flstandardbreds Chapter 165 Marriage is a big deal. Do you think your parents are the same?
Chapter 165 Marriage is a big deal. Do you think your parents are the same?
On New Year's Day, Zhou Jiafu brought Chen Moli to visit the Zhou family.
Chen Moli brought a net bag of apples and a bag of crispy candies as gifts. She was very sweet-mouthed and greeted everyone she met. She also took the initiative to help Zhou's mother and Zhou Cai cook. Her performance was perfect.
But the more this happened, the more worried Zhou's mother became.
Not everyone believes in the "husband-killing" stuff. Chen Moli is pretty, a local, and has a stable job. With these external conditions, there will be no shortage of men chasing after her.
How could she fall for her own stupid son?!
Zhou's mother was worried that she had overlooked certain details due to her old age, so she asked Zhou Rong to take a leave of absence today to stay at home and help investigate Chen Moli.
Zhou Rong tried to test Chen Moli several times, but she was always vague.
The meals prepared by the Zhou family today include pork ribs and lotus root soup, braised Wuchang fish, stir-fried bacon with red cabbage, home-cooked tofu, stir-fried cabbage, and crispy radish.
In terms of hospitality standards, it is neither good nor bad.
Mother Zhou served Chen Moli a bowl of soup and said with a smile, "Our family is poor, please don't mind."
Chen Moli: "Thank you, Auntie. It's already very good. Auntie and my little sister are good cooks. These meals look delicious."
Zhou's mother: "Then eat more. You don't have to be polite in our house. Don't treat yourself as an outsider. Just pick up what you like."
"Eh!"
Chen Moli likes to eat fish and bacon very much. She ate most of the plate of braised Wuchang fish and stir-fried bacon with red cabbage.
Zhou's mother and Zhou Rong smiled at each other, made up their minds, and continued to eat in tacit understanding.
After dinner, Zhou's mother asked Zhou Jiafu to chop firewood, while she and Zhou Rong took Chen Moli to the bedroom to talk.
Zhou's mother said straight to the point: "Moli, you have seen the conditions of my family. I don't like to beat around the bush. You and Jiafu are not young anymore. It's not easy to date a partner. You are all aiming to get married.
I want to know if you have any specific requests, so that we can't satisfy them and waste your youth."
Chen Moli thought for a moment and said, "My aunt is a straightforward person, so I won't hide anything. Zhou Jiafu is an honest and reliable man, and he is quite suitable to be a husband.
If we get married, I want 48 legs, a bicycle, 8 sets of new clothes for all four seasons, and I also want to divide the family property, and not hand over Jiafu's salary to us, but keep it for ourselves."
Zhou's mother asked with a smile: "Is this your parents' idea or yours?"
Chen Moli: "It's my own idea. To be honest, my parents favor boys over girls. All the good things in the house go to my older brother and younger brother. They even get priority when it comes to eating meat. At most, I can get some soup to go with the rice. So I'm particularly greedy for meat. I made you laugh when I was eating just now."
Mother Zhou: "It's okay. The food I cooked was originally for you. If you like it, I'll be happy.
Marriage is a big deal. Can your opinion represent your parents? Your requirements are not low. Furniture and clothes can be satisfied if you think of a way. But if you don't have a coupon for a bicycle, you can't buy it even if you want to.
What I am worried about is that when we scrimp and save to satisfy you, your parents will come up with another set of standards. Wouldn't that make it difficult for a family like ours that can only make ends meet?"
Chen Moli: "I will find a way to get the bicycle coupons and will not make it difficult for Auntie.
If my aunt agrees to all my requests, I will take care of my parents. If that doesn't work, I will steal the household registration booklet and go with Jiafu to get the marriage certificate, and they will have no choice."
Mother Zhou: "...Marriage is about harmony. If you really do that, not only will your parents be sad, but they will also come to our house and make a scene. Then the relationship between our two families will be strained.
If they come to our house and make trouble again and again, we won't be able to live like this. I don't expect all of you younger generations to be successful, but please don't cause trouble for me!"
Zhou Rong asked: "Your parents should have told you their standards for marrying off their daughters, right?"
Chen Moli looked down at the ground and said sadly, "They are not marrying off their daughter, they are selling her!
According to their standards, the man has to pay a dowry of 200 yuan, and also needs to prepare a bicycle, a sewing machine, and a watch.
But these things will not be given to me when I get married. They will all be left for my younger brother to use when he gets married.
This is what they did when my sister got married. They deducted all the betrothal gifts given by my sister's in-laws and gave them to my brother and sister-in-law. Because of this, my sister was often ridiculed by her in-laws and had a hard life.
I don't want to follow my sister's old path, so I put forward my own standards. I didn't ask for a gift money, and even if I asked, I wouldn't get it. When you go to apply for the bicycle your family gave you, just write Jiafu's name, and they won't dare to take it for nothing."
Zhou Rong asked tentatively, "You have good appearance and you must have been seen by many couples over the years. Is it because your standards are different from your parents' and your parents went to someone else's house to make a scene and ruined your marriage, that you are still single now?"
Chen Moli looked at Zhou Rong in surprise, as if she didn't expect that she would guess this.
She said awkwardly, "Yes, before I met Jiafu, I did date a few families. They didn't care about the rumors that I was a bad luck to my husband. After all, I have a decent job and a fixed monthly income. Just for this reason, many families would rush to matchmake for me.
It’s a pity that I have a pair of unreasonable parents who only care about themselves and their two sons and never care about my feelings.
My biggest wish when I was a child was to grow up quickly, find a man who loved me and marry him, so I could get rid of them.
My aunt and eldest sister are both smart people. This is the situation in my family. It sounds a bit bad, but they are the kind of people who bully the weak and fear the strong. I believe my aunt and eldest sister should be able to deal with them.
If Jiafu and I get a marriage certificate, they won't dare to act so arrogantly. I will threaten them with divorce. A second-hand item cannot be sold at a high price, so they can only accept the reality.
If they come to our house to cause trouble, you can do whatever you want. What I have experienced over the years has exhausted my filial piety towards them."
As long as Chen Moli is a clear-headed person, Zhou's mother is willing to accept her.
Mother Zhou sighed and said, "You are also a poor child. I have agreed to your request. Try to talk to your parents calmly. If it doesn't work, you can do it yourself.
The house we live in now belongs to my eldest daughter. My family doesn’t have any extra house for you to use as your wedding house. If you get married now, you can only rent a house outside.
But the matter of dividing the property needs to be delayed. At least you have to wait until the house allocated to you by the company is officially divided out before you can do this.
My eldest brother and his wife from Jiafu have been handing in their wages from work, and most of the family savings are from their savings. If you want to make furniture, buy clothes and bicycles, you have to use the part they hand in. This is unfair to them, and I hope you can understand."
Chen Moli: "I agree with my aunt's proposal. My elder brother and his wife have worked hard over the years. I will join them in honoring you and uncle in the future."
Mother Zhou: "Good boy, I recognize you for what you said."