Oh no! Seven kids at the start, all yellow and skinny.

Chapter 58 The Dowry Scandal

"Dad, what do you mean? Does this mean we're going to have a war?" Yunyi asked.

"Hehe, I'm just talking nonsense." Old Zhao hurriedly waved his hand, tapped his pipe on the cart shaft, and then put it away. "We'll be there soon."

Yunyi stopped asking, after all, this was not an era of freedom of speech. If someone with ulterior motives heard her, they might accuse her of spreading rumors and causing trouble.

Let alone ordinary people, even officials are afraid of these charges.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the village entrance.

It was almost noon, and everyone was busy cooking, so there weren't many people outside.

Zhao Dazhuang's house was easy to find; it wasn't far inside. His family was small; his father had died long ago, and he lived with his mother.

But as soon as the oxcart turned into the alley, it saw that a large crowd had gathered there.

"What's going on?" Old Zhao stopped the oxcart and asked a woman who was watching the commotion.

"Third Brother, you're back." The woman who was stopped naturally recognized Old Man Zhao. "Oh dear, isn't it Dazhuang? Oh, poor thing."

What happened to Dazhuang?

"Didn't he take a liking to the eldest daughter of the Wu family before? The mother of Cui Cui asked for a dowry of twenty taels, which was the absolute maximum. Da Zhuang actually managed to save up enough, but then the mother of Cui Cui changed her mind and asked for thirty taels instead."

"What is Dali's family up to?" Old Zhao frowned as soon as he heard this.

Wu Cuicui's father is named Wu Dali.

“Of course it costs money,” another old woman chimed in. “With thirty taels, Da Gui and Er Gui will have the money to arrange a marriage.”

Wu Cuicui's four younger brothers are named Wu Dagui, Wu Ergui, Wu Sangui, and Wu Sigui.

"Nonsense." Old Zhao took a deep breath, put the oxcart down, and walked straight inside.

Yunyi hurriedly followed.

Zhao Dazhuang's house was the second one in the alley, a very ordinary farmhouse. At this moment, apart from the villagers who were watching the commotion, a woman with gray hair sat in the courtyard, her face flushed, trying to catch her breath. Zhao Dazhuang, his face full of grief and indignation, was gently patting her back.

Meanwhile, a slightly plump woman was speaking with her hands on her hips, spitting as she spoke.

That posture... Yunyi's first thought was "like a compass with thin, lonely legs in a drawing instrument."

(A description of Yang Ersao in Lu Xun's "My Old Home")

This person was none other than Jiang, Wu Cuicui's mother.

“My Cui Cui is a Guanyin with children. Let me tell you, my husband and I were married for two years and I couldn’t get pregnant. Then I went to Jin Guang Temple to pray to Guanyin, and I got pregnant with Cui Cui when I came back. The abbot at the time said that I was a 'flower before fruit' kind of person. And you’ve all seen it. After I had Cui Cui, I had four sons. Cui Cui takes after me. Whoever marries my Cui Cui is definitely destined to have sons…”

The people around were obviously tired of hearing this, after all, ever since Wu Cuicui was thirteen, her mother had said that if anyone wanted to marry her Cuicui, they would have to pay a dowry of ten taels of silver, because her Cuicui wanted a son.

Therefore, no one dared to propose marriage, after all, ten taels of silver was enough to marry three wives.

All the young men in the village kept their distance from Wu Cuicui, except for Zhao Dazhuang, who protected her and even said he wanted to marry her. However, after Wu Cuicui came of age, Zhao Dazhuang's mother went to propose marriage, and Cuicui's mother directly raised the betrothal gifts to twenty taels.

Twenty taels of silver—that's a huge sum for an ordinary family.

In order to save money for his son, Da Zhuang's father took his son to town to open a blacksmith shop. If business was good, they could save enough for the betrothal gifts in about two years. However, in the second year after the shop opened, Da Zhuang's father suddenly fell ill and died. Da Zhuang's mother fell ill with grief, and all the money they had saved was spent.

After handling his father's funeral, Zhao Dazhuang took care of his mother and the shop at the same time. Because he hadn't saved enough money, he kept putting it off until this year, when he finally saved up twenty taels.

As a result, Cui Cui's mother caused trouble again.

“Dazhuang, my Cui Cui has been waiting for you for three or four years. Three or four years ago it was twenty taels, but now the price has to go up, right? Give me thirty taels of silver, and I'll marry my daughter to you right away…”

"Cui Cui's mother, you're being unreasonable!" Da Zhuang's mother said weakly. "We've already agreed on something, how can you change your mind at the last minute?"

“A family with a daughter has many suitors. There are quite a few men waiting to marry my Cui Cui. The rich man Liu in town even sent someone to inquire about her yesterday. He directly offered a dowry of fifty taels of silver.”

"But thirty taels! That's going to kill us!"

"How can you get married if you don't have money?"

"you……"

"Mother." Zhao Dazhuang hurriedly stopped his mother, who was about to speak, then stood up and looked at Jiang Shi, "Auntie, I want to ask Cuicui's opinion, does she also want such a large dowry?"

"What I mean is what my Cui Cui means." Jiang Shi glanced triumphantly at Zhao Dazhuang. "We're all from the same village, so I'm giving you a head start. If you don't have thirty taels, then Cui Cui will be marrying into the Liu family and enjoying a life of luxury tomorrow." She had heard that Zhao Dazhuang had a lot of money after closing his shop in town; otherwise, how could he have taken out twenty taels all at once? She had to get all the money from him.

"Cui Cui is here." Just then, a girl with slightly dark skin and a rather robust build walked in. After glancing at Zhao Dazhuang, she went over and tugged at Jiang Shi's sleeve. "Mother, let's go back."

“Cuicui.” Zhao Dazhuang stepped forward. “You…”

“Brother Dazhuang.” Wu Cuicui glanced at him guiltily, then lowered her head. “My parents raised me with great difficulty, and I have four younger brothers who need to build houses and get married, so… if you have thirty taels, I will marry you.”

“That’s not what you said back then. Yesterday you even told me to hurry up and propose marriage. How could you…”

"Brother Dazhuang, if we don't have any money, then just consider us as people who are destined to be apart." Although Wu Cuicui's voice was soft, her words were very firm.

Zhao Dazhuang clenched his fist, but quickly released it: "You..." He then staggered, clearly having suffered a severe blow.

"Son," Da Zhuang's mother suddenly burst into tears, "we can't afford to marry him! Can't we find someone else? Ah? Or, why don't you sell your old bones too..."

"Mother, I..."

"Brother Dazhuang." Just then, a fair-skinned girl in a white jacket walked over. "If Sister Cui Cui won't marry you, I will."

The people around were stunned, but they quickly understood, and some even took the lead in cheering.

"Wu Xiuer, what do you mean?" Wu Cuicui protested.

"Cousin, didn't you say you wouldn't get married? Are you saying I'm not allowed to get married?" Wu Xiuer raised her eyebrows slightly.