Chapter 169 Brothers Helping Out
No matter when, fine-scaled fish are more precious than vermicelli. Zhang Shuzhen was naturally delighted to hear this.
So the mother and son decided to remove the vermicelli and replace it with fish.
Besides these, if the family is well-off, they will also buy the woman a set of clothes and shoes, or a watch.
Of course, the Sheng family had already given all these things, so Zhang Shuzhen asked her son whether they needed to prepare a bride price.
"I think it's a shame that Qinglan, a city girl, married into our little mountain village."
You've made quite a bit of money this autumn, so why not give the Zhou family another 160 yuan as a bride price? That would be a token of our appreciation.
"Mom, you decide. If our family can afford it, then we'll pay."
After all, the Zhou family has raised Qinglan all these years, and no amount of money can buy that.
If we don't have the money at home, we don't need to force ourselves. The Zhou family is reasonable and won't force us to give them money.
Sheng Xiping hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"What about the second and third sons? My engagement was too grand. What about the others? Isn't that making things difficult for our parents?"
If he were to speak from the heart, no amount of betrothal gifts for the Zhou family would be too much.
They've raised their daughter so carefully all these years, and she spends money at her parents' home and earns money at her husband's home. They should at least show some appreciation.
However, from the Sheng family's perspective, with four sons, the burden is quite heavy.
With the eldest son getting married, the family has to provide a new house and a full set of furniture, plus a dowry, which is indeed a burden for the Sheng family.
The key point is that there are three more sons, and they can't be worse off than the eldest son when they get married, right?
If you calculate it like that, it will cost quite a bit of money.
That's why Sheng Xiping said to let Zhang Shuzhen make the arrangements, and not to use up all their savings just to get him a wife.
"Yes, yes, you don't need to calculate your salary. Just the money you bring back from pine nut gathering and hunting in the fall is enough."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuzhen immediately responded.
"Your younger brother and his siblings are still young, so don't worry about them for now. Let's get you married first."
You haven't continued your studies since graduating from junior high school, and you've been bringing a lot of money home to earn these past few years.
Your wedding can't be too shabby.
Every parent has a scale in their heart, and good parents try their best to be fair and treat each child the same.
Of course, there are also a few parents who do not love obedient and sensible children, but favor those who cry and make a fuss and fight for everything.
As the old saying goes, favoritism is never the answer; often, the child who is most favored by their parents is less likely to amount to anything in the future.
Sheng Liancheng and his wife tried their best to treat their children equally.
Sheng Xiping was the eldest son in the family and was expected to be the head of the household in the future. He was also sensible and capable, so his parents valued him highly.
Sheng Liancheng and his wife had already discussed it, and as long as they could afford it, their eldest son's wedding should be a grand affair.
Since his mother had said so, Sheng Xiping couldn't say anything more.
One hundred and sixty yuan is a lot of money these days.
Just then, the dogs outside started barking. It turned out that Wang Jianshe, Chen Weiguo, and a few others had nothing better to do and came looking for Sheng Xiping.
"Xiping, I heard from Haining that you plan to go down to the Zhou family tomorrow and get engaged the day after tomorrow?"
"There's no little train tomorrow, how are we going to get down?" Wang Jianshe asked as soon as he entered the door.
"Oh, we're thinking of leaving early tomorrow and going to Ma'anshan to take the little train down there."
Sheng Xiping didn't hide anything and replied directly.
"Oh my god, that must take two hours to walk there?"
"If you and your uncle work all day and still can't figure it out, won't your aunt and Fengying's mother be exhausted?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Jianshe immediately shook his head.
"I think you should go to the large alkali field right away."
Go find your master or Brother Liu and ask their production team to lend you a horse-drawn sled.
Tomorrow, Weiguo and I will take you there by sled. It will be less tiring and faster that way.
After we deliver it to Ma'anshan, we can drive back in a horse-drawn sled and take it back to the Dajianchang, wouldn't that solve the problem?
Wang Jianshe thought for a moment and gave Sheng Xiping some advice.
"Oh, that's great, it's just that you two are suffering because of this."
Upon hearing this, Sheng Xiping agreed that this arrangement was indeed more reasonable.
In fact, Sheng Xiping had also thought that if there were a horse-drawn sled or something, it would be much more convenient.
But who would drive the sled? My two younger brothers are too young and haven't experienced much, so I really didn't dare let them drive the sled to deliver people.
Since Wang Jianshe and the others had taken the initiative to bring it up, Sheng Xiping couldn't very well refuse.
"That's settled then. Tomorrow, you two will bring guns, just in case there are few people on the way back and you run into any wild animals or anything like that."
The road from Qianchuan to Ma'anshan passes through the middle of a large forest. Not many people travel on ordinary days, and you never know what wild animals might be hiding there.
The semi-automatic rifle that Sheng Xiping had borrowed from the security department hadn't been returned, and along with the No. 16 rifle, Wang Jianshe and Chen Weiguo could use it for self-defense.
It's not that we're guaranteed to encounter any wild animals, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
“Okay, we’ll do it your way.” Wang Jianshe and Chen Weiguo both nodded in agreement.
So, Sheng Xiping quickly got dressed and went with Wang Jianshe and the others to find Liu Changde at the other end of the alkali field.
When the Liu family heard that Sheng Xiping was going to Songjianghe to get engaged, they were all very happy.
Liu Yujiang readily agreed, telling Sheng Xiping and the others to come over the next morning and take the horse-drawn sled.
It just so happens that the Liu family sold that bronze vessel a few days ago, and Liu Yujiang insisted on giving Sheng Xiping one-third of the money.
Sheng Xiping refused to accept it, but the Liu family insisted. In the end, Sheng Xiping didn't take it all and only accepted one hundred yuan.
February 4th, which is the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month.
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