An hour later, the carriage brought the four of them home. Their family had just woken up from their afternoon nap. Upon seeing the four return, everyone rushed to take the items from their hands and eagerly inquired about the matter of donating the businesses that day.
The mother-in-law waved her hand decisively and said, "Come, let's all go to the main hall and talk!"
Chen Lan took Jia Hui from Wen Rou Niang, who was holding her, and sat her mother next to her. Liu Mama sat on the other side, holding Jia Yao.
Seeing Jia Hui's big eyes rolling as she played by herself, Chen Lan pinched her chubby little face.
Wen Rou Niang gently batted away Chen Lan's playful hand and whispered, "You child! You mustn't pinch a baby's face, they'll drool if you do."
Chen Lan turned to look at Jia Yao, the good baby, who was blowing bubbles and seemed to be having a great time playing by himself!
After the mother-in-law finished recounting the events in the county town, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, what happened at the pawnshop could not be told to everyone.
"Xiao Lan, this is the leftover money from buying medicine."
Uncle De handed the remaining silver dollars to Chen Lan.
Chen Lan did not take it and looked at her mother-in-law.
The mother-in-law said, "De Shun, if there's any left, keep it for your emergencies. You're already a grandfather, and you have two in-laws. If anything unexpected happens to your families, and you suddenly need money, how can you manage without some cash on hand?"
"But, we have our wages!"
"If something truly happens, what good will that little bit of money do?"
"Let Chun Mei take this medicine first. If she doesn't get better, we'll go straight to the imperial capital to find a more skilled doctor. I don't believe it can't be cured!"
"Oh! Right, Chun Mei (Cui Mama), have you asked the matchmaker about Er Hu's matter yet?"
Cui Mama replied, "I went to the matchmaker this morning and asked her to propose to the woman's family. We'll know if the marriage is successful when the matchmaker returns this afternoon. I estimate it's about eighty to ninety percent likely to succeed, after all, not many families can afford an eight-silver-dollar betrothal gift."
Chen Lan listened with great interest to her mother-in-law and Cui Mama's description of the entire process from proposal to marriage. She only felt one thing: it was too complicated and troublesome! Chen Lan summarized it as:
I. Proposal
The groom's family entrusts a matchmaker to propose to the bride's family. If the bride's family agrees to the engagement, the groom's family will then propose to the bride's family. If both parents consider them a good match, the bride and groom will each prepare a horoscope (written on red paper with the names, ages, birthplaces, and generations of the bride and groom, commonly known as the Four Horoscopes). The two parties will then exchange them.
II. Asking for Names
The matchmaker takes the bride's birthdate and time to the groom's family to have someone "match the zodiac signs," meaning to check if their horoscopes clash.
III. Exchanging Horoscopes
On an auspicious day, the matchmaker delivers the groom's horoscope, which includes the agreed-upon betrothal gifts and dowry, to the bride's family. After the bride's family accepts the betrothal gifts and horoscope, they will return clothes, dowry, etc., to the groom's family, which the matchmaker will then deliver to the groom's family.
IV. Presenting Gifts
This is the ceremony of presenting the betrothal gifts to the bride's family. Only after the dowry has been presented is the engagement formally considered effective.
V. Choosing a Date
Before the wedding, a wedding date must be chosen, usually an auspicious double-digit date. Once the date is selected, the groom's family prepares gifts and writes the date of the wedding procession on a red card to be given to the bride's family by the matchmaker.
VI. Wedding
Relatives and friends are notified of the wedding date. The house is cleaned, the courtyard is tidied, painted, and the bridal chamber is decorated, awaiting the wedding day.
Due to the overly tense and exciting process of collecting antiques in the morning, Chen Lan was feeling sleepy listening to this. She leaned over and picked up Jia Hui. Seeing that Jia Hui was also starting to doze off, she looked at Jia Yao. Jia Yao had already fallen asleep!
Chen Lan, holding Jia Hui, got up to say goodbye to her mother-in-law and the others. Wen Rou Niang and Liu Mama followed behind. The three of them went to the bedroom and settled the two children.
Chen Lan saw Wen Rou Niang hesitating to speak and asked, "Mother! Is there something on your mind?"
"Lan'er, we want to return to the imperial capital."
"Why? Mother, you and my two younger brothers, along with Liu Mama's family, are the only relatives I have left. We don't have any other family."
"I've already spoken with my younger brothers. From now on, our whole family will never be separated. I'll take you with me to Jilin. Rest assured, with my father-in-law, our whole family will have a life without worries about food and clothing, a stable and good life."
Wen Rou Niang quickly explained, "No, no, Lan'er, I didn't mean to separate from you. I want to hurry back to deal with our family's jewelry store, pawnshop, and textile shop."
Chen Lan thought for a moment and then comforted Wen Rou Niang, "Mother, there's no rush. After dinner, I'll talk to my mother-in-law. I'll take the two children and return to the imperial capital with you."
"No need. The children are still so young, traveling back and forth by carriage will be too arduous."
"Mother! The textile shop is easy to handle, but the jewelry store and pawnshop are not. It seems we need to return to the imperial capital as soon as possible. We must handle the matter of donating the shops before we can truly relax."
After dinner, Chen Lan told her mother-in-law about returning to the imperial capital with Wen Rou Niang. Her mother-in-law readily agreed and said that Chen Lan shouldn't worry about household matters and should focus on handling her mother's affairs. Once she obtained the certificate of origin, she should go to the imperial capital to meet her. Sudannovel.com.
Chen Lan was deeply touched...