Betrothal Gifts

Mr. Liu opened the door. It was Liu Qian; dinner outside had already been prepared.

Though tonight's dinner had been put together somewhat hastily, it was still lavish. Most of the dishes had already been prepared at Liu Yueyue's home, while the dishes and pastries Liu Qian made were the finishing touch, whetting everyone's appetites after they had gone so long without tasting her cooking. Host and guests alike enjoyed themselves thoroughly at the table, chatting about all manner of idle matters. Liu the Butcher's family, having learned of Mr. Liu's intentions, were also delighted for Liu Qian and offered many blessings. But since the Zhang family had not yet formally become engaged to her, everyone still spoke with restraint.

Everyone was happy, but Zhang Xiaohu kept stealing glances at Liu Yueyue from the corner of his eye. Unfortunately, Liu Yueyue's attention was not on him, and he could not help feeling disappointed.

After dinner, they chatted a little longer. Liu Qian, who had walked all afternoon, had long been yawning one after another. Liu Kai therefore arranged for Zhang Xiaolong and Zhang Xiaohu to stay the night and rest, while Liu the Butcher's family returned home.

Early the next morning, Zhang Xiaolong and Zhang Xiaohu prepared to take their leave and return to Guo Village. Liu Qian, meanwhile, considered that she had not been home in a long while and wanted to stay a few more days. Besides, Zhang Xiaolong was returning to discuss the engagement with his parents, and she was truly too shy to follow him, so she did not go back with them. Mr. Liu specifically instructed Zhang Xiaolong to explain his intentions properly to Zhang Cai when he returned, so that Zhang Cai would not hold a grudge over his earlier refusal. He also told Zhang Xiaolong to pick an auspicious day and come finalize the engagement.

Naturally, Zhang Xiaolong agreed again and again. Only then did the two set out beneath Liu Qian's reluctant gaze.

The journey there had been filled with sweetness; the journey back was filled with joy.

When they returned to Guo Village, they could see from far away, over the Zhang family's low wall, the whole family standing in the courtyard and repeatedly looking toward the village entrance. It was likely that, aside from Zhang Xiaohua, none of them had slept properly the night before. The moment Zhang Xiaohua caught sight of Zhang Xiaolong and Zhang Xiaohu, he was the first to leap up and dash out. Running up to Zhang Xiaolong, he asked cheerfully, "Big Brother, how did it go? We've all been waiting for good news! Eh—why didn't Sister Qianqian come back with you? Could it be...?"

Zhang Xiaohua did not dare ask any further.

Before Zhang Xiaolong could speak, Zhang Xiaohu said irritably, "Can't you see Big Brother's face is glowing with joy, and he's grinning from ear to ear? Why don't you take this jar from my hand first? I've carried it all the way."

Only then did Zhang Xiaohua brighten up. Rather than taking the jar from Zhang Xiaohu, he spun around and raced home to deliver the news to their parents.

Zhang Cai and Guo Sufi were overjoyed when they received the good news and rushed to the courtyard gate to welcome their sons. Zhang Xiaolong and Zhang Xiaohu were ushered into the Zhang family courtyard like heroes. Once Zhang Xiaolong had settled into a chair and taken the cup of boiled water Zhang Xiaohua handed him, he gulped down several mouthfuls before beginning to recount what had happened in Baligou. Zhang Cai and Guo Sufi listened with animated expressions, a huge stone quietly dropping from their hearts. But when Zhang Xiaolong proudly spoke of Mr. Liu's apology and his request that the Zhang family choose an auspicious day to formalize the engagement, their joy was mixed with worry. They were happy because they had not misjudged him after all—Mr. Liu was indeed a friend worth cultivating, and now he would become their in-law, a good in-law they could trust. Yet they were worried because an engagement required betrothal gifts. Given their family's circumstances, this was a difficult matter. If they gave too little, they did not care about losing face themselves, but Mr. Liu's family would be unable to hold their heads up. If they gave too much, they truly could not afford it, and would only make life harder for Zhang Xiaolong and Liu Qian in the future.

Still, those were matters for later consideration. The important thing now was to celebrate a little and settle on a date first. Guo Sufi happily brought the good news to Grandmother, who was already bedridden, and it made her complexion flush with much more color.

Over the next few days, the Zhang family was immersed in joy. When spring returned to the land, Zhang Xiaolong's spring had arrived as well. Zhang Cai and Guo Sufi busied themselves with the engagement arrangements, while Zhang Xiaolong and his two brothers worked on spring plowing and planting in the fields. Each day grew warmer than the last. The soil had long since thawed, and the mild spring breeze brushing their faces reminded people that spring plowing could never begin too early.

The customs of engagement were actually quite simple. The groom's father and mother brought gifts of various kinds, along with the groom's birth date and eight characters, to the bride's home. Once the bride's family accepted the gifts and gave the bride's birth date and eight characters to the groom's family, the engagement was complete. Of course, some families set the date for the marriage then and there, while more often they held another discussion of the marriage later before deciding on a date. Originally, betrothal gifts were simply various presents, but people naturally had a tendency to compare themselves with others. Family after family competed over the gifts they gave, until in many cases people simply gave silver directly, sometimes calling it gift money.

