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nChapter 44.1 – This is my dowry

nLast night, after a long discussion, the Zhao family finally worked out a plan and set up two requirements for Jiang Zhen. First of all, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu needed Zhao Jinge to provide for their old age. Although Zhao Jinge was a ger, they had only one child after all. Secondly, they planned to ask for ten silver as a betrothal gift. Of course, Zhao Fugui and Zhao Liu didn’t plan to take the ten silver for themselves but to give it to Zhao Jinge as a dowry he could keep at the bottom of his box . . . The main reason for them to do this was to give Zhao Jinge some security. As for the other things, they didn’t have any other demands, that is, it didn’t matter if Jiang Zhen didn’t want to invite people to drink the wedding wine. Anyway, the Zhao family didn’t have many relatives, so it was okay for them to buy the drinks themselves.

nAs a matter of fact, they were a bit frustrated when it came to these two demands . . . If they wanted Zhao Jinge to provide for their old age, they could no longer ask for betrothal gifts. But the matter of getting married was all about discussion, so they didn’t mention anything for the moment. Finally, Zhao Fugui decided to ask for the first condition first, and then everyone would discuss it slowly.

nAfter they made a decision, they felt much more relaxed. They got up early in the morning and waited for Jiang Zhen to come to their door. As a result, both Zhao Fugui and Zhao Jinge waited all morning without going to work, but Jiang Zhen didn’t come. Zhao Liu was so anxious that she asked Wang Yuer, Sun Xiaoshan’s eldest son, only to learn that Jiang Zhen had gone to the county town to buy some things.

nIt seemed that Jiang Zhen attached great importance to this marriage proposal. The Zhao family simply continued to wait, and then Jiang Zhen arrived with chicken and ducks.

nZhao Liu: “. . .”

nForget it. Jiang Zhen was alone and had no parents to help him. It was already good he remembered to bring something when proposing marriage. They didn’t care too much about it.

nZhao Liu let Jiang Zhen in the house, but as for Wang Haisheng, he was not related to him, so he put down the load he was carrying and insisted on leaving instead of going into the house.

n“Mom, Dad, I’m here to propose marriage today. I hope you will wed Jinge to me,” Jiang Zhen said very sincerely.

nZhao Liu had always been a bit afraid of Jiang Zhen before, but now, Jiang Zhen looked so calm, she couldn’t get up, and even shed some tears because of Jiang Zhen’s words. Her Jinge, someone had come to propose marriage to him! This Jiang Zhen was more sincere than that Li Zugen. Well, the Li family said nice things, and they said that they really came to propose marriage, but in fact, they came here so many times but didn’t even bring onions!

n“Good, good . . .” Zhao Liu wiped her tears and nodded. She wanted to say something at this point, but she didn’t know what to say. She was a bit dazed.

nJiang Zhen didn’t know what to do or say at this moment, but he was a little impatient, so he simply took out the things he brought. “Mom, Dad, I bought you something.”

nJiang Zhen first took out the wrapped rouge and the bracelet. After finding out that he had brought a silver bracelet, Zhao Liu was even more satisfied with him. Knowing to buy rouge and jewelry for her Jinge, Jiang Zhen seemed really attentive to him. But . . . wasn’t this bracelet a bit too small? Her Jinge’s wrist was a bit thick. Such a small bracelet wouldn’t fit him . . . Zhao Liu was a bit confused.

nJiang Zhen gave her the rouge and the bracelet. “Mother, this is for you.”

nFor me? Zhao Liu was even more puzzled. This was a marriage proposal . . . There was no reason to buy things for the mother-in-law . . . Of course, the betrothal gift was given to the mother-in-law by default these days.

n“Dad, I bought you some wine. I don’t know whether you’ll like it or not.” Jiang Zhen put the meat on the table and gave Zhao Fugui a jar of wine.

nZhao Fugui had kept a straight face since Jiang Zhen entered their door, but when Jiang Zhen gave him a jar of wine, he couldn’t help smiling.

nFinally, Jiang Zhen gave the cloth to Zhao Jinge. “Jinge, I bought you some cloth. It was said that you can make four sets of clothes from it. You can make two for yourself and one set for each of your parents.”

nZhao Jinge was speechless when he took the cloth. Although it was a bit strange to give Zhao Liu rouge and jewelry and such a gray cloth to him, he was still very happy in his heart.

n“I’m doing some small business and need to save some capital, so I didn’t buy much,” Jiang Zhen gave the gifts and explained, but he still didn’t mention those chicken and ducks. Letting the Zhao family raise the chicken and ducks, they could talk about it later.

nAfter listening to Jiang Zhen’s words, the Zhao family started wondering. Did Jiang Zhen say it because he didn’t want to pay the bride price? But that was impossible. The things he bought plus the bracelet were worth at least 6 or 7 silver.

n“There are still ten silver here. Take it.” Jiang Zhen also gave ten silver to Zhao Liu. He knew that the Zhao family had no money. Before, Zhao Jinge had given all his savings to him, and they probably had even less money now. But they still needed to spend money for the marriage.

nHe didn’t want to worry about the wedding, but he couldn’t let the Zhao family pay for it when they couldn’t even afford to kill a pig. That would be too upsetting for Zhao Jinge.

nThe Zhao family didn’t expect that Jiang Zhen would still give the bride price. They were overjoyed for a moment, and Jiang Zhen became more pleasing to their eyes. It was just that they had to talk about providing for their old age . . .

n“Jiang Zhen, I have another thing to tell you. Jinge is our only child now, so we are going to ask him to feed us in the future,” Zhao Fugui said.

nTheir countrymen attached great importance to the care of the elderly at the end of their lives. They even thought that, if no one organized a funeral, they would suffer in the underworld after their death. So some people, even if they were too poor, they had to have sons.

n“It’s only right. You have brought up Jinge, and of course, we will take care of you till the end,” Jiang Zhen said. Zhao Fugui and his wife had raised Zhao Jinge. Of course, Zhao Jinge would take care of them until the end of their lives. There was no doubt about that. In other words, if the butcher and his wife had been a little better to Eldest Jiang, he would have also done that.

nJiang Zhen agreed at once, and the Zhao family were even happier. The more they looked at Jiang Zhen, the more they liked him. There must be a reason why Eldest Jiang was so fierce before. He was obviously a person who was easy to come along with.

n“Don’t worry. We can still work. You don’t need to support us now, and we can still help you with your children,” Zhao Liu said. She was suddenly full of hope for the future. At the thought that she could take care of her grandson, she felt much better.

n“Yes, that’s right. I can work for at least another ten years,” Zhao Fugui also said.

n“And the bride price, you don’t need to worry. We’ll let Zhao Jinge take it with him. I’ve saved some money, and Jinge should also have some. We can buy a mu of land as a dowry for him, so that you can have a better life in the future,” Zhao Liu also added.

n“Wait . . .” Jiang Zhen interrupted Zhao Liu’s words.

n“What’s the matter?” Zhao Liu asked. Doesn’t Jiang Zhen want to buy land?

n“It’s not a bride price but a dowry,” Jiang Zhen said arrogantly. “In the future, I will come to your house to live. First, I will give you the dowry, and you can decide if you want to buy something. It’s also good to buy land. There is nothing to lose.”

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