Li Zhengguo got off work and heard the lively atmosphere at home, knowing his wife was back.
For the past two months, his wife had been away, and his elder sister-in-law and younger sister had come every day to cook for him and they all ate together, but it felt like something was missing, and the house wasn't lively.
Seeing her husband in the yard, Tian Jing smiled, "County Magistrate Li is off work? Wash your hands and come eat."
Li Zhengguo nodded, "I'll put my bag away, be right there."
At the dinner table, while eating, they discussed the marriage of Hao Hao and Yan Yan.
Ouyang Meihua had already contacted her eldest son, and Li Weiyan's intention was to go to the Li family together to propose. He and Li Wanzhen had chosen the soonest date after the New Year.
Seeing that everyone had discussed enough, Li Min suggested that her elder brother should buy a new car. They couldn't possibly go to the Li family in a pickup truck, could they?
"Brother, I'll pay for half the car. You can give your pickup truck to Suo Zhu ge."
Li Liguo agreed, "It is indeed time to buy a new car. I don't need your money. If Suo Zhu wants to drive the pickup, he can have it."
"Then I won't be polite."
Chen Suozhu said, "I was planning to buy one, but Minmin said that Brother should change his car."
Li Min glared at her husband, "Are you selling me out?"
Chen Suozhu laughed, "Brother knows I'm joking."
"Hmph!"
...
After Li Liguo bought the car, many villagers also wanted to buy cars. If Li Liguo could afford two cars, they could at least buy a pickup or a Xiali, right?
For a while, the village was full of cars, and it wasn't until the village loudspeaker announced that each household should build a parking space in front of their house in their self-retained land that the "traffic congestion" in Kushan was resolved. This is a later story.
After discussions with the Li family, they decided to have the Li family go to the Li family to propose on Sunday, September 19th.
There were eight days left, which was enough.
The Li family prepared for two days, packed two seven-seater cars and one pickup truck to the brim, and set off for Kyoto. County Magistrate Li was left alone to take a train to Kyoto on the evening of the 17th.
The top floor of Jingyuan Company became lively again, not only with many people but also with many animals.
After unloading all the local specialties, Tian Jing took a shower before picking up her granddaughter.
The ten-month-old Xuanxuan was even more delicate than before.
Li Mu said worriedly, "I don't dare to take Xuanxuan out. This time, I'll go back with you. Xuanxuan is too cramped on the top floor, and I feel stifled too."
"Oh, by the way, last month Lu Shi had a foreign friend who stayed for two days and wouldn't let go of Xuanxuan. He insisted on arranging a child engagement."
"Lu Shi disagreed. His friend said he would come again and bring his son."
"I don't think Lu Shi's friend seems like an ordinary person, nor does he seem to be joking. We should quickly hide Xuanxuan back in Kushan."
Tian Jing comforted her mother-in-law, "Don't worry, Mother. If Lu Shi disagrees, his friend won't be able to force it."
Han Lushi dared to say that he had the ability and means to deal with the Zeng family.
Li Mu nodded, "Lu Shi also means that, but his friend said that if his son wins Xuanxuan's heart, Lu Shi won't be able to stop him."
"Lu Shi said that if that really happens, he won't stop it, but if Xuanxuan doesn't marry far away, his friend said he would go back and mess with the family's business."
"Then you really don't have to worry."
Tian Jing smiled, "Lu Shi himself agreed to the premise his friend mentioned. You just need to teach Xuanxuan not to fall in love early."
"Right!"
Li Mu clapped her hands, "It doesn't matter what they think. My Xuanxuan won't date before she's 20."
Li Mu had been worried for a long time, for fear that her great-granddaughter would be snatched away.
Tian Jing was playing with her granddaughter. Little Xuanxuan had a tense little face. Only when she got familiar with her grandmother did she start smiling.
...
Buying clothes and purchasing gifts for visiting.
Tian Jing and Ouyang Meihua took their restless younger sister-in-law out every day.
In the blink of an eye, Comrade County Magistrate Li came to Kyoto alone to "seek refuge" with relatives. The three women no longer went out and stayed at home honestly to sort out the purchased items.
Li Zhengguo called Old Master Shen and invited him to be the matchmaker.
Old Master Shen happily accepted the invitation.
On the 19th, Li Zhengguo, Tian Jing, Ouyang Meihua, and Li Liguo, carrying local specialties and gifts, went to the Li family.
Not only were all the members of the Li family at home, but Shen Jianrong was also invited.
