Chapter 373: As Long as the Bride's Family Has a Good Background, the Groom's Family Will Be Reasona

Chapter 373: As Long as the Bride's Family Has a Good Background, the Groom's Family Will Be Reasonable

It was noon.

In a residential area in Wuhan.

Deng Shirong and his son stayed for lunch at the Gu family's home.

In some places, the custom is for the groom's family to leave the bride's home by eleven in the morning, and not to stay for lunch.

However, the Gu family clearly did not mind this custom, and after much persuasion, Deng Shirong and his son agreed to stay.

The lunch was extremely lavish, prepared by the three Gu family members. The main dishes included steamed Wuchang fish, braised eel, stir-fried red mustard greens with cured meat, steamed three flavors from Tianmen, dragon and phoenix, and Jingzhou fish cake. The cold dishes included cold black fungus, cold cucumber, and cold beef tripe, along with a spare rib and lotus root soup, filling an entire table.

The wine served was the glutinous rice wine brought by DDThisThisAfterEveryone stayed to eat, meal, and the marriage proposal was naturally settled.

After discussion, the wedding banquet was set for the seventh day of the second lunar February of the following year. Before the event, Deng Shirong had already had a master calculate three good dates, and the Gu family ultimately chose the seventh day of the second lunar month of the following year.

The dowry was 10,001 yuan, symbolizing one in ten thousand, reflecting the bride's excellence and the groom's satisfaction.

As for other matters, they would follow the usual customs.

The meal was enjoyed by all.

After the meal, Deng Shirong and his son stayed for another ten minutes of tea before rising to take their leave, saying, "Relatives, we'll take our leave now."

Gu Mother once again tried to persuade them to stay, saying, "Relatives, since you're not returning until tomorrow, why don't you stay for dinner as well?"

"No need!"

After Deng Shirong declined, he formally invited them, saying, "Relatives, we will be in-laws from now on. I would like to invite you to visit our home. In our terms, it’s to visit the family,althoughAlthough we can’t go back to our hometown, we can still meet in Nanning. My mother-in-law is also in Nanning, so you can visit her as well."

Upon hearing this, Gu Mother was immediately interested.

It had been half a year since she last visited her mother, and although she could keep in touch by phone, it was not the same as seeing her in person.

To visit the future in-laws and meet their relatives, and toGu Mother looked at her husband and asked, "Old Gu, can you make the time?"

Gu Father carefully considered his recent work schedule and said, "If I squeeze, I should be able to free up two or three days."

Since his mother-in-law broke her wrist, he had not yet visited, and although he had been busy with work, it was not good to have not visited. To accomplish two things at once would be a good use of time.

Gu Mother nodded in satisfaction and turned to her son-in-law, asking, "Awei, what about you, do you have time?"

Lu Wei smiled, saying, "Mom, my schedule is still flexible, I can make time whenever."

Gu Mother then looked at Deng Shirong and smiled, "Relatives, then we will be a bother."

...

The next afternoon.

Deng Shirong and the Gu family boarded a flight to Nanning.

For ordinary people, it was an era when even with money, air tickets were hard to come by, but for someone of Gu Father’s status, getting a ticket was easy.

However, Deng Yunheng did not return to Nanning with the rest but flew back to Fujian first. He was at a critical point in his career as county magistrate and and0px; heHe could not afford to be away from the county for too long, lest something important arise and he miss it.

When Deng Shirong and the Gu family boarded the plane, his children and son-in-law, along with the relatives, had already arrived in Nanning.

The luxurious mansion in Nanning’s Wuyue Square, the Deng family had moved in quietly without a housewarming, so the relatives had not yet seen the beautifully decorated mansion.

...

Seeing the magnificent mansion, akin to an ancient palace, everyone was left speechless.

Bu Dashi, with a face full of admiration, said, "It’s the uncle who really knows how to enjoy life. This house is as beautiful as a painting."

Liu Aihong was so astonished that she could not recover for a long time.

Since marrying Bu Dashi, her life had improved tenfold compared to her mother’s home. She had seen many faces and had been through a lot. A few years ago, she and her husband started a business, renting a storefront in the Ye Deng neighborhood to open a hot pot restaurant, and thanks to her uncle, the business had done well.

Over the years, they had saved a considerable amount of money.

Although she could not compare with her brother-in-law who ran freight, compared to ordinary people, they had achieved success in their careers.

She was quite satisfied with her current life. After all, they had a house in the county, a successful career, and savings in the bank. Compared to her mother’s side of the family, she was living a life of a fairy tale.

