Chapter 200: Surging Undercurrents on the Path to an Arranged Marriage

Sha Zhu and Ma Dongmei's marriage is like a cart that's been oiled, about to surge forward, but someone on the road is desperately shoving stones under the wheel.

The first to stir up trouble is, of course, Xu Damao. These past few days he's been like he has red‑eye disease, unable to stand the smile on Sha Zhu's face. He dares not go straight to Ma Dongmei to nail the issue, so he turns his attention elsewhere.

That evening, Xu Damao, with a pack of cigarettes, strolled into the Front Courtyard and saw Yan Bu Gui again tending his few half‑withered potted plants.

"Third Elder, busy?" Xu Damao leaned over, handed over a cigarette, feigning worry, "Sigh, I'm worried about Zhuzi!"

Yan Bu Gui took the cigarette, held it near his ear, squinting his small eyes, "Worry? Zhuzi isn't getting married, it's a happy occasion, why worry?"

"A happy occasion? I think it's a cause for worry!" Xu Damao lowered his voice, "You're the wise one in the courtyard; think about it—Ma Dongmei is a rural household, no grain stipend! If she marries in, what will she eat? What will she drink? It all depends on Zhuzi's meager allowance and salary! You don't even know Zhuzi's family assets? They're ringing with poverty! From now on, not to mention helping sister Yushui, even he himself will have to tighten his belt! Then, *tsk tsk*…"

His words, like a poisonous thorn, pierced exactly the spot Yan Bu Gui is most sensitive about—calculations. The little abacus in Yan Bu Gui's mind clattered instantly. Indeed, Sha Zhu's marriage adds another mouth to eat free meals; whenever any household in the courtyard has a red or white celebration, how can he feel comfortable asking Sha Zhu to exert himself? He might even have to support him instead. This deal isn't profitable!

"Well… Damao, you have a point…" Yan Bu Gui mused, his thoughts becoming active.

Xu Damao, seeing his preliminary goal achieved, strolled into the Central Courtyard. Jia Zhangshi was sitting at the doorway polishing shoe soles, muttering uncleanly about Qin Huairu's slow movements.

"Jia Dama, polishing shoe soles?" Xu Damao leaned in, "I have something to tell you, don't spread it. I heard the Ma family is demanding a bride price! This amount!" He held up a few fingers, waved them before Jia Zhangshi's eyes, and quoted an outrageous figure.

"How much?!" Jia Zhangshi's voice shot up, the awl in his hand nearly stabbing his own hand, "Why don't they just rob it?! A rural girl daring to ask for so much? It's selling a daughter!"

Her reaction was exactly what Xu Damao expected. He fanned the flames: "Who says it isn't? But they say, once a daughter marries into the city, even as a cook, she won't lack a mouth, so the bride price must be this amount—no penny less! I think Zhuzi this time will have to sacrifice his very trousers!"

Jia Zhangshi instantly felt a psychological balance, even a bit of schadenfreude: "Serves him right! Let him swagger! Picking a rural girl, thinking he got a bargain, but it's a bottomless pit! I wonder how his marriage will turn out!" She hoped everyone in the courtyard would fare worse than her own family.

This rumor, after Yan Bu Gui's "rational analysis" and Jia Zhangshi's "angry denunciation," quickly fermented and mutated in the courtyard. By the time it reached Sha Zhu's ears, it had become "the Ma family's lion made a huge demand, asking for a sky‑high bride price, or else they'll call off the marriage."

Sha Zhu was at home, happily planning the layout of his future little home, when he heard the news; it was like a bucket of ice water poured over him from head to toe, turning his face pale.

"Impossible! Ma Dongmei isn't that kind of person!" he stuck his neck out to retort, but his heart couldn't stop pounding. What if… what if it's true? He's saved a bit of money over the years, but if the rumor's figure is real, even selling pots and iron wouldn't add up!

This malicious wind naturally reached He Yushui's ears as well. The little girl had already worried that after her brother's marriage she'd become a burden, and now hearing the "sky‑high bride price" rumor, she was terrified to the point of being helpless.

At night, she hid alone in the house, watching the pitch‑black night sky through the window, tears dripping down. She wasn't pained about the money; she was afraid. Afraid her brother would be buried in bride‑price debt, making life hard; afraid the yet‑unmarried sister‑in‑law would harbor a grudge over the bride price and could no longer tolerate her; afraid this family, not yet built, would be crushed by money first.

"Brother… maybe… maybe you shouldn't get married…" she choked out to the empty air, saying the words she'd held inside for so long, then buried her face in the pillow, her thin shoulders trembling.

The next day, Yushui's eyes were swollen like peaches. Sha Zhu saw it, felt urgent in his heart, wanted to ask but didn't know how to start, and he looked like a frost‑bitten eggplant, wilted.

