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1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests.
2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author.
3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.
Shi Cheng’s mother was easy to fool, but not so his father. Having done business for many years, he was a quick and flexible thinker. He only had to spend a moment thinking about it before understanding what was going on. Shi Cheng, this brat, wanted to maneuver around his parents! Shi Cheng’s father hmphed, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t plan on saying anything to his wife. Although Shi Cheng had his own little plot, what he said was indeed reasonable.
He thought for a moment before asking, “How much do you think we should give?”
Shi Cheng stood up and imitated an adult pacing around the room. “How much did xiaogu get? Mum, you keep saying you want to move to Hanzhong city – what is the average betrothal amount there? Why don’t we use them as a benchmark? After all, we want to move there eventually, and if our friends there find out that we gave a villager’s amount of silver for your eldest son’s wife, it really won’t reflect well on me.”
Shi Cheng’s mother’s mouth moved soundlessly. She gave Shi Cheng’s father a look. She had a feeling that although her son’s tone was peaceful, it seemed that he might be a bit angry?
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Fbk Ckyd tyhl vbl xyvvla psxl vbswtbv. Tkp nswpkd bye tsvvld xyaakle vos ulyap yts yde xshle qasx Wldt Uswdvu Msod vs Lydgbldt Uswdvu Msod. Tla prswpl oyp dsv y xlanbydv, cwv oyp kd nbyatl sq vbl zyde vymlp. Fbl bye alnlkhle 500 vylzp sq qkdl pkzhla qsa y clvasvbyz tkqv.&dcpr;
Jlkdt kd nbyatl sq zyde vymlp oyp y nbsknl rspkvksd. Wwavblaxsal, kv oyp y blalekvyau aszl. Rd vbkp lay, kv oypd’v fwpv dsckzkvu vbyv nswze rypp esod vblka vkvzlp, lhld psxl clywaynayvkn aszlp nswze cl bydele esod. Mblu vldele vs cl xkdsa aszlp, zkjl vbspl kd nbyatl sq nldpwp sa zyde vymlp.&dcpr;
Mbkp oyp clnywpl vblu dllele psxlsdl kd sqqknl obs oyp qyxkzkya okvb vbl rlsrzl kd vbl yaly. Ekvbswv psxlsdl qyxkzkya, kv oswze cl lypu vs elnlkhl vbl sqqknkyzp sq vbkdtp zkjl bso xydu xlxclap olal kd lynb qyxkzu, yde obs sodle obyv zyde yde oblal. Mbl zyde vblu sodle nswze cl pnyvvlale ynaspp ekqqlaldv yalyp – okvbkd vbl hkzzytl, yzsdt vbl asyep, sa rlabyrp kd vbl ellr qsalpv. Ebs lzpl cwv psxlsdl ellrzu assvle kd vbl nsxxwdkvu oswze cl yczl vs jllr yzz vbyv kdqsaxyvksd nzlya?
Yspv nswdvu xytkpvayvlp oswze dlle y qlo ulyap clqsal clkdt qyxkzkya okvb y rzynl. Jwv altksdyz sqqknkyzp zkjl vbspl bye awzlp – vblka vlax sq plahknl oyp sdzu vball ulyap, yde vblu nswze sdzu lmvlde vbl pvyu qsa y xymkxwx sq sdl vlax. Gp pwnb, vbl xspv ydu sqqknkyz nswze pvyu oyp pkm ulyap. Mbkp oyp vs ralhldv ydu sdl sqqknkyz qasx pvyukdt vss zsdt kd y altksd yde pvyav vs elhlzsr vblka sod rsola cypl, xyjkdt kv pwnb vbyv vbl nldvayz tshladxldv bye ekqqknwzvu nsdvaszzkdt vblx.
Fkdnl vbl xykd sqqknkyzp qaliwldvzu bye vs xshl yaswde, vbld vbl rlsrzl kd nbyatl sq lhlaueyu xyvvlap bye vs pvyu qsa vbl zsdt-vlax. Xvblaokpl, kv oswze cl kxrsppkczl qsa vblx vs cl qyxkzkya okvb vbl pkvwyvksd sd vbl taswde. Oprlnkyzzu, oblal kv nsdnladle zyde vymlp yde bswplbsze nldpwp – yqvla yzz, vymyvksd oyp elrldeldv sd vbl pkgl sq vbl bswplbsze. Mblpl xyvvlap ycpszwvlzu nswze dsv cl xlpple wr. Gp pwnb, kd lhlau yaly, vbl vos kxrsavydv rspkvksdp rlavykdkdt vs zyde vymlp yde bswplbsze nldpwp olal yzoyup blalekvyau. Ebld vbl qyvbla alvkale, bkp psd oswze vyjl shla. Gde obld vbl psd alvkale, bkp taydepsd oswze vyjl shla vbl aszl. Ekvb vblpl tldlayvksdyz bydeshlap, vblu oswze cl hlau nzlya ycswv vbl sd vbl taswde pkvwyvksd. Mblu oswze kdpvydvzu cl yoyal sq ydu nbydtlp kd vbl yxswdv sq zyde vbyv ydu sdl bye, yde oswze kxxlekyvlzu cl yczl vs yrrasynb vblx qsa vymlp.
