Chapter 130 [VIP]
Which Chen family are you referring to?
"Who else could it be? How many people with the surname Chen do you know?"
"Is she Chen Qingyan's sister?" Liu Changyi sat up straight. His face was no longer gloomy, and he stopped crying. His joy was evident in his eyes.
"Get off the bus, I'm not going." Qin Furong turned around and started to walk back.
"Wait a minute!" Liu Changyi quickly grabbed his mother's sleeve. "I'll go, I'll go!"
Qin Furong stared at her son suspiciously, "Didn't you say you already had a girl you admired? What are you doing here?"
"To be honest, the person I admire is... the Chen family's daughter."
Liu Changyi recounted his encounter with Chen Qingyun when he went to the Chen family to study that day, leaving Qin Furong both amused and exasperated. It turned out that the mother and son had similar tastes, both having their eyes on the same person.
"In that case, let's go."
"Wait, wait a minute."
Qin Furong frowned. "Is there anything else?"
Liu Changyi touched his face sheepishly, "I haven't finished shaving my beard yet..."
*
The Chen family received news yesterday that Madam Liu wanted to pay a visit.
Early in the morning, Li woke her daughter up and opened the trunk to start choosing clothes.
"How about this apricot-colored one?"
"The neckline is a bit tight."
"What about this cherry blossom pink one?"
Chen Qingyun shook her head, "It makes her look dark." Her skin was like her father's, not fair compared to her two brothers, but her features were beautiful and did not detract from her beauty at all.
After much deliberation, she decided that the light green dress suited her best, and she layered a beige jacket embroidered with green bamboo over it. This outfit made her look like a tender sprout, fresh and captivating.
Li took out all the jewelry she hadn't worn in a long time and held it up to her daughter's head.
"Mother...isn't this hairpin a bit too extravagant...?"
"This is the first time you're meeting your future mother-in-law, so you need to make a good impression."
Liu Qingyun blushed deeply. "The marriage hasn't even been arranged yet... Besides, this isn't the first time I've seen her."
"You've met Madam Liu before?"
“I’ve seen her several times. She always comes to our vegetable stall to buy vegetables, but I never knew her. I only found out last time when my sister-in-law told me that she was Liu Changyi’s mother.”
"No wonder. Tell your mother what kind of person she is."
Chen Qingyun thought for a moment and said, "She's easy to talk to and generous when buying groceries, unlike some people who are stingy and like to take advantage of others."
"That's good. I was worried that he might be a difficult person to talk to."
As the two were talking, Fang Ling knocked on the door and came in.
"You've come at the right time. Quickly help me choose, which hairpin looks best on Qingyun?"
Fourth Aunt pointed to the jade hairpin and said, "This is good; it matches her clothes."
Li Shu put the hairpin in place and then helped Qingyun put on matching jade bead earrings, nodding in satisfaction.
"Go ahead, I'll talk to your fourth aunt for a bit."
Qingyun knew what they were going to talk about, and left shyly.
Looking at her daughter's slender figure from behind, Mrs. Li sighed inwardly, "She's really grown into a beautiful young woman."
She spoke only after everyone had left, "When Madam Liu comes over later, you'll have to help me with the selection. I've never dealt with officials' wives before, so I don't know what I should and shouldn't say."
"Don't worry, if the other party is sincere in wanting to become in-laws with our family, then it doesn't matter what they say. If they're not sincere, you'll tell after a few words."
"That's true, but I'm still worried. I've spoiled this girl a bit, and I'm afraid she'll have conflicts and suffer grievances after marrying into the family. I was anxious before when I couldn't find a suitable person, but now that I have, I can't bear to part with her."
Fang Ling patted Li's arm, "Don't think too much. Every child goes through this. You can't keep your child by your side forever, can you?"
"That's true, but girls are not like boys. After they get married, they have no say in anything. It's rare to see a girl like us, who take charge of her own household after marriage."
Both women married into the Chen family without experiencing any conflicts with their mothers-in-law, but over the years they have heard and seen many instances of mothers-in-law mistreating their daughters-in-law and sons-in-law.
Fang Ling said, "We're not made of dough, to be molded and shaped by them. If they dare to treat our young lady badly, we still have her fourth uncle. He'll definitely stand up for Qingyun."
Li was slightly relieved and then chatted with Fang Ling about the dowry. "In town, the most common dowry for a daughter from a wealthy family is one hundred strings of cash. I don't know what the market rate is in this prefectural city."
Fang Ling said, "I don't know about Jizhou, but when I was in Laizhou, wealthy families who valued their daughters prepared dowries of sixteen loads, or even thirty-two or sixty-four loads."
Li Shu asked in confusion, "What's the meaning of 'sixteen lifts'?"
"Two people would carry a wooden box, which was four feet long and two feet wide. Inside were the girl's dowry, from small items like sewing baskets to large items like a hundred-child bed. As for the dowry money, it all depended on each family's situation; if they had more, they would give more, and if they didn't, they would give less."
Li wrote everything down. She now had more than 600 taels of silver and planned to take out 130 taels to prepare a dowry for Qingyun, and keep the rest for Qingsong's wedding.
This amount of silver was enough for a wedding in town, but now that we're in the prefectural city, it's becoming a bit tight. It seems that Qingsong will have to rely on his eldest son and son-in-law for his wedding in the future.
Over the years, Wang Ying has been the sole support for the family, both at home and outside. Sometimes, Li Shi herself feels useless, thinking that without this son-in-law, the family would fall apart.
Wang Ying arrived shortly afterward. He hadn't gone to the shop today; Lin Sui was already able to manage it herself, and with Ma Zhandong and Tian Ju's help, she could manage without his presence.
