Chapter 111: Overjoyed

(TN: Ooops! I got the titles mixed up. I already edited it. So this is the correct title.)
While the Liu family was discussing Liu Yu’s marriage, Lu Chengxiao was also preoccupied with it on his end.

After Wei Shi and Liu Yu left in the afternoon, he privately sought out Lu Xun to ask if he could add the money he had earned to the dowry the family planned to give the Liu family.

Lu Xun was well aware of how much Lu Chengxiao had earned this time, and was quite astonished when he heard the amount: “One hundred and thirty taels?”

Lu Chengxiao nodded. The money he had previously given Liu Yu for safekeeping had been returned to him today, amounting to exactly that sum.

“Why? Even though you’re now an independent household, the family still handles the marriage arrangements. We gave ninety-nine taels for your second sister-in-law’s dowry, and we made sure your first sister-in-law received the same. The same amount should go to the Liu family.”

Ninety-nine taels was already a considerable amount.

Lu Chengxiao understood this but explained, “Yu’er’s situation is somewhat different. She lives with her aunt’s family; her biological father passed away early, and her mother is in a difficult situation. Although her aunt and her brothers are very fond of her, the Liu family has just opened an embroidery shop, and the money Yanping earned this trip probably all went into that. Father, I can’t bear it… I want to add some of my own money to the dowry, making it more substantial. This way, it’s different from the arrangements for my sisters-in-law. Do you think this is appropriate?”

This idea had come to him when he received the money pouch from Liu Yu earlier in the day, but such matters needed to be discussed with the family to be properly done, ensuring it was in the open for Liu Yu’s benefit.

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Nw Dwd oyp vyjld ycynj. Tl jdlo bkp uswdtlpv psd oyp hlau qsde sq Nkw Zw, cwv bl byed’v lmrlnvle vbyv bl oswze oydv vs blzr ralryal bla esoau—psxlvbkdt wpwyzzu esdl cu vbl ryaldvp.

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Fllkdt bkp qyvbla’p yrrashyz, Nw Ubldtmkys pxkzle casyezu. “Mbyv’p lmynvzu obyv R xlydv. Fs, pbswze ol yzz ts cynj bsxl vstlvbla vseyu ps R nyd lmrzykd lhlauvbkdt?”

Nw Dwd pbssj bkp blye okvb y pxkzl yde, pllkdt vbl vkxl, nyzzle Nw Ubldtgsdt vs yaaydtl qsa y vakr vs Gdmk Msod vs cakdt cynj vbl plnsde casvbla yde bkp okql. “El’zz yzz blye cynj vs Ubydtqldt Msod zyvla vs ekpnwpp uswa xyaakytl.”

“R’zz ts.” Wllzkdt psxlobyv lxcyaaypple ycswv xyjkdt bkp szela casvbla awd vbl laayde qsa bkp sod yqqyka, Nw Ubldtmkys sqqlale.

Nw Ubldtgsdt zywtble, “Zsw esd’v lhld jdso oblal vbl pbsr kp. R nyd es kv qypvla.”

Tyhkdt fwpv alvwadle vbl eyu clqsal yde okvb xydu vbkdtp byrrldkdt vseyu, Nw Ubldtmkys kdelle eked’v jdso vbl lmynv zsnyvksd sq bkp plnsde casvbla’p pbsr, ps bl nwrrle bkp bydep tayvlqwzzu. “Mbydj usw, casvbla.”

Nw Ubldtgsdt oyhle bkx sqq okvb y pxkzl yde zlqv vs ralryal vbl nyaakytl.

~

That night, the entire Lu family, including all sons and daughters-in-law, gathered together, a rare occurrence, to discuss Lu Chengxiao’s marriage.

It was only then that Chen Shi, Lu Chengzhuang, and his wife learned that the cosmetic shop across from their own store in the county had been taken over by the Liu family, and that their embroidery shop would soon open.

Chen Shi was pleased, but Lu Chengzhuang and Zhou Qiongying were stunned.

On the way back, with Lu Chengxiao on horseback and Lu Chengzong driving the carriage, they had no chance to ask the third brother about his trip to Zhejiang and how much he had earned. They did ask Lu Xun, who only said it went well.

‘Went well’ was too vague. What did ‘went well’ mean exactly?

Before they could ask, they arrived home late, well past dinner time. Chen Shi only cooked a pot of noodles for the father and sons, and the second daughter-in-law. While eating, Lu Xun brought up the topic.