But seeing her uncle’s house, Lui Aihong could not help but think, "The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades must continue to strive."

Liang Yucheng, who was in a similar mood to Liu Aihong, was her sister-in-law.

Liang Yucheng no longer worked as a teacher. After marrying Bu Zhongshi, his transportation fleet grew significantly, now owning nearly a hundred large trucks and establishing a transportation company, truly aiming to become a major player in the industry.

As the boss lady of the transportation company, Liang Yucheng naturally resigned to help manage the accounts.

Of course, there was another reason for her resignation: to have children.

As a public school teacher, she was only allowed to have one child. Both she and Bu Zhongshi hoped to have two more children, so Liang Yucheng did not hesitate to quit a job that many people would have envied.

Despite her already considerable wealth, she felt that her life was quite good.

But at this moment, upon seeing the luxurious mansion of her uncle's, Liang Yucheng realized that her quality of life was still far from the top tier of luxury!

After touring the mansion, Deng Shilan asked, "Aizhu, your father called the village office and had them relay a message that Yunheng's fiancee is coming to visit the family tomorrow. Where is this fiancee from? Why is she coming all the way to Nanning to visit the family?"

The other relatives also gathered around upon hearing this.

Deng Yunzhu replied, "My second brother's fiancee is from Wuhan, Hubei."

Deng Shilan, with a look of surprise, said, "Wuhan, Hubei? My goodness, that's across provinces. How did your second brother find such a distant fiancee?"

Deng Yunzhu explained, "It was introduced by my father."

The eldest aunt interjected, "Why did your father go to another province to find a fiancee for your second brother?"

Deng Yunzhu smiled and said, "My father didn't specifically go to another province to find a fiancee for my second brother. He met her while on a trip back from Wuhan by train and thought she was a great match for my second brother, so he decided to introduce them.

Then, he tried to arrange a match, and it actually worked out."

The relatives looked at each other in amazement, not expecting such a coincidental match.

Deng Yunzhu couldn't help but praise, "I have to say, my father has a good eye. My second brother's fiancee is really beautiful, and her demeanor suggests she comes from a good family, like those ancient noblewomen."

Liang Yucheng asked curiously, "Cousin Aizhu, have you met your second brother's fiancee?"

Deng Yunzhu nodded, "Yes, she and her mother invited my father to a meal, and they came to my hot pot restaurant."

The other relatives also started asking questions.

Deng Yunzhu answered all their questions, but having only met her once, she didn't know much about her future sister-in-law and couldn't provide much more information.

...

In the evening, Deng Shirong returned to Wuyue Square.

After a quick meal at the hot pot restaurant, he went up to the fifth floor to meet the relatives.

After exchanging greetings, Deng Shilan asked, "Brother, isn't the bride's family coming to visit tomorrow? Isn't Yunheng back?"

Deng Shirong replied, "He has work to do and had to return to Fujian."

Deng Shilan asked, "Will the bride's family still come to visit tomorrow?"

Deng Shirong smiled, "Of course, they will. It's just a formal visit to the house, and Yunheng's presence isn't necessary."

Chen Dachong asked, "Brother-in-law, I heard from Aizhu that you and Yunheng went to the bride's family to propose. Has the wedding date been set?"

Deng Shirong nodded, "Yes, it's set for the seventh day of the second lunar month next year."

Deng Yunzhen asked, "Dad, is the bride's family already in Nanning? How many people are coming?"

Deng Shirong replied, "I came back with them. The bride's grandparents are from Nanning, so they went to their grandparents' house first and will come over with the relatives tomorrow."

Deng Yunzhu asked, "Dad, where will they eat tomorrow? At my hot pot restaurant or at home?"

Deng Shirong replied, "Of course, they will eat at home. Eating at the hot pot restaurant would be too casual."

Deng Yunzhu nodded and said, "Dad, what ingredients do you need? I can have someone prepare them early tomorrow morning."

Deng Shirong said, "No need, I'll go out to select them myself in the morning."

Deng Yunzhu, having run a hot pot restaurant for a long time, understood that many chefs preferred to select their own ingredients, so she wasn't surprised by her father's response.

...

In Machun Village.

In a brick house.

After greeting his father-in-law, Gu Father asked his mother-in-law, "Mom, how is your hand recovering?"

Chen Laofu smiled, "It's almost fully recovered. I can do most things as long as I don't lift heavy objects."

Gu Father said, "That's good, but you still need to be careful. The bones are still fragile at this stage of healing."

Chen Laofu replied, "I know, the doctor has already instructed me."

