“Auntie, since you’re so keen on the bride price, I’d like to ask: how much dowry do you plan to give me?” Xu Qingning felt it was necessary to hash this out with Jiang Yumei. After all, she had already received the bride price and was absolutely not going to give it to them.
“Dowry?” Jiang Yumei hadn’t expected Xu Qingning to bring up the dowry. She was momentarily stunned before casually replying, “Your father and I will treat you equally, just like your sister.”
“Equally?” Xu Qingning found this laughable. She walked over and sat down beside Yang Yuelan, then calmly asked Jiang Yumei, “Earlier, my sister said that the jewelry left by our grandmother also had a share for me. Is that true?”
“Qingning, you’re getting more and more unreasonable. How can you even think of asking for things left by your sister’s grandmother?” Xu Jianguo felt embarrassed discussing this in front of the Zhao family. Suppressing his anger, he said, “Let’s talk about the dowry in private.”
This daughter of his was growing more and more distant.
Making him lose face in front of her in-laws.
“Dad, the bride price and dowry are equally important. If the bride price can be discussed openly, why should the dowry be talked about in private?” Xu Qingning knew Xu Jianguo was just trying to smooth things over. If he said they’d discuss it privately, it meant there wouldn’t be much. If there were a lot, he’d definitely want to show it off openly.
She remembered Tang Wenya’s dowry—including the new washbasins and thermos flasks—was worth only about thirty yuan in total.
Of course, how much Jiang Yumei secretly subsidized her, she didn’t know, but it certainly wasn’t for her.
“Qingning, in our hearts, you and your sister are the same.” Jiang Yumei forced a smile. “What should be given to you, your father and I will naturally give.”
She knew Xu Qingning was foolish, but she hadn’t expected her to be this foolish—already siding with her in-laws before even getting married.
She didn’t even consider what kind of person Zhao Jingyu was. If she suffered grievances in the future, she shouldn’t think of coming back to her parents’ home to cry.
“Since Auntie says so, I know the dowry must be substantial.” Xu Qingning smiled. “In that case, there’s no need to discuss it privately. I won’t take the dowry, and you shouldn’t bring up the bride price again.”
She had taken fifty yuan from Xu Jianguo and was taking a sewing machine. If they discussed it privately, they would definitely bring up these two things.
Offsetting one against the other, she’d end up with nothing.
She might even have to pay extra.
“Qingning, you said it yourself. Don’t blame us later for not giving you a dowry.” Jiang Yumei looked at Xu Qingning’s smiling face, feeling nothing but frustration.
She kept glancing at Xu Jianguo, but he didn’t say a word, just kept smoking.
“As long as you don’t bring up the bride price, I’ll never mention the dowry.” Xu Qingning had calculated everything clearly. Of course, she didn’t care about that little dowry; she was only concerned about the benefits she could hold in her hands.
Yang Yuelan understood Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei’s intentions and felt even more that Xu Qingning was pitiful. She stood up, poured a glass of water for her, and whispered, “Have some water. We can discuss things slowly.”
She knew that in Jiaodong City, the current bride price was usually a pig’s leg and sixty yuan. Her son, wanting to marry his bride quickly, had given quite a bit.
If Xu Qingning hadn’t spoken up, she would have been willing to give Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei another portion, since they couldn’t just take their daughter for nothing.
But from Xu Qingning’s tone, it seemed she had taken the bride price herself and didn’t want to give it to her parents.
As parents-in-law, they couldn’t say much—this matter had to be left to their daughter-in-law’s decision.
“Thank you, Mom.” Xu Qingning took the water and sipped it slowly.
Only then did Zhao Jingyu speak up, his tone neither warm nor cold: “Uncle, Auntie, Qingning and I are holding our wedding banquet tomorrow. We hope you can come and join us for a meal, to share in the celebration.”
