Chapter 6 They actually have the nerve to ask for a dowry!
“Yes, we’re all family from now on, no need to be so polite.” Liu Hua stood up and pulled Wang Xiuzhi along. “Come on, let’s go inside and talk.”
Wang Xiuzhi swallowed hard. Seeing that the Liu family was being unreasonable, she pulled Su Zhimeng, who was being held by the hand.
"Let's go, they still need to eat," Wang Xiuzhi said sarcastically.
Liu Nian knew exactly what Wang Xiuzhi was planning. She picked up the pig's head meat on the table and said, "Auntie, we haven't finished eating yet. You and my mom chat first, and we'll go eat in another room."
After she finished speaking, she gave Zhang Suzhen a wink, and Zhang Suzhen understood, picked up her rice bowl and left.
Upon seeing this, Liu Qiang immediately cleared away the dishes and followed his wife.
"You guys chat, you guys chat." Liu Dafa picked up some cornbread and followed them into the east room.
Wang Xiuzhi stared longingly at the plate of braised pig's head, wishing she could chase after it. She smacked her lips, cursing inwardly, "How can they be so stingy? It's one thing if they don't give her any, but Zhimeng is just a child. He doesn't even know how to share with a child. He has no manners at all."
She squeezed Su Zhimeng's hand tightly, and Su Zhimeng, understanding her meaning, plopped down on the ground, kicking his legs and wailing, "Mom, I want to eat meat! Waaah! I want to eat meat!"
"You child, why are you so greedy? They didn't even offer you any, how dare you ask for it!" Wang Xiuzhi playfully slapped Su Zhimeng twice, then turned to Liu Hua and said, "The child is young, he's just too tempted by the meat. Sister-in-law, why don't you give him two pieces to try? We'll give you back the meat when my family gets its share."
Liu Hua gave an awkward smile and said nothing.
"I've never seen anyone so shameless," Liu Nian thought angrily, picking up a piece of meat and walking out.
When Su Zhimeng saw the meat in Liu Nian's hand, he immediately stopped crying and got up from the ground with his round body.
"It's always the sister-in-law who dotes on her brother-in-law," Wang Xiuzhi said proudly. "Zhimeng, hurry up and call her sister-in-law."
The fragrant meat was right in front of him. Su Zhimeng was drooling and about to reach for it when Liu Nian raised an eyebrow at him and stuffed it into his own mouth.
"The last piece is gone." Liu Nian licked her fingers; she was deliberately trying to annoy him.
Su Zhimeng was stunned, and then burst into tears.
"Liu Nian! You're her sister-in-law, how can you snatch food from a child like this?" Wang Xiuzhi grabbed Su Zhimeng, feigning grievance. "Your family eats meat every day, what's wrong with giving the child a bite? How can you bear to watch the child stare longingly at it?"
"Who said we eat meat every day?" Liu Nian swallowed the pig's head meat in her mouth. "Besides, why should he eat the meat from our family?"
Before Wang Xiuzhi could react, Liu Nian rushed out the gate and started shouting at the passing villagers, "Please, fellow villagers, help my family! Someone is falsely accusing my father of embezzlement! They say my family eats lavish meals every day..."
"It's not just Wang Xiuzhi who would turn the tables on someone," Liu Nian said, wiping away tears with red eyes.
"What are you saying?" The person who spoke was a disabled officer who had retired from the army and had always been taken care of by Liu Dafa. He was especially grateful to the village chief's family.
He immediately became anxious, "Everyone knows perfectly well what kind of person Village Chief Liu is!"
"Everyone's share of fish and meat is recorded. Don't spout nonsense and make false accusations!"
"Who said that! Stand up! These words are tantamount to smearing the image of cadres!"
The Liu family members worked together to put on an act of being wronged. Liu Dafa lowered his head, sighed, and said, "I've dedicated my whole life to serving the people, and in the end, I'm wronged like this. What did I gain from this?"
The Liu family members all looked at Wang Xiuzhi.
This terrified Wang Xiuzhi, who trembled with fear. "I...I didn't say that!"
Liu Nian wiped away her tears. "Although my father is the village chief, he only earns work points. Where would he get extra money? You insist that my family contribute more to the dowry. My family doesn't have any, so you start framing my father!"
These words startled Wang Xiuzhi. She had planned before coming that she would make sure the Liu family prepared a large dowry and then release Su Hang. She hadn't even had a chance to say it. How did Liu Nian know?
“My mom said the village chief’s family is well-off, so it’s only right that they give us a bigger dowry! You should give our family more good stuff!” Su Zhimeng shouted arrogantly, tilting his head back.
"What nonsense are you talking about, you child!" Wang Xiuzhi quickly covered Su Zhimeng's mouth.
Su Zhimeng angrily pushed Wang Xiuzhi's hand away, "I'm not making this up, you were just saying that at home!" He felt wronged; he was defending his mother, so why was he being scolded?
Liu Nian stopped talking and lowered her head.
The dowry is prepared by the bride's family for her, yet the mother-in-law has already set her sights on it before the wedding. Some people say disdainfully, "The groom's family is so incompetent that they're eyeing the bride's dowry!"
"They refused to give a dowry and then falsely accused our village chief. They're shameless!"
Zhang Suzhen put her arm around Liu Nian, adopting the posture of a sister-in-law supporting her sister-in-law, and said, "Auntie, you're asking my family for a dowry, so let me ask you, how much betrothal gift have you prepared for my sister? Have you prepared the 'three turns and one ring' (referring to a set of three watches, one ring, and one watch)?"
Wang Xiuzhi glanced at everyone guiltily and said, "My house, where would I find one?"
"Even if there were, they would be prepared for Su Hang," someone added.
It seems it's no secret that Su Hang and Su Xu are treated differently. Su Hang is pampered and fed. Su Xu, on the other hand, has to do heavy work since he was a child, is often beaten and scolded, and is never well-fed or clothed. His whole family is lazy and good-for-nothing; no one in the family is hardworking except for Su Xu.
Liu Nian felt an indescribable heartache.
"Make way, make way!" The old man driving the carriage cracked his whip and stopped the carriage in front of the Liu family's house.
What's going on? A group of people immediately surrounded them.
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