Sensing someone at the kitchen doorway, Li Qin turned around and was startled. She walked over and slapped her younger brother.
"You rascal, you walk without making a sound, you come over without saying hello, you just stand at the door like a ghost."
Li Chu rubbed his arm with a wry smile: "I saw you, but you were making too much noise inside, so I didn't hear you."
"Hmph," Li Qin rolled her eyes at her younger brother and went back to the stove to continue frying sesame leaves.
"Did you just go to the hospital?"
"Yes, I went over and greeted the dean, and also asked Qiu Nan for leave. She can go back to work after the New Year."
When Qiu Nan was mentioned, Li Qin rolled her eyes at her younger brother again.
She just went over there, so of course she knows her sister-in-law is still asleep.
Needless to say, her younger brother must have exhausted her last night, and now she can't get up again.
Li Chu was baffled by his sister's eye roll. What was going on? How did things turn out like this?
However, he wisely refrained from asking. Women, regardless of age or generation, are often strange and eccentric.
"Sis, where's Jiayuan? Shouldn't she be on vacation?"
"It's a holiday. Lin Li's workplace allocated him an apartment, and Jia Yuan enthusiastically went with him to clean it. The two of them even discussed renovating it."
“Let her see, I, her uncle, will get her a set of modular furniture as her dowry.”
"You're just burning money, aren't you? The groom's family provided all that furniture; we're not the ones who go out of our way to give it to them."
"Oh, sister, that's all old-fashioned thinking. We don't care about that anymore."
Li Qin glanced at her younger brother and waved her hand: "Don't talk to me about this, what new ideas or old ideas, I just believe in this principle. It's their family getting married, so what, do you want to criticize me?"
Li Chu looked at her sister with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
He understood that he couldn't reason with his sister, so he decided to let her be. After all, the Lin family was probably quite wealthy.
"Let me tell you, Xiao Chu, the two of you have a good relationship and are indeed engaged, but that only means that your brother-in-law and I will not create any obstacles. It does not mean that the groom's family will not have to bear the responsibilities that should be borne."
"We are marrying off our daughter, and we will not skimp on the dowry, and may even give more. However, we will not insist on paying for anything that is not our responsibility, lest others look down on us and think that our daughter is unable to get married."
Li Chu finally understood his sister's intentions. He had been thinking wrong all along; his sister was right.
Our daughter isn't someone who can't get married, and we don't want anything extra. We will provide the dowry as it is due, but you, the groom's family, cannot shirk your responsibilities.
I've learned something; this is the wisdom of the older generation.
Li Qin scooped out the fried sesame leaves from the pot, then put some back in and stirred them with a strainer.
"Well, Xiao Chu, have you figured it out yet?"
"I understand now, thank you, sis. You've taught me a lesson."
“You still have a lot to learn. Take Wenxuan and Wenhui for example. When Wenxuan and Yueyue get married, even if you and Junzi have a good relationship, the dowry must not be less. You can’t think that Yueyue will only marry Wenxuan from your family and use that as an excuse to bully her.”
"Sister, you've misunderstood. Qiu Nan and I have already prepared the betrothal gifts and dowry for Junzi's family!"
"That's more like it. Also, although you have a lot of houses in your yard, you should get the young couple a new house outside. Whether they live there or not is their business, but whether we get one or not is our business. We can't let others criticize the Li family."
"Sister, do you mean I should prepare another apartment for them?"
Li Qin nodded: "I think young people probably prefer to live in apartment buildings. If you like living in a detached house, it might be too much for young people."
"Sister, isn't our place better than those apartment buildings? Who dares to say their apartment building is better than ours!"
"You're right, but you can see further from a higher vantage point!"
"Uh..." What you said makes so much sense, I'm speechless.
"Sis, there's no need to rush this. Wenxuan still has six years until graduation!"
"Just thinking about this makes me furious. Why did you have to go to school? What's so good about that? Eight years! The Japanese devils were all driven away! I was still waiting to hold our Li family's eldest grandson. Now look what's happened. When Wenxuan and Yueyue's baby is born, I don't even know if I'll still be able to hold him."
Li Chu chuckled and walked behind Li Qin, massaging her shoulders: "Sister, don't get upset. Time flies, it'll be over in the blink of an eye! Besides, I helped you and my brother-in-law take care of your health, and you know how well you're doing now. Even if it's seven or eight years, or two more seven or eight years, you'll still be able to carry me."
"Stop arguing with me, get out of my way, don't bother me." Li Qin shrugged her shoulders, shook off her brother's hand, and scooped the sesame leaves out of the pot.
Then he pointed to a basin next to him and said, "Give me that basin, and I'll fry some more small twisted dough sticks and fried dumplings for us."
That's the advantage of having a detached house; once the gate is closed, I can eat whatever I want. That's not possible in apartment buildings; if someone is cooking something, the whole building knows.
Li Chu couldn't help but laugh whenever this was mentioned. During that special period, her sister and brother-in-law didn't dare to cook anything good at home, for fear that someone would get jealous and sue them.
I only come here on Sundays when I have time off each week to have a nice treat.
Good heavens, when that family of three came over and saw the meat, their eyes practically lit up with greed.
Although those days were somewhat worrying and nerve-wracking, looking back, they seem quite interesting; after all, they were a unique experience in my life.
"I'll think of a way later. Anyway, it's not a big rush. I'm sure I can find a way to get an apartment."
"By the way, sister, I haven't asked since you came back. After I left last year, did you get the property registration done?"
"Yes, it's been registered. You weren't there. Your house is under Qiu Nan's name, this one is under mine, and the one next door is under Wen Hui's name. Your father-in-law and mother-in-law said they didn't want it at all, saying it would be good enough if they could live there. A son-in-law like you is hard to find even with a lantern."
"Well, there's nothing we can say to those two elders. Let them be. It's fine to register it under Wenhui's name; that will be her dowry!"
"Hey, with your dowry, what are other families supposed to do when their daughters get married?"
"I don't care about other people's families, I have the ability to make things better for my daughter!"
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