised the seventh uncle: "Dad, you see Miaomiao can figure this out at such a young age. There is really no need to do this. There are so many good girls out there. Just wait and see."
Seventh Uncle's face was full of confusion. "With so many good girls, how many of them would be interested in Ersha? Over the years, those who have proposed marriage are either disabled or have brought several children to look for someone to help raise them. The one yesterday was already the best. The girl seemed kind and didn't dislike Ersha. Who knows if I can meet the next one."
With so many elders taking care of this matter, Su Miao and the others didn't have to worry about it. However, before leaving, Su Miao and Su Yu went to Brother Xiang's house again.
Brother Xiang knew that they were leaving today, so he made new glutinous rice cakes and wrapped them in large banana leaves for them to take back.
Su Miao asked him, "Brother Xiang, what do you think of that girl from yesterday?"
Brother Xiang nodded: "She's pretty and speaks to me in a friendly manner."
Su Yu stuffed his mouth with the cassava that Brother Xiang had just cooked, and said incoherently, "Do you want to marry her?"
Brother Xiang raised his head and stared at the leaves above his head. After a long while, Su Miao and Su Yu thought he would not answer this question, only to hear him slowly say: "If Seventh Uncle is happy, I will marry her."
Su Yu said: "That's not nonsense. Seventh Uncle will be happy no matter who you marry."
Su Miao felt that Brother Xiang seemed reluctant and asked, "What if you don't consider Seventh Uncle? Do you want to live with that girl?"
Brother Xiang shook his head: "She is different from me."
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