Chapter 221 - Adding to the Dowry (2/2)
Yu Hai nodded his head. She guessed right. Today in the refugee camp, her father was looking for news on her oldest paternal aunt’s family.
A night without any conversation passed. The next day was the day to add to Yu Caidie’s dowry. Originally, Yu Hai planned on giving them the things and going home. However, many people were only coming over to add to the dowry because of his relationship with Yu Caidie. When he saw one person, he'd chat for a minute, and when he saw another person, he'd chat a few more minutes; all of sudden he couldn't get away for a while.
Yu Caidie's handkerchief was given to the married women of the village who wanted to be nice. They all gathered around the room on the east side of the house and congratulating her. Yu Caidie's face was red, and she bashfully bowed her head, occasionally showing her shy smile.
Her dowries were in the main room, and there was a total of six chests. For a farming village, it was pretty good. Even though Madam Zhang loved money, this was still her daughter. As such, she wouldn’t be stingy on the dowry. In addition to the betrothal gifts given by the man’s family and the six chests of dowry, she added ten taels of silver and hid a six taels and six mace of auspicious money among the dowry.
When Yu Hai came to add to the dowry, Madam Zhang didn't go out. When the man went back into the courtyard, the maidens and married women all rushed over. Li Xiaomeng, a good friend of Yu Caidie's, joked with a smile, ”Caidie, look at all the good things your second elder brother brought you. It's such a big bag!”
Another round-faced married woman said, ”I'm sure it won't be bad. There are only two families in Dongshan Village that live in a brick house, and Brother Dahai's family is one of them! Their house is similar to the houses of the rich in the city; it even has cornices on its four corners! How stylish!”
Li Xiaomeng nodded and said with a smile, ”Yeah! Yeah! It's said that there are several mu of land just in the courtyard. Brother Dahai has made a lot of money on the early ripening vegetables he grows in his yard. Next year, he will definitely earn more than what he made last year!”
A married woman, who was obviously jealous of their success, curled up her lips and sourly said, “Having money doesn’t mean they are willing to give it up! Heh, look at that old cotton cloth wrapper, you don’t even know how old the cloth is! They aren’t even willing to spend money on a cloth wrapper, how good could the thing inside be?”
Madam Zhang silently stood behind the crowd without any expression on her face. All of a sudden, her expression changed into something fierce. She took a step forward and squeezed out a smile at the maidens and wives present. She loudly said, “Caidie, take a look at what good things your Second Brother brought you!!”
Her voice shook the ears of the people in the room, and even the men in the courtyard clearly heard her. Madam Zhang originally thought that because of what she did when she was younger, Yu Hai still had a deep hatred for her. So he definitely wouldn’t send anything good. She wanted to let the villagers know that Yu Hai got rich and looked down on his family. Let’s see how he behaved in the village after this.
The old cloth was quickly opened by her, and the red, blue, and flowery textiles inside were exposed. There were at least five or six different ones. One of the wives exclaimed and picked up one of the fine cotton bolts with red flowers on a blue background and said, ”Wow! This is chintz!”
”Let me see, let me see!!” Li Xiaomeng squeezed over and touched it with her hand. Without any envy, she said ”It's real! The feel of it and this pattern... Last time, when I was in the cloth shop and saw the fine cotton cloth, the feel of it wasn't as good as this one! One foot was fifty copper coins! This piece of cloth is at least six feet long. If you are careful with it, you could make an outfit and still have a surplus.”
“Tsk tsk! Six pieces of fine cotton cloth and every one of them is six feet...it’s at least four or five taels. Brother Dahai is very generous!” The round faced wife gently stroked a piece of cloth and was reluctant to let go.
Yu Caidie was still looking from the side and had a smile and tears in her eyes. She turned her back to them and gently wiped the corners of her eyes with the handkerchief and thought, ‘Second Brother is still the Second Brother who cares about me...’
Li Xiaomeng was looking through every piece of cloth, and suddenly an exquisite wooden box fell out of the innermost piece of cloth. With her sharp eyes and nimble hands, she quickly caught it. Looking at the beautifully carved box, she knows the things inside must be precious. If they broke she wouldn’t be able to afford it!
“What is this?” The wives and maidens all gathered around, curiously looking at the box in Li Xiaomeng’s hands.
“I know! Last time I went into town for the fair, I was separated from my family. Somehow, I walked to Dongcheng District, where the houses are magnificent. Among them is a jewelry shop, which was the largest and most imposing. A lady, wearing silk and satins, came out from inside and her maidservant was holding such a box. I quietly inquired about the cheapest earrings in the store and it was several taels!!” The one speaking was the youngest daughter of the village chief. She was one year younger than Caidie and has already found a household she was going to marry into next month.
Li Xiaomeng’s hands holding the box trembled a bit, so close! Thankfully, it didn’t fall on the ground.
“Xiaomeng, open it and take a look!” The youngest daughter of the village chief excitedly urged.
“What are you looking at? It’s just a pair of earrings worth a few silvers. What’s worth chatting about!” Upon seeing that Yu Hai didn’t get disgraced, Madam Zhang’s old face was pulled so long that it looked like a shoehorn. She reached out to pull the box out of Li Xiaomeng’s hands.