Lu Chengzhang, with a mouthful of noodles, was so surprised that he forgot to swallow. After a moment, he quickly gulped it down and asked Lu Chengxiao, “Chengxiao, how much did you earn on this trip? How did the Liu family manage to take over Uncle Lin’s shop?”

He was genuinely shocked.

Lu Chengxiao smiled and didn’t hide anything. “Yanping took two hundred taels of fabric on credit from the village and sold it all in Zhejiang, then brought silk back from Wuxing. He earned over one hundred thirty taels on this trip.”

Over one hundred thirty taels!

Lu Chengzhuang was dumbfounded.

In just over a month, their family had gone from running a fabric stall to opening a small shop, and finally to a shop in the county. They had worked hard for years to achieve their current business, worth perhaps over two thousand taels including property.

The Liu brothers earned over a hundred taels in one trip to Zhejiang.

Lu Chengzhang was both envious and confused. “But even a hundred taels isn’t enough to open a shop in the county.” He voiced his doubts.

Lu Chengxiao explained briefly that they encountered the shopkeeper Lin, who was moving to Yuanzhou and only needed three months’ rent for the current shop.

So it was luck. Lu Chengzhang knew Liu Yu had been making and selling clothes, probably earning some money. He had also heard that Yanping had a capital of sixty-five taels from his previous business. Adding everything up, it seemed plausible.

If their capital was indeed around two hundred taels, paying the rent would leave them with over a hundred taels. The Liu family had the courage to take such a risk, which Lu Chengzhang greatly admired.

Seizing the moment when Lu Chengzhang asked about his earnings, Lu Chengxiao brought up his intention to add his earnings to the dowry. “The family can still give ninety-nine taels. I want to add the one hundred thirty taels I earned on this trip.”

Lu Chengxiao took a money pouch from his sleeve, pulled out 130 taels, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Chen Shi , with the empty pouch beneath it.

He didn’t elaborate on the reason, merely making the money visible.

Except for Lu Xun, who was already in the know, the rest of the Lu family was stunned, especially Zhou Qiongying, who had just entered and almost choked on her noodles.

Zhou Qiongying came from a decent background, with her family running a grain and oil shop in the county. To her, the Lu family’s dowry was already quite generous. The betrothal gift alone was 99 taels, and now they were adding another 130 taels? She was utterly shocked!

Chen Shi , on the other hand, was the first to react. Thick dowries weren’t uncommon; if the groom’s family was extremely pleased and valued the bride, they would give a substantial dowry. It didn’t surprise her that her youngest son would do such a thing. After a moment of surprise, she smiled and, without further questioning, accepted the 130 taels. “Alright, since the households are already separated, and you’ve earned this money yourself, you can naturally give a thick dowry if you want.”

Her decisive words were also meant for the younger generation to hear.

The households were divided, and the money was earned by the third son himself. If he wanted to give a larger dowry, it was his prerogative.

Indeed, with Chen Shi’s statement, the other two households had nothing to say. The households were separated, and how the third household spent its money wasn’t their concern. They were gathered today and the money was shown openly to prevent any misunderstandings that it came from communal funds. It was merely to inform them.

Lu Shuang thought, “Third brother really loves Sister Yu’er!”

Lu Chengzong thought, “Third brother is truly capable.”

Qin Yulan thought, “My brother-in-law is a romantic.”

Lu Chengzhang thought, “Third brother must be crazy!”

Zhou Qiongying thought, “I’m so envious of Liu Yu!”

Chen Shi saw the stunned reactions of the second couple and felt a rare satisfaction since the family separation. She couldn’t stop smiling.

She thought, “You’ve always been so stingy, watching your brother’s spending like a hawk. Now see this! A small venture, and in a month, he earned over 130 taels. Wonderful!”

As she packed the money back into the pouch, she said, “But 229 taels isn’t a nice number. How do you plan to use this money?”

Lu Chengxiao thought for a moment and said, “Two hundred taels as the dowry, and the rest for you to buy some head ornaments and jewelry to add to the betrothal gifts. Does that sound good?”

Chen Shi understood immediately. Her youngest son was worried that the Liu family, busy with their new shop, might not afford much dowry for Liu Yu, so he was planning to take care of it himself. She agreed readily, “Of course. According to our family tradition, there’s always a golden hairpin with a grass insect for the betrothal. We’ll add more items with the extra 29 taels. I’ll have your sister-in-law accompany me to the county to buy them tomorrow.”

She then turned to Zhou Qiongying, “Qiongying, can you make time?”

