Matchmaker Wang came here this time to determine the time for carrying the dowry. When a man and a woman get married, the dowry goes first and must be delivered to the man's home before the wedding.
Of course, people in the village don't have such rules, because no one's daughter has that much dowry. The Cao family is different. If the eldest daughter of one of the largest families in Hekou County gets married, the dowry will be particularly eye-catching.
"Then it's settled, the dowry will be delivered the day before the wedding." Matchmaker Wang waved her veil and said, "At three o'clock in the morning, the sun rises high and the dragons move westward. It is a very auspicious time, so come here at this time."
After setting the time for carrying the dowry, Matchmaker Wang left.
Now it was Cheng Wanwan's turn to worry. Although there were many rooms in her house, she could not handle the large number of people. There was only one warehouse. In the warehouse, there were piles of gifts given to her by the court, as well as some random items she bought from the mall. It was impossible to occupy two-thirds of the space. The personal belongings of her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were piled in a warehouse.
She immediately called shopkeeper Yan over and hurriedly built a warehouse behind the house to store Yingying's dowry.
Fortunately, everything in the adobe is ready-made. If you find seven or eight men, you can start work immediately and get busy in full swing.
Cheng Wanwan sat in the main room and started writing the dishes for the wedding banquet. After deciding on the menu, tomorrow she would arrange to purchase chicken, duck, fish, as well as some wedding necessities such as wedding candies and cakes...
This busy period came the day before the wedding, so Zhao Ergou naturally rested at home and helped decorate the new house.
The red gauze curtains add a lot of joy to the new house. Big red happy words are plastered everywhere. Big red lanterns are hung under the eaves at the door. Small lanterns are also hung on the trees in the yard. Red couplets are posted at the entrance to the yard. They are all red and full of joy.
Although today is not a formal wedding, there is still a banquet. Firstly, it is to entertain the dowry givers from the Cao family. Secondly, many women from the village come to prepare food in advance, and several tables must be set up.
Before dawn, the yard was already busy.
Aunt Wang and a dozen women were killing chickens, ducks and fish, Wang Yongcheng and seven or eight men were killing pigs, and Zhao Anjiang was killing sheep.
Seeing this posture, the people in the village began to drool. This wedding banquet was so sumptuous, including chicken, duck, and fish, there was also mutton. Mutton was a delicacy only eaten by nobles. Dashan Niang was willing to buy so much. How much money will it cost to bring the first sheep back?
Cheng Wanwan did spend a lot of money this time. She bought thirty or forty sheep alone, mainly for roasting whole sheep. After all, she was from Suiru now, her son was getting married, and she also invited a lot of respectable people. When a big shot comes, everything needs to be of a higher standard at this table.
The chef is Wu Huiniang, and the main assistants are Chunhua and Cheng Fang. There are more than 20 women in the village doing odd jobs. They are not cooking today. They are just cutting out and preparing all the side dishes needed for tomorrow's banquet. They can just put them into the pot before the banquet tomorrow. ,Convenient.
The women were busy with their hands and their mouths, chatting together.
"I heard from Matchmaker Zhao that the Cao family is here to deliver the dowry today."
"The dowry of the eldest lady of the Cao family must be very large. I heard that wealthy people carry sixty-four dowries."
"My dear, sixty-four dowries. The dowries of all the girls in our village combined are not that much."
"Er Gou is really lucky. He actually married the eldest daughter of the Cao family. He won't be able to spend all the dowry from the Cao family in his lifetime."
"Fortunately, Er Gouzi did not get married early, otherwise there would be no such good luck..."
The villagers chatted and joked from time to time, but Sun Shuiqin, who was picking vegetables by the side, lowered her eyes, her beautiful eyes dim.
A large group of people were busy from dawn till sunrise.
At this time, several carriages appeared on the main road of Dahe Village and drove slowly towards them.
The women quickly stopped what they were doing and stood on tiptoe to look.
"Hey, wasn't it said that sixty-four were carrying the dowry? How come there are only three carriages, can they fit in them?"
"It seems that the Cao family is not as rich as we thought."
"Don't forget that Miss Cao also has a stepmother. Why is the stepmother willing to prepare a generous dowry for her stepdaughter?"
"makes sense……"
While everyone was talking, the carriage arrived at the door of Cheng Wanwan's house.
Although there are many people in the courtyard, they are all in fixed areas, with a wide avenue left in the middle.
Matchmaker Wang got off the carriage first, followed by Manager Sun, followed closely by the servants of the Cao Mansion, and the two carriages behind were filled with dowries.
Eight servants came down, carrying four loads of dowry, which was much less than the villagers expected.
Sun Shuiqin in the crowd curled her lips sarcastically. She only had four dowries. When the daughter of a grocery store owner in the city got married, she would have eight dowries, and she would also be given a bed, a bed, a cupboard, a washbasin, a quilt, and a lot of other items as a dowry. Ha, this Cao The eldest daughter of the family is not much better. She is not worthy of being Sui Ruren's son, nor is she worthy of being Sui Ruren's second daughter-in-law!
Four red boxes were placed at the gate.
Matchmaker Wang took out the gift list from her sleeve, cleared her throat, and started to sing the list. This is the rule of a wealthy family, and you must read the list when giving gifts.
"The phoenixes and the phoenixes sing in harmony, let's look happy when the makeup is on!"
"A pair of makeup boxes, three feet of red cloth, a pair of vases, a bronze mirror, dragon and phoenix bowls and chopsticks, bucket for descendants, acacia quilt, mandarin duck pillow..."
The first two boxes were opened. The first box contained daily necessities, and the second box contained bedding, nothing big.
The initial expectations of the villagers have gone. Some families in the village who have some wealth will also prepare these things when they marry their daughters. Although they are not so elaborate, they are still fully prepared. The Cao family’s dowry does not seem to be anything unusual. .
Then, Steward Sun opened the third box, revealing only a small sandalwood box.
"There is a courtyard with three entrances in Guihua Lane, Hekou County, four consecutive shops on the east side of the main street, a Cao family dyeing workshop, a Caoji merchant ship... Taohua Village Garden has three hundred acres..."
When Matchmaker Wang read this, everyone present took a breath.
Let them count carefully first, how many people came into the courtyard, how many shops were given, what dyeing workshops, manors, and even merchant ships were married... Oh my god, how much does the Cao family love this girl? There are so many things in the dowry!
Cheng Wanwan was also stunned, she didn't expect Cao Defu to be so generous.
She had told Cao Yingying before that the Zhao family was in the village, a farmer's family, and the house was small. For example, there was no need for a dowry such as a bed, a cupboard, etc. The man just had to prepare. The Cao family agreed. Unexpectedly, no She came with so many fixed assets as dowry furniture, houses, shops, merchant ships... She, the second daughter-in-law, is the richest person in their family!
It wasn't over yet, Manager Sun opened the last cage.
"hiss!"
"Oh my God!"
"Gold, all gold!"
"My mother! My eyes are going to be blurry!"
Matchmaker Wang cleared her throat: "One hundred taels of gold, one hundred taels of gold leaves, one hundred taels of golden beans, and another thirty thousand taels of silver notes!"
Cheng Wanwan was also shocked. With so much dowry, it was probably the only one among so many nearby counties and towns. The Cao family's generosity would really stun people.
After the gift list was read out and the dowry box was closed, Zhao Ergou led people to carry all the dowry into the new house.
The Cao family also brought a happy woman here. The happy woman came one day in advance to make the bed for the newlyweds, and then asked a boy with a happy family and good health to roll around on the bed, which meant having more children. blessing……
