Grandma Chen smiled and waved her hand, "Zhancai, don't worry, I've kept all the money for you. I promise I won't waste a single penny of the money except for your school fees."
“Mother, it’s not that we don’t trust you, it’s just that we feel more at ease keeping this money in our own hands. If Ruolan ever needs it urgently, we can take it out immediately.”
When Old Mrs. Chen heard this, her heart sank. This was money she had worked so hard to earn.
She had already planned to use the money to eat out and have a lavish meal, and to build a two-courtyard house for her family.
If she really gave it to the third son, all her hard work would be for nothing.
She was furious, her face turning extremely pale. "Zhancai, do you not trust your mother? Are you afraid she'll waste money?"
Liu Fengjiao quickly smiled and smoothed things over, "Mother, look what you're thinking. Zhancai didn't mean that. It's just that we really want to manage the bride price money ourselves."
After all, we only have one precious daughter, Ruolan. If she doesn't have a good life in the Fan family, this money can be considered as leaving her a way out.
After all, she'll be a concubine when she marries into the family, so I have to consider her needs in everything.
In case she needs my financial assistance in the future, I will be able to provide the funds.
Therefore, we'll keep this silver. We'll give it to you two when Zhancai passes the imperial examination and earns a degree. Don't save it then; spend it freely and buy whatever you want.”
Old Mrs. Chen was speechless for a moment, unable to refute him.
She initially wanted to refuse, but fearing a fuss from Chen Zhancai and his wife, after careful consideration, she gave an awkward smile.
He turned his back, reached into his crotch, rummaged around for a while, and finally pulled out the two-hundred-tael silver note, handing it over.
"Here is a silver note for two hundred taels of silver. Please keep it safe."
Chen Zhancai's eyes lit up immediately. He quickly took the money with both hands, examined it carefully, and handed it to Liu Fengjiao. He then asked, "Mother, this isn't right. Didn't you say it was two hundred and fifty taels? Why is it fifty taels short?"
"Zhancai, all the money from the family's silver and grain sales has been used for your studies."
Grandma Chen sighed helplessly and said in a consultative tone,
"Our family is about to run out of food. If we give you all the silver, we'll go hungry. So we'll keep the remaining fifty taels to help with household expenses. Is that alright?"
Liu Fengjiao gave a half-smile and said, "Mother, it's not as serious as you make it out to be. The crops in the fields are ripe and will be ready for harvest in a few days. How could we be hungry?"
As you probably know, wealthy families have many rules. If Ruolan wants to gain a foothold after marrying into the family, she'll have to manage things carefully and spend money to win people's hearts. Not a single penny of this 250 taels of silver can be less; it all needs to be saved for Ruolan's future."
Old Mrs. Chen's eyes widened, and her voice rose a few decibels.
"Third son's wife, you should know that in order to support Zhancai's education, we sold everything we should and shouldn't have sold."
After taxes, the crops in the fields were only enough to feed the whole family for a year.
If we give you all the silver, we'll go hungry sooner or later!
Liu Fengjiao scoffed dismissively, "Mother, I don't like hearing you talk like that. What do you mean by 'to support the youngest son'? The youngest son has worked very hard to study."
Why is he working so hard? Isn't it to bring honor to you all, to make the Chen family proud? If you don't want to support him, we won't continue his studies."
"You're trying to kill me!"
"Mother, please don't say that. We had no choice."
Whether Ruolan's position in her husband's family will be secure in the future depends on the generosity of our dowry.
Besides, isn't Da Bao from my second brother's family able to earn money now? It wouldn't be unreasonable to ask him to take some money to buy some food!
Chen Zhancai chimed in, "Fengjiao is right. The second branch of the family hasn't separated and lives independently. Whoever makes money should have it managed by you."
Even if I become successful in the future, my salary will still be given to you, the head of the family.
But we must keep Ruolan's betrothal gifts ourselves; this is the backup plan I'm leaving for her.
"If you really run out of rice, I still have thirty coins. You can buy some millet to tide you over. The harvest will be in a few days, so you should be able to get through this."
After he finished speaking, he gave Liu Fengjiao a look.
Liu Fengjiao understood immediately and quickly took out thirty coins from her pocket and handed them to Old Lady Chen.
“Mother, Zhancai is right. You can use this money first, but Ruolan's dowry must not be touched.”
"What...what kind of situation is this?!" Old Mrs. Chen was so angry that she trembled all over.
Chen Zhancai said resolutely, "Mother, if you don't agree, we'll have to reconsider Ruolan's marriage."
Old Chen, who had been listening for a while, couldn't take it anymore and angrily said, "All you care about is money! You don't care about the lives of us old folks!"
Chen Zhancai shook his head and smiled, "Father, you can't say that. We're also thinking about Ruolan's future."
Old Chen sighed helplessly, "Old woman, you handle this matter!"
Old Mrs. Chen frowned, thinking to herself that if she didn't agree to her third son's request, and things really got so bad over this little bit of money, she wouldn't be able to benefit from him if he passed the imperial examinations and became a scholar. Now that things had come to this, she had no choice but to compromise.
She reluctantly took out another fifty taels of silver.
"Zhancai, I've given you all the money. I'm counting on you to live a good life in the future."
Looking at the gleaming silver ingots, Chen Zhancai was so happy he almost jumped up. He quickly nodded, "Mother, don't worry. When I pass the imperial examinations, I will definitely build you a grand three-courtyard house. You can just wait and enjoy your retirement with me!"
Liu Fengjiao accepted the silver with shining eyes, her smile stretching from ear to ear, and she too began to make grand promises.
"Mother, once Zhancai achieves success, our family will be a prominent and wealthy household. We'll then provide you with several maids and servants, and you'll have someone to take care of everything you need. You'll become a rich old lady that everyone envies."
Old Mrs. Chen forced a smile, "Alright, alright, your father and I are just waiting to enjoy life with you. Just don't let us down."
Old Chen was furious and frustrated. He hadn't even had a chance to enjoy the money before it was gone again. He had thought that having the money would bring him a few days of peace, but in the end, it was all for nothing.
He curled his lip, sensing that the couple seemed dishonest; over the years, whenever they had a little extra money at home, they would find a way to squeeze it out of them, no matter what method they used.
Each time they spoke, their words became more and more eloquent, and each time they made a wish, they became more and more tempting. But now that the family is almost out of food, they have only left them thirty coins.
He said he would leave the bride price to Chen Ruolan, but he didn't believe it. Could he really enjoy the good life with a son like that?
Old Chen was filled with worries, and his belief began to waver at this moment.
He looked up at the two of them and saw their sincere expressions. He shook his head, clearing his mind of the thought.
He sighed deeply. "Alright, I've given you both the money. Let's discuss when to send Ruolan to the Fan family!"
......
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