“Alright, alright, let’s go inside now.”
Wu Xiuling’s smile was practically impossible to contain.
The three children, however, looked timidly at Gu Zhengnan. They were actually quite outgoing by nature, but having grown up without a father, they’d been mocked by other children more times than they could count. Over time, they’d developed a certain sense of inferiority.
Although Jiang Shutang had always encouraged them, such habits weren’t something that could be changed overnight.
Gu Zhengnan couldn’t help but look at the three children as well. Last time he hadn’t looked carefully, thinking Jiang Shutang was trying to pull a scam on him.
But now that he took a proper look, he had to admit—they really did look quite a bit like him.
The youngest was the most soft-natured of the three. After being stared at by Gu Zhengnan a few times, she couldn’t help but shyly lower her head.
For a moment, Gu Zhengnan actually found it utterly endearing.
He’d always hated kids before, thinking they were too rowdy—always crying and screaming, annoying just to look at.
But looking at these three little ones, he found himself liking them immensely.
The Gu family had booked a private room and had already been waiting for nearly half an hour. Not because Jiang Shutang and the others were late—rather, they had arrived early.
When Gu Zhengnan led Jiang Shutang and the others inside, the Gu family members instinctively turned their gazes toward Jiang Shutang. Although Gu Zhengnan had already mentioned that Jiang Shutang was good-looking, they hadn’t expected her to be this beautiful.
Even though she was dressed simply, her clothes a dull gray, it did nothing to conceal her beauty.
Some women might be praised as pretty for having elegance or being cute, but Jiang Shutang’s beauty was immediately striking—it needed no embellishment.
After a brief moment of being stunned, they turned their attention to the three miniature copies of Gu Zhengnan.
Old Master Gu was so delighted his beard trembled. Initially, he’d had his doubts, thinking Jiang Shutang might be a scheming woman trying every trick to take advantage of his grandson.
If that were truly the case, he would have given this girl a piece of his mind and shown her that the Gu family wasn’t someone just anyone could climb up to.
But who would have thought that after seeing the three children, all his doubts would dissipate?
Because the three children bore a strong resemblance to Gu Zhengnan around the eyes and brows. Though not identical, they’d clearly inherited some of his features.
Father Gu and Mother Gu’s gazes also fixed on the three children.
Seeing so many people, the three little ones couldn’t help but hide behind Jiang Shutang.
“So you’re Shutang? You must have had a tiring journey—please, have a seat.”
What followed was, naturally, mutual introductions and polite pleasantries all around.
Then the focus shifted to the three children. Old Master Gu could no longer contain himself—he scooped up the youngest and held her, liking her more with every look.
The old lady beside him couldn’t resist studying the children’s faces either, silently marveling at how handsome and pretty they were.
Though still young, one could already tell they would grow up to be striking.
Father Gu and Mother Gu set aside the topic of the marriage for the moment and walked over to fuss over the three children.
The eldest and second child were bolder—they answered whatever was asked of them without stage fright. But the youngest was different. She was a little crybaby by nature, and being stared at by so many people, she couldn’t help but burst into tears with a loud wail.
This made everyone laugh. Li Wenxiu quickly scooped up the little one.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry—we’re not scolding you. What are you crying about?”
As she spoke, she pulled two White Rabbit creamy candies from her pocket and pressed them into the little one’s hands.
Seeing the candy, the youngest immediately stopped crying.
The eldest and second child, seeing this, looked on with eager, longing eyes.
White Rabbit candies were a rare treat—they didn’t get to eat them often, and their mother didn’t have enough money to buy them.
Realizing something, Li Wenxiu quickly fished out a few more candies and handed them to the children.
Last night before going to bed, she’d discussed with Gu Hongwei that they shouldn’t be too warm tomorrow—what if that woman tried to make outrageous demands?
But after seeing the three children today, all those concerns had been thrown out the window.
Because the three children really did look like Gu Zhengnan. That being the case, the whole thing was most likely true.
They could choose not to like Jiang Shutang, but they couldn’t not love their three grandchildren.
Seeing how much the Gu family adored the three children, Jiang Shutang breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
No matter what, as long as the Gu family had a conscience, the three children wouldn’t have a bad life ahead of them, and they wouldn’t have to worry about food or clothing.
As for the Gu family looking down on her—that was only to be expected.
She herself had the ability. With her own capabilities and backing, she’d soon make something of herself. When that day came, she’d see who dared to treat her like she was nothing.
But even if the Gu family looked down on her, it didn’t matter. She was using the Gu family as a stepping stone for now. Once she could earn real money and get everything settled, even without Gu Zhengnan as a husband, she wouldn’t live badly.
Jiang Shutang wasn’t afraid of divorce—she was only afraid of poverty.
After playing with the three children for a while, the Gu family finally remembered the main business at hand and turned to Jiang Shutang with somewhat awkward expressions.
“Zhengnan has told us about the two of you. No matter what, something like this happening means we owe you an apology. You’ve been wronged all these years.”
Before arriving, Jiang Shutang’s heart had been pounding, afraid that Father Gu and Mother Gu might be difficult to get along with—if so, living together after marriage would be troublesome.
Unexpectedly, Li Wenxiu seemed quite reasonable. That was a pleasant surprise.
But thinking about it, it made sense. A highly educated family like theirs wouldn’t have poor character; at worst, they might be a bit sharp-tongued.
“Water under the bridge—let’s not dwell on the past. Still, the children and I have suffered a lot over the years. Fortunately, I managed to raise them all.”
“Indeed. Raising three children on your own must not have been easy. You’ve worked hard. Now, Zhengnan wants to hold the wedding as soon as possible, and we feel the same way. Next Monday is an auspicious day. What do you two think?”
Wu Xiuling had no strong opinions of her own. Hearing this, she quickly looked toward Jiang Shutang beside her.
Jiang Shutang nodded. “I have no objections. Uncle and Auntie, you can make the arrangements.”
Then came the main event. Gu Hongwei gave a dry cough, cleared his throat, and spoke in a slow, measured tone.
“Little Jiang, about your marriage to Zhengnan—how much betrothal gift were you thinking? Let’s settle all these matters today.”
Jiang Shutang had anticipated this question yesterday. Asking for too much wouldn’t be appropriate—the Gu family wasn’t a bunch of fools to be taken advantage of. But asking for too little would make all her suffering over the years seem worthless.
So she had settled on a middle-ground figure: six hundred yuan.
In the 1970s, six hundred yuan was worth a great deal. Ordinary people would never ask for that much as a betrothal gift—getting sixty yuan would already be considered decent. But the Gu family wasn’t an ordinary family, and there was no harm in asking. Besides, she was still drowning in debt. She needed to repay the money and ration tickets she’d borrowed before she could hold her head high in the future.
“Uncle and Auntie, here’s what I was thinking—would six hundred yuan work?”
Hearing Jiang Shutang ask for six hundred, the Gu family breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Six hundred was no small sum, but for their family, it wasn’t excessive—just about average.
But to be honest, spending six hundred yuan to marry this daughter-in-law wasn’t something they were thrilled about.
Still, there was added value to consider. For the sake of their three grandsons, giving six hundred was no big deal.