Chapter 113: Discussing the Dowry
Mother Gu sat down with a warm smile, and Mother Sheng immediately ladled a bowl of hot soup for each of their guests.
“Yan’er made this soup herself,” Mother Sheng said proudly. “Please, give it a try.”
Hearing that Sheng Wanyan had brewed it, Father and Mother Gu’s interest was instantly piqued. They wasted no time in raising their bowls to take a sip.
Father Gu fished out a rib, handed the best parts to his wife, and then swallowed his own portion in one giant, hearty gulp. He was entirely unreserved. Mother Gu, on the other hand, sipped her soup slowly, her every movement refined and polite. The contrast between the two was stark; to borrow a phrase from later generations, they looked exactly like beauty and the beast.
Even so, Wanyan found the couple inexplicably well-matched. One was quiet while the other was lively, and their subtle interactions were full of a deep, silent understanding.
“Ah!” Father Gu set his bowl down, savoring the rich flavor lingering on his tongue. “This soup is wonderfully sweet and refreshing!”
He beamed, already imagining how well he would be fed in the future. He really had no major vices in life; he just loved downing big gulps of meat and soup, rolling around in the mud with his rugged comrades at the military district, and doting on his gentle, delicate wife. Even if his wife glared at him or gave him a playful swat, her strength was nothing more than a tickle to him, serving only to sweeten their marriage. He absolutely adored her fiery side. To him, his wife was the best woman in the world.
“Would you care for another bowl, In-law?” Father Sheng asked, gathering his courage to offer a tentative invitation.
The moment the words left his mouth, Father Gu happily slid his bowl over. “Don’t mind if I do!”
Father Gu was a man of action, and Father Sheng truly hadn’t expected him to be so wonderfully casual. Not wanting to be idle, Father Sheng quickly took the bowl and refilled it to the brim, making sure to add a few more choice pieces of meat.
Father Gu looked at Father Sheng, feeling an immense wave of appreciation. This future in-law truly understood him! He had desperately wanted more soup but had been a bit too embarrassed to ask for a second helping so quickly.
Observing his father’s predictable behavior, Gu Tingxiao’s mouth twitched slightly. He knew nothing on earth could stop his father’s appetite once he got going. The older man always spoke and acted far faster than he thought, earning him a pointed look from Mother Gu. Could this man please restrain himself just a little? she pleaded silently.
As Father Gu happily drank his soup, he caught his wife’s eyes and offered a slightly sheepish look. It wasn’t his fault; the soup was simply too delicious to resist.
At that moment, Grandpa Sheng brought out the three bottles of peach blossom wine that Wanyan had given him a few days prior. Father Gu’s nose twitched instantly. He sniffed the air, wondering where such an incredible aroma was coming from. It smelled magnificent.
“Come, In-law, let’s share a few drinks together,” Grandpa Sheng invited.
Father Gu’s eyes were glued to the three bottles. As Grandpa Sheng poured a glass and handed it over, he subconsciously swallowed.
“This is peach blossom wine,” Grandpa Sheng explained. “It’s light and very suitable for the ladies to enjoy as well.”
Hearing this, Mother Gu’s interest was piqued. Standard hard liquor was far too harsh for her taste, and she could never get used to it. She had tasted sweet osmanthus wine brewed by her mother-in-law years ago, but that was ancient history. A proper bottle of osmanthus wine had to be buried beneath the roots of the tree for years to fully absorb the floral essence. Unfortunately, their own osmanthus tree had been cut down a few years back during the height of the political movements, strictly to prevent neighbors from spreading rumors or harboring malicious thoughts about their lifestyle.
“In that case, I must try a glass as well. Such a vintage is hard to come by,” Mother Gu smiled.
She took a delicate sip, and naturally, Father and Mother Sheng joined in. Before long, the entire table was drinking happily.
“Phenomenal wine! So fragrant and incredibly rich!” Father Gu praised after emptying his glass, a wave of pure relaxation washing over his frame. This vintage was miles ahead of the wine his own mother used to brew. It had clearly been aging for far more than a couple of years. He was deeply touched by the Sheng family’s generosity in sharing such a rare treasure with them.
“It really is quite sweet,” Mother Gu agreed, taking another sip. She found the flavor profile incredibly pleasant for women; it lacked the biting sting of standard alcohol, offering instead a refreshing, crisp sweetness.
“I’m delighted you enjoy it. Please, help yourselves to the food,” Grandpa Sheng beamed, thrilled by their high praise as he warmly urged them to try the dishes.
“This spicy rabbit meat has an incredible kick!” Father Gu cheered. “To be frank, it’s absolutely delicious. My dear in-laws truly possess a magical touch in the kitchen.”
