Old Master Gong came to his senses and asked, "How much is the betrothal gift around the village?"
Father Xiao replied, "Normally, in our village, the betrothal gift would be around 36,000. Then, the bride's family will send some dowries over."
"36... 36,000!" Old Master Gong didn't expect the betrothal gift at the village to be so low. 36,000? What could even someone buy with such a small amount of money? It wasn't even enough to buy a sofa, let alone anything else. Gong Tianhao frowned and said disapprovingly, "Uncle, 36,000 is too low. How about 36 million?!"
The Xiao family was shocked when they heard 36 million. That was ridiculously high. A villager couldn't earn 36 million even if he worked tirelessly for multiple lifetimes. Father Xiao shook his head and said, "36 million is too high."
Gong Tianhao thought for a moment and said, "Then 3,600,000 RMB."
Father Xiao was about to reject it when Gong Tianhao immediately said, "Uncle, don't reject it yet. Listen to me."
Father Xiao and the rest nodded.
"Uncle, Auntie, I know that you all love Yu 'Er and will feel awkward taking a high betrothal gift, for it'd feel like you've sold her off. However, that is not the case. On the contrary, I think that the higher the betrothal gift, the more respect I'd show to the Xiao Family.
"Everyone in the village knows that Gong Family is rich. They'll be curious about the betrothal gift.
"If it is only 36,000, many villagers will think that the Gong Family is not sincere enough. We don't value Yu 'Er and her family. They might even say that Yu 'Er is forced to marry me, and that's why the betrothal gift is so little. Think about it."
When the Xiao family heard this, they thought for a moment and realized that Gong Tianhao was right.
"But still... 3.6 million is still too high." Father Xiao said, "That is much higher than the betrothal gift we've seen in our village before."
When Gong Tianhao heard this, he said helplessly, "Uncle, how about this? Let's treat this 3.6 million as capital for Yu 'Er to expand her business."
He had never expected the Xiao family to be so uninterested in money.
Every bride's family wanted to suck the groom's family dry, but the Xiao Family had rejected him repeatedly.
Now, he understood why the Xiao family was so united and loving.
Because they were not greedy people and only had family ties in their hearts.
After settling the marriage with the Xiao family and deciding on the date, Old Master Gong was in high spirits. He greeted the villagers when he saw them, "Aiya, fellow villagers, you have to come to my grandson and Yu 'Er's wedding banquet."
The villagers replied, "Alright, Old Master, we will definitely be there."
Then, the villagers turned around and started discussing. "I didn't expect Young Master Gong to marry Xiao Lingyu so quickly."
"Yeah, who would have thought that Xiao Lingyu's child would be Young Master Gong's. This is really too surprising. In the past, we always thought that Xiao Lingyu's child was a bastard child."
"But we heard that the child was Young Master Gong's from the Gong and Xiao Families. It might not be the truth. Perhaps this is their way to give the child a status."
"That's possible. Young Master Gong might like Xiao Lingyu that much to take the bastard child as his own."
"In any case, Xiao Lingyu is really lucky. After that incident with the Chen Kid, she managed to find a better man, someone who doesn't even mind her past."
"By the way, why did the marriage arrive so suddenly? Wasn't Young Master Gong still pursuing Xiao Lingyu not too long ago?"
"Who knows? In the past few days, we have seen Xiao Lingyu and Young Master Gong holding hands. It's obvious that they are dating. They weren't even hiding it!"
"Why should they hide? They're in a relationship. You're too outdated.
"Nowadays, it's very normal for young people to fall in and out of a relationship. In fact, I heard that some of them started to live together before marriage. Plus, haven't you seen the rising cases of unmarried pregnancies in the villages around us?".
e
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"That's right. The time is changing. Back in the day, my husband and I got married through a matchmaker's introduction. There was an exchange of betrothal gifts and dowry. There was no time for us to fall in love." An elderly woman said, "But now, people focus on love before getting married. They have to understand each other first. They'll get married if they can get along. If not, they'll be separated. Tsk tsk, young people nowadays treat love as child's play."
"That's the times we live in. As parents, we also hope that our children will be happy. Plus, this is not so bad. At least the couple can get to know each other before marriage. If not, the marriage life won't be happy too."
"However, being in a relationship doesn't mean that you'd really know the other. Take Xiao Lingyu, for example. She dated that Kid from the Chen Village for ten years. In the end, she was betrayed by him just like that."
"But Xiao Lingyu is really capable. Once she kicked the Chen kid away, many capable men became interested in her. This girl is really something else."
"I'm smelling some sour grapes. You should give birth to a beautiful daughter. Then, those men would come too."
"My daughter is not too bad. She's just not as lucky as Xiao Lingyu."
"You really have the nerve to say that. Xiao Lingyu isn't only beautiful, but she's also the first university student in our village. She's someone who has worked for a big company in a big city.
"As for your daughter, she didn't graduate from Primary School and is working in a factory now. How can your daughter compare to her?"
The villager, "..." Even if that was the truth, there was no need for you to voice it aloud. "By the way, are we supposed to follow the village's culture for their wedding?" Someone asked. Everyone took this seriously because it was something that involved the whole village.
"Will there be a single banquet, or will the two families hold separate banquets?" Someone asked.
"The two families are so close. I think they'll only have one banquet."
"Ah, that's a little worrisome," A villager said with some distress, "If they are organized separately, we definitely have to follow the culture of the Xiao family.
"The Gong family had just arrived at the village not too long ago. They had never participated in our village's banquets. They haven't participated in our culture."
"However, Old Master Gong and his grandson have done so much for our village. I think we should still follow the village's culture when it comes to their wedding banquet." A villager said.
"That's easy for you to say. During a wedding banquet, the guest will give 30 RMB as a present according to the village culture. 30 RMB is already our daily wages. In the past, the Gong family didn't follow this culture, so why should I?"
"Why shouldn't you? You didn't even invite them when your family had the banquet. I say, why are you being so calculative? You've taken a lot of benefits from the Gong Family too. How can you be so stingy now?
"Also, don't forget that now that Young Master Gong and Xiao Lingyu are married, they will be a family in the future. The Gong Family might not have followed the culture, but what about the Xiao Family? Plus, can you deny the benefits you've taken from the Xiao Family? Aren't you afraid of the Xiao Family finding out, and they won't hire you for work anymore?"
The villager immediately shivered. She nodded and said, "Oh, I almost forgot about that."
The villagers all understood Xiao Lingyu's temperament.
She absolutely did not like people who took advantage of her and spoke ill of her.
She was not afraid of offending people either.
The villagers were all discussing the happy news of the two families.
But most of all, the villagers were skeptical about whether the child Xiao Lingyu was carrying was really Gong Tianhao. But what if they were skeptical?
Both the Xiao and Gong families had already said that Gong Tianhao was the biological father of the child.
Even if that was not true, as long as he was willing, what else could the others say?