Gu Caixiao, Gu Caixiao, and Lu Wei naturally came over to show their concern for their grandmother.

After some small talk, they went inside to have dinner.

Yesterday, when Gu Mother decided to return to her hometown today, she had already called ahead, and her sister-in-law had specially prepared a large table of dishes.

During the meal, Old Lady Chen asked, "Weiwei, how are things going with County Magistrate Deng?"

Mother Gu smiled and continued, "Mom, we came today not just to visit you, but also to visit the groom’s family. Yesterday, his father and son came to our place to propose, and they’ve already set the wedding date for the seventh day of the second lunar month next year. Our Weiwei will be getting married then."

Upon hearing this, the Chen family was taken aback.

They were all familiar with the background of Gu Caiwei's match, but they hadn’t expected the wedding to be set so quickly after just over half a year.

Old Man Chen asked, "What’s the situation with the other family? Have you found out enough about them? Why did you decide on the wedding so quickly?"

"We have a general understanding," Mother Gu replied. "Actually, what we value most is Deng Yunheng himself. He comes from a rural background, and whether his family is well-off or not doesn’t really matter to us.

If his family is well-off, that’s just an added bonus.

Even if his family isn’t well-off, it’s only relative. Having a son who is a county magistrate means their living conditions can’t be that bad and are definitely better than many rural families, so we don’t need to worry about it.

Therefore, we only need to focus on Deng Yunheng, and the rest doesn’t matter."

This statement left the Chen family slightly surprised.

They were surprised not by the economic conditions of the Deng family, but by the fact that besides Deng Yunheng, a graduate of Peking University, his younger brother was currently studying at Tsinghua University. Having two brothers from Peking and Tsinghua Universities was an undeniable advantage for any family.

Moreover, they all agreed with Mother Gu’s viewpoint.

For families like theirs, when choosing a match, if they were looking for a match of equal status or a higher status, they would need to conduct a detailed investigation to understand the character of the groom’s parents, whether they were easy to get along with, and whether their daughter would be treated well after marriage.

However, if the groom’s family was from a rural background, they only needed to focus on the groom himself. The character of the groom’s parents and siblings and whether they were easy to get along with didn’t need to be thoroughly investigated.

The reason was simple, as a famous quote from Huang Bo in the future goes: "When you are famous, everyone around you is nice."

This saying also applies to family dynamics. When the bride’s family is prominent, no matter which family she marries into, her in-laws, sisters-in-law, and brothers-in-law will be reasonable and understanding, with no exceptions.

Because, it’s human nature. Why would anyone turn down such a significant advantage and instead create difficulties, unless they were mentally unstable?

"Truly one of the best graduates from Peking University, and our District Chief Song, who is two years his senior, is still only a deputy department head. Deng Yunheng is about to become a full department head, which is quite impressive."

Chen Donglai praised, then added with a self-deprecating laugh, "I’m already in my forties, and I’m just a department head. People really can’t be compared!"

Old Man Chen glanced at his son and grunted, "When I told you to study more, you refused. If you had your sister’s education, you would at least be a provincial-level official, not just a department head. You’ve suffered because of your lack of education."

He then turned to his grandchildren and advised, "Xiaojun, Xiaohong, you two must learn from this. Work hard and study diligently. Learn from your cousin Weiwei and don’t end up regretting it like your father."

"Understood, Grandpa," Chen Xiaojun and Chen Xiaohong replied, trying to suppress their laughter.

The Gu sisters couldn’t help but giggle. They had heard their mother’s stories about their uncle’s educational history since they were young. It was said that their uncle didn’t even finish primary school before he refused to continue, and it was only through their grandfather’s insistence that he was forced back to school.

In the end, under their grandfather’s pressure, their uncle managed to finish junior high school, which wasn’t bad for that time. However, this level of education was a significant barrier for further advancement in his career.

Chen Donglai chuckled awkwardly, "I just didn’t have the talent for studying. Back then, I didn’t realize how important education would be. If I had known, I would have at least finished high school!"

Old Man Chen said, "It’s too late to regret now. Your current position is not bad. Work hard and don’t daydream. If you’re lucky, you might have a chance to advance further. If not, you’ll just have to wait for retirement."

Father Gu added, "I’ll keep an eye out for opportunities. If there’s a good chance, I’ll help you. But since it’s in a different province, it will be challenging. Don’t get your hopes up too much."

Chen Donglai shook his head, "Brother-in-law, I appreciate your concern. I've accepted my fate. With my limited education, even if I managed to climb up the ranks, I'd only be ridiculed and might not gain the respect of others. Besides, your position is likely based in Hubei, which would mean I'd have to leave my hometown and move there. I'd rather stay here and continue in my current role."

