After seeing off Li Wenliang, Li Jinzhu called Li Yinzhu into the hall, handed the betrothal gift list to Li Xiaonan, "Read it to your third sister."
"Third sister, recognize it yourself." Li Xiaonan handed the betrothal gift list to Li Yinzhu.
"I recognize this word. Ninety-nine taels of silver, two pairs of gold..."
"Hairpin!" Li Xiaonan pointed at the word "hairpin" and taught on the spot.
Li Jinzhu and Li Yuzhu were spinning threads and weaving cloth, waiting for Li Yinzhu to finish recognizing the betrothal gift list.
Li Xuedong stood on the other side of Li Yinzhu, stretched his head and looked at it, and competed with Li Xiaonan to teach Li Yinzhu.
Li Yinzhu finally finished reading the betrothal gift list, breathed a long sigh of relief, closed the list and asked: "What is this? They are all good things!"
"The betrothal gift given to you by the Hong family." Li Xiaonan raised her hand and flicked the betrothal gift.
Li Yinzhu's eyes widened.
"Uncle Grand Hall said that Hall Weng Weng is going to prepare a dowry for you based on this betrothal gift list." Li Yuzhu continued.
Li Yinzhu's eyes were already widened and couldn't get any bigger, so he had to open his mouth.
"You're not young anymore. Hong Er is three years older than you. The uncle said that the Hong family wants to pick a date to get married next spring. This is very appropriate. I helped your second sister discuss it and agreed." Li Jinzhu frowned.
Wrinkled slightly.
"Sister-in-law Yin said that business is good during the Chinese New Year. Every family has to buy some preserved eggs and cut everything into a cold dish for the table. I will help Sister-in-law Yin do the accounting. If everything goes well, I can earn forty or fifty taels this year.
, five or sixty taels of silver, we have six and she has four, we can get twenty or thirty taels.
"Originally, I discussed with your second sister and used the twenty or thirty taels of silver to buy your dowry. But now, this betrothal gift..." Li Jinzhu sighed, "Let's talk about it, how can we do it." Li Yuzhu took the cotton sliver from Li Jinzhu's hand and started spinning the spinning wheel.
Li Yinzhu looked at Li Xiaonan, and Li Xuedong looked from the eldest sister to the second sister, then to the third sister, and finally his eyes fell on Li Xiaonan.
"Sister, can I waive this betrothal gift? Or should it be so much?" Li Xiaonan asked first.
"The man's family can't afford the betrothal gift, but the girl's family doesn't want it. I've heard that the man's family gave her a betrothal gift, but the girl's family doesn't want it..."
Li Jinzhu frowned and looked at Li Yuzhu, who shook his head, "I've never heard of it."
"Recruitment is one of the six rites. The teacher in the school said that acceptance of levy is the most important among the six rites..." Li Xuedong tried hard to think about the importance of accepting levy and the six rites.
"If you've never heard of the man's family giving it, the woman's family just doesn't want it, or wants less. If we don't want it, or don't want so much, then that's going too far, right?" Li Xiaonan pushed Li Xuedong's shoulder and pushed him back.
What he said next.
"Grandma is right." Li Yuzhu nodded.
Li Jinzhu hummed and looked at Li Xiaonan, waiting for her to continue.
"If we accept the betrothal gift from the Hong family and don't receive the dowry from our cousin Wengweng, will they think that we are not close to the Hong family, our cousin Wengweng, or our Li clan?
"When we were looking for a house, I heard you gossiping with the second sister, saying that it was the lobby uncle who said: We don't want this or that, and several clans always said that we have grievances against the clan."
"What do you mean, you want both ends?" Li Jinzhu frowned.
"Yes!" Li Xiaonan nodded affirmatively, "The eldest sister always thinks, how can my brother, a scholar, be capable? My brother, a scholar, is a scholar, how can he be? How is he different from other scholars?
"Last time I asked my brother how many talented people there are in the government schools, how many have passed the imperial exams, and how many have passed the Jinshi exams. Let me tell you!"
Li Xiaonan pointed at Li Xuedong.
"Very few! I heard that in the first three subjects and nine years, there were only four imperial examinations, and only one Jinshi, and one in nine years! Sir, the imperial examination in this dynasty was particularly difficult." Li Xuedong replied hurriedly.
"The eldest sister always thinks that people are good to us, so that my brother can pass the imperial examination and become a high official or prime minister. I don't think others think that way. It's the eldest sister who dares to think so.
"The reason why people treat us well is because my brother is now a scholar. So, isn't it because the Hong family became famous because they got a scholar?" Li Xiaonan looked at Li Jinzhu.
"Grandma is right." Li Yuzhu agreed.
Li Jinzhu was silent for a moment and then said, "Even so, we shouldn't take four to five hundred taels of silver from others."
"The four to five hundred taels of betrothal gift from the Hong family were brought from the Hong family, that is, they were carried back to their Hong family after two or three days, right? The four to five hundred taels of the Hong family's gift, didn't you listen to the hall?
Uncle said, they are also going to move to Pingjiang City and open a shop in Pingjiang City for business. They will definitely need my brother’s status as a scholar in the future.”
Seeing that Li Jinzhu's brows seemed to be tightening, Li Xiaonan changed her tone.
"If the eldest sister thinks it shouldn't be taken, then treat it as a loan from us. When we make money in the future, we can pay it back directly. If they don't accept it, then we can wait until the uncle's sister Ai Ye gets married, or when the cousin Weng Weng gets married.
On birthdays, just give generous gifts and return the favor."
"What A'nan said makes sense. Our family is not a good match for the Hong family. What should we do if Yinzhu marries her and gets offended? We have worried about this countless times. If only we could have this small thousand taels of silver.
The dowry, Yin Zhu also has some confidence. Let us remember this favor and we can always pay it back in the future." Li Yuzhu looked at Li Jinzhu and said.
"Well, that's it. We have to remember this favor from now on." Li Jinzhu paused and sighed, "It would be great if we can repay it."
"I'm sure you can still get in! Don't worry, eldest sister! I'm here!" Li Xiaonan patted Li Jinzhu's shoulder in an old-fashioned way.
"Wait!" Li Yinzhu grabbed Li Xiaonan, "I don't want so much dowry, I..."
"It's okay, we owe a lot of favors, and we can't miss the dowry." Li Jinzhu tucked a strand of Li Yinzhu's hair behind her ear.
"Too many!" Li Yinzhu looked at everyone.
"It's only a thousand taels, not much! When I make a lot of money in the future, I will give you some extra." Li Xiaonan looked proud and patted Li Yinzhu.
"What a damn girl!" Li Yuzhu laughed out loud and patted Li Xiaonan on the head.
"I also want to make money..." Li Xuedong stretched his head over.
"I read your book carefully!"
"You study hard and become a good scholar!"
"You can't be distracted!"
Li Jinzhu, Li Yuzhu and Li Yinzhu shouted together.
