Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 18: Selling a Person for a Hundred Taels and Ten Acres of Paddy Field.
"Good for nothing Feng Xi, how dare you blatantly contradict me when I’m not even dead yet? How can I not be the one to make decisions in this household? Can’t I, as the elder, arrange a marriage for my granddaughter?" Grandpa suddenly raised his voice as he glared.
"His dad, when arranging a marriage for your granddaughter, why even waste words with them? Third daughter-in-law, go and tell your sister-in-law this marriage is settled by me. First thing in the morning, they can come and collect her, to avoid keeping a jinx in the house and making us all restless," Grandma, fearful that Feng Xuxu might bring misfortune upon herself, quickly chimed in.
"Alright, mom, I’ll go right now," Third Aunt Liu Fang replied with a grin, twisting her waist and swaying her hips as she left for her maternal home without even changing her clothes.
"Grandpa, Grandma, I won’t agree to Feng Xuxu marrying an idiot. As for who wants to marry an idiot, let them marry, but my sister definitely won’t," Feng Xi said resolutely to his grandparents.
"Shut up! What, is this how you show filial piety to your grandpa and grandma? Keeping a jinx at home waiting to bring death upon your grandpa and grandma, or are you trying to bring bad luck to our whole family?" Third Uncle angrily retorted.
"Exactly, Feng Xi, don’t be ungrateful. You’re grown up now and still don’t understand, looking at how upset you’re making dad and mom," Aunt Feng Dongzhi lectured from the side.
"Grandpa, Grandma, if outsiders are labelling me a jinx, and you want me to marry an idiot, I absolutely will not marry. If you insist on me leaving home, then you can carry out a corpse," Feng Xuxu declared firmly.
"Sister, don’t worry, I won’t let you marry, I’m here for everything," Feng Xi assured her, holding Feng Xuxu’s hand.
"Oh, everyone’s at home," said a woman in her early thirties as she entered, dressed in a flowered Ruyi Yunyan skirt and wearing a popular Zhuimaji hairstyle with a few gold hairpins slanted into her buns.
"Ah, sister-in-law, come inside quickly," Third Aunt turned and saw it was her niece’s sister-in-law. She promptly stepped aside to let her in.
"Hehe, on my way here, I happened to run into sister Liu Fang. So, we came together," Liu Fang’s mother-in-law said and gestured for Aunt Liu Fang to place the boxes of pastries on the Eight Immortals Table.
"Mom, this is for dad and mom. Sister-in-law knows that their teeth aren’t good, so she specially had someone bring these over from the town," Liu Fang added.
"Look at you, sister-in-law, no need to bring anything when you visit," Grandma said, her eyes constantly glancing at the exquisite boxes.
"Hehe, don’t be polite, Madam. We’re all family here," Liu Fang’s mother-in-law said with a laugh, covering her mouth with a handkerchief.
"Oh, this must be Feng Xuxu. What a pretty girl, but she seems to be malnourished. No worries, after she comes to live with us, in just a few days, she’ll be a vibrant, young lady," Liu Fang’s mother-in-law observed the young girl standing to one side. Before she came, Aunt told her that Feng Xuxu would be at their house, and assuming this girl was Feng Xuxu, she could not have been more pleased, nodding non-stop.
"Indeed, our Feng Xuxu here is also well-regarded in the village. It’s just that there are no adults at home, sigh, such a pitiable child. If not, we wouldn’t have had to send her off as a child bride," Grandma added, wiping her tears with a handkerchief, feigning a reluctant demeanor!
Feng Xuxu, standing to one side, tugged at her brother’s sleeve and whispered, "Big brother, don’t rush, let’s see what they want to do next."
"Ah, it’s not easy for anyone these days, Madam," Liu Fang’s mother-in-law replied, also appearing to be in a tough spot. She inwardly sneered, ’An extra hundred taels plus ten mu of paddy fields, and they think it’s not enough?’
Meanwhile, Grandpa was giving Grandma covert glances, hoping to increase the dowry or something else, while Grandma, catching Grandpa’s message, nodded at him.
"Sister-in-law, see if you could increase it a bit... you know how hard it is for us peasants to scrape a living with little income, and it’s not easy for us to get by," Grandma said, trying to appear distressed.
"Madam, what are you talking about? We’re merely a small family with some savings, but we also have a household of over a dozen mouths to feed. We’re not wealthy, the agreed-upon hundred taels as a betrothal gift, and seeing your hardship, we’ve also squeezed out ten mu of paddy fields. We really can’t afford any more. If Madam thinks it’s too little, then I should no longer impose and should get back to my work at home," she said, standing up to leave.
