Several days passed in a flash. As per custom, Zhu Cuilan placed the engagement letter under the tablet for three days and then immediately lit incense. She had successfully passed the test of the ancestors. Without wasting a moment, Zhu Cuilan asked the matchmaker Yun Qiao to give Yang Anjin the marriage certificate.
The date is written on the marriage certificate. If Yang Chaoren and his wife are dissatisfied with anything, they can raise it and discuss it with their two families.
Zhu Cuilan asked the town's Feng Shui master to calculate the date. The tenth day of August in the middle of this year and the seventh day of March next year are both auspicious days.
The tenth day of August seems far away, with more than half a year still to go, but when it comes to preparations, it is not enough no matter how much you calculate.
Zhang Lanzhen and Yang Chaoren were not the kind of people who would sell their children, so they said they would not ask for too much in terms of betrothal gifts, and just let them give as they pleased, as long as it showed some intention.
In the surrounding villages, the betrothal gift for marrying a girl is generally around ten taels. Some kind-hearted people may give fifteen taels. If the girl is really the best, the boy's family will grit their teeth and give twenty taels, which is the maximum. There is no more than this.
Boys are not as valued as girls, and the betrothal gifts they ask for are lower than those of girls. Among all the boys Zhu Cuilan knew, only Yunqiao from the village chief's family was in good condition. Her husband's family was kind and willing to spend money, and they spent fifteen taels to carry Yunqiao back home. This matter spread in the village.
Many mothers use this to warn their sons that if their conditions are not as good as Yun Qiao's, they should work hard to win the man's heart, so that they can get such a large betrothal gift in the future.
Yang Donghu was an exception. Zhao Hai's original intention was to hire Yang Chunxue as his daughter-in-law. At that time, he wanted to tell Zhao Luochuan that there was no one more beautiful than Yang Chunxue in the surrounding villages.
Zhao Hai was an elder and a man, he never asked about girls' affairs, and the two families lived in separate villages, so he didn't know much about the Yang family, and he had occasionally heard a few words about Wang Dujuan's fierceness.
Yang Chunxue has a bad character, but because of her beauty, there are always people willing to pay a lot of money to marry her.
Zhao Hai thought that mother was mother and daughter was daughter. It didn't matter whether Wang Dujuan had a good reputation in the village or not, as long as the daughter was good. Aren't there many mothers with bad tempers and daughters with gentle personalities in his village?
Men are not as careful as girls. If Zhao Luochuan's mother were still alive, she would definitely consider more. Zhu Cuilan is his aunt, and it is inappropriate for her to tell her uncle about such things. She asked Zhao He to remind him a few times, but Zhao Hai didn't take it to heart.
In order to show his importance to Yang Chunxue, Zhao Hai deliberately gave the highest standard of betrothal gifts and also gave a lot of other good things. At that time, Wang Dujuan was very proud and told everyone that her family was lucky and that the girl was very hardworking and had married a capable and good husband.
If Zhao Hai hadn't died, Wang Dujuan might not have been unwilling to marry Yang Chunxue to him. Without a mother-in-law to serve, and with both the father-in-law and husband earning money, life would definitely be better.
After Zhao Hai's death, the Zhao family's situation became worse and worse. Zhao Luochuan owed foreign debts in order to save his father. Seeing that their lives were going downhill, Wang Dujuan thought that since the betrothal gifts were already in her hands, it was hard to say whether Yang Donghu could get married in the future. It would be better to keep Yang Chunxue and find a good marriage for her. That's when she changed her mind and let Yang Donghu take the blame.
Zhang Lanzhen and Yang Chaoren were both kind-hearted and did not make things difficult for the man like the others did. Zhu Cuilan certainly could not take advantage of their kindness and disappoint them.
She discussed with Zhao He that the Zhao family had no land and could not have the security that other farmers had. They relied solely on their skills to make a living. The more they earned, the greater the risk. If there was no work one day, the family would be left without a livelihood. Zhao Fangyu was older, so it would not be good to be stingy with the betrothal gift and make Yang Chaoren and his wife laugh at them and lose face.