Shen Jianfang, radiant, welcomed Tian Jing and Ouyang Meihua into the living room.
Li Wanting's two aunts also enthusiastically served tea and water.
Tian Jing observed secretly, and the enthusiasm of these two aunts seemed genuine.
With Old Master Shen, the maternal grandfather, acting as the matchmaker, the Li family was also very satisfied with the Li family, and both parties had a pleasant conversation, quickly entering the important环节 of discussing the wedding date and betrothal gifts.
The betrothal gifts were 200,000 yuan, and the wedding dress fee was 50,000 yuan. Because there were houses in Kushan and the special team, only a temporary wedding house was prepared in Kyoto.
When these conditions were stated, except for Shen Jianfang, the faces of the Li family members were not very good.
Especially Shen Jianfang's two sisters-in-law, they did not expect that the behind-the-scenes boss of Jingyuan Company would not even prepare two houses.
The behind-the-scenes boss of Jingyuan Company "..."
Her eldest son and nephew were in Kyoto and had a place to live, so why would they need houses? To collect dust?
"Cough, cough."
Old Master Li coughed lightly, breaking the silent atmosphere, "It's not that we are petty, but Wanting, Wanzhen, and Ziyu are cousins. Such a big disparity will lead to gossip."
Before Tian Jing could speak, the matchmaker disagreed, "Old Li tou, Jing Hai only has one daughter, Ziyu. All his assets will be inherited by Siji. What can your family give to Wanting and Wanzhen's children?"
"Listening to gossip? Even if it's the same as Ziyu, wouldn't people still gossip?"
"Don't compare with Ziyu. Compare with other people's daughters. The betrothal gifts are twice as high."
Old Master Li said awkwardly, "It's said like that, but others aren't looking at Ziyu's marriage, they will only say that Ziyu and Wanting are not only cousins but also entering the same family."
Ouyang Meihua tugged at her sister-in-law's sleeve and whispered, "What you said makes sense, doesn't it? Should we add some?"
Tian Jing nodded, "I'll go with you."
Ouyang Meihua said, "Old Master Li makes sense, but it's impossible to completely follow Ziyu's standard."
"Just like Father-in-law said, the Yu family will give everything to Xiao Bo's son, Siji, in the future."
"Ziyu and Wanting, Wanzhen are cousins, and Wanting and Wanzhen are sisters. If they are exactly the same, outsiders won't gossip."
"This way, the wedding dress fee remains the same, the betrothal gifts will be 400,000 yuan, plus their meeting gift at the time, it will be a total of 500,000 yuan, which is much more than for other girls."
"Yes."
Shen Jianrong chimed in, "If you compare it to my Ziyu, I have something to say."
"Not to mention Siji, just Ziyu's dowry. I not only gave Li family's betrothal gifts to Ziyu for her own safekeeping, but I also gave her a house and 100,000 yuan as a dowry. What dowry did you prepare for Wanting and Wanzhen?"
Old Master Li froze, almost unable to sit still from embarrassment.
Shen Jianfang glanced at her two sisters-in-law and said, "Our family also keeps not a single cent of the betrothal gifts. Fighting over this is just to get more pocket money for Wanting and Wanzhen."
"As for the dowry, I can't afford the bulk of it, so I can only prepare 80,000 yuan for each of my two daughters."
"With so little, I really can't open my mouth to ask my in-laws to increase the betrothal gifts, so let's stick to the original 200,000 yuan."
"No, no, no."
Ouyang Meihua shook her head, "If you add it, you add it. Anyway, it's for Wanting and Wanzhen's pocket money. The more they have, the more confident they will be."
Well, these two future mothers-in-law sang a duet and finished speaking. The other members of the Li family found it inconvenient to speak up.
After all, they had no intention of adding dowry for Li Wanting and Li Wanzhen.
Old Master Shen chose the auspicious dates.
The wedding date for Li Weihao and Li Wanting was set for November 21st, the tenth day of the tenth lunar month.
The wedding date for Li Weiyan and Li Wanzhen was set for March 27th next year, the eighteenth day of the second lunar month.
Both dates were Sundays, making it convenient for the Li family to host.
Due to the long distance, the wedding procession was canceled. The two couples would directly hold their wedding banquets in Kyoto. After returning to their in-laws' homes, they would hold another wedding banquet in Kushan.
The Li family did not participate in the wedding banquet arrangements, so everything was handled by the Li family, and two tables were reserved for the Li family.
After everything was settled, they had a lively lunch at the Li family's home. The Li family and Old Master Shen and his daughter bid farewell.