Chapter 153 Back Home, They’d Be Beaten to Death

Chapter 153: Where I'm From, We Beat Thieves to Death Right Then and There

Seeing that no one from the Jiang family was speaking, Wang Jie let out a hollow laugh and said, "It's not impossible for us to pay for the renovation."

She agreed first; after *her* name was added to the property deed, she simply wouldn't pay for the renovation. The money was in her hands, and if she refused to give it, no one could force her.

Next, Hua Gumei emphasized the issue of the bride price again. If the bride price was to be managed by the young couple themselves, then the dowry wouldn't matter much. However, the subsequent conversation left her deeply disappointed.

Wang Jie said, "Mrs. Jiang, my son is also at the age to start a family. As the older sister, Xiaomei should help her brother more. Besides, young people don't know how to manage money. Let me keep this 200,000 for now." The implication was that the bride price money was being reserved for the brother.

Zhang Dacang also chimed in, "That's right. In our village, it's not customary for the bride price to be handed over to the kids. As for the dowry, I should mention that in towns further south, the dowry is often just an empty trunk. Our family giving our daughter a refrigerator already shows how much we cherish her."

Then, Wang Jie started talking about having the couple's birthdates matched to choose a wedding date and asked about the timing of the bride price payment, but Hua Gumei brushed her off with vague answers.

Hua Gumei felt this match wouldn't work out.

As soon as she got home, Hua Gumei immediately asked Jiang Xingpeng, "What's your take on all this?"

Jiang Xingpeng put down his phone, a smile still on his face. "Mom, what do you mean, what do I think?"

Hua Gumei sighed softly. "A 200,000 bride price, and the dowry is just a refrigerator. I'm asking what you think about this situation."

Jiang Xingpeng said carelessly, "If we've got it, just give it to them."

Hearing this, Hua Gumei's eyes widened in anger. "Is that really what you think? It's 200,000, not 20 bucks!"

"This bride price money, the Zhang family plans to keep it for their son to use for his own marriage. Since when do we pay for *their* son's wedding? The bride price is too high, the dowry is too light. I don't agree. Besides, our family still needs money for the renovation. Where would we get so much money?"

Jiang Xingpeng frowned. "Didn't Xiaomei's mom say they would pay for the renovation?"

"Hmph!" Hua Gumei snorted lightly. "That's just talk. You actually believe it?"

The house in the small town was paid for in full by Hua Gumei with years of savings, and it was registered under her name, so she genuinely didn't have that much money on hand.

Moreover, she despised the practice of using a daughter's bride price to fund a son's marriage. She also had a daughter; in the future, any bride price would be for her daughter to manage herself. She would never use it to subsidize her son or anything like that.

Jiang Xingpeng said, "Mom, Xiaomei's family is having a hard time. If our family can help, we should lend a hand. I don't believe our family can't come up with 200,000."

"Your father and I really don't have the money. If you have it, you give it. After all, you're the one getting married. Earn it yourself!"

With that, Hua Gumei stormed back to her room in a rage. She had held back at the hotel, wanting to hear her son's opinion first, but she never expected her son to be siding with outsiders.

The bride price Hua Gumei and Jiang Chaomi had prepared was only 70,000, which was considered quite good within the local customs. But the Zhang family was asking for the moon, and the dowry was practically non-existent. If they were to become in-laws with such a family, there would be endless troubles. She didn't want this marriage alliance.

Jiang Xingpeng watched his parents' retreating backs. His face fell, then twisted in anger. "Mom! What are you doing?! I won't be able to find a wife like this!"

His phone rang. It was Zhang Xiaomei calling.

"Xingpeng, today I felt like your mother's expression was a bit off... Is she dissatisfied with me..."

"Xiaomei, don't overthink it. My parents really like you!"

"What about the bride price... Don't think it's too much. In the next village, someone offered 250,000, but I just want to be with you."

"Don't worry, I'll get the money for the bride price!"

The next day, as soon as Jiang Xingpeng saw his parents, he brought up the bride price again.

Jiang's father, who handed over most of his earnings, said, "Son, in J City, it's usually around 30,000 to 100,000. 200,000 is a bit much. Can you ask the Zhang family if they can reduce it a little?"

Jiang Xingpeng said, "Dad, 190,000. Any less and I won't be able to get married. You don't want me to be single forever, do you?" He had also asked Zhang Xiaomei to inquire with her family, but their response was "the bride price remains unchanged."

Hua Gumei said, "The maximum bride price is 70,000. Anything over that, you figure it out yourself."

"Either break up with Zhang Xiaomei, or we'll set you up on some dates."

"Mom!" Jiang Xingpeng angrily slammed his bowl down on the table. "I only want Zhang Xiaomei!"

Hua Gumei didn't even lift her eyelids. "Then you handle the bride price money yourself."

In the following days, Hua Gumei had already asked people to line up some girls for him to meet. Seeing that his parents really wouldn't provide the bride price money, Jiang Xingpeng had to find a way himself.

Coincidentally, someone outside the village was offering a high price to buy nutrient-rich vegetable seeds and fertilizer. He sold his own family's share. After some haggling, he got 10,000 yuan for it.

Emboldened by this, he resorted to stealing. Under cover of darkness, he not only stole fertilizer from two households in the village but also sneaked into a fertilizer store two days later.

Looking at the shelves packed with seeds and bags of fertilizer, his eyes lit up.

"I'm gonna be rich! Rich!"

Selling these seeds, he could not only cover the bride price but even afford a car.

He produced a burlap sack and frantically stuffed the bagged seeds from the shelves into it.

A small bag of seeds was worth a thousand yuan each. He stuffed the burlap sack until it was full to bursting.

Just as he was about to climb over the wall to leave with the sack on his shoulder, a blinding light hit him.

"Oh no! Someone's here!" Jiang Xingpeng immediately covered his face and made for the window to jump out.

But his feet felt like they weighed a thousand pounds; he couldn't jump or move.

All the lights in the fertilizer store flicked on. Two men and two women appeared in the store: the village chief, Secretary Zhiqiang, Jiang Yingxue, and Ji Fu.

"It's you!" Secretary Zhiqiang exclaimed in surprise.

Two days prior, villagers had reported stolen fertilizer, and there were rumors of someone secretly buying seeds and fertilizer. They had suspected an outsider, never expecting it to be someone from the village.

Jiang Yingxue cast a cool glance at the burlap sack on Jiang Xingpeng's shoulder. "Secretary, you know him?"

Secretary Zhiqiang nodded with a grave expression. The village chief was already cursing him out, "You shameless thing! How dare you! Stealing, and you come here to do it. Speak! What did you steal for? To sell? How much did you get? Confess everything!"

Jiang Xingpeng hung his head and said nothing. He'd been careless, and now he was caught.

"Fine, won't talk, huh!" The village chief immediately called his parents.

"Chaomi, you and your wife get to the old granary office right now! Hurry! Your son got caught stealing!"

Jiang Yingxue said, "Village Chief, Secretary, why not call the police? With this sack of stuff, he'd get eight to ten years."

Ji Fu gave him a kick, sending him sprawling to the ground with a *thud*. Ji Fu sneered, "Couldn't find anything better to do than become a thief. Where I'm from, thieves are beaten to death right then and there. No need to report to the authorities."