Chapter 73

I'm back now, and I'll be able to sign a contract with the landlord soon.

After finishing all the work, it was already noon.

Gu Jinshui was just about to go home for dinner when he ran into Song Jianshe in the alley.

Song Jianshe's face was ashen, and his expression was extremely unpleasant. When he encountered Gu Jinshui, he didn't even greet him before entering the courtyard.

Who is this person?

Gu Jinshui shook his head and went home for dinner.

Huang Xirong bought several dishes outside and had just finished cooking when she saw Song Jianshe return. She quickly went to greet him, "How was it?"

"Let's talk inside." Veins bulged on Song Jianshe's forehead.

Upon seeing this, Huang Xirong had a bad feeling. Afraid that someone would hear, she hurriedly closed the door and went straight into the house without even eating.

Song Jianshe took the gold bricks he had taken out that morning from his pocket and slammed them on the table.

The child inside heard the noise, got startled, and burst into tears.

Ignoring the child, Huang Xirong glanced at the gold bricks and asked anxiously, "Weren't we supposed to sell these on the Black Market? Why are they still here?"

"Can't be sold!"

Song Jianshe gritted his teeth, his hand clenched into a fist. "This isn't gold, it's brass."

"W-what?!" Huang Xirong's head buzzed, and she felt a wave of dizziness. She took a deep breath and looked at the gold bricks on the table. "How can this be brass? That bag was clearly brought back by you, and there were several hundred more inside!"

Right.

If there hadn't been so much money in the bag that day, Song Jianshe's family wouldn't have so readily believed that the bag contained gold bricks.

Song Jianshe picked up the gold brick and slapped it on the ground, making a series of thuds. He then showed the brick to Huang Xirong, saying, "Look for yourself. If this were real gold, it would have left marks long ago. This thing is as hard as bone. People thought I was trying to scam them and almost hit me. Luckily, I ran fast."

Huang Xirong examined the gold brick again and again, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

She quickly took out the bag, and after examining the five or six gold bars inside, they were all fake!

"How... how could this be fake?"

Huang Xirong refused to accept reality. He had originally thought his son would come back rich this time, and if that didn't happen, so be it. But if the gold bricks hidden in the house were fake, Huang Xirong didn't want to live anymore. "Son, think carefully, did you have someone switch the items? Could it be your wife?"

Song Jianshe's face showed a helpless expression.

He sighed. "Mom, Lianhua doesn't know where we hid the stuff. How could she remove the bag? Besides, we've seen these gold bars before; it's definitely these few. Damn it, I bet when I brought them back that night, they were fake."

Song Jianshe took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a deep drag, and his face was full of dejection.

Huang Xirong's face turned pale. Looking at the gold bricks on the ground, she suddenly remembered Song Jianshe's job. "The gold bricks are fake. What will you do in the future?"

That's a good question.

Before leaving, Song Jianshe sold his job to raise capital. He thought that since his family had become rich, selling those gold bricks would allow his entire family to live comfortably without ever having to work again.

But who knew that the gold bricks were actually fake?

"Song Mei, your watch is really beautiful. I saw it in a department store before. It must have cost a lot of money, right?" Several nurses couldn't help but come over to ask about it after seeing the glittering watch on Song Mei's wrist.

These days, a watch can cost several hundred yuan, which is equivalent to an average person's annual salary.

You can't afford it unless you're extremely wealthy!

Song Mei deliberately took off her watch to show them, glanced at Gu Yinxing who was writing a report next to her, and said, "It's not much money, just over two hundred. It's a foreign brand. I said I didn't want it, but my husband Donglai insisted that he had to buy me one since we're getting married."

"Song Mei, your boyfriend is so generous. Did he buy you this outfit?" the nurse said enviously.

Song Mei has been showing off her boyfriend's qualities to her colleagues quite a bit lately. He works at Department Store and is an only child; Zhao Donglai's conditions are quite good.

Therefore, everyone envies Song Mei.

"Yes, their department store only stocked two of these dresses." Song Mei tugged at her dress, smiling but pretending nothing was wrong. "He only kept one for me, and it cost 130 yuan."

