Chapter 115: 113. Four Symbols Gold (Begging for first-time subscriptions and monthly votes!)

He Yong watched Zhang Ran cautiously; he was now terrified that Zhang Ran might suddenly fly into a rage and beat all these people up.

However, it was clear he was overthinking it; although Zhang Ran was not particularly broad-minded and what he heard was indeed quite unpleasant, there was no need to hit anyone.

"Do you think they spent all their savings for the year on superficial appearances? What if they don't even bring any betrothal gifts when they return? That would be a laughingstock."

"You know, that's actually quite possible."

Zhang Ran really couldn't listen anymore; he stood up and left immediately.

Seeing Zhang Ran leave, someone actually called out to him, which made He Yong feel quite anxious.

Zhang Ran had never imagined that because Liu Lu married Zhang Sicheng, she had actually become the laughingstock of the entire village.

And with the subjective speculation of these people today, it made Liu Lu even more of a joke among jokes.

Furthermore, Zhang Ran believed that even if Liu Lu said this car belonged to them, no one would likely believe her now.

One could imagine what kind of mood Liu Lu was in every time she returned home over these many years; Zhang Ran suddenly felt that their Zhang Family had let Liu Lu down.

On the way back, Zhang Ran watched as Zhang Siyan was playing with the two little ones, while the two little ones were playing wildly with a group of friends.

Of course, it was Taotao who was playing wildly; this little one had a naturally cheerful personality and made friends easily. Although Susu was also playing along, she was generally more quiet.

But even so, Zhang Siyan's face was full of smiles as she watched; she discovered that ever since Susu had been staying with Zhang Ran, her personality had become increasingly cheerful.

Originally she had been a bit worried, but now there was no need at all.

"Siyan, are you staying here tonight or going to the city?" Zhang Ran asked.

Zhang Siyan said, "Are you not planning to stay here for a day?"

"Forget it for today; I'm going to the city to take care of some business and will come back tomorrow morning," Zhang Ran said.

He truly hadn't known about these matters regarding Liu Lu and Zhang Sicheng before, but now that he did, he could not remain indifferent.

"I'll go with you," Zhang Siyan thought for a moment and said.

She didn't know what Zhang Ran was going to do, but an extra person meant an extra bit of help.

"Dayong, find someone nearby who is familiar with betrothal gifts and bring them directly to the city," Zhang Ran said to He Yong.

Upon hearing Zhang Ran say this, He Yong somewhat understood what Zhang Ran wanted to do, but he didn't waste words and agreed immediately.

He then drove off in Liu Lu's MINI, leaving Zhang Sicheng's car for Zhang Ran; after all, it was a better car and much stronger in terms of protective performance than the MINI.

Zhang Sicheng did not go out; he was used to staying inside whenever he came to his father-in-law's house and not going out—it was only for a day anyway.

Liu Kai also didn't go out today, staying home to keep his brother-in-law company, fearing he would be bored.

Liu Kai actually wanted to bring up the car, but he was afraid of hurting Zhang Sicheng's self-esteem, so he kept holding back and just chatted about idle gossip.

Liu Lu and Zhang Sicheng hadn't actually planned to hide it from the family, but at noon, because Zhang Ran and Liu Mao were drinking happily, they didn't have time to say anything.

In the afternoon, Xiao Chunhua gave her the cold shoulder for no reason, and she didn't get a chance to speak, so she planned to tell the family about the situation in the evening.

But unfortunately, at four o'clock, Zhang Ran told Xiao Chunhua that he had something to do in the city that evening and left first.

Actually, if Liu Mao hadn't been drunk, Zhang Ran wouldn't have been in such a rush to leave; at the very least, he would have waited until after dinner.

However, Xiao Chunhua thought that Zhang Ran was impatient to return the car; after all, spending so much money every day must be painful.

So she just nodded coldly and didn't say anything to ask him to stay.

At first, Xiao Chunhua had a decent impression of Zhang Ran as an in-law, as he spoke nicely and his manners were thoughtful.

But thinking that Zhang Ran's family had added another scandal to their household today, she no longer had a good impression of him.

