Chapter 239: The Bai Family Comes to Propose Marriage
It was undeniable that Tingying had a bit of a crush on him. In fact, when they were children, she had boldly declared that she wanted to be his wife when she grew up.
Bai Xiangguo couldn’t help but smile at the memory. In the end, he had still been completely captivated by this girl!
Gu Tingying was a bit flustered by his directness. Did this mean he was waiting for her to officially confirm their relationship right then and there?
“I’m very… satisfied,” she murmured, nodding as her face flushed a deep crimson.
The two looked at each other, a quiet, unspoken understanding passing between them.
By the time Gu Tingying and Bai Xiangguo finished their talk and stepped back into the living room, their expressions gave everything away. The moment the matchmaker, Aunt Zhao, caught sight of Tingying’s blushing face, she knew instantly that the match was made!
Gu Tingying walked over to her mother and gave a subtle nod. Aunt Gu beamed with delight. Her daughter was rarely ever this shy; usually, the girl was rowdy enough to kick people without a second thought.
“Grandfather Gu, Grandmother Gu, Uncle, Aunt—I will return to your home with my parents very soon to formally propose marriage,” Bai Xiangguo announced. He was a man of action, laying out his intentions openly and directly.
Grandpa and Grandma Gu burst into hearty laughter. This young man had a crisp, straightforward temper and didn’t believe in hiding his thoughts. Both of the elderly grandparents were straightforward people themselves, and they highly appreciated a simple, direct younger generation.
“Old General, Mrs. Gu, we will come to formally propose in five days,” Mother Bai chimed in.
She knew her second son inside out; it was plain as day that he had fallen hard for the Gu family’s daughter. This was a magnificent match!
“Future father-in-law, future mother-in-law, please look after me in the days to come,” Bai Xiangguo said respectfully.
Uncle and Aunt Gu were thoroughly pleased with the alliance and nodded with warm smiles. Just like that, Gu Tingying and Bai Xiangguo’s future was settled—they would hold a formal engagement first, followed by the wedding.
“Excellent, excellent! We’ll be one family from now on, looking out for one another,” Aunt Gu said, warmly taking Mother Bai’s hand to chat. Since they all moved in the same social circles and knew each other’s backgrounds well, there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
As the Bai family prepared to take their leave, Bai Xiangguo stole one last glance at Gu Tingying. Tingying kept her head lowered, her face burning with a sweet shyness.
The moment the guests departed, she darted straight back into her bedroom to process her racing thoughts.
“Look at her, the girl is actually blushing,” Aunt Gu noted. She didn’t know whether to laugh or worry as she watched her daughter’s frantic retreat.
Her daughter would be a bride soon. Once a girl became someone else’s daughter-in-law, her life changed completely. Even if a parent knew the groom’s family inside out and trusted their character implicitly, how could they not worry? Aunt Gu let out a quiet sigh, already resolving to prepare an exceptionally generous dowry for her girl.
Gu Tingying’s impending marriage was the crowning joy of the season. This year, the Gu family had truly been showered with blessings. Old Master Gu was grinning from ear to ear; the final single grandchild under his roof had secured a wonderful match. Before long, his new great-grandchild would be born as well. The old general had never felt so blissfully happy.
Sheng Wanyan had fallen into a deep sleep after heading upstairs earlier, missing the conclusion of the blind date entirely. She only learned the details from the family’s lively chatter at the dinner table that evening, and her heart swelled with happiness for her cousin-in-law.
Gu Tingying was a remarkably cheerful, fiercely loyal girl, and Wanyan truly hoped her future would be beautiful and smooth. She didn’t know the Bai family personally, but any household that could thoroughly satisfy the high standards of the Gu elders was bound to be exceptional.
The house remained bustling with excitement, and the upcoming nuptials quickly became the primary topic of conversation among the women of the family. Aunt Gu began drafting the parameters of the dowry, pulling Mother Gu into her consultations. Having successfully orchestrated the second sister’s wedding years prior, Mother Gu possessed a wealth of practical experience.
“A married girl must always keep her own cash reserves close at hand,” Mother Gu advised wisely. Back then, she had gifted the second sister a luxury watch alongside a substantial stack of banknotes—some of which she had slipped to her daughter secretly, entirely hidden from the Lin family’s knowledge.