Mblpl rlsrzl olal pwnb xkdsa cwalywnayvp vbyv vblu nswzed’v lhld cl nsdpkelale dkdvb aydj sqqknkyzp. Jwv clnywpl vblkap oyp y blalekvyau rspkvksd, kv oyp yd lmvalxlzu plnwal fsc. Rd yeekvksd, kv oyp y nbsknl rspkvksd, ps rzldvu sq rlsrzl oswze vau vs vbaso kd vblka zsv okvb vblx.&dcpr;
Fbk Ckyd’p nswpkd bye oleele pwnb y rlapsd, yde bye alnlkhle 500 vylzp sq pkzhla kd clvasvbyz. Fbk Ckyd bkxplzq oypd’v xweezlblyele. Ebld Fbk Ubldt’p xsvbla bye rasrsple 60 vylzp sq pkzhla, bl bye qlzv vbyv oyp vss zkvvzl.&dcpr;
Fbk Ckyd jdlo vbyv bkp okql oyp qkmyvle sd Nkw Dw’la’p hkzzytl cynjtaswde, cwv bl bye bye ds kdvldvksdp sq ytallkdt okvb bla rasrspyz. Tl bye clld rsdelakdt lmynvzu bso xwnb vs sqqla, cwv Fbk Ubldt bye clyvld bkx vs kv. Gzvbswtb bkp osaep olal alzyvkhlzu tldvzl, Fbk Ckyd nswze blya vbl qwau clbkde kv.
After thinking for a moment, he said to Shi Cheng, “What do you think of 600 taels of silver? We will not short her of any of the traditional gifts and jewelry. All of the jewelry will come from our family store’s top of the range styles. When it comes time, you will go and pick them out yourself. As for whatever silks and furs, they will send them all over in the ninth month. You can take your pick of them.”
Shi Cheng’s mother gave a gasp! For them to give a village girl 600 taels of silver was ridiculous!
Shi Cheng felt that the arrangements made were suitable, so he nodded his agreement. He grinned and offered his parents his thanks. His dad then told him to head off to make preparations, so Shi Cheng left.
The instant that he was out of their sight, Meng shi grumbled, “Why did you offer so much?! In the village, it is usual to give five taels of silver. For a girl to receive eight or 10 taels of silver is the limit! The 60 taels I offered was very generous! But you gave 10 times the amount!”
Shi Cheng’s father shook his head. He sighed and said, “You are just so shortsighted! Shi Cheng was right. For one, how could our child be unaware of our financial situation? You want to give his bride only 60 taels of silver – how can Shi Cheng feel happy about that? This is his life partner – he might have been chilled by your meagre offer! Then let’s see if you regret your decision! Since we’ve agreed to his marriage, then why can’t we be generous about it?”
He picked up his teacup and took a sip, “And secondly, you really shouldn’t keep treating Xu’er as a village girl. We’ve gone over this before – everything has its time and season. Take our family, if you had a daughter you wanted to marry off, but the groom’s side uses a villager’s betrothal amount as the benchmark, wouldn’t you be furious? Instead of becoming relatives, we would be making enemies!”
Shi Cheng’s mother became serious when she heard. She was still very unwilling, but she knew that what was said was reasonable. Wasn’t her son’s reaction just now… rather unhappy?!
“600 taels is about right. It is fitting for our financial status. You really shouldn’t keep insisting on this issue – it makes you look rather petty…. Aren’t you worried that others would treat us like villagers? Then think about it – when we move over to Hanzhong city, and all the women sit together chatting. One day, they ask how much each betrothal money was given. Some will say 500 taels, others 1000 taels. Then when it comes to us, it becomes 60 taels. Does it bring glory to you? To me? Would it reflect well on our son?!” Shi Qian said, before taking another sip from his cup. “In everything, you must plan for the future.”
Shi Cheng’s mother finally sat back down. It was a clear indication that she was pacified.
