Su Qingnyu was talking to Su Qingliu while teasing Yaya.

“Sister, why don’t you live at home? You had to get up early to come here today.”

Su Qingliu sighed, “Qingyu, now that you’re married, you have to understand that your husband’s family is different from your parents’. At your parents’ home, even though you still have chores and get tired, you don’t have to carefully watch someone’s mood all the time.”

“Even though I’m married, I don’t need to worry about someone’s mood,” Qingyu replied firmly.

After listening, Su Qingliu smiled bitterly, feeling that Qingyu was naive. “You’ve just gotten married and don’t understand yet. Once you’re married, you can’t be the same as you were at your parents’ home.”

Su Qingyu didn’t say anything. As long as everyone treated each other as equals, she didn’t need to look at anyone’s face.

While they were talking, Su Youwu came in like a gust of wind, breathing heavily: “Mom and Dad, something happened. My sister-in-law can’t come back!”

Huh?

The whole family gathered around, what do you mean by not being able to come back?

Su Youwu drank two large bowls of water before explaining the matter clearly.

It turned out that it was Su Youwen’s mother-in-law who asked for money before letting the bride get into the sedan chair.

She came to the house a few days ago to make a fuss, saying that Su Qingyu’s bride price was fifty taels, and her daughter only got ten taels. It was the same as marrying a daughter, so there was no reason why it should be so different. At that time, Su Qingyu’s step-grandmother had a big argument with her, but in the end, it was Old Man Lu who persuaded the family to leave by giving them an extra five taels of silver.

They originally thought that this matter would be over, but before they left home, something happened again. They had to give another twenty taels of silver before the bride could board the sedan for them to take her away.

Su Youwen and others went to pick up the bride. Where did they bring the money with them? Even if they brought it, who from a poor farm family would bring twenty taels? The family couldn’t save more than three or five taels a year.

Wasn’t this a stalemate?

The Su family wanted to pick someone up, but the Liu family refused to let them go.

As soon as Su Youwu finished speaking, Wang Shi jumped up: “Fart! She wants twenty taels! Her daughter is a rich lady, she wants twenty taels! Before, we had to give out wedding clothes and rent a carriage in the town. We obeyed everything they said, and now the lion is talking loudly! Are you looking at us as soft persimmons?”

Feng Shi was also very unhappy.

After many choices, the Liu family was chosen. The matchmaker said that although her family was poor, she was quick and diligent. She had helped take care of several children since she was a child, and she was a good hand at home and outside. She also went to investigate and found that everyone in the village praised her when they talked about her, so she was chosen.

She didn’t expect her mother to be a troublemaker! This opinion was raised, and that opinion was raised again. Now they had to pay another 20 taels to pick someone up.

Feng Shi suddenly felt unhappy with the girl Liu Caoya of the Liu family.

Second Su’s temper flared up immediately, “Fine, if you don’t agree, then forget it! My son can find a match anywhere! He’s not bad-looking; he doesn’t have to marry into the Liu family. If the Liu family causes trouble like this, who knows if Liu Caoya will be able to find a husband in the future? She still has several unmarried daughters. Let’s see who dares to propose to them!”

No one answered.

Old Man Su was silent for a while and then said: “Why are you angry with them now? Your son is leaving soon. How can you find a suitable family in the next few days? You can’t even get married in time.”

Feng Shi felt anxious when she heard it. She was the one who found the matchmaker, and she knew the ropes best. Where could she find a suitable match in just a few days?

So they had to find a way to bring the person back. Even if she took her back and divorced her, her son would still look good. When the Liu family was in the first year of junior high school, she was in the fifteenth year ^[1]which means she was more cunning than them, so they could see how their daughter lived under her eyes.

After thinking about it, she said: “Father, Mother, we still have to think of a way to bring the person back…”

As soon as Wang Shi heard this, she interrupted her, “How are we supposed to agree? Didn’t you hear Su Wugang say that the bitch from the Liu family demanded twenty taels before letting the bride leave? Will the twenty taels come from your second room or your Feng family?”

Feng’s family members were also gathered around, and they jumped up after hearing what Wang Shi said: “What kind of money will our family pay ?? It’s not our daughter-in-law!”

