Inside the second branch’s main hall, things were lively.
The Chen family followed the matchmaker into the house, and Yun Yan immediately stepped forward to guide them to their seats. Seeing this, the Chen family was very satisfied. They felt this girl had good social sense—unlike her older sister, who had looked down on people, and unlike that later one, who had been disgusting.
Thinking of the matchmaking prospect after Yun Feng, both the matchmaker and the Chen family felt nauseated just remembering her.
The reason? That girl had been pregnant and had tried to get the Chen family’s precious only son to take responsibility for another man’s child.
Good heavens! A “happy to be a cuckold” scenario—that green hat was something no man could tolerate.
Fortunately, they had been lucky. After getting rid of that shameless woman, such a young and pretty replacement had immediately appeared.
The only downside was that this girl was from a fishing village. And she was the younger sister of the previous matchmaking prospect. It didn’t sound great. The silver lining was that the shame wasn’t on their side. After all, their son was choosing between sisters. If anything, it made the Chen family look even better.
With this mindset, the Chen family spoke to Second Uncle Yun and Liu Zhaodi with a certain condescension.
“Yes, the two young people have taken a liking to each other…”
Before Liu Zhaodi could finish her opening remark, Chen’s mother interrupted: “The reason we’re here is that we truly think your Yun Yan is a good girl. That’s why we didn’t stop our son from marrying a fishing village girl. So, we’ve come today to propose marriage. You understand that, right?”
Liu Zhaodi nodded immediately. Of course she knew—even though she had only found out yesterday. But at least Yun Yan, that dead girl, had some brains. She hadn’t waited until the groom’s family showed up with nothing prepared.
“Good. Although Yun Yan hasn’t been seeing our son for long, as a young woman, she’s the one at a disadvantage by being with a man. Our Chen family isn’t unreasonable. That’s why we’ve brought Shunzi here to propose.”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Liu Zhaodi nodded happily. She thought: even though Yun Feng had lost this good match, at least Yun Yan had picked it back up.
“As for the bride price, our family is prepared to give 88 yuan, plus a watch for Yun Yan. As for the dowry, our family is reasonable—we won’t haggle with you.”
—
The smile on Liu Zhaodi’s face froze. The moment she heard “88 yuan,” she jumped up from her seat.
“No, no, no. Wasn’t the bride price 300 yuan before?”
Chen’s mother’s eyes widened. “That 300 yuan was for the older one. Now that we’re taking the younger one, of course it’s less.”
In truth, the reason was that Yun Yan had thrown herself at him. If it weren’t for her son insisting on giving 88 yuan, the Chen family would have thought even that was too much. Go all through this fishing village—she’d bet no one would spend more than 88 to marry a fishing village girl.
Hearing Chen’s mother’s words, Liu Zhaodi was so angry she wanted to curse. But Second Uncle Yun stopped her. He shot her a meaningful look. Liu Zhaodi immediately turned to Yun Yan.
Although Yun Yan had found this match herself, the bride price could not be a single fen less. Otherwise, they wouldn’t let her marry.
Yun Yan had long expected this. She smiled, stood up, and called her father out to the yard.
The yard was surrounded by a fence. The onlookers from earlier hadn’t all left. They were gathered outside, waiting for the brigade captain and the Yun clan elder to arrive.
Yun Su had already finished breakfast with Ji Xiangtian. The two sat in the shade of a tree, likewise waiting to see the latest developments.
Now seeing Yun Yan pull Second Uncle Yun aside, she sensed that negotiations hadn’t gone smoothly.
—
“Your cousin said the bride price is 88 yuan. After she marries, she’ll introduce Yangcheng matches to her younger sisters and help support her little brother.”
Yun Su looked at Ji Xiangtian in surprise. “You can read lips?”
At this distance, good eyesight would let you see the two people across the way. Yun Su could see the furious expression on Second Uncle Yun’s face.
Ji Xiangtian nodded. “I learned it before.”
As a child, he had grown up in the Northern City military district, where many impressive people lived. He had learned all sorts of knowledge useful for military service. Later, when he came to the Yangcheng military district, which also had no shortage of talent, he picked up even more.
Hearing this, Yun Su felt more and more that this man was a treasure trove.
“Your Second Uncle is very angry. He’s accusing your cousin of being disloyal and a ‘rebel bone.’”
Yun Su laughed. Second Uncle had no room to call anyone a “rebel bone.” Given the environment in his household, what kind of decent people could he raise? He exploited his daughters to the extreme and doted on his son to the heavens.
Although she didn’t like Yun Feng or her three sisters, there was no denying that life at home wasn’t good for them.
So Yun Yan was trying to find her own way out?
Yun Su thought it was a good idea to have such thoughts. But unfortunately, her vision was too low—she had set her sights on Chen Pingshun. That man was clearly the type who obeyed his mother. He was probably a “mama’s boy,” just like her own younger brother.
“Your cousin said she’s already been with Chen Pingshun. She managed to get the bride price up to 88. Take it or leave it.”
