Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

In the eyes of relatives and neighbors, Yu Chuntao is the most sensible girl.

Being sensible, when applied to children, does not mean being hardworking, kind, willing to work hard, and filial to your parents. These are what makes you sensible.

Being sensible is the aggregation of all advantages.

Moreover, he possesses the most rare quality, which is that he is very tactful and polite in front of everyone, and knows what to say to different people.

You know, everyone has a scale of judgment in their hearts. It is easy to satisfy a few people, but it is a great skill to satisfy the vast majority of people.

If this ability has nothing to do with being smooth or cunning, but is purely a natural attribute, then this child will definitely be particularly liked by others.

Yu Chuntao is such a person.

There are several girls in the family, each with her own personality. In the eyes of Third Aunt, Yu Chuntao is the most likable one, even Chunzhu from her own family cannot compare to her.

Yu Chuntao naturally knew Third Aunt's character, so she naturally joked with her, and soon both of them were laughing happily.

Pulling Third Aunt in, Yu Chunmei sat on the kang and called out, "Third Aunt."

"Chunmei is here too."

She was not so enthusiastic towards Yu Chunmei.

Although his tone was still enthusiastic, his eyes were not fixed on her all the time, but quickly shifted to Yu Chuntao who followed in.

"Taozi, when did you come back?"

"Not long ago, I just came home with Tangtang."

"Oh, you and your son-in-law, called... called..."

"Dawei."

"Yes, Dawei, Yang Dawei, look at Third Aunt's memory. How come she can't remember the name of such an old man? How are you doing? When are you going to have a child?"

Yu Chuntao smiled and said, "I have this idea, but not yet."

"Then you have to hurry up. You are not young anymore. As a woman, you should give birth when it is time to do so, and your body will recover. What's the point of delaying? If you keep delaying, you will have to give birth in the end, and both adults and children will suffer."

"That's right. I will definitely work hard when I get back."

"Try hard and give your father a grandson as soon as possible... Hey, where's Tangtang?"

"I was here just now. I called you... Yu Qiutang!"

Yu Chuntao just shouted loudly towards the roof.

I spoke, but heard no reply.

Another loud shout.

"Coming!!"

This time, Yu Qiutang’s answer was heard from behind the wall.

Soon, he ran to the front and rushed in, only to find that Third Aunt was also there. He immediately smiled and greeted her.

"Aunt San is here. Why didn't you tell her in advance? I'll pick you up."

"go."

Gao Meilan let out a light sigh.

"Who said I have a hard life? I can't even finish taking care of my own family, and I still have to take care of your affairs. I have endless worries and endless sufferings."

"Look at what you are saying. I am an outsider." Yu Qiutang said with a smile, leaning against the door frame.

"I won't talk nonsense with you. Um... Lili is not here, right?"

"What do you want to say?"

"What do you think?" Gao Meilan rolled her eyes. "Let's discuss going to Mijiazhuang tomorrow. If the girl is around or hears it, how bad would that be?"

"That's right," Yu Qiutang nodded, but then smiled and said, "It doesn't matter to me if I hear it. We will be a family sooner or later anyway."

"I bother."

Gao Meilan spat again.

"What are you talking about? We haven't even started dating yet, and you're already thinking about being a family. How dare you think that? Even if the girl agrees, what about her parents and the rest of the family?
Who would sell such a grown-up girl so easily? You have to consider the character and morals of the target person."

"Then what do you think of my character and morals?"

Gao Meilan glanced at him and smiled helplessly, "Come on, come on, you're fine, okay, do you still want to talk about business?"

Only then did Yu Qiutang stop smiling.

"Go ahead and tell us what you want us to say. We are waiting for your instructions. We don't understand these things anyway. We will listen to whatever you say and cooperate with you."

"Look, both of you, look, this is what people say," Gao Meilan pointed at Yu Qiutang and said to the two sisters, "Is it me who is looking for a partner, or is it you who is looking for a partner?"

Knowing that she was joking, the three siblings all smiled.

Gao Meilan rolled her eyes and said, "Before, Chuntao was not at home, so I had no time to think about her. Now that she is back, it's just right for her to go with me."

"Me?" Yu Chuntao was a little surprised. This kind of thing is usually handled by older people who are easier to talk to. He is not even thirty years old yet, so he doesn't seem very suitable.

“Well, there must be a family. I’m just an aunt, always an outsider. If no one from your family goes, it would be disrespectful to others.”

