Reborn as a Tough Army Wife-Chapter 58 - 57: Demand for a Dowry (Fourth Update)

Fang Xiu saw Zhiming dare to yell at her, so she grabbed him, "Can I even compare to your sister? I’ve never done anything as shameless as her."

"And even with someone like me, didn’t your mother still pick on me? Last time she even said that if it weren’t for thinking that your elder brother’s leg couldn’t be healed, neither of us sisters would have been able to marry into the Luo Family, claiming that you must marry a wife from the city."

"Alright, alright, just casually saying something, why do you have to drag it out so much." Zhiming knew his own mother was harsh with her words and had no choice but to coax Fang Xiu in a low voice,

"My dear, I’m calling you ’my dear,’ but let me tell you, when we get back, don’t talk nonsense. If you can’t control your mouth, just stay in your own room this afternoon and don’t come out, so you won’t say something wrong and make my mom unhappy again."

Only then was Fang Xiu satisfied and let go of Zhiming, muttering quietly, "Always saying your mom will be unhappy, well, I’m unhappy too."

As they talked, they arrived at the Luo Family’s place within a few minutes.

Zhou Yunmei had just heard from Luo Cuilan at home that Zhiming and Fang Xiu had gone back to her mother’s house in the morning, and she guessed that it was Fang Pingying who had called them back.

Fang Pingying didn’t speak, but went straight into the kitchen to help Luo Honglan make lunch.

In the courtyard, Zhou Yunmei looked at Fang Xiu and her disapproving face became even gloomier as she asked Zhiming, "What now, visited your mother-in-law again, and what chores have you been helping your mother-in-law with today?"

Zhiming knew that with this kind of thing happening at home, his mother must be in a bad mood and didn’t dare to talk back, so he chuckled at Zhou Yunmei, "Mom, what are you talking about? What chores could there be at this time? Xiu’er and I were out having fun."

Zhou Yunmei truly wasn’t in the mood to scold him and glanced at him, instructing casually, "Don’t go out too often when there’s nothing to do. If something happens at home, we’ll have to go looking for you everywhere."

Zhiming nodded and then asked, "Mom, my sister has caused trouble again, what’s the plan now?"

Hearing Zhiming mention it, Zhou Yunmei gritted her teeth with hatred, "What can I do? I wish she were dead, repeatedly doing these shameless things, soon I won’t even have the face to see people in our Luojia Village."

"What’s this about having no face to see people? Our own family matters aren’t for others to manage. Since it’s come to this, let’s have the Zhang family cough up the dowry, we’ll immediately start preparing the trousseau and such, choose a good day, and just get the marriage settled."

Zhiming didn’t think this matter was a big deal; after all, the times were different now, and there were cases where couples who were engaged did this sort of thing and then held the wedding as planned. He casually advised Zhou Yunmei.

Luo Zhiyong, sitting in the courtyard, was also extremely frustrated. With his sister causing such trouble, he always felt somewhat responsible; he was not home year-round, not having enough time to care for the family.

He sighed and also tried to convince Zhou Yunmei, "Mom, I say the same thing. At this point, scolding and beating won’t help. The only solution is to get them married."

Zhou Yunmei nodded, now she really had no other solution to think of, and besides, having the marriage settled would be putting it all behind her. She really didn’t want to worry about them any longer.

"Cuilan, come here," Zhou Yunmei called Luo Cuilan out from inside the house.

When Luo Cuilan came out of the house, her eyes were red, and she was also feeling distressed.

Seeing her daughter like this, Zhou Yunmei didn’t scold her again, but told her, "Later I’ll go to the village head to ask the village’s Feng Shui master to pick a date this month for your wedding. As for the betrothal money from Jianguo’s side, you need to sort it out with Jianguo privately, or when his parents come later, should I speak to them?"

Once betrothal money was mentioned, Luo Cuilan’s expression began to show difficulty, "Mom, you know the situation at Jianguo’s house. Although his stepmother is kind to him, she’s still a stepmother; there’s a limit to how much money she can offer for the betrothal."

Zhou Yunmei’s patience was wearing thin and her voice grew louder, "So what’s your plan? To just wrap up a bundle and marry off without any dowry at all?"

"Isn’t it the responsibility of a woman’s family to prepare her dowry? Didn’t my elder brother and his wife say they’d prepare the dowries for me and Honglan?" Luo Cuilan spoke, glancing at Luo Zhiyong.

Luo Zhiyong’s brow furrowed slightly; he didn’t understand the meaning behind Luo Cuilan’s words.

It hadn’t been two months since his own marriage with Fang Pingying, and during the month of the wedding, since he was home, all the money was given to Zhou Yunmei. He only kept five yuan on him. The month wasn’t over yet and his salary hadn’t arrived.

Luo Cuilan thought he could somehow find the money to provide her with a dowry. Originally, they had discussed preparing it by saving up over the new year, at which point they would ask Zhou Yunmei to contribute as well, but the new year was still two or three months away.

Before Luo Zhiyong could ask, Zhou Yunmei couldn’t bear it any longer and started yelling at Luo Cuilan, "What has Jianguo bewitched you with? Before even getting married, all you can think about is speaking for Jianguo’s family. Do you expect his family not to pay a single yuan for the betrothal, and for us, your maternal family, to buy all the dowry?"

After a brief pause, Zhou Yunmei continued, "According to the customs of our village, whichever amount the man’s family brings for betrothal, the woman’s family will return the same amount for the dowry. I won’t speak for your elder brother, but I don’t have much dowry to provide you with."

No sooner had Zhou Yunmei finished speaking than Fang Xiu joined in, "Yes, Sister, those are the rules. I’ve only heard that if a daughter marries well, her family can make a profit, not that the family should pay out. The dowry I brought over for my marriage was bought with the betrothal money given by this side."

What Fang Xiu said was indeed true and Luo Cuilan couldn’t refute it.

She thought for a moment, then turned to Luo Zhiyong and asked, "Elder brother, do you agree with this too?"

Luo Zhiyong initially just looked at Luo Cuilan without speaking, then asked her with a light tone, "Cuilan, how much dowry do you think we should provide for you to be reasonable?"

"Aren’t you supposed to provide my entire dowry?" Luo Cuilan said as if it were a matter of course, "I don’t ask for much, just the same as what Fang Xiu had – the Four Big Items, plus a few sets of new clothes would suffice."

When Luo Cuilan finished speaking, Luo Zhiyong’s expression darkened, and there was a hint of restraint on his face, his heart feeling a slight chill.

He suddenly felt that his family members weren’t just insensitive; they were downright selfish, only considering themselves without regard for others.

Zhou Yunmei was like this, and so was Luo Cuilan.

Although Zhou Yunmei didn’t expressly support Luo Cuilan to ask him for the dowry money, when she said "I won’t speak for your elder brother," it effectively meant she agreed with Luo Cuilan’s request for the dowry from him.

The more he thought about it, the colder Luo Zhiyong felt. All the years of hard work he had put into his family seemed utterly meaningless.

He let out a long breath, looked at Luo Cuilan lightly, and said, "Your elder brother is just an ordinary man. In the army, I earn just that much every month. Besides providing for your food and drink, I have no other ability. I can’t afford the dowry you want."

After a slight pause, he stood up and decisively said, "We’ll do as Mom said. Whatever betrothal money Jianguo’s family provides, you buy that much dowry. Otherwise, you can choose whether or not to marry." (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)