Colleagues were astonished; some praised Zhao Donglai his generosity, while others remarked on Song Mei's good fortune.

Overwhelmed by everyone's flattery, Song Mei happily announced, "I'm getting married on the eighth day of next month. Come to the wedding if you're free!"

"That's for sure," everyone agreed.

Song Mei looked at Gu Yinxing beside her and said with a smile, "Yin Xing, you and Comrade Yan have been dating for a while now, haven't you? You're not getting any younger, it's time to get married soon."

Chen Deng Deng nudged Gu Yinxing's arm.

Gu Yinxing looked up, glanced helplessly at Chen Deng Deng, and then said to Song Mei, "We're not in a hurry about this. I'm still young anyway."

Song Mei's smile froze.

She was two or three years older than Gu Yinxing, but so what?

She fiddled with the documents on the table and said casually, "Is it because you're not in a hurry, or because you can't get married? You're young, but Yan Ren isn't young anymore. I'm not saying this to be mean, but Yan Ren is such a good catch, you'd better hurry up, or you'll end up with nothing."

Gu Yinxing was furious.

She looked at Song Mei and said bluntly, "These words must be from your own experience, but this experience only applies to you. Most people wouldn't do something so shameless."

Her words were pointed, Song Mei, feeling guilty, understood perfectly. Her face turned red, and she was about to explode in anger when Gu Yinxing had already taken the report and left.

Song Mei wanted to get angry, but she couldn't find anyone to vent her anger on.

Chen Deng Deng chuckled and walked out, catching up with Gu Yinxing. He gave Gu Yinxing a thumbs up, saying, "Girl, you've got a great mouth! You spoke so well!"

Gu Yinxing rolled her eyes at her. "I didn't say anything, and don't tell anyone about what I talked about with Zhao Donglai."

When Gu Yinxing was with Zhao Donglai, she didn't really care and rarely brought Zhao Donglai the hospital. As a result, her colleagues didn't know that Gu Yinxing and Zhao Donglai had dated before. Song Mei probably kept it to herself to save face, only saying that someone had introduced her to someone else.

Chen Deng Deng said, "How could I not know that this can't be said? If you ask me, it's really a good thing for Song Mei. She's been interfering with our blind dates every day, and she actually found such a good partner."

Zhao Donglai's appearance and other qualities are considered very good.

Gu Yinxing's expression was complicated.

Okay?

That's not necessarily true. Zhao Donglai hiding such a big secret that can only be found out after the marriage. By then, the wedding will be over, and it will be too late for Song Mei to back out.

After gloating for half a day at the hospital, Song Mei returned home, happily parked her bicycle in the yard, and headed into the house. "Brother, Mom, is my brother back yet?"

Huang Xirong was changing Da Bao's diaper when she heard this. Her expression turned somewhat awkward. After she finished changing the diaper, Song Mei lifted the curtain and came in. "Mom, you're here. Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Hey Xiao Mei, your brother's gone out."

Huang Xirong, holding her grandson, was somewhat at a loss for words.

Song Mei was taken aback. "They went out? When are they coming back? I made an appointment with Donglai to go see if they have a TV. They said they'd give a TV as part of the bride price, and we don't need to buy anything else here; we just need to bring the money and gifts."

After finishing her sentence, Song Mei turned around and went to the dressing table to take out a powder compact. She started applying makeup in front of the mirror, saying, "Mom, you have no idea how well-off their relatives are. I heard from Donglai their relatives look down on our family for being poor. Humph, I'll show them later how we're not poor. My dowry is one of the best in Beijing."

Upon hearing this, Huang Xirong was even more at a loss for words.

Her lips moved slightly, "Xiao Mei, haven't you saved any money all these years?"

"Me?" Song Mei stopped applying powder, turned her head, and looked at her mother incredulously. "Don't you know how much money I have? I've spent a lot on you over the years, and I also have my own expenses. Eating out and dressing up, everything costs money, and I was fined by the hospital before. How much money could I possibly have? It's only about thirty yuan in total."

"You only have a few dozen yuan?!":-) This work is provided online by SiTu. com.