"That's the spirit. Don't waste your brother-in-law's resources."

Saying this, Old Man Chen looked at his very satisfied son-in-law and said, "Leave all your resources for Weiwei's fiance. He's truly worth the focus and cultivation. To rise to the level of a full department head at such a young age through his own abilities, if you continue to cultivate him, his future is boundless!"

Gu Father smiled and said, "After they get married next year, I'll work on getting him promoted to the top position, preparing for his next step in advancement."

When moving from a deputy department head to a full department head, the difficulty of maneuvering is quite high, and if time is insufficient, it would require an exceptional promotion. However, since the positions of county magistrate and party secretary are both full department heads, the difficulty of maneuvering for this position is not significant. With Gu Father's status, it would be relatively simple to achieve.

Lu Wei, the eldest son-in-law, did not feel jealous upon hearing this. If he had been willing to enter politics, both his father and his father-in-law would have certainly supported him. However, he ultimately chose business over politics, so he could not expect any help from his father-in-law.

Now, with his younger sister-in-law finding a political match, it was natural for his father-in-law to consider using his resources for her fiance. Lu Wei had long been prepared for this.

As they ate and chatted, they also finalized the plans for the meal at the groom's family home the next day.

...

The next day.

Deng Shirong woke up early, washed up, and went out to prepare the ingredients for the day.

In his spatial storage, he had a stockpile of various seafood, chickens, ducks, geese, and beef and mutton. Even if he didn't go out, he could still prepare a very lavish meal. However, it was still necessary to go through the motions.

After a leisurely breakfast and a walk around the nearby market, Deng Shirong decided on the dishes for the day and returned home.

Before arriving home, he found a place to retrieve the ingredients he needed from his spatial storage. Many of the more time-consuming ingredients had already been processed, such as the shrimp, which had the veins removed and their backs slit, ready to be cooked.

When he got home, the relatives were already up and ready to help.

Deng Shirong handed some simple ingredients to the relatives to prepare, while he started stewing the soup and braising the beef and pig trotters. He also began the initial preparations for the other dishes.

Today, Deng Shirong planned a very lavish meal.

The main dishes included poached chicken, poached goose, stir-fried pork with fermented black beans, braised pork, chopped pepper fish head, dry pot bullfrog, dry pot turtledove, cold rabbit, boiled fish, braised pork ribs, charcoal-grilled lamb chops, spicy lamb trotters, braised pig trotters, braised beef, fried squid, stir-fried pig stomach, stir-fried clams, stir-fried shrimp, spicy crab, steamed mudworms, and steamed oysters.

The cold dishes included cold mixed vegetables, cold ear root, and cold water spinach.

The soups included old male duck stewed with cooling herbs, mutton soup, and black chicken soup.

There were dishes from the sky, the water, and the land, catering to different tastes.

Once the relatives finished preparing the ingredients, Deng Shirong asked them to leave the kitchen and locked the door, working alone.

Many dishes need to be cooked and served immediately, as they lose flavor when cooled. With so many dishes, it was inevitable that the earlier ones would cool down. To keep them fresh, he needed to use his spatial storage.

Therefore, he "chased" the relatives out of the kitchen and worked alone, free to do as he pleased.

Time quickly approached eleven in the morning.

Since it was agreed the previous day that the Gu family and their relatives would come for lunch, they did not arrive too early.

After ten-thirty, the Gu and Chen families took a bus to Chao Yang Square and then marched towards Wuyue Square.

On the way, Chen Donglai reflected, "Regardless of other things, the Deng family's financial strength is impressive. The Spicy Girl Hot Pot restaurant is at least two or three thousand square meters. For a girl to run such a successful business with her father's support shows that their financial strength is considerable."

Gu Caixiao couldn't help but chime in, "Uncle, Uncle Deng said himself that they can come up with a million or more. Their financial strength is undeniable."

Chen Donglai was taken aback. While he had guessed that the Deng family was well-off, he hadn't expected them to be so wealthy.

The others in the Chen family were also astonished. In the late 1980s, a millionaire was still a very impressive figure.

To illustrate, even Lu Wei, the son of a high-ranking official, had been running a clothing factory for several years with the support of his father and father-in-law's networks, and he had only just reached the millionaire status. This showed how rare and valuable a million-dollar net worth was.

Of course, this was partly because Lu Wei's father and father-in-law did not use their power to help him. Otherwise, he would have easily had a net worth of over ten million.

...

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(End of Chapter)

Chapter end