Aunt Gu nodded in firm agreement. Ensuring everything looked pristine and respectable on the surface was standard protocol, but the most critical objective was providing her daughter with the financial confidence to stand tall in her new home. They would wait for the Bai family to present their betrothal gifts in a few days to measure their sincerity, and then match it with a down-to-earth, equally grand dowry.
Aunt Gu calculated the figures carefully in her head. Her contribution couldn’t blatantly eclipse what the groom’s side offered; after all, the man’s family needed to maintain their public face, and she wanted to show proper deference to the Bais.
Sheng Wanyan thoroughly enjoyed watching the wedding preparations unfold. She had witnessed the blind date, and as for marriage, she had already navigated those waters herself. However, she had never actually participated as a guest in someone else’s traditional capital wedding, and she wondered if her pregnancy timeline would permit her to travel back to the Capital to join the celebration when the day came.
Old Master Bai was absolutely ecstatic when he received the news that his second grandson’s blind date had been a resounding success. He and Old Master Gu were old comrades-in-arms who had bled on the same battlefields; transforming their lifelong brotherhood into a formal family alliance was a profound joy.
A few days later, the Bai family officially marched into the compound to propose marriage, and the entire military neighborhood quickly caught wind of the engagement.
A wave of intense envy and regret swept through the other villas. Had they known earlier, many commanders would have instantly arranged blind dates between their own sons and Gu Tingying; now, they were a step too late. The prize had been claimed by Bai Xiangguo, a man who spent the vast majority of his year stationed far away from the capital. It felt entirely unfair! The neighborhood matriarchs grumbled among themselves, deeply sighing over the fact that they had hesitated, only to watch a prime daughter-in-law slip through their fingers.
The Bai family poured an immense amount of thought into the marriage proposal, a level of respect entirely befitting the Gu family’s towering status. Although Bai Xiangguo was the second son, he was exceptionally capable, and his parents refused to slight his milestones.
The Bais arrived bearing not just standard ceremonial gifts, but a flawless, top-tier betrothal spread: the traditional “thirty-six legs” of furniture, alongside the coveted “three turns and one ring”—a bicycle, a sewing machine, a radio, and a wristwatch.
“Future in-laws,” Father Bai announced proudly, “we are presenting a cash betrothal gift of 888 yuan, alongside the thirty-six legs of furniture, a premium radio, a sewing machine, a wristwatch, and a bicycle.”
The Bai family was far from short on capital. They maintained a strict principle of providing this exact premium standard for every single one of their sons, ensuring no daughter-in-law ever felt marginalized.
Aunt Gu was deeply satisfied with the terms. The Bai family’s youngest son was still navigating high school, meaning the extended household wouldn’t be splitting into independent branches anytime soon. However, the Bais were a notoriously fair, kind-hearted clan; even within a shared estate, they would never mistreat a daughter-in-law. Furthermore, once the wedding concluded, Gu Tingying would inevitably relocate to the southern base to live with the army. Aunt Gu harbored zero anxieties about her daughter facing hardships; after all, a daughter of the Gu line was not so easily bullied.
“Our in-laws are incredibly thoughtful,” Aunt Gu replied graciously. “In return, we are offering a dowry of 666 yuan and a luxury wristwatch for auspicious good fortune.”
She paused, offering a warm smile. “We want the young couple to retain the entirety of the cash betrothal gift to build their new life. As for the hardware, we will leave the new radio right here in the main villa as a token for our two elderly grandparents to enjoy in their leisure time.”
The Gu residence did already possess a radio, ensuring Grandpa and Grandma Gu never lacked entertainment, but the old device had tragically broken down two days prior. Leaving the new one behind was a seamless solution that spared the elders from spending their own funds on a replacement.
The Bai family naturally raised absolutely zero objections to the arrangement. The Gu family’s approach was infinitely more generous and honorable than the standard practices of the era. In many typical households, parents would pocket the groom’s betrothal gifts for themselves rather than returning them to the newlyweds, and if they didn’t actively siphon the wedding cash into their own savings, it was considered a miracle.
Despite the elite status of their social circles, deep-seated traditional biases favoring sons over daughters still run rampant. In normal standard families, returning even half of the betrothal wealth to the bride was considered an act of immense, rare generosity.
Furthermore, by leaving the radio behind as a gift for the patriarchs, Aunt Gu had executed a beautiful diplomatic gesture. The two elderly grandparents of the Gu line would deeply appreciate the filial thoughtfulness of Bai Xiangguo and his bride, ensuring the young couple remained firmly anchored in their affections.
