Chapter 80: Giving the Bride Price in Advance?

"What is that?"

Tian Chang was like a marmot in a melon patch, jumping up and down as she gobbled up the gossip.

"I think it looks like a love letter!"

Si Han speculated, "He's liked our little sister since college, and now that he's proposing, he must be thinking of bringing out this stack of love letters to win a smile from her."

"Huh? He opened it," Si Han nudged his eldest brother with his shoulder, "Big Brother, you still say he's serious? Who proposes with love letters? How shameless! Is he planning to recite all those love letters to our little sister?"

He glanced at the dining table, where a bottle of Wuliangye was set out; it was what they had prepared to get Jiang Cheng drunk.

"These, are they all for me?" Si Rong took the stack of things in her hands, feeling as if she had caught a hot potato.

She was on her second marriage, and over the years she had seen many classmates and relatives get married and start families, but this was the first time she had seen someone propose with these.

A bankbook, and property and land deeds.

Uh:...

"Yes, for you."

Jiang Cheng was happy in his heart; these things were the security he was providing for Si Rong's future.

He was one year older than Si Rong; if he were to pass before her, then these savings and the house could also provide for Si Rong's retirement.

Si Rong had never worried about money since she was a child, not even during the Si Family's most difficult years.

Therefore, she was not a greedy person.

But looking at the six-figure balance on the bankbook Jiang Cheng gave her, she still felt a slight shock in her heart.

The savings Jiang Cheng had accumulated alone were more than what their previous little family had saved.

"Is this your salary?"

"Yes," Jiang Cheng explained, "It's also my salary bankbook. From now on, my monthly salary will be deposited into this account on time. You can buy whatever you want."

Perhaps generous men are more charming.

So Si Rong felt that Jiang Cheng, who would let her spend his salary as she pleased, seemed even more handsome.

"Then what are these?"

"The old house my grandfather left me." The Jiang Family ancestors were all men who carried guns, and these houses were rewards from the state.

Not only in Huaiyang, but there were even some in Luoshui Shi.

Si Rong remembered the mention of buying houses in the Future Phone she had received for the first time; she didn't know if these old houses would appreciate in value in the future if held onto.

"We aren't married yet," Si Rong felt that holding these things now was somewhat improper, "You should keep them yourself for now! Otherwise, what will you do if you need to spend money?"

"There is food in the military, and if I need to spend money, I will apply to you."

Jiang Cheng hoped she would put them away; that would make him feel more at ease.

The word "apply" made the corners of Si Rong's lips curl; in that case, it was as if she were Jiang Cheng's superior officer.

"Alright."

"Li Sao has finished cooking, let's go eat."

At this moment, Si Rong saw the few heads peeking out by the window and guessed it must have been her second brother who led the way.

It was truly too much.

But looking at the distance, they shouldn't have heard anything.

As soon as she entered the hall, Si Rong was pulled away by her eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law.

Jiang Cheng was led to the dining table by her eldest and second brothers, in preparation for getting him drunk later.

Truth comes out after drinking.

If one wanted to get to the bottom of Jiang Cheng's true feelings, one had to see how he held his liquor.

"Little Sister, did Jiang Cheng write you a love letter?"

Tian Chang couldn't keep things to herself and stared at the things in Si Rong's hands as she asked.

"What? No."

Si Rong was a bit speechless; they were all at such an age, not seventeen or eighteen, so why would Jiang Cheng write her a love letter now?

"Oh, it was all your second brother spouting nonsense!" Tian Chang complained, "Every single day he just has to show off how capable he is!"

Li Meiling was also curious, "Then, if it's not a love letter, what did Jiang Cheng give you?"

Seeing how curious they were, Si Rong showed them.

"Wow!" Tian Chang praised, "This Division Commander Jiang is handsome and so rich; he's reliable!"

She almost wanted to divorce and remarry.

Following Si Han around every day was enough to make her die of anger.