Yu Chuntao nodded and said, "What Third Aunt said makes sense, but I don't know how to do it. This is not farming. I can't just pick up a hoe and start working."

"I'm here to guide you. If you don't know how to do it, you'll learn it slowly. What matters is your attitude."

"If that's the case, I'll go. It's not out of line to propose marriage to my brother."

Yu Qiutang saw that Yu Chuntao had been fooled by Third Aunt with just a few words, so he didn't want to expose her.

Then follow along.

My second sister is very good at dealing with people, so it won’t be easy for the situation to become awkward.

My father-in-law and my parents, one is easy to talk to and very kind, while the other is a hands-off person who insists on not making decisions and always listens to others for advice on everything.

If we wait for the two of them to make a decision, it would be extremely awkward.

The key is, even if they have some problems in their minds, they won’t say it to your face, nor will they deny it. They will just wait and see.

It is also not easy to deal with.

"Then it's settled," Third Aunt decided, and then asked Yu Qiutang:
"What about the specific conditions? What do you think? How much can you offer? Tell me in advance so that I can have a plan in mind and not be indecisive when the time comes and let others look down on me."

Yu Chuntao and Yu Chunmei looked at Yu Qiutang together, feeling briefly uneasy.

We are all adults and know what proposing a marriage means. Character and appearance are important, but family background is also very important.

People without money not only cannot get much dowry, but also their daughter will be given away and will be faced with a lot of troubles all day long. Not only will their life be difficult, but the daughter's family may also suffer as a result.

Of course, the bride price at that time was not as much as in later generations.

There are also people who are willing to marry a girl with just a small amount of dowry, but that depends on luck.

Don't expect them to come across easily.

But specifically speaking, both sisters knew that given their father's personality, he probably didn't have any money prepared for him.

It all depends on himself.

Yu Chuntao thought to herself at this time that she didn't know about this when she came here, otherwise she would have discussed it with Dawei and helped her brother get some money.

But soon, she immediately thought that since Yu Qiutang could build such a large courtyard, his power must be extraordinary.

Sure enough, Yu Qiutang smiled and said, "As for the conditions, let the other party make them. No matter what they offer, we will agree to them all."

"Are you being so generous? Are you pretending to be rich?" Auntie rolled her eyes. Yu Qiutang smiled.

"After you marry, you have to be filial to your parents anyway, so it doesn't matter if you give more before that."

He subconsciously thought that he wanted to repay his parents for the care they gave him and his wife for her kindness in his previous life.

How much is the bride price?

As long as I can do it, I will do it without blinking an eye.

In the previous life, I gave a total of 135 cents as a dowry to my father-in-law and mother-in-law, which was only a little more than half of the ordinary dowry at this time.

So, after getting married, they wanted to build a new yard, and the father-in-law and mother-in-law not only subsidized the money back, but also made it up to 200 yuan, and the father-in-law also pushed two bags of millet over.

It was winter and there was no vegetables to eat at home, so my father-in-law secretly brought radishes to us on a wheelbarrow in the middle of the night. He didn't even go into the house and returned overnight.

Worried about being scolded by the stingy eldest daughter-in-law.

Because their family had the worst conditions at the beginning, the two elders really tried every possible way, and they didn't know how much subsidy they received, openly or secretly. However, they were discovered by Mi Wenzhong's wife at least dozens of times.

Yu Qiutang is a person who knows how to repay kindness.

If others are a little nice to him, he wants to repay them ten feet. He always feels like he owes others and feels uneasy.

But in his previous life, when his situation was a little better, his wife and parents passed away one after another, leaving him with no chance to repay them.

"Look, that... Lili has seduced our Tangtang's soul away. Before they even got married, Tangtang wants to give her everything!"

Third Aunt joked.

Yu Chuntao also felt that Yu Qiutang was exaggerating a bit.

But Yu Chunmei was much clearer. She saw all the interactions between Yu Qiutang and Mi Yali.

"In that case, the bride price should be around 150... no more than 180. This has to follow the rules. Whatever you want to do later is up to you, but the bride price must comply with the rules, otherwise the atmosphere will be corrupted."

Third Aunt emphasized this sound deliberately.

Seeing that Yu Qiutang disagreed, he explained: "You are still young and don't understand the ways of the world.

Think about it, if you give a lot and people around you know about it, what will they think?
Do you think they will think that Lili has met a good partner? No, they may envy Lili's parents on the surface, but secretly, they will definitely laugh at Lili's parents over and over again for selling their daughter at a high price.

Also, once this trend starts, more people will follow suit.

