bookcurios Chapter 685 Peach Blossom’s Gift
Chapter 685 Peach Blossom’s Gift
Gui'er was chatting with Song Xichen when Zhang, the shopkeeper, walked in and said, "Guier, come out quickly, your brother is looking for you."
Gui'er said, "Please ask him to wait a moment. Brother Xichen and I are chatting."
Song Xichen touched Gui'er's head and said, "We have almost finished talking. In fact, it's nothing big. As long as everything is fine for you in Nanjing, it's up to you whether you want to stay in Nanjing or come back in the future. If you stay in Nanjing, you still have to pay attention to Sha Yanyao. People change. He was also an ambitious young man in the past." He sighed as he said this.
Gui'er nodded. She understood Song Xichen's feelings. After all, the two had been good friends for many years, and now because of their different identities, Song Xichen might have to pretend in front of Sha Yanyao and not know about this matter.
She came out of the inner room with a small basket of herbs, pretending to be going out to get medicine.
Wu Dafu saw her and walked up to her happily and said, "Sister, you're back?"
Gui'er nodded and said, "I asked Manager Zhang to bring you a message the other day. Did you get it? How is it going? How much money can you raise?"
Wu Dafu felt a little uncomfortable and said hesitantly, "We poor people can only give a dollar to marry a wife. If your family wants a betrothal gift, how much should it be? I can't afford it."
Gui'er actually knew that Wu Dafu probably couldn't afford much money. After all, he knew their financial situation best. But Wu Dafu's words made her feel a little uncomfortable, as if he didn't want to take care of it and was just letting her handle it.
She said, "Even if you marry Taohua from her parents now, you still need a betrothal gift. Just tell me how much you can give, and I'll find a way to pay the rest."
Wu Dafu frowned and said, "When Manager Zhang came to our house, my second brother happened to be there too. He immediately gathered up all our money and found 20 yuan in total. But he couldn't give it all away. Isn't my second sister-in-law going to have another baby soon? I can't leave her with nothing."
In that era, 20 yuan was considered a decent living for a family that earned money by making a living through craftsmanship, which showed that the two brothers were indeed able to save money and make a living.
"When my second sister-in-law got married, she didn't ask for any dowry, but instead paid a large sum of money. She also had two concubines come to help with the housework." Wu Dafu said hesitantly.
Gui'er rolled her eyes. She couldn't tell Doctor Wu about Miss Zhang Si's background, so she could only say, "How can that be compared? Second sister-in-law is the daughter of a wealthy family that's fallen on hard times. Why don't you look at yourself in the mirror? How could so many wealthy young ladies from such a poor family be interested in you? Besides, those two are her concubines, elders. You're not treating them like maids, are you? The last time I went to your house, I saw how thin those two concubines were. Don't treat them unfairly."
Wu Dafu saw that Gui'er seemed a little angry, and quickly said, "No, no, sister, what are you thinking? Our family is poor, but we also have a portion for each person. They eat whatever we eat. But sometimes they love the children and save their own food for the children. We have tried to persuade them, but it doesn't work."
Gui'er mentally calculated that Wu Dahua and Wu Dafu were already a family of six, but Miss Zhang Si's second child and Taohua would soon join the family. If they only had 20 silver dollars in savings, it would be quite a stretch, not to mention the war that was coming in a few years. By then, their livelihoods would likely be cut short, and who would buy furniture during a war? They probably couldn't touch their 20 silver dollars, so they would have to make do with their own money.
After a moment, Gui Er said to Wu Dafu, "How much of these 20 silver dollars are yours?"
Wu Dafu hesitated for a long time and couldn't say anything.
"Could it be that these 20 silver dollars all belong to second brother? You have been out for a few years, and you haven't saved any money? Where did you spend it?" Gui'er was very surprised, and even suspected that Wu Dafu had some bad habits, such as gambling.
"Sister, what are you thinking? Am I that kind of person? There are 5 silver dollars here that are mine, but my second brother said that my 5 dollars are definitely not enough, so he added his savings into it. That's why I had the audacity to say at the beginning that I couldn't come up with the money." Wu Dafu said hesitantly.
"Then why does my second brother have so much more than you? Don't spend money lavishly all day long."
"Oh, my dear sister, my second brother's money also includes my second sister-in-law's share. It contains her dowry. Apart from buying some rouge, hair ornaments and handkerchiefs for Taohua, I usually don't want to spend a penny on myself, but it's so hard to make money these days." Wu Dafu said dejectedly.
Seeing him like this, Gui'er couldn't bear it, so she sighed and said, "Okay, okay, just give me your 5 yuan, and I'll find a way to deal with the rest."
Wu Dafu's face lit up when he heard this, but after a few seconds he hesitated and said, "I know the Marshal's Mansion will give you a monthly allowance, but I heard it's only two silver dollars, and you still have to pay for food and clothing. You live with the Marshal's eldest son in Nanjing, and I heard they are very stingy and have deducted your monthly allowance. How much do you have on hand? Don't take out all your savings for me. Although as a brother, I should support my sister, but my second brother and I really don't have the ability to do so. It's also because we are useless."
Gui Er sighed and said, "Don't worry about it. She will be given to the Third Concubine in the future. And Taohua, when she marries you, you have to treat her well."
Wu Dafu reached into the inner pocket of his clothes and rummaged for a long time before taking out 5 silver dollars. He weighed them in his hand and handed them to Guier carefully.
Guier took it, put it in her pocket, and said to him, "Okay, you should go back now and start preparing some things for the wedding."
Wu Dafu said with a bitter face: "If you mean a new bed frame or a new foot basin, we have plenty of wood at home to make those, but other things are out of the question. I've already given you the money, and I can't use my second brother's money to buy more."
Guier rolled her eyes, took out 5 silver dollars from the 2 silver dollars he gave her, gave them back to him, and then let him go.
Looking at Wu Dafu's back, Gui'er was a little dazed. Although she had saved some money, it was only the guarantee of her future livelihood. The war was about to start. Although she seemed to have no worries about food and clothing, this could collapse at any time.
She didn't know how much dowry the third concubine would ask for. Based on her understanding of the third concubine, she would definitely take advantage of this great opportunity to make a fortune.