Ji Xiangtian’s translation made Yun Su’s eyes widen. She couldn’t help looking at Yun Yan. The girl’s expression was quite defiant. It was hard to tell whether her words were true or false.
As for Second Uncle Yun, he was so angry at her words that he couldn’t speak. Even the finger he pointed at Yun Yan trembled like that of a man in his eighties.
“It looks like Yun Yan will get her wish.”
Although Yun Su felt that Yun Yan’s choice wasn’t right, everyone had the right to choose their own path. Yun Su wasn’t about to say that her life would be difficult. In the original book, Yun Yan’s future hadn’t been written in detail. Even if it had been, given how Yun Su skipped through chapters, she would have missed it anyway.
In the end, this was Yun Yan’s own chosen path. She would have to walk it herself.
—
It seemed there was no point in continuing the conversation. The father and daughter walked back inside.
Yun Su stretched as she got up from her chair, then looked down at the man. “Want to go clamming?”
Ji Xiangtian didn’t mind. As long as he could be with Yun Su, he’d be happy sitting around all day.
But just then, they saw Yun Su’s elder brother walking down the main road, following behind the brigade captain, the clan elder, and several other elders of the Yun family.
Seeing this, Yun Su pulled Ji Xiangtian over to the yard fence and waved at her brother.
Yun Huaimin shook his head, then nodded, signaling Yun Su not to leave the house yet.
Yun Su stayed put. It looked like the brigade captain and the others were heading to Second Uncle Yun’s house to resolve the matter of two sisters sharing the same man.
“Big Brother reports to the factory on Monday, right?”
Ji Xiangtian nodded to Yun Huaimin, then asked Yun Su.
Yun Su: “Yes. The factory gave one week to get settled. He reports next Monday. They have dorms there. Big Brother’s things are all ready. The other two will go with him. He ran off to the brigade headquarters early this morning to report this to the captain.”
Her elder brother was one of the family’s pillars. Yun Su would genuinely miss him now that he was going to work at the factory.
Ji Xiangtian could see her disappointment at a glance. He reached out and tousled her hair. Since they were standing by the roadside, they couldn’t be too affectionate. But he noticed that people were gathering again, meaning word of what was happening at Second Uncle Yun’s house had spread.
—
Sure enough, the brigade captain led the group straight into Second Uncle Yun’s house. Before long, shouting came from inside.
The yard, which had been empty before, now had many people following the captain in.
Yun Su thought for a moment, then pulled Ji Xiangtian along to watch the commotion.
She had no notion of keeping family disgrace private. What Yun Yan had done today was truly surprising.
As soon as they found a good spot, they saw Second Uncle Yun bowing his head and admitting fault in front of the clan elder.
But although his mouth was confessing, he showed no intention of kicking the Chen family out.
And the Chen family?
When they saw so many people enter—and elderly ones at that—they realized these must be important village figures. Upon learning they were Yun family elders, they wiped the smug looks off their faces.
“In principle, marriage is free nowadays, and we can’t interfere. But the way your two families have handled this is too improper. For the sake of the Yun family’s reputation, I, as clan elder, must say a few words.”
The Yun clan elder was a man nearing eighty. In this day and age, clan elders didn’t have much real power. But for certain important matters, a leader was still needed. This particular matter wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either.
They had no right to stop anyone from marrying, but they had to make their stance clear. Otherwise, outsiders would only laugh at how worthless the Yun family’s daughters were.
The Yun family was a major surname. They couldn’t let the reputation of all their young women be ruined.
“Of course, of course. We certainly don’t think little of the Yun family’s daughters. It’s just that when the young people started seeing each other, we elders didn’t know. We only found out when the two young people wanted to get married. The moment we knew, we came to propose.”
The clan elder nodded without putting on airs and said directly, “Your marriage is your marriage. But there must be proper customs. Not a single step can be skipped.”
This wasn’t them standing up for Second Uncle Yun’s branch. It was about upholding what was right.
Since the die was cast, the proper rites for a daughter’s marriage couldn’t be missing. Otherwise, people would look down on Yun family daughters even more.
The Chen family, who had been hoping to lower the bride price, could see that the Yun family elders weren’t happy about this. They dropped their dismissive attitude. Although Yun Yan’s immediate family wasn’t much, the elders’ firmness showed that the Yun family had good values.
So they immediately changed their tone and began discussing the marriage with the elders.
Yes, they bypassed Second Uncle Yun and his wife entirely, handling the marriage negotiations through the clan instead.
As for whether Second Uncle Yun and his wife had any objections? That was outside the clan’s consideration.
What they needed to do was ensure Yun Yan was properly married off.
With the elders handling things, the negotiations for Yun Yan’s bride price went smoothly. The Chen family was willing to offer more. The previously mentioned 88 yuan was immediately raised to 200 yuan, plus a bicycle and a watch.
After the bride price was settled, the clan elder immediately declared that all of it would go directly to Yun Yan to take with her. The Yun family would not covet the bride price.
This outcome satisfied the Chen family and made the onlooking villagers feel that face had been preserved.
As for the grim-faced Second Uncle Yun and his wife, no one paid them any attention.
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