I'm dressed up as the timid eldest daughter, and the whole family has to listen to me!

Chapter 51 Qin's Retort

Liu smiled and held up one finger, saying:

"One tael of silver."

Upon hearing this, Su Tao suddenly looked up at Madam Liu in disbelief. She had only learned yesterday that her aunt's betrothal gifts amounted to ten taels of silver, and she was thinking that she couldn't afford to be outdone in today's matchmaking.

Unexpectedly, when she, a young and unmarried woman, married into the Zhang family, they only gave her one tael of silver as a betrothal gift. If word got out, people would laugh at her.

Thinking this through, Su Tao quickly tugged at Qin Shi's sleeve. Qin Shi, also filled with anger, patted Su Tao's hand and looked at Liu Shi, saying:

"That's not right. You got married a few years ago. Where would you get a dowry of even a tael of silver these days? Wouldn't people laugh at you if they found out?"

Liu snorted coldly.

"Aunt Qin, you're wrong about that. Here, it's always one or two taels of silver, and it hasn't changed over the years. There are also many families who have managed to marry their wives without paying any money."

As she spoke, Liu glanced at Zhang Feng, who had his head bowed.

"Besides, Zhang Feng is skilled. Whoever follows him will never have to worry about food and drink. To be concerned about whether a dowry of one or two taels of silver is too much or too little is too short-sighted."

Upon hearing this, Su Tao lowered her head in shame, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

Seeing that neither Zhang Dasao nor Zhang Feng expressed their opinions, Qin felt aggrieved and stood up to say:

"Since we can't agree on the betrothal gifts, let's not waste any more time. We'll have to trouble Aunt Cai to help us out today."

As he spoke, he pulled Su Tao up and turned to walk outside.

Seeing this, Aunt Cai immediately became anxious and rushed forward to block their path.

"Oh dear, Qin, why are you in such a hurry? Let's talk this out. Isn't marriage something that needs to be discussed? Sit down quickly. Sister Zhang has already prepared lunch. If you leave now, wouldn't that be disrespectful to me?"

Upon hearing this, Qin reluctantly sat down again, turning her body away without saying a word, waiting for Old Zhang's wife to speak.

Zhang Feng had his eye on Su Tao. After all, he had been on so many blind dates, and every girl who came to his house and saw his mother's advanced age and his domineering sister-in-law refused to discuss marriage with him.

Su Tao seems docile and quiet now, so I'm sure she won't cause any trouble if I marry her in the future. If I scare her away again this time, I'm afraid I'll have a hard time finding a husband for her in the future.

So Zhang Feng stood up abruptly, gritted his teeth, and said:

“Aunt Qin is right. So many years have passed, so we certainly can’t use the dowry we gave to marry my sister-in-law to marry Su Tao. Now I’m a head chef at Muxiangzhai, and I earn a good monthly wage. I will use my own savings to marry Su Tao. I don’t need your money, sister-in-law.”

As he spoke, Zhang Feng's face flushed red, and he looked at Qin Shi and Su Tao, saying:

“Right now I only have two taels of silver, but don’t worry, once Su Tao marries me, she will definitely not suffer. Half of the silver I earn at Muxiangzhai will be given to my sister-in-law to support the household, and the other half will be managed by Su Tao. I will eat and live at Muxiangzhai, so I don’t need to keep any silver on me.”

Upon hearing this, Su Tao blushed instantly, a slight smile playing on her lips as she secretly glanced at Zhang Feng, whose face was now flushed, before quickly lowering her head again.

Hearing this, Qin felt slightly comforted, sat up straight, looked at Zhang Feng, and nodded:

“Zhang Feng is a good boy. I can tell that you are genuinely fond of our Su Tao. Otherwise, I would never have agreed to two taels of silver.”

Although this two taels of silver dowry was far less than Su Yunhe's ten taels, it was still a good amount in Su Family Village. Furthermore, Qin had taken a liking to Zhang Feng; he was good-looking and skilled in carpentry.

If Su Tao marries into the city and has another child for the Zhang family in a few years, I won't have to stay alone at the Su family's house anymore. I can use the excuse of helping Su Tao take care of the child to move to the city with her.

Anyway, Sister-in-law Zhang doesn't seem to have many years left to live, so she definitely won't pose any threat to me. Although I can't have a son, if I can marry my daughter off to a good family, I can enjoy a peaceful and happy life in the future.

Zhang Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief when Qin Shi agreed. He usually wouldn't dare disobey his sister-in-law, but now that his marriage was at stake, he naturally couldn't worry about anything else.

When he turned back to look at Liu Shi, who was staring at him with a dark expression, he was so frightened that he shuddered and quickly turned his head away, pretending not to see her.

Seeing that the matter was settled and her second son's marriage was in place, Sister-in-law Zhang was naturally happy. She quickly stood up and said with a smile:

"Now that everything has been settled, I'll find a fortune teller to match the two children's birth dates, then set a date to propose marriage, and finally choose an auspicious day to hold the wedding. Once that's done, I can finally put my mind at ease."

Qin smiled and nodded at Zhang Dasao.

Sister-in-law Zhang hurriedly walked outside.

"The food is ready. I'll bring it up now. Please eat before you leave."

After saying that, Sister-in-law Zhang went out the door.

Seeing that her mother-in-law had left, Liu looked at Qin with displeasure and said:

"The betrothal gifts have all been agreed upon according to your wishes. When Su Tao marries into the family, she won't be left without a decent dowry, will she?"

Aunt Cai's face stiffened upon hearing this, and she quickly winked at Liu, signaling her to keep quiet.

Qin didn't indulge her and spoke directly:

"You don't need to worry about that, as the eldest sister-in-law. My daughter's dowry is all her own. I've never heard of an eldest sister-in-law coveting her younger brother's dowry before!"

Just now, Madam Liu was feeling resentful because Zhang Feng had disobeyed her and taken it upon himself to increase Su Tao's betrothal gifts. So she asked this question casually.

Who would have thought that Madam Qin was no pushover either? Now that Madam Liu had bullied her, she naturally had no reason to tolerate her. So, as soon as she said those words, she didn't give Madam Liu a pleasant look, leaving Madam Liu speechless.

Seeing this, Aunt Cai quickly smiled and said:

"Liu, stop chatting here and hurry up and go to the kitchen to help your mother-in-law serve the dishes!"

Upon hearing this, Liu had no choice but to get up and go to the kitchen, swaying and groaning.

Seeing that Qin Shi's expression was not good, Aunt Cai quickly nudged Zhang Feng, who was standing to the side, and said:

"You silly boy, didn't you see that your Aunt Qin and your sister Su Tao's teacups are empty? Hurry up and refill their teacups!"