From the start of the Little Year, the Li and Ouyang Mei Hua families began dining at the courtyard house.
The Chen Fu family of six also arrived.
Six-month-old Chen Jin Nian and Chen Ji Yang slept and played together with the little friend Xuan Xuan.
Previously, cooking was Mother Li’s favorite chore. Now that the New Year’s goods were prepared, she handed over the kitchen duties to her daughter-in-law and daughter, content with playing with her great-granddaughter and great-grandson.
On the afternoon of the twenty-eighth, Li Wei Hao, Li Wei Yan, and Li Wei Xin returned together, accompanied by Li Wan Ting and Li Wan Zhen.
Mother Li immediately put down her great-granddaughter and came out of the east room to welcome the honored guests.
Sisters Li Wan Ting and Li Wan Zhen had already met the Li family at Yu Zi Yu’s wedding. Entering the Li family home now in a different capacity, the sisters felt a touch of shyness.
Li Wei Hao held Li Wan Ting’s hand and stepped forward: “Grandma, this is Li Wan Ting, my girlfriend.”
Li Wan Ting, with a blush, greeted her, “Grandma.”
“Eh, eh.” Mother Li replied with a smile. Her eldest grandson had brought his girlfriend home; their marriage should be soon.
Li Wei Yan held Li Wan Zhen’s hand and stepped forward: “Grandma, this is your future second granddaughter-in-law, Li Wan Zhen. Wan Zhen, greet her.”
Li Wei Yan’s introduction made Li Wan Zhen’s face flush, but she also felt a surge of sweetness. “Grandma.”
“Eh, eh.” Mother Li beamed, her eyes crinkling. Her second grandson’s happy event would also be soon.
After introducing everyone in the living room, the Li sisters finally sat down.
Mother Li asked her youngest grandson beside her, “Where is your second brother?”
“He’s gone to pick up second sister-in-law, and also An An Ge and Xiao Yu Ge,” Li Wei Yan leaned against his grandmother.
“I hope An An Ge and Xiao Yu Ge didn’t bring their girlfriends back.”
“You child.” Mother Li lightly tapped her grandson’s head. “When you came back this time, Grandma felt you had become much more mature. Just as I was about to praise you, you reverted to your old self.”
Li Wei Xin rested his head on Mother Li’s shoulder. “No matter how I change, when I’m by Grandma’s side, I’m still the same me. Xiao Xiao Hei, come in, it’s your turn to appear.”
“Woo woo woo.”
Xiao Xiao Hei, who had been suppressed by the young master in the courtyard since entering the courtyard house and forbidden to move, immediately rushed in upon hearing the young master’s words.
He ran to Mother Li first, rubbed against her legs, and then went to Tian Jing and Li Zheng Guo.
After rubbing against all the Li family members, he settled down beside Ji Qing and Ji Xiang.
In the three months since returning, Ji Qing and Ji Xiang had become much more sensible. When the family was busy entertaining guests, they stayed quietly to the side.
Seeing Xiao Xiao Hei come in, they remained silent. After Xiao Xiao Hei had greeted the Li family and come to their side, the brothers began to pet Xiao Xiao Hei’s head, expressing their longing for him.
Xiao Xiao Hei occasionally let out a few “woo woo woo” sounds, as if chatting with Ji Qing and Ji Xiang.
After a while, Tian Jing asked Hao Hao and Yan Yan to take Li Wan Ting and Li Wan Zhen to the backyard to arrange their accommodation.
Tian Jing and Ouyang Mei Hua had already decided that the Li sisters would be accommodated in the backyard of the courtyard house upon their arrival.
Not separating the sisters was meant to put them at ease.
The sisters followed their cousins to the backyard to settle in, while Tian Jing, Ouyang Mei Hua, and Li Min went to the kitchen to prepare the meal.
Mother Li also followed them to the kitchen.
The four women in the kitchen once again discussed the matter of betrothal gifts.
For Li Wan Ting, Tian Jing would naturally follow the standard set for Yu Zi Yu.
However, since Li Wan Ting and Li Wan Zhen were sisters, Ouyang Mei Hua could not offer too little. Otherwise, even if the sisters had no objections, those who were envious and jealous would surely stir up trouble.
Therefore, Ouyang Mei Hua had no choice but to offer a comparable amount.
Moreover, Yan Yan would not be home all year round, and Li Wan Zhen was entering the K Mountain area alone. She could not be treated poorly.