“I’d like Qingning to follow the wedding customs and come home with us tonight, then marry over tomorrow,” Xu Jianguo glanced at Zhao Jingyu, his feelings complicated. “Our two families aren’t far apart. If she moves in early, people will laugh at us.”
The tradition of marriage means leaving from the bride’s family home.
What kind of arrangement was this?
“I respect Qingning’s wishes.” Zhao Jingyu didn’t mind these matters. If Xu Qingning was willing to go back with them, he wouldn’t stop her.
After all, they were already legally married.
Xu Qingning was now his rightful wife.
“Dad, I’ve already settled in here. I’m not going back.” Xu Qingning didn’t want to return to climbing into her bunk bed, nor did she want to go back and be scolded by Xu Jianguo. She didn’t care about wedding customs either—as long as she was comfortable, that was enough.
Besides, they had come to ask for the bride price, not to take her home.
A child without a mother has no real home.
“Since you don’t want to come back with us, then so be it!” Xu Jianguo’s face darkened as he stood up and walked away.
“Jianguo, wait for me.” Jiang Yumei hurried after him. Their trip had been pointless—this daughter of Xu Jianguo’s had truly been raised for nothing.
“In-laws, come early tomorrow.” Zhao Futang didn’t say much else either, politely escorting the couple to the front gate along with Yang Yuelan.
After seeing off Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei, the elderly couple began tidying up the adjacent room, preparing to sleep. They had visited two or three times before and had stayed overnight previously.
Whenever Zhao Jingyu went out to sea, he’d be gone for over half a year. During his two-month leave this time, he hadn’t cooked at home at all, always eating out.
It was clear he rarely entered this room—it was basically in the same state as when they had left last time.
This time, they had come in a hurry. The quilts hadn’t been aired, and the bed felt a bit damp, but they could make do for one night.
As soon as Xu Qingning returned to the room and lay down, Zhao Jingyu came in. He lit a candle, took a washbasin to the courtyard to freshen up, then took off his shoes and got into bed.
“Are you sleeping here tonight?” Xu Qingning sat up, watching him warily like a cat whose territory had been invaded.
She had thought he would find somewhere else to sleep tonight—there must be places to stay in their large compound.
“This is my room. If I don’t sleep here, where should I go?” Seeing her defensive posture, Zhao Jingyu lay down regardless. “We already have a child. What’s the big deal about sleeping together?”
Hearing him say this, Xu Qingning had no choice but to shift over, making room for him.
There was only one pillow and one quilt on the bed.
When she left, she had only packed her luggage, not bringing a pillow or quilt. The pillow she was using and the quilt covering her were both his.
Ladies first—as a grown man, he couldn’t possibly fight her for the quilt.
Seeing her comfortably wrapped in his quilt, Zhao Jingyu got out of bed, rummaged through the wardrobe, found a pillow and a towel blanket, and lay down beside her.
Only then did Xu Qingning secretly breathe a sigh of relief. She wrapped the quilt tightly around herself, turned over, and faced away from him. Perhaps because she had slept too much during the day, the more she tried to sleep, the more awake she felt. Plus, having another person beside her felt very unfamiliar.
Zhao Jingyu was also awake. Seeing her tossing and turning, he propped his head on his arm and said, “Tomorrow morning, let my mom accompany you to buy some daily necessities and decorate the room. After all, it’s a wedding celebration—hanging some red silk would look nice.”
“Give me the money!” Xu Qingning stretched her hand out from under the quilt. These expenses should naturally be covered by him. The 250 yuan in her little savings couldn’t be touched.
Damn, it was exactly 250 yuan—this number made her very uncomfortable.
She had to make Zhao Jingyu compensate her a bit more.
Seeing her demand money so righteously, Zhao Jingyu found it both amusing and exasperated. He got up, took a black wallet from the drawer on the other side, and placed it in her hand. “All my money, grain coupons, and meat coupons are here. You can spend them as you wish.”
“How will you collect your salary in the future?” Xu Qingning weighed the heavy wallet in her hand before tucking it under the pillow.