Old Su jumped up when he saw his in-laws, glared at the Wang Shi, and hurriedly comforted the Feng family with a few words.

Su Chunlan looked at her parents who were getting angry and suggested, “Mom, how about we pool some money together?”

Her husband heard this and nodded in agreement: “Yeah, Chunlan and I can take out a couple of taels.”

Su Qingyu glanced at her husband and said nothing. When Lu Bocheng heard that his brother-in-law had spoken, it was hard for him as the new son-in-law not to express his position, so he opened his mouth and said, “Then Qingyu and I will also contribute one or two.”

Su Qingyu turned her head and glanced at him, without saying anything, and looked at her Grandma again.

Wang Shi was obviously dissatisfied. Old Su was somewhat pleased and said a few words of thanks to his two grandsons-in-law.

Mother Su frowned and glanced at Father Su, but she didn’t speak.

Su Chunlan looked around and found that except for the two grandsons-in-law who expressed their opinions, no one else spoke, and her second aunt didn’t speak either, so she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

Just as she was about to speak, Su Qingyu stopped her: “Sister Chunlan, I’m afraid our family doesn’t have much money. If we did, we would have to buy armor for Wen tánggē and give him some more to carry with him. Besides, If we agree with the Liu family today, what will we do if she speaks again in the future? If my tánggē suffers something bad in the future, our family will probably have to pay all the hard-earned money to the Liu family.”

Upon hearing this, everyone present felt it made sense. They couldn’t let the Liu family’s behavior go unchecked. If they satisfied her demands today, she might come back tomorrow for more. Should they give in or not?

Fifteen taels was already quite a sum for a rural marriage. Not only did the groom’s family need to prepare wedding clothes, but there was also the cost of music, a wedding carriage, and additional expenses for leaving. It was unreasonable.

If the Su family started this thing, in the future when the young man from Qiaotou Village got married, they would have to add money before taking the bride out. Should they give it or not?

They shouldn’t encourage this momentum.

Wang Shi was infuriated. Her eldest grandson’s wedding was the most lavish in the village, yet while other families were bringing their new brides home, her family was being asked for more money!

She gritted her teeth in anger. “That Liu woman, I knew she was insatiable! Acting so petty, she’s actually selling her own daughter for money! She doesn’t even think about how her daughter will live in her in-laws’ home after causing such trouble!”

Wang Shi cursed, and the guests were watching, listening to her curse.

In the end, Old Man Su couldn’t stand listening anymore and interrupted her: “What’s the use of talking about this now? Let’s think about how to bring the person back.”

“No need to agree to anything! If we can’t find a bride, I’ll go to the matchmaker tomorrow and buy another one for Yuwen to marry. Are Liu’s daughters the only ones who can bear sons? No, we won’t agree! Send someone to bring Yuwen back, and demand the return of the fifteen taels of betrothal gifts. We’ll also calculate the money spent on wedding clothes, betrothal gifts, and renting the wedding carriage from their family! With that money, I could buy two more women for Yuwen. There’s bound to be one who can give him an heir.”

As soon as Wang Shi finished speaking, Feng Shi’s eyes lit up.

She echoed: “Mom is right, we want the money back, and tomorrow we will go to Renyazi ^[2]the place where someone bought slaves to buy two women for Youwen. One of them will be able to give birth to a son for Youwen.”

The more they talked, the more it made sense. Mrs. Feng’s eyes lit up remarkably, completely dispelling her earlier anxious and irritable demeanor.

Second Su was already thinking about the feasibility of this proposal.

Su Qingyu was stunned by what the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law said. Could it still be like this?

Lu Bocheng was also dumbfounded. He didn’t expect such an operation.

The onlookers who came to participate in the wedding banquet were all relatives of the Su family, and naturally, they were all on the side of the Su family. Regarding the Liu family’s shameless operation, they also believed that they should not give money or encourage the Liu family’s arrogance, and expressed support for Wang Shi and Feng Shi’s proposal to buy people.

Just when Su Youwu and two young men from relatives were about to run to inform the wedding team of the decision. Someone shouted at the door: “Who do you think that is?”

(End of Chapter)