Everyone thinks, the girl from so-and-so’s family can be sold at a high price, why can’t my girl be sold? Is my girl inferior?
You see, if we keep comparing ourselves like this, there will be no end to it.

In the end, people will blame Lili again and again, saying that she started a bad precedent."

Yu Qiutang saw that Third Aunt was speaking in a serious tone and thought that this was all nonsense.

But he didn't refute it.

He hadn't originally thought of giving more, he just paid according to the general market price.

His idea has always been that as long as the two elders asked for something, he would try his best to satisfy them.

Let them have no regrets.

It also makes the wife proud when she gets married. No matter whether it is neighbors or relatives, they will think that she has chosen the right person.

Next, other objects were discussed.

There are basically three major items.

Sewing machine, bicycle and radio.

There is nothing wrong with these, just buy the best brands currently on the market.

In addition, Yu Qiutang also planned to make a set of gold jewelry for Mi Yali.

It's sad to say.

In his previous life, after Miali got married, he never gave her any jewelry for half his life.

Before Miali died, the silver ring on her hand was made by herself.

I always think about getting one, but money is always tight and there always seems to be more important expenses than buying jewelry.

Miali is very understanding.

I always comfort him that if he has these material possessions, he can wear them, and if not, just forget about it, as they are not necessarily needed.

Money should be spent on useful things.

Yu Qiutang "took it in" every time and kept putting it off. He always thought there would be a chance later, but in fact there were not many chances.

If he is not careful, it will become his lifelong regret.

When Third Aunt left, she insisted on taking Yu Chuntao to their house for dinner. Yu Chuntao tried to refuse in every way, but she still couldn't. She had no choice but to say that she would go over in the evening and visit her grandmother. Only then did Third Aunt agree.

Just after seeing her off, Yu Qiujiang came back from outside and greeted Yu Chuntao when he saw her.

While they were talking inside, Wang Haofeng's surprised voice was suddenly heard outside. It turned out that he saw a motorcycle and insisted on taking Yu Qiutang for a few laps.

Yu Qiutang treated this childhood friend much better than his own brother. Upon hearing what he said, he took him and Yu Xiaowei, who had come over, around the yard several times.

The two of them were so happy that they kept shouting.

In the afternoon, Yu Chunmei and Mi Yali were cooking. Yu Qiutang took the opportunity to tell Yu Chuntao about Yu Chunmei and Mi Wenzhong, which shocked Yu Chuntao again.

She asked directly if there was anything else that she didn't know.

How could so many things happen in such a short period of time?

Yu Qiutang quickly signaled her not to get excited.

Unlike himself and Mi Yali, who were in love with each other, Mi Wenzhong and his third sister were shy. They were both embarrassed and dared not let go.

We can only judge from their daily interactions that they both really mean this.

But the problem is that people of this era are relatively conservative, and it is not popular for girls to talk about boys. If Mi Wenzhong does not take the initiative, it is impossible for this side to bring it up first and then pay for it.

If word gets out like that, there’s no way I can stay in the village.

Yu Chuntao listened with great interest, then said worriedly: "Do you think he will be attracted to your third sister? After all..."

"Lili's brother has a very good character, but this place is a little bit worse," Yu Qiutang pointed at his head, "but it doesn't matter. Look at my yard, it was built by him and his people. How capable."

"That's what you say, but if it comes true, will your third sister be bullied when she's in this state..."

Yu Qiutang thought that he knew Mi Wenzhong and his parents-in-law very well, but his second sister didn't know, so it was understandable that he was worried that his third sister would be bullied, so he smiled and said, "When they eat later, you should pay special attention to Lili's brother."

That was how things were happily decided.

While having lunch in the afternoon, Mi Wenzhong always felt uncomfortable squatting. He changed the position several times, but it was still quite uncomfortable.

The meal doesn’t taste as good anymore.

When he was adding more rice, he suddenly found that Yu Qiutang's second sister was staring at him meaningfully. He felt a little embarrassed and said uneasily, "Does it smell like me? I smeared mud today and added vinegar."

"Nice young man!"

Yu Chuntao nodded.

Mi Wenzhong was confused and thought to himself, no matter how you look at it, this second sister is not even older than me, so why is she calling me young man?

While eating, he secretly asked Yu Chunmei, "Why is your sister looking at me all the time?"

Yu Chunmei was also confused, thinking it was about Mi Yali, so she smiled and said, "You don't understand this?"

Now, Mi Wenzhong's already dull mind became even more confused. (End of this chapter)