Chapter 99: Yinzhu’s Intuition
Li Yin Zhu pushed open the courtyard gate and entered.
Li Xiao Nan hurriedly stood up to greet her, “Third Sister, why are you back? Have you identified all your dowry?”
“No need to identify them!” Li Yin Zhu said with a troubled expression. She casually grabbed a small bamboo chair, sat down by the small table, looked around, and took a big gulp from Li Xiao Nan’s cup.
“Why no need to identify them? Didn’t Second Sister-in-law say it was very important to identify them clearly?” Li Xiao Nan asked, puzzled.
“Second Sister-in-law just said! No need to identify them!” Li Yin Zhu waved her hand, her face full of annoyance. “Second Sister-in-law said she’s busy receiving the betrothal gifts and doesn’t need them identified. She said she doesn’t know how much she’ll receive or when she’ll finish collecting them.”
“That’s great! Why aren’t you happy?” A Wu poked his head over, looking at Li Yin Zhu’s expression.
Li Yin Zhu leaned back, deliberately moving her small chair further back. She couldn’t help but ask Li Xiao Nan, “How do you know them?”
“I went to the wharf with that Young Lord. They were working at the wharf, so I got to know them. She’s her cousin. You can call her A Wu, and call her A Wu’s wife. They are good friends with me,” Li Xiao Nan explained vaguely.
“Are you also here to give betrothal gifts?” Li Yin Zhu asked.
“Um, cough!” A Wu quickly shrank back.
“We, haha, um,” Wang Yu Ting gave a dry chuckle.
“I invited them to watch the excitement, but I didn’t tell them it was your wedding. They are from Shandong. They don’t have many people left in their families, so they rely on each other. They’ve never seen excitement like ours, so I invited them to come and watch,” Li Xiao Nan said, standing between them and explaining with a smile.
“Yes, yes, yes! A Nan didn’t say! She really didn’t say,” A Wu quickly chimed in with a smile.
A Nan indeed didn’t say; it was the Young Lord who did.
“That’s good then,” Li Yin Zhu sighed with relief. “I get scared whenever I hear the words ‘betrothal gifts.’ I don’t know any of the people giving betrothal gifts, and Eldest Sister doesn’t know them either. They all come to give gifts, and Tang Weng Weng and the others have collected them all. I just feel, I just feel, I just feel that!”
Li Yin Zhu waved a hand, feeling it for a long time before finally managing to blurt out, “I feel like I’m a big fat pig, and they’ve all come to take their share of the meat!”
A Wu let out a snort of laughter.
Wang Yu Ting slapped A Wu on the head and looked at Li Yin Zhu with concern, “Why would you think that? Giving betrothal gifts is a good thing. The Young Lord has already given you betrothal gifts. Anyone who knows about it will surely come to show their support. Who would dare to take a share of the meat!”
Li Xiao Nan frowned, thought for a moment, picked up a small chair, and moved it next to Li Yin Zhu.
“Third Sister, we’ve talked about why the Hong Family proposed.”
“Mm,” Li Yin Zhu nodded, glancing at A Wu and Wang Yu Ting.
“They’re fine,” Li Xiao Nan explained, then continued, “That Young Lord is a bit like a friend to me, just a little bit, not a real friend.”
Li Xiao Nan spoke slowly and cautiously, word by word.
“A noble person like the Young Lord, with great power, can make people rich with just a casual gesture. He’s the kind of person who can bring in more silver than several Hong Families combined.
“The shops Tang Weng Weng’s family has in Linhai Town received several profitable businesses last autumn and winter. Eldest Uncle said these businesses were all taken because I knew the Young Lord.
“Tang Weng Weng’s family earned several thousand silver from these businesses.”
“So much!” Li Yin Zhu exclaimed in surprise.
A Wu and Wang Yu Ting’s eyes widened.
“It’s not much. That’s just the silver earned in one or two months. Eldest Uncle has been busy with our family’s affairs for the past six months and hasn’t had time for business. If he had time, he could earn tens of thousands of silver.
“This is from before. Now, with the Young Lord making such a grand gesture by coming to give betrothal gifts, Tang Weng Weng’s family’s business will be even better in the future, and the Hong Family will surely be able to secure many profitable large businesses.
“None of this requires the Young Lord to say anything; it’s coming to them.
“If the Young Lord were to say a word or make a move, to give Tang Weng Weng’s family or the Hong Family some business, that business could be worth hundreds of thousands, even millions of silver.”
Li Yin Zhu’s eyes widened, so shocked she couldn’t speak.
“That Young Lord is high above, like an immortal. People like us only hear about him. Now that there’s a chance to have even the slightest connection with this Young Lord, do you think they wouldn’t all flock to him?”
“So much silver!” A Wu exclaimed, slapping his thigh.
“With so many people flocking, perhaps only one or two, or even none, will be able to connect with that Young Lord.
“It’s like the lottery during New Year’s. Ten people play, nine lose, but everyone thinks they’re the winner.”
“Mm,” Li Yin Zhu rubbed her face, too shocked.
“Those who play the lottery must accept their losses, and these people who flock to him must also accept their losses. Third Sister, you don’t need to think too much about it.”
Li Xiao Nan looked at her Third Sister with a serious expression.
“I won’t speak for anyone in front of that Young Lord, not even for our own family, not even for myself. I won’t say a word for Tang Weng Weng, the clan, or the Hong Family, for anyone or anything. You must remember what I’m saying. If Hong Er Ge or Old Master Hong brings it up, you tell them this.
“Everyone accepts their losses!”
Li Yin Zhu stared blankly for a while, then nodded, “Okay!”
“Are we, really not speaking on our behalf?” A Wu poked his head over.
“No!” Li Xiao Nan didn’t look at A Wu.
A Wu let out a disappointed “Oh.”
“You tell your Third Sister this, and then she tells her in-laws. Aren’t you afraid she’ll be bullied?” Wang Yu Ting asked with concern.
“Even if she’s bullied, I won’t lie!” Li Yin Zhu glared at Wang Yu Ting and retorted.
She didn’t have a good impression of this pair of young married couple with their rough demeanor.
“You two! You haven’t seen how miserable a wife can be when she’s bullied! It can wear you down in half a year or a year!” Wang Yu Ting said, a little agitated.
“If the Hong Family dares to bully Third Sister, have A Wu help me go and beat them up!” Li Xiao Nan said with a serious expression.
“Alright! They deserve to be beaten! If one beating isn’t enough, two. If two aren’t enough, three. Beat them until they dare not bully anyone!” A Wu slapped his thigh, fully agreeing.
“That’s true. If her maternal family is strong, they won’t dare!” Wang Yu Ting breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Xiao Nan’s shoulders slumped. She looked at A Wu, then at Wang Yu Ting, took a deep breath, and suppressed the sigh that was about to escape.
“If you two have nothing else to do, stay at our place for a few days. We have rules about beating up sons-in-law here. Do you have them where you are?”
“Yes, yes, yes! It’s very lively,” A Wu quickly nodded.
“I was just worrying about not having anyone to help me beat up my son-in-law. You two stay and help me, give the Hong Family a show of force,” Li Xiao Nan said with a smile.
The word “good” rushed to A Wu’s tongue, but he bit it back and quickly turned to look at his cousin.
Wang Yu Ting looked around the small courtyard and nodded, “Alright! There’s nothing urgent at the wharf.”
Miss Li’s family has quite a few rooms in this small courtyard, so there’s space to stay. Since they have nothing to offer as betrothal gifts, contributing their strength to help is also showing their sincerity.
