Upon hearing this history, Li Ping shook her head repeatedly, feeling embarrassed to take away someone else's favorite story.
Lin Rufang smiled and said, "This is a family tradition. When the eldest son got married, he was given a Carbin. When the second son got married, he was given a Browning. They were all your father's favorites. So please don't be shy and don't stand on ceremony with us."
Li Ping felt embarrassed to refuse.
Li Guoliang's eyes crinkled with a smile. He himself owned a watch, but it wasn't as good as his daughter's. This watch had survived the war, making it exceptionally meaningful—a wonderful gift. If it were a novice, he definitely wouldn't have agreed to let his daughter accept it, but this was a must. A truly fine piece!
The two families quickly finalized the arrangements for Ming's wedding, and then went together to see the wedding room that the Li family had prepared for the couple.
Yu Chunhua said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have troubled Pingping. We couldn't prepare anything for them. It's all your fault for going to so much trouble."
Although Li's mother was a little nervous, upon hearing Yu Chunhua's words, she secretly thought that the Li family had truly been wronged. There really is a difference between not being biological children. What's the use of Pingping marrying into the family of an old high-ranking official? Apart from sounding good in public, it's useless. The wedding still has to be arranged by their own side.
Li Guoliang replied, "This is nothing. Commander, you're being so formal with me. I'm truly ashamed."
Yu Chunhua laughed and said, "Don't call me 'Chief' anymore. From now on, we're all family, in-laws."
“Yes, yes, we’re in-laws now.” Li Guoliang said happily.
Li Ping and Jiang Hu blushed with embarrassment upon hearing the conversation between the two, and couldn't help but steal glances at each other.
While the parents were chatting inside, the two secretly slipped outside. Jiang Hu stuffed a wad of cash from his pocket into Li Ping's hand, blushing as he said, "This is my savings from all these years, my betrothal gift."
"I have everything, I don't need it." Li Ping blushed and retreated.
Previously, Jiang Hu wanted to prepare the wedding feast the same way Su Yu and her husband did when they got married, but she hadn't agreed. Su Yu lives at home, so buying things isn't a problem. But she and Jiang Hu will be settling down in the military, and buying too many things could easily lead to gossip. It's best to be careful in the military.
"Then give it to your parents. We can't get married without bringing anything."
Li Ping felt that her father's temper was absolutely unacceptable, and as for her mother... she shook her head and said, "Didn't your parents buy things for the family?" So many new fabrics, desserts, candies, and clothes, she felt that they had spent more money than necessary.
"My parents bought it, not me. Don't worry, I've already applied for a house in the military base and prepared everything. We'll just go there and live there." Jiang Hu said apologetically, "We have enough money. You can use it to support your parents."
Li Ping thought about it and decided to accept it; her father definitely wouldn't want it. But she still wanted to go through the motions and bring it back after the wedding.
She thought of Su Yu's sister; whether she wanted it or not was one thing, giving it to her was another. Regardless of whether her father wanted it or not, Comrade Jiang Hu had given it to her anyway.
After Jiang Hu returned home with his parents in the afternoon, Li Ping counted Jiang Hu's money, which totaled two hundred yuan.
That's quite a lot of betrothal gifts.
She wrapped it in red paper and took it to Li Guoliang.
Upon hearing that it was a betrothal gift, Li Guoliang slammed his fist on the table without even looking at it, saying, "What are you going to do with it? Our Li family isn't that poor yet. Take it back to Jiang and Hu; our family has plenty."
Li Ping nodded, took the money without anything else, and went back to her room.
With all the wedding preparations complete, Li Ping went to bed early to conserve her energy for tomorrow's wedding. Her mother and Li Aihong, however, stayed up late.
Li's mother had been worried about Li Aihong's marriage these past few days, fearing that Li Aihong was too picky and insisted on marrying someone from a family of similar social standing as the Jiang and Hu families. Now that she knew about the Jiang and Hu families' situation, she could better persuade Li Aihong.
"As you can see, I didn't buy your sister anything except clothes. Just an old watch. We even prepared our own place to live. Those high-ranking officers' families aren't necessarily well-off; I think they're not even as well-off as the families of the cadres in our military region. At least their sons are their own flesh and blood. They're much better off than your sister. Just relax and listen to my arrangements."
Li Aihong was initially reluctant, as she was determined to find a husband from a high-ranking official's family, but after hearing her mother's words, she wavered. "Well, let's take a look first."
After Li's mother returned to her room, Li Guoliang was still angry, feeling that Li Ping was being unreasonable by giving him money. Seeing that Li's mother had returned, he told her to prepare more money for Li Ping's dowry.
“Jiang Hu is too kind. He just had Pingping bring back money. It’s such a thick stack of cash, I bet it’s worth at least a thousand. Pingping shouldn’t be shortchanged either; she should keep more money on her.”
Upon hearing this, Li's mother said, "Where's the money? I haven't seen it."
“How could we accept that money? What would that look like? I told Pingping to return it to Jiang Hu. Let the two of them live their own lives.”
"..."
Author's Note: Mwah, goodnight.
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