Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 502 Oh, how should I prepare the dowry?

It was not convenient for her to explain these things to the lady.

I thought that if I wrote a letter, this matter could not be explained in a few words.

If I think about writing a letter, I feel even more headache about how to word it politely and find it difficult to start writing.

She could only pretend to be shy and said, "It's nothing serious. I'm relieved that he is fine."

When the lady saw Shen Yu like this, she felt that her grandson's wife was not only smart and capable, but also gentle and considerate, and she was even happier.

She waved to Mother Huang who was standing beside her and said, "Bring the boxwood box over here."

Mother Huang took the wooden box on the table next to Li. After the lady opened it, she took the pair of Ruyi hairpins in her hands and called Shen Yu over.

Shen Yu didn't know what it meant, but Li was very surprised. She stood up suddenly, and she and Zheng Sanniang pushed Shen Yu to the side and walked closer to the lady.

Zheng Sanniang explained in a low voice: "Miss, the lady is going to put the hairpin in your hand herself."

Shen Yu finally understood and hurriedly walked closer, kneeling and half squatting in front of the lady.

The lady took the pair of Ruyi hairpins and inserted them into Shen Yu's hair with a smile, chanting, "Two in a pair, harmony and happiness."

After inserting the hairpin, Shen Yu stood up. The lady smiled and said, "Okay, now I am finally relieved."

She looked outside at the sky, then stood up and said goodbye, "I have been here for quite a while, and my master is still waiting for good news, so don't make him wait anxiously."

Li naturally tried her best to keep her, but the lady smiled and said, "I'll come to your restaurant for dinner some other day if I have time."

"I enjoyed the sour plum soup and iced noodles yesterday. They were both delicious. They were no worse than those in the restaurants in Beijing."

As he spoke, he thought of something, and intimately pulled Shen Yu's hand and patted it, saying, "I've eaten the stinky tofu and pickled mustard greens that Xiao Si brought back during the Chinese New Year. They are quite similar to the food in my hometown."

"Thank you for your kindness. It comforts my homesickness."

A few people were talking as they walked and had already reached the restaurant.

Li and Shen Yu accompanied them all the way to the restaurant entrance. After watching the two of them get on the carriage and drive away, they returned to the restaurant.

When Li saw that everyone had left, she couldn't wait to pull Shen Yu back to the front yard.

After some discussion, Shen Yu finally understood that things were not as he thought, and Lu Lang had to strive for success on his own.

But Old Master Lu had already secretly come to the restaurant to take a look, and only then did he agree to the marriage.

Li said with deep emotion, "I originally thought that the old master of the Lu family would never agree to this marriage, so I deliberately said that he would only agree to the marriage if he won the first place in the imperial examination to embarrass Mr. Lu."

"I didn't expect this old man to be so understanding. After coming to see us, he didn't look down on us because we are merchants, and he agreed to the marriage so readily."

Shen Yu now had two heavy gold hairpins on her head, and in her hands were the pair of mutton-fat jade Haitang hairpins that Li showed her as soon as she entered the room. Only then did she feel the reality in her heart.

So this is how the engagement is done. From now on, there will be one more person to accompany you in your life.

Shen Yu took off the gold hairpin on her head, put it in a wooden box, and handed it to Li for safekeeping.

Li took the wooden box, opened it again and examined it carefully, as if she couldn't get enough. She said happily, "You must keep these two pairs of hairpins well."

"The Madam said that this pair of Ruyi hairpins were her dowry, and that pair of Haitang hairpins were the dowry of the county magistrate's wife."

"It can be seen that this lady thinks highly of you. If she didn't like you very much, it would be rare for grandmother and mother-in-law to send you hairpins at the same time, and grandmother to come and put on the hairpin herself."

Zheng Sanniang, who was standing by, was happy for Shen Yu from the bottom of her heart when she saw that her daughter had found such an excellent marriage.

At this time, he also said in a humorous way: "Yes, when other families arrange marriages, it is always the mother-in-law who puts on airs."

"He waits until the bride is married before he is willing to meet her in a superior manner and let her kowtow to him."

"As for the hairpin insertion, just send a matchmaker to do it and it's done."

"Like this lady who took the trouble to come all the way from the capital to personally put the hairpin on the girl, just based on this, when the girl gets married in the future, the ladies in the Lu Mansion will not dare to look down on you."

When mentioning this, Li thought of what she was worried about just now and couldn't help but sigh: "Hey, Yuzhi being able to marry Mr. Lu is naturally a good thing that she dared not even dream of."

"But the Lu family is such a high-ranking family. How can I prepare a dowry? I am so worried."

Shen Yu was stunned. Since she came to Anping County, she had never seen what kind of dowry a bride had to prepare.

I only vaguely know that the man has to bring a betrothal gift and the woman has to bring a dowry, and the things prepared by both sides have to look similar to be appropriate.

But how can our financial resources compare with the Lu family?

She thought about it and smiled, "Mom, don't worry about it. Even if we sell the restaurant and the inn, the dowry we buy won't be as good as the Lu family's betrothal gift."

"Don't worry about it. Just prepare as usual."

Li glared at him and scolded him, "What do you know, kid? Don't talk nonsense. How can a girl marry without preparing a dowry?"

Shen Yu had figured it out by now, and made up his mind: "We are just a small merchant, how much money can we have? Why would the Lu family bother with me about this?"

"If you really care about these things, why not find a family of equal status in the capital instead of agreeing to this marriage and coming here in person to propose marriage?"

Zheng Sanniang had never heard of a girl who didn't care about her dowry.

Hearing Shen Yu say this, she couldn't help but look shocked and said hesitantly, "Girl, this won't do."

"A rich dowry gives the bride confidence in her husband's family."

"Besides, the dowry is for your own use. If you want to buy some for your own private use after you marry into your husband's family, do you have to ask your husband's family for money?"

"That will also make your husband's family look down on you."

Shen Yu smiled slightly: "Sister Zheng, have you forgotten? I said that even if we get married, I will go out to work and will not just stay at home."

"After I get married, can't I earn money on my own?"

Then, Shen Yu said firmly: "Mother, if you want to prepare a dowry, just prepare it as if you were marrying into a family of equal status to ours."

As she said this, she smiled and said, "Mother, think about it carefully. If I were to marry a local scholar today, how would you prepare a dowry for me?"

As for what kind of dowry one would need to prepare to marry into such a family, Li had already found out clearly.

At this moment, she unconsciously stroked the wooden box in her hand and said hesitantly, "I heard that a family prepared sixteen loads of dowry for a girl who married a scholar. I heard that it was the most generous in Anping County."

"Ordinary people can get by with eight loads."

"But if I marry a runner-up, that would be too shabby."