Seventies Sweetheart: From Breakup to Billionaire-Chapter 211 - 210: Bride Price

Chapter 211: Chapter 210: Bride Price
Chunya frowned but ultimately said nothing, standing to the side with Lin Xiang.
Zhuzi stood in front of Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt. Several times he wanted Chunya to stand with him, but Lin Xiang would always pull Chunya back.
"He’s facing your family’s interrogation for the first time and wants you to face it with him? Dream on!"
Chunya obediently stood beside Lin Xiang.
Sister Niu wouldn’t harm her.
"I’ve heard that your parents have passed away, leaving only a younger brother and sister who you’ll have to support in the future? How old are your brother and sister this year?"
Zhuzi couldn’t help looking at Mrs. Lin, "May I ask, you are..."
Lin Xiang nudged Chunya, who immediately said loudly, "This is my aunt, the eldest in our family. Just answer her questions honestly."
Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt were awkward with words, and they didn’t like Zhuzi to begin with. They were afraid they’d say something unpleasant and embarrass Chunya, so they let Mrs. Lin do the questioning.
Zhuzi then said, "You are right, my parents passed away a few years ago. As the eldest brother, I must take on the responsibility of raising my siblings. I’ve already discussed this with Chunya, and she supports me. My brother is eleven this year, and my sister is eight."
Fifth Aunt took the opportunity to glare at Chunya.
Mrs. Lin asked again, "Before your parents passed away, did they leave anything for you and your siblings?"
Zhuzi shook his head, "My parents were just honest and simple farmers. They raised us by earning work points. They only left three brick tile houses."
Dong Sheng immediately shouted, "What brick tile houses? Those are clearly thatched huts with tiles just covering the roofs. Those houses are worse than what Sister Niu’s family had before!"
Lin Xiang: Heartbroken!
This also indirectly proved that Zhuzi liked to lie a bit and had a bit of vanity.
Having his lie exposed, Zhuzi remained unfazed and said, "Although life at home is tough right now, I believe in making a living with hard work. Now that policies allow small businesses, I’m confident that with some effort, I can give Chunya a good life!"
As he spoke, Zhuzi glanced at Chunya, their eyes met, and the air was filled with the stench of love.
Lin Xiang silently put a hand over Chunya’s eyes, "Anyone can talk a good game, but to see if someone really treats you well, don’t listen to what they say, look at what they do for you."
Lin Xiang gave Mrs. Lin a look, and Mrs. Lin, according to the pre-discussed plan, asked Zhuzi, "Okay, we will temporarily believe that you can earn money in the future. But for now, if you want to marry Chunya, those thatched houses of yours won’t do; you’ll have to rebuild a house, right?"
"Also, how much do you plan to give as a dowry? We aren’t like the city folks asking for three rounds and a sound, but you need to prepare a bicycle and a watch for Chunya, right?"
"I roughly calculated it. We don’t demand a two-story building, just like my family, build a three-room blue brick house for about eighty or ninety bucks. A bicycle costs one hundred fifty bucks, and the watch, let’s ask for a domestic one that’s cheaper, a plum blossom watch, at least eighty or ninety bucks, right?"
"We’re marrying off our daughter, not selling her. We won’t ask for much dowry, give more or less according to your intention. No matter how much you give, we’ll return double to you. So, if you want to marry Chunya, at least prepare three hundred bucks."
Three hundred bucks!
Zhuzi gasped.
With the small business he and his siblings were running, working so hard, they only made one or two bucks a day. Three hundred bucks, that would take a year or two!
"This..." Zhuzi hesitated, "I will definitely give the dowry according to the rules, not a penny less. But aren’t the bicycle and watch requirements a bit high? I don’t see anyone else in the Li Hua Team giving bicycles as dowry. How about I prepare a sewing machine instead?"
"And about the house. Although my house is a bit aged, we added a roof a couple of years ago, and it can still shelter from wind and rain. I have no plans to rebuild it anytime soon."
After Zhuzi finished talking to Mrs. Lin, he turned to look at Chunya, still with that affectionate look, "Chunya, you have to believe me. As long as you marry me, I can give you a good life; I definitely won’t let you suffer with me."
"Tsk." Lin Xiang sarcastically remarked, "If he can’t get it before marriage, do you think he can get it after? Sure, a few years in, when he has some money, the house will have to be renovated. But that would be the natural thing to do, and by then, he would attribute it to you, saying, ’See, I rebuilt the house for you, don’t you see how well I treat you?’"
"Our Li Hua Team has several girls married off, and the groom gave bicycles as dowry. Besides, even if they did give bicycles as dowry, it would just return to your home, right? It’s not like the bicycle will stay at Chunya’s family, right? That’s money out of one pocket into another; you don’t lose anything."
"Aside from claiming that hard work can lead to wealth and that he’ll give Chunya a good life, in reality? The good life he’s promising with words, isn’t it just the life Chunya is living right now?"
Lin Xiang’s onslaught left Zhuzi at a loss for how to respond.
His mouth moved a few times, but finally, he stubbornly asked Chunya, "Chunya, do you believe that I can give you a good life?"
Lin Xiang hugged Chunya’s shoulder with her right hand, "Do you remember, before you started the spicy noodle business, how often your family couldn’t get enough to eat? Do you remember how it felt to be so hungry you wanted to chew on tree bark?"
How could one forget?
A handful of rice to cook a pot of porridge, and the porridge was so thin it reflected your image.
Sometimes, adding a few pieces of sweet potato to the porridge was considered an improvement.
Eating meat?
Didn’t exist at all!
Only during the New Year, when the uncle’s family sent some cured meat and sausages, could you have a hearty meal on New Year’s Eve.
But ever since she followed Lin Xiang in starting the spicy noodle business, at first getting a salary, if nothing else, at least they could get enough to eat.
Now her family has taken over the spicy noodle business, and not only do they eat well at every meal, but they also get to eat meat every so often.
Nowadays, Chunya isn’t so greedy for meat anymore.
Take clothing as another example.
Although her clothes are made from the fabric Lin Xiang provided, if she stubbornly defied her family and insisted on marrying Zhuzi, disappointing Lin Xiang, she certainly wouldn’t get any more fabric.
Then she could only wear those old clothes full of patches again, three years on the left, three years on the right, patched and mended for another three years.
Just like Zhuzi and his siblings.
Lin Xiang was right. The good life Zhuzi promised her was no different from the life she was living now.
So, if she marries Zhuzi, she’d have to go back to those days of barely getting enough to eat?