Zhang Ran and Zhang Siyan left, while the two little ones stayed behind. Since Liu Mao was drunk and Xiao Chunhua was in a bad mood, she just had Liu Kai heat up the leftovers from lunch for dinner.

Zhang Ran arrived in the city after five o'clock; although Liu Lu's hometown was in the countryside, it was closer to the city than the county seat.

While driving, he had already contacted the bank; he was a major client of the bank now, and with one phone call, many things could be settled.

Upon arriving at the bank, Zhang Ran stated his identity, and soon the bank president came out to greet him personally, his face beaming with a bright smile.

He could not afford to offend such a major client, or his position might very well be at risk.

The bank president welcomed them into the VIP room and said with a face full of smiles, "Mr. Zhang, the 888,888 you requested has been prepared for you. Please take a look."

As he spoke, he had two bank Supervisors bring over a tray, which was filled with brand-new cash, still smelling of printer's ink.

Zhang Ran didn't count it; he believed these people wouldn't dare to try and cheat him with this.

However, Zhang Ran looked at it and felt something was missing. "Let me ask, what else is needed for betrothal gifts around here?"

As soon as Zhang Ran said this, it immediately attracted the attention of the two Supervisors; Zhang Ran withdrawing so much cash at once was already eye-catching, plus their president was so enthusiastic, clearly indicating a major client.

Also, Zhang Ran looked so young, so it was normal for them to look at him differently; most importantly, both women had daughters who were of marriageable age.

The bank president heard Zhang Ran's question, thought for a moment, and said, "Our local process generally involves Matchmaking, Exchanging Name Cards, Selecting an Auspicious Date, Engagement, and Betrothal..."

Before he could finish, Zhang Ran interrupted him, "Just tell me the process for the Betrothal."

The bank president wasn't annoyed at being interrupted by Zhang Ran; he knew it was normal for such major clients to have some temperament, and this one clearly didn't seem very happy.

"Betrothal, also known as 'passing the gifts,' is when the groom's family carries 'gift boxes' and poles on their shoulders on the day of the ceremony, setting off firecrackers and playing music all the way to the bride's home to deliver the gifts. Your current betrothal money is sufficient, but it might be even better if you added some gold."

"Gold?" Zhang Ran's eyes lit up, then he said, "Do you have any recommendations?"

"You've come at just the right time; we just launched a set of Four Symbols Gold, representing the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. The meaning is very auspicious, guarding the marriage," the bank president's eyes lit up, and he spoke rapidly.

"You can have the cash carried on trays, with the Four Symbols Gold placed at the four corners, representing the suppression of evil spirits from all directions..."

"And the weight of each of these four pieces is exactly 888.88 grams."

Although Zhang Ran knew the bank president was likely making this up on the spot, he was indeed pleased to hear it.

"Fine, that's the one. Bring it to me," Zhang Ran decided immediately.

"Alright, please wait a moment. Supervisor Li, come with me to get the items. Supervisor Pei, you chat with Boss Zhang for a while," the bank president said delightedly.

Pei Mingmei agreed happily, wanting to take the opportunity to get close and see if she could get his contact information or something, then talk to her daughter about it to see if there was any hope; she hadn't liked the boyfriend her daughter had found for herself at all.

As for the fact that Zhang Ran was clearly here to deliver betrothal gifts, she didn't care much; as long as they weren't married, everything was negotiable, and even if they were married, there was always divorce.

But soon she discovered that the person in front of her had no intention of chatting with her and started making a phone call directly.

At this, Pei Mingmei felt disappointed, but the smile on her face did not diminish in the slightest.

Pei Mingmei felt a secret sense of regret; setting aside the cash, those four gold bars alone were worth 1.1 million at the current market price.

Adding it all up to nearly two million made her extremely envious; if she could find a son-in-law like this, it would truly be wonderful.

Zhang Siyan understood what Zhang Ran was doing by now, but she did not feel a shred of jealousy; on the contrary, she was very happy, as she had not had much contact with Liu Lu in the past due to her marriage.

But the more she interacted with Liu Lu, the more she liked this sister-in-law!