Li Min disagreed.
If the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law set such a high bar for the betrothal gifts for their daughters-in-law, what about her younger son’s daughter-in-law?
And if her younger son’s daughter-in-law’s betrothal gift was too high, how would Lin Hua’er feel about it?
This topic had been discussed several times. Tian Jing and Ouyang Mei Hua had already explained to Li Min that the daughters-in-law’s identities were different, and so were their betrothal gifts.
Li Min was still stubborn. What if An An found a girl from the capital? Even if her family background wasn’t as good as the Yu or Li families, the betrothal gifts shouldn’t be so drastically different, right?
Today, the guests had arrived, and Li Min brought up the topic again. Tian Jing frowned, “Li Min, did Lin Hua’er say something?”
Li Min paused, then frowned, “She did mention the difference in betrothal gifts.”
Mother Li poked her daughter’s forehead. “Your head is just for decoration. Does betrothal gifts have anything to do with her? Why are you talking to her about these things?”
Li Min rubbed the spot that hurt. “She asked.”
Tian Jing glanced at her sister-in-law. “After the betrothal gifts were sent, the Yu family not only gave it all to Zi Yu but also provided a cart, a house, and a dowry of one hundred thousand yuan.”
“With Yu Zi Yu as a comparison, even if the Li family didn’t give a dowry, they wouldn’t feel right about withholding the betrothal gifts for Li Wan Ting and her sister.”
“In the end, wouldn’t the money still be in their hands? This is money, the foundation for their lives.”
“Why did you give away the hot spring valley stores to Xiao Fu so early?”
“Right!” Li Min clapped her hands. “I’m so confused. Zi Yu, Wan Ting, and Wan Zhen haven’t been given stores in the hot spring valley either. No, I have to go find Lin Hua’er.”
Ouyang Mei Hua pulled her back. “Li Wan Ting and her sister just arrived today, why are you making a scene?”
“No, I can’t,” Li Min patted her chest. “I feel so suffocated.”
“Then wait here.” Ouyang Mei Hua held her down. “I’ll go get Xiao Fu. Matters of disciplining daughters-in-law should be handled by sons.”
“Okay,” Li Min nodded. “Hurry and get Xiao Fu. I’m about to explode.”
Tian Jing and her mother-in-law exchanged glances and sighed.
After Ouyang Mei Hua called Chen Fu, she closed the kitchen door and told the mother and son to have a good talk.
After listening to his mother’s words, Chen Fu’s expression turned cold. “Mom, Eldest Aunt, Second Aunt, I will give you an explanation for this matter.”
Having voiced her concerns, Li Min felt much relieved. “Xiao Fu, Hua’er wasn’t like this before. How could she… I wasn’t paying attention, and I fell into her trap.”
“If I had insisted on causing trouble with the betrothal gifts for Wan Ting and her sisters, my eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law wouldn’t have minded, but my eldest brother and second brother would have had strong opinions about me.”
“And it would offend the Li family, and incidentally, offend Zi Yu as well.”
“I understand,” Ouyang Mei Hua clapped her hands. “It’s due to jealousy and inferiority. Jealous of the high status of the daughters-in-law the Li family found.”
“An An works in the capital, and when he finds a girlfriend in the future, her status will also be higher than hers.”
“Among the seven sisters-in-law, her parents and family background make her unable to hold her head high. Not receiving a high betrothal gift also makes her feel looked down upon.”
“The hot spring valley stores were given to Xiao Fu after they got married.”
Ouyang Mei Hua’s words were very reasonable.
Silence fell in the kitchen.
“It’s my fault,” Tian Jing broke the silence. “I set the bar too high with Zi Yu. And with the betrothal gifts for the Li sisters this time, if Eldest Aunt follows my lead, the betrothal gifts in K Mountain will be raised across the board.”
“It’s not your fault,” Chen Fu shook his head. “Second Aunt’s original intention was not to have Xiao Bo looked down upon by Yu family relatives. Xiao Bo’s marriage was somewhat different.”
Silence fell again in the kitchen.
Mother Li waved at Chen Fu. “Xiao Fu, go call your eldest uncle and second uncle. As for Hua’er, talk to her properly. Our family lives without comparison.”
“If we were to compare, in front of your second uncle and second aunt, could your parents and your eldest uncle and eldest aunt still live?”
Chen Fu nodded. “I understand.”
Chen Fu left the kitchen, and silence returned.