063, bride price
063, bride price
"Yes. I heard from your uncle Chunping that the family that betrothed your eldest cousin gave a full thirty taels of silver as a betrothal gift." At this point, Lu Youtian's lips curled up with a sarcastic smile, and he said, "The old family used your eldest cousin's betrothal money to build a blue brick and tile house, and also found a matchmaker to find a good marriage for your eldest cousin. I heard that the girl's family over there is also anxious to marry their daughter off, so both sides are rushing to hold the wedding, and set the date before the New Year."
"They are so shameless!" Lu Mingfei only then realized that Lu Zhiyuan was able to marry his wife with the betrothal money from his cousin!
Lu Zhiyuan is so shameless!
But based on his understanding of Lu Zhiyuan, that guy must be very embarrassed!
Even if Lu Mingfei didn't understand the world's bride price market, he knew that marrying a girl from an ordinary family would cost a lot of money. For wealthy families, the bride price and dowry were definitely a different matter. But for an ordinary family, this bride price didn't seem like marrying a wife, but rather like buying one!
"Why did the family that betrothed my eldest cousin give such a high betrothal gift? What's going on there?" Although he wasn't particularly close to his cousins, they had never hit him when they lived in the old house. Lu Mingfei remembered that when he was little, his eldest and second cousins would take him out to play.
Looking back now, the lives of those cousins in the Lu family's old house were also very miserable. Not only were they not well fed and well clothed since childhood, but they also had to get up before dawn every day to work and could not go back to the house to sleep until the sun went down. If they got up a little late in the morning, they would be beaten by the old lady.
"I heard from your uncle Chunping that he's the manager of a farm a little way from our village. He's... a little old. Plus, his two previous wives have died, so he's marrying your eldest cousin as his second wife." Speaking of his niece's marriage, Lu Youtian felt deeply upset. If it were his own daughter, he certainly wouldn't have let his family arrange such a marriage.
But his mother and brothers had long been blinded and their hearts blocked by the thirty taels of betrothal money, and they could not see or hear anything.
"Two wives died?" One death could be considered an accident, but two? ... Could it be that the man was unlucky and unlucky with his wife? Or was there some other reason they didn't know about?
Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei frowned, feeling a bad premonition. He turned to his father and asked, "Dad, did the two wives of the steward die of illness? Or did they die of some other cause?"
"I'm not sure about that. I'll go back and ask your Uncle Chunping if he knows." Lu Youtian shook his head, feeling an indescribable strange feeling in his heart.
At this moment, Lu Youtian was very glad that his family had separated early. Otherwise, if they were to encounter a natural disaster or a man-made disaster one day, or if his eldest nephew was short of money, his mother would have to sell them to earn money for his education and the imperial examinations to pursue a career in government. They were merely nutrients for the eldest wife's family, like fertilizer in the fields: when to apply it depended on when the crops needed it.
He had personally experienced this once before, so Lu Youtian had no doubts. If he had died at home that year, and his family had used this as a pretext to blackmail the family that hired them to work, they might have had the money to build a house, and his mother might have had the money to marry her eldest grandson, so why would it have taken until today?
Whenever Lu Youtian thought of the past, and the fact that his eldest niece was sold by her family for thirty taels of silver to an old widower as a second wife, he felt a chill in his heart.
***
This time, with the donkey cart, they were able to return to Shihua Village much faster. In less than half the time it would normally take them to walk, Shihua Village appeared before them.
Lu Mingfei thought back to the countless times he had walked this road with his father when he was little. It was the first time he truly experienced the difference between walking on two legs and walking on four legs. He discussed buying a donkey with his father, "Dad, when we save up some money, let's buy a big blue donkey, too?"
"We stay in the city all day and rarely go out. What's the point of buying a donkey?" Lu Youtian asked his son.
"...You and mother must be tired from carrying the load in and out every day. If we had a donkey, we could let it pull things and you could save some energy." Lu Mingfei originally wanted to say that when everyone had time, they could go out for an outing outside the city, but when he thought about it, his parents were doing business almost 360 days out of 365 days a week, so they had no time to take them out for an outing outside the city.
The few days they couldn't set up their stall were either windy or snowy, days they couldn't leave the house. Otherwise, it was New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the only days they could rest during the New Year. There was no way they could go out into the cold in the middle of winter; their family wasn't crazy.