In Xi Kua Yuan, Lin Xueqing was hanging a quilt to dry, and when she saw Yushui hurrying by with her head down, the pitiful sight made her feel uneasy. She turned to Li Ping'an, who was reading a newspaper, and said, "Ping'an, the rumors in the courtyard are getting more and more absurd. Zhuzi can't hide anything; look at his expression these past two days. Yushui's child is also quite frightened."

Li Ping'an set the newspaper down, his eyes sharp. He didn't need to guess who was behind the mischief. "Xu Damao never sheds a tear unless he sees a coffin," he snorted coldly, "Zhuzi too; the slightest wind makes him lose his footing. This matter, he must figure out himself."

As he spoke, Sha Zhu, dejected, shuffled into Xi Kua Yuan.

"Brother Ping'an…" he opened his mouth, a bitter expression on his face, "the bride‑price thing… have you heard? If it's true… I… I…"

"What 'what'?" Li Ping'an cut him off, "What are ears for? Won't you ask Ma Dongmei yourself? You treat someone's fart as an imperial edict? Where's that reckless vigor of yours?"

Sha Zhu was stunned by the scolding, then slapped his thigh hard, "Right! What am I mulling over here? I'll go ask Dongmei and get it clear!"

A slight prod from Li Ping'an instantly cleared his mind, and he turned and rushed out.

Li Ping'an called him back, "Wait! Bring Yushui along."

"Bring Yushui?" Sha Zhu didn't understand.

"If I tell you to bring her, bring her!" Li Ping'an said, leaving no room for doubt.

Though Sha Zhu didn't understand, he went back to fetch the anxious Yushui. The siblings left together.

They went straight to Hongxing Primary School and found Ma Dongmei, who was sorting items in the logistics warehouse.

Ma Dongmei saw Sha Zhu and the red‑swollen‑eyed Yushui arrive together, a bit surprised, "Zhuzi? Yushui sister? Why did you come?"

Sha Zhu's face flushed red, he stammered for a while, then recounted the courtyard's rumor about the "sky‑high bride price" haltingly.

Ma Dongmei, after listening, was momentarily stunned, then two sparks ignited in her bright eyes. She slammed the rag she held onto the box, her voice instantly rose, "Damn that stinky dog fart! Who the shameless, smoking one is spewing filth there? Our old Ma family is poor, but we don't sell daughters! My parents said, as long as Zhuzi is a good person, sincere to me, and we live well together, we won't take a single cent of bride price! I'll even bring two new cotton quilts as part of the dowry!"

Her words, like a bomb, shocked Sha Zhu and Yushui.

Ma Dongmei, still angry, hands on hips, kept firing, "I, Ma Dongmei, am looking for a man, not a money‑bag! Who's gossiping behind us? Is it that slick‑haired Xu Damao? Tell him, if he dares to blabber again, I'll slap a wash‑basin onto his face!"

Her all‑out, fiery rebuke, steeped in rustic tone and undeniable sincerity, instead made Sha Zhu's hanging heart settle deep in his gut, a warm current spreading through his body. He watched Ma Dongmei's round face, especially vivid from anger, and found the girl increasingly pleasant to look at!

He Yushui also looked up, staring blankly at this future sister‑in‑law. She hadn't expected that this seemingly formidable sister would so simply refuse the bride price, and so fiercely protect her brother and their future home.

That heavy dark cloud pressing on her heart seemed to be blown away by the angry tirade. She quietly tugged her brother's sleeve and whispered, "Brother… Sister Dongmei… really great."

Sha Zhu nodded heavily, broke into a goofy grin.

The truth was clear, the rumor collapsed on its own. Sha Zhu straightened his back, led Yushui, and chatted a while more with Ma Dongmei, then returned to Siheyuan with a heart blooming.

As soon as he entered the courtyard gate, he ran into Xu Damao wandering around. This time Sha Zhu didn't lose his temper; instead he flashed an extremely radiant, slightly teasing smile at him, and shouted with full vigor, "Damao! Thanks! If you hadn't spread those rumors, I'd never have known how understanding and magnanimous Ma Dongmei is! Buddy, this marriage is set, bride price? Not a single cent! Feelings? Rock solid!"

Xu Damao, watching Sha Zhu's smug silhouette and catching a rare relaxed expression on Yushui's face, was so angry he nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood, his face black as a pot bottom.

Hiding behind their own window, Jia Zhangshi and Yan Bu Gui, hearing Sha Zhu's words, exchanged bewildered looks, their faces burning hot.

With the window of Xi Kua Yuan open, Li Ping'an listened to Sha Zhu's resonant voice from the Central Courtyard and the hollow silence left by Xu Damao, shook his head, and said to Lin Xueqing, "Looks like this Zhuzi has found someone who can keep him in check. Good."

Lin Xueqing also smiled, "Yushui seems a bit more at ease now."

The evening wind blew, the crabapple tree leaves rustling. He Yushui watched her brother's newly upright silhouette; the big stone in her heart, though not fully settled, had already loosened. For the first time she felt that this sister called Ma Dongmei might truly bring a different home for her and her brother.