Ye Lizheng sneered, "They haven't even had enough meat yet, and they're already trying to raise rich young ladies!"
Aunt Rong's face was extremely pale.
They only earned five or six taels a month, and Ye Lu alone spent three taels a month. The remaining two or three taels simply couldn't afford to eat lavish meals every day...
But this amount of money was already considered very wealthy in the village before.
As the manager of a jewelry shop, she had served many wealthy young ladies, and she would remember their behavior and mannerisms, then teach them to her daughter at home...
My daughter often helps out at her shop and has learned a lot. How can she be worse than them?
Ye Hongying retorted, "I'm only 17 years old... how am I inferior to that old woman!"
Ye Lizheng: "If you insist on comparing yourself to others, what are you doing by only comparing age? Why not compare yourself in every aspect? Go, go, go, go open three workshops and earn several thousand taels of silver a month! You should also discover new grains."
"Not to mention their speech, manners, and personality, apart from their age, in what way can you compare to them?"
Ye Hongying wanted to refute, but couldn't utter a single word. Still unconvinced, she simply started sobbing.
"Uncle is bullying me! They're all bullying me! Am I, a 17-year-old girl, destined to marry a cripple old man?"
Ye Lizheng said angrily, "Who told you to marry a crippled old man? Do you have to choose a rich family? A 'rich girl' whose whole family earns only 5 taels a month, what other rich family would you choose besides a crippled old man?"
"So all the rich girls who are 17 years old in the world are dead? Why would a young rich man marry a self-proclaimed 'rich girl' like you instead of a real rich girl? What makes you think you can do that? Just because you can imitate those little dance moves?"
"Bamboo door to bamboo door, wooden door to wooden door! If your family earns 5 taels a month, you should find a decent young man. If he's taller, you can marry a small merchant who earns a dozen taels a month, or even a scholar. But you insist on becoming a phoenix on a branch."
Ye Hongying: "Why can't she fly! That old woman is just a village woman with two kids, she can fly by herself!"
Ye Lizheng was furious: "So, you didn't understand a single word I said? They fly using their own abilities! They fly using their own good character! And what about you?"
"You have neither talent nor knowledge, neither ability nor outstanding looks, so what are you doing flapping your little chicken wings like that?"
Aunt Rong and Ye Hongying shrank back, their faces turning pale from the scolding.
Seeing that they were still unconvinced, Ye Lizheng decided to let it go, since the mother and daughter couldn't understand human language!
He couldn't be bothered to say anything more to them, so he shook his head and turned to leave.
Back at his home, the village head's wife came over and asked, "Why did I just hear you yelling at Hongying's house?"
Ye Lizheng sighed and recounted what had just happened.
The village head's wife frowned: "No matter what, Ye Rong's wife is the manager of a jewelry shop. She should be knowledgeable and capable, right? How come she's so clueless now, and her daughter has turned out like this?"
Ye Li laughed: "She's just a small shopkeeper. What abilities does she have? If she were so capable, how come she hasn't been promoted to the prefectural city after twenty years and is still stuck in this small county town? How come she's only earning a few taels a month?"
The village head's wife thought about it and nodded, "That's true. But Ye Rong is our own nephew, and our elder brother told us to take good care of Ye Rong's family before he passed away. If we continue to let Hong Ying run rampant, she'll cause trouble sooner or later."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Why don't we go back and talk to Ye Rong and ask him to marry Ye Hongying off as soon as possible!"
"Alright. If even he can't distinguish between what's important and what's not, then there's nothing we can do to help him."
......
Ms. Wei was absentmindedly sweeping the courtyard.
Every now and then, I would look outside.
Finally, Ye Erquan appeared at the door.
Ms. Wei was overjoyed and stopped what she was doing. As he approached, she coughed lightly and said casually:
"So, when are you getting married?"
Ye Erquan noticed that her tone was calm, unlike her previous sarcastic tone.
Perhaps this is a good sign. If she can change, their family and her younger sister's family will gradually recover their relationship in the future.
He then said, "We'll do it twice, once in the capital and once back in the village. The one back in the village will be on March 22nd next year."
"Oh, that's wonderful... As for the dowry, how much do you plan to give, Father and Mother?" After saying that, Madam Wei's heart pounded. She hoped it wouldn't exceed 20,000 taels!
Ye Erquan frowned: "What do you mean by 'how much dowry'? What will your parents give your younger sister as a dowry? Is it the 30 taels your younger sister used to give you, or the 5 taels of pocket money each of you receives every month?"
It wasn't that Ye Erquan looked down on his parents for not having money, but rather that this small amount was nothing to his younger sister. Why would Madam Wei mention how much dowry his parents gave his younger sister? It made it seem as if his younger sister had nothing and needed his parents to provide it.
Madam Wei's expression changed slightly, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart: "What... what are you saying? That little bit of money is nothing... But... didn't Mr. Shen give tens of thousands in betrothal gifts? And truckloads of dowry..."
Ye Erquan was stunned for a moment, then seemed to understand something. He stared at her with wide eyes and asked, "What do you mean? This is Mr. Shen's betrothal gift for my little sister. How did it become our parents'?"
"What, in your mind, these betrothal gifts are all for your parents? You mean you want a share too?"
When he saw through her thoughts, Madam Wei became angry and embarrassed: "I, I didn't say I wanted a share... I was just asking... Besides, since ancient times, when a daughter is married off, the betrothal gifts given by the groom's family are naturally given to the daughter's parents."
"Which family really loses money when their daughter gets married? Every family receives six or eight taels of betrothal gifts, and if they can bring back one tael of dowry, they're already considered lucky."
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