"He is indeed reliable. To be willing to hand over his little treasury to his wife before marriage—he'll definitely know how to cherish his wife in the future."

Li Meiling concluded, "A man who is willing to spend money on a woman doesn't necessarily love her, but a man who is unwilling to spend money on a woman definitely doesn't love her."

Reaching middle age, there isn't that much romance; money is more practical.

There is a good saying: where a man's money is, his heart is.

"Is this the bride price Jiang Cheng is giving our little sister?" Tian Chang asked, tilting her head.

Si Rong was also stunned, "I suppose so!"

As a second marriage, perhaps Jiang Cheng didn't want to be too explicit; he only gave these things to her after she had accepted his proposal.

"That's good," as the second sister-in-law, Tian Chang had already accepted Jiang Cheng as her brother-in-law, "At least it's better than that previous Shen..."

Receiving a look from her eldest sister-in-law, Tian Chang swallowed the rest of her words.

Her mouth, it always spoke without thinking. Now that the atmosphere was just right, why did she have to bring up that unlucky fellow Shen Lan?

Fortunately, her sister-in-law never held it against her.

Si Rong knew what her second sister-in-law wanted to say; when she married Shen Lan back then, there was no bride price.

Originally, Mother said she only wanted two hundred yuan as a symbolic gesture.

The Si Family naturally wouldn't spend that two hundred yuan; the bride price would certainly be returned as a dowry, which would eventually go to their little family anyway.

Shen Lan did indeed give it, but who would have thought that his two hundred yuan was borrowed in the village, and not long after the wedding, the people came knocking for the debt.

It just so happened that the Si Family was there at the time, and it was the Si Family's eldest brother who took out two hundred yuan to send the creditors away.

The Si Family had always held a grudge over this matter.

It wasn't really about the two hundred yuan; it was mainly because they felt sorry for Si Rong, as if they hadn't been there at the time, Si Rong would have had to face those creditors alone.

Now, Jiang Cheng giving the bride price immediately after proposing formed a sharp contrast with the Shen Lan of the past.

Shen Lan was indeed no good, so Si Rong naturally wouldn't take to heart whatever the two sisters-in-law said.

The dinner Li Sao prepared was very sumptuous.

Among them, the roasted lamb, braised pig trotters, and taro with pork belly were her signature dishes.

Especially that taro with pork belly dish; Si Rong never tired of eating it.

She used serving chopsticks to first pick a piece for her mother, and then she picked a piece for Jiang Cheng.

She was met with an eye-roll from her second brother.

But soon, the second sister-in-law gave the second brother an elbow to the ribs, and he returned to normal.

The Si Family didn't have many rules when eating; unlike some wealthy families where one does not speak while eating or sleeping, the atmosphere was always relatively relaxed.

Seeing that everyone was talking normally, Jiang Cheng first poured wine for Father Si, the eldest brother, and the second brother at the table, and toasted Father Si first.

Father Si had just taken a drink.

When he heard Jiang Cheng speak, "Uncle, I want to marry Si Rong; what date do you think would be appropriate?"

Father Si spat out a mouthful of wine directly.

He wanted to take his daughter away after toasting him with one cup of wine?

That was a bit too easy.

Mother Si's gaze swept across her daughter's face, and she gave her husband a look.

Father Si raised an eyebrow, "If you want to marry my daughter, this bride price you gave won't do; you must have sincerity."

His daughter had suffered with that animal before, and now that she had just escaped the sea of misery, he could not let his daughter entrust her marriage to the wrong person again.

A man's attitude was very important; what he wanted was Jiang Cheng's attitude, not those savings and property deeds.

His Si Family was not lacking in those.

Jiang Cheng was a bit bewildered.

What bride price?

When did he give a bride price?

In his nervousness, he followed Si Rong's way of addressing Father Si, "Dad, what I gave today wasn't a bride price; I just wanted to give Si Rong some security. I will bring the bride price over when we get engaged."