"Dad is already able to push the cart, so why spend that money to buy a donkey?" Lu Youtian asked his son.
"..." Lu Mingfei, do you really think you are a donkey?
But in this era where a human life is less valuable than a cow or a horse, aren't humans the cheapest cattle and horses? Indeed, no matter what era it is, people cannot escape the fate of being cattle and horses.
Their donkey cart entered the village and they met many villagers along the way. When these people saw them, father and son, coming back, they would greet them.
"Aunt, you are so energetic."
"Haha, Qilang has grown up so much? Do you still remember your aunt?"
"Remember, you are Sixth Aunt."
“…”
Lu Mingfei was sitting on the donkey cart. Just like when he and his father came back from setting up stalls outside, whenever he met the aunties, uncles and aunts he knew on the way, he would greet them warmly.
Along the way, they greeted and responded to each other warmly, as if the father and son had never left the village.
In fact, it has been eight years since they left here.
Many of the aunts, uncles, and grandpas they met along the way looked older than when they had seen them in the village. At this moment, Lu Mingfei saw the traces of time left on each of them.
"Dad, let's go to the clan leader's house first. Let's go say hello to the clan leader and his family first, and then go to grandpa and grandma's house later." Lu Mingfei didn't want his father to drive the donkey cart to the Lu family's old house, lest if he saw them driving the big blue donkey back at the Lu family's old house, he would think that they made money in the city and bought a donkey, and would find ways to take the donkey away.
Based on his understanding of that group of people, they are really capable of doing such a thing!
Not to mention the distant future, if the people at the Lu family's old house saw their donkey cart, Lu Zhiyuan would definitely ask them to borrow a donkey when he went to pick up his bride. Not to mention that this donkey and donkey cart were rented by them, even if they were their own, he would not want to lend the donkey and donkey cart to such a person!
Lu Youtian was well aware of his son's petty nature. He was actually worried that his mother would find a way to take the big blue donkey away if she saw it. They had rented the donkey and the donkey cart, but they had deposited money with the cart company. If they couldn't return the donkey and the cart, they wouldn't get their money back. So, he listened to his son and drove the donkey cart back to the clan leader's house.
The clan leader's house is right in the middle of the village, and they have to pass by the clan leader's house first when returning to the Lu family's old house.
So when the father and son returned to the village, they went to the clan leader's house first. Even if the people at the old house knew about it and said something about them, he would say that he just stopped by the clan leader's house to say hello, and his mother and brothers would not be able to find any fault with them.
There are not many people in their village who can afford to live in a large blue brick and tile house. The village chief's house is one of them. Moreover, it is the first large blue brick and tile house built in the village. It is located in the center of the village and is very impressive.
"donkey--"
When the donkey cart arrived at the village chief's house, Lu Youtian pulled the reins to stop the donkey, jumped off the donkey cart and grabbed the donkey.
Lu Mingfei jumped off the donkey cart by himself without his father picking him up.
The old woman in the yard just came out of the house and saw someone outside the door, so she walked out. The person outside the door happened to have his back to her. Old Dou didn't recognize the person at first sight, so she asked, "Who is outside?"
"Fifth Grandma." Hearing the old lady's question, Lu Mingfei poked his head out from behind his father. Seeing the old lady coming out, he smiled and called out, "It's me, Mingfei. Fifth Grandma, do you still remember me?"
"Fifth Grandma, it's me, Youtian, and this is my eldest son Mingfei." Lu Youtian turned around and saw the elders coming out. He stood straight with the child waiting for the elders to come.
It is not easy for them to enter other people's homes without invitation.
"Oh, I remember, your eldest son has grown up so much." Old Madam Dou's eyes fell from Lu Youtian to the young man next to him, and she remembered that the young man in front of her was Lu Youtian's eldest son, who was called Qilang when he was a child. "It's been a few years since I last saw you. I almost didn't recognize your eldest son."
"You guys are back in the village for a family wedding, right? Why are you two here? Didn't your wife come back with you?"
"Don't stand outside, come in quickly, and pull the donkey in too."
"Yes, my elder brother went to the city to look for us. He said Zhiyuan was getting married and asked us to come back for the wedding. Sanniang was setting up a stall in the city and couldn't leave without someone there. There was also a second son at home. The child was a little young and needed someone to take care of him, so I didn't bring them back." Lu Youtian pulled the donkey into the yard while answering the questions from the elders. Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support. Kisses! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading.
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