Given that the Shi family are officials, they will surely present a generous dowry and betrothal money when they come to propose marriage tomorrow.
With money, why worry about not being able to find a wife?
Although she didn't want to give the mother and son a bargain, the betrothal gift was an important part of the wedding ceremony and couldn't be omitted.
Once the betrothal gifts fall into the hands of that mother and son, it's like throwing a meat bun to a dog—gone and never to be returned.
Not only will they not let her take away a single penny of betrothal gifts, they may not even prepare any dowry for her.
Lin Momo and Shi Guang had already discussed this matter when they were discussing their marriage.
At the time, Shi Guang advised her, "Consider this money as a way to sever the kinship between you and them."
Since it was something that couldn't be avoided, Lin Momo stopped worrying about it.
Moreover, it's not necessarily a good thing for a poor person to suddenly become rich.
She couldn't help but have a dark thought: given the nature of that mother and son, it was really hard to say whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.
Because the second wife's family was the poorest among the Lin family's branches, they were now heavily in debt from medical treatment, and there was also a single man in the family who was getting on in years constantly crying and begging to get married...
Therefore, Old Master Lin would likely tacitly allow the second wife to retain most of the dowry to help the family through the difficult times.
Hearing his daughter-in-law's nonsensical words, Old Master Lin frowned and said, "Er Ya is in a hurry. Let's set the wedding for ten days from now and get it done first."
"Oh, why is the wedding being rushed?" Xu's eyes widened as she finally remembered to ask about the groom's situation. "Which family is it arranged with? Isn't there something shady going on?"
Xu, unusually kind, asked another question.
"What are you guessing? You saw this family at the old house yesterday."
"Yesterday? At the old house? Who was it?" Actually, Xu had a vague idea in her mind, but she just didn't dare to guess.
Yesterday, apart from the Lin family, only that other family was left in the old house, so the outcome wasn't hard to guess.
"The Shi family!"
Madam Xu gasped, "Ah, it really is their family!"
So shocked was she that she couldn't react for a long time. At that moment, she really didn't know whether to be happy or to curse.
That brat actually got such a good marriage.
Why wasn't I so lucky back then? Otherwise, I wouldn't have married that good-for-nothing farmer and suffered poverty and hardship my whole life...
"Sir, you're talking nonsense. That young master Shi, would he really be interested in a country bumpkin like Er Ya..."
Before Lin Zhiqiang could finish his rant, his grandfather's glare made him swallow back the string of derogatory words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Old Master Lin thought he should talk to his second son about this in person. Just as he was about to go into the kitchen, he saw Lin Musheng coming out of the kitchen on crutches and calling out, "Dad, you're here."
At this moment, Lin Sanya, who had come to her senses, quickly moved a tall stool over and placed it under her father's bottom.
Lin Momo also found a stool and placed it behind Grandpa Lin.
After the father and son sat down, Old Man Lin said, "Old Man Shi has come to fulfill a verbal marriage agreement from many years ago. Yesterday, he took a liking to your Er Ya for his grandson. I think the two are a good match, so I agreed on your behalf. Tomorrow morning, the Shi family will send a matchmaker with betrothal gifts to propose marriage."
"Since Old Man Shi is in a hurry to go back, the wedding date has been set for ten days from now, which happens to be the fifteenth of October, an auspicious day for marriage. After receiving the betrothal gifts tomorrow, you should also hurry up and prepare some dowry for Er Ya."
"After the wedding, that young master Shi will also stay here. Since there is no time to build a house in the village, the Shi family will rent a house in the town to hold the wedding. We will talk about building a house after spring arrives tomorrow."
Even after his father finished speaking, Lin Musheng still looked incredulous: "Dad, is that rich young master really willing to marry our Er Ya?"
Looking at his son's expression, Old Master Lin thought to himself, "You're right to not believe it."
Although the old man also preferred Er Ya to be the one for the marriage alliance, he still couldn't quite believe it when the grandfather and granddaughter actually chose Er Ya.
Based on just one meeting, he picked his most cherished granddaughter?
Should we praise the Shi family for their ability to recognize talent, or did they make this decision because the villagers saw that young master Shi walking with Er Ya yesterday and they were afraid of gossip?
However, recalling the interaction between the boy and his granddaughter, Grandpa Lin dismissed the latter guess.
He always felt there was something going on between the two of them; perhaps they were attracted to each other.
Thinking about yesterday's guess, Grandpa Lin couldn't help but glance at his granddaughter who was whispering to Lin Sanya. Everyone else had a look of disbelief, as if they had made a mistake, but this girl remained calm and composed, as if she had known all along.
Therefore, Old Master Lin became even more convinced.
“The marriage certificate has already been written, how could it be fake!” With that, she took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her bosom, unfolded it, and handed it to her son.
Although Lin Musheng couldn't read, he still took the book and looked at it carefully.
He only felt somewhat relieved when he saw the red handprint and seal on the signature.
"Can you understand it?" Old Master Lin snorted disdainfully, took back the marriage certificate, and read it to his son word by word.
When they were young, he taught his brothers to read, but none of them were willing to learn. They all wandered off faster than rabbits, and even if he caught them and brought them back, they would forget everything they had just learned.
Seeing that his sons were all good-for-nothings, none of them were any good, he gave up on the idea that they could rise above their circumstances through education.
When it came to the grandsons, none of them made any progress.
Unexpectedly, today Er Ya, his granddaughter, did something to prove him wrong, causing the Shi family, who considered themselves officials, to come to his door to ask for his hand in marriage.
Since the marriage was arranged yesterday, Old Man Lin's previously hunched back has straightened up considerably.
Although Lin Musheng couldn't understand the obscure terms related to marriage, he could still understand straightforward phrases like "the eldest son of the Shi family and the second daughter of the Lin family's second branch are to be engaged in marriage in advance."
A smile finally appeared on his face, which had been expressionless for years.
"Okay, okay, okay!"
He was tongue-tied and didn't know what to say, so he just shouted "Good!" three times in a row.
Upon hearing this, Xu was displeased: "What's so good about it? Your son is still a bachelor, while your younger sister is already married. Aren't you, as the father, afraid that the villagers will laugh at our family? How can you not prioritize the eldest daughter's marriage and instead make the eldest daughter give way to the younger one?"
Subconsciously, Xu wanted to oppose the marriage.
Lin Momo looked at Xu Shi speechlessly, unable to understand her current state of mind.
I wondered if this woman was out of her mind, so unwilling to see her daughter marry into a good family?
Is this the legendary saying, "Laugh at those who have nothing, and resent those who have everything"?
Even if they can't stand seeing her marry into a wealthy family, can't they at least let her off the hook because they can receive a lot of dowry?
Just now, Old Master Lin emphasized the importance of the betrothal gift.
Didn't she hear it?
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