Huang Xirong's voice suddenly rose, "So you expect your family to provide your entire dowry?!"

Song Mei was stunned for a moment, "Isn't my brother rich? He's so rich, what's wrong with him giving me a few hundred yuan as a dowry?!"

Huang Xirong didn't know what to say.

She remained silent, went to Song Jianshe's house, retrieved the bag, and threw it on the ground with a thud. "Your brother has no money. He went to the Black Market today, and all those gold bars are fake; they can't be sold for anything."

Song Mei stared blankly at her, then smiled, "Mom, you're just kidding me, aren't you? You weren't persuaded by my sister-in-law to not give me my dowry, were you?"

Huang Xirong gave her a cold look. "I'm not lying. Look for yourself. Our family only has two or three hundred yuan left in savings. Forget about your dowry. Figure it out yourself."

Song Mei's expression changed. She hurriedly squatted down to check the gold bricks; not a single one was missing. Her heart sank further. "Then... what about tomorrow? Their family is coming tomorrow to discuss the bride price and dowry with us."

Huang Xirong said, "Our family will ask for less betrothal gifts. As for the dowry, what do you mean by dowry? These days, which city girl doesn't bring money home for her wedding? Why would you take it back? The wedding date is already set. I don't believe their family would dare to back out!"

The Zhao Family certainly wouldn't dare.

However, Zhao Donglai's parents did not look too good. They wore their best clothes today and brought malted milk powder candies and snacks. They originally thought that the two families had reached an agreement on this matter. Zhao's Mother initially disliked Song Mei for not being pretty enough, but after hearing that her family could provide such a large dowry, she felt that the Song Family was quite sincere.

So, Zhao's Mother even specially arranged for someone to exchange the sewing machine's receipt, thinking she could put it in the dowry later, so that the TV and sewing machine could be brought over together, making a respectable impression and letting relatives and friends see them.

But who would have thought that at the last minute, the Song Family would only offer a dowry of fifty yuan.

"Dad, Mom, fifty yuan is fine. Our family isn't short of that kind of money."

Seeing his mother's displeasure, Zhao Donglai spoke up first, "Besides, the most important thing about this marriage is that Song Mei and I like each other. Dowry and bride price are secondary."

Song Mei had been on tenterhooks the whole time, and when she heard these words, she was deeply moved, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked at Zhao Donglai.

Zhao's Father glanced at his son's expression and said, "Since Donglai says so, then let's do it this way. But let's exchange this fifty yuan for a cotton quilt or something; at least it'll make a good impression."

"Don't worry about that, I've already arranged it. I'll give my daughter four quilts as part of her dowry, so her children will have blankets to cover themselves with in the future."

Huang Xirong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and agreed with a smile.

Although the atmosphere between the two parties wasn't exactly warm, they at least managed to reach an agreement.

The wedding banquet required more than a dozen tables, Zhao Family had already gathered enough food and meat from relatives and friends for the day. Since the Song Family had backed out at the last minute, they naturally dared not say anything about such a financial matter.

The final decision was six cold dishes and six hot dishes, with Daqianmen cigarettes and beer. The Zhao Family's displeasure was all laid bare in the menu.

It should be noted that the original agreement was to use Zhonghua cigarettes and at least Lotus White liquor. The Zhao Family for this banquet because of the Song Family's generous dowry. After all, in Beijing these days, the amount given as a gift is only one or two yuan, so how could they possibly recoup their investment with such a large meal?

But now that the Song Family has gone back on their word, the banquet has naturally changed as well.

Although Song Mei felt wronged, she didn't dare to say it. After the two families finished eating, Zhao's Mother 'Zhao's Father left early, but Zhao Donglai stayed a while longer. Song Mei saw him off at the alley, her eyes red, and asked, "Donglai, will your parents blame me?"

"Xiao Mei, don't overthink it. My parents aren't those kinds of people," Zhao Donglai said vaguely. Of course, he knew his parents were unhappy, and he was unhappy too, let alone his parents.

He had already told his colleagues that Song Mei's dowry was quite substantial.

The result was only fifty yuan, which is less than what others get.

Song Mei Meidao: "I know, about this matter."