Where is Qingyun?
"He just went out; he's probably gone back to his room."
Wang Ying moved a stool and sat down. "Mother, don't be nervous. Madam Liu is very easy to talk to, and the Liu family has a good family tradition. I heard that Lord Liu has not taken any concubines. He only has one son, Liu Changyi, and he has two older sisters, all born of the same mother. They can be considered a very good family."
When Li heard this, she was also satisfied. This marriage was already a step up for her family, and if it was really suitable, she would naturally be willing to let her daughter marry well.
Around 7:00 AM, the gatekeeper Chen Fanglai came to report that guests had arrived.
Knowing that the Liu family had arrived, Wang Ying quickly instructed the servants to open the gate and welcome Madam Liu and her son inside.
Qin Furong took the initiative to greet him, "Hello, Manager Wang."
"Greetings, Madam. Please come in."
Liu Changyi followed behind his mother, bowed to Wang Ying, and entered the house together.
Inside the main room, Li Shi and Fang Ling rose to greet them, and Wang Ying introduced them to each other.
Madam Li and Madam Liu looked each other over, then smiled and nodded.
A servant brought tea, and Wang Ying helped fill everyone's cups.
Li said, "Ah Ying, stop working and sit down to rest for a while."
"You and Madam Liu can chat for now. If your younger brother Liu feels uncomfortable here, he can go find Qingyan and the others."
Liu Changyi asked his mother, and when she nodded, he quickly got up and went to Old Master Liang's room.
With the younger generation gone, the three elders finally began to chat. Although Madam Liu had a fiery temper at home, she was very gentle and polite to outsiders.
She took the initiative to speak, saying, "I've met Qingyan, Qinghuai, and Qingsong before. All three of them are outstanding children. Back then, Yi'er's father and I said that it would be great if the Chen family had a daughter or a son. A family that can raise such excellent children must have a very upright family tradition. I never expected that your family actually has a daughter!"
Li was a little embarrassed by the praise and smiled shyly, "I've always heard Yan'er mention Changyi, saying that he is very knowledgeable and that the food you make tastes especially good. I was fortunate enough to try your fried dumplings last time."
Mrs. Liu: "Oh dear, I feel so embarrassed. I've been idle at home with nothing to do, so I've been making some food for the children to try."
Li couldn't help but laugh, "He's better than me. I know absolutely nothing about cooking; I can even burn porridge."
Fang Ling, who was standing next to her, said, "I'm about the same."
The three women couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The magnetic field between people is strange; some people feel comfortable at first glance, and their words are pleasant to hear.
Although Li and Qin had completely different personalities, they got along very well and felt as if they had known each other for a long time.
The three chatted about everything from the city to their hometown, Longquan County, and then about the flood that happened last year.
Li told her how she had taken refuge on the mountain, which left Qin Furong stunned. She exclaimed, "It was really not easy. There wasn't much flooding in our city, but I didn't expect that even houses in Longquan County would be submerged."
"It's not that simple. We had no other choice but to come to the prefectural city. It just so happened that a few of our children also had to take their exams there, so we decided to stay."
Madam Qin said, "This is what they mean by fate. Otherwise, how could two children from opposite ends of the country meet?"
Li knew what she meant, and she was indeed satisfied with the marriage, so she nodded in agreement.
Having said that, Madam Qin spoke directly: "My son is eighteen years old this year and is still not engaged. I have introduced him to several girls before, but none of them were satisfactory. Ever since he met Qingyun once, he has fallen for her and specifically asked me to come and inquire whether Qingyun is engaged?"
Madam Li said, "This girl will only be sixteen after the New Year, so we're not in a hurry to arrange a marriage for her."
"How about this, if you don't mind, I'll be your son, half a son?"
"That's great."
The marriage was thus verbally agreed upon. A few days later, a matchmaker would be formally invited to visit Qingyun's home to obtain her birth date and time, which would then be taken to a temple for compatibility analysis. Finally, an auspicious day would be chosen for the engagement.
There's no rush after the engagement and marriage. The two families can discuss the wedding arrangements and take their time. After all, the Liu family only has one son, and the Chen family only has one daughter, so they can't mistreat either of them.
In Liang Lao's study, Liu Changyi was being interrogated by the three Chen brothers.
"Tell me, when did you take a liking to my older sister?"
"Songdi... please let go of my neck... I can't breathe..."
Chen Qingsong released his arm, and Liu Changyi straightened up and said, "The last time, when I came to your house..."
Chen Qingyan snorted, "So you've let a wolf into the house. We treated you like a brother, and you've set your sights on my sister."
"No, no, I was just thinking of taking things a step further, maybe even becoming relatives with you!"
Chen Qinghuai hooked him over his shoulder from behind and pulled him down, saying, "Quick, teach this kid a lesson!"
Chen Qingsong and Chen Qingyan tickled his ticklish spots together until he begged for mercy before they let go.
After playing around, the four of them sat together. Chen Qingyan said seriously, "Let's get this straight: if you dare to treat my sister badly, we won't consider our friendship and will definitely not let you off the hook."
Liu Changyi also said solemnly, "Brother Qingyan, don't worry. If I fail in the slightest, may I never pass the imperial examination!"
That's quite a vicious oath. Chen Qingyan punched him lightly with his fist. "Then you'd better work hard. Don't let us all pass the imperial examination and you be left with only a lower-level scholar."
These words ignited Liu Changyi's competitive spirit. "Brother Qingyan and Qinghuai should focus on passing the prefectural examination first."
"You little rascal, keep tickling him!"
"Ah! Spare me..."
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