And so Zhang Cai and his wife were now troubled over the gift money.

Zhang Cai felt that Liu Qian was a fine daughter-in-law and deserved more gift money, to show how precious it was for the Zhang family to marry such a bride. Moreover, Mr. Liu was a man of standing. Guo Sufi, however, believed that while they certainly ought to show their sincerity, their family's means were limited and the gifts could not be too extravagant. Otherwise, before they had even brought the bride home, they would already be unable to make ends meet.

Zhang Cai actually understood this as well, and had thought the same before. But now that the moment had come, he hesitated. After all, did they not still have several hundred taels' worth of banknotes hidden away at home? With that possibility before him, naturally he wanted to do things better. When Zhang Cai mentioned the banknotes, Guo Sufi also wavered. When they had spoken to Liu Qian before, she had resolved to use the banknotes, only to be stopped by Liu Qian. But now, since they had the banknotes, why not use them? Besides, more than a month had passed without anyone coming to make trouble. Perhaps they truly had treated that money as compensation. If so, the money was theirs—what harm was there in using it?

The disagreement between husband and wife seemed to be fading, and both leaned toward using the banknotes. Thus, Guo Sufi took the banknotes and the token from where they were hidden at the bottom of a chest. Then she called Zhang Xiaolong into the inner room.

Zhang Xiaolong's injuries had healed rapidly. After only a few days, he no longer needed to keep his arm fixed in place, though the injured arm still could not lift heavy things. Zhang Xiaolong entered the inner room and asked, "Father, Mother, what is it? I was just about to go loosen the soil in the fields."

Guo Sufi said lovingly, "Your arm hasn't fully healed yet. You should work less and let Xiaohu and Xiaohua do more."

Zhang Xiaolong smiled. "I've spent long enough in bed this past month. My bones feel as though they're about to rust. Moving around now is truly comfortable. Besides, Xiaohua is still young and growing—how can we let him do more work?"

Zhang Cai said, "We know your spirits are high right now, and we have no intention of stopping you. But the days ahead are long, so you must take better care of yourself."

Zhang Xiaolong replied, "I understand, Father. But what exactly is the matter? You didn't call me in just to tell me to rest, did you?"

Guo Sufi said, "Well, it's like this. Your father and I are planning to go to Baligou in the next few days to finalize your engagement to Qianqian. But our family cannot come up with especially good betrothal gifts, so we plan to take out those banknotes from last time and exchange some of them."

As she spoke, she placed the two banknotes and the token before Zhang Xiaolong. Pointing at the token, she said, "Take this with you too. If something happens while you're exchanging them, bring this out. It may prove useful."

Zhang Xiaolong looked at his father and mother's eager faces, then at the banknotes and token before him. He sighed but did not pick them up. "Father, Mother, didn't we agree that we would never use these banknotes again?"

Zhang Cai gave a bitter smile. "Yes, that was what we said then. But circumstances are stronger than people. If we cannot present decent betrothal gifts, won't Liu Qian's family lose face?"

Zhang Xiaolong said, "Father, if we're talking about family circumstances, there are countless families throughout these villages who are far better off than us. And the people who have gone to propose to the Liu family are as numerous as the sea—how can we compare? Liu Qian is willing to marry into our family not because of our circumstances. The other day at the Liu residence, Mr. Liu spoke to me at length. He knows our family's situation very well and never mentioned betrothal gifts. I think there's no need for us to puff ourselves up until our faces swell just to look fat."

Guo Sufi said, "Xiaolong, just because they did not mention it does not mean they do not care. No one takes offense at extra courtesy. We should still make proper preparations."

Zhang Xiaolong said, "No, Mother. I can't ruin our whole family just to marry a wife. These banknotes are the root of disaster. We must never use them."

Guo Sufi said, "Your father and I have discussed that too. No one has come to our door after all this time, so it should be fine. Besides, we have this token. They may not dare do anything to us."

Zhang Xiaolong smiled bitterly. "Mother, Heroine Xu gave us this token to save our lives. It only proves that if some local tyrant comes to make trouble, we can use it to show that she is protecting us. And didn't Great Hero Wen also say not to touch these banknotes? If the local tyrant comes to our door, we should quickly return them. If they come looking for us later and we have no banknotes to give back, what will we do?"

Zhang Cai and Guo Sufi were left speechless. It was not that they did not understand these things; concern had thrown them into confusion. When it concerned their son, they could not help but lose their clarity.

Zhang Xiaolong continued, "What the Liu family appreciates in us was never wealth or anything of the sort. Besides, doesn't our family have something more precious than money? When the opportunity arises, we can give Mr. Liu more of it."

Zhang Cai gave a bitter smile. "What does our family have that is better than money? How come I don't know about it?"

Zhang Xiaolong smiled mysteriously and spoke the words that followed.