Mother Sheng smiled radiantly upon hearing this, instantly seizing the opportunity to highlight her daughter’s talents. “This rabbit meat was actually prepared by our Yan’er. Since you like it, please eat your fill.”
Both Father and Mother Gu looked up in genuine surprise. They hadn’t expected Wanyan to not only master the art of soup-making but to be capable of executing such a flawless, flavorful stir-fry as well.
“Yan’er truly is remarkable,” Mother Gu praised, her eyes shining with affection. “Her skills completely eclipse my own.”
The more Mother Gu observed the girl, the deeper her fondness grew. This future daughter-in-law was exceptionally refined; except for her ordinary working-class background, she was every bit as impressive as the daughters of the most elite clans in the Capital. It had to be said that in this era, a woman’s competence in the kitchen carried immense weight and heavily elevated her standing within a husband’s household.
“Since you enjoy her cooking, she can easily prepare it for you whenever you visit after the wedding,” Mother Sheng noted warmly.
“Then I am certainly going to be thoroughly spoiled,” Mother Gu laughed.
The two mothers quickly fell into another harmonious rhythm of mutual praise, completely lost in their conversation. Wanyan sat quietly, chewing her food as she listened to the non-stop compliments, entirely stunned by their chemistry. Are these two truly capable of hitting it off like this? she wondered.
When her mother had met Pan Yue’s mother prior to her brother’s wedding, the interaction had been perfectly polite but structurally stiff. Yet today, it felt as though her mother had discovered a literal soulmate. They say three women make a drama, and looking at how vividly Gu Tong stepped in to anchor the conversation, Wanyan felt the three of them could easily launch a full theatrical production. If someone built a stage right there in the courtyard, the local neighborhood women would undoubtedly swarm the building to watch the fun.
Beside her, Gu Tingxiao quietly added a fresh piece of fish to her bowl, having meticulously extracted every single bone beforehand. “Eat more,” he murmured softly.
Seeing the pristine fish meat waiting in her dish, a sweet ripple of happiness warmed Wanyan’s chest. She reached out with her chopsticks, selected a beautiful, lean piece of braised pork, and deposited it into his bowl. “You should eat more as well.”
“Alright,” Gu Tingxiao replied, his eyes instantly melting into pure gentleness as he consumed the pork in a single bite.
Sitting diagonally across from them, Father Gu caught the tender display and privately grumbled in his heart. This ungrateful brat has never shown a single shred of this attentiveness to his own father at home, yet the literal second he secures a partner, he transforms into the most considerate man alive. What on earth is the point of raising a son?
Once the baseline dinner rush slowed, Mother Gu cleared her throat, steering the conversation toward formal arrangements. “My dear in-laws, you are already well-aware of our domestic layout. As for myself, I have raised three sons and one daughter, with Tingxiao being my third child. My other three children have already finalized their marriages and have established their own independent careers.”
She paused, her expression turning deeply earnest. “Please rest entirely assured that your Yan’er will never have to endure a single drop of injustice or grievance upon entering our lineage. The exact moment the wedding is finalized, and before the young couple returns to the military base, I will formally execute a complete division of the family estate.”
Mother Sheng nodded in deep satisfaction. This explicit detail was precisely the reason she and Father Sheng had been able to clear their reservations and approve the match so rapidly.
“When our eldest and youngest sons wed a few years back, the household allocated exactly 888 yuan as the baseline betrothal gift, along with a 1,000 yuan resettlement allowance,” Mother Gu laid out the numbers transparently. “Given that market prices have experienced a slight shift recently, we intend to provide exactly 999 yuan for the third son’s betrothal to ensure a prosperous, long-lasting blessing. The resettlement allowance will remain identical at 1,000 yuan.”
She smiled, gesturing reassuringly. “Furthermore, you need not worry about the baseline assets. The sewing machine, the wristwatch, the radio, the bicycle, and the furnishings for their bridal quarters will all be procured brand new; our side will assume total financial responsibility for those components. As for their permanent residential quarters up at the regiment, they will utilize the 1,000 yuan resettlement fund to customize and furnish the space according to their own tastes, matching the exact protocol we executed for his brothers.”
Mother Gu laid every card face-up on the table. All three boys were her own flesh and blood, and given the sheer size of the household, the third son had historically been the easiest to overlook. With an army of children, a mother’s attention was always divided, but while the Gu elders might have been occasionally negligent during his youth, they maintained absolute, flawless equality regarding major milestones.
And besides, Mother Gu privately amused herself knowing the hidden reality: while she kept the ledger balanced, everyone in the capital knew the third son was secretly the absolute favorite of both her husband and the family’s old patriarch.