Zhou Qiongying didn’t have much interaction with Chen Shi and felt somewhat intimidated by her mother-in-law. Yet, she also wanted to get closer. When called upon, she felt both surprised and pleased, quickly nodding, “Yes, I can go with you and help choose the styles.”

Chen Shi smiled, “Alright then. Tomorrow, let Chengzhang go back to the shop by himself. You come with your sister-in-law and me to the market.”

This was Zhou Qiongying’s first time being assigned the task of shopping with her mother-in-law, and she was delighted, agreeing immediately.

Qin Shi also agreed with a smile. Lu Shuang, who wanted to go along, said, “Mother, I want to go too. I can help choose styles.”

Chen Shi refused, “You stay home to watch over Yuge’er and Ruige’er. Don’t join the fun this time. When it’s time to prepare your dowry, you’ll definitely get to choose yourself.”

Lu Shuang blushed deeply and called out “Mother” without saying more.

Qin Shi smiled. She knew that her mother-in-law didn’t really need help choosing styles but wanted them to see what was being bought and how much was spent to avoid future complaints about favoritism, a key reason for the family separation.

The discussion about Lu Chengxiao’s marriage went smoothly, highlighting the benefits of the family separation. The only one feeling differently was probably Lu Chengzhang, who felt sorry for the money Lu Chengxiao was spending. Giving over 200 taels for a dowry was like giving away half their fortune. He thought his younger brother had lost his mind.

Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself to avoid causing trouble, merely feeling the pain in his heart.

The discussion of marriage between the Lu and Liu families progressed lively and enthusiastically. On the day of the formal proposal, Chen Shi accompanied Lin Jiuniang. Since there were many gifts to prepare and auspicious events should come in pairs, they recruited six employees from the shop to help carry the gifts. Early in the morning, they took a boat to the Liu family’s home.

The brand-new red lacquered carrying poles, each adorned with red flowers, and with Lin Jiuniang leading the way, attracted many curious townsfolk from Changfeng Town. The news of Lu Sanlang’s betrothal spread quickly through the town.

The Lu family had few relatives on their side, only some from Chen Shi’s family, so the townsfolk couldn’t figure out which family’s daughter Lu Chengxiao was marrying. However, seeing the direction the boat was heading, they deduced that the third daughter-in-law of the Lu family was also from Anyi County.

The Chen family received the news as well. Liu Shi wouldn’t miss this opportunity to teach her son a lesson. Half mocking and half smiling, she asked her son, “Look at this. Didn’t Lu Chengxiao love that Liu Yu immensely? And now, just a few months later, he’s discussing marriage with someone else. Why do you still oppose me?”

Chen Sheng, despondent and sorrowful, thought to himself, “Miss Liu (Liu Yu), I’m the only one who still remembers you.”

Still resenting his mother’s broken promise, which led to Liu Yu being sold, he refused to speak with Liu Shi, skipping meals and returning to his study.

Liu Shi was furious, unable to eat a bite of the meal she had prepared, and called out to the maid, “Chen Ma, find a matchmaker to come to our house this afternoon.”

Chen Ma agreed and left. The mother-son conflict in the Chen family concerned no one except Chen Xiaomei.

By mid-morning, the boat arrived at the Xifeng Town dock, where Zhou Qiongying had already hired two mule carts, as per Chen Shi’s instructions. The carts were decorated with red flowers, and the drivers were given lucky money.

Chen Shi and matchmaker Lin Jiuniang, along with six well-dressed shop assistants, boarded the carts and headed to Yangshan Village.

The sight of two mules decorated with large red flowers pulling carts drew the village children, and soon the adults gathered as well.

Lin Jiuniang, dressed festively, got off the cart, followed by Mrs. Chen. The six shop assistants also disembarked, each carrying a pole adorned with red flowers and double happiness characters, lining up behind the carts as they followed Lin Jiuniang to the Liu family home.

The village erupted in excitement. “Is this a betrothal or a dowry delivery?”

“Who are they going to?”

Lin Jiuniang, smiling, led the way until they reached the Liu family’s gate. Upon seeing Wei Shi at the door, she congratulated her warmly.

“Congratulations, Mrs. Liu! Best wishes, Mrs. Liu! Such a joyous occasion!”

Sansukini: Here comes the similar surnames again. Shucks! But what I like in this novel is that although the sister-in-law is envious, she won’t do anything to hurt anyone nor won’t she throw a fit citing favoritism. Also, the mother-in-law, Chen Shi, is so rational.

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