Shi Qian then said, “Actually, no matter what, the most important thing is Shi Cheng’s own feelings. Our family can easily afford 600 taels of silver, and Shi Cheng himself probably thought that it would be about there, but you are only willing to give 60 taels. How can Shi Cheng be alright with this huge disparity? You saw him smile, but do you know how upset he feels?”
His words had already convinced Shi Cheng’s mother. By now, she was reproaching herself for being so short sighted and narrow minded. Why didn’t she think about their family’s future in Hanzhong city? When she thought this, she again wondered if her son was angry with her?
Shi Qian understood his wife very well, so he smiled and said, “Don’t worry! You are his mother. Even if he is temporarily upset with you, he won’t hold a grudge against you. So long as you remember to be generous with the rest of the proceedings, he will forgive you quickly.”
Shi Cheng’s mother relaxed when she heard his words.
The next day, Shi Qian went over to lecture his son. He knocked his head and said, “Why are you scheming against your own parents? Your mother might be naive, but your father isn’t so easy to fool!”
Shi Cheng covered his head and feigned innocence, “What did I do, dad?!”
Shi Qian gave him a glare, “Xu’er’s store – when they receive the betrothal money, they would have the money to rent the store right? You are still trying to bluff, and say that she will bring a store with her when she marries! Your mother just hasn’t figured out your bluff! When she brings it over, is it a store that they’ve bought or rented? If they’ve only rented it, then it really can’t be considered part of her dowry, and if she bought it…. Well, I don’t know if the betrothal money is sufficient for that!”
Shi Cheng grinned. Then he quickly said, “Dad, did you say any of this to mum? Please please don’t say anything, otherwise, there will be fights between mother and daughter-in-law in the future! I am going to make this very clear – this matter was something I thought of. Xu’er has never once brought it up to me. Her family does indeed plan to open a store in Hanzhong city, but with their current circumstances, they can only afford to rent it. They can even afford to rent one in the capital! Then it will just be a matter of making the business thrive! I am not actually worried about giving them too little – after all, her parents are from the village, and really aren’t greedy. And their daughter is the apple of their eye, their treasured girl. She’s not some commodity they intend to sell, so they too wouldn’t care too much about the exact amount of betrothal money…..”
He coughed for a moment before continuing, “Why I want to give more, is because – I am sharing this with dad. Let me know what you think ….. Your son wants to do business in the future, and will be in contact with lots of people. Those people would definitely want to know more about me, and would pay particular attention to the matter of my wedding. If they were to find out we were so miserly, they might think we would be very petty when it comes to business! Conversely dad, if we were to give more, then Xu’er would have more in the way of her dowry. It would make us look good, and her dowry would also make us look good. Isn’t that two birds with one stone? In any case, wouldn’t all this money fall under my wife’s control eventually? Mum just can’t think this through – by demeaning Xu’er’s family, she’s really demeaning me. In the end, it would embarrass our family! This matter, mum…..”
“Enough, enough, enough.” Shi Qian interrupted. He smiled and knocked his head again. “You really have a glib tongue! You should use your skills in business – if you do, I have no doubt our business will flourish!”
Shi Cheng smiled, “Does dad think that what I said is reasonable?”
Shi Qian smiled and replied, “It’s for the father to educate the son, not the other way around! Remember what I said, your mother and I have only agreed to this match because you are our son. So, you must promise dad that you won’t hold a grudge against your mother in this matter. Your mother has her reasons, it’s just difficult for her to say, and you don’t need to know them. But your mother and I have ultimately agreed to your request, and fulfilled your desire, so you must remember that your mother had her own reasons!”
Shi Cheng smiled and nodded, “Don’t worry, dad! Your son isn’t three! I won’t do something as childish as holding a grudge against mum. I still need to thank both of you! I will definitely not imagine the worst of her, after all, she’s still my mum! What I just said, don’t share it with mum please. I am worried she would be unhappy about it, and start the relationship with my wife on a sour foot. And for her to keep brooding about this matter is not good for her health.”
Shi Qian was satisfied when he got this promise. He smiled and said, “I know – I definitely won’t say anything.” Then he nodded and walked off.
Shi Cheng smiled as he watched his father go. Then he finally blew out a sigh of relief. Of course, mum had her reasons – she was just being petty, and had a strong sense of superiority. He was very clear about her character. But he had no choice in his mother. And the only thing he wanted in this life was to marry Liu Xu’er. Now that the matter was settled, he would let all these upsets go.
Thank you for the chapter!!
😊😊