Taking advantage of the fact that Yang Anjin had a scholar brother, he simply gave a betrothal gift of twenty taels, and the rest of the chickens, ducks and poultry were calculated separately. The material for the wedding dress and head ornaments were also provided by his own family.
It was not only to satisfy Yang Chaoren and his wife, but most importantly, Zhu Cuilan was also very satisfied with Yang Anjin and was willing to spend so much money to marry him.
After everything was discussed and the money was calculated, it wasn't enough. A lot of money had already been spent on New Year's goods before the New Year, and the wedding banquet had to be prepared, which was also a huge expense.
Besides, we have to keep some money for emergencies, and we still have to make a living. We can't just wait for the new daughter-in-law to get married and then the whole family will starve.
Yang Donghu meant that he still had money, and he and Zhao Luochuan were already a family, so it didn't matter if the wedding banquet was held a day earlier or later. If Zhu Cuilan didn't have enough money, she could just ask.
Zhu Cuilan has a strong personality, and all members of the Zhao family have strong personalities. They don't like to ask for money from others. Some relationships can easily become unresolved once they are tainted by money and interests.
Of course, she didn't think that Yang Donghu would break up with her, but even brothers have to settle accounts clearly. She always felt like she was burdened by foreign debts and couldn't sleep well. Therefore, she would rather sell the embroidery she reserved for Zhao Fangchu than borrow money from others.
But she didn't say anything definite. She just said that Zhao He was in good health and could still make money, and Fang Yu made a lot of money as a hunter. They would ask Yang Donghu when they really needed money.
Zhao Luochuan knew his aunt's character, so he didn't force her. He just told her to ask if she had any questions.
At the beginning, Zhao Hai was seriously injured and relied on spending a lot of money to buy medicine to keep him alive. He took the medicine for more than half a year and owed nearly one hundred taels of debt. In the end, he was not cured and had to borrow money again to hold a funeral.
Zhao Luochuan had no confidence to speak because he owed foreign debts. He worked hard to make money and paid it back as soon as he had money. He paid off his debts in just two or three years.
New cabinets and furniture had to be made, new wedding dresses had to be made, and everything had to be prepared in advance. No matter how much Zhu Cuilan wanted to marry the new bride as soon as possible, she could not save on etiquette. She had no choice but to choose a day far away and make adequate preparations.
Along with the marriage certificate, there was also a deposit of five taels, a piece of bright red satin with floral patterns, and a box of cakes from Fuxiangyuan.
Satin is used to make wedding dresses. Zhu Cuilan specially chose one with hidden patterns on it. It is not conspicuous at first glance, but it looks very good after adding embroidery.
The marriage certificate, deposit and satin were placed in a red box with a large red silk flower tied on it. The cakes were also tied with a red rope. Yun Qiao carried the box in her hand and led the way. Yun Qiao's husband and Zhao Luochuan carried the red box and rushed to Dayang Village.
Neither family likes to show off, so there is no need to publicize the marriage certificate in a high-profile manner. These things are already conspicuous enough.
There were many things and they were conspicuous. The red box was decorated with red flowers, and one could tell at a glance what it was for. The people in Dayang Village had long known that Zhang Lanzhen's son was engaged, and now the son followed behind a few people to join in the fun.
It is common to send marriage certificates as gifts, and there are also many people sending marriage certificates to brothers' families. However, I have never seen anyone send a marriage certificate in a big red box. I want to see what is in the box.
"Aunt, the Zhao family has sent the marriage certificate." Yun Qiao's voice was as loud as ever.
The door of Yang Chaoren's house was closed. The couple received the news early in the morning, packed up and sat in the yard waiting. It was not that they were being arrogant, but it was the custom. If they opened the door too early, it would seem a little impatient, as if the younger brother at home was rushing to come.
Yun Qiao knocked on the door three times before she saw Zhang Lanzhen open the door and come out of the yard with a happy face.
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