Chapter 28: A Simple Engagement – The Daily Life of the Sickly Sister-in-Law

Chapter 28: A Simple Engagement - The Daily Life of the Sickly Sister-in-Law

After exchanging pleasantries with the matchmaker for a while, the attention was finally turned to today's male protagonist—Jiang Yang.

Just as Zhang Mei was about to praise Jiang Yang, on closer inspection, she noticed that his face was covered in claw marks.

"Cough, Jiang... Yang, what happened to your face?"

Lin Shu, who was sitting next to Jiang Yang, also looked at him with a pained expression.

Jiang Yang was silent for a moment, unsure how to respond. Fortunately, the matchmaker, being observant, answered on his behalf, "He accidentally encountered a mad little wild cat. In a split second, his face was scratched like this. Before coming here, I was worried. He's about to propose, and his face suddenly got injured like this. I was afraid you'd reject him!"

"How could that be? How could that be?" Zhang Mei said, waving her hand.

Lin Shu asked with concern, "Jiang Yang, does your face still hurt?"

Jiang Yang managed a strained smile, "It doesn't hurt anymore, don't worry."

Lin Mu also carefully examined the scratches on his face and felt somewhat strange. They didn’t look like cat scratches but rather human scratches. But since he had already said so, she didn't want to contradict him in front of everyone, afraid they might think she had ulterior motives and wanted to break them up.

So, Lin Mu remained silent and didn't intend to say anything.

After chatting casually for so long, they finally got to the main topic.

Zhang Mei rubbed her hands together and asked, "Jiang Yang, what are your family's plans?"

The subtext was: When are you getting married? How much is the bride price? Are you planning to hold a wedding banquet?

Actually, these topics would be better discussed between the elders of both families. For example, when Cen Xi and Lin Qing got married, Cen Xi’s mother asked a close friend to handle the negotiations on behalf of her son. If Jiang Yang had an elder present today, they could have communicated on his behalf, instead of leaving him struggling to start the conversation.

Seeing his silence, the matchmaker, not wanting the atmosphere to cool down, said with a smile, "Normally, Jiang Yang's mother should negotiate this with you today. But since she couldn't make it due to some unforeseen circumstances, Jiang Yang told me this morning that his family would offer a bride price of 66 yuan. The number six is considered lucky, making it a good omen."

When Zhang Mei heard this number, her mouth almost dropped. But she wondered if this was just the bride price and maybe there were other things not mentioned yet.

She maintained a forced smile and asked, "Is that all?"

The matchmaker also felt a little unsure. This amount was indeed what Jiang Yang had given him that morning. He hadn't mentioned anything else, but this bride price was already quite high.

Sitting there, Jiang Yang also felt uneasy. He looked around the room and could see that the main person speaking was Lin Shu's mother. It was clear she was the key figure in today's discussion. After no one mentioned the bride price, he carefully observed the expression of his prospective mother-in-law.

The atmosphere became slightly awkward, and it was evident that Zhang Mei was not very satisfied.

Of course, Zhang Mei wasn't satisfied. Her daughter was a pure, unmarried woman, and marrying Jiang Yang, a widower with two children, was already a huge compromise. How could the bride price be just 66 yuan?

When her sister-in-law got married, besides the 66 yuan bride price, there were also two major items. Moreover, her sister-in-law was marrying an unmarried man. Wasn't her daughter better off than her sister-in-law?

At the very least, her daughter was healthier than her sister-in-law!

Seeing Zhang Mei's displeasure, Jiang Yang's mood also soured. Lin Shu, seeing this, became anxious. This couldn't go wrong; this marriage must not hit a snag.

Lin Shu hurriedly said, "Mom! A bride price of 66 yuan is already quite high."

Even as she said this, she felt a little frustrated. She had only recently returned from twenty years in the future, and 66 yuan seemed like a small amount to her. But to stabilize Jiang Yang, she had to say this.

Zhang Mei looked at Lin Shu with a mix of disappointment and frustration. Her daughter hadn't even married yet, and she was already siding with an outsider.

Was 66 yuan a lot? Not at all! Half of it would go towards her dowry. Didn’t she know how little a dowry could be prepared with just 33 yuan?

If she looks unhappy, don't blame her mother.

Zhang Mei looked at Lin Shu with a pleading look in her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Alright, 66,000 yuan for the bride price. But when are you two planning to get the marriage certificate and hold the wedding banquet?"

Jiang Yang remained silent, saying nothing. The matchmaker continued to act as the intermediary, "Hehe, nowadays simplified weddings are popular, so let's keep the banquet simple!" Which implied they preferred not to have one at all.

By now, Zhang Mei had figured it out. Ever since Jiang Yang came in, he hadn't said much. It was all the matchmaker speaking, so they had probably already discussed everything privately.

If even the wedding banquet was going to be simple, wasn’t that the same as not having one? Was he planning to just get the marriage certificate and take their daughter back home?

Zhang Mei thought seriously as she looked at Jiang Yang, "How clever of him to think that. Jiang Yang, my daughter is an unmarried woman. It's already a sacrifice for her to marry you, a divorced man who's lost his spouse and has two kids. Not only is the bride price so low, but you’re not even planning a wedding banquet. What’s the meaning of this?"

Lin Shu also felt wronged. She couldn’t understand why there wouldn’t be a banquet. Even her brother-in-law, whose family wasn’t from An City, had arranged a banquet at his own home. But Jiang Yang, who was from An City, wasn’t even going to give her a table. Why?

Lin Shu looked at Jiang Yang with a wounded expression in her eyes.

The matchmaker was also feeling stuck. The things she was saying were all based on what Jiang Yang had agreed upon earlier.

Jiang Yang looked at Zhang Mei, who was pressing him step by step, and cursed inwardly. He had already spent 66,000 yuan on the bride price, and now they wanted a wedding banquet too? That would cost a lot of money. A wedding banquet means a lot of food that our family won’t be able to finish, and it will all go to waste.

Jiang Yang also looked at Lin Shu's wounded and wronged expression and felt a bit soft-hearted. Maybe he should hold the banquet after all?

Jiang Yang finally spoke up, which was rare. "The wedding banquet should still be held. But nowadays, we don't advocate extravagance, so let's keep everything simple! We’ll just set up two tables in the courtyard."

Lin Shu immediately smiled when she heard that they were going to hold the banquet.

Lin Feng and his wife found the scene almost unbearable. It was so degrading. They almost didn't want to acknowledge that this was their granddaughter.

Lin Feng and his wife were truly excellent at maintaining the atmosphere. They barely said anything and just sat there quietly, listening to everyone else.

As a father, Lin Feng only gave a couple of words of advice during lunch, saying things like "You should live well with Lin Shu in the future," and that was about it.

Zhang Mei didn't gain much advantage in this marriage proposal, and she was holding in a lot of frustration. So, the originally lavish lunch was pared down by her, with a few meat dishes removed.